ASSIGNMENT 1.

Education: Teaching and Learning in an

International Context
María Lucas Da Silva

7th of October 2022

Education, as one of the most crucial factors of society, represents the progress of every
society. However, it is continually influenced by numerous aspects, such as politics,
culture, and the situation in which a country finds itself.

Following this reflection, two articles focused on the 20th century have been analysed
with an historical perspective: one, from a European angle and another focused on Spain,
the country from which I come.

The first article, Education in Spain: Close-up of its History in the 20th Century analyses
the educational system and their influence during several changes, such as two
dictatorships, a change from state to Republic and a civil war.

In the early years of the century, Spanish education system was strongly marked by the
expansion of primary education in society and a secondary education focused on science,
and its objective was to improve the preparation of teachers. Catholic influence in
curricula and schools were truly relevant, causing access to education (especially for
women) to be extremely limited.

During the Primo de Rivera dictatorship (1923-1930), the curriculum and teaching
methods were strongly regulated. In universities, the female presence was purely
representative, which indicates a clear gender inequality in opportunities in the education
sector.

The Second Republic began in 1931, where it also gave rise to an ambitious project for
the improvement of the Educational System, with measures such as eliminating religion
as a compulsory subject, the construction of schools and promoting basic knowledge in
rural environments.

These measures did not please the Catholic Church and involved controversy among
society. However, they were interrupted by the victory in the elections of the coalition of
the radical political right and the Spanish Civil War.

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During the civil war (1936-1939), school activities continued, leading to conflicts such
as the teaching of values and ideals by both sides in conflict. This fact reached the schools,
where purges of teachers, bookstores, and textbooks.

In 1939, the dictatorship of Francisco Franco began. During this period, co-education was
suppressed and considered immoral, secondary schools were segregated, and a strong
ideological control was exercised over society. Likewise, primary schools became
governed by the Catholic Church, and women were brought up for household chores and
a role of “mothers and wives.”

Around 1950, a period of transition began in the dictatorship. The economic and
population growth added to great discontent, which forced a meaningful change of the
authoritarian state (which would lead to its weakening).

After the death of Franco (1975), the Spanish Constitution was approved, and with-it
numerous measures that boosted the quality of Education. A new educational law was
created in 1990, which disassociated the church from education in public institutions,
brought equality between learners and added methodologies for students with special
needs.

On the other hand, the article Education and Geopolitics in a Changing Europe: Forty
Years of Scholarship in European Education, carries out an analysis of the European
Education journal wage through various historical contexts in Europe and their
representation through comparative education.

This journal balance between science and context to analyse the educational contexts in
different countries.

To develop this investigation, is used a qualitative method, not only quantitative, to

recognize the importance of the context to advance comparative study of pedagogical
aspects through case-study analysis.

Teaching and studies cannot be successful if it does not have into account the history and
the distinct aspects in which events occur. It is necessary to “use international and
historical lens” to make reflections in the present. Brickman, who defend these ideas,
brought more history to the journal, creating a new perspective of comparison of the data.

With the end of an event such as the Cold War, the journal became more reflective about
the influence of education and geopolitics of Europe. That generate a change in the
content of the journal and its articles, affecting also to their lectors and society.

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As the socialist bloc collapsed, the journal started producing issues on the role of
education in post socialist transformations, with titles such as “Changing German
Education.” It started focusing on the new curricula of the countries, the change to “old”
to the “new” Europe and developing historical consciousness.

Analysing some countries such as Denmark, Germany and Poland, the journal started
examining the depoliticization and deideologization in communities and educational
institutions. Then, the principal issue of the journal was to compare the history of the
curricula across diverse nations and their post socialist reforms, such as decentralization
or privatisation.

In 1991, “Europe 1992: Education” was published, examining the influence of education
in the countries of a unified Europe. The journal investigated how education could help
the consolidation of Europe and its role in integration.

Finally, in the early 2000s it was more focused on the Bologna process, which create a
space for cross-country comparisons, due to their educative standards. It analysed the
context of “Europeanization” in education and its influence to emphasize the singularity
of education systems across Europe.

Both articles show us the importance of the historical context to understand the
importance and the role of education in our societies. We can observe, reading both
essays, that Education depends in a big part on governments and politics. But it also has
a considerable influence on societies that we must not overlook, and that, in fact, we must
constantly protect and study.