Modernization, meritocracy and production of elites: the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires (Argentina) in the first half of the 20th century

Abstract

This article analyzes the construction of the modern meritocratic model in the production of elites in the case of the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires (Argentina) in the first half of the 20th century thought the exploration of the curricular and institutional proposal of the period, the ways of selecting teachers and students, some elements of material culture, and the memories of certain outstanding students. This meritocratic proposal, which differed from the previous founding oligarchic model, became increasingly stagnant in its response to the new contemporary social and educational democratization processes, which were strongly accentuated from the constitutional return in 1984 and the comprehension of high school as part of the right to education.