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Education

Principles

Article 27 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 outlines the main principles concerning education. Its main provisions are: Everyone is entitled to education. Freedom of instruction is (...)

Article 27 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 outlines the main principles concerning education. Its main provisions are:

 Everyone is entitled to education. Freedom of instruction is recognized.
 Education shall have as its objective the full development of the human character compatible with respect for the democratic principles of co-existence and for the basic rights and freedoms.
 The public authorities guarantee the right of parents to ensure that their children receive religious and moral instruction that is in accordance with their own convictions.
 Elementary education (general básica) is compulsory and free.
 The public authorities guarantee the right of everyone to education (...).
 The right of individuals and legal entities to set up teaching establishments is recognized, provided they respect Constitutional principles.
 The public authorities shall inspect and standardize the educational system in order to guarantee compliance with the law.
 The public authorities shall give aid to teaching establishments which meet the requirements laid down by the law.

The general philosophy of this text is clear. Education, the foundation of the development of human personalities, is a right in the same way as the other fundamental rights decreed in the Constitution and must be developed in the respect of those rights, especially when it comes to ideological freedom and freedom of belief.
According to these terms, all citizens have a right to an education; it is the responsibility of the State to give them the possibility. Thus, in the philosophy of the new State, a pluralist and democratic one, the State’s obligation must lead to rights such as choosing the type of education and bringing it into compliance with ones beliefs, as well as the right that each student should have to receive spiritual instruction that is in accordance with their personal convictions.
Insofar as we are in a system of cooperation and not separation, the State is responsible for providing the possibility to exercise freedom of conscience within State schools. However, the State’s task is also a mission of control in the application of the law (regarding the observance of freedoms, for example) and educational measures that it has elaborated, for the entire educational system. This results in a right to inspection and approval, to which the granting of financial aid is subjected.
This situation is a complete break from the situation at the time of Franco’s rule. At that time, according to the Concordat of 1953, all forms of instruction were to be in keeping with Catholic dogma and morality, and instruction of the Catholic religion was obligatory unless proof of non-affiliation to Catholicism could be proven.

D 13 September 2012    AClaude Proeschel

Religious educational centres

Considerable controversy has continued to trail this issue, right from the preliminary debates, to the passing of the major education laws and the relevant provisions in the Cooperation (...)

Considerable controversy has continued to trail this issue, right from the preliminary debates, to the passing of the major education laws and the relevant provisions in the Cooperation Agreements with the different faiths.
In an attempt to resolve the problems, the Constitutional Act was couched in uncontroversial wording and the potentially contentious aspects were deferred to the ordinary law, so as not to raise the spectre of religious war.
The legislative development is the result of two laws which reveal within the constitutional framework, the influence of the political situation. The first law, the Ley orgánica de libertad religiosaof 5 July 1980 was passed under the centre-right Government while the second, the Ley Orgánica del Derecho à la Educación of 3 July 1985 (supplemented in 1990), would be the most controversial law of the years spanning 1975 to 1985.
The 1980 Act encourages the creation and funding of private – and especially religious – educational establishments. The Episcopacy hailed the new legislation, saying that it was consistent in its interpretation of religious freedom and the Spanish socio-religious situation. Other faith groups are currently unable to benefit from this development since there are no agreements to this effect.
In real terms, this law does not end the religious education war. The Left is opposed to the law and Felipe Gonzaléz has stated that it would be abolished should the PSOE come to power.
The LODE of 1985 is therefore the major education law in post-Francoist Spain. It only covers basic education which is free and compulsory. This law aims primarily at bringing the different schools together into one joint system, in order to fulfil the principle of the right of all to this free basic education.
It follows that there is a desire to judiciously plan the funding and accreditation of educational establishments financed from public coffers. In reality, even while they must compete with public schools in providing free and compulsory education, private establishments face certain restrictions when it comes to being recognised and funded by the State and many fear the inability to cover their costs.
There are two opposing sides in the debate concerning this legislation - the Left, for whom Government is ultimately responsible for the quality of the compulsory education, and the Right which believes that parents, then schools, have the right and responsibilities when it comes to educating children. This debate is essentially similar to the one that exists in other Western countries.
The LODE will be challenged on the grounds of unconstitutionality under proceedings instituted by the Grupo Popular (which later became Aznar’s Partido Popular). The Group had requested during parliamentary debates that the law be included under the general obligation bond for education, should the educational centres meet set requirements. This unconstitutionality motion, based as it is on the different aspects of the respect of the right to free choice, has been rejected.
Yet again, for the minority religions, with no agreements having been signed, the possibility of opening new centres is not currently being envisaged.
Apart from the normative laws which apply constitutional principles, the conditions for the existence of religious training centres are also governed by the Acuerdo sobre Enseñanza y Asuntos Culturales of 3 January 1979 with the Holy–See for the Roman Catholic Church, and cooperation agreements with the three major minority religions. In these agreements, the State provides guarantee for each of the four religions to open educational centres and obtain funding to do this.
It can be said therefore that the agreements are an expression of the State’s willingness to respect the freedom of teaching and free choice in this area, while it asserts its monopoly and control.
What can be said briefly, of the current situation of the private and public sectors? Note that in 1976, a change occurred which saw public education gaining the advantage even though the sector lacked sufficient staff and schools (this being largely due to the closing down of non-religious establishments).
Today, the private schools in Spain are Roman Catholic establishments. There are no Muslim or Protestant schools and only two Jewish schools exist.
There is significant Roman Catholic participation in primary and secondary education, although to a lower degree compared to State participation (ratio of 1:3). A significant and noteworthy development is the steady increase, since 1978, in the number of lay teachers in Catholic schools. This is an indication that the Catholic teaching corps is advancing in age, with no new teachers to take their place.
Mention must be made of the existence, although few, of very high quality Catholic higher learning institutions, which bear testimony to its glorious past.
Finally, a significant difference that must be highlighted appears in the interpretation of the laws revolving around the respect for standards and values. The 1979 agreement with the Holy-See states that education delivered in the centres must respect Christian (meaning clearly Roman Catholic) ethics and values. The three convenios clearly state the right of pupils to receive instruction on their faith, including within private (and therefore Catholic) schools on the condition that this right does not conflict with the school’s character. In 2002, a student had to be withdrawn from a Catholic School that required that she remove the tchador (different from the headscarf) she wanted to keep on, and be transferred to a public school. This is some food for thought indeed.

D 13 September 2012    AClaude Proeschel

Religious instruction in State schools

The principle is affirmed in the Constitution, in the texts concerning education, and is governed by the agreements and agreements of cooperation. There are several points that should be (...)

The principle is affirmed in the Constitution, in the texts concerning education, and is governed by the agreements and agreements of cooperation. There are several points that should be highlighted.
On the one hand, inserting this text into the Constitution is a result of the PSOE and it marked the recognition of a liberal and pacifying conception of religious freedom.
The different religions that can be taught at school are Catholicism, of course, and the three main religious minorities. In a way, we find ourselves in a sort of recognised religions system, however, because of Catholicism’s earlier influence and the recent nature of the convenios and the difficulty in applying them, this measure, for the time being, seems to mainly benefit the Catholic Church.
The status of this education recently changed, after the Ley de Calidad de la Educación of 23 December 2002 was adopted. Previously, it was non-mandatory instruction, as outlined in the laws of 1980 and 1985 which reaffirm the individual’s right to this type of instruction and the State’s obligation to guarantee this right.
The Ley de Calidad introduced the creation of a new mandatory course, from primary school to the end of secondary school, entitled "Society, Culture and Religion". It has two versions, both of which are graded. The first is denominational, in line with the religion chosen by the parents or students according to the obligations subscribed by the State, the second one is non-denominational.
Religious instruction conformed to what was established in the Agreement on instruction and cultural affairs (1979) signed between the Holy See and the State as far as Catholicism is concerned, and to what is outlined in the other signed agreements, or that could be signed with the other religions.
The government will establish the common curriculum for the non-religious option. The curriculum for the religious option is the responsibility of the competent religious authorities.
What about religion teachers? Catholic religion teachers are appointed by the academic authority from a list submitted by the bishops. No teacher shall be obligated to teach these types of classes, but at the nursery and primary level preference will be given to the teachers who are already present and interested in doing so. In any case, the teachers will be a part of the teaching staff of the centres involved.
For the three minority religions, the content of the agreements, which is similar, lacks precision. It states that the teachers will be chosen by the Churches involved, without mentioning their status.
These are the principles and texts concerning the freedom of instruction and relations between religions and schools of the recent democracy of Spain. According to the facts, it is obvious that things are a little more complicated, and in concrete terms, there are still many obstacles, especially for members of minority religions, before they are able to access all of the rights of modern citizenship concerning education. The intensity of these obstacles is often linked to the country’s political situation.

D 13 September 2012    AClaude Proeschel

See also

For more information see the article "Religion in Public Education – Spain" of Agustín Motilla in Gerhard Robbers (Hrsg.), Religion in Public Education – La religion dans l’éducation publique, (...)

For more information see the article "Religion in Public Education – Spain" of Agustín Motilla in Gerhard Robbers (Hrsg.), Religion in Public Education – La religion dans l’éducation publique, European Consortium for Church and State Research, Trier, 2011, 473-492.

D 22 July 2014   

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