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The competency-based curriculum approach is an international focus that embodies a trait which is widely shared around the world in today's educational scenario. It is deemed a response to the challenges faced by societies today, in the era of modern globalisation and the fourth industrial revolution. In Spain, the recently passed Organic Law 3/2020, of 29 December, which amends Organic Law 2/2006, of 3 May, on Education (hereinafter, LOMLOE) has developed legislation that is now reaching the curriculum. Therefore, it is appropriate to analyse such legislation. This is the purpose of this paper, which describes some of the institutional history behind this curriculum reform movement; the humanistic component of the movement, which remains connected to so-called "liberal education" while broadening its perspectives, is specified; certain elements of the ideological controversy around this new curricular approach and its rendering in the new law are described; a critical analysis of the conceptual foundations of the new structure is made and its limitations are indicated; attention is drawn to the central role of evaluation of learning outcomes and the paper ends with a succinct conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, many countries and international organizations have devoted significant efforts to designing a school curriculum that responds to the educational needs of the 21st century. In Spain, the LOMLOE (Organic Law 3/2020, of 29 December, which amends Organic Law 2/2006, of 3 May, on Education) has also proposed the renewal of the curriculum as a key element for the modernization of the education system. The aim of this paper is to analyze the Spanish curriculum reform from a comparative perspective, in order to assess whether it is in line with the current trends of change on the international scene and to detect the conditions that must be met to successfully achieve its purpose, in the light of what has been learned in other countries. To this end, a comparative analysis framework has been developed based on UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and EU (European Union) publications on this subject and on various comparative studies on recent curriculum reforms around the world. The results show that, in terms of the approach and architecture of the curricular model of the compulsory education, the Spanish reform follows the recommendations of international organizations and shares to a large extent the characteristics of the reforms undertaken in many countries around us. However, it is also possible to detect some relevant differences in terms of the strategy adopted for the change and the agents involved in it, which should be considered, as they could become obstacles to the achievement of the pursued objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LOMLOE (Organic Law 3/2020, of 29 December, which amends Organic Law 2/2006, of 3 May, on Education), like any other law concerning education in an advanced democratic society, puts in place a new system to achieve the aims of education. However, as with any other education law, its wording and implementation raise contentious issues. Some are political in nature while others are more specific to the pedagogical field. In any case, they all relate to the purposes of education. This paper presents some of these controversial issues, perhaps the ones that are causing the most debate at a social level, especially in the field of education. These issues are: the idea of educational and social inclusion and how it is managed with regard to state-funded private centres, in particular ones that follow a single-gender education model and ones that cater for special educational needs; the competence-based curriculum and all that this entails; the objective of educational success and the role of evaluation in achieving it; and finally, the question of religion. This article does not set out to criticise the new education law. Instead, it seeks to consider how these controversial issues relate to the purposes of education. It concludes that the LOMLOE has some good points but that at the same time a political approach to the pedagogical predominates, which instead of integrating and opening itself to freedom and plurality, eliminates options without considering pedagogical arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of the literature on choosing science courses in school and the determining factors in such choice in light of the important role that this choice plays in the present crisis in the science professions. The factors that influence this choice are personal, school-related, and extra curricular. The most important personal factors are gender and attitudes toward science and toward school science subjects; the paper analyses both attitudes and gender in particular. The quality of science education as implemented through curricula, teachers, and fairness issues are some influential school-related factors. There are many, diverse out-of-school factors. Finally, several proposals to improve the choice of science subjects are discussed, such as strengthening academic counseling in school and innovating science education by giving it a humanistic twist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a number of ideas related to distance education and its role in teaching and learning are considered. Although these considerations have been made principally with highly able students in mind, our aim has been to generalize the possibilities of curriculum diversification and flexibility for all students be they highly able or not. It is true that the most capable students have special characteristics regarding the way they learn, which are obvious. No less obvious is that if we heed the principals which govern the teaching-learning process, all students should benefit from learning at their own pace, frequent evaluation, prescriptive teaching, etc. These are all characteristics of good teaching. Perhaps, for this reason, it would be fair to state that when teaching highly able students is taken seriously, the whole school benefits. The paper ends with some specific considerations on the distance education model which is followed by CTY Spain, a charter member of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth International, a center which is highly recognized throughout the world for the instruction of highly able students everywhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we intend to identify a professional speciality of Pedagogy that responds to a socio-labour demand, which is based on a little known research tradition, but well-founded. However, this field of interest has not an explicit implementation in the current university study plans. With this aim, we try to find out, through a descriptive-exploratory analysis, the origins of Labour Pedagogy. We also want to know how we can conceptualize Labour Pedagogy, why we consider it so important discipline, both from an academic and a professional perspective, where it is possible to fit it inside the current study plans of pedagogy, mainly in Spain, but also in the European countries close to us, and how we can guide our students academically so that they can develop a professional career inside this area. After the analysis, we have discovered the need to make Labour Pedagogy visible by increasing subjects in the curricula and research in this line, as well as more national and international meetings which may favour the exchange of experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from an assumption within the sociology of knowledge that reality is built and reproduced socially from symbolic universes, especially language, this article tries to show what image of technology exists within the educational community and, especially, in textbooks for secondary education. A dual methodology is applied: on the one hand, quantitative analysis of content and, on the other, qualitative analysis of speech. The empirical data produced show that the textbooks reflect a tendency toward technological determinism, attributing to technology autonomous, quasi-personal and creative characteristics, and putting the technical (positively valued) at the core of education. The paper concludes by outlining three general consequences of this conception of technology respect to professors, students and socio-political reality. Viewed from a critical perspective and with reference to liberation pedagogy, it is argued that the underlying technological determinism image of education could disable the critical ideal and inhibit the task of transforming the reality of teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the objective of studying the role of initial teacher education in the construction of primary teachers' identities, this paper characterizes and relates the teacher education curricula concerning 4 periods of the last 30 years (through documental analysis) with the basic professional professional identities, the professional trajectories and the current identities of teachers formed in those periods (through biographical analysis). The conclusions indícate that each particular curriculum produces different basic professional identities (from 1974 on with a quality which is, at least, average), but also that, in the professional trajectory, these identities end up by being similar and, generally, less rich. It is emphasized the need to invest, in elementary school, in the quality (exigency) of the working contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the very beginning of this new century the university has been living paradigmatic changes. Reflecting on new qualifications that can fulfil the new professional demands is not the only issue on discussion. If the European Space of Higher Education (ESHE) really aims to achieve its foundational objectives, it should incorporate in the curriculum some citizenship related subjects. This paper aims to explain what competences should become part of the curriculum so that the university itself contributes in the education of citizens ethically and morally compromised with our society and with the development of a European citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the situation of teacher education in Europe at the beginning of this century? It is not self-evident that we know all the answers, or at least some of the more important ones, in spite of so many specialised publications dealing with developments in European teacher education. This paper provides some insights into what institutional teacher education measures in the 25 Member States are promoting by way of convergence. Teacher education institutions are far from being the same in structure, professional culture, curriculum development ... across the European Community. There is growing realization of the importance and complexity of the integration of a European dimension in teaching and teacher education. And, no doubt, the development of a European dimension as inherent part of teacher education is now linked by a common professional concern: the making of competent teachers, more transparent structures and educational quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we intend to analyse the express curriculum of primary school in the Franco period, to identify the changes experienced in the school education way of approaching the study of the social code, traditionally linked to the subject of urbanity, as a result of the social, political and educational changes of this long historical cycle. For such purpose, we focus on two main sources, namely legislation, which reflects the true educational goals of each political stage along the regime, and texbooks, loyal picture of the practical application of such goals in the schools. Among the most important changes in the approaches to the social code in education during the Franco period, the analysis shows a clear trend towards the feminisation of urbanity as a subject, which strengthens its presence in the specific girl's curriculum, with its visibility degree depending on the subject designations. Other significant changes are the gradual dissolution of the discipline into related fields of study, linked to modern concepts of civic and social education, and its curricular approach in the scope of habituation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the origin and the philosophical assumptions of the Spanish reform typology of contents, assumed by Argentine educational transformation in the 90s. It tries to show that the theses of social constructivism --rooted in Kantian idealism-- and of psychological formalism, are still in force. The criterion of selection of curricular contents --social significance-- is also discussed, attempting to show that the basic principles assumed by this criterion lead to relativization of pedagogical statements. The need to approach curricular theory from a metaphysical and anthropological foundation is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]