Mucharreira, P. R., Cabrito, B. G., & Capucha, L. (2019). Financial impacts of class-size reduction in portuguese educational system. INTED 2019 Proceedings – Exploring New Frontiers in Education. Valencia, Spain: IATED Academy, 3425-3432. (original) (raw)

Net Costs of Class-Size Reduction: The Portuguese Case

Cadernos de Pesquisa

This article aims to promote further reflection on the benefits derived from class-size reduction, seeking to demonstrate that the expenditures resulting from this are usually overestimated when they are determined on the basis of gross employee cost to the State, and not taking into account the corresponding net costs. This scholarly exercise analyzes the Portuguese case and the costs of a teacher in the public education system in Portugal. This work intends to contribute to a better understanding of this subject, raising awareness of different educational actors of the relationship between cost and direct and indirect benefits of a class-size reduction policy.

Portugal: The PISA Effects on Education

From the bottom of the league table for PISA 2000 Portugal has raised to the OCDE average being the only OECD member that showed, up to PISA 2018, consistent growth in reading, mathematics, and science. This chapter gives a brief description of the Portuguese Education system and how PISA outcomes have shaped Portuguese education policies. It identifies the policies that probably explain the improvement in PISA and pinpoints weakness of the Portuguese education system through the lenses of PISA.

Current Changes in Portuguese School System

SAGE Open, 2012

About 100 teachers participated in a study and helped to understand how new reforms are faced by those who work in the field, in the particular case of the discipline of geography. The study that was done with geography teachers after 10 years of national curriculum revealed many gaps in terms of what teachers are expected to do. Only recently, some legislation has been issued to regulate the kind of training teachers do as they progress in their teaching careers. The national curriculum for basic education is a huge step in terms of being a part of the world agenda in what concerns a modern teaching and a new vision of what schools should prepare students to, but the instruments of that change (teachers) have been neglected.

Has the Portuguese Compensatory Education Program Been Successful in Reducing Disadvantaged Schools’ Performance Gaps? A 15-Year Quantitative Analysis of National Exams

Education Sciences

A central goal of the Portuguese compensatory education program—Territórios Educativos de Intervenção Prioritária (TEIP)—is the improvement of the academic performance of socioeconomically disadvantaged students. In this article, we seek to understand whether the schools involved in the program have been successful in reducing their academic performance gaps—as measured by grades in national exams—relative to non-TEIP schools. We also analyze the evolution in the proportion of national exams carried out in TEIP schools relative to non-TEIP schools, as these are a proxy for students’ desire to proceed into higher education. The analysis points to a general failure of the program in reducing the gap between TEIP and non-TEIP public schools regarding academic performance. In addition, the proportion of national exams undertaken in TEIP schools has been decreasing. These results question TEIP’s ability not only to enhance academic performance, but also to drive students into higher educ...