By Mrs. Eva Calvés Parcerisas. Barcelona, Spain
What can be done to convince stakeholders of the need to further support the education of high-ability science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students, and what obstacles stand in the way?
Spanish law envisages an education system that suits the characteristics—and meets the needs—of all of its students. The system is expected to take diversity into account so that equal opportunity is ensured and all students are able to succeed in school.
This notion, already well-established in Spanish society, is almost always interpreted solely to mean that we must look out for those students at risk of failing to meet the minimum standards required by the education system. But what about high-ability students? They, too, are entitled to an education that
meets all their needs. The number of programs—both public and private—for at-risk and high-ability students is completely unbalanced: there are many programs aimed at preventing school failure, but very few that respond to the needs of high-ability students.
The research consensus is that, under inappropriate school conditions, gifted students tend to perform poorly; in many cases, they even drop out of school. In contrast, those students who receive an education suited to their needs perform extremely well. It is very important to create a community among gifted students; only when surrounded by other students with the same motivations and interests are they able to show what they can do and how far they can go.
In the interest of ensuring the right to education for all, the Spanish government awards scholarships only to low-income students, without considering academic performance. Merit-based scholarships are offered by private stakeholders only. There are now a few programs in Spain aimed at promoting excellence among high-ability students. However, there is still
much work to be done to support STEM initiatives and private stakeholders are the key to developing them.
Spain is currently facing a severe economic crisis. With the youth unemployment rate at 53%, it is essential to foster activities that will help to bring down this dishearteningly high percentage. One way to do this is to offer initiatives aimed at promoting excellence in the STEM fields, which help to attract talent to Spain.
The main difficulty encountered by educators who want to support gifted students interested in STEM fields is a lack of material, human and economic resources.
You have to go far to find out how far you can go. It’s important to instill this idea in high-ability students, placing no limits on their potential and encouraging them to show just how much they can do. Private stakeholders must try to help students with great potential in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to develop their abilities without encountering any limits—neither self-imposed nor imposed by the system.