ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between politics and education in Chile between 1964 and 1980 - a relationship that may be partly revealed through an analysis of the aims and content of the educational policies pursued by three successive but distinctive administrations. The three administrations include The Administration of Eduardo Frei, Salvador Allende's Presidency and The Military Regime of General Augusto Pinochet. The relationship between politics and education in recent Chilean history has been a close one, as our general analysis has shown. Educational provision has changed as political power has been transferred from one set of hands to another. The violent seizure of power by the military in 1973 effectively ended various trends towards educational improvement characteristic of the preceding years, as well as destroying Chile's tradition of democracy. This is arguably a loss not only to Chile itself, but also to the rest of Latin America.
