Orígenes y problemas de la escuela rural en el Ecuador: 1870-1930

Resumen

How did the policy of opening and operating rural schools in Ecuador evolve during the period from 1870 to 1930 and what were the problems that prevented the development of rural schools in that period? The research concludes that the federal state’s limited concern over fostering rural schooling, in particular educating indigenous peoples, stemmed not only from the shortage of resources or the inefficiency of government administration services, but also from more deeply rooted factors, namely, the decision of the country’s ruling elites to focus the state’s policy priorities on bolstering state building and modernization, thus excluding the indigenous and rural sectors and giving further impetus to cities and the middle class, two trends that emerged not only in Ecuador but also in Latin America as a whole.