Teachers and schools in the modernizing whirlwind. Mendoza 1916-1926

Abstract

The following article shows some particularities of female work in the teaching workforce at the beginning of the 20th century in Mendoza. We contrast theoretical and empirical research dedicated to this issue in different regions of Argentina with the available local historical sources –official reports, newspapers, union magazines and photographs-. We analyze the tensions and conflicts that characterized the issue of the feminization of the teaching profession from social history with a gender perspective. We emphasize the social expectations that shaped the teaching task, without neglecting the contradictions with their living and working conditions. By case we analyze the teaching work in rural areas of the province, marked by an absence of legal regulations.
Three issues are articulated around the educators. The tension between the maternal teaching function and the modernizing function of citizenizing the population, without abandoning the suspicion -of the government bureaucracy- about the feminine inability to form citizens marked by virility. Secondly, the social/vocational “mission” of the teaching profession, which, by transcending the professional, delegitimized specific labor demands. And finally, the approval of the teacher with the school, overloaded them with responsibilities, while the multiplicity of factors and dimensions that affected the functioning of the school and the educational system was unknown. This context determined by the tight budget characterized the educational policy of that time and affected not only the infrastructure but also teacher salaries and, therefore, the reproduction of their lives.