IV. FOREIGN NATIONS.1

ARGENTINA.

The education exhibit of Argentina in the Palace of Education consisted of numbers of attractive screens containing views of primary, secondary, and technical schools, and higher institutions of learning, together with legends and charts setting forth the present development of public instruction in Argentina, with special reference to outdoor activities for school hygiene. Charts called attention to the fact that "Primary instruction is compulsory and free in Argentina for all children from 6 to 14 years of age." Private schools are under the supervision of the national education board. All public schools are secular. The Federal Government of Argentina spends for its normal, secondary, and special schools $10,528,980, or $1.55 per capita.

One chart illustrated the training of teachers, through regular normal schools, normal schools for physical training, normal schools for secondary education, pedagogical departments of universities, and normal schools for the teaching of modern languages. The latter type of school is described as an institution "distinctly Argentinian," where "all languages are taught in their own tongue for the sake of practice." Entrance requirements are the same as for the regular normal schools, and the graduates teach modern languages in secondary schools. The growth in provision for teacher training during the past 20 years was shown, especially with reference to primary teachers: In 1894 there were 35 schools, 1,316 students, and a total expenditure of $816,500; in 1914 there were 70 schools, 8,974 students, and a total expenditure of $4,270,000.

The following summary is from a special pamphlet prepared by the department of education of Argentina for distribution at the exposition:

PRIMARY EDUCATION.

Primary education in Argentina owes its present state of development to Domingo F. Sarmiento, who was a personal friend and student of Horace Mann. Primary education in the Provinces (States) of Argentina is the concern of State authorities, who work in harmony with the educational bodies of its cities, towns, and villages. The exception to this consists in the control by the national board of education of the primary schools of the Federal city of Buenos Aires and such other exceptions as will be mentioned further on.

1 Other nations gave attention to education in the special buildings housing their official exhibits. Thus the French pavilion contained an exhibit of colored charts showing the growth of the schools of Paris since 1879.

One of the more recent and far-reaching developments of this Federal control is the fact that in some of the Provinces primary schools are established and subsidized by the Federal Government where local economic conditions are not able to cope with the need for popular education.

Argentina maintains therefore in some of the Provinces two systems of primary schools, the regular State-controlled and the Federal-controlled primary schools.

In 1894 there were 3,000 primary schools, public and private, which increased during the next 20 years to 7,077 primary schools; likewise the teaching force of these schools grew from 7,800 teachers to over 26,000 teachers. The pupils attending the schools in 1894 numbered 280,000, whereas in 1914 the attendance increased to 890,000 pupils in these primary schools. In 1894 the total expense for primary education was 9,370,000 pesos, while in 1914 it was 56,635,000 pesos (a peso is 42 American cents).

SECONDARY EDUCATION.

The secondary schools are responding also to the modern demands of a democratic conception of education. From mere preparatory institutions for the universities, they are fast becoming schools of advanced education to an increasing number of men and women.

In 1894 the students of secondary schools numbered 3,000, which number rose to 10,000 in 1914, the expenditures having increased from 1,000,000 pesos in 1894 to nearly 6,000,000 in 1914.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

Technical schools are a matter of recent development. Two distinct kinds of such schools have been organized and are now maintained in flourishing condition. One kind provides technical training in the various trades for young men from 12 to 15 years, while the second type serves to train the young men for positions as foremen and superintendents. There are four large schools of each one of these types, supported by the National Government at a yearly expense of 1,500,000 pesos. In addition to these, there are 15 trade schools for girls, also under the control of the National Government, giving instruction in the trades in which girls predominate, such as millinery, dressmaking, flower making, telegraphy, typewriting and stenography, glove making, etc.

COMMERCIAL EDUCATION.

Of recent development and also under the control of the National Government are the commercial schools for men and women, which provide adequate modern instruction in salesmanship and bookkeeping. A recent addition to the scope of these schools is the degree of doctor, given for advanced work in economic sciences. The National Government spends about 1,500,000 pesos for this branch of education.

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Agricultural education in Argentina is of a twofold type, general and special. The special schools, so-called regional schools, look toward the education of future workers in special fields, such as those who engage, for example, in the sugar industries of Tucuman. These schools specialize on the intelligent development of special industries all over Argentina. The curriculum of all