Female education at the Colégio da Imaculada Conceição in Fortaleza-CE (1865-1875)

Abstract

This research deals with the education of women in Ceará in the second half of the nineteenth century, developed in the first female school in the city of Fortaleza, capital of that state. The objective was to understand the instruction offered to girls from the economic elite of Ceará who studied at the Colégio da Imaculada Conceição in Fortaleza (1865-1875). Theoretically, it was based on cultural history and methodologically on oral history. For data collection, free interviews were carried out with two former students at the college and sources were crossed with other documents - journalistic news and books. The results showed that the Colégio Imaculada Conceição, as a pioneer institution in female education in Fortaleza, operated in the boarding school system and achieved the expected success, as it fostered training to prepare subservient and God-fearing girls to be good wives, mothers, and housewives. Although the French Vincentian sisters, who founded and ran the College, instituted care for orphan girls, the institution was a reference in the formation of the elite of Ceará, which could pay for different courses, such as French, piano, and guitar, while the orphans devoted more to manual work. It is concluded that the Marian educational model was carried out through surveillance, control, and strict discipline, which did not prevent transgressions. The teaching of the nuns was imbued by the traditional pedagogical current, leaving them with the primacy of the teaching action that emphasized religious formation in the Catholic faith and involvement with the work of charity.