RURAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS: DESCRIPTION OF THE RURAL MODEL IN ENTRE RIOS (ARGENTINA)

María Susana Mayer & Verónica Magdalena Vlasic

Abstract

Ten years after the enactment of the National Education Law No. 26,206/06 with which the process of incorporating all adolescents into secondary school took effect, we ask ourselves how this extension of compulsory school education was carried out in the rural spaces in the province of Entre Ríos. The methodological design combined a quantitative survey of schools and students over the basis of data available in the General Education Council and the field exploration of the institutions through a theoretical sampling. With this strategy, we approached the diversity of rural spaces within which some adolescents attend school. The study included the analysis of national and provincial regulations. The results showed that the secondary school expanded in the rural area based on the pre-existing primary schools. Also, unequal educational proposals were seen regarding the location of schools and the implementation of curricular designs. The accessibility to schools, institutional times, and relationships among different school actors were the central dimensions of the analysis. Likewise, the need of a territorial approach to social problems was expressed, including attention to the demands made by the rural population of education.