El Plan Bachiller (1940). La reducción de los estudios de magisterio o la reconversión de los bachilleres en maestros y maestras en España y su concreción en Canarias

The work we present is the result of a historical-educational research that aims to get to know the 1940 curriculum called ‘Bachelor Plan’ in Spain. The first curriculum of the Spanish postwar teaching staff consisted of a brief and accelerated training program that aimed to convert high school graduates into teachers. This research provides new data, completing and clarifying previous publications related to the topic. We analyze the experience in the geographical framework of the Canary Islands. We use the historical-educational methodology analyzing the original documentation that is kept in the background of the teaching in the archive of the University of La Laguna. We perform the analysis of unpublished documents, study of the regulations, the curriculum and a literature review. The consultation of documentary sources of the first order has allowed us to confirm, in the case of the school of teaching of La Laguna that despite the reduction of the level of studies facilitated the majority access of applicants to the qualification of teacher with the baccalaureate. An initial preparation that introduced the modality of free education revalued student learning through this system and subtracted the mission of academic institutions. In principle, the baccalaureate plan was a transitional plan, although it expanded over time, reaching the next decade.