The Natural Sciences in The Schools: Tension in the Modernization Process of Argentine Society (1870–1960)

In this paper, we analyze one of the issues that has historically influenced the primary and secondary schools in Argentina: the politicization of the Natural Sciences curriculum. Here we present research findings for two particularly important cases: (a) the evolutionist theories, and (b) the teaching of Astronomy and Cosmography. These findings make it possible to reconsider the complex relationship which exists between the Natural Sciences, the scholastic institution, and politics. We conclude that the ways in which contents are selected and arranged into disciplines arise as a solutionto ideological conflicts. The role of the school in these conflicts was not that of a passive spectator but that of an active participant in the construction of knowledge