Education and development

Abstract

In 1974, though schooling was available for all children between 7 and 11 years of age, Portugal faced an illiteracy rate of 21% for the population aged fifteen years or over and there were huge inequalities in the access to the different levels of study and between different regions. Over the last forty years, keeping pace with profound changes at the social, economic, demographic and cultural levels, the Portuguese education system worked to address many of its problems by making political commitments and taking strategic actions. Though sometimes lacking a coherent strategy, these measures led to very significant developments. By analyzing the available databases and legal documents, this study provides an overview of this progress, placing special emphasis on the legislative changes, the redrafting of the educational offer, the curricular changes and the evolution of the educational network, and establishing a link with other dimensions of development.