News

The idea of requiring poor people to work in order to receive social support is much older than it seems. It is almost 200 years old.

The announcement of the creation of a Single Social Benefit (PSU), accompanied by the idea of linking its allocation to mandatory forms of work or social participation, has brought an old question back into public debate: what should the relationship be between social protection, education, work, and citizenship?

When England reformed its poverty legislation in 1834, it created a system based on a simple conviction: anyone receiving public assistance should face conditions harsh enough to ensure that welfare would never become a desirable alternative to work. The workhouses became the symbol of this philosophy. Poverty was seen less as a consequence of economic and social circumstances than as the result of individual shortcomings in character, effort, or responsibility.

Nearly two centuries have passed. Societies have changed profoundly. Yet the question returns in new forms.

Read the full article here (publico.pt).

On 26 May 2026, the National Education Council, in partnership with the Lusófona University of Lisbon, organised the seminar ‘Teacher Performance Evaluation: Policies, Practices and Effects’, bringing together national and international experts to reflect on one of the most relevant and challenging issues in contemporary education policy.

Teacher performance evaluation is a complex and often controversial topic, yet it plays a decisive role in improving the quality of education and in teachers’ professional development. In general terms, it is important to understand how evaluation processes can contribute to teachers’ professional development, to the improvement of teaching practices and, consequently, to students’ learning and academic outcomes.

This reflection involves considering the principles and assumptions underpinning evaluation models, their procedures and methodologies, the objectives they are designed to achieve, and their effects — both intended and unintended. Among the central issues under discussion is the possibility of reconciling summative purposes, geared towards the management of teaching careers, with formative purposes centred on teachers’ professional development.

In this context, the seminar facilitated a discussion of the policies, practices and effects of teacher performance evaluation, analysing its ethical, methodological and pedagogical implications from both a national and international perspective.

The opening session featured presentations by Professor António Teodoro, Director of the Institute of Education and Scientific Coordinator of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Education and Development; Professor Maria Assunção Flores, Coordinator of the Specialised Committee on Teachers and Other Education Professionals of the National Education Council; Professor Domingos Fernandes, President of the National Education Council; and Professor Luís Cláudio Ribeiro, Vice-Rector of Lusófona University.

The seminar’s keynote speaker was Professor Melissa Tuytens, from Ghent University in Belgium, who presented the paper ‘Teacher Evaluation as an Integral Part of Strategic Human Resource Management in Schools’, addressing teacher evaluation as an integral part of strategic human resource management in schools.

Two thematic panels were held during the event. The first, entitled “Teacher performance evaluation: theoretical and methodological perspectives”, featured presentations by Professor Maria Assunção Flores (University of Minho), Professor Elsa Estrela (Lusófona University of Lisbon) and Beatrice Ávalos (University of Chile), moderated by Professor André Freitas (Lusófona University of Lisbon).

In the framework of the activities developed by RELECO 3: Socio-artistic Studies for Decoloniality and Sustainability, the exhibition HOUSING (NON) HUMANS

The creation of a CeiED Hub at the University of Madeira marks a new stage of strategic collaboration between the two institutions

Lusófona University and the University of Madeira have formalized a strategic partnership to strengthen scientific research, advanced training, and knowledge transfer in the field of Education.

The agreement establishes a framework for institutional collaboration between CeiED – the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development, a research unit of Lusófona University, and CIE-UMa – the Research Centre for Education of the University of Madeira. This initiative includes the creation of a CeiED Hub at the University of Madeira, establishing a new structure for scientific cooperation focused on the development of joint projects, the internationalization of research, and the strengthening of the critical mass of both institutions.

The partnership is based on a shared vision of the importance of interinstitutional cooperation in addressing contemporary educational challenges and promoting synergies among researchers, research teams, and advanced training programmes. Its main objectives include the development of joint scientific projects, participation in international research networks, the promotion of academic mobility, and enhanced collaboration in doctoral programmes.

For CeiED, this collaboration represents another step in consolidating its national and international expansion and cooperation strategy, strengthening its presence across different territories and contributing to research that is increasingly aligned with the country’s educational and social challenges.

In turn, the University of Madeira sees this partnership as an opportunity to strengthen the scientific capacity of CIE-UMa, expand its researchers’ collaborative networks, and enhance participation in internationally oriented projects and initiatives.

The creation of the CeiED Hub in Madeira will enable the development of a joint scientific agenda focused on producing knowledge relevant to public policies, schools, and society, while also promoting the social value of science and its impact on educational development processes, nationally and in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.

The collaboration will take place throughout the current funding cycle of the FCT research units (2025–2029), contributing to the enhancement of quality, sustainability, and international visibility of Education research conducted by both universities.

Patrícia Ferraz de Matos, an Integrated Researcher at CeiED, Lusófona University, presented a conference entitled “The Persistence of Lusotropicalism” at the closing event of the LEAP (Legacies in Progress) European project. LEAP promotes critical and plural reflection on colonial legacies and their impact on contemporary European societies.

The aforementioned conference aimed to discuss Lusotropicalism: what it is; how it originated; how it was appropriated by the Estado Novo regime; and how it still leaves traces in Portuguese society today. The conference proposed a critical reading of the contemporary consequences of the country's colonial legacy.

The event, organised by Gerador — an independent platform for information, culture and education — aimed to reach a broad international audience. It took place on 17 April at Casa Capitão in Lisbon. Journalist Joana Gorjão Henriques participated in the event, delivering a talk on the “Current Map of Colonial Legacies”. There was also a panel discussion on “Colonialism in Digital Culture”, moderated by Eliana Silva and featuring Fábio Silva (Biblioteca Negra), Neusa Sousa (Chá de Beleza Afro) and Raquel Nhaga (Dando à Língua Podcast). Artist Emma Make was present throughout the event, providing illustrations at various points.

More information here: https://gerador.eu/en/residencias-insubmissas-gerador/

On April 24, 2026, the CeiED – Interdisciplinary Centre for Education and Development Studies at the Lusófona University – University Centre of Lisbon organized the seminar Between Control and Trust: What Essential Learning for What Kind of School? The seminar was accredited as a Short-Duration Training Course for primary and secondary school teachers, which contributed to the participation of educators from various institutions.

The opening session featured presentations by Professor and Researcher Elsa Estrela and Professor and Researcher António Teodoro, who proposed a broad reflection on schools and the curriculum in Portugal. Their intervention addressed recent changes to the Essential Learning framework and the curriculum, reflecting on the role of assessment, the challenges faced by teachers, and the importance of finding a balance between control and trust in schools.

The second part of the event included a roundtable discussion with four specialists: Professor Regina Duarte, former Commissioner of the National Reading Plan; Professor João Pedro Aido, from the Board of the Portuguese Teachers’ Association; Professor Paulo Feytor Pinto, from CELGA-ILTEC (Centre for General and Applied Linguistics Studies) at the University of Coimbra; and Professor Vanda Pequito, from José Saramago Secondary School.

The debate focused on the Essential Learning framework for Portuguese language education, highlighting advances but also several weaknesses in the curriculum documents. The speakers emphasized the absence of a coherent and progressive model for the development of readers, while also questioning the excessive centrality of assessment, the lack of clarity regarding the literary canon, and the shortage of effective time for autonomous reading in schools.

The participants also defended the need for greater articulation between different paradigms of reading instruction and stressed the importance of more deeply rethinking the role of schools in the development of critical, autonomous, and culturally engaged readers.