Education in Portugal is regulated by the State through two
ministriesA ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a minister, but usually a senior public servant, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory,...
- the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. There are a system of
public educationPublic education is schooling mandated for or offered to all children by the government, whether national, regional, or local, provided by an institution of civil government, and paid for, in whole or in part, by taxes. The term is generally applied to basic education, including kindergarten to...
and also many
private schoolPrivate schools, also known as independent schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition, rather than relying on public funds...
s at all levels of education. The first
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. 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...
medieval universities were created in the 13th century, and the national higher education system is fully integrated into the
European Higher Education AreaThe European Higher Education Area is the objective of the Bologna process - to create more comparable, compatible and coherent systems of higher education in Europe. Under the Lisbon Recognition Convention of the Council of Europe, degrees and study periods are recognised mutually...
. The
basic literacyLiteracy is a concept claimed and defined by a range of different theoretical fields. In everyday terms, "literacy" is typically described as the ability to read and write...
rate of the Portuguese population is 93%, however the functional literacy is amongst the lowest in Europe. According to official sources in 2007, 64% of the population never read one single book; within the population component that is functionally literate, only 17.9% read more than two books in one year (data collected by Marktest for
TSFTSF is a Portuguese radio station headquartered in Lisbon. It is a news focused radio station. It was legally founded in 1989, but its first emission was in February 29, 1988....
). According to INE (Portuguese Institute for National Statistics), only 3.7 million Portuguese workers (67% of the working active population) completed basic education (81% of the working population attainned the lower basic level of education and 12% attained the intermediate level of education).
History
In the beginnings of the
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. 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...
nationality, the
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
clergyClergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term ultimately comes from the Greek κλῆρος - klēros, "a lot", "that which is assigned by lot" or metaphorically, "inheritence"....
was the main player in the educational endeavour. Portuguese universities have existed since 1290. However, by the end of the 19th century the illiteracy rate was at over 80 percent and higher education was reserved for a small percentage of the population. 68.1 percent of Portugal's population was still classified as illiterate by the 1930 census. Portugal's literacy rate by the 1940s and early 1950s was low for
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
n and
Western EuropeWestern Europe is the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of Central Europe...
an standards at the time. From the 1960s, the country made public education available for all children between the ages of six and twelve, expanded a robust network of industrial and commercial technical schools aimed at intermediate education of future skilled workers (
ensino médio), recognized the Portuguese Catholic University in 1971, and by 1973 a wave of new state-run universities were founded across mainland Portugal (the
Minho UniversityThe University of Minho or Universidade do Minho is a public university in Portugal, divided in the following spaces:* Largo do Paço , in Braga* Campus of Gualtar, in Braga* Superior School of Nursing, in Braga...
, the
New University of LisbonThe New University of Lisbon was established in 1973 and is the youngest of the three public universities of Lisbon, in Portugal....
, the
University of ÉvoraThe University of Évora is a public university in Évora, Portugal.-History:The University of Évora, the second oldest in Portugal, was founded in the 16th century by Cardinal Infante Dom Henrique , and by the Pope Paul IV, and it was delivered to the Society of Jesus.The Jesuit college...
, and the University of Aveiro - Veiga Simão was the Minister in charge for education by then). From the 1960s to the 1974
Carnation RevolutionThe Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril, was a left-leaning military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC ,...
, secondary and university education experienced the fastest growth of Portuguese education's history. After 1974 the number of basic and secondary schools as well as of higher education institutions, increased until the end of the century, sometimes without the necessary allocation of quality material and qualified human resources. The
Bologna processThe purpose of the Bologna process is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
for
higher educationHigher education in Portugal is divided into two main subsystems: university and polytechnic education. It is provided in autonomous public universities, private universities, public or private university institutes, polytechnic institutions and higher education institutions of other types...
has been adopted since 2006. However the higher-education rate in the country still remains the lowest in the European Union, this rate was around 7% in 2003 (Source: OECD (2003) Education at a Glance and OECD Statistical Compendium), and improved to 11% in 2007 - as compared to Slovakia's and Slovenia's around 16%; Germany's, Estonia, Spain's and Ireland's 28%; or Belgium's, Netherland's, Denmark's, Finland's, Cyprus's and UK's, over 30% (Source: EuroStat, March 2007).
Pre-primary education
Pre-primary education is optional from the ages of three to five, and is provided in both state-run and private nursery schools. State-run nurser provision is free of charge; fees are payable for private nursery schools. The schools are known as
Jardins-de-Infância (Kindergartens).
Pre-higher education
Basic Education lasts for nine years divided into three stages of four, two and three years respectively. The stages are respectively
Ensino Básico – 1º Ciclo;
Ensino Básico – 2º Ciclo and
Ensino Básico – 3º Ciclo. A Diploma/Certificate is awarded at the end of the third stage. Secondary education - public, private and cooperative - is compulsory and consists of a three-year cycle after basic education. Access is through the Certificate of Basic Education. There are two types of courses: general courses and technical/vocational courses, providing instruction in technical, technological, professional fields and in the Portuguese language and culture. Permeability between the courses is guaranteed. The teaching and practice of technical, technological or artistic courses are provided by vocational schools and special schools for education in Arts. Courses are sanctioned by the
Certificado de Habilitações do Ensino Secundário/Diploma de Ensino Secundário (Secondary School Credential/Diploma), which is the prerequisite for access to higher education through national access examination (people aged 23 and over can apply to higher education institutions through other special examination, even without the Secondary School Credential/Diploma).
Basic education
In Portugal, Basic Education consists of nine years of schooling divided into three sequential cycles of education of four, two and three years.
Children aged six by 15 September must be enrolled in their first school year in that calendar year. In addition, children who reach the age of six between 16 September and 31 December may be authorized to attend the first stage of education, provided a request is submitted by their parents or guardians to the school nearest to their residence (or place of work) during the annual enrollment period. State-run schools are free of charge; private school tuition is refunded by the State in part or fully, when state-run schools in the area are filled to capacity. The first cycle of basic mandatory education covers years 1st-4th, the second cycle years 5th-6th and the third cycle years 7th-9th. The curriculum contains only general education until the 9th year at which point vocational subjects are introduced.
Schools do not give (or sell) any books or materials; financial assistance is available for poorer families. The school books are chosen at school's level every four years.
1st Cycle State-run schools are owned by the municipalities; all other State-run schools are owned by the State.
At State-run schools, 1st Cycle students and sometimes students of other cycles get free mid-morning or mid-afternoon snacks, generally consisting of a 20 cl milk carton.
1º Ciclo - 1st Cycle
- Portuguese Language
- (Physical and Social) Environment Study
- Mathematics
- English (compulsory starting from 2005-2006)
Other Subjects like Physical Education, Musical Education, Catholic (or other confessions) Moral and Religious Education, are taught too, but are non-compulsory and according to school resources.
2º Ciclo - 2nd Cycle
- History and Geography of Portugal
- Foreign Language I / English or French (levels 1 and 2)
- Visual and Technological Education (Arts and Crafts)
- Personal and Social Development or Catholic (or other confessions) Moral and Religious Education (facultative)
3º Ciclo - 3rd Cycle
7th and 8th years
- Foreign Language I / English or French (levels 3 and 4)
- Foreign Language II / French, Spanish, German or English (levels 1 and 2)
- Another artistic subject ( Music, Theatre, Dance...)
- Technological Education (Hand Works)
- Personal and Social Development or Catholic (or other confessions) Moral and Religious Education (Facultative)
9th Year
Same subjects, plus:
- Information and Communication Technologies.
- Option between Visual Education, Music/Theatre or Dance and Technological Education.
Secondary education
It is only after the 9th grade of basic schooling that the Portuguese General
Education system branches out into different secondary programmes, one higher education-oriented (general secondary courses/programmes) and the other more work-oriented (technological secondary courses/programmes). The conclusion of secondary education (general or technological courses) with passing grades confers a diploma, which will certificate the qualification thus obtained and, in the case of work-oriented programmes the qualification for specific jobs.
All General and Technological courses share the following subjects known as General Formation:
- Foreign Language I or II (10th and 11th years)
- Maths A, B or Applied To Social Sciences
- Personal and Social Development or Catholic (or other confessions) Moral and Religious Education (as above, facultative)
General Courses
- Sciences and Technologies (I or II) - specific subjects: Biology-Geology (I), Physic-Chemistry(I and II), Biology (12th grade option), Geology (12th grade option), Psychology (12th grade option), Physic (12th grade option), Chemistry (12th grade option) or Descriptive Geometry (II).
- Social and Human sciences - History, Geography
- Socio-Economic Sciences - Economy, Geography
Technological Courses
- Environment and Territory Order
Other types of school education
There are also special modalities of school education. The programmes offered by vocational schools, those of the apprenticeship system and those of recurrent studies are considered as a special modality of school education. These programmes are not regular, because they are not included in the mainstream regular progression of the education system to which they are an alternative given that they were designed to respond to specific educational needs of different target-groups of the population.
All of these programmes offer initial vocational and education training, although the recurrent studies also offer general education. Recurrent education consists of non-regular programmes of study or modular or single units because they are not complete training cycles and they are not included in the regular progression of the education system. The recurrent education provides a second opportunity of training for those who did not undertake training at the normal age or who left school early. Recurrent education covers the three cycles of basic education and the secondary education.
The recurrent education is characterized by the flexibility and adaptability to the students’ learning cycle, availability, knowledge and experiences. The recurrent secondary education branches into two types of courses: the general course for those who want to continue their studies and the technical courses that are work-oriented and confer a level III vocational certificate, although they also permit the access to higher education. Any of the secondary courses, vocational courses, apprenticeship courses (level III), recurrent courses and others (artistic and those of technological schools) share a three-dimensional structure (although the importance of each dimension could vary according to the specific course):
a) general / socio-cultural
b) specific / scientific
c) technical / technological / practical / vocational
The Portuguese educational/vocational system is open. This means that once any student finishes his/her basic studies successfully he/she can choose, freely, any kind of course in any training domain/area. Any secondary course completed successfully allows the student apply to any course of higher education, independently of the training domain the student chose in the secondary level of education.
In Portugal initial vocational education and training can be divided into two main modalities according to the Ministry responsible for the training:
a) Initial vocational education and training in the education system (under the regulation of the Ministry of Education):
- The technological secondary courses are work-oriented and confer qualification for specific jobs, which correspond to the
E.U.The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
level III of vocational qualifications. There are eleven technological courses in the domain of natural sciences, arts, social-economic sciences and humanities;
- The vocational schools courses are a special modality of education that has a primary goal: the development of youngsters’ vocational training. In this type of course the students spend most of their time in practical, technological, technical and artistic training, which allows the development of specific skills indispensable to an occupation. The vocational courses are drawn to give answers to both local and regional labour market needs. These courses function under the regulation of the Ministry of Education, although under the direct initiative and responsibility of civil society institutions, such as municipalities, enterprises, trade unions, etc. The vocational courses are available in the third cycle of basic education (level II) – only a few - and in the secondary education (level III).
- The technical recurrent courses. In the secondary education, the recurrent studies branches into two different types of courses: the general courses and the technical courses. The latter are work-oriented, vocationally oriented to confer a level III vocational certificate;
- The courses of initial qualification can be promoted by schools lecturing the third cycle of mandatory education. If it is necessary, schools can establish protocols with other institutions such as municipalities, enterprises or vocational training centres. These courses are open to a) youngsters who have a 9th grade diploma, without any vocational qualification, and who do not intend to continue their studies; and b) youngsters who, having reached fifteen years of age and attended the 9th grade, did not achieve the basic education certificate.
b) Initial vocational education and training in the labour market (under the regulation of the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity through the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training):
- Apprenticeship system. The apprenticeship courses are part of an initial vocational training system alternating between the school and the workplace, addressing mainly youngsters aged between fifteen and twenty five years who are not included in the mandatory school system. The training process alternates between the professional/vocational (where the socio-cultural, scientific-technological and the practice training in training context takes place) and the workplace (where the practice training in work context takes place).
In the mid 2000s, education policy was reorganised aiming more choice and better quality in vocational technical education. Enhanced and improved technical education programs where implemented in 2007 in an effort to revitalize this sector which had been almost discontinued after the
Carnation RevolutionThe Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril, was a left-leaning military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC ,...
of 1974, when many vocational technical schools were administratively upgraded to higher education technical colleges and other were simply closed. This happened despite those vocational technical schools have been generally regarded as reputed institutions with a record of very high standards in vocational technical education across the decades they were supplying the technical labor needs of the country.
Overview
Higher education in Portugal is divided into two main subsystems:
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and
polytechnicA polytechnic is a higher education educational institution in Portugal created in the 1980s. After 1998 they were upgraded to institutions which are allowed to confer bachelor's degrees . Before then, they only awarded short-cycle degrees which were known as bacharelatos and didn't provide further...
education, and it is provided in autonomous
public universitiesA public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities...
,
private universitiesPrivate universities are not operated by governments though they may or may not receive funding . Depending on the region, private universities may be subject to government regulation...
, public or private university institutes, polytechnic institutions and higher education institutions of other types. The university system has a strong theoretical basis and is highly research-oriented; the non-university system provides a more practical training and is profession-oriented. Degrees in some fields such as
medicineMedicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
,
lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
, natural sciences,
economicsEconomics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
,
psychologyPsychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the systematic, and sometimes scientific, study of human or animal mental functions and behavior...
or veterinary are university. Other fields like
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
,
technologyTechnology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment...
,
managementManagement in all business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading, directing, facilitating and controlling or manipulating an organization or effort for...
,
educationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
,
agricultureAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
, sports, or
humanitiesThe humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural and social sciences....
are found both in university and polytechnic systems.
NursingNursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from birth to the end of life....
, preschool education, accounting technician, or health care technician degrees, are only offered in the polytechnic system. The oldest university is the
University of CoimbraThe University of Coimbra is a Portuguese public university in Coimbra, Portugal. It is one of the oldest universities in continuous operation in Europe and the world, the oldest university of Portugal, and one of its largest higher education and research institutions...
founded in 1290, and the biggest by number of enrolled students is the
University of PortoThe University of Porto is a Portuguese public university located in Porto, and founded 22 March 1911. It is the largest Portuguese university by number of enrolled students and has one of the most noted research outputs in Portugal.-History:The university results, essentially, from two higher...
with about 28,000 students. The
Catholic University of PortugalThe Catholic University of Portugal , also referred as Católica or UCP for short, is a prestigious and the only concordatary university of the Catholic Church, in Portugal. Although it is just one university, it is made up of four major regional centres, Beiras, Braga, Lisbon and Porto...
, the oldest
non-state-run university (
concordatA concordat is an agreement between the Holy See and the government of a country on religious matters This often included both recognition and privileges for the Catholic Church in a particular country...
ary status), was instituted by decree of the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
and is recognized by the State of Portugal since 1971. The current public polytechnic subsystem of
Institutos Politécnicos was founded in the 1980s. A few polytechnical higher education institutions, though formed as such in the 1980s, have their origin in 19th century educational institutions - this is the case of the
Instituto Superior de Engenharia de LisboaThe Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa is a Portuguese higher education polytechnic institution of engineering. Headquartered in Lisbon, it belongs to the Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa.-History:...
, the
Instituto Superior de Engenharia do PortoThe Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto or Porto Superior Institute of Engineering is a public polytechnic higher learning and research institute of engineering, located in the city of Porto, Portugal...
and the
Escola Superior Agrária de CoimbraThe Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra , in English the Agrarian School of Coimbra, is a state-run polytechnic higher education school of agriculture, based in Coimbra, Portugal...
.
Private higher education institutions cannot operate if they are not recognized by the Ministry of Education. Access is regulated by the same procedures as those for state higher education institutions. The two systems of higher education (university and polytechnic) are linked and it is possible to transfer from one to the other by extraordinary competition. It is also possible to transfer from a public institution to a private one and vice-versa. Admission to public university programmes are often more demanding and selective than to their equivalent in public polytechnic and private institutions. Many specific university institutions and degrees are also regarded as more prestigious and reputed than their peers from the polytechnic system or from certain less notable university institutions.
Many universities are usually organized by
FacultyA faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
(
Faculdade). 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.
After mid 2000s, with the approval of new legislation and the
Bologna ProcessThe purpose of the Bologna process is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
any
polytechnic or university institution of Portugal, is able to award a first cycle of study, known as
licenciatura plus a second cycle which confer the
master's degreeA master's degree is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
. Before that, this was the rule only for university institutions. Virtually all university institutions award master's degrees as a second cycle of study, but some university departments are offering integrated master's degrees (joint degrees) through a longer single cycle of study. Some polytechnic institutions offer the second study cycle in cooperation with a partner university.
DoctorateA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession . The best-known example...
s are only awarded by the universities.
There are also special higher education institutions linked with the
militaryA military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. As an adjective the term "military" is also used to refer to any property or aspect of a military...
and the
policeA police service is a public force empowered to enforce the law and provide security through the legitimized use of force.The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of...
. These specific institutions have generally a good reputation and are popular among the youngsters because its courses are a passport to the military/police career. These state-run institutions are the
Air Force AcademyThe Air Force Academy is a Portuguese military higher education institution whose aim is to provide all its students with the training and the experience that will enable them to graduate having gained the knowledge and the character qualities that are essential for leadership, and the motivation...
, the
Military AcademyThe Military Academy is a Portuguese military establishment, which has the ability to confer educational qualifications equivalent to a university...
, the
Naval SchoolThe Portuguese Naval School is a military school of university higher education founded in 1845, whose mission is the training of Naval Officers.The School is located inside the Naval Base of Lisbon, in the South bank of the Tagus river....
and the
Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança InternaThe Instituto Superior de Ciências Policiais e Segurança Interna is a Portuguese higher education institution, a police university institute or Police academy of the PSP - Polícia de Segurança Pública. It is located in Lisbon, Portugal.-External links:*...
.
University and polytechnic
Portugal has two main
systems of higher education:
- The university
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
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 polytechnic
A polytechnic is a higher education educational institution in Portugal created in the 1980s. After 1998 they were upgraded to institutions which are allowed to confer bachelor's degrees . Before then, they only awarded short-cycle degrees which were known as bacharelatos and didn't provide further...
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 educationVocational education or Vocational Education and Training , also called Career and Technical Education , prepares learners for jobs that are based in manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic and totally related to a specific trade, occupation or vocation, hence the term, in which...
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.
The Bologna process in Portugal
The
Bologna ProcessThe purpose of the Bologna process is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
was a
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an reform process aimed at establishing a European
Higher EducationHigher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...
Area by 2010. It was an unusual process in that it was loosely structured and driven by the 45 countries participating in it in cooperation with a number of international organisations, including the
Council of EuropeThe Council of Europe is the oldest international organisation working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
.
The reform aim was to create by 2010 a higher education system in Europe, organised in such a way that:
- it is easy to move from one country to the other (within the European Higher Education Area) – for the purpose of further study or employment;
- the attractiveness of European higher education is increased so many people from non-European countries also come to study and/or work in Europe;
- the European Higher Education Area provides Europe with a broad, high quality and advanced knowledge base, and ensures the further development of Europe as a stable, peaceful and tolerant community.
Portugal, like other European States, has conducted educational policies and reforms to accomplish these objectives. This include the reorganization of both university and polytechnic subsystems and the implementation of extensive legal and curricular changes. Since its field application in 2006 is has being widely contested by students (many lost an academic year with the change), and several universities had disrepute the concept by introducing integrated master degrees in several courses.
Degree significance
Schools that adhered to the
Bologna processThe purpose of the Bologna process is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
(since 2006 - 2007) maintained the degree names but their significance changed. In ascending order of importance:
Bacharelato (Not academically equivalent to
Bachelor's degreeA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for four years, but can range from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
) - title:
Bacharel or
Engenheiro Técnico for
technical engineerTechnical engineer is a professional title created in several countries for professionals that were awarded a short-cycle 2- to 4-year undergraduate degree in a technical engineering field...
s - abbreviation: none or
Bach.
- Non-Bologna: three-year course in a polytechnic (before 2007)
- Bologna: not used
Licenciatura (Academic License) - title:
Licenciado (popular:
Doutor or
Engenheiro for a License in
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
) - abbreviation used in front of holder's name:
Lic. (popular:
Dr. or
Eng. for
EngineerEngineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. The term is derived from the Latin root "ingenium," meaning "cleverness"...
, used extensively (formal and colloquially))
- Non-Bologna: four- to six-year course in a university, or a Bacharelato complemented with one or two extra years in a polytechnic (called licenciatura bietápica, meaning dual-stage license) or university (before 2007)
- Bologna: three-year course in a university or polytechnic.
Pós-Graduação or
Especialização (Postgraduate degree) - no specific title
- Usually one year of specific study for holders of a Licenciatura or Mestrado.
Mestrado (
Master's degreeA master's degree is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
) - title:
Mestre
- Non-Bologna: advanced degree in a specific scientific field, indicating capacity for conducting practical research. Courses last two to four semesters, including lectures and the preparation and discussion of an original dissertation. It is only open to those who have obtained a grade average of 14/20 or higher in the Licenciatura course. Those with less than 14/20 may also be eligible for a Mestrado course after analysis of the curriculum by the university.
- Bologna: Licenciatura complemented with one or two extra years in a polytechnic or university; or, in some cases, a 5- to 6-year joint degree (Mestrado Integrado) in a university. Students have to present their public thesis defense in order to be awarded the degree.
Doutorado (
DoctorateA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession . The best-known example...
) - used in front of holder's name:
Doutor
- The Doutorado is conferred by universities to those who have passed the Doctorate examinations and have defended a thesis, usually to pursue a teaching and researching career at university level. There is no fixed period to prepare for the Doctorate examinations. Candidates must hold a degree of Mestrado or Licenciatura (if their grade average is equal or higher than 16/20) (or a legally equivalent qualification) and have competences and merit that are recognized by the university.
Agregação (
AgrégationIn France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...
) - used in front of holder's name:
Professor Doutor
- This is the highest qualification reserved to holders of the Doutor degree. It requires the capacity to undertake high level research and special pedagogical competence in a specific field. It is awarded after passing specific examinations.
Admission
Admission to state-run higher education level studies requires either a secondary school credential,
Diploma de Ensino Secundário, given after twelve study years, and the required
ENESIn Portugal, ENES is an acronym for Exames Nacionais do Ensino Secundário' . Specifically, the ENES Sheet is a document containing the students final secondary education classification as well as the exam results of the "provas específicas" used to apply to university or polytechnical...
exams. An extraordinary exam process is available to anyone aged 23 or older. Admission to private institutions is at the total discretion of each school.
With secondary school credential
Students must have studied the subjects for which they are entering to be prepared for the
entrance examsIn Portugal, ENES is an acronym for Exames Nacionais do Ensino Secundário' . Specifically, the ENES Sheet is a document containing the students final secondary education classification as well as the exam results of the "provas específicas" used to apply to university or polytechnical...
, but they are not required to have previously specialised in any specific area at the secondary school. Students sit for one or more entrance exams,
Concurso nacional for public institutions or
Concurso local for private institutions. In addition to passing entrance exams, students must fulfil particular prerequisites for the chosen course. Enrollment is limited; each year the institution establishes the number of places available. This is called the
numerus claususNumerus clausus is one of many methods used to limit the number of students who may study at a university. In many cases, the goal of the numerus clauses is simply to limit the number of students to the maximum feasible in some particularly sought-after areas of studies.However, in some cases,...
. For the public institutions the exam scores count for the final evaluation, which includes the secondary school average marks. Then the students have to choose six institutions/courses they prefer to attend, in preferential order. The ones, who reach the marks needed to attend the desired institution/course, given the attributed vacant, will be admitted. This means that the students could not be admitted at its first or second choice, but be admitted at the third or even sixth choice. In some cases, those entering polytechnics or nursing and health technologies schools, should have some previous vocational training and preference will be given to applicants from the catchment area of the institution concerned. From the academic year 2005/2006 onwards, access rules have enforced minimum grades of 95 (out of 200) in the national access examinations for all candidates in every sector of public higher education. In practical terms, and unlike what happened in the past, the new rule meant the exclusion of a large number of applicants who otherwise would have been admitted with negative grades to the less selective courses of some public institutions, and consequently lead to a number of available places for students left vacant every year in many courses.
Extraordinary exam process
Even without a complete secondary school education, anyone 23 or above can apply to state-run higher learning institution through the
Exame Extraordinário de Avaliação de Capacidade para Acesso ao Ensino Superior (extraordinary exam to assess the capacity to enter higher-level studies), also called the
Ad-Hoc exam.
The process consists of the general Portuguese exam, an interview to evaluate motivation and CV, and additional exams specific to each school and course, obligatorily written and oral.
Candidates approved go through a separate
numerus clausus or enroll directly at the discretion of the school's board. As what happens with the
Concurso Nacional through the Exames Nacionais do Ensino Secundário (ENES), the Extraordinary Exam Process for over-23-year-old candidates is more demanding and has a much higher selectiveness in public universities than in the public polytechnics. Humanities and other non-mathematical-intensive fields have also much higher admission rates than classical university engineering, economics or medicine. This implies that almost all new students admitted by this extraordinary process enter a
polytechnic institutionA polytechnic is a higher education educational institution in Portugal created in the 1980s. After 1998 they were upgraded to institutions which are allowed to confer bachelor's degrees . Before then, they only awarded short-cycle degrees which were known as bacharelatos and didn't provide further...
,
private institutionPrivate schools, also known as independent schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition, rather than relying on public funds...
, or
humanitiesThe humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural and social sciences....
programmes.
Teacher education
Training of pre-primary and primary/basic school teachers
Teachers of basic education attend 4-year courses in
Escolas Superiores de Educação or at the universities to obtain a
Licenciado degree.
The government as passed a law (February/2007) that makes a teacher to have also a " mestre " degree in Basic and Secondary Education.
Training of secondary school teachers
Teachers of secondary education must hold a
Licenciado degree and follow courses that last for between four and six years. Studies are sanctioned by a
Licenciado em Ensino or a
Licenciatura - Ramo de Formação Educacional, according to the issuing institution. Educators and basic and secondary education teachers, with practice in regular or special education, may obtain a qualification to teach in specialized education. Continuous training for teachers is offered in
Centros de Formação Continua.
The government as passed a law (February/2007) that makes a teacher to have also a " mestre " degree in Basic and Secondary Education.
Training of higher education teachers
Teachers at this level receive no formal professional training, but minimum qualifications are laid down for each category.
University: assistente estagiário (Licenciado); assistente (Mestre); professor auxiliar (Doutor); professor associado (Doutor and five years' service); professor catedrático (Agregação and three years' service).
Polytechnics: assistente (Licenciado); professor adjunto (Mestre or DESE); professor coordenador (Doutor and 3-years' service).
Non-traditional studies
At present, distance higher education is provided by the
Universidade AbertaThe Universidade Aberta is a Portuguese distance education public university, created in 1988. Its headquarters are located in Lisbon, it has two regional centres in Coimbra and Porto, and study centres all over the country....
(
Open University).
Private vs. public
Private Basic and Secondary schools and also private higher education institutions do exist in Portugal and are sometimes elite institutions (like the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon and Porto, or some private primary, basic and secondary schools, mainly located in the biggest cities), existing among them many religious or speciality institutions. Many of the best ranked secondary schools in the country are private schools, as well as some of the worst ranked secondary schools. This secondary schools ranking has been released every year in Portugal, and is based on the student's average grades in the National Examinations which are used for higher education admission. Among the best ranked public and private secondary schools are those of Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra. Schools from litoral areas are better ranked than schools from interior and less populated regions. The worst gap between internal school marks by course and the national examination marks is seen among private schools, with higher grades attributed by the school to students who perform poorly in the national examinations.
Some Portuguese employers and families are of the opinion that the existence of private education institutions, where accessibility is based primarily on ability to pay, is not as fair as the public system and could gloom the
meritocracyMeritocracy is a system of a government or other organization wherein appointments are made and responsibilities assigned to individuals based upon demonstrated talent and ability . In a meritocracy, society rewards those who show talent and competence as demonstrated by past actions or by...
concept, leading to easier entrance criteria and lower teaching standards. Some private institutions are known for making it easy for students to enter and also to get higher grades - as long as they pay. Others claim that the private systems could prevent a significant portion of Portugal's population from being able to attend these schools that is also unfair. The quotas imposed on public education institutions to create room for students from former Portuguese colonies, who get automatically a place in those institutions also creates a big problem in terms of fairness, as some of these students can enter with very low grades excluding a portion of the Portuguese born students from studying in the public institutions and first choice courses they want.
On the other side there are some people who prefer to attend private institutions because they don't trust in the public educational infrastructure they have near their residential area. This could be related with overcrowded classes, bad reputation, criminality levels, incidence of ethnic minorities generally considered problematic, lack of quality teaching staff or bad infrastructures in that specific institution.
Without large endowments like those received, for example, by many of the US private universities and colleges, and with little tradition of excellence in the sector, the private higher education institutions of Portugal, with a few exceptions, do not have either the financial support or the academic profile to reach the highest teaching and research standards of the major Portuguese public universities. In addition, a lack of collaboration between the most prominent private sector enterprises and the private universities is also restrictive, and represents another comparative disadvantage between public and private higher education institutions.
Traditionally, public system's institutions are regarded in general as having higher quality and
accountabilityAccountability is a concept in ethics with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability, enforcement, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving...
, but private institutions have developed quickly after the
25 de Abril revolution of 1974, and some have today a great reputation. There are both public and private institutions considered of the highest standard and quality. However, a large majority of Portuguese students attend public schools, universities and colleges because it is considerably less expensive than the private ones, the public system has a much older implantation, and for the other side it covers well the entire territory. There are also some students who simply desire and can afford to attend an elite private institution, even if they have availability to attend one of the largest or most renowned public institutions.
A number of scandals and affairs involving private higher education institutions (
Universidade Moderna (1998) and
Universidade Independente (2007), among others), and a general perception of many of those institutions as having a tendentially relaxed teaching style with less rigorous criteria, have contributed to their poor reputation which originated a state-run inspection of private higher education institutions in 2007.
School violence
The teaching quality of Portuguese learning institutions depends on the population that is receiving the training, their family background support, the teaching staff quality and motivation, the sociocultural environment and the economical development of that population. In some
ghettoOriginally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live, a ghetto is now described as a "portion of a city in which members of a minority group live; especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure." - Etymology :...
s, specially in Greater Lisbon's suburbs where many immigrants, immigrant descendants from PALOP countries, among some other ethnic minorities, are concentrated, and also areas with higher unemployment rates and other severe social problems, exist schools with generalized high
dropout-In science:*Dropout .*Dropout .*Dropout .*Dropout as a type of sampling bias in scientific studies-Popular culture:*The Drop-out a 2010 upcoming film starring Cher and Johnny Knoxville....
and
juvenile delinquencyJuvenile delinquency refers to criminal acts performed by juveniles. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not all of which can be applied to the...
rates. In Greater Porto there are no African or other significant immigrant ghettos like in Lisbon, but there is a high dropout and juvenile delinquency rates among nationals from former rural areas, of humble origins or from ethnic minorities from specific districts or quarters.
School violenceSchool violence is widely held to have become a serious problem in recent decades in many countries, especially where weapons such as guns or knives are involved...
in Portugal is not unique to public schools or the major urban centers. Public and private Portuguese schools have all experienced an increase in school violence. However, due to the general wealth and educational background of private school student's families, and the increased private security measures adopted, private schools have generally a lower level of violence.
Violence in Portuguese schools became an educational issue for the first time during the 1990s, mainly through the persistence of parental associations and teacher claims. However, it must be said that this was not the first time that violence appeared in Portuguese schools as a significant situation. For decades, during the dictatorship, police violence against students was common inside universities. After the democratisation in
25 de Abril revolution of 1974 the occurrence of violent situations reached the highest point when the intense political debate in schools often ended in physical confrontations between students and even teachers (which was not generally seen as a school violence problem but as a reflection of the violence widely present in the political debate in society). Nevertheless this was a politically socialized and framed violence, quite different from the kind of violence we can find today. That one had political programs, this one is quite anomic. Its origin is very diverse, from poverty to psychological problems. Theft, random or systematic physical aggression, bullying, destruction of school or teachers properties are realities which become current in many schools.
http://www.gold.ac.uk/connect/reportportugal.html
In May 2006, a television program was broadcast in
RTP 1RTP1 is the first television channel of Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, the Portuguese public broadcasting corporation. The first television channel ever launched in Portugal, RTP 1 was launched in 1957 as RTP , and also having a brief period while it was known and marketed as Canal 1...
, titled
Quando a violência vai à escola (When violence goes to the school) by journalist Mafalda Gameiro. Using hidden cameras in the classrooms, the program shows the violent behavior of many young students (with ages between 10 and 13 years old) inside the classroom of a very problematic unidentified school, and the chaos and fear often generated. Students and teachers privacy was also protected during image recording for TV. In 2004 and 2005, the Portuguese Ministry of Education reported over 1,200 aggressions inside Portuguese schools.
School safety
Escola Seguraprovides a safety program to 11 thousand schools, it involves 600 police officers a day, 300 cars and 160 motorbikes.
Foreign international schools in Portugal
There are some foreign international schools in Portugal, specially in
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
and
PortoPorto , also known as Oporto in English, is Portugal's second city and capital of the Norte NUTS II region. The city is located in the estuary of the Douro river in northern Portugal. The largest city in the region, Porto is considered the economic and cultural heart of the entire region...
areas, and also in the
AlgarveThe Algarve from the Arabic word meaning "the west" is the southernmost region of mainland Portugal. It has an area of 5,412 square kilometres with approximately 410,000 permanent inhabitants, and incorporates 16 municipalities...
region. These places have a large number of settled foreign families. In general, they have good reputation.
[VVIS International School Algarve]:http://www.vvis.org has obtained a 100% academic success rate for the last four years for first attempmt IGCSE examinations. Other private schools have obtained world renowned status, including schools such as VVIS International School Algarve, St Julians, St Dominics and Vilamoura International School.
Criticism
Education has been a subject of controversy in Portugal due to a number of erratic policies and the state of flux it has experienced by several long periods, particularly since the
carnation revolutionThe Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril, was a left-leaning military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC ,...
coup of 1974 to the
Bologna processThe purpose of the Bologna process is to create the European higher education area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
of 2007.
There has been also concerns related to the large
dropout-In science:*Dropout .*Dropout .*Dropout .*Dropout as a type of sampling bias in scientific studies-Popular culture:*The Drop-out a 2010 upcoming film starring Cher and Johnny Knoxville....
rates (mostly in the
secondarySecondary education is the stage of education following primary school. Secondary education is generally the final stage of compulsory education. However, secondary education in some countries includes a period of compulsory and a period of non-compulsory education. The next stage of education is...
and
higher educationHigher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...
systems), and the high multi generational
functional illiteracyFunctional illiteracy is a term used to describe reading and writing skills that are inadequate to cope with the demands of everyday life. This is contrasted with illiteracy in the strict sense, meaning the inability to read or write simple sentences in any language.-Characteristics:An illiterate...
(48% functional illiterates in Portugal, among the adult population; all over U.S.A. 30 million (14% of adults) are functionally illiterate) and illiteracy rates (7.5% = ~ 800,000 illiterates) - a quite mediocre statistical record when compared with other developed countries of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
,
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
and Eastern Asia.
The failure of many private universities and other higher education institutions in providing higher education to students due to generalized lack of quality and rigour has also been a major problem - for several years those institutions were awarding degrees to thousands of people who were spread into the economically active population. Some higher education institutions, in particular from the private and polytechnic sector, have been regarded as true
diploma millA diploma mill is an organization that awards academic degrees and diplomas with substandard or no academic study and without recognition by official educational accrediting bodies. The purchaser can then claim to hold an academic degree, and the organization is motivated by making a profit...
s. In the following decades after their creation in the 1970s and 1980s, the polytechnic institutions didn't assume their specific role as tertiary education vocational schools, which were created to award practical diplomas in more technical or basic fields.
Non-university intermediate professionals and skilled workers for the industry, agriculture, commerce and other services where needed. As more new public university institutions were founded or expanded, polytechnics didn't feel comfortable with their subaltern status in the Portuguese higher education system and a desire to be upgraded into university-like institutions grew among the polytechnic institutions' administrations. This desire of emancipation and evolution from polytechnic status to university status, was not followed by better qualified teaching staff, better facilities for teaching or researching, or by a stronger curricula with a more selective admission criteria, comparable with those enforced by almost all public university institutions. Criteria ambiguity and the general lower standards in polytechnic higher education and admission, were fiercely criticised by education personalities like university
rectorThe word rector has a number of different meanings; they indicate an academic, religious or political administrator...
s, regarding issues like the lack of admission exams in mathematics for polytechnic engineeing applicants, and the proliferation of administration and management courses everywhere, many without a proper curriculum in mathematics, statistics and economics-related disciplines.
According to studies and reports, in the 1990s and 2000s, a fast growth and proliferation of
private higher educationPrivate schools, also known as independent schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students tuition, rather than relying on public funds...
and state-run
polytechnical institutionsA polytechnic is a higher education educational institution in Portugal created in the 1980s. After 1998 they were upgraded to institutions which are allowed to confer bachelor's degrees . Before then, they only awarded short-cycle degrees which were known as bacharelatos and didn't provide further...
with lower educational standards and ambiguous academic integrity, was responsible for unnecessary and uneconomic allocation of resources with no adequate quality output in terms of both new highly qualified graduates and research.
In March 2008 a mega-protest hit many Portuguese cities along the country, joining over 85,000 basic and
secondary schoolSecondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling, known as secondary education, takes place. It follows on from elementary or primary education....
teachers from all the country in the capital city of Lisbon (March 8), criticizing the Portuguese Minister of Education
Maria de Lurdes RodriguesMaria de Lurdes Rodrigues is the current Portuguese Minister of Education in the government of José Sócrates. She is a Sociologist and a Professor at ISCTE - Higher Institute of Business and Labour Sciences. She has been the target of great criticism due to her reformist policies.-External links:*...
(
XVII Governo Constitucional headed by PM
José SócratesJosé Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa,
GCIH , commonly known simply as José Sócrates, is the Prime Minister of Portugal and Secretary-General of the Socialist Party. Sócrates became Prime Minister on 12 March 2005. For the second half of 2007, he acted as the President-in-Office of...
) and her new policies, including a new system of teacher's evaluation.
In addition, the
XVII Governo Constitucional (the government headed by PM José Sócrates}, created a policy of certification and equivalence of qualifications for adult people with low levels of formal education who want a 4th, 6th, 9th or 12th grade equivalence without returning to school (for example, through this process, called
Novas Oportunidades, adults (18 years old and older) with the 9th grade might be granted an equivalence to the 12th grade after a process ranging from a part-time 3-month programme or a 1 day per week 8-month programme; those who have less than 9th grade have a similar programme to get the 9th grade certification and can then apply to the 12th grade programme). The curricula do not include any classical high school discipline or a traditional examination process. These diplomas are awarded based on vaguely construed life experience. Some critics alleged this policy was an effort to make up the poor national statistical indicators on education, with little impact on the quality of the work force's qualification of Portugal in the European Union context.
Sources
See also
- Higher education in Portugal
Higher education in Portugal is divided into two main subsystems: university and polytechnic education. It is provided in autonomous public universities, private universities, public or private university institutes, polytechnic institutions and higher education institutions of other types...
- List of colleges and universities in Portugal
- Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. 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...
- School shooting
- School violence
School violence is widely held to have become a serious problem in recent decades in many countries, especially where weapons such as guns or knives are involved...
- List of school-related attacks
- Student teaching
Student teaching is a college-supervised instructional experience; usually the culminating course in a university/college undergraduate education or graduate school program leading to teacher education and certification. Examples of programs include Early Childhood , Childhood , and Adolescence...
External links