Opening Words

The pedagogical press played an important role in promoting knowledge that contributed to the maintenance and/or appropriation of new teaching practices, as well as the transformation of school culture. As an object and source of study for researchers, and also an artifact of a material school culture, the newspapers, magazines, and bulletins that circulated among school administrators, teachers, students, and families promoted the dissemination of representations aimed at constructing meaning about pedagogical practices.

From this perspective, we turn our attention to three publications originating from official educational institutions in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with a specific focus on publications circulated between 1947 and 1954. Our objective in this study² is to problematize the representations propagated and the possible meanings constructed around the guidelines and practices advocated by these educational institutions.

Thus, we propose to analyze the representations propagated by the publications Revista do Ensino do RS, Boletim do CPOE/RS, and the newspaper Despertar (from Caxias do Sul), aiming to understand the possible dialogues established with the prescriptions and guidelines of the organizations that produced these media. The aim, therefore, was to understand how these materials contributed to the transformation of pedagogical practices and schooling processes in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, particularly in the Caxias do Sul region. As a timeframe, we adopted the period from 1947 to 1954, corresponding to the years of circulation of the newspaper Despertar in schools in rural Caxias do Sul.

The study is guided by the perspective of Cultural History, also establishing interlocutions with the History of Education. This articulation is supported by concepts such as representation, practice, and school material culture, with the aim of recognizing similarities and/or similarities among the content published in the three different media analyzed. To this end, we adopted a methodological approach based on historical documentary analysis, considering copies of three periodicals located and produced within the research timeframe: 53 issues of the newspaper Despertar; 4 issues of the Boletim CPOE/RS³ ; and 16 issues of the Revista do Ensino.

The pedagogical press served as a connecting element between an already constructed reality and another in the process of being constructed, allowing the elaboration of meaning based on a set of codes accepted and validated within specific groups. Thus, it acted in the propagation of signs that strengthened a given social identity, as expressed by ^{Chartier (1991}, p. 169) when discussing "[...] the signs that aim to recognize a social identity, to symbolically signify a status, an order, a power; in short, the institutionalized forms through which 'representatives' [...] 'get present' the coherence of a given community [...]."

This type of material provides relevant evidence about practices, their relationships with official instructions, ideologies, demands, and other aspects that can be analyzed based on their records. Furthermore, it allows for multiple readings of the uses given to these printed materials (^{Bastos, 2005}, p.23). Studying them allows us to investigate dimensions of schooling, observing not only the school's operating methods but also aspects that emerge from political strategies for directing and standardizing teaching, as well as understanding elements linked to pedagogical practices and teacher professionalization (^{Catani, 1996}).

We also understand that the conception of these printed materials included representations that reached readers through a discourse and narrative aimed at a specific use and appropriation. Thus, the printed materials sought to influence the pedagogical practices produced in daily school life (^{Chartier, 1991}).

In this sense, we sought to characterize the context in which these materials were produced, aiming to understand the relations and expectations of the proponents and organizers of these resources. We also presented some elements of the historical-political context of the educational landscape in Rio Grande do Sul, especially in the Serra region, which would contribute to understanding the transformations driven by new pedagogical ideas.

Regarding publications, we highlight:

Regarding the context surrounding the production of these publications, we emphasize that, between the 1930s and 1950s, Brazilian education underwent various periods of administrative and pedagogical change, significantly in response to the demands of a society modernizing, driven by industrialization. According to ^{Souza (2009)}, it was in the late 1930s that educational reforms were implemented in various states, motivated by the New School movement in Brazil, which advocated for the renewal of teaching methods and the construction of a school that fulfilled a social role. Furthermore, new school equipment was appropriated, contributing to this modernization project.

However, these political articulations for the transformation of the educational field occurred, particularly during Getúlio Vargas' presidency, and were significantly associated with the idea of building a national identity based on the valorization of the homeland, the exaltation of work, and a civic-patriotic spirit, as ^{Bomeny (1999)} pointed out.

^{Quadros, Tambara, and Bastos (2007)} understand that the reconfiguration of education in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, with the consequent restructuring of the social function of schools, was associated with nationalization policies, particularly through the expansion of the public school system. This expansion focused on the construction of a new social order, in which schools would contribute, together with the state, to the formation of a "national consciousness." Furthermore, the ideas of this movement gained greater traction in the 1940s, when interventions aimed at the so-called "pedagogical renewal" of schools were promoted (^{Peres, 2016}). These actions took the form of state decrees, the establishment of school groups, the organization of programs for primary schools, and the creation of educational guidance agencies, such as the Centro de Pesquisas e Orientação Educacionais (CPOE).

The creation of the CPOE was a movement that resonated with nationalist agendas, fostering resonance in the planning of theoretical, technical, and administrative guidelines, in addition to contributing to the reorganization of the Department of Education (^{Quadros, 2006}, p. 99). ^{Quadros, Tambara and Bastos (2007)} explain that this articulation for the reform of the education system in Rio Grande do Sul occurred, particularly, during the term of Secretary José Pereira Coelho de Souza, being decisive for the expansion of the State's intervention in educational jurisprudence, for the restructuring of technical and administrative staff of SESP/RS institutions and the proposal and implementation of educational policies.

Among the milestones of this transformation of Rio Grande do Sul education system is the creation of the CPOE in 1943, this body played a decisive role in the management of primary education, working to improve teaching, standardize pedagogical practices, oversee primary education, promote technical and scientific research, and formulate educational projects. It played an important role in the management and direction of Rio Grande do Sul education system, in addition to contributing to the dissemination of the ideals of the New School, with the support of education specialists and technicians. Among the agendas addressed by the body were those focused on training the teaching staff and developing skills that met the demands of a modernizing society (^{Quadros, 2006}).

In order to address these issues and reach the Rio Grande do Sul teaching profession, the CPOE listed a series of actions and artifacts that helped disseminate guidelines, guidance, and new knowledge-among them, the CPOE Bulletin stands out. ^{Catani (1996)} explains that pedagogical publications served as conduct manuals for teachers and students. In this context, the content conveyed by the bulletin aligned with prevailing concepts at the time, addressing topics such as civics, morals, teaching practices, curricular guidelines, and studies on naturalistic issues-such as tree worship, nature worship, and agricultural activities. ^{Peres (2016)} also argues that pedagogical press media aimed to foster a sense of nationality and cooperation by providing guidance about habits and attitudes to be adopted in social settings.

Another pedagogical publication that was also editorially coordinated by the agency responsible for education in Rio Grande do Sul, and which preceded the Boletim CPOE in its circulation, was the Revista do Ensino, which played a significant role in transforming pedagogical practices and standardizing primary education in the state. This periodical's purpose was to be "[...] a technical-pedagogical instrument for the ongoing updating of in-service teachers and students in regular schools, through the dissemination of pedagogical experiences in primary and pre-primary education [...]" (^{Bastos, 2013}, p. 1).

According to ^{Gervasio (2019)}, when the Revista do Ensino became a publication supervised by the CPOE/RS, the agency provided technical guidance for the publication and exercised greater control over the content published, particularly through the contributions of its technicians. The publication also assumed a public character, ceasing to be a private initiative. Until 1965, the journal operated as an initiative of Professor Maria de Lourdes Gastal⁵, supported by a specialized team that produced guidelines aligned with teachers' interests and of an eminently practical nature.

The Revista do Ensino provided a space for various experts in the field of education to present their concepts and propose reflections at both the national and state levels. Furthermore, it served as a means of disseminating educational policies, regulations, principles, and guidelines focused on practices recognized at the time as innovative (^{Bastos, 2005}). With its focus on teachers, the magazine can be considered one of the central tools in formulating and disseminating discourse on education in the state, being widely adopted and, in this study, particularly relevant in the context of the city of Caxias do Sul. This is confirmed by an article in the newspaper Despertar, dated March 1953: "By order of the Municipal Mayor, the Public Instruction Board has just subscribed to the 'Revista do Ensino', published by Editora Globo, in the capital, for all school libraries maintained by the City Hall."

The Revista do Ensino was, therefore, a means used by the City Hall of Caxias do Sul to update its teaching staff, providing access to new and modern knowledge in the educational field. However, in addition to this printed publication, another pedagogical press medium was also mobilized by the public education agency in the Caxias do Sul school context: the newspaper Despertar - the third of the printed publications used as sources for this study.

In this sense, we briefly orient the reader to the city of Caxias do Sul, presenting some contextual aspects that contribute to understanding. Located in the northeastern region of Rio Grande do Sul - in the so-called Serra Gaúcha region - Caxias do Sul was one of the southern regions of the country that, in the late 19th century, received a large number of European immigrants. It thus became an important center of Italian colonization in the state. This colonization imprinted distinctive cultural traits on the local identity and exerted a significant influence on the municipality's economy, especially in the agricultural, commercial, and industrial sectors (^{Herédia, 2017}).

During this same period, the municipality played a significant role in supporting the Vargas government during the Estado Novo policy, especially on the part of local businesses (^{Paz, 2013}). Caxias do Sul also attracted attention from the state and federal governments within the nationalist endeavor, due to the significant number of Italian immigrants who settled in the region. This raised concerns about the development of practices that maintained their original culture while strengthening this population's ties to the motherland. Therefore, among the actions implemented, the inspection and closure of associations and educational institutions, particularly ethnic-community schools, stand out as a way to control the use of foreign languages and limit fascist influences (^{Gertz, 2005}).

Regarding public education, the municipality of Caxias do Sul developed a policy aligned with the movement to reconfigure the educational landscape in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Investments focused on expanding education offerings, both in urban areas and, significantly, in rural areas, where the City Hall worked to train teachers, promote school nucleation, and maintain the institutions' infrastructure (^{Benedete Netto, 2014}).

Between the 1940s and 1950s, during the administration of Mayor Dante Marcucci, the Caxias do Sul municipal administration promoted better educational organization. Schools began to be closely monitored by inspections, and there was a significant expansion in the offering of courses aimed at training primary school teachers. Notable teacher training institutions include the private Escola das Irmãs de São José (^{Roso, 2012}); the Escola Normal Duque de Caxias, geared toward training young people from disadvantaged backgrounds; and the Escola Normal Rural “Murialdo”, which, as a boarding school, trained male teachers for rural areas, in partnership with the Rio Grande do Sul state government (^{Werle; Brito, 2006}).

In the field of public education, during the research period, municipal education management was under the responsibility of Professor Ester Troian Benvenutti, then Director of Municipal Public Education. She was also one of the founders of the newspaper Despertar, a publication whose circulation was limited to the Caxias do Sul region, especially in rural areas. The newspaper emerged as a collaborative means of disseminating information related to pedagogical practices, also functioning as an educational resource for the rural population. Its guidelines aimed to provide instruction about work, promote health and hygiene behaviors, and foster values of civility (^{Dewes, 2019}).

From this perspective, we understand that the Despertar newspaper served as a means of connecting rural residents with the new reality emerging with the advance of modernization. Thus, the prescriptions linked to the renewal of pedagogical practices also served the purpose of establishing a school capable of training individuals suited to this new era. Furthermore, it contributed to the construction of a Brazilian national identity among a population significantly composed of immigrants and their descendants. Among the objectives of Despertar, expressed in a report signed by then-mayor Demétrio Niederauer and sent to the governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the following excerpt stands out: "the municipal school newspaper, intended not only for pedagogical purposes, but also for the dissemination of practical and useful teachings to the settlers, an initiative that was enthusiastically received by the rural population" (^{Caxias do Sul, 1948}).

Thus, we consider that the newspaper Despertar, the Revista do Ensino, and the Boletim do CPOE were three pedagogical publications that circulated during a period of significant transformations in education, emerging not only as means of disseminating new ideas about schooling but also as symbolic representations of a new era for education in Rio Grande do Sul. These materials are integral to history and help shape new and/or different understandings by preserving evidence of the cultural practices expressed in their texts and iconography, the possible intentions of their producers, and the dialogues enabled between the new reality presented and the daily lives of their readers. Thus, in the next section, we compare the three publications, analyzing some of the propagated representations and prescriptions related to the field of education that permeated the period investigated in this research.

Printed materials and new practices: ways to raise teacher awareness

Regarding pedagogical practices, we analyzed content that addressed new teaching methodologies that enabled the creation of learning experiences, as well as proposals for new materials and encouraging the use of auxiliary institutions, spaces, or activities - themes that touched on proposals for renewal in the field of education at the time. Thus, intuitive teaching, which has international influence, is evident in the Revista do Ensino:

The excerpt from the printed section, signed by Suely Aveline, CPOE assistant, is based on the text by Henrique Rioja, which reinforces the adoption of the intuitive method from the perspective of teaching experiences. This idea was also explored in the text by Professor Orlando Ferreira de Melo, from the Escola Normal Pedro II in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, in the March 1953 edition of the Revista do Ensino: "[...] since this is a matter of great interest in the primary curriculum, we draw the attention of all teachers to this issue and to the observations we will make, the result of everyday experience." (^{Melo, 1953a}, p. 13). The newspaper Despertar reproduced a text by Professor Maria Josefina Moreira Sampaio, a contributor to the Revista do Ensino, which references the intuitive method, guiding teachers to consider and respect children's inherent characteristics to contribute to their physical, moral, and intellectual development (^{Sampaio, 1954a}).

The evidence also indicates that the texts from the Revista do Ensino resonated with teachers in this region through reproductions made in the newspaper Despertar. The cover of the 1939 Revista do Ensino, which features the title of the text reproduced in the Despertar newspaper of 1954, contributes to this reflection (Figure 1)

Source: Revista do Ensino (1939a); Despertar (1954a).

Figure 1 Maria Josefina Sampaio's contribution to the Revista do Ensino and Despertar 

Similarly, the Boletim CPOE/RS also offered suggestions for pedagogical activities and guidelines to raise teachers' awareness of the new methods, focusing on student interests and activities that facilitated knowledge-building experiences. These proposals were defended by the New School movement, as evidenced in the 1954/1955 edition of the Boletim, which recommends activities that contribute to student development, such as dramatizations, the use of projections of prints and photographs, exhibitions, and excursions that "enrich experiences, invigorate and delight children, socializing them, and developing their observation and language skills" (Normas a ser..., ^1954/1955, p. 16).

The use of activities to promote learning was also addressed by Despertar in its November 1952 issue, in a text by Celestina Rosa e Silva, who suggests field trips: "Conducting the field trip. During the trip, the teacher will draw students' attention to this or that particularity, helping them find solutions to any problems that arise." (^{Silva, 1952}, p. 2). Likewise, the activity suggestion made it into the pages of Revista do Ensino:

because of the evident need for leaving the school environment, through field trips, students develop good manners, respect for public property, and respect for the property of others. Field trips also foster students' artistic sense through the opportunities they offer to appreciate nature or the artistic creations of the human spirit. Finally, field trips provide teachers with an opportunity to better understand their own students, who, in natural situations, express themselves more spontaneously, revealing attitudes that would be difficult to appreciate in class (Aconselha-se..., ^1952b, p. 13).

The similar content, disseminated in printed materials with distinct productions, corroborates the idea that discourses about the renewal of practices were assimilated in the different public education spheres and were propagated to raise awareness of new models and the adoption of new thinking about education among the RS teaching staff, helping to legitimize the discourses emerging from the groups that idealized and planned education in the state, and that managed education. At the same time, they also served to strengthen other identities, as they conferred relevance and shared the idea of co-responsibility, such as with the state and municipal teaching staff.

In terms of content creation, we highlight the dialogues held with the ideals of national thinkers and international influences, which referenced the renewal of pedagogical practices, contributing to giving "weight" to the disseminated propositions. Such as, for example, the strategy used in a text from the Revista do Ensino, from October 1953, in the section entitled Learning, by Maria Lobato Lisbôa, Primary Education Advisor at the CPOE, which addresses concepts of learning and uses national and international references, citing the materials used for writing in the bibliography. The way in which the supporting material is highlighted demonstrates the relevance given to the content that was organized and reinforces the proposal for a construction of meaning based on a discourse established to stimulate the apprehension of these texts in the school space, from the perspective that texts "[...] in possibly different printed forms - can be learned, manipulated, understood in different ways [...]" (^{Chartier, 1991}, p. 181).

Regarding the ideals that were developed regarding the role of schools in society, a frequent theme in New School discourses, the August 1954 issue of the Revista do Ensino featured a text by psychiatrist Dr. Alberto A. Lobmann, which discusses a public school model focused on social function (Figure 2):

Source: Revista do Ensino, august, p.71(^1954d)

Figure 2 Excerpt from the text "The Social Function of Public Schools" 

Based on aspects such as materiality, practices, hygiene, and conduct, it advocates a proposal for a school with a social function, as a space for preparing for life, echoing the New School proposal. In this sense, the school would be a space of civility and docility. More than new teaching methods, this articulation between "everyday school life" and "everyday social life" aimed to adapt these subjects to a certain standard of conduct, which touched on issues encompassed by the theme of civility. Thus, school and teachers became agents of a civilizing movement, in the acquisition of knowledge that would imply the transformation of these subjects-contents that also emerge in Despertar: "Children with good habits are always appreciated and cherished [...] Notable among these are those of order, discipline, obedience, cleanliness, and composure [...]" (Bons Hábitos, ^1951b, p. 6). Or, as in: "Education must be: natural, progressive, simultaneous, and moral [...] Morality: consists of instilling principles that combat vice, without offending the child's temperament" (Caracteres de..., ^1954b, p. 2).

The May 1954 issue of the Revista do Ensino also contains content that reinforces the aspect of civility: "Therefore, from sensitivity arises actions worthy of civility, so pleasing to others because they make the social environment more inviting, give life the charm and refinement of attitudes, the excellence of aesthetic beauty that only morality can instill" (Revista do Ensino, ^1954c, p. 43). In this context, according to ^{Pesavento (2006)}, these themes worked on collective representations and an imaginary to be socially produced and legitimized:

The world, as we see it, appropriate it, and transform it, is always a qualified world, socially constructed by thought. This is our "true" world, the world for which we live, fight, and die. The imaginary exists in function of the reality that produces it and the social reality that legitimizes it; it exists to confirm, deny, transfigure, or surpass reality. The imaginary is composed of representations of the lived world, of the visible and experienced, but also of the dreams, desires, and fears of each era, of the intangible and invisible, but which comes to exist and have the force of reality for those who experience it (^{Pesavento, 2006}, p. 50).

The teacher would have the support of these printed materials, which offered guidance about the topics to be addressed and suggested practices that could contribute as educational supports, with a view to stimulating the apprehension of certain civilizing standards among the subjects in training. These materials complemented and strengthened the content covered in the School Programs, classroom activities, commemorative dates, and the use of supplementary school institutions, contributing to the moral and behavioral development that created the representation of the "ideal Brazilian citizen," as recorded in the 1950/1951 edition of the Boletim CPOE/RS: "It is the school's responsibility to carefully select situations, preventing bad examples, vices, lax customs, and false morals from being appreciated by these individuals in development [...]" (Educação..., p. 74).

Although they do not address these issues directly, analysis of the texts allows us to understand that they were linked to new pedagogical proposals and issues of interest to the State, which aimed to shape individuals for behaviors that would contribute to a given social order. These representations of school and expected student behavior, which were disseminated through educational materials, constituted a school and social order that influenced school culture and the transformation of practices.

Likewise, the Boletim CPOE 1950/1951 presents evidence regarding the relation between pedagogical practices and student behavior:

As resources for a preventive campaign, we recommend: [...] the importance of religion as a factor in moral formation, respecting and valuing students' religious feelings and practices [...] the use of means to disseminate facts and ideas that can have a beneficial influence on students [...] creation and renovation of school or classroom libraries; holding auditorium sessions (dramatization) [...]; dissemination of good newspapers and magazines; screenings of educational films [...] conducting school campaigns that encourage the practice of attitudes that reveal moral improvement [...] Good Manners Campaign. Good Companion Day. Children's Day [...] Mother's Day and Teacher's Day [...]" (Educação..., p. 74-75).

Pedagogical practices were proposed to prevent behaviors considered undesirable, a way of disciplining and docile students; not only the school space monitors and disciplines, as ^{Foucault (2014)} tells us, but also the curricular structures, teaching programs, and pedagogical activities. Pedagogical materials Educational publications gave teachers access to guidelines that allow us to reflect about what ^{Chartier (1991}, p. 186-187) says: "[...] the transformation of the forms through which a text is proposed authorizes unprecedented receptions, thus creating new audiences and new uses." In addition to being a tool for guidance and improvement, educational publications also served as state control devices over public education.

The Revista do Ensino, from May 1954, discusses civility in texts, such as the one in the excerpt: "Therefore, from sensitivity arise actions worthy of Civility, so grateful to others because they make the social environment more inviting, give life the charm and refinement of attitudes, the excellence of aesthetic beauty that only morality can instill" (Revista do Ensino, ^1954c, p. 43). This contributes to the idea that, despite the publications being produced by different individuals and distinct bodies, expectations regarding the use of periodicals were similar, possibly because the organizers/producers agreed on the pedagogical ideas circulating at the time; and also because of a certain reconciliation of the interests of public education institutions.

The civility was also a theme noted in the Boletim CPOE 1950/1951, referring to the appropriateness of certain behaviors for social interaction:

It is the school's responsibility to carefully select situations, preventing bad example, vice, laxity of customs, and false morals from being appreciated by these individuals in development. Concomitant with preventive action, the school must apply repressive measures to aspects or situations unfavorable to moral development. As resources for a preventive campaign, we recommend: [...] the importance of religion as a factor in moral development, respecting and valuing students' religious feelings and practices [...] the use of means to disseminate facts and ideas that can have a beneficial influence on students [...] (Educação, p. 74-75).

Another aspect analyzed in the three publications relates to the prescriptions for the adoption of certain practices or support devices in schooling, as briefly mentioned above, which emerges in the Boletim CPOE/RS: "[...] dissemination of good newspapers and magazines; screenings of educational films [...] conducting school campaigns that encourage the practice of attitudes that reveal moral improvement [...] Good manners campaign. [...]" (Educação, ^1950-1951, p. 74-75).

There are coincidences among the ideas disseminated by the press and the actions publicized as achievements of educational institutions, such as, for example, those that emerge in the newspaper Despertar, in the indication of the City Hall's investment in film screenings: "During the last month, the traveling cinema of municipal schools visited the following locations: S. Pedro da III légua, Sala da Biblioteca Pública Municipal, São Caetano [...]" (Projeções..., ¹⁹⁵¹, p. 15). And, in the Boletim CPOE of 1947, in the statement that instructs the State's teachers to carry out a series of activities during Children's Week, among them, musical auditions, excursions, auditorium sessions and cinema.

We also highlight another topic addressed in different editions of the three publications: rural education, with recommendations for specific, targeted work by teachers in rural schools, as was the case in the 1952/1953 edition of the Boletim CPOE, which outlined the program adopted and the practices to be developed:

SUGGESTIONS FOR DEVELOPING ACTIVITIES IN RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS.

Ruth Ivoty T. da Silva.

In developing these programs, we will consider that rural primary schools should be centers of cultural and professional development for the population of the area they serve, a guiding center par excellence for rural areas. To achieve this goal, the educator must consider the interests and aspirations of the rural population, understand them, recognize their difficulties, and suggest ways to solve them. This will represent the necessary adjustment of the program to the social environment, a fundamental condition for enjoying trust and influence and exerting a beneficial influence on the community (^{Silva, 1952/1953}, p. 9).

Concepts about the education of individuals living in rural areas were developed by various Brazilian intellectuals during the New School period, such as Sud Menucci, a pedagogue who presented a proposal for teaching in rural areas, highlighted by his work in the state of São Paulo. This proposal included ideas such as specific training for teachers working in rural areas; improvements in the quality of life of the inhabitants living in these areas; and the development of a curriculum that included topics of daily life and interest to rural communities (^{Souza-Chaloba, 2023}).

In this context, the concepts worked on by public education in the State were close to the ideas that and circulated in other national territories regarding education in rural areas. The spaces dedicated to this topic in educational publications demonstrate that this was a current concern in the state. Guidelines similar to those published in the Boletim were also published in the March 1954 issue of the Revista do Ensino:

The unique needs of rural education led to the adaptation of primary curricula in rural schools, integrating the pedagogical component with the knowledge most useful for agriculture, livestock, and domestic industry. This provided rural students with a practical and refreshing phase. The results of this are already evident in the significant changes in activities observed in the regions where rural schools are located and operate (Revista do Ensino, ^1954b, p. 54).

From a municipal perspective, the newspaper Despertar was used to reinforce aspects considered important for education in rural communities, while also creating a means of dialogue with students' families, as Despertar's purpose was to also circulate outside the school environment, with guidance that transcended academic instruction. The Despertar newspaper's focus on content geared toward rural schools is justified by the essence of the publication itself, which called itself "a body for the rural schools of Caxias do Sul" (^{Dewes, 2019}). For example, guidelines on the qualifications of rural teachers can be found in excerpts such as:

Good pedagogical techniques are not enough for those entrusted with educational responsibilities in rural areas. To be truly effective in their mission, rural teachers must understand the specific problems of the region in which they teach, encompassing agriculture, hygiene, economics, food, and small-scale domestic industries. Teaching proper nutrition, how to cultivate a vegetable garden, how to raise chickens and bees, how to defend against endemic diseases, and so many other essential concepts for life requires not only pedagogical content but also an equal dose of technical knowledge, which is equally necessary and of equal value in the professional qualification of a teacher. This is because a qualified rural teacher is one who has mastery over nature, health and production issues, and, ultimately, everything that concerns the region. Knowledge of the land is, therefore, a prerequisite for the teacher to contribute, as they should, to improving living conditions in the community, making it more pleasant from the perspectives of sociability, economics, aesthetics, health, and general culture (Professores rurais, ^1951a, p. 2).

Besides these themes, the publications presented similarities in their treatment of other content, which we consider to have been relevant to pedagogical practices and teacher education. However, for this study, we selected those that we believed presented significant similarities and relevance for the scope of the study and for its connection with the publication produced in Caxias do Sul.

Final Remarks

The analysis and comparison of the contents of the three pedagogical publications contributed to the understanding that the guidelines and directives circulated through these materials presented significant similarity. A certain compatibility was evident between the proposals in the state publication and the newspaper produced and coordinated by the municipal education administration. This corroborates the idea that the guidelines disseminated by the State Department of Education, intended for teaching staff, entered the city of Caxias do Sul through the circulation and dialogue of CPOE teachers/professionals with the Caxias municipal administration, but also through the presence of the publications sponsored by the State Department of Education in this region, possibly addressed to someone connected to the municipal education administration.

This idea is confirmed by the trajectory of the Director of Public Instruction, Ester Troian Benvenutti, during her tenure at the Caxias do Sul education authority. This included a career in state teaching, beginning with her passing a competitive exam in 1942 for the position of State Education Advisor in Caxias do Sul. During her career in education, the teacher also performed important work as a state representative on the Municipal School Council and in coordinating the decentralization of primary education in the state (^{Machado; Aguzzoli, 2005}).

This close relation between state and municipal education administration contributed to the understanding that there was a balance between the educational policies of both bodies, not only to meet the demands imposed by a given hierarchy, but also due to a shared belief in the ideas being developed and converging toward collaborative work. The fact that the systematization of the Despertar newspaper occurred after the state agency's printed publications began operating leads us to believe that the locally circulated periodical was an initiative inspired by other publications. This assumption is reinforced by the observation of texts reproduced from the Revista do Ensino in the Despertar newspaper.

Regarding the content highlighted for analysis, the guidelines under The pedagogical practices addressed themes addressed by the New School movement, with references to national and international texts and bibliographies, demonstrating that the discourses circulating in the state were consistent and up-to-date with developments in other regions of the country. The consulting services provided by Lourenço Filho for the reorganization of education in Rio Grande do Sul, during the administration of Secretary of Education José Pereira Coelho de Souza (^{Peres, 2016}), contribute to this reflection.

Regarding the content we considered, which emerged prominently in publications, such as content on civility, it was considered that the representations disseminated by the three publications addressed moral and behavioral conduct, signaling what was considered inappropriate and, in the case of conduct considered compatible with expectations, classifying it as a model for the constitution of the "ideal Brazilian citizen." These conceptions went beyond the educational dimension, delving into political issues developed by the Brazilian nationalist movement. In this region, in particular, they assumed a dual function: to civilize a representative portion of the population living in rural schools, isolated and therefore with behaviors far from desirable; and to equip these individuals, children of immigrants, with the qualities that identified the "good Brazilian citizen" and warded off foreign cultural influences that were detrimental to the strengthening of the ideals of the Brazilian nation.

The perception of how rural education was understood and treated is also evident, indicating a concern with adapting a modern pedagogical approach to the rural environment. The three publications contain a series of recommendations for teachers working in rural settings, indicating that skilled labor was necessary to offer a breath of progress amid isolation, progress grounded in the realities of rural communities. The prevailing view was that "a primary condition for the advancement of the masses of rural workers is that schools extend the benefits of education to them. Without this, it will be difficult for new generations to overcome the upward and upward thrust, as the leaders of national culture aspire" (^{Ochôa, 1939}, p. 19).

In this sense, the representation of rural subjects was associated with an image of backwardness, and education was the answer - a new perspective, but one that not only addressed schooling but also practically prepared these subjects for diligence in the work performed in those spaces, especially with the aim of maintaining this work and preventing the exodus to urban areas, particularly among the youngest. This fact is confirmed by the Despertar column that addressed the topic and by evidence such as the work carried out by the region's municipal manager during a meeting among municipal administrators to discuss this issue. Among the proposals, the reduction of land taxes and other charges, the introduction of new crops, and guidelines aimed at improving work, which should begin with education, were presented: "[...] the key becomes disseminating the guidelines for this remodeling, starting with children in primary schools, properly preparing their respective teachers, and even to the young men in the barracks, providing them with the appropriate knowledge and studies [...]" (^{Dal Bó, 1940}, p. 4).

Another consideration concerns the suggestions for the use of auxiliary school institutions, the installation of educational support spaces, and the inclusion of new materials to modernize practices, recommendations published in state newspapers, which also emerge from the local newspaper. It is noteworthy that the significant circulation of 53 editions of the newspaper Despertar demonstrates the interest of public education administration in new media and a certain successful appropriation of these materials, given the frequency with which it was produced. We also emphasize that the newspaper was a resource used for education in the context of rural schools, reinforcing the idea that this use was also motivated by the representation of the modern associated with this initiative, since this type of material circulated more commonly in urban areas. Thus, we believe it offered other/different images of a daily life that was not experienced by the inhabitants of rural areas, but that contributed to the dissemination of ideas about expected behaviors.

In this context, we understand that the publications were produced to support state teachers, but they also contained guidelines for the education of the population living around the schools, presenting the concepts developed by the New School movement that addressed this relation between school and the social environment, as a way to contribute to the advancement of Brazilian education. In this context, teachers which played a representative role, particularly in rural areas, relied on the pedagogical press as a support for preparation and a better approach to the community.

We also consider that the pedagogical press materials used as sources for this study, conceived as a tool to reinforce discourses and representations among the school's "characters," are vestiges of the school's material culture and engage with the different spheres of school culture. They possess aspects of standardization and regulation, possess pedagogical content, and their material dimension itself can be an element of research in the History of Education, as they allow access to the dimensions of school culture: political, scientific, and empirical (^{Escolano Benito, 2017}).

By seeking connections among the three publications circulating in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, we sought similarities and convergences among the content of these materials, which were produced by government-related agencies for the specialization of primary school teachers. We observed connections between the content of the Boletim CPOE, the Revista do Ensino, and the newspaper Despertar, which sought to strengthen methods and renew practices. The representation of school present in these three periodicals demonstrates an ideal of the school space as a place for individuals to develop civility and sensitivity, disciplining the body and shaping the character of students, in the sense of adapting to a new social reality.

We believe that the appropriation of these media by the agencies responsible for education in the state of Rio Grande do Sul not only fulfilled the function of modernizing schools, both through the circulation of content and through the representation of the modern associated with the materiality of printed matter intended for the educational field; but also contributed to the expectations of promoting a specific ideology linked to political forces that shared the new pedagogical ideals with the intention of strengthening the Brazilian nation through education.