Schools in transition in deprived areas: the organizational impact of priority education in Portugal

Author(s):

Mariana Dias(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2015

Network:

32. Organizational Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

32 SES 04 A, Transition of Organizations (Schools in Their Societal Contexts)

Paper Session

Time:

2015-09-09

09:00-10:30

Room:

3004. [Main]

Chair:

Michael Göhlich

Contribution

This paper proposal is part of a larger research project on “Local Strategies for School Improvement in Deprived Areas^" which purports to analyse the “impact” of the new policies for priority education in Portugal in school structures, cultures and learning processes. Priority education policies were defined very late in Portugal , due to the fact that the universal schooling process of children and young people only gained significant expression in the mid twentieth century (Candeias, 2009) .After the democratic transition (1974) issues related to the social and school inequalities have gained more visibility in the public debate but the definition of positive discrimination processes was slow, erratic and implemented through programmes of very brief duration and fragile implementation on the field (Dias , 2013) . However, since 2008, successive governments have promoted the development of this modality of education that currently covers 16% of the Portuguese schools. The current programme has ambitious objectives and includes quite diverse areas of intervention: quality of education, reduction of failure and abandonment, transition to active life, centrality of the school in the community. The same complexity is present in regulatory processes that include conceptions and instruments close to new public management (contracts, internal and external evaluation, management by processes and results) and to regulation by knowledge (participation of invited experts in supporting schools, partnerships with universities). It is in this context seems relevant a reflection about the processes of change in the schools covered by the priority education program, namely the analysis of the following aspects:

a) main features of the actual model of priority education (rationale, targets, design);

b)impact of the model in schools’ structure, development strategies, organisational cultures and partnerships;

c) learning processes and sustainability of changes;

d) impact in student `s access, success and participation.

The theoretical analytical framework that underlies the analyse takes into account the concepts of policy cycle and technologies of reform theorized by Ball (1994, 2008) in order to critically reflect on policy context , policy text , implementation process, organisational changes, learning processes and students outcomes. In fact, political leaders are very clear in stating that a very important part of the objectives underlying the definition of the new model of priority education aims at a transformation in the processes of management and regulation of schools covered by the programme, considered indispensable in order to be made a significant change in the patterns of students' success .The reflection to be undertaken is also tributary of the studies in the field of development of priority education policies in Europe (Demeuse, Frandji,. Greger, & J. Y. Rochex , 2009) and, in a way, more generally, studies of school improvement.

Method

The diversity of these perspectives allows for a richer vision about the processes of change in Portuguese schools which is even strengthened by the importance given to the perspective of the local actors. In fact , the study research matrix is qualitative in nature and involved several research strategies which aim to assess the meanings assigned by the actors, involved in the ongoing change processes, to the fundamentals that underlie them and the dilemmas and tensions associated with the new political and organizational guidelines: 1) Interviews with political actors that played a relevant role in the definition and implementation of policies; 2) Interviews to school directors, program coordinators, consultants and teachers; 3) Realization of case studies of "success" and "failure" (defined on the basis of the evolution of the results of pupils between 2007 and 2012). Despite the matrix study be qualitative was also carried out a national survey to all school principals under the program, seeking to learn the intervention strategies used, the main areas of change, as well as the degree of sustainability assigned to them.

Expected Outcomes

The results of the study highlight a concentration of improvement strategies around the students ' learning, combating "social risks" (indiscipline, violence, absenteeism, dropout); from slide monitoring of processes, and the creation of new forms of organization and development of pedagogical work (e.g., co-teaching, guidance and educational support to students).In this sense, there is a clear difference with regard to intervention strategies dominant in previous priority education models (Sanches &Dias , 2013, Tomás & Dias , 2013 ), although can be identified some areas of continuity (low incidence of working with families and the importance granted to the "social risk") It is, however, in the field of organizational learning that respondents stress the importance of the covered path by highlighting dimensions related to the strategic planning of activities, new patterns of collaborative work, support of pedagogical innovation and partnerships established. In terms of equity must be highlighted progress towards universal access to education, although the results in terms of success and student participation have been more mitigated. T

References

References : Ball, S. (1994) Education Reform: a critical and post-structural reform, Routledge BALL, S. (2008). The education debate: Policy and politics in the 21st Century. Bristol: Policy Press CANDEIAS, A. (2009). Educação, estado e mercado no século XX. Lisboa: Edições Colibri. Dias. M (2013), Education and Equality in Portugal: The Role of Priority Education Policies. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences.,Vol. 8 ,pp132- 143 ISSN: 1305-905X Dias , 2013 Demeuse, D. Frandji, D. Greger, & J. Y. Rochex (Coord) (2010), Les politiques d’éducation prioritaire en Europe: Conceptions, mises en oeuvre, débats (Vol. 1) (pp. 179-210). Lyon : INRP. Sanches, M & Dias, M (2013) Policies and Practices of Schools in Educational Priority Territories: What Sustainability? In , Brunold, A., Ohlmeier, B (Eds.) (2012) School and Community Interactions : Interface For Political And Civic Education , Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, pp 113-12 Tomás, C., Dias, M. (2014). Interpreting Children’s Rights: A New Challenge for Education, In Biseth, H. and Holmarsdottir, H. B. (Eds.) (2012). Human Rights

Author Information

Mariana Dias (presenting / submitting)

Escola Superior de Educação de LisBoa

Lisbon

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