ABSTRACT
The prologue to the 1990 Ley Orgánica de Ordenación Géneral del Sistema Educativo (LOGSE) (MEC, 1990) provides an official rationale for the law, summarizes its main provisions and gives expression to its underlying values. The reform is dedicated above all else to the needs and aspirations of individual citizens within the framework of a democratic, participative, consensual, pluralist, non-discriminatory society that is part of a wider Europe, and of a world of increasingly rapid change. The law facilitates the further realization of aspirations embedded within the Constitution. It is fully compatible with the sharing of responsibilities between the State and the autonomous communities. It is a logical development from previous legislation introduced by the Socialist Government during the 1980s, and directs itself to the need to overcome a number of pressing, specified deficiencies of existing provision. It is an unusual law in the history of Spain, in that it has been preceded by extensive piloting, research and debate. Moreover, the law itself is contextualized by recognition that reform cannot be implemented through legislation alone but grows from initiatives that have already been taken, requiring resources, commitment, consensus and participation of all sectors involved, and which is not implemented all at once but, like the concept of education which it wishes to establish, is a continuous process. Because it must endure, adapt to change and remain embedded in a framework of consensus and participation, it must not be over-prescriptive.
