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Analysis of national
context in securing BIC in
partners countries
PROJECT. SEBI “SECURING THE BEST INTEREST OF THE
CHILD IN EDUCATIONAL SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION”
Universitat de València: Ureña Salcedo, Juan Antonio; Miguel Argudo, Pablo
University of Cyprus: Papastavrou, Vasilis; Alambrites, Zena; Zacharia, Konstantinos; Valiandes, Stavroula;
Agathangelou, Soa; Athanasiou, Maria; Michaelidou, Victoria; Neophytou, Lefkios; Koutselini, Mary.
SERN: Roli, Ginevra; Mereu, Alessia. Storytellme: Valente, Teresa; Gonzalez, Catarina
Center for Social Innovation: Evagorou, Eleni Stimmuli: Digkoglou, Panagiota; Gare, Ioanna.
Cyprus Observatory on School Violence: Papageorgiou, Constantinos; Stephanou, Nasia.
Folkuniversitetet: Tsaruk, Anastasiia; Rashidi, Ali.
Commissioner for Children’s Rights - Cyprus: Kotziamani, Eleni; Koufetta, Christiana; Pati, Chrystalla;
Koromias, Michalakis.
The European Commission’s support for the production of
this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the
contents, which reect the views only of the authors, and the
Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may
be made of the information contained therein
Analysis of national
context in securing BIC in
partners countries
PROJECT. SEBI “SECURING THE BEST INTEREST OF THE
CHILD IN EDUCATIONAL SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION”
Universitat de València: Ureña Salcedo, Juan Antonio; Miguel Argudo, Pablo
University of Cyprus: Papastavrou, Vasilis; Alambrites, Zena; Zacharia, Konstantinos; Valiandes, Stavroula;
Agathangelou, Soa; Athanasiou, Maria; Michaelidou, Victoria; Neophytou, Lefkios; Koutselini, Mary.
SERN: Roli, Ginevra; Mereu, Alessia. Storytellme: Valente, Teresa; Gonzalez, Catarina
Center for Social Innovation: Evagorou, Eleni Stimmuli: Digkoglou, Panagiota; Gare, Ioanna.
Cyprus Observatory on School Violence: Papageorgiou, Constantinos; Stephanou, Nasia.
Folkuniversitetet: Tsaruk, Anastasiia; Rashidi, Ali.
Commissioner for Children’s Rights - Cyprus: Kotziamani, Eleni; Koufetta, Christiana; Pati, Chrystalla;
Koromias, Michalakis.
Analysis of national context in securing BIC in partners countries
Authors:
Universitat de València: Ureña Salcedo, Juan Antonio;
Miguel Argudo, Pablo
University of Cyprus: Papastavrou, Vasilis; Alambrites, Zena;
Zacharia, Konstantinos; Valiandes, Stavroula; Agathangelou,
Soa; Athanasiou, Maria; Michaelidou, Victoria; Neophytou,
Lefkios; Koutselini, Mary.
SERN: Roli, Ginevra; Mereu, Alessia.
Storytellme: Valente, Teresa; Gonzalez, Catarina
Center for Social Innovation: Evagorou, Eleni
Stimmuli: Digkoglou, Panagiota; Gare, Ioanna.
Cyprus Observatory on School Violence: Papageorgiou,
Constantinos; Stephanou, Nasia.
Folkuniversitetet: Tsaruk, Anastasiia; Rashidi, Ali.
Commissioner for Children’s Rights - Cyprus: Kotziamani, Eleni;
Koufetta, Christiana; Pati, Chrystalla; Koromias, Michalakis.
ISBN: 978-84-09-37150-1
Design and Layout: AZUL LIMÓN ESTUDIO
I. National contexts in each country
II. Introduction. Brief description of the best interest of the child
1. Legal framework
1.1 Constitutional references to child rights and protection
1.2 Legal references to child rights and protection
2. The best interest of child in educational school policies
and practices
2.1 Systems in the Partner Countries
2.2. Allocation of resources
2.3. Pupil/teacher ratio
2.4 Out-of-school pupils in primary education
2.5. Public and Private Attendance
2.6. Weaknesses and strengths
III. Data collection from stakeholders
IV. Conclusion
14
19
20
22
23
24
26
30
6
7
7
7
8
14
5
Table of contents
SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
I. National contexts in each country
This document is a compilation of the dierent national contexts that the SeBI
project partners have elaborated for their respective countries. The national
contexts can be found in the following links:
Sweden:
https://drive.google.com/le/d/1uQ7h_
mXopZpYPdxRmiGcHCwCAiPqSBp7/view?usp=sharing
Cyprus:
https://docs.google.com/document/
d/1VZvuO7ipYJbR2_AlmJ2p02syt9ntaeTN/
edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104737348397094148855&rtpof=true&sd=true
Italy:
https://drive.google.com/le/d/1mmt-Kiwb7d-aFgE6Xq3z3Ctg5aydsHiI/
view?usp=sharing
Portugal:
https://drive.google.com/le/d/1QWdV0PbnJIYLkf0zVP3-i2UNC8xV3Cmz/
view?usp=sharing
Spain:
https://drive.google.com/le/d/1kp1qHtDAvdLg_2XbkDZ4R2o2itKccZ_J/
view?usp=sharing
Greece:
https://docs.google.com/document/
d/1VZvuO7ipYJbR2_AlmJ2p02syt9ntaeTN/
edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104737348397094148855&rtpof=true&sd=true
6
II. Introduction. Brief description of the best
interest of the child
1. Legal framework
In this section we will analyse comparatively the legal frameworks for
the protection of the best interests of the child in the dierent partner
countries of the project. First of all, as an introduction, it should be noted
that the principle of best interests of the child is enshrined in Article 3 of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that “1. In all actions
concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social
welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative
bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration”.
Also, at the European level, it appears in Article 24.2 of the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which reads as follows: “In all
actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private
institutions, the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration”.
1.1. Constitutional references to child rights
The rst thing to note here is that, as will now be seen, constitutional
references to children’s rights are generally limited to the right to
education, with no general reference to the best interests of the child.
Education appears in some form in all the constitutions of the partner
states. In Sweden, however, since there is no Constitution as such, but only
Basic Laws, there is no mention of children as such. In the Constitutions
of Cyprus (art. 20), Italy (art. 30), Spain (art. 27) and Portugal (43, 72-75)
the right to education is included, although in dierent forms. The Greek
Constitution stipulates that the years of compulsory education for Greek
boys and girls shall not be less than 9 years (art. 16.3). In Cyprus and Spain
it is stated that all persons have the right to receive an education, also
including the right (Cyprus) or the freedom (Spain) to provide education.
This is not recognized in the Italian Constitution, which directs its rights
more towards families and parents than towards children, thus recognizing
the right of parents to support, raise and educate their children. It also
recognizes the duty of public authorities to support families in this right.
On the other hand, the Portuguese Constitution (art. 69) recognizes a
more generic right of children to be protected by society and the State in
relation to their full development. It also dictates that access to education
is a legal right for all citizens
7
SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
1.2. Legal references to child rights
Numerous laws are cited and explained in the National Contexts of the
project partner States. However, only in the countries of Spain and Portugal
is the best interest of the child expressly mentioned in their legislation. In
the Spanish case, it is cited, for example, in Organic Law 8/2015, on the
system for the protection of children and adolescents and in Organic Law
1/1996 on the Legal Protection of Minors in the Civil Code and in the Civil
Procedure Law. In the Portuguese case, the best interest of the minor is
mentioned in the Law that regulates the Committees for Protection of
Children and Young People, Committees which favor the participation,
listening and protection of children in this country.
What the legislation of all countries does agree on, as could not be
otherwise, is to regulate education systems.
In Sweden, for example, it is mainly regulated by The Education Act, which
contains basic principles and provisions for compulsory and continuing
education (from 6 to 15 years of age), preschool education, out-of-school
care and adult education. It promotes greater supervision, freedom of
choice and security for students.
In Cyprus this is regulated by several laws in the eld of education. Of
these, the following stand out:
• The Operation of Primary Education Public Schools
Regulations of 2008 to 2012
• The Operation Regulations for Public Schools Primary
Education of 2008
• The Operation Regulations for Public Schools Primary
Education 2009
• The Operation Regulations for Public Schools Primary
Education 2011
• The Primary and Secondary Education Laws of 1993 and 2004
• The Regional Educators Law of 1991
The “The Regional Educators Law of 1991” was adopted after a decision
of the Parliament – House of Representatives and its primary purpose is
to divide the schools into educational peripheries. A “periphery” can be
described as “a geographical location with at least one school of primary
or secondary education”, even though the same geographical location
can be part of two educational peripheries (Article 3, Section 4). As for
the students, they must be registered in schools that are in the periphery,
where their parents live, but students can be registered in school of
another periphery only if schools of their educational level are absent from
their periphery (i.e., if the periphery doesn’t have a secondary school, a
student of the secondary classes can be registered in a secondary school
of another periphery). However, some reasons why a student might be
transferred out of his or her educational periphery are typied.
8
The Laws about Primary and Secondary Education (Compulsory Study
and Provision of Free Education) of 1993 and 2004 – Unocial Unication
is a one-page document with seven articles about the basic rules for
primary and secondary education.
The Regulations About the Operation of Public Primary Education
Schools (2008) and its modications of 2009 and 2011 is a document with
42 articles that regulates the primary education schools’ operation in the
following sectors: registration and detentions, discipline, curriculum and
school days o/events, teaching sta and its’ duties, principals/assistant
principals and their duties, rights and obligations of teachers, parents,
children’s security, external factors (i.e., political fractions).
The educational laws of the Republic of Cyprus, as found in the Web Portal,
don’t have any specic reference to BIC and are mostly concentrated
in bureaucracy matters, such as registration, detention, educational
peripheries, duties of principals, assistant principals, teachers, children
and parents/guardians. However, while this principle is not expressly
mentioned, it is indirectly protected in some provisions, like the Internal
School Regulations of Secondary Schools (pp. 377-378), which state that
children’s rights must be respected “without any discrimination based
on tribe, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other ideologies
followed by the children or the guardians” (Part B, Article 3, Section 1a),
with respect to “the child’s right to life, survival and development” (Article
3, Section 1b) and “the child’s right to express its opinion on matters that
concerns it” (Article 3, Section 1d) and without any violence against the
child (Article 3, Section 2).
Additionally, in this report will be included the About the Education and
Training of Children with Special Needs Law of 1999, which was adopted
by the Parliament – House of Representatives and states that “children
with special needs”, facing “diculties” of educational, functional, mental
matter, have the right to be educated and that the State is responsible for
assuring that right and providing all the support needed.
In Italy, the Decreto Presidente Repubblica 31 maggio 1974 n. 416, on
Establishment and reorganisation of collegiate bodies for nursery,
primary, secondary and art schools, stands out. This decree regulates,
in the rst place, the participation of children in school, establishing the
collegiate bodies of the school, “in order to achieve”, as stated the law
in Article 1, “participation in the management of the school, giving it the
character of a community which interacts with the wider social and civic
community”. Another decree, DPR 417/1974, regulates the legal status
and role of teaching, management and inspection sta in schools. Article
1 recognises the freedom to teach (already enshrined in Article 33 of the
Italian Constitution), “with respect for the moral and civil conscience of the
pupils themselves”, i.e. within the limits imposed by morality and public
order. This is how the principle dened by some as “freedom in school,
freedom of the school” becomes a reality.
9
SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
In Greece, apart from the constitutional provisions for education, with art.
33, l.4521/2018, the Ministry of Education regulated two-year compulsory
preschool education: the aim is to prevent school failure, functional
literacy, reduce school dropout and the inclusion in the educational
system of students from vulnerable social groups. In November 2018, the
‘Action Plan for the Rights of the Child’ was presented from the Minister
of Justice, Transparency & Human Rights. The Minister stressed that the
National Plan, prepared by the General Secretariat of Human Rights of
the Ministry of Justice, harmonizes Greece with international standards,
as it promotes and ensures the implementation of the provisions of the
International Convention on Human Rights. Law 2101/1992 is the legal
tool which raties the International Convention of the Rights of the Child,
there we nd specic references to the Best Interest of the Child like in
articles 3 (decision-making from private and public entities keeping in
mind the BIC), 9 (right of State to separate child from parents when it
is for the BIC/right of the child to communicate with parents), 18 (child
custody), 20 (child without family), 21 (regarding adoption), 37 (dignity and
freedom of the child) and 40 (Judicial process).
In Portugal the Base Law of the Education System (Law no. 46/86, 1986)
re-establishes and translates the principles enshrined in the Constitution
into a distribution of government responsibilities and the legal framework
for the private provision of education. It also aims to full other general
objectives of the education system, such as the sustainability of the
national identity, the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage,
the awareness of spiritual, aesthetic, moral and civic values vis-à-vis
the balanced physical development of children, as well as ensuring the
recognition of dierent cultures. Education in Portugal is also understood
as a means to develop the ability to perform productive work and
participate in active life, according to the interest and abilities of the
individual.
Finally, in Spain, the main laws regarding education in Spain are the
following: Organic Law 8/1985, of July 3, regulating the Right to Education;
Organic Law 2/2006, of May 3, on Education.; Organic Law 8/2013, of
December 9, for the improvement of educational quality; Royal Decree-
Law 5/2016, of December 9, on urgent measures to extend the calendar
for the implementation of Organic Law 8/2013, of December 9, for the
improvement of educational quality; Organic Law 5/2002, of June 19,
on Qualications and Vocational Training; Organic Law 3/2020, of 29
December, which amends Organic Law 2/2006, of 3 May, on Education.
Numerous reforms have taken place as the colour of government has
changed. When the left wing was in power, the voluntary nature of the
subject of religion was reinforced, public schools were defended more
against state-subsidised schools (as we can see in the evolution of public
school funding and private school subsidies) and the evaluation systems for
passing grades were relaxed. On the other hand, when the right wing was
in power, the subject of religion was strengthened, educational concerts
were defended, and evaluation systems were tightened. The education
community has long demanded more stability in legislation, regardless
of partisan interests. In terms of children’s rights, the Spanish Parliament
recently passed Organic Law 8/2021, of 4 June, on the comprehensive
protection of children and adolescents against violence, which aims to
“guarantee the fundamental rights of children and adolescents to their
10
physical, mental, psychological and moral integrity against any form
of violence, ensuring the free development of their personality and
establishing comprehensive protection measures, including awareness-
raising, prevention, early detection, protection and protection of children
and adolescents against all forms of violence, psychic, psychological and
moral integrity against any form of violence, ensuring the free development
of their personality and establishing comprehensive protection measures,
including awareness-raising, prevention, early detection, protection and
reparation of harm in all areas in which their lives develop”.
On other issues, legislation between countries diers considerably.
For example, in Sweden, the 3 laws that stand out in matters of child
protection are Sweden’s Children and Parent Code, which prohibits all
corporal punishment and other humiliating treatment of children; the
Swedish Criminal Code, which contains provisions on many of the acts
that are crimes in Sweden; and the Social Welfare Act, which provides for
the regulation of Social Services which, in the interests of democracy and
solidarity, should promote citizens’ economic and social security, equality
of living conditions and active participation in society.
On the other hand, in Cyprus, the Social Welfare Services Oce, as the
main social institution of the Republic of Cyprus, has a special section
on their ocial website about parents and their children. The Director of
Social Welfare Services is responsible for protecting the interests of a
child in case that parents are absent or not capable of providing custody
– that also applies to children from other countries, refugees, who came
in the Republic of Cyprus without their parents or legal guardians and
applied for asylum. It is stated that removing a child from his/her family
is the last measure to be applied, only after other measures providing
support to the family have failed – according to the ocial webpage, those
measures include counselling to the family (with the support of NGOs
and other structures) and home/nancial support. In addition, it is stated
clearly, “opinions of the children themselves are taken into consideration
during all processes and denition of their interest”. The objectives that
Service for Families and Children has set, aim to: (1) provide counselling
and support to the family in order to cope with the problems that threaten
the unity of the family, (2) protect children from possible dangers, (3)
promote the rights of the children, (4) prevent any delinquent and anti-
social behaviour and (5) introduce of measure to tackle any behaviour as
described previously.
In Portugal, the reform of Children’s Rights implemented at the end of the
nineties was geared towards a new child policy, which main objective is
to promote and ensure the eective exercise of children’s rights, based
on prevention and protection. This reform came into law as the Protection
of Children and Young People in Danger (PCJP) (Law no.147/99 of 1
September), and as the Educational Guardianship (EG) (Law no.166/99
of 14 September), which consolidate the perspective of Community
intervention with the recognition of the right to be heard for children
and young people. The PCJP is based on the principle that children and
young people are full social actors, whose protection should mean the
promotion of their individual, economic, social and cultural rights. The
State and the community undertake to organise themselves in such a
11
SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
way as to provide the models for action which can satisfy the individual
developmental needs of each child and young person, with respect for
the universality of their rights.
In Greece, following the intervention of the Ombudsman, the Ministry of
Education, Research and Religions claried the right of the parent who
does not exercise custody of the children but exercises the rest of the
parental responsibility, to be informed about the school situation of the
child. The clarications were made with the Ministerial Decision (ΥΥ 10645 /
Υ∆4 / 2018 on the subject: “Registrations, transcripts, studies and issues of
organization of school life in secondary schools”. The Ombudsman also
recommended to the Ministry to conrm that the Ocial Document on the
rights of children-students whose parents are separated or divorced and
one of them is not exercising custody, is still in force. On the other hand,
there are in Greece several plans for the inclusion of children especially
with disabilities (physical or mental) while dierentiated classes are
beginning to occur. Furthermore, regarding refugee children, migrants
and integration, in the long history of Greece, the refugee and migration
movements are an important variable of its socio-economic development
culminating in the 20th century, where large ows of refugees enter the
Greek territory, with the most important mass inux of 1,200,000 people
from Asia Minor, Thrace, the Pontus and the Balkan countries. With the
rapid increase of refugee ows in Greece, mainly due to the Syrian civil
war, the Ministry of Foreign Aairs proceeded to the planning of actions
for the support, care and education of the refugee children, who are in
Greece, taking into account the International Convention on the Rights
of the Child, which the Hellenic Republic ratied with l. 2101/1992 and
especially the art. 22, 28, 29, 30, concerning issues of refugee children and
their education.
In Italy, in the framework of the Social Services Laws, the reference is the
Law 8 November 2000, n. 328, “Law for the realization of the integrated
system of interventions and social services”. This law is aimed at promoting
interventions, welfare and social health services that guarantee concrete
help to people and to families in diculty. The main purpose of the law
is, besides the simple assistance of the individual, also the support of
the person within their family unit. The support is given to children with
disabilities, ensuring their social inclusion, to families with children in
temporary diculties, through parenting support services and foster care
services.
Finally, in Spain, social services are a regional competence. In the
Valencian Community, Law 26/2018 establishes rights and the guarantee
of those rights for children. The recognized rights are the following: rights
of citizenship, rights in the family sphere, right to health, information,
education, decent housing, culture, adequate food, inclusion and
conditions for a dignied life, rights in relation to the environment, in
labor matters, rights as consumers, and rights in relation to nightlife and
12
physical activity. The right to be informed is identied in article 30 and
86 in a generic way, determined that the administrations will develop
information actions aimed at children and adolescents, in order that they
know their rights and the means to claim them, defend them and exercise
them. In more specic ways, article 90.2 admitted access to information
that concerns the minor, also in section 3 the right to be “listened about
decisions that aect them, especially when measures of protection are
adopted or ceased, under the terms provided in Organic Law 1/1996”.
Related to the social services of the Valencian Community for the protection
of minors are regulated by the Law 3/2019, these public services are
structured into primary care services and secondary care services. Article
18 provides for reception services, social inclusion services, prevention,
and intervention with families, and services for minors with disabilities.
Regarding social inclusion, it is recognized in article 58, greater attention
will be paid to disabled minors, victims of violence, or in vulnerable
situations. In addition to guaranteeing equal opportunities in matters of
health, culture, education, sports, and leisure. The Ministry of the Regional
Government for Equality and Public Policies approved the Valencian Plan
for Inclusion and Social Cohesion 2017-2022, it is a tool “to reduce the
factors of social inequality and vulnerability, promote the autonomy of
vulnerable groups from the inclusive activation and independent living,
and promoting social cohesion from the strengthening of family and
community ties, the feeling of belonging to the community and the
territory”. Likewise, the plan includes an ex-ante and ex-post evaluation
section on the implementation of measures for social cohesion.
13
SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
2. General data
2.1. Educational Systems in the Partner Countries
Upper
secondary
education
Gymnasium
/High School
(Gymnasieskola)
Tredje ring 3rd grade 18-19
Andra ring 2nd grade 17-18
Första ring 1st grade 16-17
Primary and lower
secondary education
Comprehensive
school
(Grundskola)
Upper stage
Högstadiet
9th grade 15-16
8th grade 14-15
7th grade 13-14
Middle stage
Mellanstadiet
6th grade 12-13
5th grade 11-12
4th grade 10-11
Lower stage
Lågstadiet
3rd grade 9-10
2rd grade 8-9
1st grade 7-8
Preschool class education Preschool class (Förskoleklass) 6-7
Preschool education Preschool (Förskoleklass) 1-6
Figure 1. Sweden educational system
In Sweden, education, as we can see in the table (yellow colour), is compulsory
between 7 and 15 years of age, from primary to secondary education.
Pre-school education (pre-school) is from age 1 until entry into primary school at
age 6, and although it is not compulsory, the state guarantees it free of charge
for low-income families and partially subsidises it for all. When children turn 6,
they start a year of compulsory pre-school classes (förskoleklass), which is a
transition between pre-school and primary school. The following year they start
comprehensive primary education, where all pupils study the same subjects (with
the exception of a language subject of their choice). These schools are mostly
public (run by the municipality), but there are also private schools known as
‘independent schools’.
The majority of students who complete this level of education continue on to upper
secondary education, which lasts 3 years and oers 18 educational programmes
of the student’s choice, some vocational and some university preparatory.
14
Figure 2. Cyprus educational system
(Source: Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth)
In Cyprus, the system is similar. It is divided into pre-school education (in this case
from 3 to 5 years and 8 months), primary education (from 5 years and 8 months to
12 years), secondary education (from 12 to 18 years), divided into lower secondary
(compulsory) and upper secondary general education or upper secondary
vocational education, and higher education (over 18 years). As in Sweden,
compulsory education is only from the age of 5 to 15, i.e. from pre-primary to
lower secondary education.
15
SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
15-18
YEARS
5 YEARS AND
8 MONTHS -
12 YEARS
3 YEARS -
5 YEARS
AND 8 MONTHS
4 years and 8
months - 5 years
and 8 months
PRE-PRIMARY
EDUCATION
3 years - 4
years and 8
months
UNIFIED LYOEUM
(3-YEAR
EDUCATION)
PRIMARY EDUCATION
(6 YEARS)
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES -
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS
OF TERTIARY EDUCATION
VOLUNTARY
EDUCATION
VOLUNTARY
EDUCATION
COMPULSORY
EDUCATION
HIGHER
EDUCATION
SECONDARY
EDUCATION
PRIMARY
EDUCATION
GYMNASIUM (3-YEAR EDUCATION)12-15 YEARS
TECHNICAL
AND VOCATIONAL
EDUCATION
(3-YEAR
EDUCATION)
APPREN-
TICESHIP
SCHEME
(2 YEARS)
THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF CYPRUS
level name duration
Pre-school education Scuola de ll’infanza
(nursey school)
3 years
(Age: 3 to 6)
Primary education Scuola primaria (primary school) 5 years
(Age: 6 to 11)
Upper secondary
education
Scuola secondaria di secondo
grado
5 years
(age: 14 to 19)
(compulsory untill
the age of 16, or
until year 2)
Formaziones professionale
(vocational education) (until 2010)
3 or 5 years (age
14 to 17 or 14 to
19) (compulsory
until the age of
16, or until year 2)
Figure 3. Italy educational system
In Italy, similar to the two previous countries, education is compulsory from the
age of 5-6 until the age of 15-16 (yellow in the table above). Education is divided
into 5 stages: early childhood education (3-6 years), primary education (6-11 years),
lower secondary education (11-14 years), upper secondary vocational education
(14-17-19 years) and upper second grade secondary education (14-19 years).
Greece Framework
Compulsory School Education PK9
Year in Schooling Age Greek Designation Education Stage
Pre-kindergarten 1st Year 4–5 Pre-kindergarten Preschool
Kindergarten 2nd Year 5–6 Kindergarten
First grade 3rd Year 6–7 1st Grade
Primary School
Second grade 4th Year 7–8 2nd Grade
Third grade 5th Year 8–9 3rd Grade
Fourth grade 6th Year 9–10 4th Grade
Fifth grade 7th Year 10–11 5th Grade
Sixth grade 8th Year 11–12 6th Grade
Eighth grade 10th Year 13–14 2nd Grade Gymnasium
(Lower Secondary
School)
Ninth grade 11th Year 14–15 3rd Grade
Tenth grade 12th Year 15–16 1st Grade Lyceum (Upper
Secondary School)
(US equivalent: High
School)
Eleventh grade 13th Year 16–17 2nd Grade
Twelfth grade 14th Year 17–18 3rd Grade
Figure 4. Greece educational system
16
In Greece, formal education comprises three educational stages. The rst stage of
formal education is the primary stage, which lasts for six years starting at age of 6
and ending at the age of 12, followed by the secondary stage, which is separated
into two sub-stages: the compulsory Gymnasium, which lasts three years starting
at age 12, and non-compulsory Lyceum, which lasts three years starting at 15.
However, before these three stages mentioned above, there is also a preschool
education system in Greece for children aged 4-6 years. Most preschools, also
known as pre-primary, are attached to and share buildings with a primary school.
Preschool is compulsory and lasts 2 years, split into 1 year of Pre-kindergarten
(ΠΥΥΥΥπΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥ) and 1 year of Kindergarten (Source: Wikipedia)
School Year Age of entry School Stage
- 0
Infantário / Creche
Nursery
- 1
- 2
- 3
Jardim de Infância
Kindergarten
- 4
- 5
1st year 6 1º Ciclo / Escola Primária /
Ensino Primário
1st Cycle / Primary School /
Primary Education Ensino
Básico
Basic
Education
2nd year 7
3rd year 8
4th year 9
5th year 10 2º Ciclo
2nd Cycle
6th year 11
7th year 12
3º Ciclo
3rd Cycle
8th year 13
9th year 14
10th year 15
Ensino Secundário
Secondary Education
11th year 16
12th year 17
Figure 5. Portugal educational system
In Portugal it is also similar: from 0 to 5 years there is pre-primary education,
from 6 to 14 years basic education (divided into 3 cycles) and from 15 to 17 years
secondary education. Education is compulsory from the age of 6 until 18 (once
university age begins).
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SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
Year Age Courses Cycles
Pree-School
3
4
5
6
Primary School
71º Primary First Cycle
82º Primary
93º Primary Second Cycle
10 4º Primary
11 5º Primary Third Cycle
12 6º Primary
Compulsory Secondary Education
13 1º ESO First
14 2º ESO
15 3º ESO Second
16 4º ESO
Post-Compulsory School 17 1º
18 2
Figure 6. Spain educational system
In Spain, it is also a fairly similar system. From 0 to 3 years of age there is pre-
school education in private or subsidised nurseries. From the age of 3, children
can attend a public infant school until the age of 6, where compulsory primary
education begins until the age of 12. After that, compulsory secondary education
begins, with 4 years until the age of 16. There are 2 years of upper secondary
education before university entrance, but it is not compulsory.
18
2.2. Allocation of resources
In this section a comparison of education spending in dierent countries in
dierent ways is provided: in absolute terms, % of total public spending, % of total
GDP and spending per capita.
Total
expenditure
(million €)
Education
Expenditure
(% Public
Expenditure)
Education
Expenditure
(%GDP)
Per Capita
Education
Expenditure
Sweden 35.762,3 15,73% 7,67% 1.009€
Cyprus 1.190,9 16,69% 6,29% 1.399€
Italy 64.936,1 7,81% 3,83% 1.071€
Portugal 8.775,3 10,15% 4,88% 847€
Spain 46.882,8 9,97% 4,21% 1.009€
Average -------- 12,07 % 5,376 % 1.067 €
Table 1. Education Spending in Partner Countries
We have highlighted in green in each column those countries that are above the
average, and in red those that are below. We can see that Cyprus is the country
that in all columns is above average, with a high expenditure on education both
in comparison to its total expenditure and in relation to its population. Sweden
also has a high expenditure on education in relation to its total expenditure,
but in relation to its population it is slightly below average. The opposite is true
for Italy, which has below average education expenditure in relation to its total
expenditure, but slightly above average in relation to its population. Spain and
Portugal are below average in all comparisons.
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SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
2.3. Pupil/teacher ratio
Also it is interesting to observe a comparison of pupil/teacher ratios in partner
countries.
Pupil/teacher ratio (pre-primary)
Sweden 5,52
Cyprus 14,40
Italy 11,62
Portugal 16,56
Greece 10,44
Spain 13,44
EU average 12,77
Table 2. Pupil/teacher ratio (pre-primary) in Partner Countries
The ratio for southern European countries are more or less similar. The lowest
of these is Italy with 11.62 pupils per teacher in pre-primary education, while the
highest is Portugal with 16.56 pupils/teacher. However, the highest dierence is
found in Sweden, where this ratio drops to 5.52 pupils per teacher at this level of
education, a substantially lower gure than in the rest of the countries. The EU
average is 12,77.
Pupil/teacher ratio (primary)
Sweden 12,23
Cyprus 12,04
Italy 11,48
Portugal 12,35
Greece 9,38
Spain 13,13
EU average 13,3
Table 3. Pupil/teacher ratio (primary) in Partner Countries
As Table 3 indicates, the pupil/teacher ratio is around 1 1-13 pupils per teacher in
primary education (except in Greece, which stands out for its low rate). The lowest
gure is, in fact, found in Greece (9,38 pupils/teacher) and the highest in Spain
(13.13 pupils/teacher). The EU average is 13.3 pupils/teacher, which is the highest
of the gures analysed.
20
Pupil/teacher ratio (lower secondary)
Sweden 11,26
Cyprus 8,96
Italy 10,18
Portugal 9,54
Greece 7,80
Spain 11,88
EU average 11,56
Table 4. Pupil/teacher ratio (lower secondary) in Partner Countries
The ratio at Table 4 vary a bit more: the lowest pupil/teacher ratio is found in
Greece, with 7.80 pupils per teacher on average in lower secondary education,
while the highest is in Spain, with 11.88 pupils/teacher. The EU average is 11.56.
Pupil/teacher ratio (upper secondary)
Sweden 14,66
Cyprus 7,80
Italy 9,87
Portugal 9,49
Greece 9,42
Spain 11,29
EU average 12,04
Table 5. Pupil/teacher ratio (upper secondary) in Partner Countries
In upper secondary education, the highest pupil/teacher ratio is found in Sweden,
where the pupil/teacher ratio is 14.66. Whereas, the lowest ratio is in Cyprus, at
7.80 pupils/teacher. The EU average is 12,04.
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SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
2.4. Out-of-school pupils in primary education
Moreover, comparative data from out-of-school pupils in primary education can
provide further information regarding the educational systems of the partner
countries.. Although the gures are quite low, there are certain dierences that
pointed out in this paper.
Children out of school (% of primary school age)
Sweden 0,13 %
Cyprus 0,58 %
Italy 3,15 %
Portugal 0,42 %
Greece 1,43 %
Spain 3,08 %
EU average 1,82 %
Table 6. Children out of school in Partner Countries
In Cyprus, Sweden and Portugal, the gures are extremely low. In these countries,
less than 1 % of pupils of primary school age are out of school. Sweden stands
out, where the gure is just over 0.1 %. However, in Spain and Italy these gures,
although low, are comparatively higher than in the other countries, at just over 3
%. The EU average is 1.82%.
22
2.5. Public and Private Attendance
Finally, Table … presents a comparatively analysis of the percentage of students
at each educational level who go to a private school, in order to see the weight of
this type of education compared to public education.
School enrollment,
primary, private
(% of total primary)
School enrollment,
secondary, private
(% of total secondary)
Sweden 10,57 % 17,92 %
Cyprus 9,54 % 18,65 %
Italy 5,98 % 6,94 %
Portugal 12,71 % 17,32 %
Greece 5,82 % 4,44 %
Spain 31,48 % 30,23 %
EU average 14,93 % 24,37 %
Table 7. School enrolment in private schools in Partner Countries
As we can see, in Spain the weight of private education (31.48 % in primary and 30.23
% in secondary education) is substantially higher than in the rest of the countries
analysed and also higher than the European Union average (14.93 and 24.37 %,
respectively). At the other extreme, Greece is the country where the private sector
accounts for the lowest percentage at both levels of education: 5.82 % at primary
and 4.44 % at secondary level.
In general, in secondary education there is a greater predominance of private
schooling compared to primary education.
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SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
2.6. Weaknesses and strengths
For a comprehensive analysis it is recommended to read each of the national
contexts (see Section 1). At this point, a brief summary of all the national contexts
is provided.
Sweden is noted for its “unique” learning process, with a strengthening of informal
relationships between teachers and students. The education system focuses on
developing children’s full potential. This is achieved, among other things, through
extensive cooperation between schools and companies in the country in various
elds through prole practices, which allows future professionals to enter the
course while still students. They also point out the broad tolerance in the Swedish
education system.
However, it is not all positive. The ambiguity with which recent educational
innovations have been approached, such as the rejection of traditional forms of
teaching (lectures, master classes, etc.), the creation of classes with pupils of
dierent ages or the transfer of competences and funding to local councils (which
led to its reduction) can be highlighted as weaknesses of the Swedish educational
system. Another weaknesses is the fact that higher education is not free for foreign
students, as well as the high cost of students hostels.
In Cyprus, ensuring equal access to and participation of all children in non-
discriminatory and inclusive education is a key objective of the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sport and Youth (MOECSY SY), which respects and recognizes
the diversity of each child, as well as its fundamental right to education, and oers
support services and educational programmes which eectively respond to pupils’
individualized needs at an early stage and apply the appropriate therapeutic
intervention. Schools increase access for individual pupils with impairments
by making reasonable adjustments. These include lighting and paint schemes
to help visually impaired children, lifts and ramps to help physically impaired
children, carpeting of classrooms to help hearing impaired pupils. The MOECSY
also provides schools with special equipment such as wheelchairs, walking aids
etc. to be used by disabled children.
Thirdly, in Italy, there is a lack of funding to be able to eectively protect children
in the education system, especially children with special needs, but children with
disabilities or special needs are included in schools and huge attention is given to
their inclusion and not to create separate schools for them. Additionally, children
spend 40 hours a week in class, very few hours are devoted to sports or creative
activities, the vast majority being hours of sitting and listening to a teacher. Finally,
more cooperation between school and social services would be desirable, as
teachers often do not report their concerns with some pupils and their families
do not cooperate either.
In Greece, the educational system is distinguished by stability, which stems
not from its ecient operation, but from the complex, thick framework of laws
and rules that accompanies it. Educational trends and innovations are reluctant
to assimilate into such established procedures, while their implementation in
Greek schools is in such a way that they may not disrupt the current condition by
adopting the law of uniformity. As a result, the central authority has taken over
the sustainability and development of the Greek school system in every eld by
dening it in such a way as to turn it into a passive function. Another important
factor is the lack of resources and funding in Greek school system that has an
24
impact on the support of any educational process relevant to BIC practices, and
it contributes to an untimely and fragmentary planning of educational programs
and eorts for teacher training with a restricted production of materials that
could help the educational processes. (Kougias & Efstathopoulos, 2020) Taking
everything into consideration, it is quite important to strengthen the existing
eorts that try to improve school climate, as only through this direction, the Greek
educational system will succeed in oering a high teaching quality and resulting
in positive psychosocial and learning outcomes for students.
In Portugal, the increase in the scope of education is noteworthy, as many
advances have been made in this regard. The proportion of young people under
25 graduating from secondary education jumped from 51% to 83% between
2005 and 2015, the largest gain in the OECD. However, progress is still needed
for children at risk of social exclusion, who have the highest drop-out rates of all
Portuguese children. Progress has been made in the inclusion of children with
special needs in the Portuguese education system, although there is a lack of
funding to support this, both in terms of infrastructure and teachers. In this regard,
the system of allocating teachers to dierent schools in the country is inecient
and creates instability and inequality. Schools and teachers are unable to express
their preferences for a specic candidate or school prole. 24% of teachers would
like to change the school they work in. Finally, there is also a lack of non-teaching
professionals.
Finally, in Spain, as in Portugal, the great progress that has been made over the
decades in ensuring that education reaches all children in the country, regardless
of socio-economic class, is highlighted. Despite the progress made, however,
signicant inequalities are highlighted in dierent variables depending on socio-
economic level. In this sense, although the lasts PISA reports do not reect very
large inequalities between the results of upper and lower class children, there is
a large dierence in dropout and repetition rates. This dierence is largely due to
the division into private and public schools. In private schools there is very little
repetition compared to public schools (85.1 % of students in private schools have
never repeated, compared to 51.4 % in public schools)., and since a much higher
proportion of upper-class pupils attend private schools, these pupils end up
being favoured in these rate.
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SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
III. Data collection from stakeholders
regarding BIC
Here is a summary of the data that the project partner countries have collected
from the interviews, surveys and focus groups they have conducted over the past
months.
Firstly, in Sweden, policy makers claim that children’s rights are very much
taken into account by the Swedish government, stating that there are numerous
regulations and practices in place to protect them. However, these policy makers
consider that there are still important challenges to ght: bullying, cleanliness of
schools, increasing children’s participation, collaboration between administrations
and how to know what children’s feelings are, as they often hide them.
On the other hand, principals in Sweden state that they have a good understanding
of what is in the best interests of the child and how to protect it, but claim that
their capacity to act is sometimes limited. However, there are ways of coordination
between schools and social services to be able to report cases where children are
unprotected and teachers or head teachers become aware of this. An example of
this is the special rooms set aside for interviews with children, with an environment
designed to make it easier for the child to be comfortable. They also consider that
there are smooth channels of participation for pupils and their parents. However,
they believe that cooperation between school and administration, governments
and social organisations is not at its best and could be improved. Headteachers
says that “they have their hands tied by law, parental attitudes to situations, and in
some cases the secrecy of children”.
Swedish teachers, however, do not always seem to be aware of what is meant
by the best interests of the child. They have an intuition what it means, but not
all of them have heard of it. They believe that one of the problems in protecting
children is that it depends very much on the subjective attitude of the teacher -
some teachers take it seriously, but others do not. An example of the latter might
be teachers who just want to deliver their academic curriculum regardless of
what the needs and abilities of their students are, which creates a lot of anxiety
for the students. Another example is students who are shy about speaking up
in class or expressing their needs, as some teachers do not create a favourable
environment for this to happen either. In relation to parents, they point out that it
is sometimes dicult to establish a uid relationship with them. They state that
it is sometimes more dicult to establish a relationship with parents than with
children, as they do not always trust teachers or schools, or they do not always
take an interest in them.
In Cyprus partners says that according to experts consulted one of the main
strengths of their education system in relation to the best interests of the child
is the fact that education is free and compulsory, with the state providing free
food and transport for pupils to students that their family faces nancial problems
and free transportation to students with special educational needs that they
need to travel to schools that are not within their periphery. They also highlight
the existence of dierent programmes aimed at disadvantaged groups, such
as programmes against illiteracy or programmes in schools located in socio-
culturally deprived environments. In addition, professionals highlight the role
played by the Oce of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in monitoring and
protecting children’s rights.
26
However, there are certain weaknesses that education professionals feel need
to be addressed. Firstly, the high level of bureaucracy in cooperation with
social services, which hinders a smooth relationship between these services
and schools. They also state that there are certain infrastructures that need to
be improved, especially in terms of climate, as it is too hot in summer. Finally,
although children’s participation in the decisions is supposed to be defended and
promoted, this participation is by no means guaranteed.
In this way, partners of Cyprus believe that there are certain opportunities and
measures that need to be seized and taken. Firstly, they believe that there is
a need to increase the autonomy and decentralisation of schools, as well as
to improve their infrastructure and resources. There is also a need to improve
teacher training on the best interests of the child, as many teachers claim that
their courses are aimed at the academic curriculum and not at the protection or
application of children’s rights.
The Commissioner of Children’s Rights recently published a report that has
been used collect valuable data for our research. This report states that in many
decisions of interest to children, the best interests of the child are undervalued
and sometimes even marginalised. It therefore recommends that the Cypriot
Ministry of Education adopt medium and long-term plans to ensure quality and
inclusive education that facilitates children’s participation in decision-making.
The mechanisms proposed by the Commissioner include school councils, school
regulations and parents’ councils. In addition, she believes that it is important
to reform the legislative framework to give more forceful expression to the
importance of the best interests of the child in decisions aecting children.
In Italy, despite the great eorts made by the project partners to contact schools
and teachers, only a few have replied. This, together with the responses of those
who did reply, demonstrates the low level of awareness of the best interests of
the child principle in Italian schools, many of which considered the subject of our
project to be too complicated. According to the partners’ report, there is little
training on the best interests of the child, which makes it dicult for teachers to
be aware of the best interests of the child and, consequently, has made it dicult
to obtain information from these actors. However, despite not knowing what
the best interests of the child means as such, all the rights and elements that
encompass it are well known in Italy by teachers and school headmasters in the
country. Therefore, while there is not much teacher training on the best interests
of the child as such, there is training on the rights of the child that form the best
interests of the child.
For the teachers who answered the interview questions, there are no clear
procedures in place to protect the best interests of the child in Italy. This principle,
instead of being protected through the school or its teachers, is delegated to
NGOs or associations that go to schools to give talks or courses to children.
Therefore, teachers believe that eorts are still needed to eectively protect the
best interests of the child. To do this, teachers and management teams need to
be trained, and resources and tools need to be provided to do this well. Children
need to be put at the centre, with classes with fewer pupils and more psychologist
teams in schools. However, all this responsibility now falls on parents and schools
cannot do anything against the will of parents.
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SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
In Greece, An interesting approach was given by a head teacher who had made
research regarding children’s rights together with his students, and they found
out the BIC concept, and hence, they discussed BIC and its relevant practices.
Regarding what BIC could entail, most of the interviews stated that children must
feel safe everywhere in their social environment, while any problem that may
arise in verbal, physical, or psychological level should be treated immediately
and appropriately according to the best interest of the child. However, even if not
everyone was aware of the BIC or related practices, everyone was particularly
well informed about the child’s rights. At the same time, it was quite encouraging
that interviewees argued that they act without knowing it according to BIC,
implementing activities that put the child’s interest to the forefront of their
programming and care. The feeling that head teachers of private schools give
a greater emphasis to BIC was created, as due to several reasons, like the
development of competitive advantage, private schools try to oer innovative,
creative and competitive curricula to their students, even though there is not
a formal process to follow practices related to “the Best Interest of the Child”.
In other words, their main goal is to ensure that the school environment is
characterized by respect, care, support for each child’s uniqueness, development
of opportunities, development of skills, integrated personality development,
happiness and wellness for every student. Of course, this direction is the same
in public schools, but principals there have less freedom of choice. Hopefully,
they stated that eorts related to secure the best interest of the child are being
supported more and more during the last years. Schools and teachers constantly
try to improve the learning environment and oer as much as they can to their
students.
In Portugal, they claim that numerous eorts have been made in recent years and
decades, putting education and children’s rights as a political priority for public
policy makers. However, they believe that too many hours are spent on purely
academic classes and too few on quality teaching. For teachers and education
professionals, an independent authority is needed in Portugal to measure and
assess policies and progress in relation to children.
In Spain, while teachers and policy makers claim that signicant progress has
been made in recent years and decades, there are still many challenges ahead.
Legislation, protocols and bureaucracy in relation to the best interests of the child
and children’s rights exist and are many. But for them, that is the problem: that
there are so many. For people like teachers or school principals, who are not used
to dealing with huge amounts of legal and legislative documents, it becomes
complicated to deal with so much theoretical and bureaucratic information and
so little practical. This is a disincentive for teachers to take these issues seriously,
as it is up to the teacher to do so or not, and often it is not done.
This is coupled with little mandatory training for teachers on children’s rights
and the best interests of the child. This is not to say that there are no courses
and training, as we are told by teachers and policy makers that there are many,
but nevertheless they are at the discretion of teachers. If they want to do these
courses, they do them, but many teachers do not do them and their training in
these matters is scarce.
28
This means that despite the existence of protocols, bureaucracy and laws on
child protection, often, on the ground, it depends very much on the willingness
of teachers to apply them or not. There are teachers who are very involved in this,
who do a lot of tutoring on the subject and inform children of their rights and
encourage them to participate. However, there are teachers who limit themselves
to what is their obligatory job and that is it: teaching their academic curriculum,
leaving aside issues related to the best interests of the child and children’s rights.
However, we are told, this is often a generational thing. That is to say, according to
the impression of some of the teachers contacted, most young teachers do get
involved in child protection, but this is not the case for many of the older teachers.
They do not know if this could be due to the dierent training they have received
or if it is due to a loss of motivation over time.
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SeBI: Securing the Best Interest of the Child in Educational School Administration
IV. Conclusion
As we have seen in the dierent national contexts and in this brief summary, the
problems related to the best interests of the child are often dierent depending
on the dierent educational systems applied in the partner countries. Some
countries have dealt more with these issues, have a more appropriate legislative
framework and have trained teachers more on these issues. In others, however,
this has not been the case (or not so much).
However, there are problems that are common to all the countries studied. In all
countries there is a need for training of teachers, principals and other educational
professionals to eectively protect the interests and needs of children. In all
countries there is a need for a favourable legislative framework and common
protocols to deal with situations where the best interests of the child may be
violated. In all countries, resources and tools are needed for schools and teachers,
without which it is impossible to eectively protect the best interests of the child,
no matter how much there will is. In all countries, children need to be given voice
and participation, they need to be more involved in decisions that aect them. All
of these and many more are issues that transcend national borders and are the
same for all schools, all teachers and, ultimately, all children.
Therefore, these problems need to be addressed from a perspective that goes
beyond the national borders. We believe that the best interests of the child and
the rights of the child are problems and challenges common to all countries, and
therefore a common framework is needed for all countries. Without forgetting
the peculiarities of each one, it is necessary to create a joint global strategy, with
common frameworks that allow each and every one of the countries to have
standards, so that they can then confront their particular problems and challenges
with sucient tools and resources.
This is where the interest of the project we are carrying out lies. With a global
study of the situation in the countries we are dealing with and of the situation
within the European Union, we will learn more about the current situation of child
protection from a perspective that transcends the States to which we belong.
With this knowledge and with the work we are doing, we will be able to establish
recommendations, a framework and practices that can serve each and every
one of the countries of the European Union. A framework that will promote
guarantees that in all European education systems, the best interests of the child
are considered and protected.
30