The Minister of Education, Culture, and Sport of the Government of Aragon, Tomasa Hernández, has emphasized that rural schools are a necessary tool for equal opportunities, territorial cohesion, and the future of Aragon.
She did so at the opening of the III National Congress on Rural Schools, which is being held today in the city of Teruel and brings together around 250 specialists and professionals from the educational community at the San Julián Socio-Cultural Center, with the participation of a dozen autonomous communities.
The meeting, led by Teruel actor Nacho Rubio, began with a conversation between the Minister of Education and Francisco Serrano, president of Ibercaja, also from Teruel.
They looked back on their school days and compared them with the present state of rural education, which is now a real driving force in these less populated areas.
They also looked to the future, seeking ways in which schools in rural areas can continue to bring education to every corner of Aragon.
For his part, the president of the Aragon Regional Government, Jorge Azcón, sent a message in which he emphasized that this conference “aims to inspire, connect, and transform to continue making rural schools shine,” in reference to the conference slogan, “Shine. Equality, roots, and opportunities.”
During the conference, several plenary presentations were given, the first of which was “The rural school of the 21st century: Educational challenges and territorial cohesion,” by Lourdes Alcalá Ibáñez, Chief Inspector of Education, Doctor of History of Education, Associate Professor at the University of Zaragoza, and expert in rural schools.
Lourdes Alcalá began by emphasizing that rural education “must be managed as an opportunity, not as a problem to be solved.”
In her presentation, Lourdes Alcalá pointed out that it is necessary to take a look at the territory, where it can be seen that 92% of our country’s territory is home to only 15.33% of the total population.
She also explained that the sociocultural level is lower in rural areas, which is why the role of schools is essential, as they are a tool that should provide greater opportunities for compensation. She also indicated that, rather than the term “España Vaciada” (Empty Spain), she prefers to talk about “España de oportunidades” (Spain of opportunities).
Alcalá also recalled the creation in the 1980s of the Rural Centers for Innovative Education (CRIE), which focus on activities that complement the school curriculum and promote coexistence among students from different rural schools. It is a “robust but change-needing” model, without which the expert said she cannot imagine rural schools.
The second presentation was given by Alfredo Hernando, psychologist, CEO, and founder of Escuela 21, who discussed “The innovation that rural schools bring to the world: an international perspective.”
Escuela 21 is an educational innovation laboratory that travels around the world with the aim of identifying, communicating, and replicating international best practices in the most innovative schools.
Hernando highlighted the evolution of educational centers in recent years, schools that, among other parameters, understand and evaluate innovation through the improvement of their students’ life projects. In other words, another way of understanding what school is.
He also gave some examples of educational innovation, such as the Red de Escuela Nueva (New School Network) in Colombia, which was created to provide assistance in rural areas, especially coffee-growing communities. This network developed a model with very poorly qualified teachers, as this was another major challenge: the lack of qualified professionals to teach in remote areas.
He also talked about the School Tutoring Network in Mexico, which trains and provides dialogue points for students so that children from more affluent backgrounds can tutor and mentor other children.
“Challenges and solutions in rural schools”
After a break, attendees heard the opinions of participants in the round table discussion “Spaces for challenges and solutions in rural schools,” which featured the participation and collaboration of the Princess of Girona Foundation.
The round table was moderated by Estefanía Monforte, PhD in Education, professor at the Faculty of Teruel, and director of the Chair of Education and Territory of the Provincial Council of Teruel.
The director of the Provincial Education Service in Teruel, José Luis Castán, highlighted the progress that has been made compared to 40 years ago, when in many cases students who were educated in rural schools did not go on to higher education. This situation has changed, he explained, thanks to a functioning school support network.
For his part, the educational advisor to the Princess of Girona Foundation, Juan Hernández, has called for the need to incorporate specific training for rural schools for the entire educational community, not just for teachers. Specific activities that take into account concepts such as knowledge, innovation, care, and the creation of support spaces.
Likewise, the director of the CRA Nosa Sra. Do Faro (La Coruña), Rosa María Barreiro, pointed out the unique features of rural education, where the school is everyone’s home and the educational community is one big family, she said. With students of different ages and more specialized training than in an urban school.
The head of studies at the CRA Celumbres (Castellón), María José Prats, said that schools are a weapon in the fight against depopulation and called for the strengths of rural schools to be exploited, such as their surroundings and the close relationship between the educational community and families. She regretted, however, the difficulty of finding housing in rural areas, which makes it difficult for new residents to move there.
Finally, the director of the CRIET in Alcorisa, Alejandro Labay, described these centers as an educational gem in Teruel. The CRIETs are centers attended by 5th and 6th grade students from Rural School Groups (CRAs), where groups of around 50 students come together once a quarter.
Good practice workshops
In the afternoon, good practice workshops will be held under the title “What stories of transformation lie hidden in our rural schools,” where innovative educational projects from ten autonomous communities throughout Spain will be presented.
One such project is that of the Princess of Girona Foundation, which will present educational proposals based on making the most of the heritage of rural areas, highlighting the importance of collaboration with local associations and residents.
In addition, a project from the Irish Department of Education will be presented, in which staff from this body will explain that in rural areas of Ireland, the relationship between schools and the educational community is particularly close. They will explain the reasons behind this approach, accompanied by examples and recommendations for putting it into practice.
The aim is to share successful national and international experiences in education in rural areas in order to draw lessons that can be applied to the region, as well as to promote the exchange of ideas and collaboration between professionals, institutions, and educational communities committed to the development of rural schools and the structuring of the region.
Attendees will learn about projects such as “Rural Schools in Ireland (English)” by the Irish Department of Education’s National Small Schools Project; “Cooking is not just for girls” by CRA Alfauir-Ròtova (Valencian Community); “ETwinning and internationalization in rural schools” by INTEF; “Bilingualism in rural schools” by CEIP Rodriguez de Celis (Cantabria), “The Guardians of Heritage #CREATECH,” by CRA Entrevalles (La Rioja); “Building the BiblioCRA and CRAcreando: spaces for revitalization and innovation in rural areas,” by CRA Vilaboa (Galicia); and “Weaving learning networks in rural schools,” by CRA La Sabina (Aragon).
Others include “How is Educational Inclusion Achieved?” by the Autonomous Community of Navarre. THEME: Inclusion and diversity; Project Lóva, by CRA Los Olivos de Valdaracete (Community of Madrid), “We Are CRApaces,” CRA Alifara (Aragon); «The cross-curricular nature of heritage. An example of collaboration between entities,“ by the La Almunia Teacher Training Center (Aragon); ”A second chance is possible,“ by CEPER Arcipreste de Hita (Andalusia); ”The rural school as a promoter of health,“ by CRA El Sabinar (Murcia); ”Educational practices that connect classrooms and create unity in the CRA Almenara,“ by CRA Almenara (Extremadura); ”Educational innovation and flexible spaces in rural areas,“ by IES Valle del Arlanza (Castile and León); and ”The importance of connecting the school with the community,» by IES San Juan de la Cruz (Castile and León). Almenara,“ by CRA Almenara (Extremadura); ”Educational innovation and flexible spaces in rural areas,“ by IES Valle del Arlanza (Castile and León); and ”The importance of connecting rural schools with the territory,» by the Princess of Girona Foundation.
Magic as an educational resource
The Congress will close with Miguel de Lucas’ presentation-performance entitled “Teacher, there’s a magician in you,” in which he will explain a “trick” for teachers to succeed in the classroom, which is none other than using magic when introducing educational content. This methodology has been scientifically proven and is based on the idea that if there is emotion in a learning context, students will remember it better.
Miguel de Lucas is a professor of Early Childhood Education and Pedagogy at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR), presenter of the program “Un país mágico” on La 2 de Televisión Española, and director of the project “Ahora Ilusión.”
The conference is organized in collaboration with the City Council of Teruel, the Provincial Council of Teruel, the Chamber of Commerce of Teruel, the Vodafone Foundation, the Princess of Girona Foundation, and the Edelvives Foundation.
