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Gabriela Mistral, the first Spanish-American Nobel Laureate, is best known as a poet and prose writer; even though it is widely recognized that her writings are didactic in nature. Little has been written concerning her ideas and how she conveyed them through her writings. This dissertation seeks to open a space that will respond to a need for a consideration of her contributions as a teacher who endeavored to enrich the lives of women and those who had limited educational opportunities. Emphasis is placed on her collaboration with the Mexican poet and Secretary of Education José Vasconcelos, in Mexico's modernization of its educational system, in particular on behalf of women and the rural areas.
In chapter 1, I provide the introductory information with "Some Thoughts on Gabriela Mistral and Education." In chapter 2, Gabriela Mistral's educational philosophy, in the light of her career as an author and a teacher, briefly sketching her familial and education background, is discussed. Chile and Mexico's impact on her life, both in the sense of the Constitution and the system, is the focal point of chapter 3. Chapter 4 examines her use of poetry and fiction as educational tools. Three main texts have been analyzed: two poems from Gabriela Mistral's Desolación, "Decálogo del artista" and "La maestra rural," as well as selected prose and poems from Mistral and other authors she anthologized in her textbook Lecturas para mujeres. The fifth chapter studies the meaning of the Colegio Industrial "Gabriela Mistral" in the poet's life and educational career. The hymn that Mistral wrote for this school, and a bulletin issued by the Colegio Industrial "Gabriela Mistral," served as the points of reference to evaluate the strength of the Chilean author-educator's contributions to the renovation of the educational opportunities for the women of Mexico.