Mode of Education in Spain: la educación

Introduction. introducción

One refreshing aspect of observing contact between nations, particularly in the case of children, is the realization of how alike we all are behind the barriers of culture and language. There are differences in the way of life, structures and institutions, yet all citizens have the same basic needs. The mode of education in Spain is relatively European.

Provision

Spain's education system has always been a mix of private and state provision. In the case of private education, it can be divided into two categories -

• Privately run schools funded by the State (Colegios Concertados)
• Purely private schools (Colegios Privados)

The purely private schools has always been and still is the Catholic Church; most private schools are religious schools in that they are either run entirely by a religious order or are predominantly staffed by lay teachers but with a number of priests. Also, these private schools called colegio emphasize on strong religious ethos. Children from the age of 6 to 18 are eligible for enrolment in these private schools. The current system of education in Spain is known as LOE after the Ley Orgánica de Educación, or Fundamental Law of Education. State education in Spain is free and compulsory education lasts from 6 to 16 years of age. According to summary data for the year 2008-2009 from the ministry, state schools educated 67.4%, private but state funded schools 26.0%, and purely private schools 6.6% of pupils the preceding year.

Primary education. escuela primaria.

The first phase of compulsory education is from the age of 6 until 12.

Structured as three 2 year cycles:

• First Cycle (6 and 7 years of age)
• Second Cycle (8 and 9 years of age)
• Third Cycle (10 and 11 years of age)

Subjects: Spanish language and literature, mathematics, environmental knowledge, artistic education, physical education, foreign language(taken from age 8) and religious education(not compulsory for all students)

Secondary education. centro de educación secundaria

The four year course is divided into two, each of two academic years.

• 1st Cycle (12 & 13 years of age)
• 2nd Cycle (14 & 15 years of age)

Upon finishing compulsory secondary education the student has a number of options, including:

• Spanish Baccalaureate (post-compulsory diploma) - comparable to the A levels in UK
  

• Vocational Training - The vocational training is also a common possibility after ESO or after the Spanish Baccalaureate. There are two different types of programs: Middle Grade Training Cycles (Ciclos Formativos de Grado Medio), which have the ESO diploma as a requirement, and Superior-level Training Cycles (Ciclos Formativos de grado Superior), which have the Spanish Baccalaureate as the principal requirement. After completion of the Superior-level Training Cycle, students are entitled to direct entrance to several related University degrees.
• Work (it is only possible to get a job from 16 onwards.

Universities. universidad

The normal duration for University courses is 4 years, except Medicine and some more, which are 6. University studies have "ECTS credits" as a measure for the lessons, and normally, 60 ECTS are taken each year, so, each course comprises 240 ECTS credits. Passing every subject, and getting the 240 ECTS credits, gives the right to obtaining an academic degree (Grado), architecture or engineering qualification.

Postgraduate courses are Master's degrees (Máster), and Doctoral degrees (Doctorado). The access is regulated by the university itself, through the Doctorate Commission. It is necessary to have the degree course, architecture or engineering. Spain has internationally recognized universities, the following are some of the more notable ones.

adiós. Nos reuniremos de nuevo.

Name of Universities
01	University of Barcelona
02	Autonomous University of Barcelona
03	Autonomous University of Madrid
04	Complutense University of Madrid
05	Pompeu Fabra University
06	University of Navarra
07	University of Valencia
08	University of Granada
09	Universidad Politecnica De Valencia
10	Universidade De Santiago De Compostela
11	Universidad De Zaragoza
12	Universidad De Sevilla
13	University of Salamanca
14	University of Murcia