Teachers College and the Rise of Public Education in Latin America

Abstract

This special issue is the beginning of a much larger research project to document the impact of Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, on the development of public systems of education in Latin America and around the world. The articles presented in this issue are the work of scholars focusing on the educational careers of TC graduates who returned to Latin America, analyzing how these graduates’ experiences as students in New York shaped their trajectories as educational leaders. It focuses on a highly influential initiative in TC's history, namely, the International Institute (1923– 1938), and its effects on Latin American education. In the fall of 2010, I was invited by Professor George Bond to make a presentation at the Lawrence A. Cremin Seminar and Lecture Series at Teachers College. I named my presentation “Teachers College and the Rise of Mexican Public Education.” As I prepared it, my interest in learning more about the influence of TC abroad was awakened. For that lecture, I focused only on Mexico, but I started collecting research materials and learning more about the connections between TC and Latin America. In the articles that follow, you will be able to learn in depth about Mexico, Brazil, and Chile. The research process needed to create this deepening of perspective on the history of TC and on the development of public education in Latin America is complex, given that it is difficult to conduct research on the history of TC through its own institutional archives. The TC Archive was officially closed in the 1990s, and its staff members were dispersed or terminated. Besides materials still available at TC, the research supporting these articles is based on archives in the United States, as well as foundations, education institutions, TC alumni, and distinguished educational leaders’ archives in their countries. The topics discussed in each article highlight the influence of TC on different schooling systems. Each of the articles focuses on alumni whose legacies are still pervasive in the schooling systems in their countries. Their conceptions about education