Portugal and Brazil: How much of ‘Our’ past is ‘Theirs’ too?

Abstract

Political and cultural changes in the 1980s have had deep effects on Portuguese and Brazilian educational systems. In 1991, the Portuguese primary and secondary national curricula were defined and these statutory requirements are still in place. In Brazil, political open-mindedness in the 1990s allowed a curricular flexibility within national curricula parameters leading to a decision that primary and secondary curricula should have a common basis which would be complemented in each Brazilian state according to regional and local aims and features. As regards history, the curriculum documents recommended that teachers approach topics with a critical stance on ‘identity’ in order to make the old perception of the ‘us’ and the ‘others’ more inclusive, and to update a traditional perspective on history teaching. Some qualitative research studies carried out in Portugal and Brazil have been focusing on historical consciousness, aiming to understand students’ ideas on significance and empathy towards ‘the other’ in the context of ‘Discoveries’.