This article analyses the trajectory of national testing in Portugal between the early 1990s and 2015 in order to unveil continuities and changes in the regulatory processes of education in Portugal, particularly the emergence of results-based coordination and control methods. Drawing on legislative materials, it identifies and describes the…

This article examines the influence of the European qualifications framework--a key European lifelong learning policy instrument for improving employability, comparability and mobility in the European educational space--on the establishment of national qualifications frameworks in Europe. The European qualifications framework and national…

The paper focuses on the European Charter of Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers in the framework of the construction of the European Research Area. These documents are discussed in the light of the debate of Mode-1 and Mode-2 typology, and academic and post-academic science. In the second part, the paper…

This paper focuses on recognition of prior learning as part of a national policy based on European Union guidelines for lifelong learning, and it explains how recognition of prior learning has been perceived since it was implemented in Portugal in 2000. Data discussed are the result of a mixed method research project that surveyed adult learners,…

This article compares the national-level requirements for master degree provision in England, Denmark and Portugal following the implementation of the Bologna Process, and ponders upon the reconcilability of these requirements in cross-national initiatives (e.g. joint degrees). In all three countries, master degrees have to comply with the…

This article focuses on the interaction between the European dimension driven by the creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the development of national reforms to fulfil that objective. On the basis of data gathered in eight countries involved in EuroHESC project TRUE (Transforming European Universities), the curricular and the…

In Europe, third-cycle studies may be undergoing structural changes because of the orientation of the Bologna process. This article intends to shed light on the question of how and whether the ongoing changes might mean that we are in the process of reconstructing the university offer of doctoral degree studies. The authors look at the particular…

Initial teacher education (ITE) has attracted the attention of many researchers worldwide aiming at discussing its curriculum and rationale, but essentially its impact on the education and professional socialisation of pre-service teachers. This paper looks at the major trends in the recent ITE curriculum in the Portuguese context, as a…

Describes the recent evolution of Portuguese basic education in which the concept of competence and the process of curriculum development became major aspects of an innovative movement at a national level. Describes the context and explores the concept of competence, and presents a formulation for the characteristics of mathematical competence for…