Spanish students are weak in Mathematics and Sciences due to the lack of training of their teachers

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Spanish students in the

(9 and 10 years old) do not stand out in

or

.

They are approximately half an academic year behind the average for OECD countries and without great progress in years.

The lack of confidence of the children and the little relevance that these subjects have in the initial training of teachers explain why Spain is stagnant and does not cut its distances with other countries.

The

released its

2019

report on Tuesday

, a test conducted on

students from more than

countries.

In Mathematics we obtain

points compared to

for the OECD average and

for the EU.

In Science we achieved

, while the OECD scores

and the EU,

.

Sources from the Ministry of Education admit that "the differences are significant in both cases."

And they add: "In Mathematics, Spain is at the same level as in 2015 and in Sciences the decrease, although it is small [seven points], it can be considered statistically significant."

The performance of Spanish students in Mathematics is at the level of countries such as

or

, while in Science it is found such as

or

.

At

points away in Mathematics and

in Science is

, which is the cradle of academic excellence in all international rankings.

As each academic year is equivalent to approximately 40 points, it could be said that Spanish students in 4th grade of Primary have the same knowledge that is taught in schools in Singapore in

(in Mathematics) and

(in Science) of Primary.

Our biggest problem is that we have very few students at advanced levels (

in Math and

in Science) and many at lower levels (

and

).

And that, while those in the queue have increased, the excellent ones are less and less.

Students click, above all, in

(

) and in

(

).

Why aren't we doing very well?

"Because, since the reform of the Logse, there are no specialist teachers", responds

, president of the

.

He explains that, on the one hand, "career mathematicians do not want to dedicate themselves to teaching in secondary schools because they have other job offers" and, on the other hand, "there is a deficit in the training of primary teachers."

«In teaching schools, didactics are taught, but not Mathematics.

It is as important to learn how to teach the class as it is to master the contents of the subject in depth ", points out this member of

, who says that" few faculties of Education "impart concrete knowledge of the subject.

Furthermore, «most future teachers hate this subject and usually come from the Humanities Baccalaureate, where they have not studied Mathematics since 4th of ESO.

In other countries, to enter the race you need an excellent grade ».

“Those students who did not like the subject at the institute are those who later study Teaching and start teaching it without having the knowledge.

One of the causes of the low results is not teaching, from early levels, Mathematics classes by mathematicians ", emphasizes

, dean of the

of the

, who also points out that" the subject is explained in the same way for three decades ”, while the leading countries, such as Singapore, have modernized methodologies.

TIMSS data support Monzón and Brú's theses, which are also applicable to science.

In Spain, teachers specialized in pedagogy but not in purely mathematical content are more numerous than in other countries (

in Spain, compared to

on average and

in Singapore).

And the circumstance occurs that their students obtain worse results than those of those who have deepened in Mathematics during their initial training.

The IEA already referred to the matter years ago, noting that the Spanish Education career dedicates only

of credits to Mathematics content and revealing that Spain is the country where more students access Teaching with lower grades to your fellow promotion.

Only

of Spanish futures had higher grades than their class, while in Singapore this percentage was

.

TIMSS 2019 also indicates that there are not only problems in initial training, but also in professional development of teachers, as only

have received classes in mathematical content in the last two years (in Singapore:

), while the percentage of those who have continued training in didactics is higher (

).

These data, on the other hand, indicate that there is a deficit in teacher training.

Because in Mathematics we are below the international average in five of the seven indicators (content, didactics, curriculum, technology and assessment) and in all but one (training for students with special needs) in Science.

In addition to the lack of preparation of the teachers, we must add, in addition, the little interest of the students.

Only

of children like mathematics (the percentage rises to

in the case of science).

And, in addition, there is a high proportion of students who are not comfortable with these disciplines.

In the case of Mathematics,

do not feel confident at all (the international average is

) and only

are confident (32% in other countries).

In the case of Sciences, there are

of students who are confident and

not confident, compared to 38% and 19% on average in other countries.

«The confidence level of Spanish students is significantly lower than the OECD average and the EU total.

In addition, both in one subject and another, the variable that has the greatest impact on resilience is the confidence that the student places in learning the area.

In the case of Spain, the impact is higher than that of the EU as a whole, so the more trust generated in children, the better results can be achieved, ”they say in Isabel Celaá's team.

25% COME TO CLASS HUNGRY

A quarter of the Spanish students in Grade 4 who took the TIMSS 2019 Mathematics test say they come to class hungry every day or almost every day.

The proportion is very striking but slightly lower than the average for countries (

).

In addition, there are

of students who say they feel tired every day or almost every day (compared to

).

These students obtain lower results in both subjects.

Gender gap

The gender gap continues to exist in Mathematics (

and

them).

In fact, it has increased (the result of the girls has dropped four points).

While in Sciences there is a continuous trend that in 2019 has made the difference disappear (

and

).

In the Ministry they explain that "the stereotypes created" about these careers, as well as "the expectations of the parents" are aspects that "possibly discourage many female students."

"For example, computer science is considered a male field of work and biology, a female field of work," they express.

In countries like Finland, girls obtain similar or better results in both subjects, "which indicates that it is possible to bridge this gap."

Equity

Equity in the performance of Spanish students is better than in the OECD and EU average, because the cultural and economic level of the parents affects the grades of their children less than in other countries.

In addition, there are no significant differences in performance between students from urban and rural centers, from more populated or less populated localities, or between native and non-native students after discounting the socioeconomic and cultural index

).

On the contrary, the difference in performance of schools with and without resources is higher than in other countries.

Discipline

Spanish students have a greater sense of belonging to the center than in the average of countries, as well as better levels of school discipline.

In the case of

, the values ​​are similar to those of other territories.

Spanish teachers have a better perception of order and safety in schools than in other countries and also have a higher degree of satisfaction with their profession.

The clarity index of the math and science classes is also higher.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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