Public opinion and education during the transition to democracy in Argentina. First considerations and documentary guide sources

Authors

  • José Luis Hernández Huerta Universidad de Valladolid
  • Sara González Gómez Universitat de les Illes Balears

Keywords:

Education, Argentina, Transition to democracy, Daily press, La Prensa, La Nación, Clarín, History of mentalities.

Abstract

In the middle of 1982, after several years of military dictatorship, Argentina began the transition to democracy. This led, as well as the comeback to constitutional and parliamentary normality, to significant changes in all spheres of life. Education, regarded as one the key elements of this process in the medium and long term, played an active role in these changes. Thus, the process of democratisation, normalisation and modernisation of educational institutions started, ranging from elementary to university studies, including popular education and other means of training and attention were addressed to the most vulnerable and unprivileged population sectors. The study, which delves into the aforementioned issues, although from the perspective of the history of mentalities, is the result of a first phase of a broader research that aims to clarify the political, ideological and pedagogical views of public opinion with regard to education during the transition processes to democracy in Spain and Argentina. It also outlines the idea of education held by the average citizen, which was settled in the collective imaginations of these territories. This paper accurately defines and describes the documentary sources used (in this case editorials, opinion articles, fixed sections, interviews and articles on education published in Argentina in the most important national newspapers such as Clarín, La Nación and La Prensa, and during the period of transition. We also offer an approach to the profile of columnists and editorialists and an overview of issues relating to education on which daily press focused and that, somehow, centred public debate. The work is closed by which is perhaps the main contribution, a detailed account of documentary sources, still unexplored.

Key words: Education, Argentina, Transition to democracy, Daily press, La Prensa, La Nación, Clarín, History of mentalities.

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Author Biography

José Luis Hernández Huerta, Universidad de Valladolid





Issue

Section

Monographic theme