ABSTRACT
The growth of public schooling in Andean countries started in the twentieth century, constituting an arena for intense negotiation of social, political, and intellectual projects and included a wide array of actors (the liberal and conservative elites, the Catholic Church and other denominations, and, gradually, emerging middle class political forces). The contradictory nature of expectations raised by schooling defines struggles around the growth of the system and diverse educational policies, pursued by indigenous movements, peasants, and urban popular classes. Schooling offers cultural integration with a homogenizing ethos, citizenship, and social mobility in a cultural realm where few embrace meritocracy and where racism and patriarchy have long endured. While the educational system is an instrument for the expansion of the state, at the same time, classrooms have been a breeding ground for radicalism and transformative ideas.
