THE CONTROL OF SCHOOL SPACE: HYGIENIC AND PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS OF SCHOOLS (SPAIN, 1857-1931)

Abtsract This article describes the legal measures regarding the hygienic conditions of school buildings from the Moyano Act (1857) until the end of the Monarchical Restoration (1931). They are interpreted in the light of primary sources - administration reports and writings of teachers describing their school buildings- that contrast with the hygienic and pedagogical theories of that time. The main conclusion is that local authorities, who were the responsible, failed to fulfill those regulations and used to rent unhealthy buildings, where children were deprived of essential elements such as light, air and space. The pedagogical and hygienic conditions were really uncontrolled.