The reception of programmed instruction as an approach to behavioral analysis in Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s

Abstract

The article discusses the reception and circulation of programmed instruction at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais as an example of the appropriation of behavioral analysis in Brazil and sheds light on part of this appropriation in the 1960s and 1970s in the context of Brazil’s higher education reform and of US social and intellectual influence. Results indicate that the indigenization of programmed instruction involved its circulation as an educational resource that emphasized the student’s role and his autonomy from the teacher. Sources point to clashes that derived from preconceptions about both the teaching-learning process and US influence, key elements to understand the reception and circulation of programmed instruction in Brazil.