Ikastola
Encyclopedia
An Ikastola is a type of primary and secondary school in the Basque Autonomous Community
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

, Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

 and (to a much lesser extent) the French Basque Country (see Basque Country
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....

) in which pupils are taught either entirely or predominantly in the Basque language
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...

. Ikastolak can be nowadays either private or public, divided into different networks.

The Basque language public network relies on state funding and management, allocated in Spain by the education institutions of the Basque Autonomous Comunity and Navarre in their corresponding territories, while in France the association Ikas-Bi in the public network advocates for bilingual education. Seaska is the private network of Basque language schools in the French Basque Country, closely linked to the similar network in the Southern Basque Country
Southern Basque Country
The Southern Basque Country is a term used to refer to the Basque territories within Spain as a unified whole.It does not exist as a political unit but includes the three provinces and two enclaves of the Basque Autonomous Community in the west, as well as the Chartered Community of Navarre to...

. The private networks base their activity on the fees paid by parents, popular subscription (either directly or by means of annual massive festivals, e.g. Herri Urrats, Nafarroa Oinez, Araba Euskaraz, etc.) and the allowance provided by public educational institutions.

History

Although spoken more widely than in later times, there was very little schooling undertaken in Basque before the early 20th century revival in Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...

. The first official ikastola was opened in 1914, and the movement to transfer the medium of education in the Basque Autonomous Community
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

 from Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 to Basque became widespread late in the 20th century. Following the Republican defeat in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

, the public use of Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...

 was made illegal
Language politics in Spain under Franco
Language politics in Francoist Spain centered on attempts in Spain under Franco to increase the dominance of the Spanish language over the other languages of Spain.The regime of Francisco Franco had Spanish nationalism as one of its bases....

, and all educational institutions were forced to teach entirely through the medium of Castilian
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, to the complete neglect of Basque. There are, however, isolated examples of ikastolak which clandestinely continued to teach in Basque. After the Civil War, the first official network of ikastolak was created by the Francoist provincial government of Alava
Álava
Álava is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Álava. Its capital city is Vitoria-Gasteiz which is also the capital of the autonomous community...

 in 1973 and were State financed.

With the return of democracy following the death of Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...

 in 1975, large degrees of self-government were given to the Basque Autonomous Community
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

 and Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

, and ikastolak sprang up all over the Basque region
Southern Basque Country
The Southern Basque Country is a term used to refer to the Basque territories within Spain as a unified whole.It does not exist as a political unit but includes the three provinces and two enclaves of the Basque Autonomous Community in the west, as well as the Chartered Community of Navarre to...

 in northern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. At the present time, tens of thousands of schoolchildren in the Basque Autonomous Community
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....

 and Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

 attend ikastolak.

The status of ikastolak differs greatly depending on their location. They are firmly entrenched in the traditionally Basque-speaking areas of the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC), but less so in non-Basque speaking areas (i.e. the southern fringes). Basque language schools in the north of Navarre do not enjoy the same support from the regional government as they do in the BAC, but they are officially recognised and enjoy widespread local support (traditionally Basque speaking), unlike central and southern areas of Navarre, where they lack public recognition and funding.

In the French Basque Country, the ikastolak developed later, but grew steadily, so much so that a network is now widespread throughout the whole territory covering education up to A level.

See also

  • Basque education system
    Basque education system
    Education in the Basque Autonomous Community is entirely free from the age of 3 , and compulsory between 6 and 16 years. The majority of students are educated in the Basque language.-Levels of schooling:*Infant education...

  • Breton language Diwan schools
  • Irish language Gaelscoil
    Gaelscoil
    A gaelscoil is an Irish-medium primary school in Ireland, of a sort found outside the traditionally Irish-speaking regions, especially in urban areas....

    eana
  • Cymraeg-Welsh Welsh medium education
    Welsh medium education
    Education delivered through the medium of the Welsh language is known as Welsh medium education .Welsh medium education should be distinguished from the teaching of Welsh as an academic subject. Welsh as a subject is taught as first language in Welsh medium schools...

  • Scottish-Gaelic Gaelic medium education
  • Catalan language La Bressola
    La Bressola
    La Bressola is a cultural association founded in Perpignan, France in 1976 to promote a network of community-run schools engaged in Catalan language immersion programs in France, particularly in the comarques of so-called North Catalonia. The first center was opened in Sant Galdric in September...

  • Occitan language Calandreta
    Calandreta
    A Calandreta is a bilingual school in Occitania in the South of France where the Occitan language is taught alongside the French language. These schools are based on the same principle as the Gaelscoileanna movement in Ireland, the Ikastolak movement in the Basque Country, the Ysgolion Meithrin...

    s
  • Illegal German language Katakombenschule
    Katakombenschule
    Katakombenschulen were set up in South Tyrol in the mid-1920s during the period of Fascist Italianization when teaching of the German language was banned by the authorities of Italy which had occupied the area in 1918. Approximately 30,000 students in 324 Schools were affected...

    in Italian Tyrol.

External links

Official site of the Federation of Ikastolak (Basque)
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