Free, Religious Public Schools? Attendance of the Catholic Church at Argentina´s Pedagogical ConferencesAbstract
This study analyzes participation of the Catholic Church (hereinafter, the Church) at the 1984 National Pedagogical Conference (CPN) in Argentina, through a retrospective analysis of the International Pedagogical Congress (IPC) held in 1882. In the first section, we characterize the political context of the transition to democracy in 1983, the initiative to develop an NPC and the status of the Church during that period. The second section assesses Catholic participation in the NPC, its ideological position and principal educational policy slogans. To conclude, a comparison is made regarding the role of the Church at the ICC and the NPC as well as a reflection on its relevance today. It is noted that after 100 years secular positions from the institution had transcended beyond the ICC and the NPC and continue to be relevant today.
Keywords Church; Pedagogical Conference; Democracy; State; Teaching