Education In Spain Research Articles

La Ley General de Educación en la memoria: del reconocimiento a la negación

The aim of this paper is to analyze the process of the drawing up of the General Education Act (LGE), created under the Franco regime and implemented a few years before the Spanish transition. In order to do so, we pay special attention to the socio-economic moment in which the law was projected and to the different political tendencies that were emerging in the scenario of dictatorship and that would become more visible in the transition. The paper also examines the individual and collective experiences and strategies of other sectors of the population, showing how they swung from recognition to denial of the LGE. The law’s implementation was the result of a critical diagnosis of the education system that implied a need for decisive change in the situation of education, a change that could be achieved by setting legal conditions for the normalization of universal education in Spain. The starting point was the belief that improving education would lead to the socio-economic development of the country while at the same time resolving the situation of ideological, political and social conflict that persisted under the dictatorship and that would be solved, in part, after 1978.

El apoyo internacional a la reforma educativa en España

In the 1960s, an international debate emerged on the role of education in the worldwide changes taking place in the political, social and economic sphere. Multilateral agencies such as the OECD and UNESCO played an important role in this process. Inspired by some of the central tenets of modernization and human capital theories, these organizations sought to steer the transitions from “traditional societies” to “modern” ones. In Franco’s Spain, this process of modernization was led by the technocratic sectors of the dictatorship, who aspired to become the agents of a project of change controlled from the state apparatus. International organizations actively participated in the analysis of the Spanish educational system, and recommendeding measures to bring it into line with the needs of economic development. The corollary of this work was their support for the 1970 General Education Law, which also enjoyed the endorsement of some of the main foreign allies of the Franco regime, such as the United States, the World Bank and the Ford Foundation. This support took the form of advice, funding, specialist training and educational assistance. The article addresses this whole process. It examines the efforts of various international actors and their involvement in the modernization of education in Spain as a step towards convergence with the Western model.

La Ley General de Educación y la Iglesia: Encuentros y desencuentros

The importance and influence that the Catholic Church has had on Education in Spain over the centuries is well known, as is the fact that there have periodically been sectors that have questioned its role in education. The objective of this article is to examine the position of the Church, especially the ecclesiastical hierarchy, with regard to the General Education Act approved on August 4, 1970 and its subsequent development. We will first look at the Church’s thoughts about the changes to come and the need for them, as well as what it considered to be the turning points. We will analyze the dichotomy between state and non-state education and the issue of free education that arises, and how its development would prove definitive in the change of attitude adopted by the Church. Finally, we will refer to the different alternatives to the Law that were proposed, including those involving non-state education and education by the Church, which we will focus special attention on. To do this, we will resort, wherever possible, to original sources, such as the reports emanating from the Episcopal Commission for Teaching and Religious Education, which was in charge of reporting the Church's position on educational issues and was very active during these years as well as other publications of the time.

Microsurgery education in Spain

Prior to microsurgery practice on patients, microsurgical skills should be learned in a simulated and controlled environment to increase success rates and reduce surgical complications. These favorable environments have historically been the microsurgery laboratories. The use of the experimental animals has allowed surgical trainees to interact with anatomical structures and physiological processes that a microsurgeon has to face in daily clinical scenarios. In recent decades, there has been an increase in simulation methods to reduce the number of animals used for training purposes and thus meet animal welfare criteria.Spain has a long history in the practice and teaching of microsurgery, this manuscript aims to highlight the importance of first educators, as well as to evaluate the current situation and future perspectives.

The musts for teaching english in secondary education: theory and practice

This paper presents a conceptual approach —made after a detailed review of the current existing bibliography— of the current situation in relation to teaching in Secondary Education in Spain from a theoretical-legal point of view highlighting the importance of inclusive education —truthful and of quality—. This research also presents a practical intervention proposal to address assertiveness in the English classroom that will make a good account of the correct teaching involvement.

Assessing geography knowledge in primary education with mental map analysis: a Balearic Islands case study

ABSTRACT The article underscores that the cartographic language used in social science textbooks for primary education in Spain is unsuitable and does not meet the demands of the official syllabus. Consequently, pupil literacy in geography with regard to regional geography is markedly ethnocentric. To demonstrate this, the cartographic content of textbooks is compared to the knowledge pupils have acquired on regional realities towards the end of this education stage. Specifically, certain aspects of mental maps of the Balearic Islands produced by year six primary pupils at twelve Majorcan schools are analysed. Based on this school cartography, a diagnostic exercise is performed on island pupils’ literacy in geography in their last year of basic education. The use of spatial analysis tools enables us to conclude that there is low-level intersectionality between academic knowledge (insufficient) and ethnocentric knowledge (majority) – symbolic proof that the educational philosophy at most Spanish schools provides significantly poor learning.

La política educativa de la democracia en España (1978-2019): Escolarización, conflicto Iglesia-Estado y calidad de la educación

Se estudia en este artículo la trayectoria de la política educativa en España desde los primeros pasos de la restauración de la democracia hasta nuestros días. Partiendo de la situación heredada del régimen franquista, se desarrolla la tesis de que esa política ha girado en torno a tres grandes asuntos. Por una parte, la escolarización, por otra, el conflicto entre el Estado y la Iglesia por el control del sistema educativo y, en fin, la cuestión de la denominada calidad de la educación. Tras examinar el proceso que conduce a la plena escolarización hasta los dieciséis años, se analizan las circunstancias en las que se desarrolla la pugna entre la enseñanza pública y la privada, las posiciones que al respecto mantuvieron los principales grupos políticos y sociales, así como el pacto implícito que provisionalmente resolvió la confrontación y configura la actual estructura de la educación en España. En cuanto a la mejora de la calidad, se analizan las dos grandes estrategias desarrolladas en estos años, la que llamamos reforma pedagógica – vinculada al modelo de la escuela comprensiva – y la que identificamos como gestión empresarial de la escuela, relacionada con la hegemonía del pensamiento conservador y la mundialización de la política educativa.

How is sustainability addressed in primary and secondary education curricula? Assessing the cases of Spain and Portugal

Sustainability is one of the most important challenges for present and future societies, which needs to be urgently and adequately addressed from Education. This study qualitatively analyses the curricula of primary and secondary education in Spain and Portugal, with the objective of assessing how sustainability is addressed across compulsory education in both countries. The results show a limited presence of sustainability in the curricula of both countries, the coexistence of different and sometimes inconsistent conceptions of sustainability, deficiencies in the inclusion of the social and economic dimensions, and a questionable technological optimism as the solution to sustainability problems. Such findings provide with a basis to improve curricula, also in other countries. Future curricular designs should seek a more ambitious approach to sustainability based on the equal importance of its three dimensions, an effective cross-curricular character, critical thinking, and an ecocentric ethics.

“Find Your Personal Elements”: An Engaging Approach to Introducing Chemistry to Secondary School Students

Creative educational methodologies capable of engaging students in interactive, enjoyable learning help to lessen students’ anxieties and motivate them. In this context and with the objective of making easier the learning of the chemical symbols and periodic table as well as introducing the concept of chemical formula, we have designed the activity called FYPE (Find Your Personal Elements). Conceived not as a game but as a fun and entertaining activity to introduce chemistry to secondary students, FYPE has been found to be very motivating. It is aimed at eighth-grade students (13–14 years old), corresponding to the second course of Compulsory Secondary Education in Spain, when the first contact of our students with chemistry as an independent subject occurs. FYPE is composed of three complementary and consecutive parts: (i) writing your “chemical name”, (ii) a flash presentation, and (iii) an art exhibition. It takes place over a month and a half, ending with an open activity in the main hall of the high school in which parents and relatives also participate, making this activity go beyond the classroom. In a pleasant way, the concept of chemical formula is easily understood by the students, who also discover for themselves many elements that they had never heard of. The students’ perception of the activity was assessed by means of a survey and found to be very positive, with a score of 8.20 (maximum 10). The result showed that 77% of the students considered FYPE to be “great fun”, and 82% of them admitted that FYPE “had helped them to get to learn about elements that they did not know existed”. Around 60% found that “chemistry is more interesting than I had thought”. The positive perception of this activity is even slightly higher for female students than for male students.

Aprendizaje-Servicio y responsabilidad social del estudiantado universitario: un estudio con métodos univariantes y correlacionales

Las prácticas pedagógicas de Aprendizaje-Servicio (ApS) favorecen un rol protagónico del alumnado en el diseño e implementación de acciones vinculadas a la mejorara de la realidad social. Un escenario de posibilidad para la adquisición de competencias y para el desarrollo de la responsabilidad social. El propósito de este estudio es conocer la influencia del ApS en el incremento de la responsabilidad social del alumnado universitario, comparando sus puntuaciones entre estudiantado de diferentes grados (Infantil, Primaria y Social) y Máster, así como identificar si existen diferencias significativas entre sexos. Para ello, se plantea un diseño no experimental ex post facto a través de encuestas ad hoc. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 506 estudiantes matriculados en diferentes Facultades de Educación del territorio español, que contestaron al cuestionario de Responsabilidad Social del Estudiante Universitario (Ramos, et al., 2016). Los resultados evidenciaron niveles muy satisfactorios en las percepciones del estudiantado, para ambos sexos. También determinaron que los participantes del Máster, procedentes de otras titulaciones, obtuvieron niveles inferiores en sus puntuaciones. Estos hallazgos corroboran que la implicación del alumnado en proyectos de ApS incrementa su responsabilidad social.

The Twisting Road to Access to Higher Education for People with Disabilities in Spain

ABSTRACT Spanish legislation obliges the public administration to ensure equal opportunities and support for access to higher education for people with disabilities. This work has one central goal: to analyse and understand the causes for the potential inequality for people with disabilities in accessing higher education in Spain and the barriers they encounter during their academic life. This paper focuses on the differences in inclusive education between people with disabilities and people without disabilities by sex, age, and type of university. A mixed research design is used: qualitative research of two focus groups and fourteen interviews to sixteen students with disabilities; and statistical analysis of the Social Integration and Health Survey 2012, using two-way and multi-way cross-tables. There are significant differences between presence of disability and learning variables. Controlling by sex and age, almost every age-group is significant. Using sex as independent variable, and controlling by disability, there is no relationship with the variables relating to barriers to accessing education; therefore, the larger differences by sex are in the group of people without disabilities.

The Boutelou Brothers: From Gardening to Agronomic Practices, Education, and Travels in Spain at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century

At the turn of the nineteenth century, agriculture in Spain was seen as an empirical know-how that was transmitted from generation to generation through practice. However, at the royal gardens the idea that agriculture was a scientific branch of knowledge was already germinating. Focusing on the two brothers—Claudio (1774–1842) and Esteban (1776–1812) Boutelou—this paper argues that these gardeners, profiting from their positions at the Spanish royal gardens, promoted agronomic development and education. In spite of the importance of the Boutelou family, a five-generation dynasty of gardeners, historiography has paid scant attention to them, as well as to the importance of agronomic travels and their reports. This paper aims at interweaving the boundaries between the history of science, history of agriculture, and gardens and landscape studies. Through the lenses of history of science and the application of Long's conceptual framework of ‘trading zones’ and Baldassarri and Matei's ‘gardens as laboratories’, we focus on the position of the Boutelou brothers in the gardens of the royal estates and the new Sanlúcar acclimatization garden. We then demonstrate how they were influenced by travels abroad and how Arthur Young, a Briton, became their role model. Moreover, we establish a relation between the Boutelou's network of experts and the rise of translations of English and French books and the appearance of the first agricultural teaching manuals in Castilian, often published in the context of agricultural societies. Finally, we show how this was fundamental to the renewal of agronomic practices and education in Spain.

Mathematics Teachers Facing the Challenges of Global Society: A Study in Primary and Secondary Education in Spain

The global society in which we are immersed is facing the challenges set out in 2030 Agenda: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study focuses on whether mathematics teachers teach SDGs alongside with their subject in schools located in rural areas of Castilla and León (Spain). Specifically, this research aims to find out how teachers of mathematics with generalist training who teach in Primary Education (6-12) and teachers with more specific training who teach in Secondary Education and Baccalaureate (12-18) work with these aspects. The methodology used was quantitative, as an online questionnaire was used to collect the 150 responses that make up the sample for this study. The results show that teachers of mathematics at both educational levels should pay greater attention to the content linked to the SDGs within their subject.

ДОСВІД ФОРМУВАННЯ ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ В МАЙБУТНІХ ФАХІВЦІВ ОБРАЗОТВОРЧОГО І ДЕКОРАТИВНОГО МИСТЕЦТВА У ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКИХ КРАЇНАХ

A study of the experience of forming professional competence among future specialists in fine and decorative arts was carried out. The main task is to study the experience of forming professional competence in future professionals of fine and decorative arts. It has been determined that the system of training future specialists in fine and decorative arts exists in all European countries. However, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany and others are recognized as leaders in this area. In our study, we will take a closer look at the features of the training system for future specialists in fine and decorative arts in Spain and Italy. It has been established that the educational process in Italian universities is based on the principles of student responsibility for their own learning. Students have the opportunity to independently create their own class schedule. Attendance at the classes is voluntary and the teacher is not registered. The academic year is divided into three semesters. Based on the results of the semesters, exams are passed, but the student, if desired, can postpone the exam to a later date, since students are entitled to an individual training program. The higher education system in Spain is considered one of the best in the world. Higher education in Spain is divided into public and private. To enter a higher education institution, you must pass an entrance exam (Selectividad), which is conducted centrally. The experience of Spain in the development of professional competencies of future specialists in fine and decorative arts shows that in the course of the master's program, masters acquire competencies that allow them to understand and implement a strategic, comprehensive and objective vision of the industry from a business point of view; use the most innovative methods; effectively conduct branding and sponsorship. The main pedagogical conditions that form the professional competence of future specialists in the fine and decorative arts in Italy are determined. Highlighted the professional components that should be inherent in future specialists in fine and decorative arts in European countries.

Primary School Teachers' Perspective of Sexual Education in Spain. A Qualitative Study.

Sexual education is a part of the teaching-learning process that addresses cognitive, psychological, physical and social aspects of sexuality. The purpose of sexual education is to provide people with knowledge, abilities, attitudes and values that will help them to have good sexual health, well-being and dignity. The objective of this study was to explore the perspective of primary school teachers regarding Sexual Education in school. A descriptive qualitative study was designed based on content thematic analysis. Fifteen open-ended interviews with primary school teachers were carried out, followed by inductive data analysis using ATLAS.ti software. Two key themes emerged from the analysis: “In search of a comprehensive approach to Sexual Education” and “Barriers to Sexual Education in schools: From the lack of training to fear of the families”. We conclude that despite the efforts to implement a comprehensive approach to Sexual Education that recognises sexuality as a right, primary school teachers face difficulties in delivering Sexual Education in schools due to a lack of training and the fear that parents will reject their children being spoken to about sexuality.

Active teachers\u2019 perceptions on the most suitable resources for teaching history

The objective of this article is to analyze teachers’ assessment of various resources used to teach history. The research methodology is of a quantitative nature with a non-experimental design using a questionnaire with a Likert scale. The non-probabilistic sample comprises 332 history teachers in Primary and Secondary Education in Spain. The analyses carried out are descriptive and inferential. The results indicate that the surveyed teachers value better the resources that imply a greater involvement of the students in the teaching of history and therefore more active methodologies. Specifically, the most valued resources were heritage, artistic productions and museums and, the least valued, video games, textbooks, and applications of historical content for mobile devices and tablets. The study concludes that heritage is a growing educational resource among teachers and shows that teachers are moving away from their perception of resources, which involve a more traditional methodology of teaching history.

Late but not least? Spanish political science’s struggle for internationalisation in the twenty-first century

Having experienced a late institutionalisation as an academic discipline in the 1990s, during this century the political science community in Spain has struggled to converge with other fully established counterparts in Western Europe. In this article, we analyse and evaluate how successful these efforts have been concerning internationalisation. The article sheds light on the factors that explain this development. Using data from PhD dissertations defended since 1990 and articles published on SSCI journals since 1985, we demonstrate that the institutional reforms affecting higher education in Spain during the early 2000s, and the austerity measures introduced in the first part of the 2010s to address the economic crisis, together with the evolution of the particular ecology of the discipline, introduced greater competition into the Spanish political science academic market. This, in turn, triggered internationalisation of political scientists in Spain, particularly among the younger cohorts.

Educación inclusiva hoy: sentido y sensibilidades. Entrevista a Ángeles Parrilla

Ángeles Parrilla Latas es Catedrática de Didáctica y Organización Escolar en la Universidad de Vigo (España). Se trata de unas de las referentes actuales de la educación inclusiva en el panorama estatal y europeo. En la entrevista para Márgenes, Ángeles nos va acercando -desde su recorrido y experiencia personal, académica y profesional- a una noción de educación inclusiva que se va construyendo bajo la idea de proceso. Asimismo, desde su dimensión investigadora nos abre un abanico de intereses que, bajo el denominador común de la práctica docente en los centros educativos, le han ayudado a conformar un pensamiento en torno a la inclusión que hoy nos inspira a muchas, y que tiene que ver con su enfoque como un proyecto de naturaleza comunitaria.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIohxMTWLL8

The gendered social representation of physical education and sport science higher education in Spain

ABSTRACT Background: In recent decades, Spain has seen a decline in girls’ interest in pursuing the Physical Activity and Sport Science (PASS) degree. For example, in Catalonia (Spain), the number of women enrolled has decreased from 39.3% in the 2000–2001 academic year to 17.3% in the 2014–2015 academic year (Serra, Soler, Vilanova et al. 2019), which is in line with technological and scientific degrees. This fact is striking because more women than men are enrolling in university studies in Spain overall. Purpose: Drawing on Bourdieu's theoretical tools and the concept of social representation, the purpose of this study is to analyse how young people perceive the PASS degree, in order to understand why fewer women than men choose this degree. Method: A total of 4146 students (50.2% girls; mean age = 16.82 years; SD = 0.837) from 39 school centres were purposefully selected in three regions of Spain. Students were enrolled in the final course of Compulsory Secondary Education (4th ESO, 16 years old) and the first of 2 years of the pre-university course (1st year of Bachillerato, 16–17 years old). An ad hoc instrument was designed to measure the Social Representation (SR) of the degree habitus and students’ interest in studying for the PASS degree. Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS Statistics (v.23). Data were tested for normality. The statistical tests used were: Chi-square (X2) and Mann–Whitney U analysis. Findings: The results show that the SR of the degree habitus has a masculine characterization, which favours the number of men who study this degree. This SR could explain why the number of women in this field has been very low (around 18%) in Spain in recent years. Likewise, this SR would be a form of symbolic violence on girls who may wish to pursue these studies, but do not feel entitled to do so because it is considered a masculine field. The students are not able to identify this social construction, which eventually naturalizes the difference and makes the prevalence of men in these studies more socially acceptable. Conclusion: The SR of the degree habitus could be exercising a symbolic violence that would contribute to the discrepancy in the number of men and women who choose a PASS degree. To change the SR of the degree, it is necessary to substantially modify how it is constructed. Some of the options would involve a profound change in curriculum, built around a conception of body culture that is based on feminist political, philosophical, and ontological assumptions. This new construction would invoke a configuration of body culture not centred on the modern sport phenomenon and post-modern physical activity. The information that students receive to construct this masculine and instrumentalized SR of the degree should also be intentionally modified.

Foreign language education in Spain: A historical view

AbstractForeign language education (FLE) has always been a pending issue in Spain. However, after the accession to the European Union, globalisation and the European Commission language policies (European Commission 1995), new and more effective approaches to language teaching have been progressively established. Bilingual education has proved to be a successful pedagogical model to increase the knowledge of languages and content (Lasagabaster and Ruiz de Zarobe 2010). This article overviews the development of FLE in Spain from the mid-20thcentury to date. The main methodological changes from traditional models such as grammar-translation, direct and audio-visual methods to communicative approaches like task-based language teaching and, more recently, CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), will be examined in the light of the Spanish official language policies.