Pathways to change: improving the quality of education in Timor-Leste

Abstract

After more than 400 years of Portuguese colonization and a 24-year period of Indonesian occupation, Timor-Leste became a fully independent state on May 20, 2012. Independence followed a period of extreme violence caused by the Indonesians, who destroyed homes, livelihoods and infrastructure and devastated schools before leaving the country. Since 2012, the country has resorted to international aid to reconstruct the country and rebuild its education system. Following the restructuring of the basic education, the country has recently implemented a new general secondary education curriculum, through international cooperation with Portuguese institutions. This article presents the new curriculum developed and puts forward some of the challenges regarding its implementation. Based on interviews conducted with several policy makers, findings suggest challenges related with the use of Portuguese language, the scientific and pedagogical training of teachers and the pedagogical and administrative management capacity in most secondary schools