Archives and Education: the construction of educational memory

Abstract

School archives cause a profound concern regarding the safe-keeping and preservation of documents which are fundamental tools for the history of a school and for the construc‑ tion of educational memory. Their importance has come to be recognized and has led to considering their preservation, conditions of installations, the correct organization of the documents and access to the information therein. The school archives are a repository of sources of information directly related to the functioning of educational institutions, which confers upon them a growing importance in the new paths of research in educa‑ tion. This places these institutions in a centralised position as regards understanding ed‑ ucational phenomena and the socialisation processes of the younger generations. In this paper we intend to reflect about: the role of school archives in educational institutions; the documents, their nature and the potentials for research in education; school archives from an interdisciplinary perspective; the archives, school culture and the construction of educational memory.