DEALING WITH BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES AT SECONDARY EDUCATION: A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE

Nowadays, Spanish classes show an international and multicultural quality hardly known one decade ago. The opportunities that these new educational landscapes present are hand in hand with the linguistic and cultural challenges they imply. Nevertheless, and curiously enough, multicultural differences are left aside when dealing with behavioural difficulties. Students migrating from countries where there is a still distinctive respect towards adults seem to adapt quickly to the present environment that equates different ages and privileges youth over adulthood. The difficulties faced by teachers when attempting to create an atmosphere of work and study are shared by those students that also claim the right to have a part in the educational process. Consumerism, absence of educational perspectives and a negative vision of the opportunities provided by the long academic career are among the new elements cited as the cause of the seemingly diminished prestige and low appeal of the educational world for the new adolescents.

The question then arises: are we dealing with the same generational misunderstanding faced by previous generations, or is there a distinctive and genuine variation that demands new strategies to cope with these necessarily new situations? How can we regain the adequate atmosphere to enjoy our work, to create an environment where the educational community may participate in a real integral education? Is it possible to encourage a process of harmonious development in this increasingly complex global society? What are the insights and reflections of some of the forerunners of education? Is there a real manual dealing with behavioural difficulties for those who are interested in improving the educational atmosphere by broadening the knowledge of the nature of the human being?

Drawing on the last educational theories, but also integrating the work done before, through our paper we will underline some of the critical issues on the subject and integrate a series of reflections that may provide the reader with an alternative perspective on the field of behavioural difficulties.