From a collegially elected council to a director: the evolution of Portuguese school management

Abstract

School management in Portugal has been a singular case in the European context for over 30 years. A recent legislation implied great changes in the collegial nature of educational management in Portugal. These changes brought Portuguese school management closer to other European countries’ models, especially because the collegial and elected nature of management was lost. In order to understand this context, we shall present a brief history of the Portuguese school management in the last 35 years and the changes it has suffered in attempts from several governments to move towards international policies and trends in educational management.