Catholic Education, State and Civil Society in Argentina

The pastoral work of the Catholic Church in the field of education in Argentina has a long history which can be traced back to the colonization of the territory by the Spanish Crown. In the context of this long and rich tradition, we notice nowadays situations of qualitative and quantitative progress and regression according to the levels of the educational system, the relations between different types of educational institutions¹—of the State and of the civil society²—and the situation of the dioceses, the religious congregations, the Church movements, and so on, which are worth considering in this chapter. This heterogeneity, and its historical roots, has not yet been studied exhaustively by the research centers of the Catholic Church in Argentina. Thus, the analysis and perspectives which are nowadays shared by a number of main leaders of Catholic education are the results of partial reports, of observation, and of informal and sporadic studies, as well as of the exchange of experiences of educational leaders. As it will later be explained, there have not been any sustainable policies for the elaboration of systematic studies in the field. This restricts the picture of the situation and, as a logical consequence, the scope of this chapter.³