Private management of public schools – perceptions of Portuguese teachers

• Autor(a) principal: Santos, Mariline Grangeia
• Data de Publicação: 2024
• Outros Autores: Neto-Mendes, António Augusto
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Estudios Teóricos y Epistemológicos en Política Educativa
• Texto Completo: https://revistas.uepg.br/index.php/retepe/article/view/22574

The involvement of the private sector in the provision of public services, coupled with the modernization of public administration, has given rise to various Public-Private Partnerships. Among these partnerships, in the field of education, we highlight the charter schools, from the United States, a model of public school managed by private entities. The XIX Constitutional Government of Portugal, in 2013, presented a similar proposal called “independent schools” which ultimately was not implemented due to a change in the political cycle in 2015. This study aims to resume the debate on this proposal and analyze the perceptions of Portuguese teachers about the private management of public schools, its advantages and disadvantages. This is a predominantly quantitative mixed-method study. From the data analysis, collected through a questionnaire survey applied nationally, it was concluded that 75% of participants disagree with assigning the management of public schools to the private sector; pedagogical autonomy for defining educational projects tailored to the community was the most valued; the increased financial corruption and segregation are among the most concerning disadvantages. Keywords: Public school management. Privatization. Portugal.