There was no public education system during the Spanish colonial era. The church may have operated some schools, but we have little information on the colonial period at this time. Chile declared independence (1810), but the Royalists were not finally defeated until several years later (1818). It is during this period that Chileans began to consider a state-funded public school system. Chile’s educational system developed in the 19th century. Educators primarily used French and German models as they built a national system. Progress was slow. Schools were most available in the cities and it was mostly the middle class that pursued education beyond the first few years of primary school. Primary school attendance was not compulsory until 1920 and even then there was no real enforcement of the law. The construction of new schools meant that schooling was becoming increasingly accessable during the 1920s. The Depression limited further proigress in the 1930s, but more progress was made in the 1940s. Poverty still prevented many children from pursuing education. The education of poor children was not addressed until major reforms in 1953. Another major reform has made secordary school compulsory (2003). There are concerns over the quality of public education, in part because of poor funding. Many parents who xan afford it, send their children to private schools which are mostly Church schools. Chilean school children wear uniforms. We are not sure when uniforms were introduced. Children during the 1980s and 90s commonly wore uniforms. They were traditional English styles. Almost all of the boys, even the elementary children wear long pants. Schools are now being given the option of not requiring uniforms.
There was no public education system during the Spanish colonial era. The church may have operated some schools, but we have little information on the colonial period at this time. Chile declared independence (1810), but the Royalists were not finally defeated until several years later (1818). It is during this period that Chileans began to consider a state-funded public school system. Chile’s educational system developed in the 19th century. Educators primarily used French and German models as they built a national system. Progress was slow. Schools were most available in the cities and it was mostly the middle class that pursued education beyond the first few years of primary school. Primary school attendance was not compulsory until 1920 and even then there was no real enforcement of the law. The construction of new schools meant that schooling was becoming increasingly accessable during the 1920s. The Depression limited further proigress in the 1930s, but more progress was made in the 1940s. Poverty still prevented many children from pursuing education. The education of poor children was not addressed until major reforms in 1953. Another major reform has made secordary school compulsory (2003).
Pre-schools exist for children up to 5 years of age. We are not sure how much of this is state funded. The Chilean education has the basic primary and secondary school levels. There are 8 years of free and basic primary education (enseñanza básica) which is compulsory for all children. Primary education begins at age 5 years and continues for children of roughly 13 years old. Children for many years could pursue an optional 4-year progtam (enseñanza media). This a secondary program for children 13-18 years of age. There is both an academic-humanities program and a vocational-technical program to chose from. Chile under President Ricardo Lagos enacted a new law expanding secondary education (2003). As a result, secondar\y education is now also mandatory in Chile. Chile also has a tertiary university program with both srtate and private universities.
Most Chilean children attend public schools. Chile also has an important system of private schools. The private schools are operated by religious congregations (mostly Catholic), ethnic groups (German, French, and Italian), and private individuals. They have substantial enrollments. Affluebnt chileans generally send their children to private schools. Many Catholic schools, however, have relatively modest fees.
Chile has one of the best public school systems in Latin America. About 90 percent of the population is loterate. There are, however, concerns over the quality of public education, in part because of poor funding. Many parents who xan afford it, send their children to private schools which are mostly Church schools.
Chilean school children wear uniforms. We are not sure when uniforms were introduced. Children during the 1980s and 90s commonly wore uniforms. They were traditional English styles. Almost all of the boys, even the elementary children wear long pants. Schools are now being given the option of not requiring uniforms.
We have very limited information on individual Chilean schools at this time. We note the Deutsche Schule / Colegio Alemán which was established in Quilpé (1894). Chile has a German community, but gradually the curriculum became primarily taught in Spanish. Hopefully Chilean readers will provide information about their schools that we can add here. We are interested in both public and orivate schools.
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