Portuguese Educational System

Portuguese Educacional System The Portuguese Educational System has always been a controversial issue strongly debated by the politicians responsible for it from the very beginning. A compulsory and free educational system is established in Portugal in 1901 and in 1911, "the Reformation of Elementary School" was set and the Ministry of Instruction was created, establishing a compulsory education for children between 7 and 12 years old. Nowadays the compulsory system lasts 9 years concerning 6 to 15 year-old-children. The main goal of the Portuguese education is to ensure an educational basis for everyone, seen as the beginning of an educating and personal process of formation throughout life.

Portuguese Educacional System Organisation

EDUCATION IN PORTUGAL Pre-school(*) School Education Elementary school (Compulsory) Secundary School (not compulsory) College Primary school: from 1st to 4th grades Junior school 5th and 6th grades Secondary school From 7th to 9th grades 10th grade 11th grade 12th grade (a national exam is compulsory) Academic Teaching Polytecnique teaching Extra Education Alphabetizing updating Scientific and cultural updating Professional improvement (*) The Nursery – starts when children are 3 years old till they go to Primary School. Its attendance is not compulsory.

In Primary school, students are taught general issues by only one teacher who can, however been helped by another teacher in specific areas. There’s only one teacher who can be helped by another one in specific areas. In Junior school (year 5 and 6), education is formed by interdisciplinary basic formation areas which are, predominantly, only one teacher’s responsability. In Secondary school (years 7 to 9), education is organized according to a unified curriculum plan, integrating several vocational areas. In this process, there is one teacher for each subject.

CURRICULUM COMPONENTS The Ministry of Education has the responsibility to define the National Curriculum. In 2001 this Ministry published the Law 6/2001, about the Basic School Curriculum Reorganization which gave a major importance to three new non-subject new areas which are the “Project Area”, the “Accompanied Study” and the “Civic Formation”.

Apart of all this compulsory character, this reorganization is flexible to students’ environment aiming to get the most proper answers from them.

It’s also compulsory, according to this reorganization, the study of experimental sciences, the learning of foreign languages, the development of artistic education, the education for the citizenship, and the reinforcement of mother tongue and mathematics.

Pupils with special teaching needs

The Basic Educational Establishments assure pedagogical activities to students requiring special teaching needs, namely special teaching, pedagogical support and specific professional orientation.

Welfare measures

During the Kindergarden and Elementary Education, the government assures, through specific criteria, some welfare measures to students needing social and economic support, being helped through a compensation in canteen fees, transportation, lodging, school books and scholarships.

Parents ’ cooperation

Parent’s cooperation is quite important in the Portuguese schools. This is visualised through their representatives in the:

Assembly School;

Pedagogic Council;

Class teachers assembly;

Each Junior class has a director who’s responsible for the works related to that class and to set contacts throughout the year between parents and school. For such, this teacher has got one weekly hour in his schedule.

Annual School Calendar

In Portugal, the annual scholar calendar has 180 lecturing days and there are three compulsory interruptions for Christmas, Carnival and Easter holidays.

The school year is divided in 3 Terms : 1st Term - from 13th September to 14th December 2nd Term – from 03rd January to 01st February (Carnival short interruption) and from 7th January to 14th March. 3rd Term – from 25th March to 27th June

Pupils’ evaluation in Basic Educational System

In Primary Schools the evaluation is qualitative and expressed through the following marks: “Weak”, “Poor”, ”Average”, “Good” and “Very Good”.

In Junior and Secondary (only in the 7th, 8th and 9th grades) Schools the evaluation is quantitative in the curricular subjects expressed in a scale that goes from 1 the 5, and qualitative only for the non-curricular areas which are evaluated with the marks mentioned above. The evaluation marks are decided when class councils take place at the end of each term. Afterwards the evaluation reports are handed out to parents.

ESCOLA BÁSICA INTEGRADA MOUZINHO DA SILVEIRA Mouzinho da Silveira’s school is an integrated basic school where all the levels of education are present.

TEACHING AND NOT TEACHING STAFF Teaching Staff The school has at this moment, 12 teachers distributed in the following form: 1 Executive President (he does not have learning functions) 2 Vice - Presidents (they exert learning functions) 9 Teachers.

Not Teaching Staff

2 Assistants of Educative share;

2 administrative Employees;

1 Employee of cleanness.

Pupils

The EBI Mouzinho da Silveira’s school has got 35 pupils .

Total 35 Total 0 0 12th grade 0 11th grade 0 10th grade Secundary School (not compulsory) Total: 8 4 9th grade 4 8th grade 0 7th grade Secundary school (compulsory) Total : 7 3 6th grade 4 5th grade Junior School Total: 20 5 7 4 4 1st year 2nd year 3rd year 4th year Primary School Pupils

School’s timetable 18H30 -19H30 19H35 -20H35 20H40 -21H40 21H45-22H45 22H50 - 23H50 Secundary School 13H30 -14H15 14H15 - 15H00 (15min. break) 15H15 – 16H00 16H00 – 16H45 08H45 - 09H30 09H30 -10H15 (15min. break) 10H30 - 11H15 11H15 – 12H00 (lunch break) Junior and Secundary school 13H30 – 14H15 (15 mns break) 14h30 – 15h30 09H00 -10H30 ( 15 mns break) 10H45 – 12H00 (lunch break) Night Afternoon Morning Primary School