• SUMMARY
• INTRODUCTION
• THE LIBERAL STATE AND EDUCATION
• THE INTERVENTIONIST PARENTHESIS
• THE LIBERAL RESTORATION
• THE REFORMIST STATE
• CONCLUSIONS
• RESUMEN
• NOTES

* Astrid Fischel received her Doctorate in History from the University of Southampton, England in 1991. In 1987 she was awarded the “Aquileo J. Echeverría Prize” for History and the “Cleto González Víquez Prize” from the Academy of Geography and History. She is currently Professor at the School of History and Geography at the University of Costa Rica, Researcher at the Research Institute for the Improvement of Costa Rican Education (IIMEC), and Executive Vice-President of the Fischel Corporation. This paper was originally presented at the Centre of Latin American Studies, Saint Antony’s College, Oxford, England.