Introduction

The present article's objective is the reflection on the elementary contents of the psychological science, part of the teachers' training course, specifically of the Course in Pedagogy. In this direction, it is worth to remind that Tardiff (2010, p. 361-362) considers the relevance of Psychology knowledge to Education, comparing it to the importance of Biology to Medicine and Physics and Mathematics to the field of Engineering. In this sense, while observing the program contents of the teacher training courses of the Brazilian higher education institutions, it is possible to locate a particular theoretical body that takes Psychology as a critical area in the development of educators and to understand the educative process. So, some knowledge is fundamental for the elaboration of a knowledge collection.

Concerning the contributions of the research sources to the historiographical works, Michel de ^{Certeau (1979}) analyses the historical progress process and stresses significant aspects about the historian's effective practice, involvinga place and proceduresof analysis.

Every historiographical research is articulated from a place of socio-economical, political, and cultural production. It implies a means of elaboration circumscribed by its determinations: a liberal profession, teaching or study position, a literate category. It is, so, submitted to oppression, linked to privileges, rooted in a particularity. It is in reason of that place that methods are established, the typography of interests is needed, and dossiersand questions related to documents are organized (^{Certeau 1979}, p. 18).

In this same work, the author also makes references to the study of disciplines when affirming that: "births of disciplines are associated with the creation of groups" (^{Certeau, 1979}, p. 21). In this form, the place as an object of research and technical resources to be employed has significant relevance to the historical investigation of a distinct theme.

Antoine ^{Prost (2008}), by his turn, alerts on the fact that history needs to reconcile the contradictions: the necessity of evidence extracted from sources, although traces do not mean sources, affirming that history presents a feature of empirical practice. In this form, he concludes that “History complexity as practice leads to the own complexity of its object” (Prost, 2008, p.135).

Documentary sources also represent a relevant element to the historiographical research. In a thesis defended by Rosângela ^{Guimarães (2012}), she calls attention to the importance of the documentary corpus, when she affirms that

in the practice of the historiographical operation, the constitution of the documentary corpus means a crucial moment, not only for the work that it entails on the researcher but also for the theoretical implications involved in this primordial act of investigation (^{Guimarães, 2012}, p. 16).

Maria Teresa ^{Santos (2007}), while addressing a trajectory and the teaching situation of History of Education in Portugal, highlights that in the academic route of a discipline, "some dates are unavoidable references, some study plans are irreplaceable configuration records, and some lecturers and respective works are undeniable orientation marks" (Santos, 2007, p. 75). And, then, she stresses the importance of the use of documents as sources of research:

Dates, study plans, lecturers and works compete to make the historicity of the discipline, or in other words, to draw a route of access to its understanding: the meaning of the substantive dimension, the sense of objectives, the relevance of the content to the development of teachers and the concrete circumstances of the curricular introduction and the institutional recognition. All these elements are subscribed and constitute the memory of History of Education. This memory that gives it an identity and, so, a safeguard [...] from the nonsense of the abstract knowledge, with no facts, no faces, no texts, no themes nor questions (^{Santos, 2007}, p. 75).

By this mode, many documentary sources can serve as a research reference on a specific historical cut. Formal documents are necessary for the comprehension of the construction of a school discipline as they can bring legislative determinations to the execution of the curricular program. Only one source becomes relevant, being this for official documents, diaries, letters, or audiovisual or photographic material when it receives the proper treatment.

Oral sources, by their turn, are of great importance in historiographical research, even with the necessity of attention to concerns and risks while doing research based on oral reports. ^{Thompson (2002}) analyzed his own experiences of over thirty years.

I shall say, since now, that I have a strong preference for a more comprehensive definition: I understand as oral history the interpretation of history and changing societies and cultures by the listening of people and record of their memories and experiences (Thompson, 2020, p. 09).

The author begins from two basic premises: oral history is an interdisciplinary method and must combine the evidence of qualitative and quantitative researches. While discussing this methodology, he presents areas of investigation under this approach and concludes with the importance of oral history to help to fully understand the past and create national memories, building a more kind and democratic future.

However, it seems relevant to remind of the reservations made by Pierro ^{Bourdieu (2005}) concerning the risks over the biographical studies made from oral history. "History of life is one of these notions of common sense that came in as smuggling in the scientific universe" (Bourdieu, 2005, p. 183). The author calls attention to a phenomenon he called “biographical illusion”, in which an “artificial creation of sense” happens on the investigated side, with the complicity of the investigator, in the face of what is necessary to avoid the construction of idealized histories, without considering the contradictions existent in the life history of each individual (Bourdieu, 2005).

Ivor ^{Goodson (2008}), by his turn, in the theme of biographical studies and life histories of professionals, reflecting on curricular and educational policies, rises a relevant point that consists of recognizing the need to understand personal and biographical aspects before analyzing social and political ones; this perspective represents criticism on government’s actions that ignore personal objectives and practices of the main executors of curricular contents: docents (^{Moreira, 2008}, p.8). For him, a significant outcome would be the fact that the changes made would be meaningless and incongruous.

The importance of life histories and narratives would give extra support to the use of oral sources as historical sources, as the power of memory to update past experiences is complemented by the possibility of recognizing the teacher's awareness of his potential, since the interviews and their narratives do not allow only the knowledge of the other, but promote the collaboration between the interviewer and interviewee (^{Moreira, 2008}, p.10).

For the author, about the contributions of biographical studies in education, it is relevant to discuss personal missions and development. It would be correct the premise that nothing is going very well with schools, but it would be false to think that reforms and changes would probably help to better the situation. Like that, while mentioning the teacher's role as an essential part of the knowledge passage system, he stresses that the technical aspects of the docent professionalism are emphasized and not his professional biography, in other words, “the missions and personal involvement that sustain the sense that the teacher has on vocation and dedicated professionalism” (^{Goodson, 2008}, p. 108).

The history of disciplines and prescribed curriculums

Andre Chervel became a renowned author in the field research from his article History of school disciplines: reflections about a research field, published originally in 1988, in France, and 1990, in Brazil. At the beginning of his text, he emphasizes the interests that showed up in this field of research.

More recently, a trend arose within the docents in favor of a history of their own discipline. From the learning contents, precisely as they are given by the programs, the interest then evolved sensibly to a more global vision of the problem, with the association of the legislator orders or ministerial or hierarchical authorities to the concrete reality of education in the establishments, and, sometimes, even to the written production of students (^{Chervel, 1990}, p. 177).

This clarification leads to two fundamental conditions for this area of study, legislation, and the reality in which the students are inserted. Then, the author reflects on the concept of a school discipline, reference sciences, with special attention to pedagogy, teaching methodologies and object of study, considering three matters, genesis, function, and operation of school discipline.

At this point, Chervel highlights the differences between the disciplines of primary, secondary, and higher education. These possible methodological differences in research would imply a distinction between school and academy disciplines (^{Warde, 1998}; ^{Borges, 2013}). Concerning the academy discipline, Chervel considers that in higher education,

the master ignores the need for adapting to his audience the hard contents and of modifying these contents in reason of the audience differences: in this pedagogical relation, the content is an invariant. All teaching matters are involved in communication matters: they are, when much, of rhetorical order (^{Chervel, 1990}, p. 185).

When discussing the objectives of school education, Andre Chervel identifies, classifies, and organizes several purposes: religious, socio-political, cultural, and psychological order. However, while analyzing the Nineteenth century, he raises an issue about the prescribed content and pedagogical reality: "On which side are we putting the purposes? On the side of the law or concrete practices?" (Chervel, 1990, p. 189). Further, he concludes that the study of finalities cannot, then, in any manner, abstract real teachings. It must be conducted simultaneously over the two plans and use double documentation for the objectives fixed and for the pedagogical reality (Chervel, 1990, p. 191).

The issue concerning the discipline purpose appears many times along his work, including while recognizing that the discipline changes over time because its finality can change. So, he highlights, as the historian's first task, the search of knowledge of explicit contents of the disciplinary teaching, thecorpusof knowledge. The role of pedagogy also is reminded of the form of transmitting this content.

This interpretation of educational facts, and the role of pedagogy in education, oppose, as already seen, a long tradition based on a cut between instruction, from one side, considered as content, and pedagogy, from the other, which would be nothing but the form of transferring this content. It is notable that, in debates frequently agitated, party and opponents of the new pedagogic methods can understand each other on this point. This pressing reality of the docent practice does not allow this separation, only if it jeopardizes equally the existence of finalities (^{Chervel, 1990}, -. 205-206).

While analyzing the difference between what is prescribed and done, it is possible to see that the pedagogic-methodological resources used also influence the achievement of teaching purposes, which leads to the need for knowing the pedagogical practices realized in the progress of a discipline. The research sources that allow the knowledge of goals include teaching programs and plans, legislation, guidebooks, and must-read biography and pedagogic ideas of the studied period, while the pedagogical reality can be investigated in students' notebooks, tests applied, and testimony of the social actors involved.

Chervel also worked the issue of school subjects and, inevitably, has put into question the matter of hierarchization. According to him, the disciplines can have a condition of higher visibility and social recognition, presenting a huger schedule program, a docent of higher prestige, a more extensive curriculum, in detriment of other subjects. While analyzing the French language study, he stresses its essential role in primary and secondary education.

Here, the different teachings collaborate around the same purpose. One same discipline, in the strong sense of the term, was shared among most the totality of the “subjects”, or of what is currently designated “disciplines”, in the weak sense. These last, keep among them, a didactical solidarity whose value must be less neglected as much as these phenomena risk being unnoticed (^{Chervel, 1990}, p. 215).

From this issue, it is possible to think: What is the place of Psychology as an academic discipline in the Pedagogy course? Has its content suffered developments, or was it divided among other subjects?

Ivor ^{Goodson presents a series of chapters in the work entitled "Curriculum: theory and history" (2010}). In his book presentation, ^{Silva (2010}, p. 7) points out that the curriculum is in constant flow and transformation, and its historical analysis must seek to catch breaks and significant discontinuities. Consequently, the analysis of the constructions process of the curricular program shall not be understood as an innocent epistemological process, where the qualified scholars would be acting in a neutral form, without special interests, when establishing school contents to be offered in a discipline.

The process of elaboration of an academic curriculum is not usually logical, but social, where intellectual and epistemological factors coexist with little noble and formal social determinants. In this sense, it is possible to recognize a minor importance of socio-rational deliberations over knowledge in the curriculum, which leads the attention to "the chaotic and fragmentary character of forces that shape and determine it" (^{Silva, 2010}, p. 9). A critic of Tomaz Tadeu da Silva leads to the analysis of laws and regulations concerning informal and interactional processes.

It is also relevant that a curriculum history does not dwell upon the conscious and formal deliberations about what shall be taught in schools, such as laws and regulations, instructions, rules, and curricular guides, but to investigate the informal and interactional processes too, by which what is legislated is interpreted of different forms, and frequently subverted and transformed (^{Silva, 2010}, p. 09).

The study of curricular contents origin can evoke the importance of better knowing the nuances existent in the construction of a curricular program of an academic discipline and their developments in practice. While studying the history of curriculums, in search of elaborating a theory about the subject, ^{Goodson (2010}, p. 24-25) establishes a distinction between the pre-active definition of curriculum and the interactive realization of the curriculum.

This distinction leads to a fertile field of investigation that is concatenated into the field of school disciplines' history, in the connection question between the prescribed and done. Goodson's position seems to reinforce peculiar features of disciplines' history field, as the importance of elements that north the construction of menus and programs, such as legislation, for example.

From this example, it may be possible to learn how important it is to understand the past struggles around the definition of the pre-active curriculum. Under these circumstances, it is politically naive and conceptually inadequate to affirm that, "the important is the practice in the classroom" (just as it is ignorance to defend the exclusion of politics in education). What matters still, and much obviously, in this case, is to comprehend the parameters previous to the practice. What should be clear as well, however, is that it is not only the intellectual definitions that emanate from the written curriculum that have the strength (^{Goodson, 2010}, p. 21-22).

In this sense, although the author supports an appreciation of the prescribed reality on the practical as a fundamental aspect for the knowledge of the history of curriculum and discussion on the school or academic discipline, he understands the importance of not hanging just on this pre-active curriculum. At this moment, it would be appropriate questioning the possibility of inverting the relevance of these poles of discussion and starting to think about how much the reality of the classroom can surpass the curriculum merely planned according to the valid legislation and menus.

This inversion would consist of a form of also avoiding the risk of adopting theses of the complete dichotomy between written and dynamic curriculums. Such distinctions of Ivor Goodson regarding prescribed and dynamic curriculum lead to the same critical perspective of Andre Chervel while separating the objectives fixed and instructional reality.

Prescribed contents of Psychology of the Pedagogy Course of the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Uberlandia (1960-1970)

The significant changes that influenced the emergence of the Federal University of Uberlandia (UFU) had their origin at the end of the fifties, with the creation of graduation courses in isolated faculties, maintained by the Catholic Church and civil society. However, the regulation and formalization of the university occurred only on May 24 of 1978, through Law 6.532, which transformed the University of Uberlandia (UnU) into a federal university (Brasil, 1978). Many events were relevant to this evolution.

At the beginning of the 50ies, the city of Uberlandia, located in the Minas Triangle region, in the interior of Minas, 535 km far from Belo Horizonte, the capital of the State, already presented a significant growth rate and economic expansion. However, in the cultural field, development was necessary, since there were no courses of higher level: "Uberlandia needed a college" (O Repórter, 1952, mentioned in ^{Caetano; Dib, 1988}, p. XXI). The creation of graduation courses represented the possibility of cultural development for the city.

In a search to overcome the city's cultural and educational deficiencies at the final of the 50'ies and beginning of the 60'ies, when the city had around 80 thousand inhabitants, the first higher schools and colleges appeared². If the 60'ies were relevant in the world History, with significant political and cultural transformations, for the tensions provoked by the Cold War or for the change of the young people's behavior and their defiance, Uberlandia also experienced a period of cultural effervescence with the development of the Higher Education in the city³.

The context of the emergence of the first colleges involves a conflict between secularism and catholic religiosity. The talks of religionists with the Bishop about the creation of the diocese and foundation of the Sisters' School, which trained teachers, and the need for cultural development in the city, who flourished economically, were significant and relevant factors for the emergence of the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters of Uberlandia (FFCLU), offering, initially, the Pedagogy and Letters courses in 1960.

The first faculties and courses promoted a growing enthusiasm within those who had an interest in culture and education. Table 1 bellow presents faculties and courses that appeared in this period, and which, in the future, would origin, primarily, the University of Uberlandia (UnU) and, later, in 1978, the Federal University of Uberlandia.

It is possible to note that Pedagogy is one of the first courses of the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences, and Letters of Uberlandia, while Psychology would be authorized in the second half of the 70'ies.

If the psychological knowledge in Brazil always walked side by side with Education, in national terms the Pedagogy Course was created in 1939, while Psychology would be regulated only in 1962. In the case of UFU, the Pedagogy Course began in 1976, close to the process of federalization of the university.

December 19, 1959, marks the origin of the Pedagogy Course in Uberlandia (^{Lima, 2004}, p. 73). The authorization for its operation was done by Federal Decree 47.736 of February 02, 1960, culminating with the creation of the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences, and Letters of Uberlandia (FFCLU), which offered the Letter Course too and would offer other courses such as History, Mathematics, and Sciences until 1969 (^{Fernandes, 2003}).

It is essential to highlight that the incorporation of the Pedagogy course to the University of Uberlandia (UNU) occurred only in 1969. Since its inauguration until that period, the FFCLU courses were offered in the School Our Lady of Tears, under the care of the Missionaries of the Crucified Jesus Congregation. Only in 1978, with the federalization of the university and the emergence of the nomenclature Federal University of Uberlandia, the Pedagogy course would start to operate on the campuses of the own university.

Throughout the 60'ies, Psychology enlarged its participation in the curriculum, reaching the status of obligatory content during the extension of the Pedagogy course. In terms of subjects, the disciplines applied the concept and History of Psychology, methods, personality, affective and intellective life, Psychology of the child, Psychology in adolescence, behaviorist theory, tests and measures; and in the final of the last year, the genetic epistemology of Jean Piaget would show up.

Educational Psychology also was offered in other degree courses in the period, such as Letters and History. As the content of those disciplines were just for a year, it presented a good part of the subject topics in the Pedagogy course, but in a resumed form.

Menus and program contents were analyzed based on the formal records resulting from the course schedules of Psychology of Education. These programs allow knowing the initial proposal for the development of teaching practice, representing the prescribed content of the discipline but without ensuring the necessary correspondence with the pedagogical reality.

Data from the electronic files found in the Administration Direction and Academic Control (DIRAC) of UFU allow the access to menus and programs of the disciplines of the 60'ies. In the case of this research, the discipline programs analyzed are related to Psychology. These data were matched with the data of the FFCLU Commemorative Magazine of the First Decade (1970).

When comparing the contents recorded in the digitalized files provided by UFU with the program of the Course in Pedagogy presented by the FFCLU Commemorative Magazine of the First Decade (1970), it is possible to note that the content corresponds more to the one valid in the final of the 60'ies.

Within the more common themes are Definition, History, and object of the Scientific Psychology; Great theories; The methods of the Scientific Psychology; Tests and Measures; Psychology of the Child; Psychology of the Adolescence (physiological changes; puberty); Learning (nature, definition, laws, curves, transference, control); Maturation; Personality; Psychopathologies; Intelligence; Differential Psychology; Heredity and Environment; Temper and Character; Emotions; Social development. At the end of the 60'ies and beginning of 70'ies, specific topics linked to the behaviorist theory started to show up, such as Stimulus: discrimination and generalization; Responding or Classic Conditioning; Operating and Instrumental Conditioning.

Extention activities in Psychology in FFCLU between 1965 and 1970

During the cultural effervescence of Uberlandia in the 60'ies, new higher courses and colleges arouse. This new social reality followed the changes suffered in the American, European, and Brazilian contexts. The extension courses, also, much called the attention of students of the secondary and higher education of Uberlandia. In the case of Psychology, there were six courses related to this area and offered over the decade: Personality and Psychoanalysis (1965), Parapsychology (1965), Psychopathology (1966), Characterology (1966), Group Dynamics and Psychology of Human Relations (1967), Biopsychology (1969), and Psychopathology (1970). These courses were addressed to the faculty students, but also to teachers of the public schools' network. Some courses, as the Personality and Psychoanalysis, in 1965, and Psychology of Human Relations, in 1967, reached 363 and 469 students, respectively⁴.

Some extension courses counted with the teachers of the faculty, as Canon Durval Garcia, who taught the Characterology course, discussing themes related to the fundamentals of Character analysis, Psychophysical complex in the structure of character and Description of characters, which had the participation of 73 students. Other courses had teachers who came from other cities. In the case of Parapsychology, it is relevant to register that its teacher was Father Oscar Gonzalez Quevedo, who, in the following decades, became popular in the whole country, known just as Padre Quevedo, from his appearance in TV shows of high attendance. These extension courses revealed the spirit of enthusiasm with the knowledge, propitiated by the creation of these colleges, including Psychology as one of the areas of great interest.

The disciplines of Psychology in the FFCLU Pedagogy Course between 1968 and 1971

Concerning the disciplines themselves, they suffered influences from statement 251/62 of the Federal Council of Education (Brasil, 1963), as it is possible to perceive in their nomenclatures of the period. However, the Psychology of Education was predominant as the chief discipline of the area.

The program contents prescribed for the subjects of Psychology had themes associated with concept and History of Psychology, in the discipline of General Psychology in the first year of the Pedagogy course; child and adolescent Psychology (Psychology of Development) in the subject of Psychology of Education of the second year; Process of Learning (Psychology of Learning) in the subject Psychology of Education of the third year; definition of Personality (Psychology of Personality) in the subject of Psychology of Education in the fourth and last year.Table 2, below, presents this organization.

In an interview with the egress of the Pedagogy Course of 1970, it is possible to verify the perception she has on the discipline Psychology of Education of the finals 60'ies, once she studied Pedagogy in FFCLU between 1966 and 1970, and earlier the Teacher Training Course. In her testimony, she stressed the features of the teachers' formation in that period, where there were no such worries in doing a higher course at the end of the teacher’s training course. For her, at that time

there wasn’t this talk of going to the university, especially here, in Uberlandia. You finished the Teacher Training Course, you would be already engaged, and then you would marry. Plus, they talked that the teacher’s training course was a preparation for marriage. And my teacher training course was made in this sense. I did not have a teacher training course oriented to the academy. It should have been orientated to the training of teachers from primary grades, but there was no talk about it in the school (Interviewee, 2015).

In her statement, she mentioned that, in her case, she thought about being a teacher during the Teacher Training Course, but its direction was to prepare "young ladies" for the society. In 1966, she decided for a faculty, choosing the Course in Pedagogy⁵.

From the educational history furnished by the interviewee, it was possible to identify, with exactitude, the specific disciplines studied with their respective workloads, which included those related to Psychology. In this mode, it was possible to realize that there were two disciplines: General Psychology and Psychology of Education, with a workload of 120 h/c and 90 h/c, respectively. In the other three years, it was offered the discipline Psychology of Education, with 120 h/y each, on a total of 570 h/c of Psychology contents.

Concerning the contents taught, an occurrence was highlighted, possibly unique, but remarkable, experienced by the interviewee. She did not know how to identify the specific discipline, if within the scope of General Psychology or Educational Psychology⁶, however, the prescribed program contents found, allowed us to infer that this was a discipline nominated in addition to those, called Special Psychology, considering the themes presented, as shown in Table 3 below.

According to the interviewee, the teacher of this discipline was a local psychiatrist, who taught contents related to psychological disorders. The students had to visit a local sanatorium, and each one was responsible for observing a patient and presenting a diagnosis for the disorder at the end of the discipline.

I remember Psychology well. It was one of the experiences I remember most. Who taught psychology was a psychiatrist […]. And what did he teach? He didn't teach Educational Psychology but psychological disorders. He gave us a task, pointless for a Pedagogy course, for a first-year girl. We had to go to the sanatorium: he gave each one of us a “maniac”. We would go to the sanatorium and we would keep talking to this “maniac”. "Maniac" because it was a sanatorium, a person who had a dysfunction; and we would have at the end of the work to speak about the dysfunction, to find it out. Do you think this is possible? If for a psychologist, for a psychiatrist, a diagnosis is hard. Then, I spoke with the patient for many weeks; I went there once a week, I talked, and then I had to tell what she had; if she was schizophrenic; if she had… [...]. So, I didn't know if she had a manic-depressive psychosis; and I told it was schizophrenia or vice versa; I remember I made a mistake, but I remember that the mistake was between those two diagnoses (Interviewee, 2015).

In this case, it is clear the discipline direction toward studies that were related to Clinical Psychology, with no emphasis on specific knowledge more usual to Psychology in Education (Educational and School Psychology). She also mentioned a teacher from Goiania, in the State of Goias, who conducted interesting lectures on Psychology.

It was Psychology oriented to psychological discomforts. What I remember of this teacher is that he talked like that: that we kept accumulating small boxes, this was the example he used all the time, and these little boxes were... Which was the analogy he used? I can't remember. I remember the examples he used, like this one: you go out, and you can't remember if you left the light on, if you left the iron on, I guess it was in the sense of stress; he wanted to come to a situation of stress. And these boxes would be points added up to my stress. And he gave those lectures that were particularly good! We really liked the teacher's lectures (Interviewee, 2015).

In this sense, this content was the main memory of the knowledge that Psychology offered in the graduation, which had this discipline in all academic years. When questioned about the specific theories, the interviewee mentioned remembering Freud's contents for being evaluated at the end of the first year, as the psychological disturbs studied were addressed through the psychoanalytical theory. Regarding the behaviorist theory and Skinner's name, she remembered the concepts about conditioned reflex. She highlighted that she did not see any of Piaget, during the graduation course; however, we have seen it was in the contents programed. She remembered Piaget and Vygotsky only from the post-graduation programs she did.

- So, you don't remember studying Freud in the course.

- I remember studying Freud and psychological distresses.

- Psychopathologies?

- Psychopathologies. In the first year, I remember. In the other years... probably some more in Educational Psychology. But I don't remember; I can't even remember the Teacher Training course.

- Piaget, for example?

- No!

- You can't remember or do you think that you did not have any content on Piaget?

- No! There was no Piaget!

- Did you not study Piaget?

- I didn't.

- So, now I am going to mention a more difficult author, as he is more recent: Vygotsky?

- No. Nothing.

- As he is more from the 90ies...

- Educational Psychologists, not one.

- Now, Skinner, who was arriving at the time, Behaviorism...

- Maybe.

- Mouse, stimulus and response.

- Maybe... Perhaps Skinner. The conditioned response, maybe what you mentioned. But Piaget and Vygotsky I saw when I was already... Piaget, I saw when I began to teach, at the psychogenetic school, and we studied Piaget. And Vygotsky, at the faculty... By the way, not even in the faculty, in the post-graduation that I had this discipline Thought and Language, where we saw Vygotsky and Piaget. (...) No, there was no Piaget, neither Vygotsky. Piaget, I saw as a professional, and Vygotsky, I saw in my master's degree (Interviewee, 2015).

During the interview, some menus and program contents of that period were presented, which made to come to her mind some more specific subjects concerning psychological theories, like classic or respondent conditioning, and operant conditioning (behaviorism), besides the concepts of Id, Ego, and Superego (Psychanalysis).

Regarding the teachers' academic practices in the classroom, the interviewee's main memory led to the experience of that practical work in the sanatorium proposed by the psychiatrist, as well as the lectures of the other teacher in Psychology. She also stressed on a form of learning evaluation, since at the end of the activities in Psychology of the first year, Sister Ilar Garotti, teacher and director at the college at the time, applied a test of knowledge in Psychology. The students had access to a book about Freud and were assessed by an oral exam, where she went very well.

- Well, and the evaluation of the discipline? Mother Ilar told us to read a book, that small, from Freud. I don't remember the title. A Freud's little book.

- Did Freud write it himself, or was it about him?

- About Freud. And we had a test. A test about this book. And Ilar interviewed us. Not an interview, a test. She asked some questions about the book that she told us to read.

- But this exam…?

- Oral.

- And was the total grade concentrated on this test?

- The final grade was based on this test. The initial grades should have… The final grade was this test. I can't remember the book's name, but it was a black book, easy to read; this was when I first got in contact with Freud. I enjoyed a lot the book, and I remember that I went very well with the test: I had ten, and she told me I was very quick, "Gee, you have to take advantage of your intelligence, you are a very clever girl" (Interviewee, 2015).

As for the fulfillment of the prescribed menu and program contents, as part of the comprehension of the relationship between prescribed content and pedagogical reality, the interviewee mentioned that there were no menus at the time, or that, at least, students did not have any access to this information at the beginning of the classes of a specific discipline.

- Do you remember if teachers were loyal to the menu?

- We did not have access to the menu.

- No?

- No.

- The teacher would bring what was taught.

- Class by class. No, we did not have access to the menu. So, the Pedagogy Course, to compose the history, in its beginning, when I got into the course in 1966, was a continuation of the Teacher Training Course. Many teachers were the same (Interviewer, 2015).

When questioned about the relation with the other disciplines, the interviewee mentioned that there was no interdisciplinarity at that period. However, she reported about the importance of the arrival of new docents, new graduates coming from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), which represented a relevant change in the course in the final of the 60'ies. These new teachers, according to her, presented a more updated knowledge over contents and manifested behaviors considered modern for the time⁷.

Final considerations

It is possible to deduce from the period studied, the first decade of the FFCLU Pedagogy Course, within 1960 and 1970, that the formal plans of course, with menus, objective, and bibliography were not yet consolidated. Influenced by statement 251/62 (Brasil, 1963), Psychology nomenclatures appeared, General Psychology, Psychology of Education, Educational Psychology, and Special Psychology. Psychology remained as a foundation discipline in the four years of the Pedagogy course, reaching 570 hours/class, in a 2.800 hours course, representing one-fifth of the contents offered.

The prescribed content presented a general knowledge in Psychology, such as Science and History in General Psychology in the first year; contents of Development Psychology (child and adolescent) in Psychology of Education in the second year; Learning Psychology (with Behaviour Psychology content) in Psychology of Education at the third year; and Psychology of Personality (with the use of tests and measures, differential psychology and psychology of adjustment) in Psychology of Education at the fourth year. Besides the primary contents related to Education Psychology, the discipline named Special Psychology presented knowledge in Psychopathology.

While considering the contents taught, Freud and Skinner's theories were prominent. The humanistic approach of Carl Rogers did not yet shine in the disciplines of Psychology. And the studies of Vygotsky and Wallon were unknown by this period.

Concerning the pedagogical practices in the classroom, expositive classes with the predominant use of blackboard and chalk were significant. There were practical activities classes like, for example, the visits to the sanatorium, for the reason that the Psychology teacher had a medical education. It was not usual teachers presenting menus and even programs of their disciplines to their students; the effective means of training evaluation was through traditional tests, oral and written, shifted with some activities; concerning other subjects, interdisciplinarity did not exist. As the bibliography depended on the definition from the teacher of the discipline himself, it was not possible to establish general works for the period.

Through this research, it was possible to learn how central Psychology was in the training of the pedagogues of the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences, and Letters of Uberlandia in the first decade of the Pedagogy Course, even with the challenges regarding teachers’ qualification, which limited deepening in the specificities of the educational theme.