Jean Itard and Victor of Aveyron: contemporary perspectives on the narrative of a teaching experience in the early 19th century

Abstract

This article arose from the challenge of the Special Education and Inclusion Study and Research Group – GEPE at the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), to write about the meeting between the physician Jean Itard, and the wild boy known as Victor do Aveyron. The preparation of this text takes the meticulous narratives written by Itard in France, from 1801 to 1806, as empirical materiality. The study aims to analyze this historical event from the present readings and understand the influence of epistemology and educational policies in Special Education practices. The study shows the changes between an individual education, guided by the education of the senses and current inclusion policies, and also makes an encouragement to reflect if the logic of “education for all” does not present the risk of denial of difference. The Analysis of the reports of Itard and Victor do Aveyron’ educational work contributes to the understanding of an era, and it also provokes reflection about the still present inquiries into the interference of biological and social aspects in human development. Despite the enthusiasms and disappointments explained by Itard in Victor’s education, his analyzed experience with contemporary epistemological frameworks contributes to the understanding of the necessary break with belief in biological determinism, emphasizing the importance of social interaction for learning and human development.