This study contrasts the strategies, procedures and outcomes of educat
ional reform as they took place in Argentina's military autocratic gov
ernment (1976-1983) and the civilian democratic government that follow
ed (1983-1993, when the study ended). As the study points out, the har
sh strategy of change employed by the military regime proved to be ine
ffective, even disastrous. During the democratic period that followed
(at least until mid-1993 when the study ended) the participative strat
egy of change healed many wounds, but it encountered numerous barriers
that significantly limited its effectiveness. In both cases and in a
comparative context, the study attempts to explain why. With the suppo
rt of a Fulbright Research Award, the data for the study were gathered
in Argentina through extensive interviews and document analysis over
a 5-month period in 1993.