La Verneda-Sant Martí Adult School: A Reference for Neighborhood Popular Education

Abstract

The Adult School of La Verneda-Sant Martí, located in Barcelona, Spain, is a reference at the international level because of its trajectory and its contributions to the transformative movement in democratic education. The school was created in 1978 to address the demands of the La Verneda neighborhood's working-class residents, who needed an adult school that could reverse the lack of academic education of neighborhood adults. This school builds on the precedents of popular education developed by the libertarian movement prior to the Franco dictatorship. Since its beginnings, the school has continuously taught people to read and write, helping adults obtain academic degrees that facilitated their labor insertion or promoted their access to university. The school's success is confirmed by the current data: It has approximately 2,000 participants, 5 workers, and 150 volunteers. The key to its success is an effective democratic organization and functioning as well as broad development of activities and an accessible schedule the school is open Monday through Sunday, from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. ¿that meets the real needs of neighborhood residents. The adult participants, together with the teachers and the volunteers, determine and organize the activities that will be conducted in the school.