Progressive Education on the Eve of the Civil War and the Question of Its Destruction by the Franco Regime

This chapter looks at the consolidation of progressive education in Spain during the first third of the twentieth century and aims to unpack the question of its annihilation by the Franco regime during the civil war and the early period of the dictatorship. It starts by showing the consolidation of an active and influential pedagogical vanguard that had clear influence on the education system during the Second Republic. It then traces signs of continuity in this educational movement after the establishment of the Franco regime by classifying this evidence into three categories: utilization, undercurrent adaptation, and resistance. This chapter concludes by looking at the complexity of education during the early Franco regime, highlighting the coexistence of a school culture forged before the civil war with ideas and practices identified with National Catholicism introduced by the dictatorship. By presenting this complexity, this chapter challenges a widely accepted vision concerning the total educational backlash that came in the wake of the establishment of the dictatorship.