In the last decades, the student-centred teaching model became a central element within the changing aims and contents of curriculum in higher education, namely by placing an increasing emphasis on student learning outcomes. In fact, that model is a key element on the higher education policy agenda after the Yerevan Ministerial Summit of the European Higher Education Area in May 2015 (Klemenci, 2017), underlying intended reforms towards enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. In Portugal, the idea of student-centred learning has been paramount since the inception of the Bologna process, given the predominance of the teacher-centred model in the country (Almeida et al., 2024). The widespread of the student-centred teaching model entails the need for further examination of the meaning and significance attributed to a primary focus on student and on learning, instead of on the teacher and on teaching. Is that primary focus aligning with a model of higher education that prioritises students as rational investors in educational credentials and consumers of a service provided by teachers (Alves & Tomlinson, 2021)? Is that primary focus ensuring higher education students' right to learn interlinked with teachers' duty to develop autonomy and critical thinking skills of students (Macfarlane & Han, 2024)? On the one hand, the desired prevalence of the student-centred model might induce a model in which higher education's role is mainly to maximize human capital ensuring private benefits for graduates, namely in what concerns their employability. On the other hand, the prevalence of such a model might mean a broader understanding of higher education outcomes valuing both individual and collective benefits, not only related to employability but also to literacy and citizenship. The tension between these two logics underpins an analytical framework to better understand the changes in higher education (Alves & Tomlinson, 2021). Using that analytical framework, current trends in higher education curriculum in Portugal will be explored. The proposed paper adds to previous research by discussing the meaning and significance of the student-centred model that has been advocated in Portuguese higher education in the last 20 years. To scaffold that discussion, content analysis of both national laws and higher education institutions’ documents concerning undergraduate degrees will be conducted. This approach is expected to clarify if and how the student centred teaching model is as central element within higher education curriculum.

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