Education in Spain (19th-20th Centuries)
The Plan Pidal (1845)
The decree of September 17, 1845, established basic education provided by teachers who could establish schools. These schools depended on municipalities, and teacher salaries were irregular and low. Secondary education was taught in public schools, while university education was monopolized by the state in ten centers. Specialized schools of Mines, Civil Engineers, Architecture, Veterinary Science, and Fine Arts were created.
The Plan Moyano
The education system continued to be divided into three levels. Primary education was set as free and compulsory, and teacher training colleges were created. Krausist thought, with its rationalist and liberal base, was introduced in Spain, led by Professor Julian Sanz del Rio. During the Restoration, many of its representatives founded the Free Institution of Education (ILE).
Education (Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries)
Aspects to Consider:
- Freedom of expression: A force in Spain during most of the period, although slowed between 1874 and 1883.
- Position of different social classes:
- Popular classes: Remained isolated due to illiteracy, but with a new interest in emerging literature and cultural experiences.
- Bourgeoisie: An elite group adopted rationalist and liberal tendencies, forming the Free Institution of Education, while another regional group adopted a populist and democratizing tone.
- Church: Struggled to stem the process of de-Christianization, succeeding mostly among the middle classes through education.
Late 19th Century
Slow progress in urbanization, limited services, and industrialization resulted in a culturally backward Spain compared to neighboring countries. Schools only increased by 15,000 students, with 22,000 teachers instructing 1.5 million students. This meant 60% of school-age children did not attend class. Church schools predominated over national institutes.
Early 20th Century
One of the most important transformations was the improvement in the educational attainment of Spaniards. Just as important as progress in literacy was the improvement of the education system. Increased resources and pupils in primary education were coupled with the proliferation of specialized centers linked to occupational training needs. In higher education, the increase was also remarkable, although restricted to the elites. Increased literacy led to a greater demand for cultural entertainment and a moderate development of reading habits.
The Free Institution of Education (ILE)
The ILE was founded in 1876 in reaction to the Cánovas government’s control over critical thinking. The institution originated from the resignations of several university professors, like Emilio Castelar and Francisco Giner de los Rios, in response to measures taken by the education minister in 1875. The ILE aimed to renovate secondary and university education based on advanced European teaching methods. It promoted comprehensive, active, secular, and scientific education to develop individual abilities. Founders included Joaquín Costa, Laureano Figuerola, Nicolás Salmerón, Eugenio Montero Rios, Pi y Margall, Juan Valera, and José de Echegaray, representing critical thinking and a liberal ideology. The ILE, starting with secondary education in Madrid, expanded to primary education and created centers in Bilbao, Sabadell, and Barcelona, inspiring institutions like the Association for Women’s Instruction, the Board for Advanced Studies, and the Residencia de Estudiantes. Students trained in the ILE included M.B. Cossío, P. de Acárate, Fernando de los Rios, and Manuel Azaña.
The Controversy of Spanish Science
/ The weight of traditional culture and Catholic religious education in Spain led to an ideological conflict between religion and science. First, Catholic thought, opposed to new philosophical and scientific positivist, evolutionary rate, the other claimed the current heir of liberal rationalism and defended the secularization of society and linking it to Europe in an attempt modernize science and culture in Spain. The last third of the nineteenth and early twentieth century is thus a huge scientific backwardness. / / PRESS / The press is an essential historical source. Newspapers, magazines and weeklies are chroniclers of events and reflect the various currents of opinion of his contemporaries. The press of the nineteenth century and first