Team Portugal
Team Portugal
An Overview of Team Portugal
Reforms in relation to Students
Leadership Reforms in Portugal
Reforms in relation to Teachers
Introduction: Portugal Education System & Performance in PISA
Assessment & Evaluation Reforms
Q&A Session
Agenda for the Day
An Overview of Team Portugal- Dr Ashok Kumaar
The Indian High School, Dubai
Haleema, Mirdif Private
School
Abdullakutty Valappil ,
Little Flowers School
Joseph Salame, Lycee Libanais
Francophone Prive
Tracy Skinner, Kings Nad Al
Shiba
Clemy Fernandez, Deira Private
School
Akram Zeiour, Dubai International Private School BR
Ashok Kumar, The Indian High
School
Rashmi Nandkeolyar,
Delhi Private School
Durriya Goriawala, Star international
School
Sonia Mahajan, North American
International School
Matthew Edwards, The Sheffield
Private School
Team Members
Objectives of the TeamUnderstand the educational reforms in
Portugal and how they contributed to the improvement of Portugal’s performance in PISA
Networking & Building relationships
Learning from each other – Sharing of Best Practices
What the Team Did…
MeetingsProfessional Development Programs
Inter-school Football Tournament
Total No of PD
Programs: 02
Total No of PD
Sessions: 06
Session Topics:
1. Critical Thinking in Early Years - Delhi Private School Dubai
2. Differentiation in Early Years - Deira Private School
3. Child Led Learning – Kings Dubai
4. Reading for Understanding - North American International School
5. Differentiation – Sheffield Private School
6. Developing Questioning Skills - Little Flowers School
Total No of
Participants: 45
Total No of Hours:
10
Highlights of the Professional Development Program
Total No of Participating Schools: 09 out of 11
schools
Total No of
Teams: 14
Categories:1.Primary Girls (Under 12 years)2.Primary Boys (Under 12 years)
3.Secondary Girls (Under 16 years)
4.Secondary Boys (Under 16 years)
Total No of Matches: 11
Highlights of the Football Tournament
Total No of
Meetings: 04
Total No of
Meeting Hours:
18
Total No of
Attendees: 32
Awareness of educational reforms in
PortugalSharing of best practices among Team Members
Professional Development Program for teachers of member
schoolsFootball Tournament
among member schools
Networking & Relationship
building
Meeting Outcomes
PROGRAMS OUTCOME
Meetings of Heads of Member Schools
Introduction: Portugal Education System &
Performance in PISA- Ms Clemy Fernandez
Deira Private School
Portugal developed Curriculum Guidelines for Pre-school Education (2012)
provides free voluntary pre-primary education for 3-4 year-olds.
Enrolment of 5-year-olds in pre-primary or primary education is compulsory.
Upper secondary education, compulsory since 2009, lasts three years and includes academic and vocational courses.
It is organized into four strands: sciences and humanities, technological, specialized artistic and vocational education.
Vocational education and training (VET) can facilitate entry into the labour market and is available for those who have completed at least nine years of schooling or equivalent training.
Tertiary education is offered at universities and polytechnic institutions.
Education Systems in Portugal
PISA 2003 PISA 2006 PISA 2009 PISA 2012Mean score Mean score Mean score Mean score
466 466 487 487
Mean mathematics performance in PISA 2003 through 2012
PISA 2003 PISA 2006 PISA 2009 PISA 2012
Mean score Mean score Mean score Mean score
478 472 489 488
Mean reading performance in PISA 2003 through 2012
PISA 2006 PISA 2009 PISA 2012Mean score Mean score Mean score
474 493 489
Mean science performance in PISA 2006 through 2012
Percentage of students below Level 2 and at Level 5 or above in mathematics
in PISA 2003 through 2012
PISA 2003 PISA 2006 PISA 2009 PISA 2012
Below Level 2(< 420.07
score points)
Level 5 or above
(above 606.99 score points)
Below Level 2(< 420.07
score points)
Level 5 or above
(above 606.99 score points)
Below Level 2(< 420.07
score points)
Level 5 or above
(above 606.99 score points)
Below Level 2(< 420.07
score points)
Level 5 or above
(above 606.99 score points)
% % % % % % % %
30.1 5.4 30.7 5.7 23.7 9.6 24.9 10.6
PISA 2003 PISA 2006 PISA 2009 PISA 2012
Below Level 2(< 407.47
score points)
Level 5 or above
(above 625.61 score points)
Below Level 2(< 407.47
score points)
Level 5 or above
(above 625.61 score points)
Below Level 2(< 407.47 score
points)
Level 5 or above
(above 625.61 score points)
Below Level 2(< 407.47
score points)
Level 5 or above
(above 625.61 score points)
% % % % % % % %
21.9 3.8 24.9 4.6 17.6 4.8 18.8 5.8
Percentage of students below Level 2 and at Level 5 or above in reading in
PISA 2003 through 2012
PISA 2006 PISA 2009 PISA 2012
Below Level 2(< 409.54 score
points)
Level 5 or above(above 633.33 score points)
Below Level 2(< 409.54 score
points)
Level 5 or above(above 633.33 score points)
Below Level 2(< 409.54 score
points)
Level 5 or above(above 633.33 score points)
% % % % % %
24.5 3.1 16.5 4.2 19.0 4.5
Percentage of students below Level 2 and at Level 5 or above in science in
PISA 2006 through 2012
Key Issues
Portugal faces the challenges of:
ensuring that all students complete compulsory education,
increasing attainment rates in upper-secondary and tertiary education,
offering the quality and inclusive education for all students that is relevant to labour market needs.
Educational Reforms in Portugal
Equity & Quality
•Fair & inclusive policies•Leading to Improvements in Student learning Outcomes
Preparing Students for the Future
•education system to effectively develop skills and labour market perspectives•Working to raise educational attainment
Fostering Leadership &
Training•Developing positive learning environments for school leaders and teachers•Leading to School Improvement
Evaluation & Assessment strategies
•Building an integrated framework of Student assessment, school evaluation, teacher appraisal and system evaluations for improving student outcomes
Leadership Reforms in Education Sector
- Ms Reshmi Nandkeolyar
Delhi Private School
Earlier• Teachers elected by
peers to be administrators
Current• Professionally selected
and accountable school leaders with clearly defined authority and responsibilities
Government Policy ChangesIn 2008, the selection process and responsibilities
for school leadership were modified
Specialized mandatory training for school leaders (2012).
Greater authority of the school Director.
Collaboration with other school leaders - (Grouping of schools with a collective management structure)
Government Policy Changes
Dual Role of Principals
Manager
Human Resources
Administrative
Leader
Public
Service of Education
Visionary & Futuristic (agent of change)
Role of Leadership
Leadership
Democratic Distributiv
e Leadership
Promoting dissemination
of information
Constant Self Assessment, Dialogue & Reflection
Fostering motivation
and endeavour amongst teachers
Responsible for
pupil’s academic success
Success Stories in Portugal
Leadership
Contd..
Ensuring commitment of parents for pupil’s academic success
Innovative and
Effective use of
resources
Responsible for
professional
development of
teachers
Focus on establishme
nt of partnership
with a variety of
organizations
Role of Leadership
ForPupils
Fostering a climate of belonging
Promoting a
rigourous school
Promoting good
citizenship
Climate of dialogue andencourageme
nt
Equal opportuniti
es for all
Focus of Leadership
Focus on LeadershipOne of the objectives of the UAE National Agenda is :
UAE Government and KHDA
Highly-effective School leadership :
to ensure that 100% of public schools have highly –effective school leadership
Specific and Stringent Measures of Recruitment Outlined in Manifesto by KHDA
Imperative for School Leaders
Appropriate personal attributes
Academic qualifications
Professional experience
Leadership skills and qualities
To ensure the highest standards
of education provision for
students
To achieve the UAE National
Targets for 2021
Focus by KHDA
Leadership
Vision and directionEducational leadership
Relationships and communication
Capacity to innovate and
improve
Impact on and accountability for
school performance and standards
Self-evaluation and improvement
planning
Partnerships with parents and the community :
- Parental involvement-Communication &Reporting-Community, national and relevant international partnerships
Management of staffing, facilities and resources
Reforms undertaken in relation to Teachers
- Dr Ashok KumaarThe Indian High School, Dubai
• Developing positive learning environments for school leaders and teachers to succeed is essential to raising achievement in Portugal’s schools.
• In PISA 2012, students report having better relations with their teachers than the OECD average and view their classrooms as conducive to learning at the OECD average
• Reforms in relation to teachers include two broad areas:– Teacher Training Program– Teacher Evaluation Program
• Teachers in Portugal must complete a five-year pre-service teacher-training programme that includes a teaching practicum and requires a competitive entry examination.
• They have compulsory continuous training and benefit from comparatively high salaries.
1. Teacher Training Program
1. Teacher Training Program (cont.)Several initiatives aim to strengthen the teaching profession, including :
more stringent admission conditions in teachers education programmes;
reinforced scientific curricula in teachers education programmes;
introduction of an evaluation exam for teachers with a professional qualification and/or fixed-term contract for teachers with less than five years of practice
introduction of a lifelong training framework for teachers that links continuing professional development to career progression and aims to improve the quality of teaching.
2. Teacher Evaluation Program
• Teacher appraisal is recent in Portugal. • In 2007, the national teacher appraisal system
was mostly based on peer evaluation.
It included teaching standards, criteria and instruments for
appraisals, and consequences on career progression.
The system focused more on accountability (career progression)
than on improvement
classroom observations in Portugal were only mandatory in specific cases, such as to obtain
an excellent mark in the probationary year or if the
teacher received an insufficient mark in the previous appraisal.
2. Teacher Evaluation Program (cont.)
• A new model of the national system of performance appraisal for teachers and school leaders (2012/13) was introduced.
• It relies on external and internal appraisal and targets three dimensions: – scientific and pedagogic; – participation in school life and relationship with
community; and – continuing training and professional development.
In short, by 2014, Portugal introduced major
reforms to strengthen the teaching profession
at different career points (before entrance,
during initial training, at entry to the
profession, and throughout their professional
careers) to allow teachers to continue
improving and progressing.
Reforms undertaken in relation to Students
- Ms Dolly GorriawalaStar International School
Special Thanks: Ms Sonia Mahajan, North American International School, Mirdiff
1. Education was made compulsory from ages 6 to 18 in Portugal, with comprehensive schooling until age 15
2. Portugal developed Curriculum Guidelines for Pre-school Education (2012), and provided free voluntary pre-primary education for 3-4 year-olds. Enrolment of 5-year-olds in pre-primary or primary education was made compulsory.
3. The Programme to Combat School Failure and Early School Leaving was introduced in 2012. This aimed to support students at risk of dropping out, reintegrate those who have dropped out and strengthen Vocational Training in upper-secondary education.
The measures to prevent early school leaving include the following:
•additional study time and more individualised and targeted support for students identified as at risk of failing their school year in the national student assessments in 4th and 6th grade, as well as a possibility to take the exams at the end of the support period
•implementation of information systems to follow schools and students in real time to identify the need for individual support and detect cases of potential school dropout and academic failure
4. There was an increase of 33% in the inclusion of students with special needs in regular schools of students due to Government Policies.
5. Individualised educational programmes for children and youth with special education needs (2008) provided specialised support (learning, medical, evaluation) to SEN students in the regular schooling system.
Due to targeted government intervention for benefit of all students, Portugal has made major improvements across PISA cycles in
mathematics, reading and science, with performance in PISA 2012 around the
OECD average in mathematics and below the OECD average in reading and science.
Assessment & Evaluation Reforms
- Ms Tracey SkinnerKings, Nad Al Sheba
Defining evaluation and assessment strategies is important both for improving student outcomes and to develop a better
and more equitable school system.
Student assessment, school evaluation, teacher appraisal and system evaluations
are in place at the national level in Portugal.
System evaluations use national assessments of learning
outcomes and international student assessments to monitor performance of
the education system.National examinations in grades 4, 6 and 9
provide information on student learning outcomes.
School evaluation includes self-evaluation and external
evaluation.
External evaluation is to take place every four years, and a first cycle has been
completed (2006-11).
Student assessment includes summative and formative assessments
as part of progress tests at intermediate stages and at the end of cycles and also of national
examinations. Schools organize internal student assessments for
all subjects and the Educational Evaluation Institute carries out external student
assessments for mathematics and Portuguese.
• The national examination was expanded (2011/12) to grades 4 and 6 and are now used to assess and monitor learning progress
• Evaluation and monitoring guidelines for pre-school education were set up (2011), and an external evaluation of pre-school education undertaken in 2013 led to a revision of the curriculum.
Message for Dubai Schools- Ms Clemy Fernandez
Deira Private School
Conclusion
In order to improve performance in PISA & TIMSS, Dubai schools could… • Continue its journey towards strengthening the Leadership in Schools – so that the drive towards meeting National Agenda targets is maintained
• Benefit from collaboration between schools – so that professional development of teachers could strengthen classroom teaching & learning • Provide focus specialized support for students with Special Educational Needs - so that all students have improved learning outcomes, leading to better performance in TIMSS & PISA
• Encourage comprehensive school & system evaluations - so that timely improvements can be made in order for schools to remain on track towards achieving the National Agenda
Q & A Session
Thank You