| Opis: | During the period of 1933 – 1974, there were many evolutions regarding the educational development in Portugal. This period was, from the political point of view, a dictatorship, therefore, any attempt of progress and innovation, very difficult to pull through, nevertheless, the government was behind the following innovations in education: tried to eradicate, as much as possible, the illiteracy of the Portuguese people; had a really strong impact in the primary and secondary education, seeking for a closer relationship between the State’ politics and the upbringing of the children; increased progressively the obligatory educational period.
In 1986, an important legal diploma is published, according to which all the other further diplomas legislating about education must comply with. This extremely important law sets and ample group of general and organizational principles, from which: recognising the right to education and culture; recognising the right to a fair and effective equality of opportunities in the access and in the school success; the freedom to learn and teach, not only through the public schools, and recognising the right to create private and cooperative schools; decentralization and diversification of educational structures and actions; correcting asymmetries and developing education regionally and locally; coeducation; contribution to the development of the spirit and democratic practises. This Law recognises the value of the private and cooperative education as a direct expression of the freedom of learning and teaching, as well as the right of the family to orient the education of their children.
In the Portuguese educational system, one can find schools which are created and developed solely by private entities or collective entities under private nature, as well as schools created or constituted according to the applicable legal dispositions. The first ones are called Private schools (“Escolas particulares”), the second group is called Cooperative schools (“Escolas cooperativas”). These institutions of private and cooperative education may follow the curricular plans and program contents of the public education or adopt their own plans and programs, as long as they are in compliance with the general principles, structures and objectives of the educational system. An extensive and detailed social and legal approach is given throughout this paperwork.
By the end of the last century, after a detailed analysis of the development of the education (of both private and public nature) in Portugal, the following conclusions may be provided: the private higher education had a rather vigorous development; the development of the professional education happened during the period of 1986/1987 until 1991/1992, which may, in most cases, be classified as private schools; the artistic education (namely private music schools) was another area of great development; the pre-school education has been an area of great manifestation of the private initiative; the offer of private education in the pre-school stage has been very close to the public offer; the special education non integrated is almost only given in private schools, lucrative or non-lucrative.
The private educational establishments assume nowadays an effective and appealing response for the needs of the thousands of students who, every year, seek for solutions for their future. Many were the developments in all the educational areas, ever since the beginning of the dictatorship in Portugal. One cannot deny the effort of the private entities who tried, throughout the years, to prove their value by “fighting” against the social discrimination that characterized the private education since the second half of the last century. Nevertheless, and despite all this progress, Portugal should not stop investing in education and in more effective solutions for the current issues. I have also learned that strategies like a national plan of education and a more effective management of resources would definitely help in this pursuit for strengthen Po |
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