Spain’s territorial diversity facing the challenge of attention to diversity: a survey on the differences in the implementation of public policies

Abstract

Social origin and cultural diversity make up the differences between human beings. In this particular context, educational treatment towards those differences has evolved, trying to diminish them in terms of access to education. This research intends to analyze the educational policies of eleven autonomous regions of Spain, focusing on attention to diversity with regards to what LOE implementation means. To that purpose this research has made, on the one hand, a deep analysis of the differences of the educational laws and, on the other hand, we have tried to describe and analyze the specific educational programs that take place in the autonomous regions. We have found that the main differences come from the various ways in which LOE has been implemented, the degree of curricular development in each region and the similarities and dissimilarities in attention to diversity and compensatory education; and the importance of educational guidance in supporting policies for students. On the contrary, similarities stem from a wide conception of attention to diversity (different syllabuses, projects, programs and educational measures), but with a common goal: the improvement of the quality of the educational system and the achievement of success on behalf of the students.