EDUCATION SYSTEM OF SPAIN Pedro José LEIVA PADILLA Leiva Formacion – Spain
INTRODUCTION In Spain, the Constitution of 1812 introduced the idea of education as a framework in which organization, funding and control the State has to take part and therefore laid the foundations for the establishment of the Spanish education system. However, it was not completely defined until the 1857 Ley de Instrucción Pública (Public Instruction Act) was passed. The Public Instruction Act, known as Ley Moyano (Moyano Act), is the first comprehensive regulation governing the Spanish education system. Its importance and influence were such that until 1970, no other acts regulating and structuring the education system as a whole were approved. It regulated educational levels as follows:
• •
Initial education, divided into elementary and higher education. Second education, which comprised six years of general studies and studies applied to industrial professions. Higher education, which included studies at the faculties, higher studies and vocational studies.
The Moyano Act introduced cost-free elementary education for those who could not finance it, as well as its compulsory nature for children aged 6 to 9, although boys and girls had to remain separated and receive different types of education. The main contributions of the Moyano Act were: the eclectic and moderate response to problems such as Church intervention in education or the importance of science in secondary education, the legal promotion and the consolidation of private, basically Catholic education, at primary and secondary levels, and the definitive inclusion of technical and scientific studies in postsecondary education.1868 marked the beginning of a period of historic upheaval and agitation with rapid political changes which directly affected the field of education. A considerable boost was given to academic freedom with the proclamation of the First Republic in 1873. A balance between private and public education was achieved and the possibility was proposed for pupils of differing abilities to follow studies of differing duration. In 1874, the Constitutional Monarchy was restored and educational policy reflected the positions of the two extremes: on the one hand, the liberals, and on the other hand, the most conservative sector. The beginning of the 20th century in Spain marked what is known as the Restoration period. The rapid succession of different governments at this time, resulting from the internal crisis of the country, ushered in a period of instability in general and, particularly, in educational policy. Education was considered a means by which to salvage the situation and important educational reforms were introduced, such as those implemented in teacher training institutions for maestros (escuelas normales), secondary education and university syllabuses. The reforms also affected exam regulations, the teaching of religion, teacher qualifications, the restructuring of upper secondary education and university autonomy. The end of the Restoration arrived with Primo de Rivera´s coup d’état in 1923. His antiliberal ideology resulted in the denial of academic freedom and in reforms in upper secondary and university education.
30