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Spanish pupils 'some of the world's most accepting' of foreigners and different cultures, says PISA study
23/10/2020
SPANISH teenagers are among the most 'respectful and accepting' of other cultures and nationalities in the world, scoring well above the average for developed countries as a whole, according to the latest PISA study.
Criticisms of the annual Global Competence 'health check' on compulsory education about how it only evaluated academic achievement – in maths, literacy and sciences – and overlooked other 'hugely important' and more qualitative, social issues have borne fruit, and now, the PISA study takes into account attitudes towards migration, including culture, religion, languages, countries of origin, and their views on rights and integration.
Spain scored 512 points – 13 more than the average for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which covers all developed countries on earth, and some emerging nations.
It was only beaten by Canada (554) and the UK (534), although several regions in Spain scored higher than the national average: Castilla y León came out top with 534 points, Asturias with 527 and Cantabria with 526.
The lowest were the Spanish-owned city-provinces of Ceuta (438) and Melilla (473) on the northern Moroccan coast, and the lowest-scoring on the mainland was the land-locked western region of Extremadura, whose points total nevertheless was exactly that of the OECD average, at 499.
In the latest PISA study, researchers asked: “Are students ready to prosper in an interconnected world?”
Responses, as every year, are those of 15-year-olds, but the data can be easily extrapolated to other age groups and does not just mean only pupils aged 15 are respectful and accepting of other cultures: The PISA presupposes that showing these attitudes a year before their compulsory schooling ends means they must have developed over their childhood and early teens, and are likely to prevail from 16 onwards.
Spanish pupils showed 'a significantly greater interest than the OECD average in learning about other cultures and respecting people with a different cultural background', although their attitudes were 'less positive' about other 'global issues' – undefined, but which could range from anything from world politics to capitalist systems, for example.
They scored a +0.38 for 'respect towards people from other cultures' – one of the highest and beating Canada's +0.3 and Scotland's +0.25.
At the other extreme, Hungary was the least tolerant at -0.54, followed by Bulgaria at -0.51.
Also, Spain achieved one of the highest scores in 'cognitive adaptability' – how able they are to 'remould' their thinking and behaviour to their cultural environment and to new ways and approaches – with +0.28.
The lowest-scoring countries in this area were Slovakia (-0.26), Greece (-0.29) and Italy (-0.33).
“It's very positive to hear how Spanish 15-year-olds are so well-prepared for a much more diverse and globalised world, how they have a positive attitude towards migration and to the huge contribution immigrants make to society, in particular in a country with an ageing population, like Spain,” said Ismael Sanz, professor of Applied Economics at Madrid's Rey Juan Carlos University and former head of the National Education Evaluation Institute (INEE), part of the central government's ministry of education.
“These results partly compensate for those of the 2018 PISA study,” says Sanz.
Then, Spain's overall outlook was generally poor: Issues with responses in the Literacy category meant it was unable to be evaluated in this area, and pupils scored lower than average for maths and sciences.
“This section on Global Competence evaluates how far pupils are concerned with the common good over the individual, how far they empathise with other people's problems, how far they're prepared for a much more diverse world, and how conscious they are of challenges presented by global problems, such as climate change.”
In general, girls scored higher than boys on 'attitudes towards immigration' – in all countries and regions, Spain included, with the exception of Hong Kong, Macao (China) and Vietnam.
Spanish pupils' views were consistent with those of other countries and regions which had a long history of migration, the PISA study says.
How it translates into everyday beliefs
In general, and across the whole of the OECD, 85% of pupils believe young immigrants should have the same educational opportunities as national-born students, 80% believe they should have the same rights, 76% believe they should have the same opportunities to continue with their customs, traditions and way of life, and 72% even believed that if immigrants had lived for several years in a country they should be allowed to vote in national and all other elections.
At present, nobody is permitted to vote in a general election, almost anywhere in the world, unless they hold citizenship of the country they live in, which can mean even adults who have spent the best part of their working lives paying their taxes in a country that is not their own are unable to choose who spends them, and how.
Globally, pupils had a positive view of how immigrants should enjoy universal rights in the same way as nationals, such as education and job market entry, but support was slightly lower when it came to the right to vote, or to issues relating to identity.
The PISA study found that the attitude of pupils' parents or guardians towards immigrants influenced their children's thoughts – which shows that, to a very high degree, parents in Spain have a positive view of cultural mixes and the right to live in a country other than where one is born.
Foreign languages were also considered, from the point of view of approaches to them, rather than competence in them, and it was found that girls in general were more likely to speak, or go on to speak, at least one if not several other tongues, than boys.
Immigrant pupils were found to be more likely, in practically all countries, to be able to speak two or more languages more than the natives of their country – but this is not the case with Spain, Costa Rica and Malta.
In the case of many regions in Spain, and in the whole of Malta, most of the population is at least bilingual – in the latter, Maltese and English are both native languages, and in Spanish communities such as the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Catalunya, Galicia, the Basque Country and, to a lesser extent, Asturias, children will typically grow up speaking their regional tongue in addition to Spanish; this means an immigrant child may only speak one more than their classmates rather than a minimum of two.
Even then, this is not always the case, since Spain has a long history of Latin American migration due to its historical ties, and Malta typically attracts native English-speakers.
Teachers' attitudes also help shape those of their pupils, and the PISA study found that those in Spain had one of the world's most positive approaches to multi-cultural beliefs, traditions and habits, and to acceptance of people from other countries.
Indeed, anecdotal evidence has shown that immigrants in Spain from anywhere in the world – the largest groups being north African, Latin American, eastern and northern European, and Chinese, with a growing sub-Saharan African and Pakistani population – feel they are treated as just one other member of the community and not 'singled out'.
Any reference to their 'difference', foreigners in Spain say, tends to arise through healthy curiosity and, often, a desire to practise a language they are learning, rather than through a 'closed mind' or any effort to make them feel 'an outsider'.
The general reported attitude foreign nationals living in Spain meet with is: “Well, we're all immigrants, if you go back far enough.”
Expats and permanent immigrants have often said they rarely, if ever, encounter any negative attitudes to the notion of foreigners being entitled to State help, benefits or other assistance, healthcare or pensions, reporting that the most common response is along the lines of, “you've paid for it through your taxes like any other Spaniard, so you're entitled to it if you need it, just as the rest of us are.”
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SPANISH teenagers are among the most 'respectful and accepting' of other cultures and nationalities in the world, scoring well above the average for developed countries as a whole, according to the latest PISA study.
Criticisms of the annual Global Competence 'health check' on compulsory education about how it only evaluated academic achievement – in maths, literacy and sciences – and overlooked other 'hugely important' and more qualitative, social issues have borne fruit, and now, the PISA study takes into account attitudes towards migration, including culture, religion, languages, countries of origin, and their views on rights and integration.
Spain scored 512 points – 13 more than the average for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which covers all developed countries on earth, and some emerging nations.
It was only beaten by Canada (554) and the UK (534), although several regions in Spain scored higher than the national average: Castilla y León came out top with 534 points, Asturias with 527 and Cantabria with 526.
The lowest were the Spanish-owned city-provinces of Ceuta (438) and Melilla (473) on the northern Moroccan coast, and the lowest-scoring on the mainland was the land-locked western region of Extremadura, whose points total nevertheless was exactly that of the OECD average, at 499.
In the latest PISA study, researchers asked: “Are students ready to prosper in an interconnected world?”
Responses, as every year, are those of 15-year-olds, but the data can be easily extrapolated to other age groups and does not just mean only pupils aged 15 are respectful and accepting of other cultures: The PISA presupposes that showing these attitudes a year before their compulsory schooling ends means they must have developed over their childhood and early teens, and are likely to prevail from 16 onwards.
Spanish pupils showed 'a significantly greater interest than the OECD average in learning about other cultures and respecting people with a different cultural background', although their attitudes were 'less positive' about other 'global issues' – undefined, but which could range from anything from world politics to capitalist systems, for example.
They scored a +0.38 for 'respect towards people from other cultures' – one of the highest and beating Canada's +0.3 and Scotland's +0.25.
At the other extreme, Hungary was the least tolerant at -0.54, followed by Bulgaria at -0.51.
Also, Spain achieved one of the highest scores in 'cognitive adaptability' – how able they are to 'remould' their thinking and behaviour to their cultural environment and to new ways and approaches – with +0.28.
The lowest-scoring countries in this area were Slovakia (-0.26), Greece (-0.29) and Italy (-0.33).
“It's very positive to hear how Spanish 15-year-olds are so well-prepared for a much more diverse and globalised world, how they have a positive attitude towards migration and to the huge contribution immigrants make to society, in particular in a country with an ageing population, like Spain,” said Ismael Sanz, professor of Applied Economics at Madrid's Rey Juan Carlos University and former head of the National Education Evaluation Institute (INEE), part of the central government's ministry of education.
“These results partly compensate for those of the 2018 PISA study,” says Sanz.
Then, Spain's overall outlook was generally poor: Issues with responses in the Literacy category meant it was unable to be evaluated in this area, and pupils scored lower than average for maths and sciences.
“This section on Global Competence evaluates how far pupils are concerned with the common good over the individual, how far they empathise with other people's problems, how far they're prepared for a much more diverse world, and how conscious they are of challenges presented by global problems, such as climate change.”
In general, girls scored higher than boys on 'attitudes towards immigration' – in all countries and regions, Spain included, with the exception of Hong Kong, Macao (China) and Vietnam.
Spanish pupils' views were consistent with those of other countries and regions which had a long history of migration, the PISA study says.
How it translates into everyday beliefs
In general, and across the whole of the OECD, 85% of pupils believe young immigrants should have the same educational opportunities as national-born students, 80% believe they should have the same rights, 76% believe they should have the same opportunities to continue with their customs, traditions and way of life, and 72% even believed that if immigrants had lived for several years in a country they should be allowed to vote in national and all other elections.
At present, nobody is permitted to vote in a general election, almost anywhere in the world, unless they hold citizenship of the country they live in, which can mean even adults who have spent the best part of their working lives paying their taxes in a country that is not their own are unable to choose who spends them, and how.
Globally, pupils had a positive view of how immigrants should enjoy universal rights in the same way as nationals, such as education and job market entry, but support was slightly lower when it came to the right to vote, or to issues relating to identity.
The PISA study found that the attitude of pupils' parents or guardians towards immigrants influenced their children's thoughts – which shows that, to a very high degree, parents in Spain have a positive view of cultural mixes and the right to live in a country other than where one is born.
Foreign languages were also considered, from the point of view of approaches to them, rather than competence in them, and it was found that girls in general were more likely to speak, or go on to speak, at least one if not several other tongues, than boys.
Immigrant pupils were found to be more likely, in practically all countries, to be able to speak two or more languages more than the natives of their country – but this is not the case with Spain, Costa Rica and Malta.
In the case of many regions in Spain, and in the whole of Malta, most of the population is at least bilingual – in the latter, Maltese and English are both native languages, and in Spanish communities such as the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Catalunya, Galicia, the Basque Country and, to a lesser extent, Asturias, children will typically grow up speaking their regional tongue in addition to Spanish; this means an immigrant child may only speak one more than their classmates rather than a minimum of two.
Even then, this is not always the case, since Spain has a long history of Latin American migration due to its historical ties, and Malta typically attracts native English-speakers.
Teachers' attitudes also help shape those of their pupils, and the PISA study found that those in Spain had one of the world's most positive approaches to multi-cultural beliefs, traditions and habits, and to acceptance of people from other countries.
Indeed, anecdotal evidence has shown that immigrants in Spain from anywhere in the world – the largest groups being north African, Latin American, eastern and northern European, and Chinese, with a growing sub-Saharan African and Pakistani population – feel they are treated as just one other member of the community and not 'singled out'.
Any reference to their 'difference', foreigners in Spain say, tends to arise through healthy curiosity and, often, a desire to practise a language they are learning, rather than through a 'closed mind' or any effort to make them feel 'an outsider'.
The general reported attitude foreign nationals living in Spain meet with is: “Well, we're all immigrants, if you go back far enough.”
Expats and permanent immigrants have often said they rarely, if ever, encounter any negative attitudes to the notion of foreigners being entitled to State help, benefits or other assistance, healthcare or pensions, reporting that the most common response is along the lines of, “you've paid for it through your taxes like any other Spaniard, so you're entitled to it if you need it, just as the rest of us are.”
Related Topics
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