Se acaba de hacer público el Informe preparado por un grupo internacional de evaluadores externos sobre la reforma implementada por el Gobierno del Portugal a su sistema escolar básico (primer ciclo de la educación obligatoria). Esta reforma ha sido clasificada como exitosa por la OCDE en sus primeros resultados y como un interesante ejemplo para países que buscan reorganizar la provisión pública en la enseñanza primaria y mejorar los resultados de aprendizaje de los alumnos.
Dado que la reforma portuguesa ha envuelto un intenso proceso de: (i) reorganización de la provisión escolar pública (con más de dos mil escuelas de pequeña escala cerradas desde el año 2005), (ii) la formación de clusters que gestionan a establecimientos coordinando su desarrollo, (iii) participación de las municipalidades y la comunidad, (iv) la adopción de una jornada escolar completa y (v) el mejoramiento del entrenamiento en servicio de los docentes, ella aparace dotada de un alto interés para Chile y otros países de América Latina.
Según señala Deborah Roseveare, Head of the Education and Training Policy Division, Directorate for Education,
OECD, en la conclusión del Prólogo de este Informe:
This report deserves to be studied by others looking at similar issues and challenges in their own countries, not least because it provides an excellent case study into how to make reform happen and how to manage implementation successfully so as to deliver real improvements. Indeed, this report will be a valuable resource for the OECD to draw on in its work assisting other countries in their efforts to reshape education policies to deliver better student outcomes.
Bajar el Informe completo (en inglés) aquí 1,75 MB
Versión disponible, asimismo, en portugués 1,75 MB
Ver a continuación el Prólogo y, más abajo, el Índice y los principales hallazgos.
Prólogo
Countries in the OECD and throughout the world are constantly looking for ways to improve the performance of their education systems, knowing that these play a pivotal role in enhancing economic growth and social cohesion, developing young people to reach their full potential and underpinning healthy and vibrant societies.
And all efforts to reshape basic education systems have the same ultimate objective – to improve the learning outcomes for every student in every classroom in the country. Portugal has put in place since 2005 an ambitious set of measures to improve teaching and learning conditions in the first four years of compulsory education, which comprise the first cycle. These reforms have been comprehensive and their design has drawn on evidence of what works in other countries and lessons learned elsewhere. Nevertheless they have been carefully tailored to fit the Portuguese context and to respond to the country’s particular priorities and challenges.
Good policy design is a pre-requisite for success, but improvements in outcomes will only start to flow through as policy changes are progressively implemented and lead to positive changes in teaching and learning practices in the classroom. This requires a major investment of time and effort. And it can take many years before the full benefits of these reforms can be measured in national or international assessments of learning outcomes.
Responsible policymakers look for intermediate assessments and evaluations during the implementation phase to provide them with feedback on whether the path being followed is delivering the benefits expected and how the strategy might need to be fine-tuned, adjusted or augmented in light of experience. Indeed, there has been some shift across countries away from approaching education policy as a series of one-off reform initiatives per se towards building self-adjusting systems with rich feedback at all levels, incentives to react, and tools to strengthen capacities to deliver better outcomes.
In this spirit, the Ministry of Education (ME) has commissioned this report from a group of independent international experts led by Dr. Peter Matthews. The evaluation and assessment that they have carried out in Portugal follows closely the methodology and approach that the OECD has used in assessing a range of education policies across many member countries over a number of years.
This report presents emerging evidence that these measures are already raising the standards of basic education. These early results are very encouraging. The report provides not only an assessment of the policy changes and the achievements to date but also makes thoughtful and constructive recommendations on aspects that could be improved or further developed. These recommendations merit the full consideration of the Portuguese authorities.
This report provides valuable insights to the Portuguese authorities, to stakeholders in the education system and to the general public. It will, no doubt, make an invaluable contribution to raising the level of national dialogue on education policies and practices as well as keeping a spotlight on the ongoing challenge of modern societies to raise educational performance and improve student outcomes at all levels and ages.
Portugal’s approach to reform in education is also attracting attention internationally. This report deserves to be studied by others looking at similar issues and challenges in their own countries, not least because it provides an excellent case study into how to make reform happen and how to manage implementation successfully so as to deliver real improvements. Indeed, this report will be a valuable resource for the OECD to draw on in its work assisting other countries in their efforts to reshape education policies to deliver better student outcomes.
Índice
Foreword
Introduction
1. SUMMARY OF EVALUATION FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Main findings
1.1 System leadership
1.2 Reorganisation and development of the school network
1.3 Expansion of full-time school and access to curricular enrichment activities
1.4 Teacher training
1.5 School leadership and managerial clarity
1.6 Monitoring, evaluation and accountability
Recommendations
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 Reform of the first cycle of compulsory education in Portugal
2.2 Evaluation goals and method
2.3 Structure of the report
3. REORGANISATION OF THE SCHOOL NETWORK
3.1 Demographic trends
3.2 The school system and its management
3.3 Research evidence
3.4 Government action and implementation
3.5 The concept of school centres and vertical clusters
3.6 Levers of change: charters and incentives
3.7 Conduct of the reorganisation process
3.8 Two shift schools
3.9 Influences on the reorganisation process
3.10 School centres
3.11 Incentives for change
3.12 The retention issue
3.13 Strengths of the school reorganisation strategies
3.14 Weaknesses which remain in the system
4. EXPANSION OF FULL-TIME SCHOOL AND ACCESS TO CURRICULUM ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES
4.1 Objectives and their realisation
4.2 CEA teachers: their training, employment and monitoring
4.3 Financial provision for CEA programmes
4.4 Facilities and other factors
4.5 Quality assurance
4.6 Strengths of the programme
4.7 Some issues or weaknesses
4.8 Challenges
5. IN-SERVICE TRAINING FOR TEACHERS IN MATHEMATICS, PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE AND EXPERIMENTAL TEACHING OF SCIENCE
5.1 Overview
5.2 Strengths of the in-service training model
5.3 Possible scope for developing the in-service training model and its impact
5.4 Key features of best practice in the design of the in-service programmes
5.5 In-service training in the Portuguese language and the national reading plan
5.6 In-service training and pupil achievement data
6. LEADERSHIP FOR SUSTAINED IMPROVEMENT
6.1 System-wide leadership
6.2 Creative use of legislative powers
6.3 Hitching the reforms to educational quality, opportunity and achievement
6.4 The next challenges
6.5 Concluding comments

MAIN FINDINGS
1.1 System leadership
• The transformation of the primary school network in Portugal has few if any modern international parallels in terms of its ambition and speed of implementation. The reorganisation and development programme brings together a coherent range of policies. These policies are very well aligned, each making an essential contribution to the success of the programme.
• The reforms reflect clear political vision and a high level of strategic thinking. They represent a bold and imaginative response to the challenges of upgrading and integrating a school system which was no longer suitable for its purpose or delivering the outcomes for children and young people which are necessary to enable them to succeed in a modern, changing and challenging world.
• Keys to the successful implementation of these policies include rigorous planning and preparation, effective consultative mechanisms and communications, and recognition of the needs and interests of a wide range of stakeholders.
1.2 Reorganisation and development of the school network
• The policy for closing small and ineffective primary schools, many of them in rural areas, has been pursued vigorously by regional directorates of education working closely with municipalities. Closures in the last three years have greatly exceeded those in the previous ten. The benefits of better facilities, more stable staffing and social development in larger schools are generally seen to outweigh concerns about the effects of travelling to school and the long day, particularly for younger children.
• The provision of full day education in almost all first cycle schools also responds to a pronounced social need by caring for children for an extended day. This is particularly helpful in supporting lower income families, where both parents are working, and single parent families. The great majority of parents approve the changes to first cycle education. Initial scepticism and fears have largely been dispelled and some parents would like the school day to be extended further.
• These developments are still evolving, but are no less impressive for that. The biggest changes to infrastructure have been accomplished already. A considerable amount has been achieved in a short time, representing a well advanced but unfinished success story. There is emerging evidence that standards of achievement in first cycle education are rising and that children are experiencing a richer and better quality curriculum.
• The policy to replace double shift schools with full day schools is on course in most regions but progress is slow in Lisbon. The main barriers are the capital costs involved in obtaining sites for alternative schools to replace the poor quality buildings in which some schools are housed, and the capacity of parents working in the city to afford private childcare provision.
1.3 Expansion of full-time school and access to curricular enrichment activities
• The enrichment curriculum ensures that full use is made of the extended day to promote children’s learning. The subjects of English, physical activity and sport and music, together with study skills support, engage the children through complementary types of learning. There are drawbacks in the fact that in most schools, the enrichment curriculum is very largely classroom based and uses similar teacher-directed methods as for the core curriculum. The effect is to extend the main curriculum by adding extra subjects, making it a very long taught day for children.
• There is a need for innovative thinking and experimentation in school curriculum planning, which considers how best to manage and programme the interface between the core and enrichment curricula. The core and enrichment curricula have some overlapping aspects, such as physical education. A flexible approach to planning may also be an advantage where there is a shortage of teachers in specific knowledge areas such as English. The possibility of teaching English in mornings as well as afternoons may help to secure the English teaching programme where there is a shortage of specialist subject teachers.
1.4 Teacher training
• An excellent in-service training model has been developed to improve the quality of teaching of Portuguese, Mathematics and Experimental Science. There is evidence of improved standards in Mathematics which are likely to be associated with improved teaching of this subject.
• The deployment of trained trainers in school clusters enhances the cooperation between schools and is forging stronger links between higher education providers and schools. This leads to reciprocal benefits in initial teacher training.
1.5 School leadership and managerial clarity
• The evolution of arrangements to appoint cluster leaders is to be welcomed. The exercise of pedagogical leadership should amount to more than administration and coordination. The provision for General Councils to elect directors of clusters on the basis of an analysis of each candidate’s curriculum vitae and projects for the school will give more weight to the professional merit of candidates.
• Cluster management boards or executive committees have an important role in overseeing the quality of educational provision in the cluster, providing both support and challenge to the professional workers.
1.6 Monitoring, evaluation and accountability
• The Ministry gathers an impressive range of up-to-date data about all aspects of the school network. This has enabled it to provided well-informed analyses and monitor trends in a rapidly changing system. This system-wide picture is complemented by the sampling undertaken by the General Inspectorate of Education whose surveys and visits to clusters contribute to monitoring the implementation of policies and compliance with statutory requirements and guidelines.
• An increasing emphasis is being placed on internal monitoring and evaluation by schools, including classroom observation as part of the appraisal mechanism. Systems are in place within municipalities and school clusters for the local evaluation of the work of staff responsible for Curricular Enrichment Activities (CEA), for whom different evaluation arrangements apply.
• Internal evaluation of educational processes is not at present complemented by external evaluation. The work of inspectors, unusually, does not include the first hand observation and assessment of teaching and learning, although it has in the past. The re-introduction of this element would provide schools with a model of effective evaluation and the system with information about the strengths and priorities for development of classroom practice. We consider that internal and external evaluation of the educational process make a complementary contribution to school and system improvement.