The educational memories of 26 Spanish adults between the ages of 50 and 92 years who had attended school between 1921 and 1956 were explored in a narrative analysis. The adults' oral biographies were obtained through semi-structured interviews examining their life experiences and transitions. The participants' grandchildren conducted the interviews as an optional project during an undergraduate-level course on education and development during adult and later life. The participants' schooling was examined as a life transition from a life-span perspective. Although the study participants had attended formal education under very different sociohistorical and political conditions, a number of patterns emerged in their responses when interviewed. On average, the participants spent little time in schools, and most stated that they would have liked to continue their education. The participants' reasons for leaving school and their curricula while in school were organized around gender categories, and their tendency toward early withdrawal from school was linked to the fact that they grew up in rural areas providing adult social roles and occupations that are only partially connected to formal education. The participants showed an orientation toward instrumental and school skills, which they also acquired and expanded in out-of-school contexts. (Seven tables/examples are included. The bibliography lists 16 references.) (MN)