THE PROCESS OF MAKING SECONDARY EDUCATION UNIVERSAL IN SPAIN IN THE SECOND HALF OF XXTH CENTURY: A STATISTICAL APPROACH

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. The article analyzes the process of expansion of secondary education in Spain during the second half of the XXth century paying special attention to the process of making lower secondary education universal. METHOD. The methodological approach is basically quantitative, identifying the main statistical sources and collecting the necessary data to allow a systematic analysis of the expansion process. RESULTS. Results are presented in a series of tables, synthesizing the evolution of intake in bachillerato and vocational education in the second half of XXth century.This information is considered as the basis for rigorously analyzing that process. Three periods are identified, corresponding to three parallel phases of the historical process of expansion: a) the two first decades of Franco’s regime, in which a very limited growth of the number of secondary education students took place; b) the period running from 1950 to the 1970 Education Act, in which that number took off for the first time; and c) the period from 1970 to the passing and implementation of the 1990 LOGSE, in which lower secondary education was made universal. DISCUSSION. The paper ends by highlighting the main contributions of the adopted approach, basically the possibility of making the perception of the process more objective. Its limitations are also presented, namely the lack of attention to other possible approaches for addressing different aspects of that expansion process. The approach adopted is justified and lines for future research are also suggested.