Education and Equality in Portugal: The Role of Priority Education Policies

This article addresses priority education policies developed in Portugal and focuses on the latest intervention trends in this regard. Firstly, the contexts in which these policies emerged are described with respect to the country’s specificity concerning the universalization of basic education and compulsory schooling, as well as social and educational equity. Secondly, the main current governmental initiative in the field, Priority Intervention Education Territories (TEIP2), is analyzed. It aims to reduce school failure and school dropout in deprived areas and attempts to fulfill the goals set for Europe in terms of education and training. We analyze TEIP2 program’s impact on students’ school achievement, dropout and on the possibilities of innovating pedagogical practices. We argue that significant changes have occurred in the conceptions and goals of priority education in Portugal, especially in what concerns the need for schools to acknowledge the sociological and cultural diversity of their students and families. However, it cannot be neglected that current policies show an important vulnerability in what concerns their ambitious goals, as they simultaneously try to achieve system modernization, social cohesion and reduction of social inequalities. In our opinion, the question of knowing if these principles and logics of action are compatible or can coexist is remaining, especially in the context of a deep economic and financial crisis that is nowadays prevailing in Portugal.