The Constitutional Court has made it clear in a ruling that coeducation should not be the only option offered by the Administration. Both models, mixed and differentiated, have the same right to the educational agreement.
TEXT - María Calvo Charro
Professor at the Carlos III University. President in Spain of EASSE (European Association Single Ssex Education).
In recent years, countries such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia have experienced the resurgence of gender-differentiated education with the support of politicians of very different tendencies, educators, parents, certain feminist sectors, as well as associations for the defense of rights and freedoms. This trend, which especially affects public schools, has generated a heated debate in academic, legal and political circles. Gender-differentiated education is probably one of the most current issues in the struggle for equal opportunities in the field of public education in these countries, as shown by the extensive academic, scientific and informative literature that is constantly coming to light in this regard.
Today's differentiated education has equal opportunities as a priority objective. It is a school that considers that the differences between the sexes are always enriching and that what must be eliminated are discriminations and stereotypes, overcoming social inequalities and cultural hierarchies between men and women. In this sense, the differentiated school is teleologically coeducational: its aim is to guarantee a real possibility for boys and girls to achieve the same objectives and goals in the professional and personal spheres, giving them all the relevant tools to freely choose their own path.
