The data from the PISA 2022 Report reveal the worst results in the historical series for Spanish students. The study analyzes the skills of 15 and 16 year olds in basic skills such as mathematics (473 points, 8 less than in 2018), reading (474, -4) or science, the only one that manages to improve the result by two points. the latest edition (485). The PISA report shows a general decline in level in OECD countries and their partners, something that the organizers attribute to a negative impact of the pandemic on training and also to the distraction caused by the use of screens among schoolchildren.
Although the Government of Spain has reported that Spanish students adapt better to adversity than most of the countries around us, these results deserve at least a reflection by the actors in the educational sector. Others, such as self-proclaimed homeschoolers, have long been clear about the effective alternative to formal education: educating children at home. This group advocates training without conventional evaluation methods and without pre-established subjects or schedules. But is it legal to opt for domestic education in Spain?
Homeschooling consists of educating children outside the educational system. In Spain there are between 2,000 and 4,000 families who educate their children at home, according to the European Network of Home Education. Parents who choose this option offer an education without an established routine and without differentiation between school and non-school days.
Some of the arguments put forward by members of the Association for Free Education (ALE) are that this type of parenting allows them to be attentive to the intrinsic motivations of each child at all times. Homeschoolers also criticize the limitations that schools have when it comes to caring for children with dyslexia or other specific needs.
For many, the pandemic was decisive in awakening their interest in domestic education. The experience of confinement, although temporary, encouraged many families to consider this alternative.
The short answer is no. In Spain, education is mandatory between the ages of 6 and 16 and the responsibility for schooling minors falls on parents or legal guardians. It is also a constitutional right included in article 27 of the Magna Carta. Supporters of home education point out, however, that this model does not in any way deprive children of receiving a comprehensive education.
School absenteeism constitutes a crime that, when detected, is brought to the attention of social services and the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office, which could withdraw guardianship from the parents. Although most criminal proceedings do not have significant consequences for parents, supporters of homeschooling call for differences between cases of helpless children and those for whom there is actually a deliberate educational project.
There is a side and a tail to homeschooling according to its own defenders. On the one hand, the socialization of minors with their peers that the school offers is limited, but it does not restrict their relationships with their neighbors of different ages or classmates in extracurricular activities, for example. This is also a relief option for those children who have suffered bullying within the educational system.
Paradoxical as it may be, a considerable part of the parents who opt for home education are teachers. These families, generally with a suitable socioeconomic level, ask that homeschooling not be related to absenteeism and defend the power of offering their children a more dynamic, personalized education that is respectful of each child’s learning times.