Keywords

The social origins of the Spanish education system has meant the extension of the right to an education to all social groups and all levels. This is a consequence of Spanish society’s awareness of the importance of education and the increasing expectations placed on it. With this in mind, the first part of this chapter considers this historical perspective in order to put the changes Spanish teachers have faced into context and make it understandable for international readers. The second part focuses on educational innovations and effective teaching behaviors resulting from policy changes and the traditional and dominant paradigms in the educational landscape in Spain. The third part describes empirical research which leads on to the final section, policy recommendations and practical implications at both national and regional levels.

1 Background of the Legal Framework of the Spanish Education System: Considering the Past to Understand the Present

The current Spanish Constitution was approved in 1978, and established a model of a decentralised state in which educational competencies were spread between all levels of government (Puelles, 1996). It was a symmetrical model in which the administrations in the autonomous communities had basically the same educational powers (Eurydice, 2021). Nowadays, the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (central government) establishes the fundamental rules of education (Blanch, 2011; Martínez-Usarralde, 2015). Central government ensures a common basic level in educational services, a coherent education system, and the equity of all citizens in educational terms (Aragon, 2013; Saenz, 2021). The autonomous administrations perform executive functions (Puelles, 1996); in other words, they apply these national regulations in their territories, as long as the application complies with the minimal teaching content established by central government, ensuring that there is a single educational system in Spain (in terms of its main features) (García, 2015). Finally, local authorities are responsible for the provision, repair, and maintenance of buildings and for ensuring school attendance where it is compulsory. The funding of the Spanish educational system also reflects this multi-level arrangement: autonomous administrations have assumed stewardship of educational spending, combining their own funds with money provided by the central government (Saenz, 2021).

There have been several reforms of the Spanish education system over recent decades. Although some of the reforms included significant changes related to parents’ rights to choose the kind of school they wanted, and the participation of the educational community in education—Ley Orgánica del Derecho a la Educación (L.O.D.E.) [Right to Education Act] in 1985; Ley Orgánica de Participación, Evaluación y Gobierno de los Centros Educativos (L.O.P.E.G.C.E.) [Participation, Evaluation and Governance of Educational Institutions Act] in 1995—, only a few, specific laws have changed the structure of the system or internal aspects of educational activity. These laws also changed the profile of students which had a clear impact on teacher behaviour and teaching methodologies.

The 1970 Ley General de Educación (L.G.E.) [General Education Act] made only primary education (Enseñanza General Básica) mandatory (ages 6–14). At 14 years old, students had to choose between vocational education and training (VET) [Formación Profesional (FP)] or academic upper-secondary education [Bachillerato Unificado Polivalente (BUP)] and then preparation for university [Curso Orientación Universitaria (COU)]. This last academic option was preferred by students who had good results or who had the firm intention to study at university. The social image, prestige, and expectations related to the two pathways were consequently very different (Carabaña, 1996).

The 1990 Ley de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo (L.O.G.S.E.) [General Organization of the Education System Act] made it compulsory for students to stay in school until they were 16 years old. This meant that compulsory education consisted of primary education (from 6 to 12 years old) and compulsory secondary education [Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO)] from 12 to 16 years old. Upper secondary education [Bachillerato] lasted two years, to 18 years old, and like access to vocational education and training, required students to have the certificate of compulsory secondary education.

Despite being short-lived, the 2002 Ley Orgánica de Calidad de la Educación (L.O.C.E.) [Quality of Education Act] included some measures changing the conception of academic achievement, for example by requiring students to repeat a year if they failed a certain number of subjects. Four years later, the Ley Orgánica de Educación (L.O.E.) [Education Act] emphasized dealing with individual needs and defined a more flexible education system, highlighting the need to facilitate the transition between educational stages.

The 2013 Ley Orgánica para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa (L.O.M.C.E.) [Improvement in the Quality of Education Act] made slight changes to the structure of the final year of compulsory education. It established two options—academic and applied—in place of the previous arrangement, in which all students finished compulsory education following comprehensive programs. The act also included requirements to test before awarding certificates of compulsory secondary education and upper secondary education. Despite being part of the legislation, social opposition to these measures, which were felt to be segregational, made them difficult to apply.

In 2020, the Spanish government proposed a new reform of the education system with the Ley Orgánica por la que se modifica la Ley Orgánica 2/2006 de Educación (L.O.M.L.O.E.) [Modification of Education Act 2/2006], removing the dual option in the final year of compulsory education, removing final external exams, and adding a new branch of upper secondary education combining the sciences and humanities. Education in civics and ethics was given a larger role, focusing on human rights, sustainability and equity. Nevertheless, as before, cross-party agreement about education was again not possible.

Other reforms have also affected teachers’ training (Viñao, 2013). Since 2010, teachers in secondary education and vocational education have had to have a relevant four-year university degree (Grado) and a master’s in teacher training (Master’s Degree in Teacher Training in Secondary and Upper Secondary Education and Vocational Training). This reform prioritized didactic and pedagogical factors which may contribute to improved teacher effectiveness. Nevertheless, there is yet to be a systematic assessment of the consequences of these changes, and there have been few studies about evaluating teaching effectiveness in Spain, especially outside higher education (Fernández-García et al., 2019; Herradas, 2021).

2 A Modern Conception of Teaching Effectiveness in Schools. Peculiarities of the Spanish Context

The model of teaching effectiveness behind the ICALT 3 project (International Comparative Analysis of Learning and Teaching) is based on six main domains allowing teaching tasks to be understood and executed (Van de Grift, 2007): safe learning climate; efficient classroom management; clarity of instruction; activating teaching; teaching-learning strategies; and differentiation. These domains outline a non-traditional concept of education. In this new concept, the student is the protagonist and this means that teachers have to employ complex strategies which match student learning styles and the paces at which they learn (Chocarro et al., 2007; Imbernon, 2012). This approach is a significant contrast to the traditional Spanish educational system, so it will be interesting to determine whether recent regulations fit in with this new concept of education. To that end, we look at each of the six teaching effectiveness domains, examining how they can be interpreted and viewed in the Spanish context.

2.1 Safe Learning Climate

A respectful safe learning climate is achieved when emotional and social intelligence go together. This promotes perseverance, management of impulsivity, use of a sense of humor, and the capacity to think independently (Costa & Kallick, 2008; Lucas & Claxton, 2014).

In this regard, when Montessori (n.d.) refers to the space or the classroom environment as a sign of respect for childhood in the Casa dei Bambini or when we analyze the school of Reggio Emilia we find a prepared environment that is safe, friendly, and full of stimuli, indicating that ethics must accompany aesthetics (Hoyuelos, 2004). The slow school movement (Holt, 2002; also see Quiroga, 2019) also considers this framework when it mentions the importance of studying in a relaxed way, thoroughly covering each of the topics, and establishing relationships between knowledge and learning to think.

In this regard, Spanish schools must also ‘educate time’ (Novo, 2010), giving students the opportunity to be part of an environment which respects their needs and promotes comprehensive, integrated learning. For example, many schools (particularly public schools) do not stop for lunch (which is commonly eaten at 3 pm in Spain), so that children can finish their school day before they eat. A safe learning climate avoids excessive extracurricular activities; in class, students participate in the definition of activities so they understand what they are doing and why; and once activities are finished, there is time to review results with students. All of these examples contribute to creating a climate in which good relationships promote learning and in which students can combine academic, social, and personal learning.

2.2 Efficient Classroom Management

Concepts such as “slow pedagogy” (Holt, 2002; and see Quiroga, 2019) and “serene pedagogy” (Ritscher, 2013) reinforce the need for students to practice and learn to use time. Nowadays, this approach to using time removes the tension between time and syllabuses, preferring well-designed activities which facilitate the teaching-learning process.

One example of a way to achieve efficient classroom management is provided by the current Programas de Diversificación Curricular [Program of Curricular Diversification], with alternative ways of organizing timing and subjects (such as two-hour blocks in timetables rather than the traditional one hour and combining more than one subject in a single period): “In this case, the objectives and competences will be achieved with a specific methodology organizing the curriculum in knowledge areas, practical activities and even different subjects (article 27, L.O.M.L.O.E.). Another example is the problem-solving based methodologies used in some schools. In these non-traditional contexts, students have clearer ideas about what they are doing and why.

2.3 Clarity of Instruction

One of the main tasks of a teacher is to remove obstacles from the student’s path so that they can lead their own development. In this regard, the process used to gain knowledge is much more important than the knowledge itself (Steiner, 1961). Contemporary Spanish education has usually suffered from content overload; clarity of instruction requires selection and prioritizing relevant tasks. This is the only way to activate psychological capacities which will emerge from conversations, debates, and reflection. According to several authors (Domènech, 2009; Domènech & Honoré, 2010; Honoré, 2006; Pastore, 2017; Thouless, 2017) the educational activities that are selected should define the time and not vice versa.

As part of this clarity of instruction, some Spanish schools are working holistically, following project-based learning methodologies so that students are encouraged to be more involved in their learning. New state-funded secondary schools have been designed with this idea in mind, meaning that the physical spaces, the teachers, and even the school timetables have been selected according to this paradigm.

2.4 Activating Teaching

The transition from information to knowledge needs relational learning and students have to be able to link their learning with their life stories so that they can perceive reality with new eyes (Esteve, 1983, 2010; Ventura, 2013). With this educational approach, teachers foster student curiosity and the “pedagogy of surprise” (Dewey, 1993; L’Ecuyer, 2013), and gain space to emphasize cognitive development (Melgarejo, 2013; Vygotski, 1998). There are also hybrid methodologies in this domain, which combine new and traditional techniques and usually produce better results in terms of academic results and student motivation (González-Marcos et al., 2021; Prieto et al., 2021).

In this sense, local education authorities in some autonomous communities are making significant efforts to install “dynamic classrooms”. They want to encourage alternative ways of organising learning spaces and stimulate the use of active methodologies including using information and communication technologies (I.C.T.) through flexible learning spaces (Educastur, 2021). These proposals are part of the Future Classroom Network promoted by the Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Educativas y de Formación del Profesorado (I.N.T.E.F.) [National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teacher Training].

2.5 Teaching-Learning Strategies

Teachers are urged to use a wide variety of teaching strategies. Traditional quality indicators will need to be reviewed and new assessment procedures are expected. In this sense, rankings of final results in different countries cannot be the sole reference as they do not take into account processes (Zavalloni, 2010, 2011). In the Spanish educational system, traditional classes have focused on telling students how things must be done. Nowadays teachers are developing other strategies such as letting students explain the processes needed to complete tasks or promoting knowledge exchange between students (Muelas, 2014). Interactive instruction will allow students to exercise control of teaching and learning processes, allowing them to reflect about their learning and promoting “situated learning” (Hernández & Ventura, 2008) in which students become expert learners (Carnell & Lodge, 2002).

2.6 Differentiation

As pedagogies for inclusion and cooperation have indicated, human diversity must not be thought of as a problem, but rather an opportunity to reinforce individuals’ exceptionality and specificity (Skliar, 2017). Barbiana’s classic proposal pushed towards this way of understanding learning, avoiding labelling students by their grades and avoiding a rigid concept of the curriculum (Alumnos Escuela Barbiana, 1996; also see Carbonell, 2016). In a similar sense, Freinet (1978) suggested a kind of teaching and learning which considered education as a human right that can deal with social differences and diversity. Therefore, students will need different amounts of time for learning because of the paces they learn at, their needs, and their sociocultural and family backgrounds.

The main strategies in Spain for improving teaching practices in terms of differentiation are considering students’ real levels of learning, pursuing significant learning and, as the most recent education legislation and regulations emphasize, addressing students’ special needs. The Spanish context is also diverse, which is reflected in the types of students and families and their educational expectations. There is broad variation between autonomous communities in, for example, the numbers of immigrant students (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 2020), the proportion of private schools (Pérez et al., 2019), and the levels of school dropout (Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional, 2021). These examples indicate the different kinds of measures and teaching practices schools will need in order to deal with that diverse range of needs and requirements. Aulas de Inmersión Lingüística [Linguistic Immersion Classrooms], Secciones Bilingües [Bilingual Sections], Programas de Diversificación Curricular [Curricular Diversification Program], and Formación Profesional Básica [Basic Vocational Education] which were established by L.O.G.S.E. and reinforced in L.O.E., L.O.M.C.E. and L.O.M.L.O.E. are excellent examples of this.

3 Teaching Effectiveness in Spain: Contextual, Human, and Curricular Factors that Promote Better Teaching Skills

We now shift focus to explaining some of the key factors and variables that can help us understand teaching quality in the Spanish educational system.

The ICALT assessment instruments are validated tools that can be used to interpret and understand educational processes in schools. Given the lack of systematic evaluation studies in the Spanish context, ICALT provides useful data allowing conclusions to be drawn about priorities and urgent needs in Spain. Although the ICALT sample was drawn from only three autonomous communities (and so cannot be used to generalize, merely indicate the specific patterns from that study), the results indicate that Spanish students generally feel that their teachers have appropriate skills in terms of learning climate, efficient classroom management, and instructional clarity. The six teaching effectiveness domains noted previously also have a significant relationship with student engagement (Fernández-García et al., 2019), a broad concept related to student behaviour and emotions related to dealing with academic tasks (Skinner et al., 2009). Despite that, students think that their teachers do not use enough active methodologies or a sufficiently wide range of teaching-learning strategies (Fernández-García et al., 2019); it seems that more innovative methodologies and greater use of ICT are expected. The recent pandemic and the prolonged impossibility of in-person teaching/learning underscored the need to improve this. Nevertheless, even teachers who had reported concerns or a lack of motivation about introducing these technological resources (Martín-Lucas et al., 2021) were able to achieve significant methodological transitions in a short time.

Spanish research has also shown that teachers suffer from high levels of social stress and face the challenge of dealing with student diversity when providing their students with up-to-date significant learning as well as developing students’ skills to maintain an attitude of life-long learning (Gargallo et al., 2020). They also have to deal with a lack of resources and the social pressure resulting from continual changes in education legislation and hence the need to adapt to new social, financial, technological, and political conditions (Martínez-Otero, 2003; Pinel-Martínez et al., 2019; Viñao, 2004). A lack of rewards, and a perception of little social support help to explain anxiety disorders such as depression and ‘burnout syndrome’ (Doménech & Gómez, 2010; Silvero, 2007) which do not help teaching effectiveness. Lower and upper secondary education teachers are particularly affected by this issue (Pinel-Martínez et al., 2019). Reducing this anxiety and helping teachers needs us to look more deeply into teaching contexts and all of the internal and external elements that affect them.

3.1 Contextual Factors and Teacher Teaching Skills

As noted above, each of the 17 Spanish autonomous communities have to apply the general regulations to their territories. Although one might expect this to lead to differences that would make geographical location an important variable for teaching effectiveness, the data do not indicate significant differences in terms of teaching effectiveness between the three Spanish autonomous communities considered by ICALT (Inda-Caro et al., 2021). This may reflect central government’s role in providing a unified, coherent educational system and future research should broaden its sampling to include participants from more of the country.

In contrast, results have indicated interesting differences depending on the type of schools. In this regard, there needs to be more detailed study of school-level policies and better understanding of schools’ cultural contexts. This will help provide better interpretation of differences, given that teachers are encouraged to implement curricula that respect social and cultural diversity and are connected with the local experience.

Focusing on educational levels, Spanish students perceived better skills in lower secondary education teachers than teachers in upper secondary education or vocational education and training (Fernández-García et al., 2019). A more detailed examination of the variation by educational level would need separate consideration of each of the teaching skill domains.

3.2 Human Factors: Gender and Teaching Experience

Perceptions of teaching skills in Spain are affected by the gender of the teacher. The Spanish students in the ICALT study reported female teachers as having better skills in most of the teaching effectiveness domains, with the largest differences in differentiation strategies. Students thought that female teachers more clearly considered students’ initial levels, produced more significant learning in their students, were better at checking whether students understood, and had a more realistic picture of students’ difficulties in learning (Fernández-García et al., 2019). It seems that female teachers’ views of education and student needs are a better fit with the demands of teaching effectiveness.

The results also indicated differences according to gender and educational level. Lower secondary students rated female teachers more highly than their male colleagues in clarity of instruction, activating teaching, differentiation, and teaching-learning strategies. In upper secondary education and vocational education and training, female teachers were perceived as better in teaching-learning strategies and efficient classroom management. Students in vocational education and training reported that female teachers paid more attention to differentiation strategies (Fernández-García et al., 2019).

Teaching experience was also found to affect the influence of teaching skills on student engagement (Inda-Caro et al., 2019) and the interaction of teaching experience and gender also played an important role. The Spanish students in the ICALT sample reported that male teachers with more teaching experience were less effective in their skills related to learning climate and efficient classroom management, whereas more experienced female teachers were seen as better in teaching-learning strategies such as prompting to summarize, giving strategies to learn new knowledge, and planning new ways to deal with novel tasks.

3.3 Curricular Factors and Teaching Skills

The curriculum is not monolithic, subjects are key components and are fundamental for understanding the teaching procedure. Based on our published results, teaching skills do not exhibit the same influence on student engagement in different subjects (Inda-Caro et al., 2021). Student gender also needs to be considered since it moderates this relationship.

For girls, the relationship between teaching behaviour and student engagement was stronger in the arts and physical education, particularly in terms of behavioural engagement. For emotional engagement, there were stronger relationships in exact and applied sciences. These findings from the more technical and scientific areas are particularly interesting because they underscore the teacher’s role in increasing girls’ enjoyment, self-assurance, interest, and involvement in subjects such as mathematics, physics, and computing. This remains vitally important as current studies have shown that women are not equally represented in the STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] sector and perceive less support (Inda-Caro et al., 2017). Having identified this challenge, several proposals have been put forward in Spain to increase the presence of women in these areas (BBVA Research, 2017).

Looking at male students, the results showed that teaching skills had a stronger relationship with behavioural engagement in language, and vocational education and training subjects. For emotional engagement, teaching skills demonstrated stronger influence in social sciences and languages.

Vocational education and training (VET) subjects need particular attention. Girls’ behavioural engagement in these subjects showed signs of greater improvement than in language, exact/applied sciences, or social sciences. However, in boys this effect occurred in emotional engagement (Inda-Caro et al., 2021). These different patterns show that teachers’ tutoring roles should be very specific and appropriate for vocational education and training programs. In this regard, the classroom climate seems crucial in certain specialities that have traditionally been masculine teaching and learning spaces and girls should be encouraged to take on more active roles.

4 Practical Implications: Teacher and Student Roles, Two Key Factors for Improving the Teaching-Learning Process

Teachers and students are the key figures at either end of the teaching-learning process and both play a fundamental part in achieving a suitable emotional and motivational climate in the classroom. Students’, teachers’ and observers’ perceptions of the emotional and motivational climate in the classroom, along with other teaching skills may help guide educational decision- and policymaking.

Spain needs to continue changing traditional teaching strategies. The concept of an educational “system” reinforces this idea because changes in any of the elements (teachers) necessarily means transformations in all the others (students’ relationships, internal organization of the classroom and so on). Spanish society and educational demands have changed enormously and educational processes must embrace these changes. Over the last twenty years, the continual reforms to the education system have obliged Spanish schools to try and establish alternative ways of understanding the teaching-learning process. In that changing Spanish educational context, teachers need more support from the authorities and those in charge of their professional development so that they feel more secure, especially in domains in which they feel there is room for improvement (e.g. clarity of instruction, activating teaching, teaching-learning strategies, and differentiation). There have already been improvements to the initial training that teachers receive, and perhaps now continued training and development should be the focus. This may improve the possibility of connecting fundamental and applied research and therefore exploring the full potential of not only initial teacher training, but also the support teachers need once they are working. This training should be focused on providing more teaching resources and pedagogical techniques, as well as on improving the psychological skills teachers need in order to cope with social and professional stress (Esteve, 1994; Hernández et al., 2020; Peñaherrera et al., 2014; Vicente & Gabari-Gambarte, 2019).

Giving teachers a clear picture of what they are expected to do and the precise behaviours which may help to improve student engagement would also make them feel more secure and relaxed, and help avoid unnecessary distress. In this regard, resource centres for training working teachers in the different autonomous communities may be fundamental (e.g. Centros de Profesores y Recursos (CPR) in Asturias, Extremadura, Murcia; or the Centros de Profesorado (CEP) in Andalucía, Cantabria, the Canary Islands, and the Balearics).

The role of teachers as professionals within society also needs to be strengthened, highlighting their qualifications and attempting to reassert the positive reputation that teachers and teaching had at the beginning of the twentieth century. Cross-party agreement about education would also give teachers a more stable environment and greater consensus about access to the teaching profession. These measures will help clarify teachers’ social image and provide a clearer definition of their professional competencies, distinguishing those professional skills from other “social” competencies which have contributed to teachers’ high workload (Esteve, 1994; Llorens et al., 2003). The pandemic may have helped to emphasize how important teachers’ roles are, as they worked to keep their students involved with learning tasks and to avoid leaving any children behind (López, 2021).

The ICALT project gives us interesting information that helps identify the most important domains in order to direct changes towards improving student engagement. This is essential, because research has shown that student engagement determines motivation and achievement and reduces the risk of dropout and school failure (Finn, 1989; Fredricks et al., 2011; Opdenakker & Minnaert, 2011; Skinner & Belmont, 1993).

In summary, there needs to be a deep understanding of the foundations and the theoretical principles of education and teaching activities which can guide policymakers, researchers, and teachers in interpreting and understanding the practical results of research. The ICALT project responded to the lack of systematic procedures for teacher assessment in Spain, giving information based on the opinions of teachers, students, and external observers, resulting in a valid model for assessing the best direction for future changes. ICALT allowed a single instrument to be used to analyse teaching practice along with the possibility of interpreting the results according to the particular conditions in the different parts of Spain. This dual approach is the only way to guide changes securely, based on the evidence. Contextual, human, and curricular factors provide significant pointers towards the actions needed to improve teaching practice and therefore student engagement in Spain.