Spanish Rural Schools in the 2023 and 2024 Reports of the National Education Council

Abstract

The objective of this article is to recognize the importance of the reports on the Spanish education system produced annually by the State School Council (CEE, hereafter) to better understand rural schools based on the 2023 Report on the State of the Education System for the 2021-2022 School Year and, based on data analysis, propose modifications to the report's preparation. Since 1986, 37 reports have been published with references to education in rural areas, but using data isolated from a report can be misleading and minimize the importance of rural schools. The CEE uses data from other official sources, and if these do not consider rural areas, it is difficult to find references to them in the reports. The 2023 and 2024 Reports, which contain references to rural schools at the state level (legal framework, data, and proposals), have been analyzed, but an in-depth analysis and follow-up of the proposals are lacking. The 2023 Report has reduced its critical focus, especially by omitting the dissenting opinions and the need for a rural school plan requested in eight of the last eleven reports. In 2024, the dissenting opinions have been reinstated and the proposals on rural areas from the previous year are repeated, but the increase in the rural/urban educational gap and the lack of rural data (in external evaluations or on the promotion of rural education that current legislation claims to promote) are not addressed. Finally, proposals for improving the report are offered.