Dona Antonieta and the meanings of a life as director of the São Roque High School: a Weberian perspective

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the social actions carried out by Antonieta de Araújo Cunha, who singled out for more than two decades the secondary education of the city of São Roque, SP, building and directing the referred São Roque High School. To understand these social actions, we used a qualitative research approach, which was based upon oral history method, focused on oral history thematic, with five semi-structured interviews with people who had closed relation and proximity with the referred director Antonieta, during the period in which she worked in the school administration. The theoretical framework adopted in this paper was upon Max Weber’s Comprehensive Sociology, whose essential understanding is about human conduct with meaning. In conclusion, the meanings related to social actions performed by director Antonieta were summarized in categories based on values of order, control, authority, obedience, and aesthetic and hygienic standards, still present in the community of São Roque social imaginary.