Rural Andalusian schools face persistent gaps in bilingual program access

A University of Córdoba analysis of over 4,000 primary and secondary schools across Andalusia found that bilingual education availability scales with municipality size, leaving rural areas underserved. The study, published in the Journal of Education Policy, highlights that larger towns and cities are far more likely to offer such programs, reinforcing existing urban-rural inequalities. Researchers argue this contradicts the democratizing intent of Spain's bilingual education expansion.

The study examined more than 4,000 schools across Andalusia's eight provinces, finding that bilingual offerings in primary education drop from 48.7% in municipalities above 20,000 residents to under 20% in towns with fewer than 3,000. Secondary schools show a similar pattern, with 66.7% of schools in larger municipalities offering bilingual programs versus just 25% in the smallest communities.

The research team identified specific rural regions where bilingual education is largely absent, including the Sierra de Cádiz, Los Pedroches in Córdoba, and the Serranía de Ronda in Málaga. These "blind spots" suggest the democratizing intent behind Spain's bilingual education expansion has not reached all communities equally, reinforcing concerns that such programs may favor urban populations.