Introduction  

The educational system in Portugal is currently undergoing a period of significant reform. The long discussed decentralization that began in April 1974 is beginning to be truly implemented this decade. Only in the 1990s have local authorities and schools experienced greater autonomy, and seen long-discussed financial and curricular reforms implemented (Da Cunha, p. 215). Governments of the 1990s have made developing pre-school, special education, and vocational education a priority. Recent changes have included increasing fees and admission requirements for higher education. Of the 41 nations who participated in the TIMSS, Portugal scored 37th in math and 33rd in science. Scoring well below its European neighbors points to the need to focus future reform efforts on setting and meeting higher academic standards at the primary and secondary school levels.

Because policies and priorities are rapidly shifting this summary reflects the Portuguese system of education of the early 1990s.

Structure of Schooling  

Basic education is compulsory for children from age 6 to age 14. Secondary education is optional and lasts for three years after compulsory education. Also optional, pre-school is attended by more than half of the pre-school aged population, with the government objective of attaining a 90 % enrollment rate by the year 2000 (OECD, p. 314).

Basic education is comprised of three cycles. The first cycle lasts four years with all subjects taught by one teacher. The second cycle lasts two years and is organized as a basic introduction to interdisciplinary subject areas. There is usually one teacher per subject are (see Footnote 1). The third cycle is three years in duration and is taught by one teacher per subject or group of subjects according to the national curriculum set by the Ministry of Education. Upon successful completion of basic education the student receives a certificate and may choose which secondary school tracks to pursue (OECD, p. 314).

Secondary school programs include both academic ("study-type") and technical-vocational ("professional type") tracks. Both secondary tracks have common educational components, illustrated in Table I. Yet, courses geared toward the professional track are designed to train students for technical study at a polytechnic institute or for direct entry into the workforce as skilled professionals in intermediate technologies, such as a graphic arts specialist or a chemistry technician. The academic track is designed for students wishing to continue on to university level studies. Transfer between the two tracks is possible, but not likely; because coursework in the two secondary school tracks differ significantly, much of the coursework completed in one track is not transferable to the other track. Hence, transferring tracks results in lost time and coursework.

About 67% of 17 year olds (the normal age for secondary school completion) are enrolled in secondary school. Unlike most other European countries, the majority - about 77% - of Portugal's upper secondary school students are enrolled in the general academic track, while only 23% take the vocational-technical track (OECD, p. 123). This difference may be due in part to the later start that Portugal had in making improvements to the quality and image of the vocational-technical track.

School Governance and Finance  

Governance  The trend toward decentralization in education began only in 1990, and consequently, the system is still highly centralized. The Ministry of Education constitutes a number of advisory, technical and planning, and coordination bodies at the central and regional levels. It thereby completely determines issues of policy, personnel, infrastructure, and finance (Husen & Postlethwaite, p. 4626). Governance of technical-vocational schools is the joint responsibility of the Ministries of Education and Labor, with input from industry professionals. (Da Cunha, p. 221-222). Education took on a new direction in 1986 when the Portuguese parliamentapproved The Law on Basic Education, which sets guidelines and objectives for the entire educational system (Da Cunha, p. 215).

Established in 1991, a new school management model was adopted in which each school is run by three bodies: the school committee, the pedagogical committee and the administrative committee, and in some schools an executive director is also assigned. This new system is considered to be more appropriate to the decentralization process and to increasing school autonomy by allowing for greater student, teacher, and parental participation in schools' policy development.

Finance  In keeping with the centralized system, education is entirely publicly funded, with the central government acting as both the initial source and final spender of 100% of educational funds (OECD, p. 86). Education expenditure is about 5.6% of GDP and constitutes approximately 21% of the state budget (OECD, p. 314). Private financing of education constitutes a very small portion of education finance. "In 1989, private financing of education (considering only the fees paid in private education establishments) was estimated to be 6% of total expenditure" (Husen & Postlethwaite, p. 4627).

Curriculum  

The Ministry of Education has established a national curriculum for basic and secondary education, with optional courses offered.(See Table I). Textbooks are typically written by teachers and published commercially, however, "the Ministry of Education, through the General Dictorate of Basic and Secondary Education, establishes criteria by which schools abide when selecting textbooks" (Husen & Postlethwaite, p. 4628).

Curriculum at the primary level, (Ensino basico), emphasizes basic skills in reading, writing, social studies, math, and science. Optional courses in the first and second cycles of basic education include personal and social development or religious education. In the second cycle, foreign language options are added. The same subjects are studied in the third cycle, with history and geography added and optional courses in a second foreign language, music, and technological skills.

Upon completion of basic education (through grade nine), curriculum becomes somewhat differentiated. The national curriculum for secondary education (Ensino Secundario Geral) operates with two sets of overlapping curricula specific to the academic and vocational-technical tracks, respectively. Both tracks are organized into three or four components, each including several subject matters that include general common core, specific, and technical components per track and per course (or "major"). The general studies track also follows a college preparatory curriculum for the 10th through 12th grades. The vocational-technical track courses are more oriented to technical training: 25% of the school program is devoted to scientific training, 50% is devoted to technical training, and 25% on core curriculum (Da Cunha, p. 220). Students may choose between nine different specialty areas, which allow them to apply to specific majors at polytechnic. "Concentration in a particular technical area occurs in the last years of secondary education, and students are strongly encouraged to enroll in a two - or four-year technical education program at a polytechnic" (Da Cunha, p. 220). Polytechnic coursework can be transferred to university studies for those polytechnic graduates interested in pursuing a higher degree.

Standards for Student Performance and Gateways to Promotion and Higher Education  

Promotion.  At the basic education level, "school committees decide on a student's promotion based on the teacher's continuous assessment in the first cycle. In the second and third cycles as well as in secondary education, teachers award marks in each subject and the school committees use these for their assessment" in granting promotion between grades (OECD, p. 315). Grade repetition is rare, and thus promotion between grades is essentially automatic. At the end of basic education, the decision of which secondary track to pursue is made by the student. Completion of the academic secondary track is awarded with a diploma of secondary education. Upon completion of the vocational-technical track, students receive a secondary education diploma and an Intermediate Technician (level III) certificate of Professional Qualification.

Examinations.  National achievement tests are administered at the end of basic education and again at the end of secondary education and are used for deciding upon award of a certificate. This is examination tests general knowledge of the core curriculum taught to all school students, regardless of the particular track chosen. To a greater extent than its European neighbors, comparisons over time are made both within a given school and among schools to measure achievement standards. Standards are also set at the individual level, assessing present achievement level with the achievement level five years ago in almost all subjects studied (OECD, p. 164 -166).

Access to Higher Education.  Admission for all students completing secondary school is based on marks from a combination of the standardized national achievement test given at the end of secondary schooling, a higher education entrance examination (PGA - Provo Geral de Acesso ao Ensino Superior), and in some cases, on specific subject area tests. Recentreforms in admission requirements have included allowing each institution of higher learning to create their own specific area tests. Universities may require up to two of these exams which are then used in determining a student's admission to a particular university course or major. Because of these reforms, the student applying to multiple universities in a pre-medical major, for example, might have to sit for two separate chemistry exams, and two separate biology exams required by each university. The number of specific exams required generally corresponds to the perceived prestige level of the university.

Though the normal track for students completing vocational-technical school is to continue on to either the working world or to polytechnic school, those desiring to pursue a four-year university degree - licenciatura - may do so by taking the corresponding specific subject examinations necessary. Polytechnic students who complete three years receive a bacarelato or may continue on to receive a specialized-study degree equivalent to the licenciatura upon completion of four years of study.

Formerly, tertiary education was free to all citizens, however a new law creating an educational fee for public universities is currently being discussed in the legislature (CNN World Report, May 25, 1997).

Teacher Training and Certification  

Inservice training for teacher candidates can last between two and five years, depending on the level of school at which the candidate wishes to teach, and their academic credentials. Training programs take place in colleges of education which are usually part of a polytechnic institutes or university, "however some private training colleges enjoy official recognition" (Le M(tais, p. 29). Candidates for teacher training programs must have completed at least twelve years of schooling and passed the PGA to teach basic education. Candidates for secondary education must meet the same requirements, and have also passed the specific university entrance examination.

Depending on the academic level at which they enter teacher-training programs, teachers of the second and third cycles of basic education inservice course vary. Candidates possessing an academic degree (bacarelato or licenciatura) complete two years of theoretical and practical training, and receive a professional qualification. Without prior academic qualification, inservice training lasts four to five years in a university providing subject matter and educational training which is awarded with a bacharleato or liceniatura in education (Husen & Postlethwaite, p. 4628). Teachers of vocational-technical school must have a bacharleato or liceniatura, a specialist diploma in a specific vocational or professional area (e.g. in a craft or music) or a specific diploma to teach vocational subjects at the secondary level (Le M(tais, p. 30).

The certification and placement of teachers is function of the Ministry of Education.

References  

General Reference  

CNN World Report, May 25, 1997. Transcript: 97052501V04.

Da Cunha, Serafim. (1993). Educational Reforms in Portugal: helping to raise the profile of VET. European Journal of Education, 28(2), 215-226.

Husen, T. & Postlethwaite, N. (Eds.) (1994). The international encyclopedia of education (Second edition). Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Le M(tais, Joanna. (1991). Initial teacher training in the European Community: An overview. Europe: Education Policy Information Centre (EPIC).

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (1996). Education at a glance: OECD indicators. Paris: Author