Disqualification of youth education: Convergences between Educational Policies, LOMCE in Spain and the New Secondary Education in Brazil

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. The new production and consumption possibilities brought by the informational and digital technological contribution of the Industry 4.0, generate uncertainties about the future of work and education of the youth. Youth unemployment is a problem faced by several countries, especially Spain and Brazil, whose unemployment rates are among the highest in Europe and South America, respectively. The governments of both countries have been promoting educational reforms to try to mitigate the problem. Two examples are the LOMCE reforms in Spain and the New Secondary Education (NSE) in Brazil. OBJECTIVES. To identify the political and pedagogical conceptions of the reforms underway in both countries, as well as to establish correspondences between their educational policies. METHOD. This is a qualitative study. Through content analysis of official documents of the LOMCE and NES educational policies, the analytical categories were extracted and therefore discussed with the theoretical foundations. RESULTS. Points of conver-gence were found between the policies of both countries, specifically in the promotion of large-scale external evaluations, in the concept of educational quality, in references to socio-emotional skills, as well as in the centrality of entrepreneurship and curricular flexibility. DISCUSSION. Both policies reinforce the need for young people to learn to be entrepreneurs, develop the capacity to learn how to learn, and improve socio-emotional skills, thus seeking an adaptation to the lack of economic stability. A central element of the reforms is intended to accelerate young people’s exposure to the labor market, under the apparent label of “vocational training,” when in reality they degrade school education, reducing the scope for scientific, artistic, and cultural content. This involves the acceleration of the preparatory training process by incorporating early and instrumental vocational training.