Silenced pedagogical reform: memory of purged schoolteachers in Madrid (Spain, 1936–1975)

This analysis offers a critical reappraisal of Francoist purging practices (1939–1975) targeting state schoolteachers in Madrid, situating them within the broader context of pedagogical reform, in which the capital emerged as a particularly active centre in early twentieth-century Spain. It argues that headteachers of graded schools constituted the core of the professional culture associated with Progressive Education and examines how their pedagogical leadership became a decisive aggravating factor in the subsequent repressive proceedings. Methodologically, the study draws on the systematic analysis of 2,772 purge files and 249 review files from the province of Madrid, including 106 headteachers. The findings point to a structurally stratified pattern of violence: 55.66% of headteachers were sanctioned, compared with 25.06% of the schoolteachers, with a disproportionately higher incidence of the most severe penalties. The article further suggests that the Superior Review Court functioned not as a corrective body, but as an institutional mechanism for the consolidation and legitimisation of Francoism. Finally, it renders visible how the regime sought to eradicate all vestiges of the prior movement and replace them with a traditional teaching model aligned with prevailing political, religious and gender norms in Madrid’s public schools.