The beginnings of computer use in primary and secondary education in Spain

Abstract

During the late 1970s, Spain began its political transition from a dictatorial regime to a democratic one. In the 1980s, the country evolved economically and socially in a process that was speeded up by its incorporation into the European Union. The early 1990s witnessed Spain’s entrance into the international arena, culminating with the successful organization of the Olympic Games in 1992. During these effervescent years, transformations in almost every facet of the country’s make-up also affected the educational field. In this evolving situation, microcomputers arose and were incorporated into the educational space. At the end of the 1970s, the presence of computers at the primary and secondary education levels was practically non-existent. During the 1980s, an intense governmental effort took place to massively introduce computers in classrooms through institutional plans and policies. The results were uneven, and the greatest benefit was possibly observed in the use of the computer to manage schools, an aspect that experienced great development but was not equaled by the use of the computer to introduce new educational methodologies.