revistaieee7

Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies Núm. 7 / 2016
d) Associate professors: renowned processionals who do not normally work in
the military field but who join a CDM on a temporary basis in order to teach
a specific subject.
e) Visiting professors who teach or conduct research in other civil or military
education centres and who join a CDM on a temporary basis in order to teach
specific subjects.
SOME THOUGHTS AND PROPOSALS ON HOW TO IMPROVE
MILITARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING
A defining characteristic of military education is its integration into the mainstream
education system, pursuant to Law 17/1989 on Professional Military Personnel 11 and
subsequently Law 17/1999 on the Regime for FAS Personnel, 12 until ultimately being
enshrined in Article 43.1 of Law 39/2007 on the Military Career. 13 As a result, military
education shall comply with the principles, purposes and goals of the mainstream system,
which include the quest for continuous improvement in the quality of teaching
and the development and promotion of the work, training, preparation and recognition
of the teaching staff.
The new military education and training system introduced pursuant to Law 39/2007
is a significant step forward, given that it aims to standardise and place military education
on equal footing with that provided in civilian education centres. This shift -which
called for profound changes in student selection, curricula and the organisation of the
CDMs- was not initially easy, especially in the case of higher education for officers. The
difficulties encountered in introducing the new education model have been multiple, as
has criticism of the model, which has largely centred on aspects such as the alleged lack
of motivation and dedication of the new students and the inappropriateness of current
curricula which are apparently more focused on academic rather than military aspects.
However, the change in model is irreversible and initial results are showing outstanding
success and performance rates, especially in the case of officer education.
However, despite this, the model still has a number of shortcomings that need to be
addressed, such as the excessive academic load of the new curricula, the decreased
importance that the curricula afford to humanistic training and, in particular, the
teaching of values; the lack of training, motivation and satisfaction of the military
teaching staff and the little recognition they receive for their work. On this point,
after analysing the current situation, some thoughts and proposals on how to improve
the quality of military education and training and the teaching staff are set out below.
11 Article 32.2 of Law 17/1989 governing the Regime for Professional Military Personnel, op. cit., p. 23132.
12 Article 50.2 of Law 17/1999 governing the Regime of the Armed Forces Personnel, op. cit., p. 1873.
13 Law 39/2007 on the Military Career, op. cit., p. 47347.
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