THE 60 BEST EDUCATIONAL FILMS (YOUNG AND OLD) - ARTE - 2025

I bring you a list of the best educational films for children, adolescents and adults. If you think that a movie of this genre is missing, you can leave it in the comments.

Are you one of those who loves teaching or educational topics and can combine it with audiovisual productions? Would you like to teach values ​​or skills to your children or students?

Like other genres such as mystery, police, animation or war, the cinema has also dedicated a space linked to educational concepts throughout its history.

Great educational movies for kids, teens and adults

1- The club of dead poets

Possibly the most famous education movie of all time.

It tells how a literature teacher attends the institute for a few days as a substitute. The teacher, played by Robin Williams, awakens the love of literature in his students and instills in them values ​​such as the famous “carpe diem”.

The predisposition of the students is such that they will create a reading club, becoming the central axis of the film

2- A wonderful mind

Oscar winner in 2001, this film starring Russell Crowe will not disappoint.

Its plot tells how a young man with a prodigious mind, capable of solving any mathematical problem, sees his career and personal life cut short when he discovers that he suffers from schizophrenia.

Despite this, the disease will not be an impediment to aspire to achieve great milestones in your life.

3- The boys of the choir

Film that takes us to the end of the forties in the middle of World War II.

Clèment, a teacher frustrated due to the rules imposed by his school, decides to create a choir in order to cope with the impositions dictated to him.

The film's soundtrack is considered one of the best in the history of cinema.

4- Between Masters

Entre Maestros is not exactly a film, but rather a documentary that reveals the experience of a teacher during twelve days of class with a group of eleven students.

For almost an hour and a half, you will learn what a series of educational classes can do and the effect and influence they can have on young boys.

5- Agora

One of the most praised Spanish feature films in recent times. Directed by Alejandro Amenabar, the plot takes us to the roots of the education that was imparted in the first centuries after Christ.

The location is Alexandria and the protagonist, a teacher who teaches a series of ideas not very pleasant for the society of her time. This will lead to a series of problems promoted by the religious conflicts of the time.

6- The doctor

Speaking of religions, the background of this film will also be the battle to decide that “beyond is better”.

A young Englishman will have to pretend to be a Jew in order to attend the best medical school in the world, located in Asia. There you will learn the teachings of one of the greatest eminences in the field of the moment and will have to deal with a series of challenges that will put you to the test.

7- Dangerous minds

A former US Marine fighter who is currently teaching in Palo Alto, tries to correct young people who do not take lessons too seriously in an unconventional way.

Based on the novel My Poses Don´t Homework, this film will make you understand the dangers that strong instruction can entail

8- The wave

What if the authoritarian ideals of the Second World War were to flourish again in the 21st century? In what way would they originate?

Based on a real experiment called the Third Wave, a teacher who has just arrived at a class decides to establish a series of rules, which a priori seem harmless.

As the days go by, the students end up dressing the same, coining an identity mark along with a motto and a symbol. Totally impressive and that serves to realize that in school everything is easily manageable and moldable.

10- Street newspapers

Story of a teacher who tries to influence a rebellious and little tolerant high school student to transform them completely.

Based on life lessons, the protagonist will get her boys to show attention and even passion for her classes.

11- The Emperors Club

A teacher from St. Benedict School receives a rebellious and totally out of control student in the new course. After 20 years, they meet again, to the surprise that the boy has become a settled and successful man in business.

The Emperor's Club tells how the relationship between teacher and student will develop after that time.

12- School of Rock

One of my favorites, where two of the most basic aspects for the correct development of a child are mixed: music and education.

The plot talks about how a substitute gets to class. The students are quickly fascinated by his teaching method, even forming a rock band.

13- Mr. Holland's Opus

One of the most curious educational stories on the big screen. A musician is forced to dedicate himself to teaching due to financial problems, something that he does not fully assimilate.

His main obsession is to finish classes every day to finish as soon as possible, something that leads him to receive different calls for attention from his superiors.

14- The Ron Clark Story

Film told as a biography. In it, you will see the daily life of Ron Clark, a professor at Snowden Elementary School, who resides in North Carolina. His philosophy is based on controlling and planning the students under his tutelage.

Ron himself will try to set rules and limits on everyone to unsuspected levels.

15- Mary Poppins

Okay, no type of school or college appears here, but its educational intention is totally clear.

A family in which parents cannot care for their children calls for a caregiver. This will have to take care of two rebellious children, who with the passage of time will change their manners to be totally delighted with the new nanny.

16- Unforgettable lessons

Film released in 1988. It tells the story of a teacher who decides to teach his students a subject of advanced calculus for their age.

These surprisingly pass the tests, something that will be questioned by the educational board and that will lead them to create a series of problems that they had not previously counted on.

17- Forbidden education

Film-documentary in which a deep analysis is made of the way of educating in today's society.

It is a criticism that tries to uncover the deficiencies of the current education systems and proposes a new way of teaching. To understand all this, you will have nothing more and nothing less than two hours of video.

18- The indomitable Will Hunting

Typical story of the clever and brilliant young man who misuses his potential. Will works as a janitor at MIT, and it is not until a certain point in the movie that he realizes all the talent he hides.

As a result of this fact, he decided to dedicate himself to enhancing this gift and start studying to achieve a much more promising future than the one that was predicted for him along with the help of his therapist.

19- The tongue of butterflies

Film that exposes Moncho's fear of school. This derives from his fear that his teacher, Don Gregorio, hit him.

This teaching method was totally normal at that time, but Don Gregorio uses an educational model based on observation. In the end, the relationship between the two characters will flourish and Don Gregorio will become something like a "teacher of life" for young Moncho.

20- Stars of the Earth

Indian feature film that tells how Ishaan, a little boy of only eight years old, fails an exam at his school. This is coupled with mistreatment by both his teachers and his classmates and friends.

In Stars on Earth you will explore the mind of a boy who is ignored by society.

21- Mona Lisa's smile

A professor who has just been transferred to Wellesley University will discover a number of obstacles in her teaching.

His educational model is revolutionary and based on new techniques, however the problem comes when he realizes that the institution in which he is located is totally traditional and anchored in the past.

22- Living is easy with your eyes closed

An English teacher, starring Javier Cámara, uses Beatles songs to teach the Anglo-Saxon language to his students.

This story based on real events tells the integration and concern that a teacher has for the learning of his students, to the point of trying to meet John Lennon himself.

23- Everything starts today

The crisis in the mining sector hits hard in a nursery school where parents no longer have money to guarantee their children's education.

For this reason, the director of the Daniel Lefevre school begins to carry out a series of actions to be able to help, both educationally and socially, his students.

With this moving story you will surely learn the value of helping others.

24- The class

French production that tells the story of a literature professor at a multiracial institute. This union of different cultures will lead to different problems and confrontations.

Given this, the protagonist must deal in order to achieve coexistence and integration of all his students.

25- Where is my friend's house?

Mohamed is a young man who never takes homework to school. That is why he is threatened with expulsion.

His partner Ahmed accidentally takes Mohamed's notebook, so he decides to give it back to him by going out in the middle of the night in an act of friendship so that the second is not expelled.

26- Being and having

Unconventional film where, like the film Entre Maestros, the adventure for six months of a teacher in a class with students of very different ages is related.

27- Monsters University

The second and long-awaited movie of Monsters SA

This time with an educational background, where the protagonist, Mike Wazowski attends the University. With it you will learn the fear that runs through facing new stages as well as how to overcome them successfully.

28- Buddha exploded out of shame

A film that makes us see how there are societies in which it is not easy to access education.

A six-year-old Afghan girl wants with all her strength to go to school. This will become complicated when seeing how their classmates will not make things easy for them, in a country where girls do not have the same rights as boys.

29- Chain of favors

Film centered on a school where the protagonist, an iniquitous young man, devises a way to disinterestedly do favors for others.

Chain of Favors is one of those movies with a great story that will move you.

30- Billy Elliot

A young man who loves to dance ballet must fight to fulfill his dream, something that they do not see quite well within their closest circles.

Young Billy will need to be trained well enough in ballet classes if he wants to go to high school.

31- The rookie

Benoit, the new kid at school, is bullied by a gang of arrogant boys. Determined not to be mistreated, Benoit throws a big party, but only three students show up. What if this group of losers was going to be the greatest band of all time?

32- Conduct

Chala, a boy from Havana lives with his drug addicted mother and survives by training fighting dogs.

33- The teacher

It tells the story of Freddie Quell, a World War II veteran struggling to adapt to a postwar society. Dodd, the leader of a religious movement, sees something in Quell and accepts it in the movement.

34- The history teacher

It tells the story based on real events of a class of teenagers in a district of Paris. It contains very emotional scenes and narrates the change in the opinions and interactions of a class of adolescents.

35- Machuca

It tells the story of a real experiment carried out during the government of Salvador Allende at Saint George's College; integrate children from poor and humble classes into the school.

36- On the way to school

It is a documentary that tells the true story of four children who have to face many difficulties to get to school.

37- Mad hot Ballroom

Students at various New York elementary schools learn ballroom dance and compete in a city contest.

38- Elephant

Several normal high school students go through their daily routine while two others prepare for something more malevolent: the slaughter perpetrated by two teenagers at Columbine High School.

39- Lives told

Five seemingly disparate individuals who seek happiness cross their paths in ways that will unexpectedly affect their lives.

40- Rebellion in the classrooms

A novice teacher faces a class of turbulent and undisciplined working-class teenagers. It reflects some of the problems and fears of adolescents in the 60s.

41- Half Nelson

A student at a troubled high school in Brooklyn, New York discovers that one of her teachers is addicted to drugs. Curiously, a very special friendship relationship is born between them.

42- Professor Holland

Glenn Holland is a musician who has not yet achieved success and continues to work on the composition that allows him to live off his passion. Meanwhile, to survive he decides to teach in a complicated school. The experience will make you rethink your life.

43- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter is an orphan who lives in the house of his adoptive uncles. When he turns 11, he receives a letter from Hogwarts House, a magic and sorcery training center where his presence is requested.

44- Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite is a quirky boy who lives with his brother and grandmother in a rural area of ​​Idaho. He likes to dance and knows martial arts, but he doesn't have many friends. This condition changes when she meets Pedro, a new boy who arrives at the institute.

45- Honor game

Francis Ouimet, a young man from the lower class, has a gift for golf and wants to be able to compete with the best players in the world. However, this is a sport for the economic elite, which makes it difficult to fulfill their dream.

46- Rushmore Academy

Max Fisher is an active and charismatic young man who enters Rushmore Academy. In it he manages to take over the captaincy of the club or the editorial control of the school newspaper. There are only two things that resist him: his academic grades and Miss Cross, a teacher with whom he is in love.

47- Cyberbully

Casey, a minor teenager, is a victim of cyberbullying after having her computer hacked. Under threats of having her most intimate photos released, Casey is forced to act at the will of her extortionist.

48- The duff

An intelligent girl discovers, through the high school handsome man, that she is the "ugly girl" of her group of friends. Disappointed, she teams up with the handsome guy to help her be more interesting to the boys. In return, she will help you pass difficult subjects.

49- School Ties

In the context of the 1950s, a young Jewish man receives a university scholarship thanks to his soccer skills. There is only one problem, the prestigious university begs you not to mention your religious values, totally opposite to those of the institution.

50- Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Classic film in which he shows us the trajectory of a Brookfield school teacher. It begins in the mid-nineteenth century when he was freshly admitted, until he reached World War I.

51- The history teacher

52- The Browning version

53- The great debate

54- Course 1984

55- Simitrio

56- Conrack

57- United to succeed

58- The children of a lesser god

59- The Knights of the South Bronx

Other recommended lists

Sad movies.

Movies based on real events.

Movies to reflect on life.

Movies to watch as a family.

Psychological movies.

Philosophical movies.

Stock movies.

Romantic movies.

Movies of personal improvement.

Adventure movies.

Music movies.