Education or Indoctrination? The Violent Origins of Public School Systems in an Era of State-Building
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Level is by design analogy (non-clinical political science): observational cross-national longitudinal panel and historical case study.
OpenAlex W4226455608 · doi:10.1017/s0003055422000247
What was done
The author proposed a theoretical framework where states deploy mass primary education as a tool of social control after mass violence threatens state stability. To evaluate this hypothesis, the author conducted a cross-national observational analysis examining primary education expansion following civil wars in Europe and Latin America, alongside a subnational case study analyzing the central government's response to the 1859 Chilean civil war.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data, effect sizes, or statistical metrics. Qualitatively, the author reports a cross-national pattern of primary education expansion following civil wars in Europe and Latin America. In Chile, following the 1859 civil war, the central government expanded primary schooling specifically in rebel provinces with the objective of teaching obedience and respect for authority rather than granting concessions.
Why it matters
This research offers an explanation for why nondemocracies and historical autocracies frequently expanded mass public education, highlighting state-building and indoctrination as key drivers of universal schooling.
Limits
The abstract does not provide sample sizes, country counts, specific time spans, or quantitative results. The observational and historical nature of the cross-national comparison and single-country case study makes it difficult to completely rule out concurrent post-war institutional or economic confounders.
Cited by
- contradicts The Prussian education system was originally established to industrialize schooling and create compliant workers for factories.