Technical education and educational reform during the “Argentine Revolution” (1966-1973)

Abstract

Argentina, the developmentalist and authoritarian governments of the “Argentine Revolution”, which were in power during the 1966-1973 pe­riod, conceived of education as a profitable investment, something which could provide the human resources necessary for economic development, from different perspectives: spiritual, comprehensive, and pragmatic. In this work we examine the transformations, continuities and scope of those no­tions as expressed in the discourses and policies linked to technical educa­tion. We also describe the leading ideas advocated by governors and officials in relation to this modality of teaching along with the role these ideas played in the modernization process they we trying to promote. Specifically, we reconstruct the controversial link between the Education Reform started in the late 1960s and the National Council for Technical Education (Consejo Nacional de Educación Técnica - CONET), a government body pertaining to the technical national education subsystem. Finally, we focus on said Board, institutional changes, educational offer, and the restrictions affecting the technical education expansion at the secondary level, youth and adults training and the instructors’ formation. The methodological approach used is that of the Political and Institutional History and the sources are of dif­ferent origins: official, journalistic, and legislative.