Meritocracia, igualdad, educación. Por una vuelta a la historia social de la educación

Abstract

The principle of meritocracy, which is present in educational policy approaches, both social democratic and neo-liberal, enjoys the legitimacy granted to it by economic and political powers. However, from a critical look at the reality of social classes and existing inequalities is necessary to verify their truth, their limitations, or how much there is ideological approach. The critical and non-functionalist historical sociology of the last decades of the sixties to the eighties highlighted its ideological approach. Professor Viñao Frago reread these pages and examined the discourse of meritocracy applied to educational policies in Spain, and from his historiographical practice he was attentive to examining the genealogy and social function of these policies, shows the arguments in debate and the ideological resonance of this principle. At the same time, it invites critical examination of historical-educational processes in the light of the best orientations of social history.