Muscará, Francisco (2015).

Educational Policy: Epistemological status, definitions, and relationships

with other educational sciences . In: Argentine Educational System. History, Politics and
Education. Editorial of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, Mendoza

EDUCATIONAL POLICY: EPISTEMOLOGICAL STATUS, DEFINITIONS, AND

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES

Francisco Muscará (2013)

Introduction
Within the philosophical-pedagogical vision of man as an educable being and capable of a certain
level of personal competence, educational policy considers that man as a social being, capable of
achieving a certain degree of civic, political and economic training. Pedagogy provides the
philosophical-metaphysical bases and the informative and technical elements; Educational policy
carries out the organizations, facilities, situations and coexistence that ensure the desired
effectiveness: ensuring that all the inhabitants of a country who are to be educated come into contact
with those who are to educate them so that the students emerge from that relationship better
prepared. thanks to the teachings and guidance of educators.
In this document we intend to explain why we affirm that educational policy is a pedagogical discipline
that belongs to the broad field of educational sciences. We will review the historical construction of this
subject in our country and cite some of its main references. Finally, we will try to establish
relationships with other pedagogical subjects that deal with similar topics.

1. Nature and purposes of educational policy

The still scarce epistemological tradition of educational policy has conceived this discipline from a
predominantly descriptive-explanatory approach; Currently, the integration of an evaluative-normative
level is also proposed. That is to say, the scope of educational policy should be made up of a
pedagogical normative plane, a legal one and a critical one since legal norms, in general, are
conditioned by factors that go beyond the circumstances that lead to the issuance of a law. If you want
to understand a certain policy in depth, you cannot ignore those factors (economic, cultural, technical,
demographic...) that determine the moment in which a law is enacted.
Furthermore, an educational policy action must be judged, “evaluated”, based on its contribution to the
aspirations for improvement of society and its adaptation to the ethical and moral criteria that inform it.
The satisfaction or dissatisfaction of a political measure may, sometimes, not reside in compliance
with the legal norm but in its adaptation or not to a social ideal. It is likely that this is why the Federal
Education Law (1993) suffered deep wear and tear shortly after it was enacted.
In conclusion, educational policy must describe and explain political facts (what is or what has been),
but, to understand them, in addition to resorting to the many factors that condition all policies and
axiological and ideological assessments, it is necessary count on social aspirations and desires to
design new actions and to judge their results in light of social expectations.

If the political action carried out on education is aimed at satisfying social needs, educational policy is
oriented towards the achievement of something that does not yet exist, it is oriented towards the
future. Education must have the mission of transforming reality in the sense of an ideal.
Pedagogy acquires the commitment to design that future model, to think about that type of man
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according to which educational actions must be oriented. From the present, educational policy wants
to make new and better models of social coexistence possible for the future.
Due to its inexorable power to shape men and peoples, educational policy must take into account not
only possible change (reality of the present) but also the desirable tomorrow (construction of the
future), acting on both the major social, political and ideological approaches about everyday school
reality. This means: 1) addressing social needs in a double sense: the desirable future and the
possible future; 2) attend to the discourses of the great ideological guidelines (the duty to be) and the
realization of the institutional projects of the educational communities.
It has frequently been repeated that educational policy must take charge of resolving a paradox that
affects its purpose: preparing tomorrow's citizens today. It is a paradox because it is not easy to
design an education policy from today aimed at a still unknown tomorrow and at citizens whose future
skills we cannot know either. This lack of knowledge, far from immobilizing us, should encourage us to
project the changes that will become a reality in the future. It is clear that this prospective attitude does
not start from nothing but rather you must know what situation you are starting from and what goal you
want to reach.
It seems that from the analysis of the current situation and the diagnosis made about it, a
dissatisfaction arises that demands changes in society, which is why educational policy must
contribute to its transformation. Transforming the reality that does not excite us means preparing
leading and committed citizens; That is the objective of policies that have anticipation as one of their
essential values . Politics is not desirable as an instrument of acceptance of society, of the world, of
the “status quo”; Practice is necessary, a (political) action capable of transforming the world and
changing a society that we believe can be improved.1
Every policy involves anticipation in time, projection into the short and long term future in order to
change the existing situation. But... how to do it? How to guide social transformation? Wisdom and
effectiveness advise not ignoring reality, but this does not mean adopting a pragmatic attitude of letting
oneself be carried away and conditioned by reality or maintaining what exists. It has been said that
politics is the art of the possible , perhaps it is better to say that it is the art of making the desirable
possible. The issue is not easy because it affects both the ideological conception of life and the
political will to make what is truly possible coincide with what is ethically desirable.
However, based on what can the desirable be guided? To avoid the dissent that different conceptions
of life and the world can raise, it seems that what is pertinent is to base what is desirable on commonly
accepted fundamental values, on an axiology that does not attack the idea of better coexistence that
the common good entails.
Among us, the characteristics of the common good were made explicit in the Preamble of the National
Constitution (1853): “…with the objective of constituting the national union, strengthening justice,
consolidating internal peace, providing for the common defense, promoting the general well-being and
ensure the benefits of freedom, for ourselves, for our posterity and for all men in the world who want to
live on Argentine soil: invoking the protection of God, source of all reason and justice”…
Prospective Pedagogy: If education is in some way preparation for life and if this, to a large extent,
develops within a social environment that conditions it and is conditioned by it, it is implicitly stated that
education must change if the conditions change. social conditions in which it is carried out. This is
precisely one of the characteristics of today's society: the rapid modification of its elements.

1 According to Max Weber: “Politics consists of a hard and prolonged penetration (influence) through tenacious
resistance, which requires, at the same time, passion and moderation. It is completely true, and this is proven by
History, that in this world the possible is never achieved if the impossible is not attempted again and again” (Cit.
by Fernández Soria in Manual of educational policy and legislation, 1999).
 3

Hence, a pedagogical orientation has to fulfill two main tasks: on the one hand, that of highlighting the
present and future situation, as far as it is foreseeable, that is, its fundamental features as they have
changed compared to previous times. previous and, on the other, deduce the pedagogical
consequences of these changes.
Prospective pedagogy must use rational inference and imagination. The legitimacy of a rational
inference that allows us to know the future based on knowledge of the past can be studied in various
works that point out that researchers constantly use their retrodictive knowledge of past events to
support their postulates about future events. But this is not enough, to the knowledge of the past we
must add the intuition of the present and the imagination of the future since human life is not
determined by factors that are inexorably fulfilled but depends, mainly, on the free decisions made by
the subjects. . A prospective pedagogy becomes projective when it helps young people to formulate
their personal life project and to choose and evaluate the means with which that project will be carried
out in the future.

2. Educational policy constants

Despite the extra-pedagogical elements that it uses in its proposals and the various topics that are
linked to it, educational policy is an essentially pedagogical discipline. This is so because all its
activities and resources are concentrated around the formation of man, which is the reason for being
of Pedagogy. (Cassani, 1982)
The political projection of educational processes belongs to their social nature; education is a
phenomenon that has always interested human societies. It is striking that, at the origins of Western
culture, two of the greatest Greek thinkers, Plato and Aristotle, wrote about education within the
framework of their works: The Republic and The Politics, respectively. This does not mean that we
share the identification that some make between pedagogical action and political activity. We admit
that every pedagogical conception depends on a vision of the world and of man and that, in some way,
it is related to a political theory that has ideological and philosophical implications but it is not about
partisan militancy but about understanding the political fact as the ingredient that societies require to
organize themselves according to certain models.
From this point of view, education is absorbed by politics since the school system must be concerned
with the civic training of future citizens. Citing one of the admirers of the Russian revolution, García
Hoz (1974) wrote: “The soviets soon realized that the revolution achieved at the cost of so much blood
would be sterile if the new citizen of the new Soviet society was not formed. Where to form it?...
how?... The revolutionaries had to take refuge in Pedagogy... If Russia conceived school as a piece of
Soviet life, where the child begins to live it, Russia also conceived life as a continuation of school. If
the school is the life of miniature soviets, Soviet life is nothing but an immense school. 2 ( Principles of
systematic pedagogy, p. 148)
Thus it becomes understandable that the political analysis of education is one of the channels of its
sociological analysis at the macroscopic level, within which philosophical, cultural, economic,
administrative, etc. aspects are important. The political reality of education is not observed so clearly
when we examine pedagogical facts and relationships on a reduced scale but when we confront these
facts from a historical-cultural perspective.3

2 However, in the light of history, we observe that the design of a school system strongly directed by the State
and the education of many generations in the ideas of Soviet materialism were not enough to prevent the fall of
the Berlin Wall in 1991.
3 “As society is the mediate recipient of education, politics will have to consider the forces that move in society,
the needs they give rise to, the desires they imply and the demands they formulate to ultimately have an impact
 4

Of all the disciplines that make up the “Educational Sciences”, Educational Policy is one of the most
obliged to continuous and intense reviews. This is imposed by the multiplicity of its objectives and its
scope, the high proportion of achievements that appear insufficient; the strong requests for changes
that come from the most diverse sectors of society; the tenacity and frequency of disagreements that
arise from the evaluation of his work... Furthermore, there are many situations in which educational
policy is forced to quickly implement educational achievements emanating from extra-pedagogical
events, national or international, that it has not caused nor can it control but that force it to incorporate
new objectives in the general training of the inhabitants' learning. Such solutions almost always
require, and in the short term, adjustments and readjustments that adapt them to the real modalities
and needs of the country and its culture.
However, within its condition as a discipline that is subject to continuous influences from other
disciplines and that lives in permanent contemplation of the changing situations of the human
community, educational policy has been outlining and preserving some doctrinal bases that are its
own and that They integrate the constants of its development in the contemporary world.
Among these permanent conclusions we can point out:
a) The imperative of mass education for all inhabitants : It is understood that if every man has the
human right to education, it is a duty of distributive justice that the Nation concerns itself with
establishing and guaranteeing a minimum of compulsory education for all inhabitants. The State must
compensate for the inequalities that make it difficult for some citizens to access the goods of education
and culture. It is a consequence and complement of this objective: The experience and roots of
civilization and culture in all inhabitants.
Therefore, the National State, the Provinces and the CABA, have the main and non-delegable
responsibility of providing comprehensive, permanent and quality education for all the inhabitants of
the Nation, guaranteeing equality, free and fairness in the exercise of this right. , with the
participation of social organizations and families. Education will provide the necessary opportunities
to develop and strengthen the comprehensive training of people throughout life and promote in each
student the ability to define their life project... (LEN, arts.4 and 8) 4
b) The continued service to the formation and maintenance of national consciousness : The
authorities must be attentive to protect the feelings, ideas, goods and values that identify individuals
with the national community. Without falling into fundamentalist positions, being open to messages

on the request that society does to education. That is to say, it is appropriate that the political element has
decisive weight in educational policy, so that it is not reduced to the pedagogical and is not essentially
determined by the interests, knowledge and operational techniques of education. Of course, pedagogy enjoys
autonomy in more than one sense: for example, as technical knowledge suitable for the forecast and
implementation of the teaching-learning process, or as a feasibility criterion with irrefutable weight in the
weighting of any educational policy program. , or as an illuminating theory of policy formulation in that it presents
and specifies possible models. But the foundation and forecast of the desired or possible future of the country
will be given by a clear national policy and not by Pedagogy ” (OCERIN, 1984. Distance learning course on school
administration… , M.3, p.8)
4 In the words of Kart Erlinghagen (1983): “Educational policy is in itself a concomitant phenomenon of the
educational organization of all times and countries, but it achieved its full meaning when it was awarded to it by
the State… The SS. The 19th and 20th centuries are characterized by a quantitative and qualitative expansion of
the entire educational organization and by the transition, under a strong struggle, of the influence of the churches
into the hands of a pluralistic and secularized State; The present is characterized by the implementation of the
universal right to education and training... Educational policy, especially as it refers to an existing or future school
organization, is considered today as a decisive means for compensating current social differences. … The
recession in prosperity and income, the abundance of students in higher schools, with few professional
prospects and the critical situation of those seeking a first job, make the fulfillment of expectations and promises
increasingly doubtful and prudent planning is also more advisable” (Dictionary of Educational Sciences )
 5

from other cultures, it is up to school systems to promote national identity in the younger generations. 5
To achieve this goal, the civic-political training of women and men must be developed with the
purpose of training all inhabitants as citizens.Hence, the LEN affirms that education is a national
priority and constitutes State policy to build a just society, reaffirm national sovereignty and identity,
deepen the exercise of democratic citizenship, respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and
strengthen the economic-social development of the Nation (art.3)
Later, the Law adds that the objectives of the national educational policy will be: Provide citizen
education committed to the ethical and democratic values of participation, freedom, solidarity,
peaceful resolution of conflicts, respect for human rights, responsibility, honesty, appreciation and
preservation of natural and cultural heritage (11,c). Strengthen national identity based on respect for
cultural diversity and local particularities, open to universal values and regional and Latin American
integration (11, d).
c) The practical-technical training of each and every one of the inhabitants : This task must be carried
out in accordance with the capacity and vocation of the interested subjects and the economic-social
circumstances of the country.
In the LEN you can consult chapter. VI, which deals with technical-professional education, but we
must also remember that in September 2005, the Technical-Professional Education Law was
approved, which seeks to “promote in people the learning of capacities, knowledge, abilities, skills,
values and related attitudes.” with professional performances and professionalism criteria specific to
the socio-productive context, which allow us to understand reality based on systematic reflection on
practice and the systematized application of theory” (art. 4)
d) The task of converting the entire country into an immense school : In today's society, one cannot
ignore the various educational possibilities that society offers through centers that are not incorporated
into the official educational system (permanent education). It can be said that there is a “social climate”
that can help or hinder school teaching.
It is the duty of the State, based on the Common Good, to regulate the content of the various initiatives
that propose to offer educational alternatives. To achieve maximum use of the educational capabilities
and resources of the community in the areas of culture, art, sports, scientific and technological
research (LEN, 112, e) , the State must coordinate actions with public or private institutions and non-
governmental, community and social organizations to develop training activities complementary to
formal education (LEN, 112, d).
Furthermore, today, the mass media are powerful tools that generate new ways of thinking and feeling
that affect the behaviors of millions of people. The LEN, while asking the mass media to assume
greater degrees of ethical and social responsibility for the content and values they transmit (11, o); is
committed to developing the necessary skills to manage the new languages produced by information
and communication technologies (11,m)

5 In this matter, it is necessary to distinguish between what is permanent and what is changing: “The Argentine
Nation is already formulated, as a social organization in its legal-institutional characterization. This
characterization responds to the spirit of the national, which emerges from its historical-cultural foundation. From
there come the values, or rather, the axiological scale on which political criteria must be based... We must,
however, be careful not to make dangerous simplifications. The first thing that the observation of reality shows
us, in order to the synthesis of history and reason, is that a political community constituted as a Nation is not
configured univocally. Its historical wandering, which intrinsically defines its own reason for being, traverses a
complicated web of ideas, beliefs, uses and pretensions... which, on the other hand, configure the country, which
is an entity to be built..." (Fósbery, 1988, The Occupied Republic )
 6

3. Configuration of this discipline in our country

Following a strictly chronological criterion, we will now analyze some definitions about the nature of
educational policy and its theoretical-practical character:

3.1. Definition and object according to Alberto García Vieyra (1967) 6

The act of teaching and learning is a moral act that has a political dimension since, due to its
relationship to the common good, education is a social good. Applying the analysis criteria of
traditional philosophy, García Vieyra affirms that the remote material object of educational policy “is
everything that can be related to school legislation” that is: the family, the State and the Church, as
they are Institutions that can offer the educational service
According to García Vieyra, the closest material object with which educational policy is directly
concerned is school legislation: precepts of natural law; of constitutional law; of international law;
administrative law, etc.
However, more than school legislation, we think that the material object of this discipline is the
educational system , in the sense explained by Julio Colacilli de Muro (1984): “the set of institutions
that a community establishes to transmit its culture and preserve its typification or to update it.” This
pedagogical system has a fundamental element, the school system that has a structure of levels and
cycles in which the teaching-learning process is carried out based on content selected based on the
ages of the students and the goals set by legislation. . This school system depends in its foundations
on the meta-system : pedagogical theories, political-cultural objectives, legal guidelines, economic
budgets... Along with the school system, society carries out a multitude of educational actions that do
not have the regulations of the formal school system. ; They are actions carried out by particular
institutions (teachers, clubs, religious movements, trade associations, etc.) that cover the broad
spectrum of para-systematic education actions. A series of activities that are only indirectly related
to education also make the functioning of the school system possible: school health, school
transportation, cafeterias, social assistance..., all of them are understood under the name of peri-
school system.7
The formal object of educational policy, which is the goal pursued by the legislator, consists of
forming attitudes in order to the Common Good, that is, “that young people learn to subordinate the
particular good to the general well-being; subordinate the useful good to the honest good; banish
usury and greed from economic relations; promote justice in family life and labor relations; form
prudence, responsibility, etc. (García Vieyra, p. 61).8
6 This author is a Dominican theologian who states that “encouraged by the Decree on Christian Education of
the Second Vatican Council” he wanted to write this work on educational policy in which two parts are
distinguished: a general one and a special one that deals specifically with politics. Argentine educational Its
proposal aims to promote a comprehensive education that takes into account the truths reached by science and
the supernatural truths revealed by God, which is why it rejects the school secularism imposed by Law 1420 and
the Láinez Law from the origins of the organization of the school system. primary ( Educational Policy , 1967, p.
12)
7 It is likely that García Vieyra took as a reference the studies of Dr. Horacio Rivarola (lawyer and professor of
Philosophy) since he was one of the first professors of Legislation and School Organization in our country. For
this author, the material object of this discipline is found in school legislation. On the other hand, Colacilli de
Muro's ideas can be compared in the distance course on school administration for mid-level managers, op. cit.,
Module 3, p. 8.
8 These objectives are explicitly formulated in the Federal Education Law and in the new National Education Law
when they say that the educational system will have the purpose of seeking the comprehensive and permanent
training of men and women who realize themselves as people in all their dimensions: physical, vital, aesthetic,
intellectual, moral and religious...
“Educational quality must encompass the entirety of the subject. From this point of view, it is necessary that
basic and universal training provide educational opportunities that strengthen all dimensions of personality:
 7

For this author, the educational policy guidelines cannot be derived solely from positive-historical
postulates but must see in the laws an internal norm that tends to promote man towards the natural
and supernatural ends in which he achieves his perfection; Just laws are related to the dignity of man
and the full development of his personality (in believing people, the integral formation of personality is
not achieved if the transcendent vocation of man is excluded).
The problem of Educational Policy is a problem of justice: to raise legislation that can respond to the
rights of learners and the general good of the community. Those responsible for formulating education
laws must know the uses, customs and traditions of the town where the legislation is to be legislated
because the political authority is responsible for the concrete updating of an order of justice that
contemplates all the goods that make up the system. personality development.

3.2. Foundation and scope of educational policy according to Juan E. Cassani (1972) 9
This Professor directed the Institute of Didactics of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the UBA
for more than twenty-five years and was a technical leader of the transformation of Pedagogy teaching
in normal schools. After his extensive dedication to the government and administration of higher-level
educational institutions, whose main fruit was the Professorship in Pedagogy at the UBA (1936),
current Department of Educational Sciences, he retired from public service and dedicated himself to
reflecting. and publish works on educational policy. One of those works, systematized by his students,
is the one we are now analyzing and commenting on.
When defining this discipline, Cassani says that it “encompasses the theories, planning and
achievements that make up the work of the State, an institution or an entity with government powers in
matters of education and culture. It is worth saying that educational policy, which is generally in the
hands of the State, can also be in the hands of other major agents carrying out educational action:
institutions, particularly religious institutions, the community and the family” (p. 18). Distinguishes the
concept “educational policy” that refers to the theoretical point of view: an idea, a formulation, a plan
that has the intention of educating although in practice it is not effective. From the concept
“educational policy” that refers to the specific actions carried out by agents (parents, teachers) with the
purpose of educating.
In reality, Cassani states, the State is thought of because it is in charge, in Argentina, of the greatest
number of aspects and stages of systematized training stimulations and because it puts into action the
greatest number of people and economic resources to achieve of that objective. Furthermore, because
it has a complex legal, administrative and technical organization that allows it to regulate and control
not only the activities carried out in state management institutions but also those carried out in private
management centers. All of this could be summarized by saying that it is the extent and way in which
the State participates in the cultural life of the Nation.
However, currently this definition falls short because we are witnessing a notable expansion of

cultural, social, aesthetic, ethical and religious. Comprehensive training means strengthening the capacity of
each person to define their life project, freedom, peace and solidarity, equality, justice, responsibility and the
common good” (MECyT, 2006, Towards a quality education for a more just society )
9 It is striking that Cassani dedicates many pages to distinguishing between the concepts educational policy and
educational policy (pp.18-30). The basis of this distinction lies in the theoretical-practical nature of the discipline.
Under the name of “educational policy” are the theories and plans: the intentions of the pedagogues; Under the
name “educational policy” those proposals are designated that could be put into practice and efficiently achieved
their educational objective.
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educational and cultural achievements that take place outside of schools and a multiplication of
agreements on education of international significance; This also constitutes part of the educational
policy of a country.

3.3. Bases for a necessary reform according to Reynaldo Ocerín (1981)10

This Author also distinguishes between the theoretical aspect: “…reflection on the educational
process and its results. The theory comes from behaviors of knowing and considers the educational
fact as a sociocultural phenomenon” (p. 8) and the practical aspect: “Educational policy consists of
actions by which educating is organized and conducted or the pedagogical provision is regulated… it
is delimited geographically and temporally since it is applied in areas and in defined periods. ” . In this
way, the achievements of educational policy provide essential elements so that the theory establishes
the relationships between the variables that affect education and can compare with other historical and
hypothetical models.

Ocerín affirms that educational policy must be:

a) Complete: That is, it must take into account all the elements of the pedagogical provision:
1) The goals , which result from crossing the qualitative objectives with the quantitative objectives and
with the times. For ex. The National Education Law establishes that “compulsory schooling throughout
the country extends from the age of five (5) years to the completion of secondary education” (art. 16).
This period is divided into different stages (levels) to which various qualitative objectives have been
assigned: Initial education , mainly, “promote the participation of families in care and educational
tasks, promoting communication and mutual respect. Address educational inequalities of social and
family origin to promote the full integration of all children into the educational system. Prevent and
address special needs and learning difficulties” (art. 20).
The primary level aims to “provide comprehensive, basic and common training”; Its objectives include
“providing equitable opportunities to all children to learn significant knowledge in the various fields of
knowledge, especially language and communication, social sciences, mathematics, natural sciences
and the environment, foreign languages, art and culture and the ability to apply them in everyday life
situations. Provide ethical training that enables the exercise of responsible citizenship and allows us to
assume the values of freedom, peace, solidarity, equality, respect for diversity, justice, responsibility
and the common good” (art. 27).
The secondary level , intended for adolescents, has the purpose of “enabling them for the full
exercise of citizenship, for work and for the continuation of studies”; Among its objectives are “to
develop and consolidate in each student the abilities of study, learning and research, individual and
team work, effort, initiative and responsibility, as necessary conditions for access to the world of work,
higher education and education throughout life. Develop the necessary skills for the understanding
and intelligent and critical use of the new languages produced in the field of information and
communication technologies. Develop vocational guidance processes in order to allow an adequate
professional and occupational choice for students” (art. 30).
2) The benefits of the educational service , distinguishing those that operate in the formal sphere: that
are articulated in cycles and levels and that comply with specific regulations aimed at the official
recognition of the studies carried out. Of those others that, based on the principle of freedom of
education, are offered by social institutions to complete the learning acquired in the school system

10 Published in Buenos Aires by Edit. Plus Ultra. The book states that many of the proposals contained are the
result of the work carried out by Reynaldo Ocerín at the Educational Research Institute between 1974 -81 (p.
18). In the comments made, we have updated these proposals in light of the current situation of Argentine
educational policy.
 9

regulated by the State.

3) The organizations : management, administrative, technical and pedagogical that make the
operation of the system possible.
4) Resources: human, physical (building infrastructure, teaching equipment, computer tools) and
financial.
Regarding this point, it must be remembered that in January 2006, the Executive Branch promulgated
the Educational Financing Law (No. 26075) which set as a goal an investment in education, science
and technology of six percent of GDP for the year 2010.
b) Valid : For an educational policy to be valid, it must have correct foundations and
fruitfulness of development. If managers' decisions do not want to be capricious or arbitrary, they must
be guided by rational principles and criteria. We must take into account the classic definition of law
developed by political philosophy: “ ordination of reason, directed to the common good and
promulgated by the one who is in charge of caring for the community.”
For Ocerin, having correct fundamentals means:
1) Make possible the existential development of a pedagogical model. This model must be based on
an adequate vision of man as a subject of education and a realistic theory of education as a process of
personal improvement.11
2) Take into account the circumstances in which this pedagogical model will be developed. For this it
will be important to define the idea and reality of the Nation. This was always one of Prof. Cirigliano's
main concerns and he expressed it in the following way (1973): “...the country lacks and needs an
idea, a project, a destiny that is its own... That project will imply a role, a mission, a task for Argentina.
That task will involve values. Values will give identity to our culture and our education. Without a
national project we will wander along paths that lead nowhere... Education is a process by which a
given society transmits, in its desire to preserve it, a cultural heritage (its beliefs, habits, customs,
science, technology, language, heroes and traditions, etc.), and trains in the effective use and
understanding of such cultural instruments that must be possessed and transformed into behavior, so
that the members of said society who are born lacking those behaviors can incorporate and act. in it
with effectiveness and adequacy” ( The Argentine project, p. 10)
3) The pedagogical model to be developed must have a sufficient degree of consensus.
On the other hand, validity supposes fruitfulness of development. To do this, it will be necessary to
know the historical processes and compare diagnoses carried out in other countries to project the
achievement of possible medium and long-term objectives.
In the Call for debate on the National Education Law Project (2006) , President Kirchner and Minister
Filmus said: “We need to move forward from our particular and sectoral perspectives towards a
synthesis that reflects the core of coincidences, so that the law does not is limited to a sum of noble
proposals. The law must become an effective action plan, a fundamental tool for the
transformation of the country, deeply incorporated into the conscience of our people. We have
many uncertainties regarding the future of humanity and Argentina, but we also have a fundamental

11 In the General Assembly of the Pedagogical Congress (1988) there was unanimous agreement that
“Education must start from a vision of man, who is a human person from the moment of his conception, as a bio-
psycho-social and spiritual unit, open to transcendence in the various dimensions: cultural, social, historical and
also religious according to their own options…” ( Final Report Conclusions , p. 111).
We know that there are anthropological conceptions that deny the spirituality of the subject; Man would only be a
more evolved individual on the animal scale who builds his essence from his social relationships. However, the
LEN is inclined to consider that the subject of education is a “person” (individual substance of a rational nature)
to whom education “must provide the necessary opportunities to develop and strengthen comprehensive training
throughout the entire life.” life…” (art. 8)
 1
0
certainty: whatever that future may be, education, culture, science and technology will play a
determining role in its configuration. Convinced of this, we are sure that a good part of the destiny of
the country and our children depends on the commitment and breadth with which we approach this
discussion process” (p. 1)12
c) Efficient: If educational policy aims to achieve specific objectives, it must be efficient. That
is, the proposed transformations must be reflected in results that improve the quality of the educational
service in the shortest possible time and with the economical use of resources. This requires that,
regardless of who has to make the decisions, there must be people who possess the scientific
knowledge necessary to develop rational and effective proposals. Unfortunately, when these
proposals have only been based on ideological or demagogic reasons, they have not been able to
achieve the expected results.
However, we have to repeat, the foundation and forecast of the desired or possible future of the
country will be given by a clear national policy and not by Pedagogy; Its formulation is the duty of the
politician even if we recognize that pedagogical knowledge enjoys scientific autonomy.
It is likely that from the debate generated by the National Pedagogical Congress; the inclusion in the
Constitution of fundamental principles related to education; the promulgation of national laws that have
made explicit the guidelines of Argentine educational policy (Federal Law, National Education Law,
Higher Education Law); the decentralization of the formal educational system, making the jurisdictions
responsible for the government and administration of the service based on the characteristics of each
region; the hierarchization of the Federal Council of Education to guarantee the unity of
implementations and the recent promulgation of the Education Financing Law, let us begin to travel a
stable path of renewable programs totally or partially in accordance with the evolution of reality without
needing everything to be reformulated with each change of government.

13
3.4. Educational Policy as an autonomous discipline according to Jorge Zanotti
Jorge Zanotti (1985) recognizes the existence of a set of sciences whose objective is reflection on
educational phenomena. That is, we must distinguish between the educational fact and the reflection
that the scientist carries out on that act. Depending on whether this reflection considers the
teleological aspects, or the individual results, or the consequences for society... the broad field of
educational sciences that some prefer to encompass under the name of Pedagogy will be organized. 14

12 Unfortunately, we believe that the unanimous consensus opinion that led the conclusions of the Final
Assembly of the Pedagogical Congress held in Embalse de Río Tercero (1988) is still valid: “The educational
project must be part of the national project and this must be founded on our roots.” cultural. Our country in the
Latin American context is under a clear political, economic, social, cultural and ideological dependence. This
results in an impoverished and dependent Argentina where equal opportunities for access to material and
spiritual goods are not realized in a real way. In this historical situation, on many occasions, the action of
institutional systems has been to consolidate an order of internal and external dependence. Social solidarity has
been deteriorated to the point where individual interests prevail over group interests and these over those of the
Nation. To a large extent this is a consequence of authoritarianism, corruption, the lack of shared ideals and the
scarcity of examples of honesty, convictions and detachment that exist in our society. The history of our
educational system is a clear example of what was stated, it served with great consistency a certain project of a
dependent country. Education, therefore, must define its profile, based on a national project common to
Argentines that ensures our national independence, our political sovereignty and social justice..." (op. cit. p. 68).
13 This author, a graduate of institutions dedicated to teacher training, worked for many years teaching this
subject. The text that we are going to comment on was published in the Magazine of the Educational Research
Institute No. 56, it reproduces the class that he gave on the occasion of his incorporation into the National
Academy of Education. He himself states that his reflections arise “from a particular taste for political and
historical studies and, above all, I confess, from my preference and dedication to the theoretical order of
Educational Policy” (p. 15).
14 The proposal that Octavio Fullat (1982) makes to try to respond to the epistemological problem posed by the
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.
On the other hand, since ancient times a body of doctrine has been established that, attentive
observer of human nature and respectful of the lessons of history, distrusts the promises of infallible
leaders, of dreaming ideologues. From this perspective, politics is not pure speculation or theory but a
series of concrete decisions that must be made with caution.
The intertwining between knowing and doing in the field of education and in the field of politics has
allowed Zanotti to say that: “Educational Policy must be understood as knowledge (reflection,
systematization and rigorous epistemological foundation) referring to the educational phenomena
directly linked to those of a political nature, either due to their origins or their consequences, and to
political phenomena directly linked to those of an educational nature” (p. 6).
Furthermore, he claims to share Américo Ghioldi's (1972) definition: “Educational policy is the theory
and practice of the State's activities in the field of public education; On the one hand, it determines the
actions of the State in order to prepare new generations through education for the use of the cultural
assets of humanity, and to promote the development of the individual and collective personality of the
people in accordance with the laws, institutions, historical aspirations or ideals of the Nation and, on
the other hand, creates and regulates the organization of school establishments to achieve such
purposes.”
We, however, believe that this definition is somewhat reductionist because it does not take into
account the responsibility of other social institutions with important responsibilities in the provision of
educational services.
For the academic field, Zanotti tries to rescue the theoretical aspect of educational policy; recognizes
the existence of educational phenomena that impact society and also recognizes the existence of
political phenomena that are directly linked to the field of education (e.g.: modification of the structure
of the formal school system; prescription of levels of compulsory schooling for all citizens; approval of
contents for basic education; determination of requirements for the exercise of professional careers,
etc.) but affirms that the reflection and study of these phenomena are not, in themselves, political
activities but academic ones.

Knowledge and power

It is true that the exercise of a government responsibility presupposes the understanding of the matter
that must be ordered since the ordering of the wills of individuals requires knowledge of the means
and the end that usually allow correct decisions to be made; The advances of contemporary science
require that knowledge to be governed with any chance of success. 15 But it is also true that, many
times, power has been invested in people who did not have sufficient technical knowledge to lead
society towards the achievement of objectives related to the common good.
That is why Zanotti says: “There is no doubt that, occasionally, political power resorts to the

educational sciences is very interesting: “they probably acquire autonomy related to human life and the survival
of humanity, keeping in mind, however, that man is an always unfinished reality. The “anthropos”, as an
understanding of being, is understood from the educational sciences to the extent that they receive meaning
from Philosophical Anthropology. The educational sciences, as I understand, exist independently insofar as they
contribute to a supposed total understanding of man. Man in the process of education, or engendering,
constitutes the specific object of the educational sciences” ( Questions of education , p. 26)
15 “The relationship between authority and government is analogous to that between the art of navigation and
the action of steering the ship. The pilot is the one who has the ability to govern the ship... he has authority
because he has the knowledge and power to determine the course; He is “auctor”, as a subject of the power to
define the direction of navigation, since knowing the end and, possessing the ability to choose the appropriate
means, he can steer towards it; It is, finally, the one who must be publicly recognized as the subject of this
power, for which he is responsible” (Widow A., 1988, p.35).
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knowledge of each area to project and base its decisions and, sometimes, it is the knowledge of each
area of human endeavor that becomes an advisor or stimulator of political power for respective
decision making. It may even be the case that the representatives of that knowledge assume political
power themselves and enjoy the power to take control, as ministers, legislators or officials. It is also
true that, on other occasions, the decisions of political power in any area are taken outside the
corresponding knowledge, and even against that knowledge” (id., p.9)
Contrary to what is affirmed by contemporary ideologies, classical political thought is, above all,
realistic. Emerging from a living contact with the experience of government, respectful of the lessons
of history, attentive observer of human nature, he does not place his hope in unattainable ideals. He
knows that political decisions and the direction of human affairs are made under the rule of
circumstances and that prudence must be the politician's own virtue. Therefore, it is a practical
knowledge: because its objective is the life of man that is carried out in society; because it carries out
a critical evaluation of the existing conditions and proposes suitable means to solve the problems; It is
also practical because its method is not deductive, as in the exact sciences, but deliberative and
problematic. Therefore, its conclusions are not judgments of verification but rather directives to
act, aimed at improving the quality of life of people taking into account the real possibilities
and limitations imposed by the circumstances. Changing society for a better one, transforming the
current reality into a desirable project, especially if that reality is not considered optimal, is an
inalienable objective of politics.
But we must insist: the right understanding of the common good is the key to solving practical
problems. That is why Fr. Dognin (1961): “The common good essentially consists of a coordination of
particular goods. Now, just as a harmonious form cannot be imposed on the potter's clay if it, properly
worked, has not been made malleable, in the same way, a harmony or an order cannot be established
between particular goods if these goods do not They are mobilized by general justice. But this
mobilization is not enough for the realization of the common good, just as prior work with clay is not
enough for the manufacture of pots. In both cases, it is necessary that a form, an order, be
subsequently imposed on the matter. In the case of the common good, it is distributive justice that
creates this order…” (Cit. by Martinez Barrera, 1999).
As practical-prudential knowledge, Politics and Pedagogy are very similar; The latter has been defined
as the science of the art of educating . In both cases there is a direction of reason that is ordered to
carry out a work: the common good of society or the state of virtue of people.

3.5. Educational policy in a democratic society according to Fernando Martínez Paz

This Professor at the University of Córdoba, although he was trained as a lawyer, dedicated himself to
teaching educational policy and producing recognized works on the History of Education and the
Argentine Educational System. Thanks to this he was incorporated into the National Academy of
Education.
The work we are going to comment on was published in 1989, the Author “hopes that it will be another
contribution to the complex conceptual framework of educational policy…” (p. 11), it contains the
following definition that seems to us to be the most complete and which, in some way, is a synthesis
and conclusion of the previous ideas:
“The reference framework refers to an educational policy understood as: - the set of decisions,
statements, actions and evaluations,
- that based on scientific knowledge of reality (past and present) and with a prospective
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vision,
- and in a conception of man, society, culture and education,
- and to achieve explicit purposes,
- are prepared and executed, in the name of society and with its participation, by the
institutions and people with legal powers to do so” (p. 11).
The practical dimension is rescued: statements, decisions, actions and evaluations , but it is
considered necessary that these actions have a scientific basis (objective, valid, universal) of reality .
This reminds us of the requirements of “political prudence” referred to by Dante Alighieri: “memory of
things seen, intelligence of the present and foresight of the future” (Cit. by Massini, 1980, p.169)
Memory, in the case of educational policy, is related to the history of education and the comparison of
educational systems since it allows us to make a generalization of similar facts. “Because, although
man's free will allows him to act in the face of the same circumstance in the most diverse and
unpredictable way, to the extent that no replica of that act can be found in history, with which future
human actions acquire a character of contingency that prevents formulating necessary and universal
laws in its regard, the uniformity of the human condition makes it possible, on the other hand, to
discover constants in large sets of actions, which, although they do not have the absoluteness of the
natural laws achieved by induction in the sector of reality moved by necessity, have a high degree of
probability to foresee future events, if the same causes occur... history is the teacher of life, as Cicero
said” (Sampay. Cit. by Massini, 1980, p. 169). The memory of past experiences helps the wise ruler
make an objective prudential judgment regarding the most appropriate actions that should be
executed in the present time.
Political success also presupposes realistic knowledge of the present circumstances. It is not easy to
apply universal principles to the complex situations that individual cases entail; It is necessary to
discern the obstacles, be aware of the means available and find the opportunity to use them more
effectively. The man of authority manifests himself in deliberation through knowledge of the
appropriate means to achieve common ends and is capable of ordering the actions of his subordinates
so that they understand the purposes and consciously participate in the action. That man has enough
flexibility to adapt the principles to the specific circumstances but does not stop in the execution out of
fear, or concupiscence, or any feeling that corrupts the order that he wanted to project. We can say
that, from this perspective, educational policy is related to other educational sciences such as
sociology and economics.
As for foreseeing what may happen, it is the most difficult quality to possess. An ancient quote defines
the prudent man as “he who sees from afar, who is perspicacious and foresees with certainty through
the uncertainty of events” (ST. II-II, 49, 6). How to correctly glimpse the future behaviors of men?
Strategies for change, which are generally medium- and long-term in educational policy, require a
prospective analysis that opens up real planning possibilities.
The National Education Law aims to fulfill the right to good quality education for all. This quality
education, in Argentina in the 21st century, means:
- A permanent education, throughout life
- A quality education that allows access to knowledge to know, reflect and intervene in the
world
- An education that contributes to building a national identity
- An education that allows access to a decent job
- An education that provides equal access to higher education
- An education that prepares to exercise critical, active and responsible citizenship, providing
tools to participate in collective life
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- An education that values pluralism, difference and cultural diversity, without giving rise to
any type of discrimination based on race, religion, origin, gender, age, disability
- An education that allows families to choose for their children an educational institution that
responds to their philosophical, ethical or religious convictions
- An education that allows the integration of people with special needs
- An education that promotes physical and sports activities and artistic expression as ways
that enable the harmonious and comprehensive development of people
- An education that guarantees the possibility of accessing bilingual intercultural schooling
- An education that guarantees the inhabitants of rural areas respect for the particularities of
their contexts and equality in learning
- An education that allows you to acquire the necessary tools to participate in the modern
world, such as a second language and information and communication technologies
- An education that trains citizens to protect the environment
- An education that has appropriate buildings, the necessary equipment and resources
- An education carried out by teachers with solid, relevant, updated training; that they carry
out their work in dignified conditions and that they have adequate material and symbolic
recognition
- An education that provides opportunities to participate in educational management and
action to the community and to all the actors in the system.
- An education that makes it possible to develop the set of potentialities of each Argentine,
generating the conditions for true equality of opportunities (Document for debate, p. 18)

4. Educational policy and school administration

The study contents of these two pedagogical disciplines have often been confused in practice. We
have already said that educational policy deals with generic guidelines aimed at the common good
and defines the great political principles of the educational order. On the other hand, the school
administration is responsible for matters relating to management, that is, the conduct, supervision and
control of the actions carried out in the different institutions of the system.
The school has been defined as a community: “…which, by virtue of its mission, while cultivating with
assiduous care the intellectual faculties, develops the capacity for right judgment, introduces into the
cultural heritage conquered by generations passed, promotes a sense of values, prepares for
professional life, encourages friendly treatment among students of different types and conditions,
contributing to mutual understanding; It also constitutes as a center in whose labor and benefits
families, teachers, the various associations that promote cultural, civic and religious life, as well as civil
society and the entire human community, must participate together” (Gravissimum educationis, 5 )
The transformation of the educational system promotes the autonomy of institutions because within
the framework of greater administrative decentralization, greater capacity of educational centers to
manage their own projects must be recognized. “Autonomy means that, based on the existence of
rules that regulate the functioning of the system as a whole and give it unity, institutions build their
project seeking to respond to the needs that arise in their environment, promoting participation and
exchange with the community” (Course for supervisors and directors, p. 23) .
An autonomous school is based on the principles, guidelines and objectives prescribed for the
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jurisdictional and national system; From these statements, it develops its institutional project based on
its context, its history and its organizational culture (relevance). In this way, “their identity is linked to
their capacity and sensitivity to analyze reality and to respond to existing demands and concerns”
(idem, p. 23).
In the conclusions of “Education for all” , a valuable study directed by Prof. LLACH (1999), supported
by abundant empirical cases, the success of quantitative results such as non-dropout, non-repetition
and non-repetition is attributed to the best school organization. graduation on time. The better
organized institutions have a greater capacity to retain students and this is attributable to:
a) To the management of the establishment: in which the seniority and experience of the
managers appears as an important value. The ability to gather the will of the members of the
educational community behind the achievement of institutional objectives.
b) To teachers: true protagonists of the teaching-learning process. It is practically impossible
to measure the level of dedication, effort or personality characteristics of teachers, but it has been
proven that a teacher who knows his subject, who has been accompanied in his work, who has years
of experience and who has taken courses update, achieves better results with his students.
For this reason, the National Education Law allocates arts. 71-78 to Teacher Training and creates the
National Institute of Teacher Training with the purpose, among others, of: “Planning and executing
policies for articulating the initial and continuous teacher training system.”
c) To the equipment of the schools: In coincidence with international measurements, it has
been found that the infrastructure and didactic equipment of the institutions has a positive impact on
the quantitative and qualitative results of the students.
Argentina recognizes the right of students to have schools in decent material conditions and
understands that this dimension is related to equity and quality of service: “The development of the
skills necessary for the citizen of the 21st century will be possible if schools have, among other means,
with good libraries, language laboratories, equipment for science teaching, equipment for physical
education and artistic education, computers, Internet access and educational television. The
investment in these materials must be a shared objective between the Nation and the Provinces,
prioritizing, obviously, schools and the poorest areas” ( Debate document, p. 38)
5. Relations with the sociology of education

Lorenzo Luzuriaga was a Spanish pedagogue who worked in our country for many years; He spoke of
“political pedagogy” to affirm that education depends on the circumstances of public life, on the action
of political parties, social groups and religions that work at a given time. Regarding “pedagogical
policy” it seems that its content was limited to the work of the State that focused on school legislation.
Currently, the Sociology of Education has been developed in the field of Educational Sciences. If we
intend to determine the field of pedagogical sociology, we make reference to the relations of education
with society since although we consider education as a perfective quality that inheres in a person, as a
process of individual improvement, we cannot ignore the area where This process is carried out: a
society that seeks the common good to protect and promote private goods. If love and knowledge are
the activities that make life more human, it is others (the neighbor) who allow each person to discover
the value of their own existential reality.
We do not want to fall to the extreme of affirming, like Durkheim (1903), that education is an eminently
social thing, both for its origins and for its functions and, therefore, that Pedagogy depends on
Sociology more than on any other science. . However, it is clear that the educational situation in a
country and at a given time cannot be exhaustively studied without referring to the social
characteristics in which a given educational system operates.
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There are three main ways of social influence in the educational process:
a) Regarding the ends: For socialists, the man that education must create in us is not the man
as nature has made him, but as society wants him to be. The teacher must be reminded of
the ideas and feelings that must be imprinted on children so that they can live together in a
certain society.
b) Regarding the environment: It is the vital space in which a person lives and grows. This
“living space” includes the “physical space” (e.g. urban or rural) and the people who live in
it.
c) Regarding the stimuli for the educational process: Not only those that come from
interpersonal relationships and organizations that offer non-formal spaces for education but
also the powerful influence that comes from messages from social media.

We can highlight three types of social factors that are closely related to education. These factors will
have real influence if they are embodied in a significant number of people and social groups:
a) Cultural factors: dominant ideals and norms of life; literary and artistic productions and
environment; religious beliefs and practices; scientific discoveries and technical advances.
How do these factors influence the configuration of the highest forms of a person?
b) Economic factors: it has been observed that a higher economic level corresponds to a
higher educational level. The abundance of economic means translates into more
educational possibilities and, on the other hand, better education of young people results in
greater productivity in the future.
c) Political factors: Deep down, education is absorbed by politics by providing the service of
training citizens. In democratic states, education is considered an essential basis for an
authentic life of political freedom.

Conclusions

In its relations with politics, education is an agent of social stability since, by spreading to new
generations the same ideas and attitudes that previous generations accepted, it contributes to forming
homogeneous groups in their desires and hobbies, which is both how to strengthen the permanence of
certain social characteristics; But, on the other hand, education is usually a vehicle for new ideals,
capable of transforming the social physiognomy of a people and, from this point of view, it is presented
to us as an agent of social change. That is why it has been said that “an educational system has to
fulfill two main functions: preserve tradition and facilitate progress”
However, if we observe the history of Argentine education, we will see that our educational service has
survived closed in on itself, separated from society, as if it enjoyed substantivity. The system has
expanded, new students and new institutions have been incorporated at all levels, but it has grown
fragmented, without paying much attention to the future, without State cultural policy. Meanwhile, the
actions offered by various social organizations have multiplied; They have advanced on their own,
without any type of planning or regulation, parasystematic educational offers.
We have hope for a better future, although notably positive results have not yet been reported.
Perhaps Maritain is right when he said (1943): “This supremacy of the means over the end, and the
absence that follows of any concrete purpose and any real effectiveness seems to be the main
reproach that can be made of contemporary education.” …Hence the surprising inconsistency of
current education, inconsistency and weakness that lies in our exaggerated desire for the perfection of
our means and methods of education and in our impotence that they serve their end” ( Education at
this crucial moment ). The disorientation about the nature of man who is the subject of education, and
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about the purposes of this art, as the perfection of man, must influence so that so much work and so
much money of parents, teachers and officials, often not achieve the expected results.
Although it is true that pedagogy enjoys autonomy, for example, as technical knowledge suitable for
the forecast and implementation of the teaching-learning process, or as a feasibility criterion in the
evaluation of any educational policy program, or as a theory that proposes foundations to illuminate
possible policies... the foundation and forecast of the country's desired future will be given by a clear
national policy and not by Pedagogy.
As society is the mediate recipient of education, politics will have to consider the forces that move in
society, the needs it raises, the desires it implies and the demands it formulates to impact the request
that society makes to education. education. In all this, political reasons prevail over pedagogical
objectives.
The crisis in education is one of the characteristics of educational systems in our contemporary
society. This crisis manifests itself in developed and underdeveloped countries. In Argentina, there are
two recent scientific works that describe this problem: The educational tragedy by Guillermo Jaim
Etcheverry (1999) and Education for all by Juan José Llach (1999).
Furthermore, we cannot forget the debates on the subject that were held throughout the country on the
occasion of the Pedagogical Congress convened by President Alfonsín and which concluded in March
1988 with a National Assembly that was held in Embalse de Río Tercero. (Cordova). Based on this
diagnosis, in Argentina reform proposals were prepared that were made explicit in the Federal
Education Law (Menem, 1993); the art. 75, inc. 19 of the Constitutional Reform (Menem, 1994); in the
Higher Education Law (Menem, 1995) and in the new National Education Law (Kirchner, 2006). We
can say that we are still in the process of transforming our educational system.
We think that in our pedagogy, which places at the base the idea of a person constituted as the image
of God, the rights and guarantees expressed in the National Constitution constitute the ideal
framework to develop the national educational policy. The person, in a democratic society, needs to
grow and develop in a community that allows them to think and decide for themselves. This also
means that people can participate in decisions that affect society as a whole; citizens have concerns
about the progress of common affairs and must be able to express these concerns in political parties,
unions and other social organizations.
It also seems pertinent to listen to Jaim Etcheverry when he states: “The income gap has its
correlation in the educational gap… Although very notable in the case of Argentina, the problem of
wealth concentration is a characteristic phenomenon of contemporary society. … From a cursory
analysis of these data, it clearly emerges that society does not decide to make the necessary
investment to provide all its members with basic educational tools because, in reality, it does not
assign as much importance to that task as it manifests” (p. 43). From this point of view, there is no
doubt that at the present time, the great contribution that educational policy can make to society is to
contribute to a more equitable distribution of wealth thanks to education.

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