The role of state and the family in education

Resumen

This dissertation aims at analyzing the relationship between the State (Democratic State) and the family regarding education. It supports the hypothesis that there is increasing friction arising between the view of the State as a direct and the only agent of education and the traditional view of the role of the family as the primary and principal educator. To this end, it will be illustrated that the Democratic State has increasingly taken the role of a Parent State. Consequently, today the State is seen as the educator, the regulator, the legislator, the policymaker, the financier, and finally as the one who guarantees education, particularly as a right of all citizens. Accordingly, the view of the family as the main and primary agent of education is now in conflict with the new considerations of the role of the State in education. However, the role of the State in education is confusing due to the insufficient argumentation that explains this role. It is therefore necessary to reflect on the role of the State and the family as agents in the educational process. This study is approached from the perspective of the Philosophy of Education. The Philosophy of Education, as a form of applied philosophy dedicated to raising questions about education itself, aids in the reflection of the definition, the goals, the purpose, the finality, and the meaning of education as a discipline particularly from the anthropological principle of the educability of the human person. Therefore, this dissertation proposes that the Philosophy of Education should clarify the apparent conflict between the State and the family regarding education. The role of the State in education has been misunderstood. For this reason, there seems to be much confusion and inconsistencies in many Democratic States regarding the issues of education. And this is evident in the policies and approaches of many States that legislate on issues of education because the treatment of education is established without sufficient support of all that the educational process entails. Therefore, the questions posed for the present research are: What is the role of the State in education? What is the relationship between the State and the family regarding education? To answer these questions, it is necessary to analyze the respective rights and duties of the family and the State with regards to education. At the same time, in posing these questions, it is necessary to examine the fundamental inquiries that the Philosophy of Education presents: What is education? What is its purpose, its end, or its finality? Who educates? Who has the responsibility of education: Society, the State, the family, the marketplace? Who educates at whom? Is education a private or a public matter? Is it possible to establish a balanced relationship between education and politics? The answers to these questions make it possible to clarify and to establish the proper role of the State and the role of the family in education.