Assessing Comprehensive School Transformations in Barcelona: Progress and Challenges in Educational Equity
Submitted: 2025-05-11
|Accepted: 2026-05-05
|Published: 2026-05-19
Copyright (c) 2026 Laia Pi Ferrer, Luis Fernández Sánchez, Daniel Plata Cruz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Keywords:
Public Policy Evaluation, School Segregation, Equity, Education, Inequality
Supporting agencies:
Consorci d'Educació de Barcelona
Departament d'Economia i Finances, Generalitat de Catalunya
Abstract:
In recent decades, Spain and other European countries have introduced liberalising reforms in school allocation to improve the quality of education and increase families’ freedom of choice. In Catalonia, however, these measures have increased school segregation, particularly in Barcelona. To address this policy challenge, the Barcelona Education Consortium (CEB) has implemented initiatives such as Comprehensive School Transformations. These targeted interventions focus on schools facing low demand or high complexity, with the dual goals of increasing their attractiveness and fostering greater educational equity. This evaluation examines whether and how these transformations are associated with changes in segregation and school-level conditions linked to educational quality. The methodology combines quantitative and qualitative analysis, using CEB data (2018-2023) and interviews with key stakeholders, including headmasters, teachers, families and students. The results show that these transformations have improved infrastructure and educational provision and are accompanied by declines in segregation indicators in most intervention catchment areas. However, challenges remain, such as construction planning, teacher coordination, and socio-economic and cultural barriers that hinder the participation of diverse families. In addition, some schools have experienced a 'pull effect', attracting families from higher socio-economic backgrounds, which could lead to new forms of segregation. The study concludes that while the initial results of this policy are positive, a more comprehensive and sustained approach is needed to ensure long-term inclusivity and equity.
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