The Esdras Award for Law Teaching aims to strengthen the teaching methodology of legal courses that considers the  student’s role as the basis of the entire learning process, by identifying similar experiences in other Brazilian law teaching institutions. Therefore, FGV Sao Paulo Law School intends to create a virtuous circle in Brazilian legal education that places reflection on teaching practices inside and outside the classroom at the center of the discussion.

Through the Esdras Award, the school strengthens its role in increasing the quality of Brazilian legal education, by believing that it is  possible to reach a higher qualified stage by encouraging the adoption of innovative teaching methods. These are an alternative to the traditional expository class, and show that students are the main agents of their learning.   

The specific objectives of the Esdras Award are:

I. Encourage professors from institutions across the country to experiment, publish, and discuss concrete practices of participatory legal education;

II. Give visibility to participatory legal teaching practices, facilitating their dissemination through digital means;

III. Contribute to the improvement of legal education in the country by disseminating good teaching practices.

IV. Foster innovation in legal education, including creative participatory methodologies, use of new technologies, and defining teaching objectives relevant to the social context.

Professor Esdras Borges Costa, born on July 18, 1929, was a great exponent of Social Sciences in Brazil, and an important figure in the process of consolidating the participatory teaching methodology at FGV Sao Paulo Law School.

Graduate in Political and Social Sciences from the School of Sociology and Politics of São Paulo, with a post-graduate degree in Sociology from University of Berkeley (USA), Esdras Borges Costa taught at the School of Sociology and Politics of São Paulo and at the School of Business Administration of Fundação Getulio Vargas, among other institutions. He was a founding partner of the Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP).

Professor Esdras worked intensely as an advisor for teaching methodology during the creation process of FGV Sao Paulo Law School, participating in the organization of workshops on teaching methods, guiding the preparation of teaching materials, and monitoring professors, among many other activities.

The professor’s name on the award is a fair tribute to whom contributed so much for the emergence of a project based on participatory legal education that consolidated, and spread vigorously throughout the country.