Abstract

BAPTISTA, Eva. An historical and social approach to nurseries in Portugal. The Vila Nova de Gaia case (1883-1971): between the nation and the region. Cad. Hist. Educ. [online]. 2019, vol.18, n.2, pp.503-525.  Epub Sep 26, 2019. ISSN 1982-7806.  https://doi.org/10.14393/che-v18n2-2019-13.

Since they appeared and throughout the following one hundred years, nurseries took in and provided care to young children from their very early months of life until they reached school age - unlike today, as the age limit is 3 -, thus combining sanitary and eugenic principles with the aim of not only reducing infant mortality rates, but also educating the child as well as mothers, family, community and nation. The present article aims to fully understand the implementation processes behind these innovating education institutions until the 1970s in Vila Nova de Gaia, a territory with geographic, social and demographic peculiarities that favoured the emergence and support of nurseries, both economically and culturally. Crossing the implementation processes of nurseries in Portugal with the regional situation of Vila Nova de Gaia, we are able to track the momentums of educational philosophies and the obstacles - both physical and economic - which hindered the Portuguese society to take cognizance of early childhood as a priority in itself, and to withdraw biases towards nurseries.

Keywords : Nursery; Vila Nova de Gaia; Portugal.

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