Alejandro Tiana Ferrer

The concept of popular education revisited – or what do we talk about when we speak of popular education

The history of popular education is a long‐standing field of research. Its beginnings trace back at least to the mid‐twentieth century and it maintains its attractiveness for many researchers, both historians and educators. But, using the same label, quite different lines of research have been developed. They correspond to different ideas about what has to be considered as popular education. The paper starts by revising some of the outstanding works and authors in this field, analysing the main terms used and their underlying concepts. Popular education is then confronted with other close concepts, such as people education, popular or working‐class self‐education, adult education, womens education or social education. The author argues that the approach and perspective adopted for identifying a popular education subject of research are more determinant factors than an a priori thematic demarcation. From this point of view, popular education is centred on the study of education activities and school provi...The history of popular education is a long‐standing field of research. Its beginnings trace back at least to the mid‐twentieth century and it maintains its attractiveness for many researchers, both historians and educators. But, using the same label, quite different lines of research have been developed. They correspond to different ideas about what has to be considered as popular education. The paper starts by revising some of the outstanding works and authors in this field, analysing the main terms used and their underlying concepts. Popular education is then confronted with other close concepts, such as people education, popular or working‐class self‐education, adult education, womens education or social education. The author argues that the approach and perspective adopted for identifying a popular education subject of research are more determinant factors than an a priori thematic demarcation. From this point of view, popular education is centred on the study of education activities and school provision addressed to the lower classes and individuals taking part in them. This social origin and position of the public and not of the providers is what really defines this field of study.

The Workers' Movement and Popular Education in Contemporary Spain (1868-1939).

The Spanish workers’ movement came into existence towards the middle of the 19th century, and even in the initial stages of its formation, it supported a number of educational initiatives in association with democratic and republican sectors from the bourgeoisie. But it was really from the September Revolution (1868) onwards that popular education began to appear explicitly on its political agenda. The Spanish section of the First International developed the first specifically workers’ education programme in the country, the so‐called “ensenanza integral” (integral education).