Initial teacher training for teachers in pre-school, basic and upper secondary education leads to a teaching qualification at the respective level of education or teaching. 

This training aims to provide candidates with basic scientific, technical and pedagogical skills, as well as knowledge for teaching in the following areas:

• professional and ethical
• developing teaching and learning participation in school life and community relationships
• lifelong learning.

Currently, Decree-Law No 79/2014, 14 May (amended by Declaration of Rectification No 32/2014, 27 June, as well as by Decree-Laws No 176/2014, 12 December, No 16/2018, 7 March, No 112/2023, 29 November, No 23/2024, 19 March, and No 9-A/2025, 14 February)  and Decree-Law No 7/2016, 17 January, determine that a professional teaching qualification is essential to teach in public, private and cooperative education and teaching establishments that provide pre-school, basic and upper secondary education, including specialised music and dance artistic education.

Since 2007 – following the implementation of the Bologna Process and as a result of the restructuring of higher education levels and cycles – a Master’s degree has been a requirement for initial teacher training. In line with Ordinance No 212/2009, 23 February, teachers recruited for special education purposes require a teaching qualification from any other recruitment group plus specialised training in the area of special education according to the terms foreseen by the respective legal framework.

Institutions, level and models of training

Universities and polytechnics provide initial teacher training for pre-school, basic and upper secondary education. 

In Portugal, initial training course accreditation is the responsibility of the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education​ (Agência de Avaliação e Acreditação do Ensino Superior - A3ES). Subject to private law, it is a public utility with scientific and technical autonomy, whose core mission is ensuring the quality of higher education in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI).

Following the implementation of the Bologna Process, professional teaching qualifications are now obtained by completing a master’s degree programme in one of the specialisms listed in the annex to Decree-Law No 79/2014, 14 May, as currently worded, in line with the respective recruitment groups.

According to this legislation, the master’s degree programme should also offer general educational training, specific didactics of the teaching area, training in cultural, social and ethical areas, as well as an introduction to professional practice that culminates with supervised practice. The master’s degree also provides a training complement that consolidates and extends academic training, focussing on the knowledge required for teaching in the content areas and subjects covered by the recruitment group that it aims to prepare students.

Within this context, pre-school, basic and upper secondary education establishments are important, as this is where teaching practice occurs –cooperating host schools – and where the respective cooperating teachers work.

Higher educational institutions (HEIs) wishing to organise and administer initial teacher-training programmes should sign cooperation agreements with schools. Such agreements should include initial pre-teacher training activities, including supervised teaching practice, as well as research and development in the field of education.

The agreements should specify:  

• areas of professional teaching qualifications, including educational and teaching levels and cycles, and the respective curricular areas or subjects related to the supervised teaching practice.
• identification of cooperating supervisors available for each teaching qualification area, and eventual compensation given by the cooperating school.
• the number of places available to trainees in their areas of specialisation.
• the duties, responsibilities and competences of all involved, including trainees.
• conditions for supervised teaching practice in cooperating school’s classes, always in the presence of the cooperating supervisor.
• conditions for trainees to participate in other activities based on curriculum development and tasks organised outside the classroom, provided they are supported by cooperating supervisors.
• compensation offered to the school by the HEI.

HEIs should also be active in enhancing the quality of teaching in the cooperating schools. The cooperating schools represent internship centres, including all the students from the respective recruitment or subject group, with a view to organising activities at the school and co-operation between students.  

Admission requirements

Considering the characteristics of the curricula or subjects covered, the type/level of school and the kind of courses offered, HEIs are obliged to check whether the credits awarded in a particular training area of the master’s degree courses providing teaching qualifications align with the demands stipulated in the specific teaching profiles in each recruitment group.

To enrol in one of the study cycles leading to a master’s degree in general education (pre-school education, 1st cycle of basic education or a joint qualification for both pre-school and the 1st cycle of basic education and for the 1st and 2nd cycles of basic education) the candidate must have a first degree in basic education.

To gain access to a master’s degree course in education in other fields and at other school levels, candidates require a first degree and having completed a certain number of ECTS in a subject area, or ECTS in each of the subject areas covered by the degree. In addition, candidates wishing to enrol in a master’s degree in education must have a high level of oral and written Portuguese.

More recently, Decree-Law No 9-A/2025, 14 February introduced changes to the minimum training requirements to enter to the study cycle leading to a master's degree in basic education. The minimum number of ECTS needed to study these master’s courses varies between 120 and 180:

• Field that covers only one area, 120 ECTS in the teaching area.
• Field that covers two areas, a total of 120 ECTS in the two subject areas, where at least 30 credits have been obtained in each.
• Field that covers three areas, a total of 150 ECTS in the three subject areas, where at least 40 credits have been obtained in each of them.
• Field of languages, a total of 120 ECTS are needed in the two subject areas, where at least 30 credits have been obtained in each.

Curriculum, level of specialisation and learning outcomes

Organised according to the terms and for the purposes set out in the abovementioned decree-laws, the study cycles include the teacher-training components listed below, which are key areas of teachers’ professional performance:

• teaching area
• general education
• specific teaching methods
• cultural, social and ethical areas
• introduction to professional practice.

Teacher training aims to complement, consolidate and provide in-depth academic training, focussing on the knowledge required for teaching in the content areas and the subjects covered by the recruitment group. It also includes greater understanding of matters related to pre-school education and teaching areas, focussing on advanced reasoning, even when the material is basic.

Training in the general education area focusses on the knowledge, abilities and attitudes common to all teachers when working in the activity room or classroom, in institutions involved in early childhood education or in schools, and in relation to family and the community. It requires developmental psychology, cognitive processes, such as those involved in learning to read and elementary mathematics, curriculum and assessment, school as an educational organisation, situations where it is necessary to mobilise specialised resources to support learning and inclusion, and classroom organisation and management, as well as the use of digital technologies in education.

The specific teaching methods training covers knowledge, abilities and attitudes related to content areas and the teaching of subjects of the respective recruitment group.

Training in cultural, social and ethical areas covers:

• raising awareness of the contemporary world's major problems, including the core values of the Constitution, freedom of expression and religion, as well as respect for ethnic minorities and gender equality.
• knowledge, culture, including scientific culture, the arts and humanities beyond those of a teacher's subject area.
• contact with data collection methods and critical analysis of data, hypotheses and theories.
• raising awareness of the ethical and civic aspect of teaching.

The introduction to professional practice is organised according to the following principles:

• observation and collaboration in education/teaching situations and supervised practice in the activity room or classroom in early childhood education institutions or schools.
• offering students experience of planning, teaching and assessment according to the duties given to teachers, both inside and outside the classroom.
• undertaken in groups or classes of the different education and teaching levels and cycles covered by the recruitment group and which the course prepares students for. If necessary, it is carried out in more than one education and teaching establishment, which may or may not belong to the same school cluster or body, in the case of private or cooperative education.
• from a training perspective, it is designed to coordinate knowledge and the way it is transmitted to facilitate learning.
• from a professional development perspective for learners, encouraging an attitude that focusses on the continuous improvement of student learning.

If, on the date entering the study cycle, candidates have at least 6 years of teaching service with a minimum assessment grade of Good (in the last 10 years in the respective recruitment group), they may choose to present and publicly defend a scientifically-supported theoretical-practical report covering this period of teaching, as an alternative to supervised teaching practice. The terms on which the report must be drawn up and the respective assessment process are set by the HEI.

Supervised practice is a professional-type internship with a final report (according to paragraph b) No 1 of article 20 of Decree-Law No 74/2006, 24 March, in its current wording).

Pre-school and 1st and 2nd cycles of basic education

To be entitled to fully qualified teaching status in pre-school education (early childhood education) and the 1st and 2nd cycles of basic education, candidates need a first degree in basic education, which boasts five common qualification areas at these levels and cycles of education, and a subsequent master’s degree in education in one of these areas.

There are 180 ECTS in the cycles leading to a first degree in basic education, divided up in the following way:

• teaching area – minimum of 125
• general education – minimum of 15
• specific teaching methods - minimum of 15
• introduction to professional practice - minimum of 15.

Regarding the credits earned after training in the teaching area, the minimum number of ECTS are as follows: 30 credits in Portuguese; 30 credits in mathematics; 30 credits in natural sciences and history and geography of Portugal; 30 credits in artistic education and physical education, of which minimum 20 credits in artistic education and 8 credits in physical education. ECTS based on cultural, social education and ethics are included in the remaining ECTS.

The 90 credits awarded for studies leading to the Master’s in Early Childhood Education are divided in the following way:

• teaching area – minimum of six
• general education – minimum of six
• specific teaching methods - minimum of 24
• supervised practice - minimum of 41.

The 90 credits awarded for studies leading to the Master's in Education in the 1st cycle of basic education are divided in the following way:

• teaching area – minimum of 18
• general education – minimum of six
• specific teaching methods - minimum of 21
• supervised practice - minimum of 41.

The 120 ECTS awarded for studies leading to the Master’s in Early Childhood Education and 1st cycle of basic education are divided in the following way:

• teaching area – minimum of 18
• general education – minimum of six
• specific teaching methods - minimum of 36
• supervised practice - minimum of 54.

The 120 ECTS awarded for studies leading to the Master’s in 1st and 2nd cycles of basic education are divided in the following:

• teaching area – minimum of 27
• general education – minimum of six
• specific teaching methods - minimum of 30
• supervised practice - minimum of 54.

3rd cycle of basic education and upper secondary education

The 120 ECTS awarded for studies leading to a master’s degree not mentioned in the previous paragraphs are divided in the following way:

• teaching area – minimum of 12
• general education – minimum of 9
• specific teaching methods - minimum of 30
• introduction to professional practice, including supervised teaching - minimum of 60.

In the case of candidates who hold a master's or doctoral degree at the time of entry to these study cycles, HEIs will consider and include the credits obtained in the study programmes leading to those degrees, in the respective scientific area(s), according to the respective syllabus.

Teacher educators

The teaching staff involved in initial teacher education courses at higher education institutions (HEIs) should be duly qualified and in sufficient number. Most teacher educators should hold a PhD or be deemed a specialist of recognised experience and professional competence.

Teachers at cooperating schools who are working as supervisors (cooperating supervisors) should be chosen by the HEI’s competent body, having obtained the teachers’ prior agreement and approval from the cooperating school’s leadership body. The cooperating school-supervisors should comply with the following requirements:

• training and experience suitable for future duties.
• teaching practice at the respective education, teaching and subject levels and cycle of a minimum of five years.

When choosing the cooperating supervisor, preference should be given to candidates with post-graduate training in the respective teaching area, specialised training in pedagogical supervision and professional experience in supervision.

Qualifications, evaluation and certificates

A Master’s in Education is awarded to students who have obtained the required number of credits for a particular stage of studies in the master’s course. Candidates need to have passed all the course units in the study programme, as well as successfully completing the public defence of their report on supervised teaching practice.

Students’ supervised teaching practice is assessed by the teacher educator at the HEI who is responsible for the course unit or units in question. This assessment includes information supplied by the cooperating school via the teaching-practice supervisor.

The decision to pass the supervised teaching practice course unit/subject depends upon how well the student can meet the set of demands required for teaching.

Alternative training pathways

Public educational institutions may, in exceptional circumstances, recruit teachers who hold degrees recognised only as qualifying qualifications. The publication of Decree-Law No. 80-A/2023, 6 September, has made it possible to recruit teachers with specific qualifications, including holders of post-Bologna Process bachelor’s degrees, for the purposes of school recruitment. Under this legislation, candidates may be recruited who hold:
a) a Bachelor’s degree in Primary Education, for the recruitment groups identified in the annex to the decree-law; or
b) a Level 4 qualification, or equivalent, with the minimum number of credits required for the subject areas or subject of the relevant recruitment group.

Where none of the candidates meet the aforementioned requirements, graduates holding 120 credits in the academic field corresponding to the subject to be taught may be appointed.
Decree-Law No. 287/88 of 19 August, as currently worded, regulates the in-service professional development of teachers on the permanent staff, with provisional appointments, in preparatory and secondary education. Those teachers who already work within the public, private and cooperative education system, but without a professional teaching qualification, including those at private VET schools (in accordance with the provisions in the above-mentioned legislation), can obtain such a qualification via an in-service professionalisation programme. This is structured and organised according to the dispositions of the above mentioned Decree-Law. This path is also designed for teachers of the specialised visual and audio-visual arts at the António Arroio and Soares dos Reis art schools, as well as teachers working at Portuguese schools abroad with the same professional qualification needs.

This  in-service teacher training course lasts for two or four semesters, on a part-time and flexible basis, and does not lead to an academic degree. Its main components include scientific and pedagogical training (subject-specific teaching methods for the recruitment group, assessment, curriculum management, inclusion, etc.); general educational training (human development and learning, ethics, school organisation, educational policies);
supervised teaching practice / intervention project in a real school setting. It requires successful completion of all units, leading to a certificate of completion issued by the institution (e.g. Universidade Aberta). Teachers with six years of continuous service as qualified teachers may be exempted from the project component, which is traditionally undertaken in the second year of the course, provided they successfully complete the remaining modules.

In-service professional development is proving to be particularly relevant in the context of the extraordinary external recruitment calls for teachers held in 2024 and 2025, which form part of a package of measures to tackle the shortage of teachers. Decree-Law No 51/2024, 28 August, amended by Decree-Law No. 108/2025, 19 September, establish exceptional and temporary measures in education, with a view to providing public pre-school, basic and upper secondary education establishments, overseen by the MECI with the teaching staff and specialised technicians needed to guarantee students' right to learn.

Following the provisions of Decree-Law 57-A/2024, 13 September, in its current wording, in 2024/2025 school year provision was made for an extraordinary external selection and recruitment opportunity for teaching staff, open to candidates without professional qualifications but with the appropriate scientific qualifications. Teachers who have been provisionally appointed to the teaching profession without professional qualifications have up to four years to secure their permanent appointment by attending and completing courses that will provide them with professional qualifications.

In view of this need, the MECI has established, through a programme agreement with Universidade Aberta, 300 places on In-Service Professional Development Courses (CPS) specifically aimed at these teachers, starting in January 2026 and lasting for two years. These courses provide an alternative path to the Master’s degree in education for obtaining professional teaching qualifications, without which permanent appointment to the teaching staff is not possible. They are implemented in collaboration with other higher education institutions and incorporate specialised pedagogical training tailored to the professional situation of practising teachers. The MECI is preparing, itogether with higher education institutions, to increase the number of places for access to the CPS for teachers on provisional contracts.
With the publication of Decree-Law No. 108/2025,19 September, the rules governing the Extraordinary External Call for the 2025/2026 academic year were established.

Incentives for initial teacher training

The updated “Diagnostic Study of Teacher Requirements” highlights the need to recruit around 20 000 teachers by 2029/2030 and 39 000 by 2034/2035, far higher figures than the number of graduates from these courses. 
In order to address the need to strengthen teacher training capacity and ensure the sustainability of the education system, measures are being taken in the areas of initial teacher training and in-service professional development. 
Among these measures, the awarding of scholarships to students enrolled in study programmes leading to professional teaching qualifications stands out (Article 8 of Decree-Law No. 51/2024 of 28 August, in its current wording, Order No. 2483-A/2025 of 21 February), namely bachelor’s degrees in Basic Education and master’s degrees in teacher training, with a particular focus on areas and levels of education identified as lacking.
The Government has signed programme contracts with public higher education institutions, with the aim of strengthening training capacity, promoting the alignment of training provision with the needs of the education system, and ensuring adequate funding for the training of new teachers. These programme contracts set out training targets, priority areas and monitoring mechanisms, thereby contributing to the strategic planning of initial teacher training. 
In 2025, the first programme contracts were signed with 11 higher education institutions (HEI), with a view to strengthening initial teacher training and in-service professional development. These contracts cover universities and polytechnic institutes in various regions of the country and provide for the provision of 9 677 places by the 2029/2030 academic year, divided between bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the field of teacher training. 

Location of the first programme contracts signed with HEIs

Source: Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (2025)

In accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 16 and 17 of Article 23-A of Decree-Law No. 79/2014, 14 May, in its current wording, master’s students undertaking supervised practical training are entitled to a grant, the conditions and amounts of which are set out in Ordinance No. 359/2025/1, 14 October.
These measures form part of a broader strategy to enhance the status of the teaching profession and address the shortage of teachers, combining financial incentives for students and institutional strengthening of the bodies responsible for initial teacher training.

Technological training component trainers

Trainers ensure the development of the various short-term training units (UFCD)/ Competence units /UC) of the technological training component on VET courses, youth adult education and training courses (EFA), Apprenticeship courses, Apprenticeship courses+, specialised technological courses (CET) and certified modular training. They identify the training needs of each candidate, participate in the process of recognising, validating and certifying competences, sit on the certification panel when necessary and organise and undertake training sessions. They must have a higher education qualification appropriate to the demands of their specific interventions, namely a professional teaching qualification or a specialised teaching qualification, if they are providing basic training, and a certificate of pedagogical competences, if they are not exempt. Ordinance No 214/2011, 30 May, establishes the requirements and access routes to the certification of pedagogical competences for trainers within the scope of the National Qualifications System. Pedagogical training and certification of trainers are provided by the IEFP, I.P., by higher education establishments and certified training organisations with protocols with the IEFP, I.P., for this purpose.