SPAIN'S FOREIGN EDUCATION POLICIES
Article 3 of Royal Decree (RD) 1027/1993 mentions several of the principal aspects upon which Spain’s overseas educational operations are based.
To that effect, the promotion and organization of support programs for the instruction of Spanish language and culture within the framework of foreign educational systems, the encouragement of exchanges within the educational context, and in general, any other means which may facilitate the access to education abroad for Spanish citizens and strengthen the influence of Spanish language and culture abroad, are included in the key points of the Ministry of Education's (ME) policy outside of Spain.
The Education Office to the United States and Canada forms part of the network of ME’s overseas offices, and is embedded in the overseas educational operations of the Ministry.
The Education Office’s mission and responsibilities are governed in the aforementioned RD 1027/1993, under the section related to the exterior educational policy of the Ministry, as well as in the RD 1138/2002, in which refers to the duties, administration and staffing of the Departments.
In this way, “the Education Offices are technical bodies of the Diplomatic Missions of Spain that depend on the Ministry of Education, through the Undersecretary of the aforementioned Department, which defines each Office's operations and plans of action, internal organization and budgetary endowment, as well as their technical inspection and control, without affecting the authority of direction and coordination of the Head of the respective Diplomatic Mission.
Duties:
a) Provide advice and technical assistance, inform and carry out support functions to the headquarters and other divisions of the Diplomatic Mission regarding educational matters.
b) Promote, direct and manage the distinct proceedings regarding the educational operations set forth in the Royal Decree 1027/1993, of June 25, which governs the educational operations of Spain abroad.
c) Exercise superior leadership of the teaching staff as well as the non-academic staff that serve in the teaching centers and other institutions through which the Spanish educational operations are channeled in the country or countries that have accepted the decree of the previous article. The aforementioned exercise shall not affect the powers delegated to the Head of the Diplomatic Mission.
d) Promote and reinforce the existing relationship between the Spanish educational community and the country or countries where its functions are carried out.
e) Gather information about the educational policies developed in the territory corresponding to the Department, and transmit this information to the appropriate divisions of the Spanish Administration.
f) Periodically organize professional training activities for teachers in the Department’s region of jurisdiction.
g) Any further duty that the Department needs to exercise under the jurisdiction of the overseas territory entrusted to it.
The fulfillment of the functions entrusted to the Regional Departments of Education will be carried out without prejudice to the powers and functions entrusted to other divisions of the Diplomatic Missions in its specific rules and regulations, and in a framework of collaboration that is complementary with the Regional Departments.
