Summary

Education can be viewed as a process of social interaction between two cultures within the same society: the adult culture and the child behavioural pattern. The anthropological knowledge of children’s ideas and the concepts they use, invent and define is central to the understanding of processes related to cultural and social reproduction. The anthropological understanding of education is also central to an informed discussion of educational topics, such as multiculturalism, literacy, and the asymmetrical distribution of cultural capital, which are central issues in contemporary societies. The projects developed within this area of research will address different contexts of the educational process, ranging from family and community, to social interaction among children, and, finally, to more formal institutions, such as schools, educational departments, professional training courses of school teachers, and specific branches of knowledge involved in the educational process. Although it is focused mainly in the Portuguese context, the research developed will also encourage cross-cultural studies conducted in other, non-Portuguese contexts, namely Brazil, Chile, Guinea-Bissau and Spain. To achieve these goals, a strong collaboration with ISCTE MA Course on Anthropology of Education will be established, allowing for a substantial involvement of post-graduate students with on going researches.