Avoiding a drastic leap between primary and secondary school: the pending challenge of the education system

BarcelonaCompleting the first two years of secondary school (ESO) in the same school, holding primary and secondary education in the same center, or extending compulsory education to age 18. These are some of the models adopted by countries like Portugal and Sweden to try to make the transition between educational stages less drastic for students. In Spain, some autonomous communities such as Andalusia, Galicia, Madrid, and Catalonia also opt for these types of models, although they do so partially, not universally, and with little structure.

This is the warning issued by the European Foundation for Society and Education in its latest report. Study on educational transitions from primary to secondary school in public schools, The report warns that a poor transition between primary and secondary school can lead to "disorientation, insecurity, and disaffection with school" in adolescents and increase the risk of dropping out due to a lack of support. The study, which also involved the University of Castilla-La Mancha, compares the transition between primary and secondary education in different European countries and in various autonomous communities across Spain. It criticizes the "significant regulatory fragmentation" in Spain regarding how to support this transition. "The regulation of this transition is fragmented, encompassing disparate elements such as curricula, back-to-school instructions, and various organizational rules," the report warns.

The example of the school institutes

In the case of Catalonia, experts from the European Foundation for Society and Education consider that there is an intermediate level of regulation of the transition between primary and secondary education, along with the Canary Islands, Cantabria—one of the regions with the best results in the PISA tests—Castilla-La Mancha, and La Rioja. In contrast, they consider that Andalusia, the Valencian Community, and Murcia have a high degree of regulation of this transition. Regarding the Catalan education system, the study values the fact that the public network has 132 combined primary and secondary schools, a model that, according to the report, "promotes educational continuity and reduces school dropout rates, especially among the most vulnerable." "The absence of a break between stages, curricular continuity, and students remaining in a stable school environment allow for a smoother and less stressful transition, reducing the negative effects of changing cycles, the decline in performance, and the risk of dropping out," the experts from the educational foundation emphasize.

On the other hand, the report warns that the combined primary and secondary school model in Catalonia—and also in Aragon—is still perceived as an exceptional measure aimed at vulnerable contexts, while in the Basque Country and the Balearic Islands it is valued as "a successful model that can be generalized, highlighting the improvement of the transition as one of its main advantages."

Beyond the analysis by autonomous communities, the study also makes an international comparison. In this regard, the report highlights the case of Sweden, where most students learn in the same educational center until the age of 15, and that of Portugal, where compulsory education extends to the age of 18 and, although students change schools when they move on to secondary education, the country has good mechanisms to support students.