History of Education in Argentina

Laying the foundations

Sep 1, 1884

The first Law of Education was passed, laying the foundations of education. This law dictated public compulsory, free and secular education. The main objective of the law was to forge a national identity (massive migration) and to create an order within society which allowed progress. There was a necessity to homogenize the population.

Coup d'etat

Jun 4, 1943

Conservatives

Back to Democracy

May 27, 1946

J. D. Peron won the elections and assumed the presidency (Labour)

Changes to the Constitution

Nov 27, 1949

President Peron proposes a reform of the Constitution. These changes included a bill of social rights, better conditions for the working class and the right to education. The main points in the reform to education mentioned the familiy as the entity responsible for it, but also mentioned the state and the social institutions as facilitators in the duty of educating society.

Coup d'etat

Sep 16, 1955

Peron was overthrown

Back to Democracy

May 1, 1958

As a consequence of the political changes of the times (transition from dictatorship to democracy), changes in education were focused on the growth of the economy. The emphasis was on technology.

New Ideas in the 60's

Jan 1, 1960

New ideas based on Montessori's view of the child: children have their own logic at each stage of development, along with certain natural tendencies in behaviour and activities (individual differences). The focus of education moved from cognitive contents to pegagogic methods. Traditional pedagogy was overshadowed by these inspiring ideas of progressive development.

Coup d'etat

Mar 23, 1962

Back to Democracy

Oct 12, 1963

Coup d'etat

Jun 28, 1966

Reform in Education

Apr 1, 1968

This reform was based on the concept of "technocracy" (a government or social system that is controlled or influenced by experts in science or technology, instead of politicians or business people). The most relevant ideas of this reform included the training for meeting the demands of the market. However, this reform was considered elitist and it was not accepted by teachers. This reform lapsed two years later.

Back to democracy

May 25, 1973

Peron is elected president for the second time. He died two years later.

Coup d'etat (Human Rights Violations)

Mar 24, 1976

These were the darkest times in Argentine history. Education was strongly affected by the severe measures the military applied. These measures included:
-ideological control
-acceptance of the rules dictated by the goverment
-control over certain subjects such as Citizen education or History
-control over the bibliography.
Education was mainly based on social order and discipline.

I was born

Aug 11, 1983

I was born

Transition to democracy

Dec 10, 1983

After the military dictatorship, the government had to be reorganised and the departments of justice and education came under the same administration, having the former more priority due to the past events (violation of human rights, crime, corruption,etc).

End of entry examinations to secondary school

Jun 30, 1984

This event marked the beginning of a series of policies that made education more accessible for everyone. This examination meant a barrier for many students who , after primary school,decided not to continue their studies.

Aphabetisation Law

Sep 11, 1985

Its purpose was to erradicate illiteracy and to complete the education of those who were already included within the education system.

I started pre-school

Mar 1, 1989

Inclusion of MFL to the curriculum

Mar 5, 1989

Teaching at least one modern foreign language became compulsory in secondary school.

The 90's

Jan 1, 1990

During the 1990's, with the implementation of neoliberal policies, marked mainly by the privatization of state-controlled companies, the country suffered from a sound crisis in which society started a process of segmentation and the gap between classes became more significant. There was an increasing tendency for private education among the mid and higher classes. This way, the basic pillars of education (free and equal) could not be guaranteed.

I started primary school

Mar 2, 1990

My parents decided to send me to a private school.

Federal Law of Education

Jul 24, 1993

Before the creation of this law, the national government financed all state-controlled schools in the country. After the law was enforced, there was a process of decentralisation and each province had to finance their own schools; this led to a financial collapse in the poorer regions. This brought about two negative consequences: thousands of school desertions and social segmentation.
However, the purpose of this law was to produce deep changes in the education system.

I started secondary school

Mar 3, 1997

I attended the same private school.

I started university

Mar 4, 2002

I decided to continue my higher education in a private university.

National Law of Education

Apr 17, 2006

This new law included the following points:
*compulsory education between the ages of 5 and 17 (pre-school, primary and secondary)
*sex education (family planning, STIs, etc)
*health education (prevention of addictions, personal hygiene, etc)
*inclusion policies (diversity of cultures, religion, etc)
*coordination of policies of education, science and technology with policies of culture, health, work, sports and media.
*eight different kinds of education (three final years of secondary school).