Curriculum reform to respond to the challenges of the future. Spain in international perspective.

Abstract

In recent years, many countries and international organizations have devoted significant efforts to designing a school curriculum that responds to the educational needs of the 21st century. In Spain, the LOMLOE (Organic Law 3/2020, of 29 December, which amends Organic Law 2/2006, of 3 May, on Education) has also proposed the renewal of the curriculum as a key element for the modernization of the education system. The aim of this paper is to analyze the Spanish curriculum reform from a comparative perspective, in order to assess whether it is in line with the current trends of change on the international scene and to detect the conditions that must be met to successfully achieve its purpose, in the light of what has been learned in other countries. To this end, a comparative analysis framework has been developed based on UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and EU (European Union) publications on this subject and on various comparative studies on recent curriculum reforms around the world. The results show that, in terms of the approach and architecture of the curricular model of the compulsory education, the Spanish reform follows the recommendations of international organizations and shares to a large extent the characteristics of the reforms undertaken in many countries around us. However, it is also possible to detect some relevant differences in terms of the strategy adopted for the change and the agents involved in it, which should be considered, as they could become obstacles to the achievement of the pursued objectives.