Abstract

Within the Spanish public education sector there is a deep concern and unease that is resulting in a number of acts of protest: demonstrations, sit-ins in educational establishments, rallies, strikes, etc. - which have been more or less regular for several months. The reasons for this widespread unease and anxiety have their roots, firstly, in the successive budget cuts in education that have been occurring since 2010 and, secondly, in the political and legislative measures that are being taken. In this paper we wish to analyse the changes that are occurring and the consequences of each one of them using the capabilities approach to human development. This approach allows us to put people at the centre and evince, in a critical way, the unfair consequences of the educational policies that are being adopted, and possible alternatives to them founded on a different model of development.