This paper examines the operating conditions of the Regional Center for Educational Studies of Recife, especially from 1957 to 1964. The Center of Recife, as it became known, was directed by Gilberto Freyre. The analysis stresses a new dimension of Freyre’s performance: the coordination of sociological and educational research, the provision of teaching training courses and the management of an Experimental School. It shows that the Center of Recife was very active, favored by the affinities that existed between Gilberto Freyre and Anísio Teixeira and also by particular conditions of international politics, which provided funding for teaching training and applied researches.