Chapter 1: Nationalism at Play: Vacillating Education and Language Policies in Puerto Rico

Under the best of circumstances educational policies are a common focus of fervent debate. When we add the explosive nature of nationalism and ethnic politics, the zeal of public discourse over alternative strategies can reach an unnerving pitch. Regimes in centralized polities logically seek to formulate or cement the loyalties of citizens and subjects to the metropolitan power. Not surprisingly, in decentralized political systems, regional communities may endeavor to take advantage of their political autonomy in a bid to sway the upcoming generation in the opposite direction. In a vast number of societies, if not the overwhelming majority, education remains a political football tossed from one end of the field to another in a bid to advantage the managing institutions or their opponents.