The Education System in Spain and Scotland

The most noticeable difference is in the number of hours spent in a lecture room. In Scotland, my lectures amounted to some 11 hours a week and all of them were one-hour lectures. In Granada, I spend 20 hours a week in classes and the lectures take two hours. That is indeed a rather tiring amount. For instance, on Mondays I attend four lectures, which means eight hours of nonstop attention while in Scotland, there are no more than three lectures a day. The role of classes is simply different. In Spain, students hear all they need to in lectures and are expected to make notes. For the final exam, it is enough to study from these. As a matter of fact, it reminds of Czech high school system. On the other hand, a Scottish lecture is nothing binding; it is there for the professor to clarify and deepen the material the student is expected to have studied at home prior to the lecture. The final exams basically check whether students understand the obligatory reading and see through its underlying complexities. The lecture notes help students in studying but cannot be used in the exam as such. Therefore, in Spain, it is not necessary to study too much at home while in Scotland it is of a major importance to do so. 

This is related to the role of professor and to his relationship with students. In the Scottish system, a professor is not an overly important person because he merely brings light into something the student has to go through essentially himself. Additionally, essays and exams are strictly anonymous to prevent any possible arbitrary evaluation. Therefore, in fact, each student more-less shapes himself, he has a broader field of activity but at the same time there is no general direction or common line. In this sense, there are hardly any ‘currents’ or groups among Scottish graduates. On the contrary, in Spain, a professor is a significant part of the learning process as he preselects for the student what he deems important and expects him to ‘walk the line’ and take up his views and perspectives. The student does not even get to know about what the professor regards as unnecessary as the only learning material are lecture notes. Thus, each Spanish university is producing relatively homogenized graduates but at the same time these several groups of graduates will differ mutually with respect to their specific knowledge and focus. What is more, all exams and tests show the student’s name and the professor has a list of all his students with their photos. Therefore, contrary to the Scottish practice, he can consult that list while correcting an exam to see whose paper he is actually correcting. He will take into account the attendance or in-lecture activity of that student. As I have already said, basically a Czech high school system.

I believe the possibility to get to know and subsequently compare various education systems and the necessity to adapt oneself to various conditions is one of the major benefits and ideas of all exchange programmes. Personally, I am experiencing this aspect of my Erasmus exchange to 100%.