Innovation at Portuguese schools: from intentions to practices

Pedagogical innovation, defined as an innovative educational product or process, capable of introducing significant changes in educational systems (OECD, 2019), assumes itself as a research axis in the Educational Sciences. In the Portuguese educational scenario, this topic is particularly relevant as a consequence of the recent legal regulations, in terms of curriculum design and management and inclusive education. Although innovation in education is on the Portuguese political agenda, little is known whether Portuguese schools are effectively innovating, and which innovative practices are being implemented in the scope of this legal framework. Motivated by the current challenges that Portuguese schools are facing today, this study aims to analyze the lines of continuity and discontinuity between what “is said” on these normative documents and what “is done” by schools. Using a qualitative methodological approach, it was performed a content analysis of the main recent decree-laws, in force since 2018 (such as DL 55/2018 and DL 54/2018).This analysis is based on a categorical model structured in three dimensions:i) pedagogical processes (practical pedagogical and innovative digital technologies); ii) organization models; and iii) forms of collaboration and partnership. The results suggest a scarce direct mention of the concept of pedagogical innovation (and its semantic field) in all documents. However, the relevance of the implementation of innovative pedagogical practices, such as digital technologies, active learning inside and outside the classroom, and innovative pedagogical assessment of students, is clearly mentioned in the documents. It is also noteworthy the references to the collaborative teaching work (integrated into the dimension “forms of collaboration and partnership”). Based on these results, some implications to the practice will be outlined, suggesting som