Teaching activity in the development of rural municipalities in the province of Valencia during late Francoism and the transition: the Rural Education Board (1958-1985)

Abstract

The provincial councils were an important element in the fight against illiteracy in the rural population during late Francoism and the Spanish transition. In the Valencian case, the Provincial Council created the Rural Education Board in 1958 with the aim of avoiding teachers from abandoning rural schools due to a lack of incentives. The starting hypothesis of this study revolves around two axes. Firstly, the Rural Education Board, owing to the prominence of rural teachers, was not only able to contribute significantly to the educational development of school children in rural areas, but was also able to act as a cultural catalyst of the population. In some cases they were even able to improve aspects of the economy in some rural areas. Meanwhile, the Board, guided by the involvement of teachers, was able to adapt to the social, educational and political changes that took place in Spain during the democratic political transition. In order to contrast our hypotheses we analysed historical sources deposited in the Archive of the Provincial Council of Valencia. This research constitutes a historiographical novelty because it is the first time that the role of the Rural Education Board of the Provincial Council of Valencia and its importance in the literacy of the rural world in the province of Valencia has been analysed.

Key words: rural education, literacy, rural schools, rural development, Rural Education Board, late Francoism, Spanish transition, history of education.