The Adult Education in the Fifty Years of Democratic History in Spain

Abstract

The historical period in question is key for the Spanish political life and, consequently, for the educational policy of adult education. Thanks to its purpose of making the person literate, adult education is no longer at the service of any interest of the Franco regime and it is considered an education to compensate educational inequalities. The dream of freedom, which come with the first years of democracy, had its influence on education, recognizing the right that adults also must be educated. In almost 50 years of democracy, the alternation in power of the PSOE and the PP parties has produced a prolific national regulatory framework that is not without political and ideological disagreements. Also, Spain’s entry into the European Union directs the educational policies of our current educational system, influencing the way to address adult education affecting from transnational and cross-sector parameters, that seek efficiency and quality to be internationally competitive. The purpose of this article is to analyze the changes in the policies that govern the adult education in Spain and the conceptual consequences and practical implications derived in these fifty years of democracy.