The economic conception of the State in Social Science textbooks during the Democratic Transition in Spain: notes for research on the subject

Resumen

The goal of this article is to analyze the concept of the State that school textbooks published during the transition and the first years of democracy used for the purpose of socializing students in the final three courses of primary education. Upon close examination of the concept and a thorough analysis of the textbooks – their explanations, manifestations, examples and debates – we discover a reality that is far more complex than that suggested by previous research on school textbooks, Francoism and the Transition to Democracy. The concept of State reflected in the textbooks written during the transition is closely aligned with protectionist ideas that seek to create a realm of social cohesion in a functionalist style. These ideas waned during the first years of the democracy, gravitating towards a less protectionist vision. For our research we have focused on an analysis of the Social Science textbooks used in the 6th, 7th and 8th courses of EGB published by Spain’s major publishers during the period: Santillana, Anaya and Bruño. School textbooks are a rich, complex source and in this case they have provided us with a view into the changes that took place in the curricular material of a concrete historical time. They ultimately serve as manifestations of social, cultural, political economic and even conceptual phenomena. The concept of the State dealt with in school textbooks from the transition is based on a very specific vision of state intervention in the public realm and the work space. The State was in charge of creating social solidarity as a way of preventing social marginalization and inequality. Mentions of Karl Marx, of policies of redistribution, social security, alienation and unemployment are a constant. However, during the first years of democracy this vision began to change, gradually giving way to a perspective more aligned with aspects borrowed from the neoliberal model.