Now that we are immersed in the educational debate from the Subcommittee for the elaboration of a great State Social and Political Pact for Education in Congress, there is a point in the generalized consensus about educational policies. These must respond to diversity and the needs derived from it, so that all students can successfully complete their training and develop their potential, regardless of their origin and circumstances. A great challenge we face due to socioeconomic differences, low rates of participation in early childhood education, the educational level of parents, as well as the ethnic or migrant background of their students.
The Paris Declaration of 2016 advocates the mobilization of the education sector to promote inclusion and fundamental values, establishing a series of concrete objectives at national and local level, and defines four major priorities for cooperation at European level.
Granting young people social, civic and intercultural skills, promoting democratic values and fundamental rights, social inclusion, non-discrimination and active citizenship, stimulating critical thinking and media literacy, in particular in relation to the use of the Internet and social networks, for greater resistance to discrimination and indoctrination, promoting the education of disadvantaged children and young people, ensuring that our education and training systems respond to their needs, and promoting intercultural dialogue through all forms of learning, in cooperation with other policies and agents.
At the same time, a recent study presents the causes and consequences of the lack of equity in education, and then proposes challenges and possible solutions in relation to four major areas: lifelong learning, skills and employability, inclusive education for disadvantaged children, equity and efficiency of education and training systems, and the empowerment of educators and teaching staff.
Some examples of educational inequality are reflected in poverty and social exclusion, being at the same time cause and consequence of educational disadvantages. Therefore, the socioeconomic level of students acts as a determinant in school results, and their risk of dropping out of the system. The quality of early childhood education is crucial to break the cycle of social and educational disadvantage. For this, it is important, among other things, to place the best teachers in the most disadvantaged areas to help increase the efficiency and equity of education.
In relation to inclusive education for children at risk, such as immigrants or those from ethnic minorities, to give some examples, the participation of families and local communities should be promoted and supported. We must, therefore, bet on the equity and efficiency of our educational system, effectively applying improvement strategies, both in early care and in early childhood, as well as in the provision of formal and non-formal education.
Therefore, and as a conclusion, we are at a time of debate where it is necessary to promote a successful educational policy ensuring a sustainable investment in the financing of the system. And at this point we must emphasize the training and empowerment of teachers and management teams of schools for work in the growing diversity of the classroom, observing in many cases the absence of training programs related to the diversity of our students through innovative pedagogies.
Antonio Hernández Lobo, director of the Education Area of the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands
