Autonomia e flexibilidade curricular

: as mudanças curriculares decretadas e os efeitos na ação organizacional escolar : estudo de caso duplo

Abstract

This study is based on the purpose of trying to understand how the school organization (re)appropriates the guidelines of the school legislation regarding Autonomy and Curricular Flexibility. Recent legislation regarding the Portuguese educational system (Decreto-Lei n.º 55/2018 de 6 de julho) state as a purpose the promotion of better learning for all students, through the achievement of meaningful learning and the development of more complex skills, preparing students for the uncertainty of the future. Despite successive programs to promote school success and reform policies implemented over the past decades, not all students are guaranteed the right to learning and educational success. The problem, therefore, remains. Consequently, the path of change, being unsuccessful, must be questioned. The problematic of our research is thus based on the need to understand whether the school grammar instituted in concrete action fulfils its stated promises. This study is based on the interpretive qualitative paradigm, focusing on the description and understanding of specific and unique realities - two public schools in the district of Porto, with distinct social and cultural contexts. It is, therefore, an exploratory, descriptive and interpretive, presenting and discussing the modes of pedagogical action of school organizations, through the voices of principals, teachers and students, from the following analytical dimensions: school positioning towards Autonomy and Curricular Flexibility; school grammar (planning of educational action, involvement/participation, coordination structures and organizational measures, teaching modes of work, curriculum/curriculum planning, organization of students' work, ways of teaching and learning, assessment of learning); effects of educational action; continuous improvement of the organization; curricular and organizational innovation in schools; students' view of the school. From a content analysis of semi-structured interviews with the principals of the two schools and an analysis of questionnaires to teachers and students, the results indicate little organizational transformation, mainly in the hard core of the daily functioning of schools and pedagogical work in the classroom, and it is reasonable to admit that we need to rethink organizational and professional cultures if we want to meet the challenge of quality learning for all.

Date of Award	20 Dec 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	José Matias Alves (Supervisor)