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by Daniela Proli, SCIENTER
original general and HE-related information by members of Re.ViCa

For university-related material see also Portugal from Re.ViCa

For entities in Portugal see Category:Portugal


Contents

Partners and Experts situated in Portugal

Portugal in a nutshell

Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/po.html
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.

Education in Portugal

Compulsory education: since 2009 (law no 85/2009 of August 2007) education is compulsory from 6 to 18 years of age and include the following cycles:

Levels

Grades

Age

Ensino básico – 1° e 2° ciclos (Primary education)

1st – 4st (first cycle)

6-10 years old

5th- 6th (second cycle)

10-12 years old

Ensino básico – 3° ciclo

(lower secondary education)

7th – 9th (third cycle)

12-15 years old

Ensino secundario (upper secondary education), including four types of courses: scientific-humanistic, technological, specialist artistic and vocational)

10th- 12th (secondary)

15-18 years old


The raising of compulsory education is a recent reform and is part of a national effort aimed at enhancing the overall level of qualification of the Portuguese population to face the challenges of the knowledge society.

Post- secondary non tertiary education: post-secondary non-tertiary education provides specialized training in different technological areas, allowing for integration in the labour market or the continuation of study at higher level, granting a Specialist Diploma in Technology and a level 4 qualification.

Youth and adult education: youth and adult education offer a second opportunity to individuals who dropped out of school or may wish to do so. The different modes of youth and adult education and training provide for a school certification and/or professional qualification, as well as for the possibility to pursue studies at post-secondary non-tertiary or higher level.

Higher education: Higher education is taught in Universities and Polytechnics (which can be public, private or cooperative) and is aimed at those who successfully completed secondary education or gained a legally equivalent qualification.

Schools in Portugal

Further and Higher education

The higher education system in Portugal is binary, comprising university institutions and polytechnic institutions, which can be public or private. There are more than 150 higher education institutions. The public sector includes 14 universities and a nonintegrated university institution; 15 polytechnics and a number of polytechnic schools integrated in universities; 9 non-integrated nursing schools; 4 university-level military schools; and 5 polytechnic military schools. The private sector includes 34 university level institutions and no less than 66 polytechnics. The private sector also includes a Catholic university. The university and polytechnic subsystems are mainly differentiated by their formative role in research, as is seen, for example, also in Denmark and the Netherlands. The polytechnics are vocationally or professionally oriented and do not carry out fundamental research as the universities do. Only applied research is conducted at the polytechnics.

Source: http://www.enqa.eu/files/EPHEreport.pdf More information: http://www3.eeg.uminho.pt/economia/nipe/docs/2007/NIPE_WP_11_2007.PDF


Universities in Portugal

The university system has a strong theoretical basis and is highly research-oriented; Degrees in some fields such as medicine, law, natural sciences, economics, psychology or veterinary are university. Other fields like engineering, management, education, agriculture, sports, or humanities are found both in university and polytechnic systems.Many universities are usually organized by Faculty (Faculdade).

The university system, which is the oldest, has its origins in the 13th century. It is composed of thirteen public universities, one public university institute, a public open university, and several private universities and university institutes.

The oldest university is the University of Coimbra founded in 1290, and the biggest by number of enrolled students is the University of Porto with about 28,000 students. The Catholic University of Portugal, the oldest non-state-run university (concordatary status), was instituted by decree of the Holy See and is recognized by the State of Portugal since 1971.

University education can lead to the following degrees: bacharelato (first degree course, normally 3 years’ duration), licenciatura (normally 4 years’ duration), masters’ degrees and doctorates.


Polytechnics in Portugal

The non-university system provides a more practical training and is profession-oriented. Nursing, preschool education, accounting technician, or health care technician degrees, are only offered in the polytechnic system. Institute (Instituto) and School (Escola) are also common designations for autonomous units of Portuguese higher learning institutions, and are always used in the polytechnical system, but also in several universities.

The polytechnic system, that began offering higher education in the 1980s after the former industrial and commercial schools were converted into engineering and administration higher education schools (so its origins could be traced back to some earlier vocational education schools of the 19th century). It is composed of fifteen state-run polytechnic institutes, public and private non-integrated polytechnic institutions, and other similar institutions.

Polytechnic education can lead to a bachalerato or a licenciatura.


Colleges in Portugal

The Portuguese education system offers post-secondary non-tertiary education courses since the creation of the Technological Specialisation Courses [Cursos de Especialização Tecnológica CET]. Technological Specialization Courses are defined as post-secondary non-tertiary education courses aimed at the acquisition of a level 4 qualification, as defined in Council Decision no. 85/368/CEE of July 16. This qualification is obtained through the combination of an upper secondary education, whether general or vocational, with a post-secondary technical training. Technological Specialist Courses may be taught at:

  • Public and private educational institutions or independent cooperative institutions, with pedagogical parallelism, that teach secondary level courses;
  • Public and private higher education institutions;
  • Training centres belonging to the network coordinated by the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEPF), under the direct management of, or co-managed by, the same;
  • Technological schools;
  • Other training institutions accredited by the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity.

The curriculum of Technological Specialist Courses is structured according to three training components: general and scientific training, technological training and work-based training. The general and scientific training component is aimed at developing suitable attitudes and behaviours in professionals with a high level of professional qualification and adaptability to theworld of work, and improve, where necessary, scientific knowledge underpinning the specific technologies of the training area. The technological training component includes technological fields directed towards the understanding of practical activities and the resolution of problems at work. Lastly, the work-based training component is aimed at applying the acquired knowledge to the practical activities of the corresponding professional profile, and involves performing tasks under proper supervision, using the skills, equipments and materials included in the processes of producing goods or rendering services. It may take on different forms of practical training in real work situations, namely internships. To ensure integration in the employment market and workplace-based training, the training institution enters into agreements, or other forms of partnership, with companies and other employing entities, business and socio-professional associations or other organisations best suited to the specificity of the training area as well as the characteristics of the job market.


Education reform

Schools

The educational priority set by the Government is to raise the level of training and qualification of the Portuguese population, through an integrated policy for valorisation of state schools. Several measures have been implemented, in Portugal, in order to put schools at the centre of educational policy, qualifying them, improving their day-to-day running and organisation and students’ results, as a mean of reducing high levels of school failure and dropouts. Thus, placing the state school at the service of students and their families and reducing inequalities in access to training and knowledge have been the main goals of the Government, implemented through the following objectives:

  • To promote educational success, putting schools at the service of student learning;
  • Modernising schools, creating better working conditions for teachers and students;
  • Inculcating the culture and practice of accountability and assessment in the education system;
  • Opening the school to the community, strengthening leadership, promoting the school’s autonomy and improving its running, through greater participation by families and communities in the schools;
  • Broadening learning opportunities throughout life.

Of the various measures taken, the following stand out for their relevance and impact:

  • Full-time school, with the offer of free and comprehensive English and other curricular enrichment activities for all children of primary schools;
  • The diversification of the offer of training to elementary and secondary level with the creation of vocational training courses and education and training courses in state schools, tripling the number of students in vocational courses;
  • Enlargement of School Social Support, tripling the number of children covered;
  • The physical and technological modernisation of schools and the generalisation of the use of computers and the Internet in educational activities – an objective clearly visible in the supply of schools with 310,000 computers (reducing the number of students per computer from 16 to 5), 9,000 interactive whiteboards, 25,000 projectors;
  • The internal and external evaluation of schools, covering more than 700 schools; A new system for assessing teacher performance in schools was launched in 2008. The main goals were (1) to improve educational practice and the quality of teaching and (2) to enhance the socio-professional status of teachers, through the differentiation of merit, with direct relevance to career development.
  • The new model of school management and transfer of competences from the MoE to schools and local authorities, ongoing throughout the country. This provided the opportunity to formalize and qualify the participation of local institutions and individuals in the strategic orientation of schools. The position of school director, which aims at strengthening school leadership, was created. The Director is entrusted with the administrative, financial and educational management.
  • The extension of compulsory education up to 18 years and the extensive pre-school education free for all 5 year-olds, showing, in a structured way, the government’s efforts to improve the qualification of the Portuguese and the growth of educational equality.

These efforts have led to improved efficiency in the organisation of schools, new leadership, and schools better oriented towards students and their families, more students and better outcomes, less dropout and less school failures.

Combating early school leaving remains however a top priority to which specific effort is devoted. The education reintegration of students at risk of leaving school is the basis of the renewed TEIP (Educational Priority Intervention Areas) Programme, which aims to promote the educational success of students in specific socio-educational contexts. Within the Programme of the XVIII Constitutional Government, the resolution of the council of ministers no. 44/2010, define the guidelines to the re-organisation of the schools network, with three purposes. One of them is to adjust the schools dimensions and conditions to the promotion of school success and to prevent school dropout. A new edition of the Programme for Educational Areas of Priority Intervention (TEIP2) was relaunched and aims to territorialize educational policies according to priority criteria of positive discrimination in particular socio-educational contexts.


With the same purpose, prevent early school leaving and raise the students' results, the Ministry of Education launched the program 'More School Success' (Mais Sucesso Escolar (PMSE)). There are several strategies on the base of this program, namely: (1) training of pedagogical teams to intervene and support specific groups of students; (2) organization of flexible groups of students with specific plans for intervention, recovery and learning developments; (3) establishment of teachers networks involved in the program, in accordance with their specific areas, to promote moments of reflexion and discussion within training contexts.

Special needs education

The Decree-Law no. 3/2008, defines specialized support to be provided in pre-school, primary and secondary education, in order to create proper conditions within the educational process for students with special education needs. A recent evaluation made at the end of 2010 showed that the implementation of those measures improves educational responses and fosters the inclusion in Portuguese schools. Several networks were created in the country in order to support students with special educational needs, namely:

  • a network of 25 ICT resource centres http://area.dgidc.min-edu.pt/Webpages_CRTIC/ for special education based in school groups divided by the country, and whose mission is to make the assessment of pupils with Special Educational Needs, in order to determine what support technologies fit better to overcome certain kinds of difficulties. These centres provide support for a wide range of schools clusters of their geographical proximity;
  • a network of specialized support units to support inclusion of students with multiple disabilities and congenital deaf-blindness, in schools or schools clusters, in order to centre human and material resources that may offer an educational response of quality to these students;
  • a network of structured teaching units to support the inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorders, in school or school groups, in order to centre human and material resources that can offer a educational response quality to these students;
  • a network of reference schools for the inclusion of blind students or low vision, in order to centre human and material resources that can offer an educational response quality to these students;
  • a network consisting of reference schools for the bilingual education of deaf students, in order to centralize human and material resources that can offer a proper educational response to these students;
  • in the scope of early intervention, schools clusters were created and are constituted by schools of reference, in order to assure the articulation with the health centres and social security; empowerment of the technological team how provide services on the scope of early intervention, financed by the social security; and to assure, in the Ministry of Education scope, the delivering of early interventions in childhood services.

Top Initiatives in Education

Mathematics Action Plan: In June 2006, taking into account the assessment made by teachers of mathematics and reflection on the results of the Mathematics 9th grade in 2005, the MoE set out an action plan for mathematics. This plan aims mainly at improving the teaching of mathematics through six actions, namely: 1) to implement the Mathematics Programme: teams for success (consists in supporting specific school projects aimed at improving mathematics results); 2) To promote in-service training in mathematics for all teachers from primary to lower secondary school level (1st to 9th grade); 3) To set new conditions for initial teacher training and access to teaching; 4) To carry out adjustment of the mathematics curriculum and specifications and teacher training;5) To create a database of educational resources for mathematics: 6) Assessing the textbooks of Mathematics for Basic Education.

NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR THE TEACHING OF PORTUGUESE (PNEP) The National Programme for the Teaching of Portuguese (PNEP) was created in 2006-7, to meet the challenge and the need to improve the teaching of Portuguese in the first cycle of basic education, particularly in reading comprehension and oral and written expression. Within this programme and to promote integration, the MoE has drawn up an action plan to meet the needs of about 80,000 students of other nationalities who attend Portuguese schools. The first step was to establish a new system of equivalences for foreign qualifications: the second measure requires the development of activities of effective support for students who have Portuguese as a second language. Students with Portuguese as a second language will be included in three groups of language proficiency –beginner, intermediate and advanced – depending on the result of a diagnosis, and will follow individualized paths.

EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE – TRAINING TEACHERS PROGRAMME: The purpose of Education in Science, as part of the overall educational experience of all young people, is to prepare them for a full and satisfying life in the world of the twenty-first century. More specifically, the science curriculum should: a) Encourage enthusiasm for and interest in science so that young people feel confident and competent to engage with scientific and technical subject; b) Help young people to acquire a broad general understanding of important ideas and explanatory foundations of science and procedures of scientific inquiry which have the greatest impact on our environment and our culture in general; c) Facilitate the deepening of knowledge when it is necessary either for the personal interest of the students or to motivate them for a professional career The following were also defined as priority areas for teacher training: Mathematics, Portuguese Experimental Science Education, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Special Education and English in the 1st grade.

TECHNOLOGICAL PLAN FOR EDUCATION (PTE) Since 2005 there has been a national strategy to modernise Portuguese schools technologically and the Government has made this one of its main goals. The Plano Tecnológico da Educação (Technological Plan for Education – PTE) intends to place Portugal among the five most advanced European countries in terms of school’s technological modernization (see the section below on ICT initiatives in Education)

Post-secondary

Administration and finance

Schools

Education policy is the responsibility of:

  • the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, at national level;
  • the Regional Directorates for Education at regional level
  • the local authorities at local level.

In the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, the administration of education is the responsibility of the regional governments, via the respective Regional Secretariats for Education, which adapt national education policy to a regional plan and manage human, material and financial resources. The ME has to guarantee compulsory schooling, to prevent early school leaving and promote the qualification of the population in general from an equal opportunities, lifelong learning and educational innovation perspective. It is also responsible for the definition, promotion and implementation of education and vocational training policies, and takes part in the coordination of education and vocational training policies with national policies in the field of the promotion and dissemination of the Portuguese language, family support, social inclusion, the promotion of citizenship, environmental protection and health promotion. The ministry performs its responsibilities via direct administration services of the State (central and peripheral services), indirect administration, advisory bodies and other entities.

The central services of the Ministry of Education (Decree-Law no. 213/2006 of 27 October) are the following:

  • Gabinete de Estatística e Planeamento da Educação – GEPE (Educational Statistics and Planning Office);
  • Inspecção-Geral da Educação – IGE (Inspectorate-General for Education);
  • Secretaria-Geral – SG (General-Secretariat);
  • Gabinete de Gestão Financeira – GGF (Financial Management Office);
  • Direcção-Geral dos Recursos Humanos da Educação – DGRHE (Directorate-General for Human Resources in Education);
  • Direcção-Geral de Inovação e de Desenvolvimento Curricular – DGIDC (Directorate-General for Innovation and Curriculum Development);
  • Gabinete de Avaliação Educacional – GAVE (Educational Assessment Office);

The body of indirect administration is the National Agency for Qualification – ANQ, which comes under the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity. It is responsible for coordinating and boosting the provision of education and vocational training for young people and adults. It moreover manages the Network for recognition, validation and certification of competences and coordinates the curriculum development and the methodologies and materials for specific interventions.

The advisory bodies are:

  • Conselho Nacional de Educação – CNE (National Education Board); Set up in 1982, it is an independent body with autonomous administrative and financial powers. It is responsible, both on its own initiative or when requested, for issuing opinions, reports and recommendations on all matters related to education, under the terms of article 49 of the Education Act. It has 63 members who represent the different partners and interests of civil society and those empowered to decide on education policy measures
  • Conselho das Escolas (Schools Council): The Schools Council ensures the schools’ representation with the ME, takes part in policy formulation, and gives opinions on draft legislation in the areas of pre-primary, compulsory and secondary education. It has the power to prepare draft legislation or regulations and must be heard in connection with any restructuring of the state education network.
  • The Information System Coordinating Office (MISI), whose mission is to create, maintain and ensure the effective running of the integrated information system, is a cross-departmental body that supports school management and administration.

At regional level, in the mainland, there are five Regional Directorates for Education (DRE), which include the peripheral services of direct administration by the State and enjoy administrative autonomy. These are the North Regional Directorate for Education (DREN), the Centre Regional Directorate for Education (DREC), the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Regional Directorate for Education (DRELVT), the Alentejo Regional Directorate for Education (DREALE), and the Algarve Regional Directorate for Education (DREALG).

The following are the main duties of the DRE:

  • To coordinate, monitor and support the organisation and functioning of schools and the management of their human and material resources, promoting the development and consolidation of their autonomy;
  • To take part in the planning of the school network;
  • To promote the gathering of necessary information for the formulation and implementation of education and training policies;
  • To make available to schools the guidelines from the central services and relevant technical information;
  • To cooperate with other services with a view to carrying out joint actions on education and vocational training, and to provide technical support to municipal initiatives involving school facilities;
  • To monitor the procedures concerning teaching quality control.

Municipal board of education: The municipal board of education coordinates education policy at municipal level, coordinating the actions of education players and social partners, and proposes adequate measures to promote greater efficiency and effectiveness in the educational system.At municipal level, the education chart is the instrument used for the planning and organisation of the education network, with the aim of improving education, teaching, training and culture, promoting school clusters in a context of administrative decentralization, reinforcement of the management models, and enhancement of the role of educational communities and schools’ educational projects.

School Autonomy: Decree-Law no. 75/2008 of 22 April approves the autonomy, administration and management of preprimary, compulsory and secondary education in public education institutions. Autonomy is the power granted to schools by the educational authorities to take strategic, pedagogical, administrative, financial and organisational decisions within the scope of their educational project which, together with the internal school regulations and the annual plan of activities, constitute the process of school autonomy. The education project, which sets out the educational direction of the school, is drawn up and approved by the administration bodies for a period of three years and must define the principles, values, goals and strategies according to which the school proposes to fulfil its educational role. The internal regulations define the system under which the school, or school cluster, will operate (together with its administration and management bodies), the school direction, the educational support services and structures, as well as the rights and duties of the school community member

The Ministry of Education funds its central and regional services, non-higher public education institutions as well as social school activity through the State budget. It also provides grants to private and cooperative education and vocational schools. Apart from the Ministry of Education, municipalities also take responsibility for the funding of education, including the construction, maintenance, supply and some operating expenses of pre-primary and 1st cycle institutions. They are also responsible for ensuring the funding of school transports, complementary educational activities and free-time activities. The European Union also co-funds the education sector through the Human Potential Operational Programme (POPH), the main aim of which is to help reduce the qualifications deficit of the Portuguese population. The programme also seeks to encourage job creation and the quality of employment, supporting entrepreneurs as well as youngsters’ progression into working life. It is based on 10 axes covering areas such as Initial Qualification, Lifelong Learning, Professional Management and Improvement, Advanced Training, Citizenship and Social Development.

Post-secondary

The technological specialist courses fall under the joint responsibility of the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity (MTSS) and the Ministry of Education.

Quality assurance, inspection and accreditation

For the OECD Review of Evaluation and Assessment in Education for Portugal, please read here.

Schools

School inspection is an autonomous activity, and the body responsible for assessing the quality of the education system is the Inspectorate-General for Education (IGE) www.ige.min-edu.pt/_PT. It looks at the administrative/financial level and pedagogical level and produces reports on the situation. Another central department, GEPE (Education Planning and Statistics Office, www.gepe.min-edu.pt), is in charge of the educational statistics; it collects data every year on many issues. One of the statistical tools focuses specifically on ICT – equipment, infrastructure, connectivity, software, and online services. With the cooperation of Higher Education institutions an Observatory for the Technological Plan for Education has also been created. The last major ICT in school survey in our country in the last 12 months was a diagnostic study of the technological modernisation of the school system in Portugal (Estudo de Diagnóstico: a modernização tecnológica do sistema de ensino em Portugal)

Post-secondary

Information society

The Portuguese Government Program for 2005-2009 established a Technological Plan (Plano Tecnologico) as the keystone of the Government’s economic policy. This plan consists on a set of related policies and transversal measures guided by a vision of transforming Portugal into a modern knowledge society. The intentions of this plan were to:

  • Mobilize Portugal to fully participate in the information society;
  • Give a new impetus to enterprise innovation;
  • Overcome the scientific and technological lag;
  • Qualify human resources.

In particular the Technological Plan and is an action agenda for the whole of Portuguese society, which aims at mobilising enterprises, families and institutions to meet the modernisation challenges the country has been facing during the last years As a strategy to promote the development and reinforcing of growth and competitiveness in Portugal, the Technological Plan is based on three axes: Knowledge - To qualify the Portuguese for the knowledge society, fostering structural measures which aim at enhancing the average qualification level of the population, implementing a broad and diversified lifelong learning system and mobilising the Portuguese for the Information Society. Technology - To overcome the scientific and technological gap, reinforcing public and private scientific and technological competences and recognising the role played by enterprises in the process of creation of qualified jobs and Research & Development (R&D) related activities. Innovation – To boost innovation, helping the productive chain to adapt to the challenges of globalisation by means of the diffusion and development of new procedures, organizational systems, services and goods. Besides, the Government launched the Connecting Portugal programme at the end of July 2005 as an action plan to implement the Information Society component of the Technological Plan.

The Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) is the Portuguese public agency with the mission of coordinating information society policy and its mobilization through awareness, qualification and research activities, promoting the technological development and knowledge creation by the scientific and technological system and enterprises, and fostering the development of e-Science. The agency operates under the supervision of and answers to the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education.

More Recent Data on the Information Society in Portugal are reported in the report The information Society in Portugal 2010 a compilation of data, publication coordinated by the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), in collaboration with the INE – National Statistics Institute, within the National Higher Council of Statistics, with data gathered by the following entities: Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), INE – National Statistics Institute, ICP-ANACOM – National Communications Authority, GEPE – Office of Strategy and Planning of Education, GPEARI-Statistics – Office of Planning, Strategy, Evaluation and International Relations of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education.

e-safety

To promote an informed, critical and safe use of the internet by children and young people and their families, by workers and society in general, the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC, Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento, IP), the Directorate- General for Innovation and Curricular development/Team for Networks and Educational Resources (Direcção-Geral de Inovação e Desenvolvimento Curricular/Equipa Redes e Tecnologias Educativas - DGIDC/ERTE), the Foundation for National Scientific Computing (Fundação para a Computação Cientifica Nacional, FCCN) and Microsoft Portugal have submitted a proposal under the European programme Safer Internet Plus, to promote public awareness of safe use of the internet. This consortium, coordinated by UMIC, was created to broaden the strategy initiated by DGIDC/ERTE among schools and in the community, under the project SeguraNet from the Safer Internet Programme, enlarging awareness actions and promoting the safe use of the internet in other sectors of society, and creating a hotline service4 to block illegal content on the internet and prosecute its disseminators in an effective way. The first phase of activities of this consortium ran from 2006 to the middle of 2008, but Portugal has already proposed a second phase to continue the work. In addition to the above -mentioned we are still engaged with the ICT PSP (2007-2013) – ICT Policy Support Programme (Programa de Apoio à Política de Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação) – which has as its main objective to accelerate the sustainable development of a competitive, innovative and inclusive information society.

ICT in education initiatives

As previously mentioned, the Technological Plan for Education (PTE) is the programme to modernize Portuguese schools technologically and is one of the main goals of the present Government, part of the Portuguese Technological Plan. This Plan is bringing change in schools and making them focus on the essential activities of teaching and learning. The main goals of this plan are:

  • To turn classes into an interactive space of sharing knowledge without barriers or obstacles;
  • To certify teachers, students, and other school staff, with ICT competences.
  • To prepare students for the information society.

The Plano Tecnológico da Educação (Technological Plan for Education – PTE) intends to place Portugal among the five most advanced European countries in terms of school’s technological modernisation. The main areas of intervention of the PTE are Technology, Contents and teacher Training. These areas integrate in a transversal way every domain related to the modernisation of the Portuguese school system.

Within the PTE several initiatives have been launched:

  • High-speed broadband Internet – to ensure high-speed broadband Internet access among schools;
  • Internet in the classroom / local area networks – to ensure Internet access in all classrooms and all school spaces;
  • Programme e.escola 2.0 – following the previous programme (e-escola) this new programme, designed to meet the Digital Agenda's objectives, focus on three main aims: to guarantee the continuity of access to laptops and Internet connection, with special conditions for the educative community; to promote the creation and use of digital content; and, to foster the use of next-generation networks;
  • e-escolinha – to provide access to a laptop with learning resources to students of first cycle schools;
  • Technological kit – increase the number of IT equipments in the classroom to promote the interactivity and innovation of the pedagogical practices;
  • School safety – to increase the safety of assets in schools against theft and vandalism;
  • Schools portal – reference site of schools in Portugal for sharing digital learning resources, e-learning, communication, collaborative work and access to support services for school administration;
  • Simplex school – information system based on an electronic platform and on a service-oriented infrastructure that allows a simplification of the school management. An example is the possibility for students that will apply for the first time to first year, may do so via online;
  • ICT competencies training and certification – modular, sequential and disciplinary oriented training program and certification of ICT skills;

Also within PTE, two other projects were created with the aim to promote partnerships between educational institutions and enterprises, namely:

  • ICT internships – workplace training for vocational education students at top national and international technological companies;
  • ICT academies – creation of ICT academies from technological companies in schools, aiming to reinforce student’s qualifications and their entry in the job market.

As mentioned above, one of the main areas of intervention is training. Last July legal guidelines concerning teacher training and certification on ICT competences were compiled. This document (Portaria 731/2009, 7th July) defines the ICT competences training and certification system for teachers from all school levels. This system is organised in three levels in accordance with the principles of strengthening, diversification and progressive enlargement of acquired skills and professional contexts of use and integration of ICT. Training of teacher trainers is addressed mainly in three dimensions:

  • Internet safety: this is a central issue as well as a good starting point to address several uses of ICT in school, and even beyond school. Internet safety is a starting point to develop a number of skills necessary for the profile of the 21st century teacher (around 360 teacher trainers have attended courses)
  • The pedagogical use of interactive white boards (IWB): a large number of courses addressing the specific uses of IWB have taken place all over the country. The aim was to see the IWB as a tool that can bring motivation but above all allows new methodological approaches to the learning and teaching processes (around 500 teacher trainers attended the courses).
  • ePortfolios: following a recommendation from the Ministry of Education for the use of eportfolios for students in compulsory education, a training of teacher trainers took place addressing a specific tool (REPE) and the pedagogical use of eportfolios.


Virtual initiatives in schools

Within the Technological Plan for education, several initiatives have been implemented in schools, mainly related to enhancing access to IT infrastructure availability (pupils-computer ratio; broadband in schools) and to the creation of digital content repository favoring innovation in teaching and learning practices.

e-Escolinha

The e-Escolinha programme aimed at all pupils in the first years of state and private schools. Its goal is to guarantee the general use of computers and the internet, in order to promote access to knowledge. In this context the Government distributed the personal computer Magalhães1 to these children. This computer is specifically designed for children in this age range. It is shock and liquid proof, light and small and yet can be used by the whole family. Magalhães is supplied with educational contents which are specially selected for these children and equipped for internet access (www.eescolinha.gov.pt).

ICT in kindergarten

Portugal participates as a partner in the KidSmart project. This Project was designed for preschool education and is based on a partnership between IBM and the Ministry of Education. In the last few years (2004-7) IBM gave workstations to kindergartens with the purpose of contributing to the development of the Information and Knowledge Society, as it promotes eInclusion.

Initiatives for Secondary Education

A Mission Unit was created at the Ministry of Education on the 1st of July 2005 – CRIE (Computers, Networks and Internet at School). This unit is now a team at the Directorate-General of Innovation and Curricular Development (DGIDC) of the Ministry of Education, and retains its mission of conception, development and evaluation of initiatives concerned with computers, networks and internet use at schools and in the learning process. In the school year 2005-6 this unit promoted an initiative called “Schools, teachers and Laptops” (Iniciativa Escolas, professores e Computadores Portáteis). This initiative supported the curricular integration of ICT and innovation; improved the use of ICT in the classroom; promoted teamwork between teachers and educational groups; helped teachers to manage and prepare daily activities; and sustained educational projects for the present and the future. During that school year schools had to establish viable projects to develop and submit them for MoE approval. The goal was to give each school and teacher ten laptops for teachers’ use and 14 for students’ use, according to the submitted project. In addition to the laptops, each school also received a video projector and a Wi-Fi access point. In June 2007 another initiative, called eIniciativas was launched by the Government, and supported by the MoE and private enterprises. This initiative aims to finance actions to facilitate access to the information society, in order to promote eInclusion. It involves teachers, students and also students from vocational training under the programme Novas Oportunidades (eOportunidades, eEscola and eProfessor). This gives the opportunity for everyone to have a laptop for a low price (€150) and low-cost internet access.

Portal das Escolas

Within the PTE a repository of digital contents for teachers and students called Portal das Escolas (Schools’ Portal), has been created. In the Schools’ Portal it is possible to find relevant information about the schools and their educational communities and a repository that offers over a thousand digital educational resources that can be used in teaching. This repository of digital educational resources can include text, images, videos or music. Registered users can also upload resources. All schools in the country are represented on the website and may disseminate educational initiatives and information of interest to the general public. Schools’ Portal is a new digital platform of reference for schools in Portugal, and was built with a modular logic and services will be available gradually. In the first phase, the portal is aimed at teachers and focuses on a key objective of the Technological Plan for Education, which is the use of digital educational resources in education. It is possible for teachers to access the existing contents, but also contribute as authors to the enrichment of the content repository. After being duly registered in the Schools’ Portal, with data validated by the Ministry of Education (MoE), teachers in public education up to 12th grade can upload educational resources into this repository. To ensure that the Schools’ Portal is a space in which each user can see material and information that will be useful for their school, professional and academic life, the MoE will adopt mechanisms for validation of these user-provided educational resources before they are made available. The Schools’ Portal is the largest collaborative network of education in Portugal, stimulating the production, sharing and use of digital content for the teachers’ community.

Use of web 2.0 in the classrooms

In Portugal there are there are several initiatives to promote the use of Web 2.0 tools in schools for teaching and learning. A teacher handbook for how to use web 2.0 has also been published (Manual de Ferramentas da Web 2.0 para Professores (http://www.crie.min-edu.pt/publico/web20/manual_web20-professores.pdf). Moreover, tools such as blogs, wikis, podcasting, social networking and sharing services (websites, images, videos, audio files, etc.) are frequently used in the education system. It is therefore perceived as necessary to provide teachers and trainers with skills for the use of such tools in a creative and reflective way, allowing the creation of new spaces for learning.


Learning platforms

In Portugal, every school from 5th to 12th grade owns a learning platform, Moodle. This platform is used as a means of communication to the school community and a workplace for students and teachers.

Escola virtual

The Escola virtual ( Virtual School) is an elearning platform owned by the publishing group Porto Editora, Portuguese private company. In the EV program the disciplines from 1st to 12th school year is transformed into interactive lessons where text, animations, videos, phrases and exercises are combines and make learning simple and effective. EV works with two different options: - Particular - service subscribed by students, teachers and parents who are individually self-study learners. - Institutional - the EV operates as a service to the school and all content can be used by teachers and students in their classrooms

Escola Móvel now called Ensino a Distância para a Itinerância

The Escola Móvel project (Mobile School) - now called Ensino a Distância para a Itinerância - has emerged as a project of distance learning, using a technology platform (LMS Moodle) to support learning for students of the 3rd cycle of basic education, children of occupational travelers, in order to meet the specific needs of this community in terms basic education. The curriculum of the Escola Móvel was initially constituted by the disciplines that make up the National Curriculum for Basic Education 3rd Cycle, with the exception of Physical Education. The Escola Móvel project was extending its educational provision and implementation of distance education, ensuring the integration of different public and school providing compulsory schooling, with the possibility of continuing studies in secondary education. In addition to the children of occupational travelers and students, this project was expanded to include other children and youth who are at risk of failure, early school leaving and social exclusion, especially young people supported by the institution Ajuda de Mãe (Help young Mother) and students over 15 years, for various reasons had not completed compulsory education. The work aimed to provide differentiated learning contexts and individualized tutoring in conjunction with each educational area.

The project is now called Ensino a Distância para a Itinerância (distance learning project for itinerant students) and it is now based on the partnership with a physical school (but they are going to be more than one in the future) which hosts the virtual school in its premises and offer its organizational and financial infrastructures.

In the current academic year (2011/2012), 120 students are covered by the project and 23 teachers are working in the school. Students are grouped in classroom and they have to be online according to a traditional school time-table based on subjects and - at the end of compusory schooling - they are submitted to the portuguese school leaving exam in normal schools.


Also see: http://area.dgidc.min-edu.pt/escola_movel/escola.html

Virtual initiatives in post-secondary education

Lessons learnt

General lessons

Notable practices

References


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