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Spain : Curricula (age 3-19)

Last updated: 28-Feb-2008

• 5.3. Third phase: Post-reform compulsory lower secondary, age 12 - 16
• 5.3.1 Control
• 5.3.2 Compulsory subjects
• 5.3.3 Optional/elective subjects
• 5.3.4 Formulation of curriculum
• 5.3.5 Key skills
• 5.3.6 Curriculum materials 

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5.3 Third phase: (Post-reform) compulsory lower secondary, age 12 - 16 [see 3.2.3]

Note: Following the passing of the 2006 Law on Education (LOE), the Ministry of Education and the Autonomous Communities have agreed a new curriculum for compulsory secondary education (ages 12 to 16).  The new curriculum consists of eight competencies which each student is expected to have acquired by the end of the phase.  The competences are:

• Oral communication and literacy
• Numeracy
• Geographical knowledge
• ICT
• Citizenship
• Cultural and artistic knowledge
• Ability to learn
• Independence and initiative. ⁹¹

In addition, vocational education programmes at this level are to be regulated to enable students who follow these courses to gain qualifications; and parents are to be allowed to choose whether their children study religious education (RE), and/or the type of RE classes they take.  Consequently, as not all students will take RE, marks in this subject will not be taken into account when awarding qualifications or granting entry to higher education. Also, during the 2007/08 school year, the new subject 'citizenship and human rights education' will be introduced in the seven Autonomous Communities which have elected to introduce this course during the third year of compulsory secondary education (students aged 14-15 years). ⁹⁷ In general, the new curriculum changes are being introduced gradually from the 2007/08 school year. ⁹¹

5.3.1 Control

There are three levels of control of the curriculum, as follows:

1.   Official curriculum (the basic curricular design), which is the responsibility of the State. It comprises the compulsory minimum national core curriculum (65 per cent for regions speaking Castilian Spanish; 55 per cent for those with another official language) and the curriculum established by the Autonomous Communities. It states general minimum goals for the student to attain during the stage or level, defined as a series of abilities and broad curricular areas.³¹

The official curricula of the Autonomous Communities reveal a certain homogeneity between the (curricular/subject) area objectives and the attainment targets, and the variations which exist almost always reflect the specific features of the region itself. Regional autonomy gives rise to greater variations in terms of content.³¹

2.   Curricular plans, corresponding to each specific stage or level in schools, are the central feature of the Spanish model of curricular development. They are devised by the team of teachers responsible for each cycle/level in each specific school ("comisión de coordinación pedagógica"), discussed by the Teachers' Senate, presented to the School Council (representatives of teachers, parents and students) and finally supervised by the Inspectorate. They aim to ensure continuity and coherence between the official curriculum and classroom teaching activities, promoting a specific identity alongside a 'school ethos'. The Ministry of Education perceives curricular plans as an ongoing, permanent activity, with a proposal at the start of the (academic) year followed by implementation, review and revision.³¹

In the curricular plan, teachers write down their own curriculum, the one which will actually be delivered in the school. They must state the educational aims for each of the different stages and levels, the content to be taught in each of them, as well as the methodological and assessment criteria. How assessment is going to be carried out in the school has to be defined in the document too. However, decisions as to how and when to assess students do not have to appear in the curricular plan. These decisions are left to each individual teacher to decide.²¹

3.   Class programmes, in which the individual teacher adapts the school's curricular plan to meet the needs of his/her students. Every teacher has some discretion for setting concrete standards for his/her students.³¹

Responsible agencies

The State (central) Higher Inspection Service is responsible for:

• Monitoring the implementation of compulsory education.
• Monitoring the organisation of the education system with respect to educational levels.
• Monitoring standards for the allocation of diplomas and certificates.
• Monitoring reporting procedures.
• Ensuring that curricula, textbooks and teaching materials are suitably adapted to the core curriculum, and
  ensuring that the curriculum is taught in accordance with state/national regulations on basic compulsory subjects.²⁹

CIDE, the Centre for Educational Research and Documentation is a body which, set up by the Ministry of Education, assists in the development, drawing up and dissemination of curriculum materials and in the preparation of guidance materials for teachers.¹⁰

5.3.2 Compulsory subjects

Note: some changes to the compulsory curriculum subjects are being introduced following the 2006 Organic Act on Education (LOE). Changes will be introduced gradually from the 2007/08 school year.

The basic aims of compulsory lower secondary education are to provide all students with basic cultural skills; to train them to assume their responsibilities and exercise their rights; and to prepare them either for employment, for intermediate specific vocational training or for the bachillerato.²⁹

Subjects prior to the introduction of the LOE

The minimum core curriculum requirements (enseñanzas mínimas) of the official curriculum specify that the following subjects must be studied during the four years (two cycles) of compulsory lower secondary education (students aged 12-16):

• (Castilian) Spanish language and literature (and regional language, if applicable)
• Foreign language
• Natural sciences
• Social studies (includes geography, history)
• Mathematics
• Technology (includes ICT, an awareness of society and employment, and knowledge and skills indispensable for a variety of careers)
• Ethics
• Religious education (see section 5.3.3)
• Physical education
• Plastic and visual arts
• Music
• (Careers) guidance and counselling.²⁹

These requirements are organised into areas of knowledge similar to those studied at the primary level.  However, during this phase, the specific disciplines/subjects covered by the areas of knowledge begin to be studied individually.⁵⁷

Not all of the above subjects are studied every year and the enseñanzas mínimas (minimum core curriculum) account for 65 per cent of the curriculum only (55 per cent in those Autonomous Communities where the regional language is also taught). The remaining 35 (or 45) per cent of curriculum content is determined locally. The 10 per cent difference for those Autonomous Communities where the regional language is also taught does not necessarily mean that this 10 per cent is time used for the regional language. Once schools in the Autonomous Communities meet the enseñanzas mínimas they are free to distribute the remaining time as they consider most appropriate.²²

Foreign languages

In the school year 1998/99, almost 97 per cent of students took English as their compulsory first modern foreign language.  The vast majority of the remainder studied French, whilst very small proportions studied German, Portuguese and Italian.  French is most often chosen as the second foreign language.⁵¹

Guidance

Throughout compulsory lower secondary education, the class teacher is responsible for coordinating students' personal guidance with the support, as appropriate, of the Counselling Department. Consequently, the timetable for all staff and students during this phase includes one hour a week for guidance. At the end of compulsory secondary education, students receive non-binding and confidential guidance on their academic and vocational future.²⁹

Physical education (PE)

Physical education (PE) is an 'examinable' school subject from age 6 - 18, for which there are textbooks. The national compulsory curriculum for PE in compulsory (lower) secondary education includes (with slight variations) the following content blocks:

• Fitness
• Motor skills
• Games and sports
• Bodily expression
• Outdoor activities.

The national PE curriculum for compulsory secondary education also includes some common student assessment criteria for secondary schools.¹³

Cross-curricular themes

In addition, the cross-curricular themes of moral education, education for peace, for health, for the equality of the sexes, environment education and consumer education are taught during this phase.  Individual institutions are able to give priority to those cross-curricular themes which most promote the values which are of relevance in their own context.^57 58 

Changes to the curriculum following the 2006 Organic Act on Education (LOE)

Following the passing of the 2006 Organic Act on Education (LOE), the Ministry of Education and the Autonomous Communities have agreed a new curriculum for compulsory secondary education (ages 12 to 16).  The new curriculum consists of eight competencies which each student is expected to have acquired by the end of the phase.  The competences are:

• Oral communication and literacy
• Numeracy
• Geographical knowledge
• ICT
• Citizenship
• Cultural and artistic knowledge
• Ability to learn
• Independence and initiative. ⁹¹

In addition, vocational education programmes at this level are to be regulated to enable students who follow these courses to gain qualifications; and parents are to be allowed to choose whether their children study religious education (RE), and/or the type of RE classes they take. Consequently, as not all students will take RE, marks in this subject will not be taken into account when awarding qualifications or granting entry to higher education. Also, during the 2007/08 school year, the new subject 'citizenship and human rights education' will be introduced in the seven Autonomous Communities which have elected to introduce this course during the third year of compulsory secondary education (students aged 14-15 years). ⁹⁷ In general, the new curriculum changes are being introduced gradually from the 2007/08 school year. ⁹¹

Time allocation prior to the 2006 LOE changes

In general, the weekly timetable for secondary school consists of around 30 55-minute class periods, over five days from Monday to Friday. This varies slightly from Autonomous Community to Autonomous Community (see the tables below).

As mentioned above, there are national minimum core curriculum requirements (enseñanzas mínimas) for each cycle of compulsory secondary education, as follows. These account for 65 per cent of the school curriculum (55 per cent in those Autonomous Communities where a regional language is taught). The remainder of the curriculum is determined locally.²⁵

National guidelines - Hours for the minimum core curriculum for lower secondary education by cycle.  School year 2001/02⁵⁷

Area of study	First cycle (age 12-14)	Second cycle  (age 14-16)
Natural sciences	140	90
Social studies, geography and history	140	160
Plastic and visual arts	35	35
Physical education	70	70
Spanish (Castilian) language and literature (and where relevant the co-official language of the Autonomous Community)	245	240
Foreign languages	210	240
Mathematics	175	160
Music	35	35
Technology	125	70
Religious education or study time (see section 5.3.3.)	105	105

A few school hours remain to allow the education authorities to extend and adapt the timetable locally as required.¹⁶

The curriculum studied between the ages of 14 and 16 becomes more diverse, with more time being available for students to choose different options, and students not having to study all the subject areas of the common core curriculum. Particular flexibility is allowed for students who have accumulated course repetitions and appear at risk of leaving school.²³

The following tables illustrate how the Autonomous Communities of Andalusia (an Autonomous Community without a co-official language) and Catalonia (which has a co-official language) adapt the above guidelines into weekly timetables for lower secondary education. 

Illustrative weekly timetable for compulsory lower secondary education in Andalusia⁵⁷

	No of periods (lasting one hour) per week
Subject areas	Year 1 age 12-13	Year 2 age 13-14	Year 3 age 14-15	Year 4 age 15-16
Spanish (Castilian) language and literature	4	4	4	4
Co-official language of Autonomous Community	-	-	-	-
Foreign languages	3	3	3	4
Mathematics	3	4	3	3
Social studies (includes geography and history)	3	3	3	3
Moral life and ethical reflection	-	-	-	2
Physical education	2	2	2	2
Natural sciences	3	3	4	-
Physics and chemistry *	-	-	-	3
Biology and geology *	-	-	-	3
Plastic and visual arts*	1	1	2	3
Technology*	3	3	2	3
Music*	1	1	2	3
Electives	2	2	2	4
Religious education or alternative activities (see 5.3.3)	2	1	2	1
(Careers) guidance/counselling	1	1	1	1
TOTAL	28	28	30	30

*In the final year of lower secondary education, students must choose two from these five options.

 

Illustrative weekly timetable for compulsory lower secondary education in Catalonia ⁵⁷

	No of periods (lasting one hour) per week
Subject areas	Year 1 age 12-13	Year 2 age 13-14	Year 3 age 14-15	Year 4 age 15-16
Spanish (Castilian) language and literature	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Co-official language of Autonomous Community	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
Foreign languages	2	2	2	2
Mathematics	2.5	2.5	2	2
Social studies (includes geography and history)	2	2	2	2
Moral life and ethical reflection	-	-	-	-
Physical education	2	2	2	2
Natural sciences	3	2	2	2
Physics and chemistry *	-	-	-	-
Biology and geology *	-	-	-	-
Plastic and visual arts*	1	1	1	1
Technology*	2	2	2	2
Music*	1	1	1	1
Electives	7	7	10.5	10.5
Religious education or alternative activities (see 5.3.3)	-	-	-	-
(Careers) guidance/counselling	1	1	1	1
TOTAL	27.5	27.5	30	30

*In the final year of lower secondary education, students must choose two from these five options.

NB.  In Catalonia, a credit system is used which distributes the timetable over the complete cycle.  The data in the table above represents an average for each subject area over the complete cycle (consequently the 'totals' above will not add up precisely). Some additional time is also devoted to the study of common linguistic structures; students also spend some time analysing their credits.

Full details of the weekly timetables for all other Autonomous Communities in Spain during this phase can be accessed via the Eurydice Eurybase database. See http://www.eurydice.org/portal/page/portal/Eurydice/EuryCountry

5.3.3 Optional/elective subjects

Subjects under the curriculum in place prior to LOE

Optional subjects are progressively introduced during compulsory lower secondary education. The guiding principle is that optional subjects should enable teachers to adapt or modify the general curriculum to meet the needs of a student or group of students, without conditioning or limiting their future educational choices. It is compulsory for schools to offer a second foreign language and the classics in both years of the second cycle of compulsory lower secondary education (students aged 14-16),¹⁶ but education authorities are expected to encourage school autonomy with respect to the other optional subjects to be offered. ²⁹

Optional subjects for the second cycle of lower secondary education (14- to 16-year-olds) may usually be chosen from the following:

• Natural sciences/biology and geology/physics and chemistry
• Technology (includes ICT, awareness of society and employment, and knowledge and skills indispensable for a variety of careers)
• Plastic and visual arts
• Music
• Or from other subjects offered by the school.¹⁶

Religious education

Schools must offer religious education to all students but children may, with parental consent, select not to follow the religious education course. As an alternative, they may take other courses, spend time on private study, or follow activities targeted at ensuring that they consider and analyse different aspects of social and cultural life.⁵⁶ 

Time allocation

Each optional subject area is assigned a minimum number of class hours.²⁹

In the first cycle of compulsory secondary education (students aged 12 - 14), optional subjects constitute approximately 10 per cent of the school timetable. In the second cycle (14- to 16-year-old students), the structure of the curriculum becomes more complex and optional subjects comprise 25-35 per cent of the timetable, ¹⁶ or at least 170 hours during the two years of this cycle. Where students voluntarily study an additional optional subject, their weekly timetable is increased by two hours per week.²⁹ 

5.3.4 Formulation of curriculum

The general aims of the education system are expressed in terms of capabilities, moving the emphasis away from the transmission of knowledge. Three different types of content are described in the National Curriculum: concepts, skills and attitudes. There is also a range of cross-curricular themes.²¹

The curriculum model:

• Is open and flexible, actively involving the Autonomous Communities, schools and teachers in its development, to allow a wider range of specific aspects to be added to the curricula.
• Aims to respond to four fundamental questions which support the planning and development of educational practice: what to teach, when to teach, how to teach, and how and what to assess.
• Is broad, including the acquisition of concepts and knowledge and the development of practical skills, attitudes and values.
• Has two different functions: to make the intentions of the general education system explicit and to serve as a guide to teaching.³¹

Official curriculum

The official curriculum sets minimum goals for the student defined as a series of abilities (locomotive, cognitive, affective or emotional balance, interpersonal relationships, and social action and integration) and broad curricular areas. The curriculum should not be limited to these goals. For each curricular area, there is:

• An overarching statement of the sense, approach and general principles, accompanied by teaching guidelines.
• General objectives, expressed in terms of abilities which the student is to have attained by the end of the stage or level - unlike the stage/level goals, these add specific reference to contents.
• The most suitable content to develop the abilities included in the stage/level goals and (curricular) area objectives. This is a catalogue of blocks to be worked on at different cycles in the level. The curricular area content includes conceptually based contents and those relating to procedures, values and attitudes.
• Attainment targets or criteria which are consistent with the general goals of the stage/level and the subject area objectives.³¹

Curricular plans

These relate specifically to the school's individual identity, to the psychological and social characteristics of the students, to the school's history, and to the official curriculum and reflect:

• The general goals of the core curriculum and cross curricular subjects.
• The sequence of objectives (contents and skills) of each cycle.
• The methodological strategies - criteria for grouping students, organisation of space and time at school, criteria for the selection and use of materials and teaching resources.
• Assessment strategies and procedures.
• Measures to ensure diversity - the contents and structure of the guidance programmes, optional subjects (in secondary schools) the organisation of curricular diversification and provisions for students with special educational needs.³¹

Class programmes

Via class programmes, the individual teacher uses his/her discretion to adapt the school's curricular plan (content, sequence, assessment) to meet the needs of his/her students.³¹

5.3.5 Key skills

The aim of compulsory secondary education is to equip all students with basic cultural skills; to train them to assume their responsibilities and exercise their rights; and to prepare them either for employment, for intermediate level specific vocational training or for the bachillerato.²⁹

Although key skills, as such, are not specifically referred to in Spain, the following are regarded as particularly important skills to be acquired during the secondary phase:

• Mastery of the written and oral language
• Use of information sources
• The development of critical and interpersonal skills
• An understanding of values
• Knowledge of one's cultural heritage
• Health education
• Knowledge of the basic laws of nature, society, culture and the environment
• Technology (including ICT).²⁸

5.3.6 Curriculum materials

Regulation and supervision

Legislation regulates the supervision of textbooks and other curricular material for general education, and their use in teaching establishments.

Curricular material must:

• Indicate the level, stage, cycle or school year for which it is intended
• Include support and expansion activities to cater for students of varying levels of ability
• Be consistent with the aims, content, teaching methods and assessment criteria provided for in the decrees on the curriculum.¹⁶

Selection

Individual schools select textbooks for each cycle, in accordance with the legislation in place and with additional, regional criteria (although there is no need for specific approval from any educational authority). Textbooks cannot generally be replaced until the students for whom they were selected have completed the relevant cycle. Textbooks selected for a specific subject area, course or cycle cannot normally be replaced within four years unless the education authorities decide otherwise.¹⁶

Funding

In public and private educational establishments and at all levels, parents generally buy textbooks, although means-tested grants may be available to assist those in need.²⁹  These grants are targeted towards students in families with low incomes, large families, single-parent families, orphans, and students with special educational needs.

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