Many education systems around the world are quite different from one another.

Nowadays, individuals focus on the typical education that we have here in the United States and
compare it to all of the other countries around the world. As a United States citizen, I have little
to no knowledge on the education systems in other countries such as the education system in
Spain, which is the country that I have recently been researching. I expect to learn not only the
basics of their education system but also how well the country is currently doing on reaching the
priorities established by the United Nations Global Education Initiative. Those three priorities
include putting every child in school, improving the quality of learning and fostering global
citizenship (Priorities, n.d.).
In Spains current educational system schools are predominantly state funded. There are
three categories of Spanish schools in the Spanish education system: public schools (colegios
pblicos), state-funded private schools (colegios concertados) and private schools (colegios
privados) (Spain, n.d.). The country requires children who are between the ages of six years
old and sixteen years old to attend school.

SchoolingandEducationinSpain.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch25,2015,fromhttp://spain.angloinfo.com/family/schoolingeducation/

Preschool in Spain, which is available for children between the ages of 3-6 is known to be
voluntary. Phase two is primary school for children between the ages of 6-11, while phase three
is secondary school that is mandatory for children between the ages of 11-16. At 16 and subject
to the academic qualification reached, pupils are awarded a graduation certificate and are eligible

to attend a higher secondary school to study for a University entrance exam (Spanish, 2002).
Many people, as myself, see the average graduation grade to be quite young. Compared to the
average graduation age from secondary schools in the United States, this average age is fairly
low. Regardless if children reach 16 years old, which is the legal age to begin working, they
should not concluded their mandatory education at such a young age. I believe that this is one
problem that Spains educational system has. In order for the children to be successful, it should
be mandatory for them to continue secondary school until they are adults. Higher education for
those willing to further their education is offered at both public and private institutions.

The map on the left shows

the percentage of students
who completed a higher
level of education between
the years of 2012 and 2015
(Influenzanet, n.d.).

Influenzanet Results. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2015, from https://www.degrotegriepmeting.nl/nl/results/?page=results&season=compare&

country=es&casedef=ilif&type=q420&group=part&lang=en

In order to improve the quality of learning in Spain the state system provides support
teams consisting of a psychologist, social worker and speech therapist, which are shared by
several schools (Spanish, 2002). Another large playing factor in the improvement of Spains
education system is the advanced student to teacher ratios. During the early 1980s classrooms
in Spain were double the size of what they currently are today. Today, the student to teacher ratio
is an average of twelve to fifteen students per teacher whereas over 30 decades ago, each
classroom had a minimum of 28 students (Pupil, 2015). The map displayed below shows the
ration of students per teacher in the several countries surrounding Spain. As one can see, during

these recent years, the ratio has decreased nearly half of what it previously was. More students
are given more attention now that teachers have fewer students in their classroom setting.

PupilteacherRatio,Primary.(2015).RetrievedMarch26,2015,fromhttp://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.ENRL.TC.ZS/countries?
page=6&display=default

The UN Global Education Initiative requires teachers throughout the nations to push for
success and achieve more not only for their students well being but also for their own. Teachers
in Spain have now learned new techniques to help their students prepare for future success.
Especially with todays technological advances, schools are now prepared and have suitable
equipment to expand and teach global citizenship, meeting the final priority of the UN Global
Education Initiative priorities. Spain cares much more about putting their children into an
educational environment nowadays. It has become a main priority to improve the status of
education throughout Spain.

Work Cited
HighestLevelofFormalEducation/Qualification.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch27,2015,from
https://www.degrotegriepmeting.nl/nl/results/?
page=results&season=compare&country=es&casedef=ilif&type=q420&group=part&lan
g=en
Influenzanet Results. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2015, from
https://www.degrotegriepmeting.nl/nl/results/?
page=results&season=compare&country=es&casedef=ilif&type=q420&group=part&lan
g=en
Priorities.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch25,2015,from
http://www.globaleducationfirst.org/priorities.html
PupilteacherRatio,Primary.(2015).RetrievedMarch26,2015,from
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.ENRL.TC.ZS/countries?
page=6&display=default
SchoolingandEducationinSpain.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch25,2015,from
http://spain.angloinfo.com/family/schoolingeducation/
Spanish Education System. (2002, January 1). Retrieved March 24, 2015, from
http://www.practicalspain.com/Education.htm
SpainEducationSystem.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch26,2015,from
http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/society/customs/educationinspain