Many of us probably fondly remember that time of school, in the first days or even before classes started, when we bought or received our textbooks: brand new or inherited from siblings or family, for schoolchildren they represented access to everything we did not yet know. And for our parents, it often meant a significant financial outlay .

But textbooks, without which it seems impossible to imagine a primary or secondary school class today, are a relatively recent invention.

For centuries, education was the privilege of a few. Even when schools began to exist in which the same teacher or master taught a diverse group of children, the transmission of knowledge was carried out orally, although often with the support of classical works from the corresponding tradition.

The first primers and catechisms

In Spain, the existence of school textbooks as such, written specifically for teaching, originates in the Modern Age with primers and catechisms : at the end of the 16th century there are examples of these teaching materials, used both in elementary schools and in private tutored education.

Although they were not, in themselves, a textbook, they did complement the word in teaching reading, writing and basic mathematics. In addition, they contained the principles of the Christian religion, so they were also useful for ideological instruction.

These materials also enjoyed a publication privilege. That is, they could only be published by certain entities: the first privilege was granted in 1594 to the Cathedral of Valladolid for the territory of Castile. These privileges continued during the 17th century and lasted until the 18th century: in Catalonia, since 1718, the University of Cervera has been in charge of educational publications . The General Hospital of Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Zaragoza) acquired the privilege for Aragon in 1755.

The Enlightenment and educational manuals

The first generation of textbooks proper was produced during the Enlightenment. In the 18th century, they became the best element for carrying out the standardisation of education. During the reign of Charles III, centralising policies were implemented in all areas of the State, but education became a key instrument for economic and social development.

In 1767, the printing of popular texts for teaching purposes was prohibited, so romances, couplets and jácaras were banished from schools.

In 1768, Castilian was established as the educational language, leading to an increase in publications in this language. In 1771, the requirements for primary school teachers were established and works intended for use in schools began to appear, mostly essays on various topics that became the first school textbooks.

During the last years of the 18th century and the first years of the 19th century, these manuals were linked to specific educational methodologies, such as the reformism of San Ildefonso in Madrid or the Piarist manuals of the Pious Schools of Castile and Catalonia.

Birth of the publishing industry

From the second half of the 18th century, when schooling began to increase, and with the massive expansion of this trend at the beginning of the 19th century, the need for specific content to be taught in school increased, and thus the birth of a specific publishing industry took place. Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos was the first to finance the production of school works, while he held the portfolio of Grace and Justice.

However, the political instability of the early 19th century did not allow the publishing industry to take off until the death of Ferdinand VII and the establishment of a liberal political regime. During the Cortes of Cádiz, two ideological positions on teaching were seen through textbooks that would mark the turning points of the 19th century.

Lists or freedom for teachers

The General Plan and Regulations for Elementary Schools , approved in 1825, marked the beginning of a period of freedom and excitement for the textbook publishing industry. Until 1911, there were political changes that alternated between two positions: the list system and the total freedom of teachers to choose the texts they used in the classroom.

The Public Education Law (1857) , known as the Moyano Law, established freedom of teaching and opened a period of total freedom. In 1885, however, a list was promulgated that remained active until 1934 with 1,141 titles from which teachers could choose.

The political instability that prevailed during the civil war and in the post-war period left these policies almost without effect. Until the educational reform of 1953, the old textbooks continued to be used. In this year, however, the Law on the Regulation of Secondary Education was published , in effect until the General Education Law (LGE) of 1970. This law led to the publication of National Questionnaires on Public Education, which standardized teaching throughout the national territory.

Ideological renewal of Francoism

During Franco’s regime, school textbooks incorporated the renewal that was taking place in the theoretical field. New methodological and didactic perspectives were used to promote teaching with a strong ideological charge.

In addition to the traditional essay text, new elements were added to facilitate teaching: diagrams, images, arrangement of elements on the page, summaries, etc. The 1970 reform already contemplated a large number of types of texts that could be used in teaching, although still subject to the list system that remains today.

The seventies: series and activities

The textbooks begin to be printed in cyclical series according to subject matter; the complexity of the series increases as the students progress through the educational system. In addition, the active book modality is introduced, with worksheets and activities for the students to actively participate.

This second generation of school books, characterised by the existence of student books and exercise books, as well as manuals for teachers, continued until the technological revolution that occurred at the end of the 20th century with the introduction of information and communication technologies in the educational system.

Educational reforms and different perspectives

Although at first glance it seems that there were no innovations during the second half of the 20th century, the truth is that, although the list system was maintained, school books already incorporated very different perspectives linked to the very diverse educational reforms that have existed up to the present day.

The organization of the material has been changing: organization by topic, by teaching units, interdisciplinary projects… The truth is that school textbooks present very diverse teaching methodologies. Until the digital revolution, therefore, there was a multiplicity of school textbooks from which teachers chose according to their own teaching philosophies.

Devices or books?

The digital revolution, which until the Covid-19 crisis had meant the gradual use of new technologies and digital materials, took off with the pandemic and the mandatory online teaching. Old school textbooks, as well as their digital versions, proved insufficient for digital teaching.

Although list systems still exist, teachers are free to create their own materials, adapted to the needs of plural and diverse classrooms. This does not mean, however, the end of textbooks, which continue to be published. Furthermore, a gradual withdrawal of mobile devices from the classroom is now expected, which will undoubtedly have an impact on the production and distribution of textbooks.

Author Bio: Rocio Hernandez Arias has a PhD in Literary Studies. Department of Spanish Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Vigo