Pere Carrió, former Education Inspector: "The best education law ever passed in Spain is the one from 1970"

PalmWhen Pere Carrió (Palma, 1946) speaks about education, he doesn't do so from theory or history books, but from lived experience. His trajectory—first as a student during the Franco regime; then as a teacher during the years of the Transition and democracy; and later as an inspector and president of the Balearic Islands School Council—allows us to follow, almost firsthand, the evolution of the Spanish education system from the dictatorship to the present day.

He remembers his childhood with crystal clarity. Between the ages of six and ten, he attended the CEIP Padre Bartomeu Pou, "a school structured in three grades," always with the same teacher, Mr. Santiago Monforte, an older, Republican man whom the Franco regime purged. The atmosphere was directive and authoritarian, marked by rote memorization: "It was the thing about Spare the rod and spoil the child.Languages ​​weren't taught, only four rules and four topics. They used school encyclopedias like those by Álvarez or Santiago Rodríguez, manuals that contained all the necessary information, but "always from a very specific and rigid perspective." However, Carrió has fond memories: "I felt good there. I still remember my friends."

Religion played a central role. In the early grades, its teaching was rather unstructured: "It was a complete collection of religious anecdotes," he explains. In high school, its presence became more formalized: "It was done through the village priest." As for politics, the control was subtle but constant. In his case, since Monforte was a republican, the pressure "wasn't very noticeable," but at school "they displayed historical events and slogans positive towards José Antonio Primo de Rivera and Franco." This influence was reinforced with subjects such as Formation of the National Spirit"Present in all courses and with a marked religious component." However, Carrió was not part of the official youth organizations: "My father didn't send me, and I didn't join."

The Moyano Law, in force since 1857—the longest-running in Spanish history—still regulated the education system. "It remained in place until 1970, when the General Education Law came into effect. During that period, except for the time of the Republic, not much changed," he explains. The content was determined through the national questionnaires, which dictated how each subject should be taught. Textbooks "had a clearly Francoist orientation," and teacher training was especially monitored: "Because that way the schools could be controlled." Everything had to be done in Spanish.

From the Republic to the Dictatorship

Carrió speaks with admiration of the more open-minded approach of the Second Republic. Although the Moyano Constitution was still formally in effect, "education was born from the progressive ideals of the intellectuals of the time." Ideas such as coeducation were implemented, and a more flexible school system was promoted, with active methods like the Freinet methodology. Teachers had the freedom to pursue professional development and travel, and contact with European practices was essential: "It was a much more open way of understanding. If the educational aspect of the Republican Constitution had been applied, it would have been revolutionary worldwide."

Regarding the role of students during the Franco regime, he is emphatic: "You didn't consider critical thinking. Nobody considered criticizing anything, neither inside nor outside of school." However, according to his experience, the relationship with the teacher could be close: "There were few of us students, and the teacher knew us well." Physical punishments were common: "They would hit us boys, pinch our wrists." In 1965, they were prohibited and gradually disappeared. In those years, respect and fear coexisted: "The teacher was an authority figure who commanded respect. If you went home and said the teacher had hit you, you often got it back. That's how society was."

The General Education Law of 1970 marked a turning point. "It's the best law that has been passed so far and the one that has made the most changes, followed by the LOGSE," he argues. Its implementation transformed the school: "The EGB (General Basic Education), BUP (Unified and Polyvalent Baccalaureate), and COU (University Orientation Course) appeared. It was a more active school, without physical punishment, with text analysis and creative writing assignments. Each subject had its own textbook, and it had nothing to do with the previous system." Despite the initial optimism, some reforms were not implemented due to a lack of resources.

Legislative Whirlwind

With the LOGSE (General Law on the Organization of the Education System) in the 1990s, the current educational structure was established: Primary, Secondary, and Baccalaureate. This was followed by the LOCE (Organic Law on the Quality of Education, which was never implemented), the LOE (Organic Law on Education), the LOMCE (Organic Law for the Improvement of the Quality of Education), and the LOMLOE (Organic Law for the Modification of the Organic Law on the Organization of the Education System). Five sets of regulations in thirty years, four of which were approved between 2002 and 2020. "There has been an overuse of changes. Now programs are one way, now educational projects, now they're scrapped, now they're reinstated... Educational policies need time to take root and for the results to become visible." However, he acknowledges progress, especially in supporting students with special educational needs: "There has been significant improvement, but a definitive solution has not yet been found." Nevertheless, there are two Achilles' heels: school dropout and academic failure. "Governments have been obsessed with this for thirty years, making constant changes. But they haven't solved it."

Carrió also describes the same transition from student to teacher, already under democracy: "I went through the entire education system as it changed. In the 1970s there was still no democracy, but you could already feel it in the air." Summer schools for teachers were crucial: "The first one was held at Lluís Vives in 1968. We met with professors associated with Rosa Sensat, who had lived the republican philosophy and explained modern educational theories to us." This learning continued until the 2000s and left a deep mark on the way education was understood.

With this perspective, Carrió constructs a vivid narrative of Spanish educational history: a journey from the strict, indoctrinating classrooms of the Franco regime to the democratic and creative school. All explained by someone who has been both student and teacher: screenwriter and actor at the same time.