ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by charting some of the initiatives and reforms in women’s education after the Revolution of 1868 until women were admitted to the universities in 1910. It discusses arguments in favour of changes to women’s education formulated by Concepción Arenal and by Krausist reformists who were at the forefront of introducing feminist debates to Spain after 1868. The chapter explains how medical and scientific ideas became increasingly important in the debates about women’s education. It considers the contribution of physicians, and then looks at the relationship between medical and scientific ideas and Krausists’ arguments. The chapter discusses the role of scientific ideas in anarchist approaches to female education and their understanding of women’s nature. Krausists were so interested in women’s education partially because they thought that it was necessary to bring Spain up to the level of more advanced countries.
