Florbela Sousa: MIPEX results for Portugal: Great expectations?

According to MIPEX, the Portuguese migrant education policies, political opportunities, anti-discrimination laws are the best of the ‘new immigration’ countries, and rank best on access (with the US) and 5th on ‘international education’ (after UK, NO, NL, SE) asall pupils, regardless of status, have access to school. Nevertheless, as the PISA report (2006) states, language is the first condition for school integration and success and in the Portuguese case, the support for systematic tutoring and monitoring the advancement ofthe minorities is far from being resolved.
There has been considerable investment in Education to combat the levels of school failure prevalent among immigrant children. Some positive discrimination measures were implemented with TEIP 1 (1996) and 2 (2008) (Education Action Zones), allocating extra human and material resources to schools in deprived residential zones, but more investment is needed to develop teacher competencies in intercultural education. MIPEX concludes that ‘where Portugal falls halfway is targeting new opportunities and needs that migrants bring to schools. They are entitled to learn Portuguese and to some extra support’.The paradox remains that policymakers are expected to make schools and teachers become inclusive and more competent in dealing with diversity and inequality, but at the same time they lack the confidence and the capacity to develop and engage in collaboration with the communities involved. There is a long way still ahead to fulfill the expectations brought by the MIPEX results...Read more