Analysis Action to Protect Juvenile Delinquents in Portugal and the Written Work of Father António D’ Oliveira (1867-1923), On the Centenary of His Death

Abstract

This year we celebrate the Centenary of the death of Father António d' Oliveira (1867-1923), who was a pedagogue dedicated to the protection of children, mentor of the Child Protection Law of 1911, with which the Guardianship Law of Minors began in Portugal. The objectives of this historical-described and documentary research are inherent to the three established objectives, resulting from our hermeneutic approach to his written work: analyzing the texts hermeneutically and in terms of organizing their content; interpret some content ‘evidence’ from a (socio)pedagogical and social pedagogy perspective; analyze, based on father Oliveira's thinking, the protection and re-education of childhood, with reference to the Child Protection Law, of May 27, 1911, which initiated the guardianship rights of minors in Portugal until the end of the last century. In conclusive terms, we will summarize a set of ideas, which should be included in the History of Education and/or Social History of Portuguese Childhood, in this celebration and fair tribute to this social pedagogue.