Abstract

CRUZ OROZCO, José Ignacio. Antonio Ballesteros Usano: Trajectory, work and pedagogical culture. Perfiles educativos [online]. 2021, vol.43, n.173, pp.58-75.  Epub Feb 14, 2022. ISSN 0185-2698.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iisue.24486167e.2021.173.59755.

Antonio Ballesteros Usano was a remarkable teacher who exercised a brilliant career for more than half a century both in Spain and Mexico. In Spain he worked as a teaching inspector and disseminator of the educational renewal, and on Mexican soil, where he arrived in 1939 fleeing the Franco regime, he performed as a teacher for normal-school students and pedagogues, as well as a writer. This paper reconstructs his career in an integral way for the first time, by applying the historical-educational methodology and employing unpublished primary sources. It provides new data, corrects inaccuracies and analyzes the ideological and pedagogical references that guided his work. His strong links with the Progressive Education movement, his professional efficiency and the powerful influence that he exerted among his students are only some of the conclusions emphasized in the following research. It is worth noting that such an outstanding career has been awarded several recognitions in Mexico, where his memory still lasts even five decades after his death, which is not the case in his native Spain.

Keywords : History of education; Historical memory; Progressive education; Professional career; Teacher training; Spanish exile.