Educational System
Solving the problems of education on a global level could be the root to successfully solving other issues worldwide. One of the UN Millennium goals is to achieve universal primary education (undp.org). According to the United Nations’ program Education for All, or EFA, education is important because it helps to beat poverty, promote gender equality, reduce child mortality rates, improve maternal health, and help global development as a whole, among others. All of those improvements from education are part of the UN millennium goals. This shows us that education is the starting line to our final goals.
There are three major priorities in education for the United Nations. Those are to put every child in school, improve the quality of learning, and to foster global citizenship (globaleducationfirst.org). However, there are some problems pertaining to these three goals that we must overcome first. In the aspect of putting all children in school, some problems include a shortage of classrooms for students, humanitarian emergencies (including conflict in area where child lives), gender discrimination, and being unable to afford the costs of school. To improve the quality of learning, there needs to be more qualified teachers available, more learning materials, better nutrition and less hunger, and ways to overcome challenging family environments, among others. Finally, to foster global citizenship, a focus must be placed upon updating curricula and learning materials, increasing the importance on values and teacher capacities.
The UN program Education for all also has six goals focused on education. One goal is to expand early childhood care and education, giving children a head start to their learning (un.org). Another goal is to provide free and compulsory primary education for all children. They also stress the importance to strive towards the promotion of learning and life skills for all young people as well as adults. The remaining goals include to increase adult literacy, achieve gender parity, and to improve the overall quality of education. Nations around the world are striving towards these goals, including Spain.
Statistically, Spain is doing very well in terms of education. Data from the World Bank shows that the gross percentage of primary school enrollment in Spain for the year 2012 was 103%. The literacy rate for people ages fifteen years and above is 98% as of the year 2012 as well (data.worldbank.org). Their success in education could be due to their economic success. In the year 2013, Spain was classified as a high-income country, with a GDP of $1.393 trillion (data.worldbank.org).
Currently, there are three types of schools throughout the country: public schools, state-funded private schools, and private schools (donquijote.org). The state-funded schools are free, but parents do have to pay for supplies such as books, some learning materials, and uniforms if children attend a state-funded private school. Typically, middle to upper class children attend the private schools while poorer children attend public schools. Girls and boys generally are educated together in the same classrooms. Language dialect (e.g. Basque, Castilian, Galician, etc.) of Spanish are used in schools based on region within the country. Schools are much less religiously focused in modern days compared to the past. Students attend compulsory schools until about the age of 16 and then have the option to continue on to high school, or to attend a vocational school (donquijote.org). The career field of teaching has become much more appealing within Spain as teachers have received increases in salaries and the quality of those teachers has also increased with more difficult exams that teachers must pass in order to work for the country’s public schools (educationincrisis.net).
While the numbers show progress in the country, there are still some challenges to overcome in order for the country to level up with its fellow European members. In 2009, the maximum public expenditure in education reached 5.01% of the GPD, which is very low compared to other European Union member states (educationincrisis.net). About half of the population discontinues education after reaching the minimum compulsory education, meaning that the population with post-secondary education is relatively low (educationincrisis.net). Dropout rates are also still a major issue, with their rates being about twice as high as other European countries. A potential new education reform could also hinder the positive changes in education that are developing. The LOMCE reforms aims to return education in Spain back to its old ways under rule of dictatorship. This means that religion would become heavily studied, Castilian would be the primary language of instruction (creating language barriers among students), and external assessments of students would returned (educationincrisis.net). Conservatives also aim to lay off more teachers and continue to decease the funding towards education.
Hopefully, these regressions in education will be avoided for Spain and only positive change will continue to occur. It appears that the country is successful in the first educational priority (putting every child in school), but needs to work on keeping the kids in school all the way to post-secondary education. Both the areas of quality of learning and fostering global citizenship could use more work as well. It is in the best interest for the country to invest more in the education of their youth in order to decrease poverty rates, and increase health and overall global responsibility among its citizens. If Spain can follow the guidance of its fellow European Union member states and aim for the education goals set in place by the United Nations, they will see improvement and success.
Works Cited
Education in Spain - Spanish School System | don Quijote. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 23, 2015, from http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/society/customs/education-in-spain
Resources for speakers, global issues, africa, ageing, agriculture, aids,
atomic energy, children, climate change, culture, decolonization, demining, development, disabilities, disarmament, environment, food, governance, humanitarian, refugees, women. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2015, from http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/efa/
Spain. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2015, from
http://data.worldbank.org/country/spain
The Millennium Development Goals Eight Goals for 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 22, 2015, from http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview/
The story on current education reforms in Spain: The past will come back –
From crisis to opportunity. (2013, February 21). Retrieved March 22, 2015, from http://www.educationincrisis.net/blog/item/829-the-story-on-current-education-reforms-in-spain-the-past-will-come-back
UN Global Education First Initiative – United Nations Secretary General's
Global Initiative on Education – Education First. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2015, from http://www.globaleducationfirst.org/index.html
There are three major priorities in education for the United Nations. Those are to put every child in school, improve the quality of learning, and to foster global citizenship (globaleducationfirst.org). However, there are some problems pertaining to these three goals that we must overcome first. In the aspect of putting all children in school, some problems include a shortage of classrooms for students, humanitarian emergencies (including conflict in area where child lives), gender discrimination, and being unable to afford the costs of school. To improve the quality of learning, there needs to be more qualified teachers available, more learning materials, better nutrition and less hunger, and ways to overcome challenging family environments, among others. Finally, to foster global citizenship, a focus must be placed upon updating curricula and learning materials, increasing the importance on values and teacher capacities.
The UN program Education for all also has six goals focused on education. One goal is to expand early childhood care and education, giving children a head start to their learning (un.org). Another goal is to provide free and compulsory primary education for all children. They also stress the importance to strive towards the promotion of learning and life skills for all young people as well as adults. The remaining goals include to increase adult literacy, achieve gender parity, and to improve the overall quality of education. Nations around the world are striving towards these goals, including Spain.
Statistically, Spain is doing very well in terms of education. Data from the World Bank shows that the gross percentage of primary school enrollment in Spain for the year 2012 was 103%. The literacy rate for people ages fifteen years and above is 98% as of the year 2012 as well (data.worldbank.org). Their success in education could be due to their economic success. In the year 2013, Spain was classified as a high-income country, with a GDP of $1.393 trillion (data.worldbank.org).
Currently, there are three types of schools throughout the country: public schools, state-funded private schools, and private schools (donquijote.org). The state-funded schools are free, but parents do have to pay for supplies such as books, some learning materials, and uniforms if children attend a state-funded private school. Typically, middle to upper class children attend the private schools while poorer children attend public schools. Girls and boys generally are educated together in the same classrooms. Language dialect (e.g. Basque, Castilian, Galician, etc.) of Spanish are used in schools based on region within the country. Schools are much less religiously focused in modern days compared to the past. Students attend compulsory schools until about the age of 16 and then have the option to continue on to high school, or to attend a vocational school (donquijote.org). The career field of teaching has become much more appealing within Spain as teachers have received increases in salaries and the quality of those teachers has also increased with more difficult exams that teachers must pass in order to work for the country’s public schools (educationincrisis.net).
While the numbers show progress in the country, there are still some challenges to overcome in order for the country to level up with its fellow European members. In 2009, the maximum public expenditure in education reached 5.01% of the GPD, which is very low compared to other European Union member states (educationincrisis.net). About half of the population discontinues education after reaching the minimum compulsory education, meaning that the population with post-secondary education is relatively low (educationincrisis.net). Dropout rates are also still a major issue, with their rates being about twice as high as other European countries. A potential new education reform could also hinder the positive changes in education that are developing. The LOMCE reforms aims to return education in Spain back to its old ways under rule of dictatorship. This means that religion would become heavily studied, Castilian would be the primary language of instruction (creating language barriers among students), and external assessments of students would returned (educationincrisis.net). Conservatives also aim to lay off more teachers and continue to decease the funding towards education.
Hopefully, these regressions in education will be avoided for Spain and only positive change will continue to occur. It appears that the country is successful in the first educational priority (putting every child in school), but needs to work on keeping the kids in school all the way to post-secondary education. Both the areas of quality of learning and fostering global citizenship could use more work as well. It is in the best interest for the country to invest more in the education of their youth in order to decrease poverty rates, and increase health and overall global responsibility among its citizens. If Spain can follow the guidance of its fellow European Union member states and aim for the education goals set in place by the United Nations, they will see improvement and success.
Works Cited
Education in Spain - Spanish School System | don Quijote. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 23, 2015, from http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/society/customs/education-in-spain
Resources for speakers, global issues, africa, ageing, agriculture, aids,
atomic energy, children, climate change, culture, decolonization, demining, development, disabilities, disarmament, environment, food, governance, humanitarian, refugees, women. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2015, from http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/efa/
Spain. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2015, from
http://data.worldbank.org/country/spain
The Millennium Development Goals Eight Goals for 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 22, 2015, from http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview/
The story on current education reforms in Spain: The past will come back –
From crisis to opportunity. (2013, February 21). Retrieved March 22, 2015, from http://www.educationincrisis.net/blog/item/829-the-story-on-current-education-reforms-in-spain-the-past-will-come-back
UN Global Education First Initiative – United Nations Secretary General's
Global Initiative on Education – Education First. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2015, from http://www.globaleducationfirst.org/index.html
This graph here is demonstrating the rate for students who have to repeat a grade in primary education. Back in the 1980s, the repeat rate was as high as 6.5% of students. Now, the average rate is much lower at approximately 2.5%. This percent has had its ups and downs over the years, but there seems to be a steady decrease in repeaters in Spain since 2010, showing improvement to the quality of education.
Graph source: https://www.quandl.com/data/UN/UIS_PRIMARYEDUCATIONISCED1PERCENTAGEOFREPEATERS__ALLGENDERS_ESP-Primary-education-ISCED-1-Percentage-of-Repeaters-All-genders-Spain?utm_medium=graph&utm_source=quandl
This graph demonstrates the change in secondary school enrollment rate. There has been an increase over the years, meaning more and more people are choosing to pursue education past the bare minimum compulsory. As the economy of the country grows, surely this number will too. Graph source: https://www.quandl.com/data/UN/UIS_TOTALSECONDARYGROSSENROLMENTRATIO__ALLGENDERS_ESP-Total-Secondary-Gross-enrolment-ratio-All-genders-Spain?utm_medium=graph&utm_source=quandl
Government
Oil Production vs. consumption
Oil Production: 29,290 bbl/day in 2012, 68th in world
Oil Consumption: 1.061 million bbl/day in 2010, 11th in world
Spain produces practically no oil at all compared to its imports and consumption. There is no oil exported through Spain do to its lack of resources for oil. Since Spain was the 11th most oil consuming country in the world in 2010, it shows that much of the Spanish lifestyle is urban, or perhaps that they are not very resourceful and saving oil. There must be a lot of transportation that takes place within the country, and most of the civilians probably use a car, train, or bus on a daily basis to produce these kinds of numbers. Oil must cost the country a lot of money, especially since they are not producing any of their own to use for themselves or to make a profit off of by exporting to other countries.
Oil Consumption: 1.061 million bbl/day in 2010, 11th in world
Spain produces practically no oil at all compared to its imports and consumption. There is no oil exported through Spain do to its lack of resources for oil. Since Spain was the 11th most oil consuming country in the world in 2010, it shows that much of the Spanish lifestyle is urban, or perhaps that they are not very resourceful and saving oil. There must be a lot of transportation that takes place within the country, and most of the civilians probably use a car, train, or bus on a daily basis to produce these kinds of numbers. Oil must cost the country a lot of money, especially since they are not producing any of their own to use for themselves or to make a profit off of by exporting to other countries.
Resources/Goods
Spain produces an array of natural resources including minerals (such as copper, lead, and coal), crops (such as wheat, vegetables, olives, fruits, etc.), refined foods (such as olive oil and wine), and livestock (such as cattle, pigs, poultry, and fish). All of theses resources provide opportunity for industry. The most major industries within Spain include textiles and apparel, footwear, foods and beverages, metals and metal products, machine tools, ships, automobiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment. Clearly, Spain has a lot to offer through exports.
Most of these goods are produced in factories or through crops. Of course, manual labor goes into all of them. While some of the products may remain within Spain, being consumed by the citizens, exportation is also actively participated in by producers. The majority of Spain's exported goods stay within Europe with fellow EU nations. France takes about 15% of Spains exports, Germany takes 10%, Italy takes 7.7%, Portugal takes 7.1%, and 6.2% goes to the United Kingdom.
Most of these goods are produced in factories or through crops. Of course, manual labor goes into all of them. While some of the products may remain within Spain, being consumed by the citizens, exportation is also actively participated in by producers. The majority of Spain's exported goods stay within Europe with fellow EU nations. France takes about 15% of Spains exports, Germany takes 10%, Italy takes 7.7%, Portugal takes 7.1%, and 6.2% goes to the United Kingdom.
Economic System
Spain has a mixed capitalist economy, meaning that there is much economic freedom for private companies and individuals, but the government can step in to protect the economy or achieve a goal. In 2013, the GDP per capita was $30,100. The country imports slightly less than it exports. Imports add up to approximately $431 billion and exports add up to approximately $458 billion (both numbers found in 2013). This shows that the country has more resources and goods to export than it feels the need to bring in goods or resources from elsewhere.
While the economy may seem healthy on the surface, there are some problems that exist. About 21% of the population in Spain lives below the poverty line. This could also be due to its extremely high unemployment rate of of 26,3%. The unemployment rate in Spain is one of the highest in the world. These factors could be due to its recent huge recession that it took. The country is still trying to recover from it. This country also has a lot of debt. The external debt number was $2.278 as of 2012. The public debt is about 93.7% of the GDP (as of 2013). This is another indicator of the nation's struggle to recover from the blow its economy received.
While the economy may seem healthy on the surface, there are some problems that exist. About 21% of the population in Spain lives below the poverty line. This could also be due to its extremely high unemployment rate of of 26,3%. The unemployment rate in Spain is one of the highest in the world. These factors could be due to its recent huge recession that it took. The country is still trying to recover from it. This country also has a lot of debt. The external debt number was $2.278 as of 2012. The public debt is about 93.7% of the GDP (as of 2013). This is another indicator of the nation's struggle to recover from the blow its economy received.