Nationalism and Centralism: Keys to Understanding the First Spanish Educational Exhibition (Madrid, 1882)

The Spanish Pedagogical Exhibition of 1882 is often mentioned in educational historiography, but no monographic study has been conducted on it. In this article, I attempt to fill this gap, starting with three questions:1.- To what extent did the spatial organization and distribution of objects symbolize the power struggles within Madrid's education system? 2.- What experiences did visitors have and what messages did they receive and convey from the exhibition? 3.- In the few existing images of this exhibition, how were educational innovations or characteristics considered to be pedagogical progress visualized?