Inicios de las Boys Town en España: La Ciudad de los Muchachos de Vallecas (Madrid)

Abstract

A series of educational experiences, known as The Boys Town, were set up for children and teenagers at risk of social exclusion in the United States in the early 20th century. These initiatives appeared in Spain 40 years later, under the name of Ciudades de los Muchachos. This investigation is about the pedagogical experience carried out at the Ciudad de los Muchachos in Vallecas during its first year of operation, around 1947. For the analysis, we have used unpublished sources, such as documents from the Romero Martin Fund, preserved in the Museum of History of Education M.B. Cossio of the Faculty of Education (Complutense University of Madrid). This fund has approximately 895 academic works or end-of-course reports written by students of the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature, section of Pedagogy, between 1950 and 1975. Students systematized their observations during internships occurring in different types of schools, among which was the Ciudad de los Muchachos in Vallecas. Through the study of these reports and academic literature, newspapers at the time and other relevant materials and documents, we look at the early years of the implementation of the international model of the Boys Town in Spain. The investigation of this iconic experience, which is still active today, its innovative socio-educational proposal and the special characteristics of the site and the historical moment in which appeared, reveals its great historical and educational value.