Home Institution

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Publication Date

Spring 2011

Program Name

Spain: Language, Community, and Social Change

Abstract

I began volunteering in La Escuelita in March, and during my time there, I helped a class of children from La Paz with their homework and also played with them at the end of the day. After a few weeks, I developed an interest in the educational system in Spain, specifically related to children in primary education. I wanted to know more about some of the problems with the education in poor neighborhoods and how La Escuelita functions to help the children who are at a socioeconomic disadvantage to equalize their opportunity for educational success. In this paper, I address the educational structure in Spain, the goals of the educational system, and some of the ways that the state tries to provide an equal educational opportunity for all children in Spain. In addition, I used my observations and conversations with Carmen, the director of La Escuelita, to describe how La Escuelita works to provide an integral education in order to meet the educational and social needs of the children. I believe that by completing this project, I have learned about an important cultural aspect of Granada. I have had to step out of my comfort zone by communicating with locals in order to give back to the community. Overall, I think that this project has given me more confidence in my ability to communicate through oral and written practice of the language.

Disciplines

Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Sociology | Elementary Education and Teaching | Inequality and Stratification

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