Curriculum, subjects, number of hours

The guiding principles for basic and upper secondary education curriculum design are dependent on the adoption of curricular flexibilisation measures, based on and prepared according to the Exit Profile of Students Leaving Compulsory Education (also known as the Exit Profile) and school autonomy. These include the following:

• curricular autonomy and flexibility, the power given to schools to manage the curriculum for basic and upper secondary education. This is based on the basic curricular models, enriching the curriculum with the knowledge, capacities and attitudes that help acquire the competences in the Exit Profile.
• the Exit Profile is divided into principles, vision, values and competence areas, forming the common model for all schools, educational and training provision and types within compulsory schooling at curricular level. It contributes to decision convergence and coordination regarding the various dimensions of curricular development (planning and implementation of teaching and learning, internal and external assessment of pupils' learning)
• Essential learning (curriculum documents drafted alongside the Exit Profile) is the common set of knowledge to be acquired, identified as structured, essential, conceptually related, relevant and meaningful subject knowledge, as well as the capacities and attitudes to be developed by all students in each subject or subject area, usually according to the grade or cycle of education.
• the National Strategy for Citizenship Education, which aims to develop competences for a culture of democracy and learning, has an impact on individual civic attitudes, interpersonal relationships and social and intercultural relations, through the citizenship and development component.
• as a component in all education and training provision, citizenship and development is a cross-cutting work area that, although subject oriented, boasts an interdisciplinary approach. It uses different curriculum or training components, subject areas, disciplines or short-term training units, to combine the respective content with the themes of the school’s education for citizenship strategy, developing and implementing student projects from each class.
• curriculum autonomy areas are an option for schools, giving them the chance to create confluence of interdisciplinary work to consolidate collaboration and curricular coordination.
• basic curricular models, curriculum components, subject areas and subjects that are part of the curriculum plans at national level, by cycle and grade or by training cycle. It also includes the teaching time foreseen for each of them, which supports the curriculum implemented via planning instruments, at school, class or pupil level.
• the chance for upper secondary education students to choose their own educational path via the exchange and/or substitution of subjects, according to a range of available options.

As such, within the bounds of their pedagogical and organisational autonomy, schools can manage the curriculum, respecting the boundaries outlined in the legislation regulating compulsory schooling.

This new legislation stems from the pilot that took place in 2017/2018 at a group of public and private schools that volunteered for the introduction of more autonomous, flexible and innovative pedagogical and curricular work. This experience was assessed, having been gradually rolled out to every school in the country through the publication of Decree-Law No 55/2018, 6 July.

Monitoring implementation of new legislation regarding basic and secondary education at national level is the responsibility of a national coordination team, which combines the powers of various educational bodies, assisted locally by regional coordination teams that establish a link between the national team and schools, adopting a work model preferably organised within a network. 

Basic education

The basic education curriculum includes curriculum or training components, subject areas, subjects and short-term training units to be taught by school year, cycle and level of education or training.
The teaching time of the curriculum or training components, subject areas and subjects included is a reference point to be managed by each school. It is redistributed based on pedagogically appropriate responses for its educational community.

In the first cycle of basic education (grades 1 to 4), the curriculum consists of:

• Portuguese
• Mathematics
• Environmental studies
• English (grades 3 and 4)
• Arts (visual arts, drama, dance and music)
• Physical education
• Study support (especially in L1 and mathematics)
• Supplementary provision - curricular component with its own identity and curricular documents that are the responsibility of the school cluster
• Citizenship and development and information and communication technology (ICT) - cross-curricular areas
• Moral and religious education - compulsory provision, optional attendance.

The curricular matrix for the first cycle of basic education is available on the Directorate-General for Education website (Direção-Geral da Educação).

Classes normally start at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 4:00 p.m. On average, there are three or four lessons during the daily curriculum, which last 60 minutes each. In this cycle, there is a mid-morning break (30 minutes) and a lunch break (1 or 1.5 hours). There is another afternoon break (30 minutes) for those who attend curriculum enrichment activities. The weekly timetable for the first cycle is 25 hours.

For the second cycle of basic education (grades 5 and 6), the compulsory curriculum consists of the following subject areas/subjects:

• languages and social studies: Portuguese (L1); English (L2); history and geography of Portugal; citizenship and development
• mathematics and sciences: mathematics and natural sciences
• artistic and technological education: visual education; technological education; musical education; information and communication technologies
• physical education
• moral and religious education (compulsory provision, optional attendance)
• supplementary provision (compulsory provision, optional attendance, when available)
• study support
• artistic education complement (provision decided by school)

Schools can be flexible when organising schedules, defining the lesson length of the basic timetable. In this cycle there are six classes per day and the subjects are timetabled for 45 minutes each. The intervals between classes vary between 10 and 20 minutes. The total time per week in this cycle is 1 350 minutes (22.30 hours/week).

The curricular matrix for the second cycle of basic education is available on the Directorate-General for Education website (Direção-Geral da Educação).

In the third cycle (grades 7, 8 and 9), the compulsory curriculum consists of the following subject areas/subjects:

• Portuguese L1
• foreign languages: English (L2) and L3
• social and human sciences: history, geography, citizenship and development
• mathematics
• physical sciences: natural sciences, physics/chemistry
• artistic and technological education: visual education; artistic education complement; information and communication technologies
• physical education
• moral and religious education (compulsory provision, optional attendance)
• supplementary provision (compulsory provision, optional attendance, when available)

The curricular matrix for the third cycle of basic education (Annex III of Decree-Law No. 55/2018, 6 July) is available on the Directorate-General for Education website (Direção-Geral da Educação).
Schools can be flexible when organising schedules, defining the lesson length of the basic timetable. Considering a lesson length of 45 minutes, on average, there are seven lessons a day. The intervals between classes vary between 10 and 20 minutes. The total time per week in this cycle is 1 500 minutes (22.30 hours/week).

Specialised artistic courses

Specialised artistic courses (visual and audio-visual arts, dance, music and drama) provide specialised training for young people who demonstrate an aptitude or talent to undertake artistic studies, developing social, scientific and artistic skills while completing basic and/or upper secondary education.

In basic education, dance, music and drama courses are regulated by Ordinance no. 223-A/2018, 3rd August, in its current wording. In the first cycle, they offer a beginner level learning in dance and music; in the area of music (basic level), these courses can be taken according to an integrated, articulated and supplementary model, while the model for dance is integrated and articulated:

• integrated - students attend all the components of the curriculum at the same school.
• articulated - the specialised artistic education components are taught by a specialised artistic education school and the remaining components by a general education school.
• supplementary regime - attendance is limited to the specialised artistic training component of basic music courses programmes or the scientific and artistic technical training components of upper secondary music courses.

In the second and third cycles, the curricular matrix for CAE (Annexes IV and V of Decree-Law No. 55/2018, 6 July) aims to provide students with general and specialised artistic training in dance, music or drama.

The basic curricular matrices of basic education specialised artistic courses are defined in Decree-Law No 55/2018, 6 July.

In second cycle specialised artistic courses (grades 5 and 6), the compulsory curriculum is made up of the following subject areas/subjects:

• languages and social studies: Portuguese (L1); English (L2), history and geography of Portugal, citizenship and development
• mathematics and sciences: mathematics and natural sciences
• art and design
• physical education
• specialised artistic education
• moral and religious education (optional)
• supplementary provision

The total time per week for each year of this cycle varies between 1 485 and 1 710 minutes (24.75 and 27.50 hours/week).

In the third cycle of specialised artistic courses (grades 7, 8 and 9), the compulsory curriculum consists of the following subject areas/subjects:

• Portuguese L1
• foreign languages: English (L2) and L3
• social and human sciences: history, geography, citizenship and development
• mathematics
• physical natural sciences: natural sciences, physical chemistry
• art and design
• physical education
• specialised artistic education
• moral and religious education (optional)
• supplementary provision (optional)

The total time for each year of this cycle varies between 1 485 and 1 710 minutes (26.25 and 37.50 hours/week).

Education and training courses

The education and training courses in basic education are a pathway with dual certification. They develop the social, scientific and vocational skills required for a professional activity while completing basic education. These courses prepare young people to continue their upper secondary studies and be qualified for the world of work.

Education and training courses (CEF) are included in the National Qualifications Catalogue. They last two years and are divided into four training components (Joint Order No. 453/2004, 27 July):

• sociocultural training – divided into subjects common to all courses, it aims to help construct students’ personal, social and cultural identity.
• scientific training – divided into subjects, it aims to provide scientific training appropriate to the respective qualification.
• technological training - divided into short-term training units (UFCD), students aim to acquire and develop a set of technical skills needed for professional practice.
• Practical training - undertaken in companies or other organisations as training in a work context, throughout the course or at the end of the training. It aims for students to acquire and develop technical, relational and organisational skills relevant to the desired vocational qualification.

There are education and training courses in a wide variety of education and training areas (see training provision portal), from industry and technology to services, commerce, transport, agriculture and the environment.

Teaching methods and materials

The suitability of the curriculum and strategic teaching activities to the specific characteristics of the class or group of students is considered when planning. Decisions regarding the consolidation, development and enrichment of the essential learning are taken in conformity with paragraph 5 a) of article 15, Ordinance No 223-A/2018, 3 August.

Decree-Law No 54/2018, 6 July (with the amendments introduced by Law No 116/2019, 13 September and by Decree-Law No 62/2023, 25 July), establishes the principles and norms guaranteeing inclusion as a process that aims to respond to the diversity of the needs and potential of every student by increasing participation in the learning processes and in the life of the educational community.

The methodological options included in the previous norm are based on the universal learning and multilevel approach regarding access to the curriculum. This is based on flexible curricula, monitoring the effectiveness of ongoing interventions, dialogue between teachers and parents/guardians and choosing learning support measures. These are organised at different levels of intervention, according to the educational responses necessary for each student to acquire a common base of competences, emphasising their potential and interests.

The aim is therefore to ensure that the Exit Profile of Students Leaving Compulsory Education is achieved by every student, albeit via differentiated courses, which allow each person to progress in the curriculum, while aiming for educational success.

The foreign languages curriculum documents (i.e. essential learning) are linked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The abovementioned resources are currently available on the website of Directorate General of Education (Ministry of Education - ME).

Textbooks

Textbooks support the teaching and learning process and are used by schools, designed by year or cycle with information covering core content of current syllabi, which is why schools use them accordance with Law No 47/2006, 28 August, in its current wording and other subsequent regulations.
The creation and production of textbooks is the responsibility of the authors, publishers or other institutions legally qualified for this purpose, with market freedom and competition in the production, editing and distribution of school textbooks is essentially the responsibility of publishers.

In turn, educational agents (teachers) can choose textbooks and how they use them as part of the school/school cluster’s educational project.
Their importance as a didactic-pedagogical resource led the state to implement textbook evaluation and certification procedures to ensure scientific, pedagogical and didactic quality. These procedures involve bodies previously accredited by the ME and, whenever necessary, evaluation committees, as well as teachers, as part of the educational coordination and guidance bodies of schools or school clusters.

The evaluation, certification and selection procedures can be divided into two stages:

1. An evaluation and certification phase headed by bodies previously accredited by the ME, such as higher education institutions (public, private or with public recognition), their divisions and departments, provided they have the necessary legal capacity and character, official teacher organisations, scientific associations or bodies and evaluation committees specifically set up for the purpose, whenever necessary. This phase provides certification of scientific-pedagogic quality.
2. An assessment and selection stage undertaken by teachers in schools, focussing on the suitability of the textbooks for their education project.

Every year, after the textbook adoption period, schools ask the Ministry of Education for textbooks in Braille or digital format. This is in regard to support for learning and inclusion, as part of Decree-Law No 54/2018, 6 July. Primary school textbooks are generally valid for six years and must be in line with curriculum documents in force.

Free textbooks began being phased in since 2016, through the various laws that approved the state budgets. From the 2019/20 school year (via Law No 71/2018, 31 December) free textbooks were extended to all students attending compulsory public schooling, thus complying with the provisions of article 29 of Law No 47/2006, 28 August, in its current wording.

The Law also mentions that the Government member responsible for education will define the procedures and conditions for the use, return, reuse and free availability of textbooks. Subsequently, Despatch No 921/2019, 24 January, approves the "Manual for Textbooks Re-use", which comprises a set of methodologies, best practices and principles for educational communities to adapt.

Decree-Law No 42-A/2022, 30 June, taking into account textbook characteristics for the 1st cycle of basic education, the age of users and the need for learning recovery due to the pandemic, this legislation determines that students in this cycle are exempt from returning their textbooks at the end of the 2021/22 school year. This should only take place at the end of the 2022/23 school year.

In relation to teaching methods and pedagogical resources, teachers have autonomy, although individual schools may adopt certain teaching approaches and methodologies. Teachers can create their own didactic-pedagogical resources to be shared with colleagues within the school or school cluster, provided this does not entail additional costs for pupils. These resources are not subject to evaluation, certification and formal adoption procedures.

As part of the 22nd Government’s educational policies, the Action Plan for Digital Transition (Council of Ministers Resolution No 30/2020, 21 April) was published. This integrated plan presents 12 measures, including a digitalisation programme for schools. Key parts include the provision of individual equipment to students and teachers; free mobile connectivity for students and teachers, access to quality digital educational resources (example: digital textbooks, activity books, RED repositories, etc.), in addition to a strong commitment to a digital training plan for teachers.

Since the 2020/21 school year, the Directorate-General for Education has been operating the "Digital Textbooks Pilot Project" at national level, strongly encouraging initiatives that contribute to the digital transformation of schools, using digital textbooks, currently involving 104 school clusters, 1168 classes and approximately 23,159 students.