Home Elements for a Diagnosis of the Spanish Educational System
7 - Conclusions and recommendations (end)


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Entering the 21st Century

  1. The preceding pages are an attempt at extracting and interrelating the content of the five diagnosis reports, and as we have seen, conclusions may be reached to provide for reflection and action. In a last effort, it would still perhaps be convenient to emphasise the main strengths and weaknesses that, as the overall diagnosis suggests, there seem to be in the Spanish educational system in the 21st Century, at the end of the 20th Century that, undoubtably has done a lot for schools in our country. We only shall refer, as we said, to the strengths and weaknesses suggested by the diagnosis (referring mainly, one must not forget it, to the last stage of obligatory schooling), however, we are aware that others may be added to these (of both types) which the diagnosis has not covered, that are perhaps as or even more important for a correct approach to the future of Spanish education.
  2. Throughout the study, we have attempted to keep to the facts as much as possible, and not to risk interpretations that could be considered ungrounded or scarcely backed. According to that same principle, we wish to make two disclaimers in this last statement. The first, not even to speak of "strengths" and "weaknesses", in spite of this being the traditional terminology that is accepted in evaluation work. Both nouns refer, in principle, to fully contrasted realities, based on rigorous facts. Although we are convinced that this is the case of those we have already presented and will present again here, we should like, however, to adopt a less indicative language, and to thus catalogue them more as (positive and negative) "symptoms" than as "realities". The second disclaimer is that we will only include the symptoms we consider amply proven in both groups. This obliges us to allow for a third opening in the classification, dedicated to other points also covered by the diagnosis, that could well be catalogued as "matters pending due clarification", before taking decisions as to these which, in any case, should be taken, and taken soon, as soon as possible.


THE CONCERNING SYMPTOMS

  1. The first concerning symptom is the low academic performance by Spanish students throughout obligatory schooling, previously shown and most amply demonstrated in the evaluation we have just carried out. This means not only that they have scarce academic performance, but above all that our schools have a performance far below what would be expected and demanded according to the resources assigned to them. Whether greater or lesser importance is given to specific performance in specific subjects learned (as we do), the problem consists of this scarce performance being a symptom of a more general, low quality of schooling. The diagnosis definitively leads one to conclude the need to raise academic performance, which means most of the students would have to be concentrated in the ranges satisfactory, fully satisfactory and excellent.
  2. In spite of the predominantly positive atmosphere in obligatory secondary education school life, there are worrying symptoms that the situation could worsen in the coming years, as the scenarios of lack of discipline, vandalism on the facilities and moral and physical aggression have ceased to be occasional episodes, above all at certain schools, more generally in the public sector and more frequently suburban. The fact that our situation is relatively better than in other countries around us does not mean we may cease to take action to deal with such an important matter.
  3. The great majority of Spanish secondary education teaching staff denounce insufficient initial and ongoing training, scarcely adequate for the tasks and virtualities society demands. As qualitative improvement in Spanish education depends very much in the first instance on the human and professional quality of its educators, the persistence of the present situation (that has dragged on for years) one must consider it especially harmful and deserving prompt, efficient measures.
  4. Different diagnosis activities have brought to light that a major scenario of lack of communication has arisen between families (parents) and the schools their children attend. In this context, it is not strange to find traces of self-complacency or, if one prefers, the deficiencies in realism shown by Spanish parents concerning their children's academic performance. Nor do the frequent claims lodged in defense of parents and children against the teachers. The most worrying symptom shown by this data is, perhaps, that both institutional groups have become accustomed to working apart, and in general they do little to avoid this. One would have to explore ways to achieve a greater degree of relation with and participation in schools by the families.


LEVERS FOR IMPROVEMENT

  1. Spanish education now has a legal framework that, according to the analysis carried out by Committee II, is accorded by most of those performing tasks in education in the state and private sectors, without there seeming to be substantial differences between one Autonomous Region and another. There is varied and even abundant criticism of the present laws, but this does not seem aimed at their replacement by other laws, but rather at improving them, in conceptual terms as well as, above all, their enactment. This means that, on entering the 21st Century, Spain will have an educational legislation considered sufficient, the stability of which will not be questioned from the base, although it will require some amendment that may well affect obligatory secondary education. This state of things may, if adequately interpreted, form a lever for qualitative improvement of the system.
  2. In spite of the shortcomings in initial and ongoing training regretted by it, the Spanish teaching staff provides an image of solidity and great interest and dedication to their task. The Spanish educational system thus already has, to a great extent, the main resource it needs to bring about its qualitative improvement.
  3. Almost all Spanish families without exception, appreciate and favour the schooling plan for their adolescent and juvenile offspring. Once schooling for all is achieved, it seems logical to gradually expect quality schooling to be demanded, which will undoubtably create an important driving force to improve the educational system.


IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE

  1. The survey system, the teaching staff and the families allow us to glimpse that the educational system and, surely the whole of the Spanish social system still has not yet defined the values and fundamental objectives for education and the schools must aim as a priority at a pluralist, democratic, globalised society. It seems necessary for Spanish society to arrange debate on this important matter, demanding in any case a spirit of mutual comprehension and specific, practical analysis. It would be difficult to reach higher levels of quality if an agreement as to what these are is not reached.
  2. It seems necessary to clarify and harmonize, in Spanish obligatory secondary education, relations between the decision to provide students with a common educational sequence and life together to offer training channels to adapt to their personal characteristics. From the point of view of equality in substantial matters, it seems necessary and fair for the obligatory secondary school to open channels of differentiated treatment for students who are, in fact, different in capacities, interests and attitudes. In this sense, it is essential to obtain regular knowledge of the real, not approximate or supposed performance of each student, and to offer each one adequate means of improvement.
  3. The acquiescence by most of the school management, numerous teachers and some parents (at least those involved in the School Councils) to the legal provisions in force as to school management, should not be interpreted as a factitious consecration of the status quo and, thus, as a revitalisation of the great importance of the matter of educational leadership to the efficiency of schools. The existing difference in approach is obvious, as to this, between our educational system and that of all or almost all the countries with a high educational development. The data included in the diagnosis cannot demand that the matter be definitively silenced but, on the contrary, it must be opened up to public debate among diverse sectors of society and, in any case, apply the measures foreseen in the laws in force (the LOPEG) as to this point more strictly.
  4. According to their statements, Obligatory Secondary Education teachers do not feel sufficiently supported and valued by the relevant Educational Authorities. Although, as we saw, the diagnosis this time could not include a study on the role and functioning of said Authorities, one would have to reflect on the changes that perhaps must be included in their relations with the teaching staff to improve quality.
  5. The diagnosis carried out shows the existence of diverse inequalities. There is, for example, apart from some minor exceptions, greater academic performance in the private sector than in the state sector. This mainly suggests to the writers of this Report that it is necessary to raise the quality of learning and, thus, the academic performance at state schools, studying the causes properly and providing the necessary means. There are also differences as to this point, as well as in specific matters of application of the reforest, between some Autonomous Regions and others. This observation must also be taken advantage of to improve the situation of the apparently more deficient ones. We consider that this is the context in which the differences must be raised, considering very much, on the one hand, that the educational system already is and will be to a greater example, a territorially regionalised and sectorially plural system, and on the other, precisely due to that, it is becoming necessary to create compensatory mechanisms for the logical differences that may arise. This point should also give rise to profound reflection and debate.
  6. This has not been a diagnosis of "resources", but rather a diagnosis of "functions". However, the reference to resources has been present in the surveys and at many of the meetings held. As resources are, by nature, and will always be limited, an agreement as to these cannot be put off, attempting to ascertain without prejudices and utopias which are indispensable if one seriously wishes to improve the quality and performance of the educational services. This is also be another important factor in the debate.
  7. One of the most regretted lacunae in this diagnosis is that concerning relations between the school and the media which, as we have seen, could not finally be covered. However, the answers to the questionnaire administered to the parents most clearly show that, in their opinion, the social media have an important role to play in educational influence on our children, especially in the field of values. Although later evaluations by officers at the INCE intend to deal with the matter, we must now state how appropriate it is when duly approaching qualitative improvement of education in Spain. Right at present, one never knows, even as to pure academic knowledge, what students at school should and should not do, and through which of the said media, particularly television, which they spend so many hours watching. Society on the whole must definitively take note of this influence, making the media understand that their positive collaboration is unavoidable and, in the ultimate instance, call for the appropriate responsibilities.
  8. Our last reflection should be aimed at what we have really aimed to diagnose here. According to the objective we set ourselves, what we aim to know is the present situation of the Spanish educational system at this key moment, taking the last stage of obligatory secondary education as this specific subject for observation. At the end of our work, we realised that, after such a difficult, although imperfect portrait of schooling, operating even through any effort at diagnosis, there is a whole society that pressures and encourages it; that perhaps expects too much of it; that demands undefined results that so often are contradictory. A society that, to sum up, aims to burden schools with all its intransferrable educational responsibility. Thus, it has been so easy to confuse "educational policy" with "school policy". However, a careful look back at these pages will show that nowadays it is impossible to improve the quality of education, even of school education, if the educational policy goes no further than the walls of the classrooms and school buildings and is not determined to deal with other complex agents, whose real influence escapes diagnosis.

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