Los programas de atención a la diversidad en la Educación Secundaria desde la perspectiva de los estudiantes: estudio comparado

Spain currently has one of the highest secondary school drop-out rates in the European Union. This stage lets students slip away as they go through the school. Student motivation drops progressively and this lack of implication can lead to the beginnings of social disengagement. The aim of this research is to describe and compare students' perceptions on how the Initial Professional Qualification Programmes (PCPI) and the Curricular Diversification Programmes (PDC) work. The study process has been carried out in several stages: an extensive information collection phase using questionnaires, an intensive phase developed by means of in-depth interviews and finally an integrating and proposal-making phase. 262 students from 24 schools took part in the quantitative part of the study, and 24 group interviews took place in the qualitative part involving students from both programmes. The research results indicate that these programmes offer an interesting alternative for students that have not moved up Compulsory Secondary Education appropriately. For both programmes to operate correctly, awareness must be raised among the teaching staff concerning the curriculum, with support and guidance from the students and using a teaching methodology that promotes the use of what is being learnt, making connections with everyday life, offering practical activities, resolving cases and problems, teacher demonstrations and giving students a certain amount of freedom in class. The study data invites us to consider the purposes of Compulsory Secondary Education, curriculum development, how schools work and their organisational design and the response provided for students with problems adapting to this educational stage.