Home Elements for a Diagnosis of the Spanish Educational System

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3

Syllabus and teaching methods


Introduction

One of the five specific objectives pointed out within the Diagnosis of the Educational system is as follows: What and how are the students being taught (Evaluation of the syllabus and teaching methods). The aim is to analyze whether the syllabuses in force are the most suitable for the needs of the students and Spanish society at large. The INCE entrusted this objective to a Specialised Committee, commissioning it to study those aspects of ESO (Obligatory Secondary Education).

After a realistic analysis of the existing possibilities according to the time and resources available, the Committee considered it should concentrate on an internal evaluation, taking the ESO teacher as the main informer, aimed at optimising teaching. The following work scheme was thus adopted:

  • Preparation of a survey to be answered by the ESO teaching staff, in the Autonomous Regions devolved in educational competencies and those operating in what is known as the "MEC Territory".
  • Collection of verbal information from a series of Diagnosis Group sessions, to be attended and participated in by teachers, management and other professionals related to ESO.
  • Preparation of a summary report using the data supplied by both the sources cited.

As to the survey, it consists of a total 325 questions on a set of 47 themes. The vast majority of the items require an appraisal on a scale of 1 to 5, indicating different degrees of agreement or frequency. They were initially grouped in a series of categories aimed at providing a response to the different aspects involved in the syllabus evaluation. Specifically, it was structured in nine sets or groups of variables, each one of which matches a conceptual core of evident interest from a syllabus viewpoint, as follows:

  • Intentions, contents and goals of ESO.
  • The pre-active phase: syllabus design and scheduling.
  • Teaching means and resources.
  • The teaching process: strategies and methods.
  • Diversity in ESO.
  • Integration of students with special educational needs.
  • The evaluation procedures.
  • The academic atmosphere and culture.
  • The means of support and aid for the teacher's professional tasks.

The target population for the study is the set of teachers who gave classes to students in ESO during academic year 1996/97 in any of the following five subjects: Spanish Language, Mathematics, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and Technology. Due to diverse reasons, the territories of Andalusia, the Canaries, Ceuta and Melilla were excluded. The population was stratified by school holdership variables (state and private), teaching experience, Autonomous Region and the aforementioned subjects.

Table 1 shows the number of teachers in the samples: that designed (1) and achieved (2).



Table 1: Sample of teachers in the study
 
Population % Sample (1) Sample (2) % Weighting
Catalonia
Galicia*
Navarra**
Valencia*
Basque Country
MEC Territory
28.448
13.431
3.495
17.128
10.450
73.531
19,42
9,17
2,39
11,69
7,13
50,20
500
500
500
500
500
1.000
458
542
427
528
441
891
91,6
108,4
85,4
105,6
88,2
89,1
1,56
0,62
0,17
0,80
0,49
1,71
TOTAL 146.483 -- 3.500 3.287 93,9 --

*   These regions extended their sample by the staff teaching the language of the region answering an extra questionnaire.
**  The 427 teachers in Navarra were the whole population teaching ESO in the region during academic year 1996-97.



Due to the design of the sample, each teacher in the sample represents a significantly different number of teachers according to the region to which he belongs. To correct this fact, a weighting was calculated, so each teacher contributes to the population estimates according to the proportion of the Autonomous Region represented in the full population.

The high number of variables in the survey - 325 as stated - and their characteristics - a view that encouraged participation and collaboration by the Committee - demanded a statistical treatment to allow an overview of the problems. Thus, it was considered that the most adequate treatment could be, in general terms, factor analysis.

The second step was to determine the meaning of the differences in measurements between each one of the groups of teachers making up the sample. These sets by groups required the following teacher identification variables to be taken into account:

  • Sex (differences between points provided by male and female teachers in the sample.
  • Teaching body they form part of: Primary School Teachers assigned to ESO, Secondary Education Teachers and Vocational Training Technical Teaching Staff.
  • Subject taught. In this case it was limited to the following disciplines: Spanish Language and Literature, Language and Literature of the Autonomous Region, Mathematics, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and Technology.
  • Holdership of the school where taught: state or private.
  • Teaching experience: more than 5 years, 6 to 10 years, 11 to 20 years and more than 20 years.

The quantitative data was obtained by collecting the information provided by teachers and "management" (principals, inspectors, university teachers, Trade Unionists ...) at group work sessions using the technique called Diagnosis Groups.

The need to provide a flexible definition of the scopes of the interrogatory was seen to be an urgent requisite by the Diagnosis Groups. In the case of ESO syllabus evaluation, the inventory of questions it aimed to cover - not necessarily in each session, but as a guideline to complete the different sets of group sessions - was as follows:

  • The objectives defined in the current laws on ESO, as well as the areas intended for performance during that period of schooling.
  • The tasks, functions and instruments required and used to prepare the classes.
  • The teaching resources and means most frequently used.
  • The techniques and strategies normally used by the teacher in class.
  • The problems arising from integration, diversification and syllabus adaptations.
  • Evaluations of ESO and the problems involved.
  • Promotion from one academic year to another within ESO.
  • The atmosphere at the school: tone, sense and functionality of the teacher relations with students, colleagues, parents ...
  • The functions of the Orientation Department, their sense and effectiveness.
  • The design of the tutorials and ability to provide a response to demands related to them.
  • The functions of the Pedagogical Coordination Committee and their possible effectiveness.
  • The most urgent needs that must be responded to in order to increase the quality of teaching in ESO.
  • The time per week dedicated to each one of the areas.

A total of 37 Group Diagnosis sessions were held, 33 of which were used. The remaining four were eliminated from the start due to diverse problems of a technical nature. The participants in these Group Diagnosis sessions amounted to 252 persons, plus their respective coordinators.




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