All educational institutions must have well defined boundaries, a framework of values with which to structure the day-to-day work in the classroom. In our case, this is embodied in our mission statement, which is the fruition of combining the input of parents, students and teachers over our more than one hundred years as educators.
SEK International Institution, committed to the effort of ameliorating the individual, is based on the following principles:
1. The student and his/her world are the nucleus of the life and pedagogy of the Institution, which respects the students as individuals and seeks the emphasis of the development of their personal skills as essential for their true full personal growth.
2. SEK International Institution educates in freedom and for freedom. It accepts the challenge that this implies, and strives to foster in each of its students a self-awareness of the responsibility that such a challenge implies.
3. SEK International Institution does not discriminate by nationality, gender, race, ideology or religion.
4. SEK International Institution promotes solidarity among its students and values work as a key factor in promoting the development of the individual. In contrast, it opposes both rivalry and greed.
5. SEK International Institution, as a global community of world citizens, is open to all valid educational experiences that lead to the fulfilling of its goals.
General lines
Each school makes available to students and parents the complete edition of the educational project of the SEK International Institution. Due to its length, only its general lines are transcribed in these pages.
Psychopedagogical foundations
In today’s society, with its seismic changes and immediate access to information, the concepts of teaching as transmission of knowledge and of the teacher as a transmitter of information lose their meaning.
The scientific and educational revolution is in full swing, and SEK International Institution aims to be at the forefront, recognizing that today’s society demands new benefits from educational institutions and that innovative efforts that impact the cornerstones of education –teacher, student, curriculum, and social context– are needed. As a result, SEK emphasizes the importance of meaningful learning and takes into account the teaching/learning connotations that affect the educational practice.
The SEK Educational Project is underpinned by the concept of the student as an autonomous and self-directed individual who must take the reins of his or her own learning. SEK approaches learning as an active and constructive search in which not only content but also the processes by which knowledge is acquired matters.
SEK believes that the acquisition of knowledge is only part of a school learning environment and supports the all-round development of students who must also adjust to the needs of today’s society and prepare for the demands of the future. Therefore, SEK proposes that students:
+ LEARN TO LEARN
that is, develop skills that enhance self-directed learning. Learning to know means developing metacognitive skills and being strategic.
+ LEARN TO BE
For SEK International Institution, learning to be a person means developing the values demanded by 21st-century society: well-rounded and balanced, with high self-esteem, thoughtful, independent, responsible, critical, supportive, and with a respect for pluralism.
+ LEARN TO DO
Knowledge must have a practical application and students must be aware of the usefulness of the knowledge they acquire. To that end, the processes through which knowledge is acquired and the development of specific skills and competences in the different areas of the curriculum are of particular importance.
SEK International Institution proposes all of the above as objectives towards which educational efforts should be directed. Developing these skills should be reflected in the schools’ operational objectives and explicitly included in the teaching plans.
The SEK Educational Project proposes that the teacher’s role is to help, guide, and facilitate materials and learning, making it possible for the student to create his/her own meanings. Which is why it is crucial that the teacher contribute to creating a warm environment of respect, empathy, honesty, and collaboration, which is subsequently translated into specific objectives that teachers will include in their plans. SEK is thus dedicated to education for a society in which problem-solving, decision-making, and selecting information is increasingly more important, with a commitment to teaching students how to take charge of their own knowledge building.
