500 reception classrooms and a manager to help directors: the news of the PISA course and the teachers' strike

BarcelonaJust one week remains before the start of a school year already marked by two key points: the teachers' strike called for the first day of class and the error in Catalonia's sample that invalidates the PISA test results, which will be announced on the same day students return to school. Beyond any moves the Government may make in the next seven days to try to approach a certain normality for the first day of school, the Department of Education has also announced novelties for the 26-27 academic year. Among them are 500 new welcome classroom provisions, a pilot test to incorporate the figure of a manager to assist school leadership, the incorporation of a thousand teachers, and a new guide on how students should use AI. All of this will be detailed this Monday by the Minister of Education, Esther Niubó, in a press conference where she is expected to also give new explanations about the PISA error.

Reinforcement for inclusive schooling

The course will begin with 85,052 teachers, one thousand more than last year. There will also be 531 new PAE – educational support staff who primarily focus on strengthening inclusive education – bringing the total to 4,564 positions. Additionally, 500 new positions for welcome classrooms – the service to integrate newly arrived students and provide them with a space to learn Catalan – will be introduced, exceeding 2,000. On the other hand, 204 new places will be opened in special education centers.

As the Government announced a few months ago, this year the program to detect learning difficulties (APPA) will also be extended to 5th grade of primary school. In this way, 450 centers will conduct tests in 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade of primary school, reaching approximately 36,000 students.

A manager for the directorates, on trial

Another of the problems that the Catalan education system drags is the bureaucratic overflow that school principals have to face. Now, the Government wants to launch a pilot plan to test the figure of the "manager-administrator", a professional who will assume economic, budgetary, and contracting management functions. It is foreseen that the same manager will be shared among several centers according to their needs. For now, this academic year the manager will only be in three municipalities, but the Government's intention is for the figure to reach the 2,530 public schools and institutes in Catalonia.

In addition, a mentoring program will also be launched to support new principals in their task by providing them with support from more experienced principals and from the inspection service. It remains to be seen if, with all this, Niubó manages to appease the spirits of principals who remain at war after the Government drastically reduced its ability to conduct interviews when choosing teachers.

The use of AI among students

Although the conflict outside the classrooms has overshadowed it, one of the challenges in schools and institutes continues to be the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by students. In this regard, this year the department establishes "general guidelines" for students, teachers, and families, which include that students under fourteen years of age do not use AI autonomously, that authorization is required for adolescents between fourteen and eighteen years of age to use this technology, or that a working group be created at the center to develop a proposal for the incorporation of AI into classrooms.

Regarding the research work, the department admits that students can use AI, but that they must document and state it, and argue that in the oral defense of the work is where "the authorship, deep understanding, and reasoning ability of the student" will have to be verified.

Psychological support

Among the novelties of this course is a new action guide in case it is suspected that a student suffers from an eating disorder (TCA), despite the fact that six out of ten public institutes continue without a school dining service – this year four new ones are coming into operation. six out of ten public institutes continue without a school dining service – this year four new ones are coming into operation–. There will also be a guide for the prevention and action in cases of suicide and a new emotional well-being program for students.

Psychological support will also be extended to teachers, as a team of 28 psychologists has been created to support teachers and professors and "prevent situations of professional burnout".

Changes in science

Although it had already been announced, this school year will also include changes to the ESO and baccalaureate curriculum. On the one hand, in 4th year of ESO, all institutes will have to offer Mathematics A subjects—intended for those who choose the scientific track—and Mathematics B—for those who opt for the social and humanistic track. Furthermore, subjects can no longer be grouped by areas. Both of these changes are in response to decisions made by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC).

Regarding baccalaureate, this year the controversial fusion of scientific subjects will be applied which the Spanish government required two years ago. In this way, in the first year, physics and chemistry will be taught as a single subject, whereas until now they were taught separately; and biology, geology, and environmental sciences will also be merged into a single subject. Additionally, the Research Project will be worth half of what it is currently worth, and will count the same as another subject in the average baccalaureate grade.

This school year will also incorporate the famous salary improvement bonus that was part of the preliminary agreement between Education and a large part of the unions and which teachers rejected. In this first term, all teachers will receive 700 euros which, added to the 800 they received in May as a result of union negotiations as well, will mean that teachers and professors will end the year with between 1,539 and 1,558 euros more in their pockets. The 50 euro per night bonus for teachers who go on school trips and camps will also be activated – activities that, for the moment, are cancelled in most schools and institutes as a protest measure.