Isaias Alves and the approximations between educational psychology and mathematics education¹

Abstract

Based on the travel journal written by the Bahian educator Isaias Alves during his trip to the United States, this article aims to explore the approximations between educational psychology and mathematics education in the 1930s and how the former field promoted the circulation of theories and authors in the latter field, particularly with regard to the exchange between Brazil and the United States. In terms of theoretical-methodological approach, some of the salient concepts are appropriation, circulation (of ideas/objects/subjects), and authorized discourse, based on the works of authors such as Roger Chartier (1990, 2002, 2009), Serge Gruzinski (2001a, 2001b), and Michel de Certeau (2012). In addition to his travel report, this study also draws on other books and articles published by Alves, the curricula of the Institutes of Education of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, teaching manuals, and newspapers available in the Digital Newspaper Collection of the National Library. Among other findings, it is observed that Isaias Alves’s travel report lent visibility to the discussions and publications of the American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike that focused on mathematics education. It is also observed that the dialogue established between educational psychology and mathematics education was strongly linked to discussions about tests and that the manner in which Isaias Alves read and portrayed mathematics education was from the perspective of psychology.

Isaias Alves; Educational psychology; Mathematics education; Edward Lee Thorndike; Circulation