The main aim of this paper is to discuss the inclusion process of poor children in elementary school based on the constitutional right of access to schooling to all Brazilian citizens, with emphasis on the Minas Gerais State. Through extensive documental (government reports, laws, assorted official correspondence, maps of population statistics, class attendance) and bibliographical (Norbert Elias, Georges Rudé, Bronislaw Geremek, Georges Duby, Maria Beatriz Nizza da Silva) research, it was possible to identify tensions and conflicts in the implementation of compulsory schooling as a result of material conditions and the cultural specificities of the population. Such conflicts were expressed in various ways and indicated a struggle among families, teachers and public authorities. The hypothesis developed is that the rather precarious establishment of public schools in Brazil, during the 19th century, was associated with the population precarious conditions of life, which interfered with the understanding of the feasibility of schooling for poor children and the quality of their social participation.
Schooling; Poor children; 19th Century
