Organisational Options and Alternative Structures in Non-Higher Secondary and Post-secondary Education

Among the main organisational options and alternative structures in secondary and post-secondary non-higher education, the following can be highlighted: 

Bilingual Education

Bilingual Education Programme (PEB) - Collaboration Agreement with the Spanish Delegation of the British Council Foundation

• Purpose: train compulsory secondary education students so they will become fluent in different languages and familiar with different cultures in the context of a multicultural and multilingual Europe, providing them with a set of strategic, linguistic and sociolinguistic skills.
• Target groups: the programme starts in the 2nd cycle of Early Childhood Education and continues up to the 4th year of Compulsory Secondary Education.
• Organisation:
  • Bilingual schools participating in this agreement work on an integrated Spanish-British curriculum.
  • Teaching is provided jointly by teachers with experience in British or bilingual schools and Spanish teachers of English and other subjects.

Bachibac

• Purpose:  to obtain both the French Diplôme du Baccalauréat degree and the Spanish Bachillerato degree by fulfilling a series of requirements established by both countries
• Target groups: students enrolled in the Bachillerato educational stage.
• Organisation:
  • By means of a mixed curriculum, which accounts for one third of each student's weekly timetable, the contents considered essential for knowledge of the language and culture of the other country are incorporated in each course.
  • The specific subjects of the mixed curriculum to be taken by Spanish students in the Bachibac programme are French Language and Literature and the History of Spain and France, the latter being taken as part of the History of Spain in the 2nd year of Bachillerato. Both are taught entirely in French and their weekly timetable is usually increased by one hour.
  • In order to complete the compulsory weekly timetable in French (one third of the total), other non-language subjects may be taught in French.
  • The curricula are established jointly by the French and Spanish Ministries of Education.
  • Through the mixed curriculum, students are expected to acquire a level of French equivalent to at least B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL), while at the same time becoming familiar with and adopting working methods that lead to greater personal autonomy.
  • In order to obtain the double qualification, two conditions must be met:
    • to be in a position to obtain the Bachillerato certificate (i.e. to pass all the subjects of the 1st and 2nd Bachillerato years);
    • to pass the external examination organised for this purpose on the specific subjects of the mixed curriculum corresponding to the second year of Bachillerato. These exams are in French and, in the case of French Language and Literature, also include an oral exercise.
  • Students who obtain this diploma can access both French higher education (and benefit from the advantages that the French system grants to those who have completed bilingual studies) and Spanish higher education.

International Baccalaureate

• Purpose: to obtain the Spanish Bachillerato diploma and the diploma of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), which is recognised in more than one hundred countries.
• Target groups: students aged from 16 to 19.
• Organisation:
  • It is also known as the Diploma Programme (DP). It aims to prepare students to achieve excellent breadth and depth of knowledge, while growing physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically.
  • It is a pre-university course, with a duration of two years and taught in three languages: English, French and Spanish.
  • It consists on a common core and six groups of subjects.
  • The common core consists on:
    • Theory of Knowledge: reflection on the nature of knowledge and the way of knowing what we claim to know;
    • Monograph: independent research work culminating in a 4,000-word essay;
    • Creativity, Activities and Service: completing a project related to these three concepts.
  • The six subject groups, taught in different courses, are as follows:
    • Language and Literature Studies;
    • Language Acquisition;
    • Individuals and Societies;
    • Science;
    • Mathematics;
    • Arts

Portuguese language and culture programme

• Purpose:
  • Ensure that the children of Portuguese workers and immigrants preserve their linguistic and cultural references.
  • To encourage interest and respect for the Portuguese culture among Spanish children.
• Target groups: Portuguese or Portuguese speaking compulsory secondary education students and Spanish students in schools supported by public funds from Secondary Education.
• Organisation:
  • Portuguese teachers assigned to Spanish schools carry out activities included in the school timetable, through "integrated classes" (in which the Portuguese and Spanish teachers carry out joint activities with all the students in the classroom) or "simultaneous classes" (in which the Portuguese teachers teach the group of students who have chosen to participate in the programme).
  • Cultural promotion activities, exchanges, study visits and Portuguese clubs, among others, are also organised.

Spanish-Moroccan programme for the teaching of Arabic language and Moroccan culture

• Purpose:
  • Teach the Arabic language and Moroccan culture to Moroccan and non-Moroccan students in Spanish public schools.
  • Providing Moroccan pupils with training that allows them to safeguard their identity and live their own culture while respecting that of the host country.
  • Academic and socio-cultural inclusion of these students in the Spanish educational system and in Spanish society, developing values of tolerance and solidarity.
  • Promote intercultural education, developing values of respect between the different cultures that coexist inside and outside the school environment.
  • Cooperating with families and facilitate communication with teachers in order to establish mechanisms that favour their participation in the educational process of their children.
• Target groups: students of Moroccan origin and Spanish students enrolled in publicly funded primary and secondary schools.
• Organisation:
  • It is available in two different types of provision: A, after school hours, and B, with classes during school hours.
  • Teachers are Moroccan and they are selected and appointed by the Moroccan authorities.

Distance Education

Compulsory Secondary Education

• Purpose:  offer education services to those who cannot take teaching through the ordinary in-class education, due to personal, social, geographic or other exceptional circumstances through the Integrated Centre for Formal Distance Education (CIERD), belonging to the Centre for Innovation and Development in Distance Education (CIDEAD).
• Target groups: school-age students between 12 and 16 years old who are living abroad with Spanish nationality or who have studied Spanish regulated studies. Also residents in Spain in exceptional circumstances that prevent them from studying in an institution (on-site or distance learning) in their autonomous community. These cases must be explicitly authorised by the corresponding Educational Administration and by CIDEAD' s board.
• Organisation:
  • It is a formal, non-attendance, open and flexible training model, supported by Information and Communication Technologies, with multimedia materials and permanent tutorial support offered by highly qualified teachers.
  • The tutorial role is mainly developed through the Internet, by means of an education platform or a Virtual Centre on Education, with the communication tools available for individual and group attention.
  • The teaching materials, offered through the educational platform, may be developed by the school itself or they can also be textbooks from Spanish publishing houses.
  • Students carry out self-evaluation activities as well as activities they must send to the teacher.
  • It is regulated in accordance with Royal Decree 789/2015.

Flexible Studies in compulsory secondary education

• Purpose: reduce the workload of those students doubly enrolled.
• Target groups: compulsory secondary education pupils living abroad and enrolled in the Education System of the country of residence through the Integrated Centre for Formal Distance Education (CIERD), belonging to the Centre for Innovation and Development in Distance Education (CIDEAD).
• Organisation:
  • Students study only some of the subjects of the official curriculum of the Spanish education system, without being officially enrolled. They are not officially valid.
  • The tutorial role is mainly developed through the Internet, by means of an education platform or a Virtual Centre on Education, with the communication tools available for individual and group attention.

Bachillerato

• Purpose: offer education services to those who cannot take teaching through the ordinary in-class education, due to personal, social, geographic or other exceptional circumstances through the Integrated Centre for Formal Distance Education (CIERD), belonging to the Centre for Innovation and Development in Distance Education (CIDEAD).
• Target groups: people who, because of their work, cannot attend ordinary schools and at regular times and who hold a diploma in Compulsory Secondary Education or accredit other equivalent studies.
• Organisation:
  • It is a formal, non-attendance, open and flexible training model, supported by Information and Communication Technologies, with multimedia materials and permanent tutorial support offered by highly qualified teachers.
  • The tutorial role is mainly developed through the Internet, by means of an education platform or a Virtual Centre on Education, with the communication tools available for individual and group attention.
  • The teaching materials, offered through the educational platform, may be developed by the school itself or they can also be textbooks from Spanish publishing houses.
  • Students carry out self-evaluation activities as well as activities they must send to the teacher.
  • It is regulated in accordance with Royal Decree 789/2015.

Flexible bachillerato studies

• Purpose: reduce the workload of those students doubly enrolled.
• Target students: bachillerato pupils living abroad and enrolled in the Education System of the country of residence through the Integrated Centre for Formal Distance Education (CIERD), belonging to the Centre for Innovation and Development in Distance Education (CIDEAD).
• Organisation:
  • Students study only some of the subjects of the official curriculum of the Spanish education system, without being officially enrolled. They are not officially valid.
  • The tutorial role is mainly developed through the Internet, by means of an education platform or a Virtual Centre on Education, with the communication tools available for individual and group attention.

Intermediate vocational training

• Purpose:  offer education services to those who cannot take teaching through the ordinary in-class education, due to personal, social, geographic or other exceptional circumstances through the Integrated Centre for Formal Distance Education (CIERD), belonging to the Centre for Innovation and Development in Distance Education (CIDEAD).
• Target groups: people who wish to improve their professional qualifications or to prepare for the practice of other professions and whose social, employment or family circumstances make it difficult or impossible for them to attend on-site vocational training cycles.
• Organisation:
  • The Degrees that are obtained by studying an Intermediate Training Cycle in this modality are the same, they are official and have the same academic and professional value throughout the national territory, regardless of whether the studies are carried out in an Autonomous Community or within the scope of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFD).
  • The modular structure allows each student to decide, independently and once the courses have been analysed, which modules to enrol in according to the student's personal circumstances and availability.
  • The access requirements and the number of hours are the same that in on-site programmes.
  • The final assessment for each module studied in this modality requires the passing of on-site tests, which will be combined with a continuous assessment process.

Music and Dance Professional Studies

• Purpose:
  • Music: providing students with quality artistic training with the aim of preparing them for access to higher music studies or as a foundation for other training and professional itineraries.
  • Dance: professional practice.
• Target groups: students who pass a specific entrance examination regulated and organised by the education authorities.
• Organisation:
  • The characteristics and organisation of professional music and dance courses will be determined by the educational administrations.
  • These will be organized into a six-course bachelor programme. Students may, exceptionally and after being authorised by the teaching staff, enrol in more than one course when their learning ability allows them to do so.
  • Each course may also be accessed without having passed the previous ones, provided that, through an exam, the applicant proves that he or she has the necessary knowledge to successfully complete the corresponding courses.
• Qualifications:
  • Successful completion of professional music or dance studies entitles the holder to the title of Título Profesional de Música or Título Profesional de Danza, respectively. In both cases, the completed speciality will be stated.
  • With this qualification, it is possible to obtain the Bachillerato diploma in the Arts modality by passing the common Bachillerato degree subjects.

Vocational Education in Plastic Arts and Design

• Purpose:
  • Preparing professionally in the chosen artistic speciality.
  • Developing personal expression and artistic creation in a practical way.
  • Accessing the labour market under competitive conditions.
• Target groups:
  • In order to gain access to Intermediate Vocational Training in Plastic Arts and Design, it is necessary to hold the Compulsory Secondary Education Diploma or a qualification declared to be equivalent and, additionally, to accredit the necessary aptitudes by passing a specific test. Those who hold a Bachillerato diploma in the modality of Arts; the Experimental Artistic Bachillerarto degree; the degree of Technician or Advanced Technician in Plastic Arts and Design; an official qualification in higher artistic education or university education in certain disciplines in the artistic field; as well as those who have at least one year of work experience directly related to the professional competences of the speciality they wish to access, will be exempt from taking the test. Those who, without fulfilling the academic requirements, pass an entrance examination and are at least seventeen years of age, may also be admitted to the intermediate level of the professional education in Plastic Arts and Design.
  • Access to Advanced Vocational Training is open to those who who hold a Bachillerato certificate or a Vocational Training Technician qualification, and who pass a specific test that allows them to prove that they have the necessary aptitudes to successfully complete the corresponding programme. Those who hold an Advanced Technician Degree in Plastic Arts and Design, a Bachillerato certificate in the modality of Arts, an Experimental Artistic Bachillerarto degree; an official qualification in higher artistic education or university education, a well as those who have at least one year of work experience directly related to the professional competences of the speciality they wish to access, will be exempt from taking the test. Those who hold a Technician degree in Plastic Arts and Design may also access these courses without the need to take the aforementioned test. Those who pass an entrance exam and are 19 years of age at the time of taking the exam may also access the Advanced Vocational Training programmes in Plastic Arts and Design. The Education Administrations shall regulate the exemptions from the corresponding part of the tests established for access by those who do not meet the academic requirements, depending on previous training and duly accredited work experience.
• Organisation:
  • Plastic arts and design courses will be organized in specific training cycles.
  • Training cycles that will include phases for practical training in companies, studios and workshops.
• Qualifications:
  • Students passing the intermediate level of plastic arts and design are awarded the diploma of Plastic Arts and Design Technician in the corresponding speciality.
  • This qualification allows access to advanced level training cycles in plastic arts and design and vocational training programmes in the education system. With this qualification, the Bachillerato certificate can be obtained by passing the subjects necessary to achieve the general objectives in Bachillerato studies, as determined by the Government.
  • Students passing the advanced level of plastic arts and design are awarded the diploma of Plastic Arts and Design Technician in the corresponding speciality. This qualification allows direct access to certain related advanced training courses, as well as to official university degree courses, in accordance with the admission processes for Spanish public universities.

Language Education

• Purpose:
  • Contributing to the personal, academic and professional enrichment of citizens.
  • Increasing mobility opportunities and access to different studies or jobs.
  • Promoting intercultural exchange and the development of multilingual competence.
• Target groups:
  • People who are sixteen years old in the year in which they begin their studies.
  • People over the age of fourteen who choose a different language from the one studied in Compulsory Secondary Education.
• Organisation:
  • It is organised in the three following levels: basic, intermediate and advanced. These levels will correspond, respectively, to levels A, B and C of the CEFRL, and are subdivided into levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.
  • The characteristics and organisation of elementary courses are determined by the educational administrations.
  • Official Language Schools have these characteristics:
    • They provide, at least, language teaching corresponding to intermediate and advanced levels.
    • The requirements to be met, in terms of student/teacher ratios, facilities and number of school places, are regulated by the education authorities.
    • They particularly encourage the study of the official languages in the member states of the European Union, of the co-official languages existing in Spain, and of Spanish as a foreign language. Likewise, they facilitate the study of other languages which, for cultural, social or economic reasons, are of special interest.
    • The educational administrations may integrate distance language teaching into them.
• Qualifications:
  • The meeting of the academic requirements established for each level of language teaching entitles the student to obtain the corresponding certificate, the effects of which are established in the definition of the basic aspects of the curriculum applied to the different languages.
  • The Government determines, after consulting the Autonomous Communities, the equivalences between the Language Education qualifications and the rest of the qualifications in the education system.
  • The educational administrations facilitate the organization of officially approved tests to certify the knowledge of languages achieved by pupils enrolled in secondary education and vocational training programmes.

Sports Education

• Purpose:  to prepare students for professional activity in relation to a sport modality or speciality, as well as to help them adapt to the evolution of the working and sport world and to an active citizenship.
• Target groups: these programmes are structured in two grades, intermediate and advanced, and may refer to the National Catalogue of Professional Qualifications. Access to the intermediate level programmes is open to those who hold  the Lower Compulsory Secondary Education Certificate. In order to access the advanced level programmes, it is necessary to be in possession of the Sports Technician qualification, in the sporting modality or speciality that is determined by regulation, and additionally, of at least one of the following qualifications:
  • Bachillerato certificate;
  • Advanced Technician diploma;
  • a university degree.

Access to the intermediate and higher level programmes is also open to those who, lacking the aforementioned qualifications, pass an entrance examination regulated by the educational authorities. In order to gain access through this process to intermediate level programmes, it is necessary to be seventeen years of age, and nineteen for the advanced level ones, in the year in which the test is taken, provided that the applicant proves to be in possession of a Sports Technician diploma in the corresponding sports modality or speciality.

In the case of certain sports modalities or specialities, it may also be required to pass a specific test held by the educational administrations, to accredit sporting merits, professional or sporting experience or to meet all three conditions together. The Government, in collaboration with the Autonomous Communities, regulates the characteristics of the test, the sporting merits and the professional or sporting experience, so as to demonstrate the necessary conditions to successfully complete the corresponding studies.

• Organisation:
  • It is organized in blocks (core and specific) and modules of variable duration, made up of areas of theoretical and practical knowledge appropriate to each professional and sports field.
  • The Government, after consulting the Autonomous Communities and hearing the relevant collegiate bodies, regulates the system of validations and equivalences between sports education and other official courses and studies.
  • Those aspects of the curriculum, regulated by basic regulations, of sports studies that require revision and updating may be modified by the MEFD, following a report by the General Council for Vocational Training and the State School Council, maintaining in all cases the basic nature of the curriculum resulting from said revision.
• Qualifications:
  • Those successfully passing intermediate vocational training in sports programmes obtain the qualification of  Sports Technician in the corresponding modality or branch.
  • This diploma grants access to any of the modalities in Bachillerato education.
  • Successful completion of the advanced level cycle leads to the award of the Advanced Sports Technician qualification in the corresponding sports modality or speciality.