ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the purpose, performance, and social function of education systems in four Latin American countries, attempting to identify the motors that impel them in directions that diverge widely from their stated purposes. This implies a discussion of the social function of the systems, that is to say, the part they play in societies having certain structural characteristics and passing through particular historical stages. The discussion is confined to systems of primary education, and the material is based on field studies and observations by the author in Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, and Bolivia at different times during the past twelve years, supported by the work of other writers. The disarray and ineffectiveness of primary education in Latin America are not accidental and are susceptible of sociological analysis. The weakness of primary education may be seen in terms of its institutional appropriation by a system that does not share its purposes.
