Review of Inclusive Education in Portugal
The Review of Inclusive Education in Portugal provides, from an international perspective, an independent analysis of major issues regarding diversity, equity and inclusion in education in Portugal, current policy initiatives, and possible future approaches. The report serves three purposes: i) to provide insights and advice to Portuguese education authorities; ii) to help other countries understand the Portuguese approach to inclusive education; and iii) to provide input for comparative analyses of the OECD Strength through Diversity project. The scope for the analysis in this report covers primary (including 1st and 2nd cycle of basic education) and secondary education (including 3rd cycle of basic education and upper secondary). The analysis in the report focuses on the following areas: i) governance and financing of inclusive education; ii) capacity building; iii) school-level interventions and iv) monitoring and evaluation. This report will be of interest in Portugal and other countries looking to improve the equity and inclusion in their education systems.
Assessment and recommendations
In the past three decades, the Portuguese education system has witnessed significant improvements. The share of 25-64 years-olds in Portugal who completed at least secondary education increased from 20% in 1992 to 47% in 2016 and 55% in 2019. The upper secondary out-of-school rate decreased from 17% in 2005 to less than 1% in 2019, the lowest rate among OECD countries. In addition, at least 90% of the students aged 4 to 17 were enrolled in education in 2019, while in 2010, at least 90% of the students aged 4 to 14 were enrolled in education. Furthermore, 15-year‑old students in Portugal saw significant improvements in their reading, mathematics and science abilities as measured by the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) between 2006 and 2015, although there was a slight decrease in reading and science in 2018. In reading, the score increased from 472 in 2006 to 496 in 2015 and 492 in 2018; in mathematics, it increased from 466 in 2006 to 492 in 2015 and remained stable in 2018; in science it increased from 474 to 501 in 2015 but decreased to 492 in 2018. In 2018, the score of Portuguese students was close to the OECD average in all subjects. However, the Portuguese education system still faces considerable challenges. For example, grade repetition is a major concern in Portugal. In PISA 2018, 26.6% of 15-year-old students reported having repeated a grade at least once in either primary or secondary education, which places the country considerably above the OECD average of 11%. There are also significant variations between regions. For instance, in 2019 there were on average 7.9% early school leavers in the Centre, but 19.9% in the Algarve.
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