Peronism, secondary schooling and work (Argentina, 1944 - 1955): An approach through cultural hierarchies

One of the major changes introduced into the educational system by the first Peronist governments (1944-1955) was the organization of a course of technical education under state supervision. There has been a strong historiographical debate about the creation of the National Commission for Vocational Education and Orientation. Some have stressed that it was intended to keep the rising working class at a distance so that they could not enter the traditional network of humanistic secondary schools and university. On the contrary, the author will stress the need to understand the Peronist policies as regards technical education through the notion of cultural hierarchy, and as an attempt to modify the previous hierarchy.