Innovative projects in portuguese schools: policies, guidelines and projects

Education systems across the world are implementing policy reforms attempting more inclusive and innovative school contexts. Such in other countries, Portugal enacted an educational reform in 2018, giving schools the possibility to manage their curriculum and to change their pedagogical and organizational models. Innovation in education is now an emergent issue in policies, practices, and training. However, it is difficult to know what is pedagogical innovation in action and its effectiveness. Therefore, more research about innovation in education is needed due to design guidelines and recommendations for professionals, schools, and policymakers. This study aims to identify dimensions, characteristics, and indicators from specific innovative projects of Portuguese schools and derive implications for guidelines design. Using a qualitative methodological approach, it was performed a content analysis of innovative projects from five different Portuguese schools. This analysis is based on a categorical model structured in three dimensions: i) pedagogical processes; ii) organization models; and iii) forms of collaboration and partnership. Considering these dimensions, specific characteristics and indicators were analysed. The results suggest diverse means of innovation related to pedagogical and organizational processes as well as specific provision of teachers’ training to support projects implementation. Based on these results, some implications to the practice can be outlined, suggesting some recommendations for the development of a more innovative and inclusive educational projects.