The three UN Global Initiative priorities are to improve the quality of learning, foster

global citizenship, and put every child in school. Spain is doing pretty well at meeting these

priorities. The Spanish government has increased the education budget by 10.8 percent in 2016

(Majewski). This meets the second priority of the UN Global initiative which is to improve the

quality of learning. By increasing the budget, schools can now afford to buy better textbooks for

their students, hire more teachers to reduce the size of the classroom, etc.

Spain is also meeting the second priority which is to foster global citizenship; education

must be relevant in solving real world problems, such as technological solutions, political

regulation, etc. (UNESCO). They are meeting this priority through the Bachillerato program. This

is a program for students who hope to one day pursue a university or higher vocational studies.

They are able to enter the program at age sixteen if they have earned a secondary school

completion certificate. This program is split into two main parts, the first being a core

curriculum, and the second being a specialist component where students get to choose from

five branches. These branches include: arts, nature and health sciences, science and

engineering, social sciences, and humanities. By having students chose a branch to focus on,

this program is meeting the second priority of fostering global citizenship. By focusing on a

certain branch, they are able to learn real world solutions related to that branch such as

learning the mathematics needed to become an engineer and build infrastructure, from being

enrolled in the science and engineering branch. (Education in Spain)

 This map shows the amount of scientific papers published in 2016. The bigger the country means that

they are producing a lot of scientific papers, and the smaller the country means that they aren’t producing

scientific papers. This map also demonstrates Spain’s ability in meeting the fostering global citizenship priority

since people are being educated enough to answer real world questions through scientific papers and having them

published. Source: World Mapper. Science Papers Published 2016. Retrieved from:

https://worldmapper.org/maps/science-paperspublished-2016/?_sft_product_cat=literacy,science.

Spain is also meeting the last priority of the UN Global Initiative called putting every

child in school. The education in Spain is a compulsory education for all residents between the

ages of six to sixteen years old; this means that they are required to attend school. They have a

primary education which lasts six years and is followed by four years of compulsory secondary

education. State education in Spain is free from preschool to eighteen years, but in some

regions, parents may be asked to pay for books, extra-curricular activities, etc. (A Guide to

Education in Spain). They even provide programs to help foreign students integrate into Spanish

schooling. All of this proves that Spain is meeting the priority of putting every child in school as

stated by the UN global initiative. Students are required to go to school and you can’t use the
excuse that its expensive because schooling is free and even if you’re a foreign there are

programs offered to help integrate you into Spanish schooling.

This image shows countries with no primary education; the bigger the country means that there is no

primary education and the smaller the country means that there is primary education. As you can see Spain is very

small which shows that they indeed do have primary education. Source: World Mapper. No Primary Education.

Retrieved from: https://worldmapper.org/maps/education-noprimary-

2015/?sf_action=get_data&sf_data=results&_sft_product_cat=literacy,school,science.

Overall Spain is showing their proficiency in meeting the three priorities as stated by the

UN global initiative; improve the quality of learning, foster global citizenship, and putting every

child in school.

Sources:

Majewski, Emma. The Borgen Projectt. Facts to Know About Education in Spain (March 12,

2017). Retrieved from: https://borgenproject.org/education-in-spain-2/.

Global Education First Initiative. Priorities. Retrieved from:

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/gefi/priorities/.
Spain Education Country Guide. Education in Spain. Retrieved from:

https://www.studycountry.com/guide/ES-education.htm.

Expatica. A Guide to Education in Spain (August 10, 2018). Retrieved from:

https://www.expatica.com/new/es/education/children-education/education-system-103110/.