Teachers' role in curriculum design is a key question that inspires political educational reforms in Portugal, in common with other European countries. This movement towards increased teachers' participation in curriculum design has also been seen as promoting democratic ideals, as a way of performing "education for all" aims. A third conceptual issue that frames this movement draws on Ball's ideas about policy contexts of curriculum development. Our research problem rises from this context. We intend to verify teachers' involvement in curriculum development as it is experienced by them, comparing the influence of policies and academic dominant discourses in this process. Objectives are to: 1. Map academic dominant discourses that inspire educational curriculum development. 2. Identify trends that shape Portuguese curriculum policies in teachers' involvement in curriculum design. 3. Identify influences of European policies in Portuguese curriculum features. 4. Verify teachers' involvement in curriculum development. To meet these objectives we did a survey. Questionnaires allowed us to investigate the gap between policies, and schools’ practices and teachers' perceptions. Data, from 215 teachers, were organized in three categories: teachers’ collaborative work; learning focused strategies; and pedagogical strategies oriented to democratic values.