HEALTH, HYGIENE ANO EDUCATION: ORIGIN ANO DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEDICAL SCHOOL INSPECTION IN MADRID (1900-1931)

Abstract

In this article we study some aspects of the hygienist movement developed in the public schools of Madrid during the first three decades of the XXth century. Concerning about the school hygiene had extended to a multiplicity of spheres and activities, in which the Medical School Inspection was playing a fundamental role. In this work we will approach the process of creating the body of school doctors in Madrid, the functions that these professionals were performing and the difficulties they were encountering in their relations with the central and local administrations and with the group of teachers. Furthermore, the article is focusing especially on the initiatives of the school doctors for improving the health education and the hygienic practices in the childhood and on their work for introducing Special Education and Professional Guidance in the schools of Madrid.