The background.

Welcome to our blog. 

Today's entry is about the background of Spain in the 50's and the 60's. 
We talk about the economics, the society and mostly about the education. 

We hope you found it interesting, so here it is:

Spain in the 50’s and the 60’s

On the 50’s and the 60’s in Spain was the dictatorship called Francoism. That corresponds with Francisco Franco in the Government, he was also called “El caudillo de la Jefatura Del Estado”. This period is between the ends of the Spanish Civil War, in 1939, until his dead in 1975.

In the 50’s, when the Cold War was happening, because of the geographical position of Spain and its military dictatorship became a strategic country for the United States and its allies against the USSR.

In the 60’s, the economic development improved in a good way, but unequal, the level of life of the majority of the population formed a “middle class” that before was nonexistent. The personal and political freedom level did not rise as much as the economical. The opposite mobilizations started against the dictatorship by workers and students. 

The economic development

In the 50’s, the Spanish economic situation started to improve because of United States of America and its new economical politics. United States supported Spain with money and bank credits because of the Cold War. Some of the symptoms of this improvement was the end of fractionating the food, and the fact that the average of the income was higher than the one that they had in the beginning of the war.

Franco with this situation created a new government. They establish and elaborated a brand new and planned economical politics in 1959, which showed some positive sights soon.

In the 60’s this favorable situation helped the growth of the Spanish factories and services. The foreign investors came attracted by the low working costs. The development and the massive exodus ended with the strike.

The exodus was unleashed from the rural parts of the country to the industrials ones, and to another countries in Europe.

The economy kept growing, but the plan did not work and the imbalance grew between regions.

The society and the social changes

In the 60’s the social change was significant because of:

• The rural exodus to the cities and Western Europe. More than 1 million people moved to France, Germany, Switzerland, etc.
• This exodus brought positives consequences, but also the difference wealth between some regions in Spain.
• The increase of population. The mortality rate got lower, while the birth rate got higher.

Also the increased of the health benefits and pension systems. The housing deficit was reduced because of the construction campaigns.

The economic development favored the creation of the consumer society in Spain. In the late 60’s, 2 out of 3 houses had TV and 1 out of 4 had a car. The consumer society favored mobility and also the access to the mass media. This brought a new mentality with three interrelated consequences:

• The loss of the influence in the catholic doctrine in the society.
• New habits in the social and sexual relationship.
• Influence of new trends and traditions from another country.

The education in the 50’s and the 60’s

During the 50’s and the 60’s in Spain the education was regulated by “Moyano Law” published in 1857, this document was written by the Minister of public works named Manuel Alfonso Martinez, and promoted by Claudio Moyano, that is the way of its name. This document left a mark in the historical started for education.

This law, has been the longer one to be valid, for 100 years.

With this law the government tried to improve the bad condition of education in Spain. One of the European countries with a higher illiteracy rate on this decade. So they tried to organize three levels of education.

• Primary education: compulsory from 6 to 9 years - old and free for those who could not paid for it.
• Secondary education: the opening of new high schools in every capital of the state. It’s fully allowed in religious schools.
• High education: in university, the economical management by the government.

The “Moyano Law” was valid until 1970, when the government published the new education law, called “Ley General de Educación”.

In 1945, a new primary education law was published. The most important thing about this law is the fact that in the middle of a post - war period the compulsory years in primary education changed from 6 until 12 years - old, enlarging 2 years this primary education. The rest of the law is the same as the “Moyano Law”, there was no modification, and the organization of education was the same.

During the Francoism an educational book was written, this book was called “The White Book of Education” that was elaborated by the government.

Some of the topics, which this book talk about, are:

•  At the end of the 50’s and the beginning of the 60’s the 17% of the adult population was illiterate, mostly women.
• The progress of the educational system depends mostly on the social class and the rural or city region. For example:

o   To university was only for the high class family kids, and in a fewer cases, the working class kids.

o   The 100% of the kids from a working class, in a village, that started the primary education, only 4.2% did the secondary education, and only 0.2% went to the university.

o   The 100% of the kids from a middle class, in the city, that started the primary education, only 49.9% did the secondary education, and only 6% went to the university.

o   The 100% of the kids from a high class, in the city, that started the primary education, 71.9% did the secondary education, and the 14.2% went to the university.

• The public education had a lower power in the secondary education, because only 21.5% of the population was studying. The rest of that percentage was studying in private schools, normally religious ones, or on their own.
• They big inequality with the family incomes and opportunities affected in the education, for example Madrid was one of the richest and Galicia was one of the poorest.

We also would like to leave you a video which talks about this book "The White Book of Education" and what is behind it. 

Thank you so much for your attention,