Regina Duarte
Regina dos Santos Duarte is an Assistant Professor at Universidade Lusófona, where she coordinates the Bachelor's Degree in Portuguese Studies, and an integrated researcher at the Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development (CeiED).
She holds a PhD in Literacies and Portuguese Language Education from the University of Minho and a degree in Modern Languages and Literatures (Portuguese and French Studies) from NOVA University Lisbon. Her research focuses on reading, literacy, Portuguese language education, literary education, teacher education, and educational policy, with particular interests in reading comprehension, reading for pleasure, the assessment of reading competences, and literature teaching.
Throughout her career, she has combined academic research with university teaching and leadership roles in educational policy. Between 2022 and 2026, she served as Commissioner of the Portuguese National Reading Plan. Prior to that, she coordinated Portuguese Language Education in the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands for Camões, I.P., while also serving as Education Attaché at the Portuguese Embassy in London. In this context, she founded the Anglo-Portuguese School of London and has been responsible for its educational vision, leadership, curriculum, and overall operation. Between 2002 and 2009, she worked at the Portuguese Ministry of Education, where she led the national team responsible for Portuguese language education, coordinating teacher education programmes, action research initiatives, curriculum development projects, and the implementation of Portugal's first national guidelines for Portuguese as a Non-Native Language.
Her academic work is characterised by the integration of fundamental research with educational innovation and public policy. She participated in the European LIFT II – A Literary Framework for Teachers of Secondary Education Comenius project, which developed a European framework for literary education, was a member of the iRead4Skills project funded by Horizon Europe, and collaborates in several national and international research projects on literacy, reading, and lifelong learning.
She is the author and co-author of books, research studies, policy reports, and pedagogical guidelines on language education, reading, literature, and literacy, and has contributed to the development of curriculum documents and educational policies in Portugal. She has also been actively involved in international cooperation in language education and reading promotion. She is a member of the International Association for Research in L1 Education (ARLE) and a founding member of Teachers and Researchers of Portuguese in the UK (TROPO UK).
Her research seeks to understand how complex reading competences, literary education, and multiple literacies can contribute to a more demanding, inclusive, and culturally meaningful education, bridging scientific evidence, pedagogical innovation, and educational policymaking.
In 2022, she was awarded the rank of Commander of the Order of Public Instruction by the President of the Portuguese Republic, in recognition of her contribution to education and the promotion of the Portuguese language.