The educational systems of Amsterdam and Spain were compared. Both have compulsory primary education lasting 6-8 years. Secondary education in Amsterdam includes VMBO, HAVO, and VWO tracks lasting 4-6 years, while Spain has ESO and Bachillerato lasting 4-2 years. Tertiary education includes universities in both countries. Funding comes from government budgets, with Amsterdam schools able to apply for additional grants and Spain determining funds regionally. Cultural influences include Renaissance architecture in Amsterdam and influences from Romans, Moors, and regional identities in Spain.

1. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
OF
AMSTERDAM AND
SPAIN

2. OBJECTIVE:
Compare the Educational Systems of
Amsterdam and Spain in terms of :
a. Cultural and Economic perspective
b. Goals of Education,
c. Government Funds for Education
d. Structure in Education
e Organization and Management
f. Teacher Education Program
g. Problems in Education

4. Mayor Jozias Van
Aartsen
King Willem -
Alexander

5. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
King Felipe VI

6. DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
Capital:
Population:
Land Area:
Language:
Religion:
 Madrid
 46,584,533
 505,990 sqkm.
 Castilian Spanish
 Catholic
 Capital of
Netherlands
 813,652
 219.3 sqkm.
 Dutch
 Roman Catholic

7. CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 16th century wooden-razed
(replaced with brick ones)
buildings were constructed in the
architectural style of renaissance.
 the culture and regional identity of
Amsterdam are largely the
remnants of the ‘Golden Age’ in
which it became a thriving city. On
a national scale, it is the
undisputed cultural center of the
country, excelling with orchestras,
ballet, stages, museums and
galleries.
 Has 176 different nationalities
making it amongst the most
culturally diverse cities of the
world.
 Spain is a storied country of stone
castles, snow capped mountains,
vast monuments, and
sophisticated cities, all of which
have made it a favoured travel
destination.
 The country is geographically and
culturally diverse.
 The country’s Roman conquerors
left their language, roads, and
monuments.
 Moors left a legacy of fine
architecture, lyric poetry and
science
 Grain production and cattle
ranching

8. ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 Financial and business capital of
Netherlands. Many large
corporations and banks have
their headquarters in Amsterdam
 The consistent lifeblood of the
city for the past seven centuries
has been international trade and
transport, which together account
for about one-fifth of
employment.
 Banking and insurance also have
been a mainstay of the
Amsterdam economy.
 Another important part of the
city’s economy is tourism
 Most people earn a decent
income. Unemployment (about
20 percent), however, represents
a major problem for the
economy.
 Spain is a world leader in the
production of wine.
 Trade is significant for Spain’s
economy. The country exports
some food as well as live
animals. The combined value of
exports and imports equals 63
percent of GDP
 Tourism is increasingly important
to economic development,
especially in the coastal regions.

9. ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 Amsterdam is run by a city
council, governed by a mayor,
aldermen, and the municipal
council Amsterdam is
subdivided into eight
boroughs, a system that was
implemented to improve local
governance. Local decisions
are made at borough level,
and only affairs pertaining to
the whole city are handled by
the central city council.
 The form of government is
constitutional monarchy with
two legislative houses
(Senate [2661]; Congress of
Deputies [350]), run by a
Prime Minister, the national
government with the
governments of each of the
country's 17 autonomous
communities.

10. TECHNOLOGIC ADVANCEMENT
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 Worlds High Tech Start up
Capital
 Science Park campus,
solidifying the city’s position
as the world’s largest internet
hub.
 Making floating homes more
viable, safe, and affordable,
new neighborhoods are being
implemented across the
country as a means to save
space, and save houses
before the next flood strikes.
 has built a remarkable
network of high-speed rail
lines, which stretch around
the country and link major
economic centers.
 its citizens have enjoyed what
the World Health Organization
considers to be one of the
very best health care
systems.
 made dramatic advances in
desalination, in renewable
energy in personalized
medicine and electronic
health records

11. GOALS OF EDUCATION
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 The Ministry of Education,
Culture and Science works to
create a smart, skilled and
creative environment in the
Netherlands. Its mission is to
ensure that everyone gets a
good education and is
prepared for responsibility and
independence. The Ministry
also wants people to enjoy the
arts, and aims to create the
right conditions for teachers,
artists and researchers to do
their work.
 Spain aims to promote
education improvement,
mainly through a new law by
greater autonomy for schools,
new preventive diagnostic
testing in primary education,
more vocational pathways
starting in the final years of
lower secondary education,
and exit exams in lower and
upper secondary education.

12. LEGAL BASIS OF EDUCATION
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 Education Policy 2014-2018
 Egalitarian system allows late-
bloomers to grow and under-
achievers to readjust their
ambitions.
 The Spanish education system is
built on the principles set out in
the 1978 Constitution and four
basic or organic laws:
- the University Reform Act of 1983
partly modified by the
Universities Act of 2001
- the Right to Education Act of 1985
- the General Organisation of the
Education System Act of 1990
- the Act on Participation,
Assessment and Administration
of Teaching Centres of 1995

13. SOURCE OF FUNDING
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 Schools can apply for special
funding known as the Amsterdam
School Grant (in Dutch) to help
them carry out school-wide
development projects. Another
type of grant, the Amsterdam
Teachers’ Grant (in Dutch),
provides funding to one or more
teachers who wish to develop
themselves in an area of their
choosing.
 Education in Spain is both
publicly and privately funded.
Public funds are mostly provided
by the Ministry of Education and
the Educational Administrations
of the Autonomous Communities,
although other ministries,
Autonomous Community
administrations and local
administrations also provide
funds.
 Funding is determined and
mainly distributed by the
regional governments.

14. FUNDS FOR EDUCATION
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 GDP: 777.228 Billion USD
 Government expenditure on
Education - 5.529 % of GDP
 Netherlands spent $10,704
per student in all levels of
education; this is higher than
the OECD average of $8,831,
but comparable to what many
other small European
countries spend.
 GDP: 1.237 trillion USD
 Government expenditure on
Education - 4.28 % of GDP
 Spain spent less than $7,000
per primary school student,
while the OECD and EU
averages were both about
$8,500 per student. Spain
also spent $8,520 on each
secondary school student,
compared to the OECD
average of about $9,800 and
the EU average of more than
$10,000.

15. EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 Amsterdam strives to make sure
that its pupils receive the best
possible education. No two
schools – and no two pupils –
are alike. Teachers and schools
should decide for themselves
how best to invest in their own
development and improvement.
The City of Amsterdam will
support them where necessary.
 The educational system in Spain
is designed to focus its attention
in the achievement of an
inclusive education and of high
quality for all, standing up for the
principles stated in the Spanish
constitution.
 Most schooling decisions are
taken at the regional level and to
a lesser extent by the central
government, with limited
autonomy for individual schools.

16. SCHOOL SCHEDULES
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 School times may vary. Most
lessons take place between
08:30 and 15:00.
 Children are often free for lunch
from 12:00 to 13:00. They may
go home, but schools are obliged
to provide between-school care.
Most schools are closed after
12:00 or 12:30 on Wednesday
afternoons. The education
inspectorate ensures schools
provide the required number of
tuition hours.
 There are two kinds of
timetables, a divided day which
allows at least two hours for
lunch, or the blocked day which
finishes in the early afternoon.
 Many public secondary schools
have now adopted this blocked-
day timetable, and teenagers are
free from about 3 p.m. every day.
Grant-assisted and private
schools, however, have classes
until the early evening several
days a week
 The school has three term
system.

17. STRUCTURE IN EDUCATION
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 Preschool (ages 0-4)
 Primary Education (ages 4-12)–
8 years, compulsory
8 groups
Pupils in group 8 take a compulsory
final test, for example the Cito
test.
Kopklas is the bridging year
between primary and secondary
school to raise the childs
recommended level, so they are
able to move on to the type of
secondary education that
matches their ability.
 Preschool (ages 0-6)
2 Cycles
 Primary Education (ages 6-12)
– 6 years, compulsory
3 Cycles
From about year 3 children are
introduced to termly exams, but
there is no equivalent to national
testing in the Spanish system (at
this age).

18. AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 Secondary Education (ages 12 -
18)
VMBO – 4 years compulsory
HAVO – 5 years
VWO – 6 years
After 8 years of relatively carefree
elementary schooling, things
drastically change in the final year,
when children take a mandatory
state exam, the cito-toets.
For VMBO-pupils there are 4 different
directions, varying from the very
practical to a more theoretical
training. After 4 years the pupil can
continue his education at an MBO-
school
 Tertiary Education
Mbo (Vocational Training)
Hbo (University of the applied science)
Wo (Research University)
 Secondary Education (ages 12 –
18)
ESO - 4 years compulsory
Bachillerato - 2 years
Modulos – 3 years
Bachillerato are not mandatory but
required if the student want to attend
college later.
After Bachillerato, students have
intensive examinations and their final
mark is based on a combination of
examination results and continuous
assessment.
 Tertiary Education
University level first stage – 3 years
University level second stage – 6 years
Master's Degree – 2 years
Doctorado en Filosofía

22. TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM
AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 4 years teacher training
degree at an HBO institution
for Primary and 1 year post
graduate course at a
university or a 3 years part
time program at an HBO for
Secondary.
 All schools are required to
establish a support program
for new staff and to formulate
teacher training and induction
programs in conjunction with
training institutions
 3 years degree at University
school for Primary and 5
years Degree at University
for Secondary
 Must complete pre-service
training, competitive exam
and practicum to enter the
profession.
 Accessible professional
development.

23. AMSTERDAM SPAIN
 Teacher shortage due primarily
to the aging teacher workforce
 Problem of black and white
schools. Trouble promoting racial
integration.
 Bullying
For 21st Century
The necessity to create new
schools to deal with the pupils
population growth
 Major problem with Spanish
education was the continued
high failure rate.
 Tuition gone up at school but the
quality of education has not.
 High drop-out rates.
For 21st Century
Educating an increasingly
heterogeneous student body
to accommodate students with
a variety of disabilities .
PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION

24. We can see in the PISA 2015 (Math, Reading and
Science) that Amsterdam Netherlands rank is higher
than Spain. From there we can say that their
Educational System has something to do with the
result.
Contributing mainly to the success is the
governments spending in the education field which
is above the average. The structure of Amsterdam’s
education. Compulsory education in Amsterdam is
longer.
Educational System of Spain have gone through
a lot of reform which leads to their outstanding
CONCLUSION:

25. 1. https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/policy/policy-education/
2. https://www.nfer.ac.uk/eurydice/compulsory-age-of-starting-school
3. http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Education/Duration-of-
compulsory-education#
4. https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/policy/policy-education/
5. http://www.oecd.org/education/highlightsspain.htm
6. http://icex.technologyreview.com/articles/2012/07/spain-innovations-and-
international-successes/
7. http://europa.eu/youth/es/article/53/1454_en
8. https://www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-education-culture-and-science
9. http://www5.csudh.edu/global_options/375students-sp96/spain/econ.sys.html
10. https://dutchreview.com/expat/the-dutch-school-system-a-guide-for-parents-on-
dutch-education/
11. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1073/Netherlands-TEACHING-
PROFESSION.html
12. http://www.studying-in-spain.com/spanish-education-system/
13. http://www.businessinsider.com/pisa-worldwide-ranking-of-math-science-reading-
skills-2016-12
REFERENCES:

26. THANK
YOU!
FE T. MORILLA
MAEd Mathematics
Summer 2018
ERLINDA A. GANAPIN, Ed D
PSU Graduate School Professor
Comparative Education