Education in Spain is regulated by the Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa (LOMCE, Organic Law for the improvement of educational quality) that expands upon Article 27 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. Education is compulsory and free for all children aged between 6 and 16 years and is supported by the national government together with the governments of each of the country's 17 autonomous communities.
Video Education in Spain
Introduction
In Spain, elementary school and middle school are considered basic education. These are Primaria (six years, starting the year you are 6 years old), which is the Spanish equivalent of elementary school and middle school, and Secundaria, or ESO (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, starting the year you are 12), the Spanish equivalent of high school.
After the financial crisis in 2008, leaving many people, especially children in poverty, there have been many attempts to recover. In 2014, a bill was passed to increase the number of annual exams in order to fund schools. In the following years, the cost of higher education increased due to cuts in the education budget. In 2016, further studies were conducted to best assess education inequality, inclusiveness and diversity. Spain is also working towards reforming vocational education and modernizing education to improve the rising unemployment rates.
Maps Education in Spain
Preschool
Preschool for children under the age of 6 is encouraged. There are two cycles of preschool which are divided by age; 0-3 year olds and 3-6 year olds. The first cycle is often held in daycare centers or preschools, and most of the time it isn't free for students, although some city councils offer scholarships for their public preschool centers with limited places. The second cycle is free for all students enrolled in public shcools that offer Educación Infantil (early childhood education). The first cycle focuses on. The second cycle of preschool in public schools focus in on emotional development, movement and control of body habits, communication and language, and positive body image. The documents required for public registration include proof of residence, passport or residence card, or child's birth certificate, and, in some areas, proof of the child's vaccinations and a medical certificate of health.
Public schools
At public schools, the language which classes are taught depends on the region. In Barcelona or Valencia, classes are taught in Catalan and Valencian respectively, and in Galacia and Basque Country, Gallego and Basque respectively. Some public schools are bilingual. Classes are taught in Spanish or the regional language in some schools. And English, French or German may be taught as a second language, depending the school. State schools in Spain have improved and have qualifications towards student studying abroad, however they are not on the same level as private institutions.
Catalonia
In Catalonia, language has been associated with identity. After the 1970s, when Spain became a democracy, Catalonia was given rights over its own education system. The entire region shifted from teaching in Spanish to Catalan. Since then, education has been solely taught in Catalan. However, in 2013, national education bills have been passed so that some instruction in schools must be taught in Spanish.
Private schools
Private schools in Spain vary, some of the schools teach entirely in Spanish, some are Catholic schools, others are private schools and are bilingual and some are international schools which place emphasis on a second language, generally English. Private schools that are state subsidized (educación concertada) are required to follow the Spanish syllabus, while international schools are free to follow other curriculums typically from other countries such as the US or UK. Private schools tend to be more costly especially in Barcelona or Madrid. Fees include tuition as well as school supplies and uniform.
Some curriculums include:
- The Bachillerato (Spain)
- British GCSE / A-level exams
- United States high school diploma, SAT, ACT or AP exam scores
- International Baccalaureate Diploma
Up to secondary level
Once students have finished Bachillerato, they can take their University Entrance Exam (Pruebas de Acceso a la Universidad, PAU, popularly called Selectividad), which differs greatly from region to region.
Basic education (Educación Primaria)
Divided into two stages:
- Primaria (Spanish for "elementary school and middle school": kindergarten or first grade through sixth grade)
- Secundaria (Spanish for "high school": grades six through eight)
In elementary school, children study the following subjects:
- Natural science
- Social science
- Mathematics
- Spanish Language and Literature
- First Foreign Language
- Art
- Physical education
- Second Foreign Language
- Social and Civic Values
There are other differences between elementary schools and high schools:
- The playground is replaced by a courtyard.
- Recess becomes free period, used either to study or to rest from schoolwork. From ninth grade, students may be able to go out of school during this period if the school admits it.
High school (ESO y Bachillerato)
ESO or Educación Secundaria Obligatoria consists of 4 years, structured as two cycles:
- First Cycle: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year
- Second Cycle: 4th year
Bachillerato consists of 2 years (1st and 2nd year)
In high school, there are many changes and electives are introduced. Subjects remain more or less the same as those in elementary school, with little variation depending on the region.
The next two years, known as Bachillerato or Bachiller, are not mandatory, since education is only compulsory in Spain until students are 16 years old. These two final years in high school are required if the student want to attend college later.
Provision and Costs
Schools in Spain can be divided into 3 categories:
- State schools (colegios públicos)
- Privately run schools funded by the State (colegios concertados)
- Purely private schools (colegios privados)
According to summary data for the year 2008-2009 from the ministry, state schools educated 67.4%, private but state funded schools 26.0%, and purely private schools 6.6% of pupils the preceding year.
All non-university state education is free in Spain, but parents have to buy all of their children's books and materials. This, nominally at least, also applies to colegios concertados. Many schools are concertados, state funded up to the end of Primaria but purely private for the high school years. This drop in the fraction of pupils in educación concertada is matched by increases of approximately equal size in the fraction in both state and purely private education for ESO and Bachillerato.
There are private schools for all the range of compulsory education. At them, parents must pay a monthly/termly/yearly fee. Most of these schools are run by religious orders, and also include single-sex schools.
Schools supply a list of what is required at the start of each school year and which will include art and craft materials as well as text and exercise books. From 2009, this figure was around £300 and in 2011 was nearer £500; as of 2011, the cost of books averaged 170 euros for preschool and 300 euros for elementary school students. In some regions, the autonomous government is giving tokens to exchange them in book shops for free. This is being adapted in 2006 in regions, such as Andalusia, where kids from 3 to 10 years old will get the books for free, on the following years it is expected for all compulsory years. School uniform is not normally worn in state schools but is usually worn in private schools.
Usually, Primaria is studied in a colegio and ESO and Bachillerato are studied in an instituto. However, some schools only teach elementary school (K-6). Also, K-12 schools also exist, althought they are private schools or privately run schools funded by the State (colegios concertados)
Admissions to publicly funded schools
The details of admission publicly funded schools vary from autonomous community to autonomous community.
Madrid
In Madrid, there is a largely uniform admissions process for state funded schools, both colegios públicos and colegios concertados. Here the main admissions procedures for pupils wishing to join a school in the autumn are carried out in the spring of the year in question.
Parents can choose the school to which they wish to send their child. It is not uncommon that there be insufficient places in a popular school for all the children for whom places are requested. In such cases, places are allocated according to rather strictly defined admissions criteria as defined in Annex IX to the order establishing the process.
Extremadura
The royal decree governing the same process in Extremadura includes admissions criteria structured in a very similar way but differing in the number of points allocated, notably for residence near to the school.
Andalucía
An analogous decree for 2007 governing the same process in Andalusia is notably different again in the way it allocates points.
School terms
Broadly similar to the English three term system, but with slightly shorter holidays at Christmas (22 December - 7 January) and Easter (one week - 40 days after Ash Wednesday), and longer in the summer (normally from 23 June to 15 September). In 2005, the summer holiday ran from 22 June until 1-15 September, depending on the regions. The English half-term holiday does not exist, but there are frequent odd days and long weekends relating mainly to religious holidays and regional and national holidays. Schools use the trimester system (September to December, January to March/April, March/April to June).
International education
As of January 2015, the International Schools Consultancy (ISC) listed Spain as having 210 international schools. ISC defines an 'international school' in the following terms "ISC includes an international school if the school delivers a curriculum to any combination of pre-school, primary or secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country, or if a school in a country where English is one of the official languages, offers an English-medium curriculum other than the country's national curriculum and is international in its orientation." This definition is used by publications including The Economist. In 1977 the International Baccalaureate authorized the first school in Spain to teach the Diploma Programme. There are now 86 IB World Schools in Spain, of which 71 deliver an international education but in Spanish.
See also
- Academic Awards in Spain
- Asociación de Inspectores de Educación
- Open access in Spain
References
External links
- Spanish Ministry of Education (Spanish)
- Spain Study Guide for International Students
- Courses and universities in Spain
- Schools and Universities Guide to Study in Spain
- Spanish Ministry of Education, Social Politics and Sports In Spanish.
- Information on education in Spain, OECD - Contains indicators and information about Spain and how it compares to other OECD and non-OECD countries
- Diagram of Spanish education system, OECD - Using 1997 ISCED classification of programmes and typical ages. Also in Spanish
Source of article : Wikipedia
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