Education in Spain

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Education in Spain

Educational oversight Minister	Ministry of Education Mercedes Cabrera
National education budget	([[]])
Primary language(s) of education	Spanish and other co-official languages in several regions
Federal system
Literacy (2003)  • Men  • Women	98.1 % 98.8 % 97.4 %
Enrollment  • Primary  • Secondary  • Post-secondary	5,917,074 2,479,631 1,871,430 1,566,013
Attainment  • Secondary diploma  • Post-secondary diploma	45.4% 38.1%

The framework of Education in Spain is described in this article. State Education in Spain is free and compulsory from 6 to 16 years. The current education system is called LOGSE (Ley de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo).

Contents 1 Levels 1.1 Educación Infantil (Kindergarten) 1.2 Educación primaria (primary school) 1.3 Educación Secundaria (like High School) 1.4 Bachillerato 1.5 Ciclo Formativo de Grado Superior (2º technical college) 1.6 University 2 Costs 3 Qualifications 4 School hours 5 School terms 6 Religious education 7 Availability of schools 8 Arrangements for foreign pupils 9 New Projects 10 External links

[edit] Levels

• From 3 to 5 years - Educación Infantil (Preparatory School)
• From 6 to 11 years - Educación Primaria (Primary School) Years, 1º, 2º, 3º, 4º, 5º and 6º
• From 12 to 16 years - Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (Compulsory Secondary School) Years, 1º, 2º, 3º, 4º
• From 17 to 18 years - Bachillerato (Post-Compulsory School), years 1º, 2º

Children from 3 to 5 years old in Spain have the option of attending the infantil (popularly known as preescolar) or Pre-school stage, which is non-compulsory and free for all students. It is regarded as an integral part of the education system with infantil classes in almost every primary school. There are some separate Colegios Infantiles or nursery schools.

Spanish students aged 6 to 16 undergo primary (Colegio) and secondary school (Instituto) education, which are compulsory and free of charge. Successful students are awarded a Secondary Education Certificate, which is necessary for entering further (optional) education as is Bachillerato for their University or Formacion Profesional (Vocational Studies). Once students have finished their Bachillerato, they can take their University Entrance Exam which differs greatly from region to region.

The secondary stage of education is normally referred to by their initials, eg. ESO or Education Secundaria Obligatoria for secondary education.

[edit] Educación Infantil (Kindergarten)

• Structure: 2 education cycles of three academic years each one, that are called:
  • Jardín de Infancia (0-3 years)
  • Preescolar (3-6 year)

[edit] Educación primaria (primary school)

• Structure: three cycles of two years each one:
  • First Cycle (6-8 years)
  • Second Cycle (8 -10 years)
  • Third Cycle (10-12 years)

[edit] Educación Secundaria (like High School)

Educación Secundaria Obligatoria or Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO)

• Structure: two cycles of two academic years each (total 4 years):
  • 1r Cycle (12 -14 years)
  • 2n Cycle (14-16 years)

When finishing ESO the student has a number of options :

1. To do Ciclos Formativos de Grado Medio (Vocational training) (1º technical college)
2. Access to Bachillerato.
3. Join the labor world (because she/he has the minimum age to get a job).

If not finished:

1. Garantía Social (learning a profession in a year)
2. Join the labor world (because you can't have left ESO before 16, the minimum age to get a job).

[edit] Bachillerato

• Structure: It consists of a cycle of two academic courses (16-18 years) divided into modules:
  • Arts
  • Natural and Health Sciences
  • Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Technology

When finishing Bachillerato the student has a number of options :

1. To do Ciclos Formativos de Grado Superior (Vocational training) (2º technical college)
2. Access to University through PAAU (Pruebas de Aptitud para el Acceso a la Universidad or Aptitude tests for the Access to the University, also called as Selectividad).
3. Join the labor world.

This level is the shortest way to go into University.

[edit] Ciclo Formativo de Grado Superior (2º technical college)

• Access: with the Bachillerato degree or through a "Ciclo Formativo de Grado Medio"
• Structure : it covers a set of formation cycles that are organized in professional modules.
• When finishing:
  • Access to University's studies related to the Ciclo Formativo's studies. In example, if you get the Computer Science's Grado Superior degree, you can do the computer science engineering. It hasn't access exam but the marks are considered for the university admission.
  • Join the labor work like the "Ciclos Formativos de Grado Medio"

[edit] University

University courses are structured in cycles, and have the credit as a measure for the lessons.

• Structure and access:
  • First cycle courses: Access with pre-enrollment.

These are terminal studies, and when finished, a student can obtain a certificate, teacher, foreman or engineering diploma. It also allows access to studies of the second cycle.

• • Studies of 1st and 2nd cycle: Access with the university preinscription. Passing it gives the right to obtaining an academic degree, architect or engineer title.

Passing the first cycle, for anyone in these studies, does not qualify for obtaining an official title, but it can be of worth for incorporating into other studies of the second cycle.

• • Studies of second cycle: Access through the first university cycle, or with the possession of a graduate, architect, engineer (diploma level) or teacher, whenever these studies conform to the norm of access for each second cycles. Passing it gives the student the right to obtain a university degree, architect degree or engineer degree.
  • Studies of 3rd cycle: they are the called Ph.D. programs (doctorate). The access is regulated by the university itself, through the Doctorate Commission. It is necessary to have the degree course, architect degree or engineer.
• Own degrees: are studies nonregulated with which you obtain an unofficial degree, recognized only by the university that grants them.

These courses have the same structure as the regulated studies: therefore, there are first cycle degrees, first and second cycle degrees, and second cycle degrees.

The universities regulate the access to their own degrees and they fix the academic prices. They can also offer unofficial post-degrees.

[edit] Costs

All non-university state education is free in Spain, but parents have to buy all of their children's books and materials.

Schools supply a list of what is required at the start of each school year which will include art and craft materials as well as text and exercise books. Expect to spend a minimum of around ninety pounds (GBP) per child, but 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 like Andalusia, where kids from 3 to 10 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.Lots of children go to Private schools

[edit] Qualifications

The Certificate of Secondary Education is awarded at the end of compulsory secondary education after passing every subject but 2, and a student who achieves appropriate grades graduates from Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) and can apply for one of the different types of (Spanish) Bachillerato.

The modalities of Bachillerato depend on each region, but are commonly, Letters (Bachillerato de Humanidades), Nature and Health Sciences (Bachillerato de Ciencias de la Naturaleza y la Salud), Technology (Bachillerato Tecnológico), Society Sciences (Bachillerato de Ciencias Sociales) and Arts (Bachillerato de Arte), having 3 different tematic subjects each, and several common subjects such as Spanish, Foreign Language, Philosophy, History, etc.

Middle or Superior Vocational training is also a common possibility after ESO or after Bachillerato, they are called Ciclos Formativos de Grado Medio for middle or Ciclos Formativos de grado Superior for Superior getting a Technician Degree, or it can be taken after Bachillerato, getting a Superior Technician diploma and direct entrance to several related University degrees, there are more than 200 different specialities.

Students with appropriate qualifications and wishing to enrol University in Spain, must usually take an entrance exam called PAAU, that consists in 6 tests, 3 for each tematic subject and a test for each History or Philosophy, Foreign Language (commonly English) and Spanish grammar and literature subject, after passing their Bachillerato. The School Leaving Certificate is not inferior to a number of GCSEs. The Bachillerato is not inferior to A levels. Therefore, Spanish students obtaining the appropriate grades required for entrance into universities in Europe, including England, are not precluded.

[edit] School hours

Primary school hours at present are 9.00 to 12:30 and 3.30 to 5:00, or full time classes from 9.00 to 14.00, depending on the school politics, except during June and September when they work mornings only, 9:00 to 1:00. There is a move towards a single session day in primary schools which would bring them in line with secondary schools. To achieve this each school has to submit a programme of extra curricular activities to be offered in the afternoons to the education authority, and if this is approved the proposal to move to a single session day is put to a vote by the parents for their approval.

Some schools have a dining room and provide lunches, but many do not. There is also an early morning regime for the children of working mothers in many schools, who can take their children before classes as early as 7:00 where they have breakfast and do sport or leisure activities.

Secondary schools ((Instituto de Enseñanza Secundaria or commonly Instituto, often abbreviated to "I.E.S") work from 8:15 to 2:30 all the school year.

In both schools, there is a break that takes normally half an hour, about 11:30. In some Secondary schools there are 2 breaks of 15 minutes.

[edit] School terms

Broadly similar to the English three term system, but with slightly shorter holidays at Christmas (December 23-January 7) and Easter (one week), and longer in the summer, in 2005 the summer holiday runs from June 22 until September 1/September 15, 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.

[edit] Religious education

A non-evaluable religion class is taken in all schools in accordance with the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, and Islam or Evangelist in the schools where there are important minorities. Parents are asked when they enroll their children whether or not they wish them to take religious education, taking Civism lessons or Religious Culture, where the history of the religions is studied.

[edit] Availability of schools

All but the very smallest villages have their own primary school, and there is widespread coverage by school transport. Small village schools are grouped together under the auspices of their local teacher's centre for the provision of specialist teachers for subjects such as music, English, etc. Most larger villages and towns will have a secondary school.

[edit] Arrangements for foreign pupils

Many schools have a specialist teacher to help immigrant children of all nationalities learn Spanish. Normally, the younger the child, the more quickly they learn the language and integrate.

It is quite common for secondary pupils to be placed in the class a year below their actual age in order for them to learn the language and cope with normal school work. A pupil who does badly in end-of-year exams, especially if the staff feel that they have made insufficient effort, can be required to repeat the year, but this can only happen once.

[edit] New Projects

At this very moment the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español "PSOE") is debating in the parliament a new project for Education.

Currently, the Spanish education system is undergoing substantial change resulting from the introduction of the Organic Law on the quality of Education (Ley Orgánica de Calidad de la Educación) or L.O.C.E.

[edit] External links

• Spanish Ministry of Education In Spanish