Valores, actitudes y competencias básicas del alumno en la enseñanza obligatoria

Abstract

The authors in this paper discuss Spanish school children's values and abilities, considering their behaviours and preferences here and now, and aiming, also on this ground, at establishing improvement programmes. Although discussion focusses on school and, more specifically, on compulsary education, the authors are aware of how difficult considering school in isolation from society is, as school and society cannot be separated from each other as far as the transfer of abilities and values in concerned. Furhermore, schools could not be considered as such if they did not include the understanding, thinking and criticism of social values. The authors argue that the LOGSE (Educational System Act), as the main previous Education Acts, is a political and politicized project whose goal is teaching students a set of values and abilities to promote individual and social development. Namely, they are, in a hierachical order, social, dynamic, intelectual, globalizing, individual, physical, moral, ecological, instrumental, emotional and aesthetic values. These values may be transferred in many ways: through direct learning content, cross-curricular learning, resources and methodology, structuring, personal relationships, school atmosphere, etc. Although all of them are worthy, not all of them are adecúate for all the students, neither have the same significance. The all, however, make students human in a higher or lower degree. Within this variety, values and abilities included in the LOGSE are related to intelligence, social aspects, attachment and healthy life.