01 - Spain - Historical overview
The 1857
Ley de Instrucción Pública - Ley Moyano
(Act of Public Instruction -Moyano Act) was the first to integrate
higher education within the levels of the education system. This Act
definitively incorporated technical and professional studies into
post-secondary education, in addition to those already taught at
university.
With the proclamation in 1873 of the First Spanish
Republic, freedom of teaching was encouraged, and the Faculties of
Philosophy and Arts, Sciences, Pharmacy, Law and Theology were
regulated by decree.
The restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in
1874 and the beginning of the reign of Alfonso XII meant the
introduction of a new political system (parliamentary monarchy) the
framework of which was the 1876 Constitution. From this period until
the military coup d’état staged by Primo de Rivera, the Conservative
and the Liberal parties alternated in power, which resulted in an
unstable period as far as educational policy was concerned.
At
the end of the 19th century, education was again considered to be of
utmost importance and therefore a series of reforms took place. These
mainly concerned training colleges of maestros (the so-called
escuelas normales,
the university education curricula and university autonomy. In
addition, the need to establish a balance between public and private
education and to recognise academic freedom were championed.
During the regime of Primo de Rivera (1923-1930) the
principle of academic freedom was abolished. Reforms were developed at
university, those worth particular mention are the granting of
permission to private university institutions to hold graduation
ceremonies and the coordination of primary, secondary and higher
university education.
With the proclamation of the Second
Republic in 1931 a new stage was set for the education system since the
Republican Constitution advocated a unified system of education,
cost-free and compulsory primary education, academic freedom and
secular education. As far as universities were concerned, enrolments
increased and a significant rise in female enrolment occurred. However,
in 1933 the second parliamentary elections of the Republic were called
which resulted in a shift to the right. This was a backward step as
regards many of the previous government’s educational approaches.
However, university reform continued, following the same guidelines as
before.
In 1936, after a military coup d état, the Civil War
started. It lasted for three years and ended with the proclamation of
the dictatorship of General Franco (1939-1975). In that period some
acts on higher education were passed, among them the 1943 Act governing
University Organisation and the 1957 Act on Technical Education. The
latter contributed to standardise the system as it incorporated the
schools of engineers and architects into the university system and
provision was made for admitting a higher number of students.
During the last years of the dictatorship, the
Ley General de Financiamiento de la Reforma Educativa, LGE
(General Act on Education and Financing of the Educational Reform) was
passed in 1970, which regulated and organised, for the first time in
the 20th century, the entire Spanish education system, including the
higher level. This Act structured university studies into three cycles,
and the escuelas universitarias
and university schools were established, as well as the Institutes of
Educational Sciences. The latter were intended to improve teacher
training, among other things. In addition, the National University
Board was founded as an advisory body of the Ministry of Education and
Science ( MEC) the main role of which was the coordination of universities. Besides, to enter university it was necessary to pass the
curso de orientación universitaria (
COU), set by the university but taught at
Bachillerato institutions (where the
Bachillerato Unificado y Polivalente (
BUP), of 3 years’ duration, was also taught).
The
1978 Constitution was proclaimed in Spain after General Franco’s death
in 1975, returning democracy to the country. Article 27 of the
Constitution establishes the right to education and its 10 sections
refer to the general principles that should govern educational
regulations. As far as higher university education is concerned,
section 10 of this article establishes the autonomy of universities.
In 1980, the bill of the
Ley de Autonomía Universitaria, LAU
(Act on University Autonomy) was presented which tried to offer the
appropriate legislative development of section 10 mentioned above.
However, it never came into effect as it was withdrawn in 1982.
In 1983, the
Ley de Reforma Universitaria, LRU
(Act on University Reform) was passed. With this Act, modernisation of
the Spanish university started, which was based on three constitutional
principles: the right of all Spaniards to education, academic freedom
and university autonomy. The implementation of the LRU takes into account the need to
adapt Spanish university education (through the adoption of the new
curricula and flexibility as regards qualification processes) to the
European university area.
Regarding non-university higher education, this area
comprises a series of post-secondary studies of different nature,
leading in some cases to official qualifications and in others to
non-officially recognised certificates.
The 1985
Ley Orgánica Reguladora del Derecho a la Educación, LODE
With the approval of the 1990
Ley Orgánica de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo, LOGSE
(Act on the General Organisation of the Education System), advanced
vocational training was established as higher non-university, formal
education within mainstream education. In addition, advanced Artistic
studies were regulated as enseñanzas de régimen especial offering qualifications equivalent to those awarded at university.
The
Ley Orgánica de Universidades, LOU (Act on Universities) was passed on December 21st 2001. This Act repealed the previous
LRU
of 1983, whose main target was to improve quality and excellence
throughout university activity. Without modifying the organisation of
university studies, this Act promotes the role of the State
administration as regards the cohesion of the university system; it
also focuses on the powers of the Autonomous Communities concerning
higher education, increasing university autonomy and establishing the
necessary means to strengthen links between university and society.
Likewise, the LOU sets up the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (A
NECA) as an external body to evaluate quality in university education. The A
NECA
contributes to the evaluation of both education and teaching practice
as well as management and research activity. It also evaluates
university services and programmes.
A new reform process of the education system is currently taking place with the passing of the 2006
Ley Orgánica de Educación, LOE (Act on Education) and the 2007 Act modifying the Act on Universities.
Eurydice - the information network on education in Europe
Date: 2009
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