Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Students:
Rebeca Garca Olivares
Jos Lpez Lpez
Javier del Olmo Muoz
Andrea Trraga Snchez
Sergio Tirado Olivares
Master degree in Primary Education
2 course group B
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 4
4. CONCLUSIONS 36
REFERENCES 39
1. INTRODUCTION
For the preparation of this work, we have done a review of the Spanish educational system
under topic 17 where we have seen the different European educational systems.
We have structured the work in two parts: on the one hand we have compared the situation
of the Spanish educational system through PISA reports, International Assessment Reports
(OECD), MEC (Ministry of Education and Science) and INE (National Institute of Statistics)
With respect to other countries. The main variables we have compared have been
Expenditure on education per student, the ratios of the classrooms, the salaries of teachers,
the gap between regions and our results in reading, science and maths.
On the other hand, we have deepened in our own system analyzing its structure
organization and functions, as well as its teaching team and its financing. Within its structure
we focus on explaining its parts as well as the changes introduced in the LOMCE with
respect to LOE, New tests, access requirements, school for adults, etc.
In addition we will see the organs of governments, the management team, their different
members, their functions, competences and form of election. The training of teachers and the
teaching profession.
In this part, we also talk about educational counseling and equality in education regarding
the financing of schools and scholarships offered by the MEC (Ministry of Education and
Science), which is related to educational administration. Finally, we inform about the
inclusive education and attention to the diversity that our educational system offers to the
citizens.
With all this, we have observed that although it has different weaknesses to improve,
aggravated in recent years mainly by the economic crisis, in general terms it is a fairly
complete, free and equitable system.
An example to follow
One example that stands out in Spain is Castilla y Len, ranking seventh in the world in
the field of Education. The Autonomous Community leads two of the skills in Spain (science
and reading) and is equal to countries like Canada, Finland or Japan. (Sili, 2016). And all
this despite not being one of the richest regions (has 1,300 euros less income than the national
average) nor the most invest in education (although it is almost a thousand euros above the
average expenditure per pupil). (lvarez, 2016).
According to Sanmartn (2016), the keys are in the involvement of parents and teachers,
the level of demand and the low ratios of students per classroom in the rural areas. In terms of
teachers, Castilla y Len has focused on their quality through training, as they have a very
demanding system to train their teachers. They have three specific training centers for
teachers: one focused on information technology, another on language learning and a third in
which they prepare high-level officials. In 2010 they started a plan to free their teachers half
the school hours and teach between themselves, a model they call Collaborative Teachers.
They also promote exchanges with teachers from other countries, like Canada.
From my point of view, if we want to look at Castilla y Len as an example to follow,
what is in our hands is to imitate them in terms of teacher training. Therefore, a good teacher
who wants to reach the highest levels for his students, must be formed permanently.
II) Indicators of economic and human resources, educational context and school
organization
Expenditure on education per student
During 2000- 2009, the economic crisis hadnt yet affected to education investment in the
majority of OECD countries. In Childhood, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education there
were significant increases in educations investment.
In 2009, Spain allocated $ 10,094 per year of public expenditure per pupil in public
education, 21% more than the OECD ( $ 8,329) and the EU ( $ 8,307) in all education stages.
In Spain, the OECD and the EU, spending increases as the educational stages rise, being
the public expenditure per student higher in Tertiary Education than in Primary, Secondary
and Childhood Schools. (INEE, 2012)
However, since 2010, as a result of the Economic Crisis, it starts a decrease in the public
expenditure on education. So, in 2011 Spain maintained a public expenditure on education
slightly higher than the OECD ($ 8,952) and the UE ($ 8,909), investing $9,285 per student.
(INEE, 2014).
In the following years, Spain continued decreasing its expenditure while the OECD and
the EU increased it. As a consequence, in 2013 Spain was below the OECD ($ 9, 522) and
the EU ($ 9,740) average, spending $ 8,644 per student in public education.
The Economic crisis made politicians to take decisions which could have affected the
quality of education. Some of the decisions made were: to increase the ratio of students per
class, to reduce teacherssalaries, etc. Now, we proceed to explain this.
Ratios classroom
Regarding to Primary education, while in 2009 the average number of pupils per class in
state primary schools (19.8) was lower than in the OECD (21.4) and in the European Union
(20.0), in 2012 Spain was at very similar levels with a size of 20 students per class compared
to 21 in the OECD and 20 in the EU. Finally, Spain increased the number of students until 21
pupils per class in 2014. Comparing Spain with other countries, we can see that there are
some countries with less students per class as Finland (19) , Sweden (18), but also with more
students than Spain as Japan (27), UK (26).
In the first stage of Secondary Education, in 2009 the average of Spanish state centers
(23.5) is equal to that of the OECD (23.5) and higher than that of the EU (21.9). However,
according to INEE (2014), in 2012 Spain increased until 4 students per class compared to 2
more students in the OECD and EU. Finally, the number increased until 25 students per class
in 2014. Comparing Spain with other countries, we can see that there are some countries with
less students per class as Finland and UK (20) , but also with more students than Spain as
Japan (30).
Taking all this into account, the OECD study on Teaching and Learning (TALIS, 2013),
involving secondary education teachers from 34 countries, reveals that classes with more
students generally involve spending more time maintaining order and less in teaching and
learning activities (INEE, 2016). There is a widespread perception which says that in smaller
classes the teacher spends more time on each student and less time on the general
management of the classroom, paying more attention to the individual needs and ensuring a
better performance. The size of the class, could be seen in that way as an indicator of the
quality of the education system (INEE, 2016).
But, why Japan performs better than Spain in PISA if its classes size is higher than ours?
The OECD International Study on Teaching and Learning (TALIS) has shown that,
regardless of class size, the lack of qualified teachers is also a serious concern in many
countries. In some countries in which its class size is lower than the average, the directors of
some schools say that the lack of qualified teachers in their schools hampered teaching. Thus,
reducing class size is not by itself a sufficient guarantee to improve the quality of education
systems. The results of the OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)
suggest that systems that prioritize teacher quality over smaller classes tend to perform better,
so quality of teachers is a more effective measure to improve students performance.
For that reason Japan, which has a higher rate of students per class and per teacher than
Spain, gives more importance to teacherssalaries than to class size and get a
higher-than-average performance of their students at PISA. (INEE, 2016)
Salaries of teachers
The initial salary of Spanish teachers, both for Primary and Secondary Education, is higher
than the average for the OECD and the EU. After 15 years of professional career, the
differences between the average salaries between Spain, OECD and EU are reduced. At the
end of the teaching career, Spain's wages are also above the OECD and EU averages,
although Spain needs more years of professional life to reach the maximum salary,
specifically 38 years, as wages incorporate supplements that are increasing with seniority
throughout the teaching career. However, in other countries such as the Netherlands or
England, their teachers achieve the maximum salary before having 15 years of professional
career. (INEE, 2011).
Teacher salaries increased according to the educational stage, so Tertiary Education
teachers have a higher salary than Primary Education teachers.
To see how the Economic crisis affected salaries, we base our demonstration on primary
teachers.
In 2008 and 2009, teacher salaries in Spain increased more than in previous years due to
the progressive incorporation of certain increases in some of the salary components, both at
the state and autonomous levels.
(INEE, 2011)
In 2010, salaries reached their maximum level.
(INEE, 2012)
In 2012, politicians decided to invest less education as well as to trim down in education,
so teacher salaries were affected by the Economic crisis although it remained above the
average wage of the OECD countries and the EU at all stages of education. Four years later,
in 2014 we can see how salaries decreased in comparison with 2010.
(INEE, 2016)
Trimmings in education and wage decrease supposed an increase in the ratio of pupils per
classroom, as we have seen previously, and therefore fewer teachers were hired. Those who
worked, had more teaching hours and the replacement of teachers was delayed. All these
measures increased the workload of teachers who could not meet all the needs of their
students and therefore students did not receive a quality education, either because there was
no substitute teacher and they lost teaching hours or because the teachers were not in the right
conditions to carry out their work.
According to INEE (2014), Education Indicators in Focus (N18), mentions two negative
impacts that could generate these decreases:
- To discourage students with a high performance to enter to the teaching career due to
labor instability.
- It is more difficult to maintain a quality education. In PISA 2012 it was observed that
countries with better performance tend to pay higher teacher salaries. Therefore,
paying less to teachers may not be an optimal way to improve the value for money in
education.
For that reason, the challenge was to maintain or improve education quality with less
resources. In that way, teacher training becomes a key element in bringing the teaching
profession with the skills and competences required to achieve a successful education.
Teachers require initial and continuous quality training.
Analysing the quality of educational systems according to academic, pedagogical and
practical contents in relation with teacher training, in TALIS studio most teachers state that
they had received sufficient training for the subjects they teach in each of the fields analyzed.
However, Spanish teachers consider that their training received in pedagogy and in practical
preparation has not been enough to prepare them in pedagogy and practice of the subjects
they teach, 44.3% in pedagogy, 44.0% in practice, proportions far from the average levels of
the OECD (69.6% and 67.1%, respectively). This may indicate a real training deficit in the
professional qualification of teachers, what could have negative effects on students education
(INEE, 2014).
After having analyzed these different parameters we must reflect. As we have seen, the
ratio of students per class in Spain is not among the highest if we compare it to other
countries, what would be a positive effect for the education carried out in classrooms.
However, this factor is not unique to obtain a quality education, because according to the
different reports teacherssalaries and their preparation are also involved. So will the lack or
decrease of this factors (among others) in our country make our results to not be as good as
they should be?
Although PISA reports indicate that Spain is gradually improving despite the trimmings that
have been made in education during these years, we believe that a better initial teacher
training would have better results. As a student of primary education teaching, I think it is not
a valued career and teaching is not recognized in a prestigious way in society. Moreover,
some needed tools are not given to us to work in the future with children. I fully agree, that
practical and pedagogical training is not enough in the faculties of teaching. Therefore, would
not it be necessary to start by changing the training of teachers to obtain different results in
the PISA reports? If we want different results, let's do different things.
Primary Education
Primary Education is the first obligatory stage of the education system. it comprises six
academic courses between 6 and 12 years.
It is structured in six stages, one for each academic year.
The school calendar regulates the length of the school year as well as the vacation periods.
It establishes the educational administrations of the Autonomous Communities within the
scope of their competences from the minimum regulated by the MECD.
As for the duration of the school year, it must comprise a minimum of 175 school days
grouped in quarters and distributed between the first half of September and the end of June,
including in the calculation of the school calendar the days dedicated to the evaluations
envisaged in the LOMCE .
In relation to the school holidays, they are distributed throughout the course:
approximately 12 weeks of summer vacations, about 15 days at Christmas, between 8 and 11
days at the end of March or beginning of April, coinciding with Easter, and About 7 days
declared festive or non-academic by the MECD or the regional and / or local administrations.
The weekly schedule is organized in 5 full days from Monday to Friday. The number of
hours per day is 5, which is equivalent to 25 weekly lessons. Therefore, the normal school
day consists of 5 one-hour classes. Based on their autonomy, the educational centers will
distribute sessions that best fit their needs and can be distributed in periods of hour or
forty-five minutes and a half-hour break.
The knowledge areas of Primary Education are structured into three groups:
- Block of core area.
- Block of specific are.
- Block of areas of free autonomic configuration.
There is an internal evaluation in the third course, in this way the degree of acquisition of
the competences in linguistic and mathematical communication will be verified. If a pupils do
not pass the test, the teaching team will take the most appropriate exceptional measures,
including in this case the repetition of the third course.
There is another evaluation at the end of the sixth grade, this is an external one, "without
academic effects" to verify the degree of acquisition of core competencies and compliance
with both the objectives of the stage and the viability of the student's transit through the next
stage. The result will be informative and guiding for centers, teaching staff, families and
students. This test is done in the center of the student, and will be applied and qualified by
specialists from outside the center.
It can only be repeated once during the stage, with a specific plan of reinforcement or
recovery.
Vocational Training
Vocational Training of the Educational System includes, Basic Vocational Training,
Medium Vocational Training and Upper Vocational Training. These studies lead to the
obtaining of an official degree.
Adult Education
Adult education refers to education offered to old people relatively older than the widely
accepted on regularly education levels and degrees of the current educational service,
addressed to supplement and complement their professional training or validate their studies.
(Zarate, 2010).
From my point of view, these centers are indispensable for those, who for some personal
reasons, left the education system prematurely, depriving them of the necessary training in
order to achieve a position of quality employment.
Adult education in the field of educational administration incorporates various training
activities: a curricular option that allows all adults to receive training in all levels and
programmes of the education system; an extracurricular option which includes a
heterogeneous serie of training programmes; and finally, a serie of specific tests or
extraordinary exams that allow adults to get academic and professional qualifications with
which they can access to certain training programmes.
It is structured in three levels which include all the learning processes, from how to learn,
read and write (basic level) until the graduate in secondary education. In most of the
autonomous communities, adult basic education is configured in this form. The first and
second level provide initial education and the third one (level III) is specially oriented to
obtain the graduate in secondary education. (SEPE, 2016)
One of the key points, as we have seen in Education and Society, is to form free people,
for this purpose, it is essential to have at least the basics such as reading, writing and basic
elementary operations, therefore, this second opportunity to get them is essential for these
people.
However, despite the fact that of the numerous centres that there are, the variety of
activities, and the flexibility of schedules, currently, the participation remains low. Moreover,
according to data collected by the MEC Statistical Office in 2012, only 4.3% of the
participants were over the age of 20. (MEC,2012)
So, for those who have more than 20 years, this education is not a viable option, I think it
may be by thoughts like "I can not learn anymore" or " what I need is to work", without
seeing that are related things because training is essential to be able to work.
There is also a professional training for unemployed people. It is composed of a serie of
training actions aimed to the unemployed to achieve the qualifications which require the
productive system, with the aim of reintegrating them into the active workforce of the
profession where they previously worked. By contrast, these programs have had an increase
in participation in recent years.(SEPE,2015)
In addition, there are similar programs directed to professionals who are working. In this
case, it intends to equip them with the necessary knowledge related to their work in order to
continue being the most effective as possible; these programs are usually focused on new
techniques and the use of ICTs.
There are currently more than 1.873 education adult centers distributed throughout Spain
in 51 provinces. Here in the province of Albacete, there are 27 localities that have these
centers. (Todoeduca.com, 2017)
Qualification and training of teachers
The teacher selection system (historical evolution)
Taking a look at the different regulations of the selection systems of teachers throughout
the history of teacher training in Spain, it can be inferred that these have had few
modifications, despite the many years elapsed. (Requena, 2006)
The important thing about the test has always been the written development of a topic
related to the profession, an oral part, and a practical part. Around this there have been slight
variations since the year 1588, the oldest of which there is reference (Garca y Barbarn,
1917). Some of the most striking are the following:
- Almanac of the year 1745, which establishes the requirements for "Examinations of
teachers." It required, among other things: "Present your faith of baptism", know
Christian Doctrine (this would be usual for several centuries), know how to read
Loose, both in the book of the mold and the choir, Bula and handwriting ancient and
difficult, you must know how to write the six forms of letters, which are: italics, grifa,
italian, romanilla, chorus and round.
- In 1910, at the end of the oral exercise, each opponent had to translate a piece of
French without preparation or dictionary. In the case of women, and since sewing was
a compulsory subject in their curricula, they would also perform a labor exercise.
(Ministerio de Instruccin Pblica y Bellas Artes, 1910)
Teacher training
Note: Regarding teacher training, all information is taken in relation to what we seen in
the subject of Management and Innovation this same year in the first quarter taught by
Professor Jesualdo E. Moreno Snchez and elaborated and written by myself.
Until 2012, teachers could acquire new knowledge and learn other teaching methodologies
in the so-called "centres of teachers'. These centers were places where teachers were trained
(they were a copy of the British model). However, during this year, the Government of that
time decided to remove them.
In its place appeared the "training figure", who under the supervision of the Head of
studies and Headmaster, is the responsible for directing the formation of teachers currently.
In particular, he must organize the seminars that have to do in the Center (because it must be
one for each school) during the academic year.
The seminars to be done, primarily online, are decided by the Faculty cloister: at least 50%
of the teachers have to agree to make that project. Then, it should be approved by the
delegation of education.
As a reward for this work, the training figure have two free hours per week for the
organization of these projects and has merits in the course of transfers. It must be a definitive
professor appointed by the director for 1 year.
Before even the training centres, until its appearance in 1982, universities were responsible
for teacher's training. However, in that time there was no internet, it was all face-to-face, with
the disadvantage that most rural teachers did not have access to this training.
Nowadays, universities are returning to have an important role due to they are preparing
courses for the renewal of the methods used by teachers.
In a personal conclusion, the teacher training must be as continuous as possible, in a
changing and globalized world like this one, we should be aware of new resources and
methodologies that can appear in order to do our teaching quality as best as possible.
Teaching Degree
In relation to the degree, the main objective of it is to train professionals who will be
competitive in all areas of teaching in childhood and primary education.
It is evident that the training required to be a primary teacher in Spain is taught at
university, where we find ourselves right now.
After the regularization of the degrees in 2009, it changed from being a Bachelor to a
Degree which consists of 4 years divided in 240 credits in total (according to the Bolonia
Plan), of which 60 are basic training, 102 are from compulsory subjects, 24 optional subjects,
48 practices carried out in schools and 6 for the realization of the final degree thesis.
(Echeverra, 2010)
There are pints still collected in the previous law, as in relation to specific
matters/subjects: according to the LOE in its article 93, "the teaching of music, physical
education, foreign languages or those other courses determined by the Government, after
consultation with the autonomous communities, will be taught by teachers with specialization
or corresponding qualification". (BOE, 2006)
The aim is that these professionals, enabled for the exercise of the regulated profession of
teacher in primary education, achieve the proper training to meet the challenges of the
educational system, to adapt teaching to new training needs and to perform their functions
under the principle of collaboration and work as a team. (UCLM, 2017)
Students who want to be teachers must learn which are the criteria for assessment, related
with the procedures of teaching-learning training: they must be able to design, plan, and
evaluate them, both individually and in collaboration with other teachers and professionals of
the centre, as well as being effective in situations of multicultural and multilingual contexts.
Also they have to be able to foster reading and critical commentary of texts of the different
scientific domains and cultural content in the school curriculum among the students.
Finally, they must be able to teach in different contexts (rural and urban, multicultural and
monocultural, regional, national and international, etc.); able to adapt to the changing social,
cultural, scientific, technological and educational environment; dominating the subjects and
their interdisciplinary relation; be critical; with initiative; able to reflect on their practice;
ultimately, committed to their profession. (UCLM, 2017)
As we have seen previously, generalist training is complemented with specialised offered
statements through training. Because, as it is said in LOEs article 93.2., primary education
will be given by teachers, who will have competition in all areas of this level; and the
teaching of music, physical education, foreign languages or those other courses determined
by the Government, after consultation with the autonomous communities, will be taught by
teachers with specialization or corresponding qualification. (LOE, 2006)
It will also be necessary to know how to instill values of respect, tolerance in order to have
a good environment both in the classroom and with the rest of the teaching staff, to promote
respect for human rights...
In a general view and from my point of view, although the legislative framework of the
LOMCE with respect to training seems very complete, when it comes to implement it does
not seem enough.
The theory, in the two years that we have been in this degree, rarely is accompanied by
sufficient practice to deal with problems that may arise in our classes.
We must foster situations in class that will allow us to develop skills in teaching since,
ultimately, it will be our main function. It is clear that we need a base that sustains our
practice but this second part I think is the most important and however, lessons are not
always focused on their development.
Educational Innovation
Educational innovation is a multidimensional process: it involves political, economic,
ideological, cultural and psychological factors and affects different contextual levels.
(Vogliotti & Macchiarola, 2003). According to Fidalgo (2015), teachers in Spain usually
participate in three types of educational innovation:
- Institutional educational innovation is usually based on content. The first
applications consisted of the digitization of content and the use of e-learning
platforms. The last two applications in this line have been the OCW and MOOC
subjects. This modality is usually financed by the institutions themselves. Apart from
ICT, we have the well-known bilingualism program, which is also carried out by
many other countries.
- R&D (research and development) projects are usually based on the latest
technologies. The feasibility of applying the latest technological advances is studied
and pilot projects are carried out, which usually last several years and involve a large
number of people and institutions. This modality is usually financed by different calls
for R+D projects or in collaboration with companies.
- The educational innovation carried out in the classroom is based more on the
methodologies and activities carried out by the teachers with their students. It is a
question of improving processes (eg getting students to participate actively during a
master lesson), reducing the effort to implement them (eg proposing a personalized
training plan for each student) or exploring new processes (eg Flipped Classroom). As
this type of innovation is usually done individually and in the small context of the
subject, there is a wide variety of applications.
As i see it, teachers have to be aware about the different types of educational innovation,
but the one which is carried out by teachers themselves is the one which is carried out in the
classroom, and should be applied by them, or maybe also by families who want to get
involved (another of the latest trends). I am of the opinion that this is the type of innovation
that we can perform as individuals and on which we have to direct our efforts in most cases.
Educational counselling
Academic and professional guidance
According to the LOE (2006), the orientation should promote an integral education in
students knowledge, skills and values. In short, it must play a fundamental and inseparable
part of the persons educational process. It is the educational administration which has the
responsibility of facilitating access to the necessary information.
With the Organic Law 2/2006, of May 3, on Education (BOE of 04/05/2006), where the
recommendations of the European Union on orientation are collected, this service receives a
new impetus in all its dimensions.
The organization of the guidance system in Spain responds to the same model, which is
based on the constitution of three levels of intervention: the tutorial action, the guidance
departments and the sector teams.
Currently, the most common distribution in almost all the territory usually consists of
"Sector Teams" working in a zonal way in Primary and Secondary Education, and the
"Departments of Orientation" working internally in the Institutes of Secondary Education.
In comparison to LOE with LOMCE, the term counselling and educational guidance
appears more often in the LOE.
To verify this, we have done a search and we have found that unlike in the LOE, the term
advice and educational guidance only appears once in the LOMCE:
Article 2.bis. Spanish Education System.
3. In order to achieve the purposes set in article 2, the Spanish Educational
System will have, among others, the following instruments:
a) The School Council of the State, as a body for the participation of
the educational community in the general programming of teaching
and advice to the Government.
"Article 42. Content and organization of the offer.
The pedagogical criteria with which the training programs of these cycles will
be developed will be adapted to the specific characteristics of the students and
will encourage teamwork. In addition, tutoring and educational and
professional guidance will be given special consideration."
(Picked up from LOMCE, 2014)
Educational administration
Management team
The main task or role of the management team could be summarized in creating the
conditions where teaching and learning take place. Putting in other words: they should work
with the aim of "building" a good school: a school of quality, inclusive and improving
constantly. It involves working in multi-tasking and dimensions:
According to the article V of Chapter 2 of this organic law:
- The management team of the Center will be composed by: the Headmaster, the Head
teacher and the College secretary. Moreover, if the centre is big enough, it will also
have a Deputy Director and a Head of studies attached to help to the rest of the
members.
Functions:
- The management team will have the following functions:
- To ensure the proper functioning of the Centre.
- To study and to do proposals to the Faculty cloister and the School Board to
facilitate and encourage the participation of the educational community in the
life of the Center.
- To promote activities for assessment procedures and collaborate in external
evaluations
- To propose preventive actions that favour the relations of the educational
community between the various groups that comprise it and improve the
coexistence in the Institute.
- To adopt the necessary measures for the coordinated implementation of the
decisions of the School Board and Faculty cloister in the field of their
respective competencies.
- To establish the criteria for the preparation of the draft budget.
- To coordinate the development of the Centre project, the annual Plan of
Center and the Final memory of the course.
- To develop the proposed regulation of organization and operation.
- To collaborate with the educational administration in those organs of
participation which, for this purpose, they are established.
According to the following article (article 5), the management team should meet at least
once per week, being the Headmaster the responsible for organising the meetings. Addressing
the issues based on the documents of the center and adopting the measures in a consensual
way.
In addition, it is important to note that there must be at least one member of the
management team during school hours and that everyone should dedicate some of their hours
for the rest of the educational community (including parents and students).
Competencies:
Headmaster:
In relation to the competencies of the Headmaster, he must be the person who represents
the centre to educational administration as it is his highest representative, direct and
coordinate all activities done in the center, approves various documents such as the annual
general programming and education project, boost the collaboration of the entire educational
community
Ultimately, the Headmaster is the most responsible of the Center, he has to know
everything that happens and with the LOMCE, he has the final word in the decision-making.
As we will see later, this has changed in relation to LOE.
Head of study
The Head of study is the closest person to the Headmaster within the management of the
Centre, even this can take the competencies of the director when he can't do.
Its main functions include, to coordinate all activities,to take part in decision-making, to
coordinate the tasks of the training figure, to participate in the preparation/elaboration of
certain documents, to organize the calendar and school schedule... He can also adopt other
powers entrusted by the director within his own competences.
As a curiosity, it is responsible for the care of the students in the periods of recess and not
teaching activities.
Center secretary
Secretary, is the main responsible for the staff of services of the Centre, under the
Headmaster's guidelines, he must carry all the administrative regime of the center, custody
the documents and materials of the Center, made the proceedings of the incentives, perform
the required certificates
He is also responsible for ordering the economic regime, is in charge of renewing the
Center material
Finally, he works with the rest of the management team in the development of the
documents of the Centre.
Deputy Headmaster and Head of studies attached
In relation to the rest of the management team (where fitted), their main functions can be
defined as the help to the three previously mentioned. When the Center is large enough, the
management team needs more people to carry out its function properly.
In particular, the Deputy Headmaster is responsible to take care /carry on of some
functions of the Headmaster by delegation of him while that in the case of the Deputy Head
of studies, as happened in my school, levels are spread so that each is responsible for a group
of them, for example, what was happening in my school is that there were three heads of
studies : two for the secondary levels and another one for the baccalaureate education, thus
the task of carrying out the schedules, etc. were easier for them.
In relation to the previous law, the School Board had more power in decision making as
for example in the approval of documents which is currently carried out by the director.
It is clear that bodies as the School Board have lost "power", what I think it is not
beneficial, these bodies serve to foster decision making in a cooperative way but if we take
them off, will not they lose capacity of decision within the center??
Appointment and dismissal of the management team:
Its appointment, and in particular the election of the Headmaster, is performed by a contest
of merits, among the professors of the Centre, however, such and as laid down in the lomce,
they need to have a series of requirements.
The main requirements that need to meet are: he must have an antiquity of at last 5 years
teaching at the Centre itself, to have made and passed a course of formation of the function
directive and having a project of direction to do in the center during the next years. However,
if it is a special education center, center of adults education, or very small centres of primary
and secondary schools, may be exempt from some of these requirements.
Subsequently, the election is carried out by a Commission consisting of 7 members, of
whom 3 are from the Center (two teachers and a person of the services of the Center) and 4
people of educational administration (1 is the inspector of the Center and 3 nominated freely).
When they have chosen the best candidate, this one will become the Headmaster for four
years and can be renewed for periods of the same duration previously with a positive
evaluation during the years he has been director.
In relation to the Head of studies, and the Secretary are appointed by Headmaster, it is not
necessary to have any prerequisite, in case that the Administration has no problems with
appointments, it will be the person that the director decides.
On the other hand, the removal of the management team, will be:
Headmaster: when 2/3 of the School Board (COnsejo escolar) are okay, they can ask
for his dismissal.
In the case of the rest of the management team, is the director who proposed to the
School Board and administration dismissal providing supporting reasons for this.
(Retrieved from LOMCE, 2014)
4. CONCLUSIONS
Throughout this project we have analysed how our Spanish Educational System is. We
have also checked if there have been any differences from changing from one law (LOE) to
another law (LOMCE) and how this change could have influenced in our Education System.
We have seen that with the new law, more competencies are attributed to the management
team of schools. However, other aspects like Attention to Diversity are maintained in the
same way as it was with the previous law. Our Education System guarantees an education
which satisfies the educational needs of every student, specialy for those who require specific
need for educational support.
Although LOE was considered an insufficient law to achieve a quality education and the
generated controversy led to the imposition of the new law LOMCE, PISA 2015 results
carried out with LOE revealed that Spain improved slightly while the OECD average
worsens. These results dismantles many of the arguments used to impose LOMCE, especially
those based on poor educational outcomes. However, after having done this project we realise
that although Spain is improving and politicians may think that changing Education laws is
the solution to get better results, there are some factors which have a great influence on
education quality. These factors could be affecting our education in a bad way, not getting as
good results as other countries which perform better than us. The main factors are the
performance gap between regions, gender gap in performance, socioeconomic level among
families and teacherstraining and qualification.
In our point of view, teachers training and qualification is a crucial variable to improve
the quality of education. Nevertheless, Spanish teachers and we as future teachers agree that
the training received at university is not enough to prepare us to teach in schools, because
there is a lack in relation with pedagogical and practical contents.
In addition, Teaching Profession is not considered like a prestigious job in our country, so
we dont give to teaching the importance that it has, and as a consequence those countries
which give more importance to teachers quality and teacher is valued in a fair way by
society, obtain the best PISA results year after year, because it is essential to get a quality
education.
All professions are important in life but as Nelson Mandela said: Education is the most
powerful weapon we can use to change the world. Lets give to teaching the importance it
has, because a Doctor could save a life, but a teacher could create new ways of life.
QUESTIONS
T/F
1. According to the last PISA reports (2015), the performance gap between some regions of
Spain is smaller than the gap between Spain and other countries. False.
2. Reducing class size is not by itself a sufficient guarantee to improve the quality of
education systems. True.
3. According to LOMCE, I can access to upper secondary education if I have passed all my
subjects in the 4 course. False, you need to pass an exam to have your degree of secondary
education, and it is only worth it, if you have done the academic modality in that exam.
4. In the Spanish Education System: The head of studies is the responsible of the children
during the break. True.
5. In the Spanish Educational System, there are different educational compensation programs
directed to a wide diversity of students because they come from a minority group or students
that cannot attend school by medical prescription or hospitalization, between others. True.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. According to the last PISA reports (2015), in Spain girls perform much better than
boys in:
a. Reading.
b. Math.
c. Science
Answer: a.