Curricular Studies and their Relation with the Political Agenda for Education

Abstract

Since the end of the 20th century Portugal has witnessed the rise of a movement promoting curriculum changes. In basic and secondary education this has meant the adoption of policies seeking the equality of opportunities to school access and success. This was first stated in the Law 46 of 1986. Since then (predominantly between 1997 and 2008), a number of political measures have been taken to achieve this goal. However, few studies establish a relation between scientific production and curricular policies. This paper aims to answer the question: What is the relationship between educational politicies and the foci of curricular studies?. Accordingly, this paper begins by situating the main features of the curricular policies that have characterised this period, while also considering international policies influences. This constitutes the basis of empirical research developed in three consecutive phases: i) systematisation of the curricular studies produced in Portugal between 1997 and 2008; ii) identification of the studies’ foci; iii) establishment of relationships between those foci and curricular political measures. The analysis allowed concluding that the production of studies focusing on the curriculum in Portugal was determined by the curricular political agenda and that the international agenda significantly influences the curricular political agenda.