Page 87 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 87
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The ESL Situation in Spain
Maša Vidmar and Manja Veldin
Synopsis
Spain once had the highest ESL rate among the EU-28 countries, but
the rate has fallen considerably in the last few years. Spain is one of
very few European countries with a comprehensive strategy in place
to reduce ESL. Multi-professional teams are both a legal obligation
and a well-established practice.
Summary
In Spain, ESL was already recognised as a pressing issue back in
1985, although reducing ESL was only acknowledged as a specific ob-
jective in an educational law in 2006. Indeed, Spain has a relative-
ly high share of ESLers, one that is constantly above the EU aver-
age. According to the latest Eurostat data, the ESL rate in Spain was
19% in 2016, higher than the Europe 2020 target of 10%, but has been
showing a steady decline in recent years. Spain is currently on the
right path to reach the national target of 15% by 2020. However, large
discrepancies remain between regions, male versus females and na-
tive versus foreign-born. Spain is one of very few countries with a
comprehensive national strategy to tackle ESL; the strategy’s main
goal is to reduce factors that lead to ESL and promote the return to
education by students who have left education (regardless of whether
they are employed or not). Another goal is to conduct special actions
in areas with high ESL rates and develop measures and prevention
87
The ESL Situation in Spain
Maša Vidmar and Manja Veldin
Synopsis
Spain once had the highest ESL rate among the EU-28 countries, but
the rate has fallen considerably in the last few years. Spain is one of
very few European countries with a comprehensive strategy in place
to reduce ESL. Multi-professional teams are both a legal obligation
and a well-established practice.
Summary
In Spain, ESL was already recognised as a pressing issue back in
1985, although reducing ESL was only acknowledged as a specific ob-
jective in an educational law in 2006. Indeed, Spain has a relative-
ly high share of ESLers, one that is constantly above the EU aver-
age. According to the latest Eurostat data, the ESL rate in Spain was
19% in 2016, higher than the Europe 2020 target of 10%, but has been
showing a steady decline in recent years. Spain is currently on the
right path to reach the national target of 15% by 2020. However, large
discrepancies remain between regions, male versus females and na-
tive versus foreign-born. Spain is one of very few countries with a
comprehensive national strategy to tackle ESL; the strategy’s main
goal is to reduce factors that lead to ESL and promote the return to
education by students who have left education (regardless of whether
they are employed or not). Another goal is to conduct special actions
in areas with high ESL rates and develop measures and prevention
87
