A Telescola... é uma imensa sala de aula, do tamanho da lusitana faixa atlântica! = The Telescola... is an immense classroom, one the size of the Lusitanian Atlantic territory!

Abstract

The Telescola, in its quality as pedagogical subsystem of the Portuguese Estado Novos (1926- 1974) policies, emerges as a technologically advanced medium with the potential to reach a multitude of individuals. This auspicious meeting of technology and students enabled the State to curtail illiteracy levels, as well as increase the years of compulsory education. To read the representatives of the Nations speeches concerning the legislative power allows us to perceive the regimes own current of thought at the time; however, the aforementioned discourses also shed some light on the discrepancies between Portugal and the World in that period. It also aids us in understanding arguments, the comparative data and the justifications for the investment in that field. It also enables us to comprehend the dynamics that the generation of engineers sought to instil into the regime, by favouring education as the central axis of development. The establishment of the Telescola and its existence beyond 1974 is further proof of the significance of its implementation.