The Compulsory Primary Education Act (1920) and Chilean national project

Summary

The purpose of this article is to present a view of the changes taken place in the creation of the imaginary of nation during the first half of the 20th century, taking as reference the Compulsory Primary Education Act, approved in 1920. This act was the result of a struggle led by “nationalist” who wanted to spread a vision of nation different type which spread liberal school, for by its inclusive spirit (“integrated nation”). The organization of the school system should be a reflection of this, for this reason the said act outlined a classroom without barriers of class, gender or ethnicity, “all Chileans” was his premise. Analyze this premise in the light of the “social issues” (“cuestión social”) is one of the central topics of this article.