In recent years, there has been growing concern in Catalonia over a troubling trend: children are reading less and their reading comprehension is noticeably declining. This has been confirmed not only by educators, but also by international studies. For example, according to the latest PIRLS assessment, the region ranked among the lowest performers, falling behind not only the Spanish average but also OECD countries. Over a six-year period, scores dropped by 15 points, raising serious concerns among experts.
The reasons for this situation are not limited to the classroom. Analysts point to several factors that hinder children’s reading development. Firstly, school curricula in Catalonia are often too general and do not set ambitious goals for students. Secondly, teachers lack the time and support needed to implement effective methods, as well as tools for early identification of difficulties among young children. Additionally, outside school, children rarely encounter books and do not receive enough encouragement to develop an interest in reading.
Some schools are already trying to address the problem. For example, one school in Barcelona, where most students belong to vulnerable communities, has introduced daily half-hour reading sessions, individualized support, vocabulary development activities, and special spaces to improve phonemic awareness. Although the project began only recently, teachers are already noticing the first signs of progress.
However, there are also serious obstacles. Frequent turnover of teachers leads to the loss of established methods, and new staff do not always have time to receive the necessary training. School administrators insist that to achieve sustained results, teaching teams need to stay for at least four years, and key courses should be made mandatory for everyone. Another issue is the shortage of specialists to work with children who require special attention. This slows down the overall pace of classes and hinders an individual approach.
The situation outside of school is no better. Social inequality is evident in the lack of books at home, limited social interaction, and restricted access to cultural resources. All this widens the gap between children from different families.
Comprehensive measures are being proposed as a way out of the crisis: stabilizing teaching teams, increasing the number of specialists, revising university training for future teachers, and implementing systems for assessing their qualifications. Expanding support programs for school libraries and introducing regular student testing to identify problems early are also under discussion. Experts are convinced that without decisive action, the situation will only get worse.
