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1. Policy Framework

2. Formal learning

3. Non-formal and informal learning

4. Quality assurance/quality guidelines for non-formal learning

5. Educators' support

Policy Framework

The National Strategy for Citizenship Education (ENEC) was presented in 2017 and started being implemented in schools in 2017/2018 (school year), so that children and young people in different cycles may experience and acquire skill sets and knowledge of citizenship, specifically values and concepts of national citizenship, human rights, gender equality, non-discrimination, interculturalism, inclusion of people with disabilities, health education, sexual and reproductive rights education, and road safety education.

The Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (IPDJ, I.P.), along with its predecessor institutions, has played a leading role in promoting and supporting non-formal education in Portugal since the post-25 April 1974 period. Besides delivering tailored programmes grounded in non-formal education methodologies, IPDJ has been instrumental in supporting the youth associations movement, where such practices are most prominent and, more recently, in spearheading strategic initiatives such as the development of a national youth worker profile.

Aligned with the efforts to bridge formal and non-formal learning, IPDJ is now tasked with advancing the integration, recognition, and validation of non-formal learning experiences outside the school environment. This commitment is incorporated in the “Youth Pass” initiative, which serves as a vital complement to basic and secondary education qualifications.

Established by Decree no.336/2017, of 7 November, the “Youth Pass” is a certification tool that records participation, promotes recognition, and validates the learning outcomes of young people aged 12 to 18, acquired through activities beyond the formal education system. It effectively documents each young person’s journey through non-formal education.

This strategic approach is further reinforced by a series of initiatives that constitute key activities in the annual youth and youth organisations calendar. These include the long-standing “Youth Association Day” (30 April), the Best Associative Practices awards recognising excellence in youth organisations’ work, and the more recent ADJ – Youth Development Academy. The latter is an annual, non-formal education platform developed in partnership with the National Agency Erasmus+ Youth/Sport and European Solidarity Corps, the National Youth Council (CNJ), and the National Federation of Youth Associations (FNAJ). 

Formal learning

The cross-cutting approach to the Citizenship Education curriculum can take different forms, depending on the dynamics adopted by schools due to their autonomy, particularly in the context of subjects curriculum and through the development of projects and activities of their own initiative, while working together with families and entities involved in this context, in the framework of the relationship between the school and the community. It can be developed according to the needs and specific problems of the school community, together with and in response to the objectives defined by each school grouping or individual schools within their educational projects.

The citizenship education strategy is applied through changes to the curriculum, learning activities in the classroom, extracurricular activities, participation of students and parents in school governance, assessment of students and schools, and continuous professional development of the faculty.

Besides that, the Ministry of Education, through the Directorate-General of Education, developed   a set of guidance documents, involving partnerships and cooperation protocols with other entities.

Citizenship Education aims to contribute to the development of responsible and autonomous people, who know and act according to their rights and duties, in dialogue and respect for others, with a democratic, pluralistic, critical, creative and solidary spirit, according to human rights values. It also enables the development of essential skills for social life and labour market   integration. 

Non-formal and informal learning

Participatory structures in formal education settings

The Ministry of Education promotes several events and activities throughout the school year, to raise awareness among students to important citizenship issues. There are several examples, such as the National No Smoking Day, the European Day of Languages, the Human Rights Day, the Refugee Day, the Certification for Intercultural Schools, and the United for the Planet competition, among others.

Students have the right to participate, through their representatives, pursuant to the existing legislation, in administrative bodies and school management, and in the school's educational project and internal rules of procedure creation process.

Students have the right to gather in student assemblies, being represented by the students association, by their representatives in the governing, administrative and school management bodies and their representatives in the classroom, according to the existing legislation and the school’s internal rules of procedure.

In the context of their autonomy, schools develop a wide range of tools and communication strategies (e.g., email, website, newsletter, newspapers, radio, social media, conferences,   and other events).

Parents/legal guardians have the right to contribute to the school’s educational project and internal rules creation process, as well as participate in the school’s daily life. They also have the right to create a parents' association, according to the principles of freedom of association.

The Municipal Council of Education (CME) of each school grouping is an advisory body, which includes, among other elements, a representative of the municipal assembly. The CME has the right to: review the annual activities plan; comment on the education offer and network provided for each school year; recommend improvement measures for the school’s organisation  and the school's educational intervention.

Measures to encourage student participation in local community and wider society

Regarding learning through extracurricular activities, the Ministry of Education promotes several initiatives in various areas of competence:

• Eco-Schools project and Tagus project – in the field of environmental awareness;
• Mega Sprinter competition, Tag Rugby Project – in the field of sports activities for peace and social inclusion;
• Intangible Heritage Collection Kit, My School Adopts a Museum, Little Shadow Festival, Ithaca Plan, Tic Toc Project in the School of the Future – in the field of art projects  for intercultural dialogue and media literacy;
• European clubs, Euroguidance Network, Trip to Germany contest – in the field of international and/or online collaborations for intercultural education;
• European Youth Parliament programme of the Youth Parliament programme (national) – in the field of educational activities related to political life;
• Link Yourself to Others Project – in the field of volunteering on the local community.

Still within the framework of promoting participation resorting to tools and methodologies in formal, non-formal and informal education, it is important to highlight the Schools´ Participatory Budget (SPB).

The Schools’ Participatory Budget (SPB) is designed for 7^th to 12^th grade students. It comprises a multi-stage process that enables students to actively engage in the development of projects that reflect their preferences and respond to their school’s needs. These projects aim to improve school environment. The allocated budget is €500 for schools with less than 500 students in the relevant education cycles, or €1 per student for schools with more than 500 students.

Various Portuguese municipalities have implemented participatory youth budgets, with the aim of promoting youth participation in the decision and management of the municipal budget, allowing young people to influence public policies and ensuring that they are adapted to youth needs and expectations.

Quality assurance/quality guidelines for non-formal  learning

Among the concrete actions to achieve these goals, curriculum guidance documents were produced, in cooperation with other bodies and institutions of the public sector and various civil society partners, as reference systems in addressing the various citizenship dimensions.

These documents are not prescriptive guidelines or programmes. They are supporting documents that, under the autonomy of each education establishment, can be used and  adapted according to the options defined in each context, to help the implementation of an  intended practice. In line with the curriculum guidance documents, the Ministry of Education (ME) provided teacher training, under the continuous professional development, through the Directorate-General of Education, to teachers of all subjects and levels.

The ME even provides teachers with criteria and specific resources for assessing students in some of the thematic fields included in the cross-cutting field of citizenship education. For example, in entrepreneurship education, projects like Youth Start – Entrepreneurial Challenges include various assessment tools and resources (e.g., questionnaires, oral and written activities, projects, self-assessment and peer assessment exercises, etc.). In other thematic fields, such as financial education, manuals/guides that include assessment exercises were published.

In addition, as already mentioned, the “Youth Pass” programme development aims to issue a participation certificate in IPDJ programmes, recognising the learnings acquired in a non-formal context, allowing the interconnection of said learnings with the secondary education diploma. This process represents an additional quality assurance of this type of learnings.

Educator´s support

The national curriculum defines the essential knowledge and skills that all students should acquire and allows teachers to decide how to teach more effectively by managing the curriculum and organising their teaching activity in the best way possible, to meet their students’ needs.

In accordance with Article 30 of Law no. 46/86, of 14 October (Basic Law of the Education System), all teachers (preschool, basic, and secondary education) obtain the adequate qualification through higher education/university degree/masters degree courses, which provide them with all the information, scientific and pedagogical methods and techniques, as well as personal and social training, appropriate to their teaching activity.

Thus, pursuant to the basic laws on teaching, all teachers have the right to technical and scientific autonomy, and the freedom to choose teaching methods, technologies and the current pedagogical or curriculum guidelines that are more adequate.

Although there are no specialised or semi specialised teachers in citizenship education in general, there are some specific qualifications available in some of the thematic fields included in the cross-cutting field of citizenship education. For example, some Masters of initial training for teachers have classes about education and multiculturalism, development education, and entrepreneurship education.

There are also non-mandatory courses within the framework of the continuous teacher training that seek to develop the same competencies in various fields of citizenship education. These are offered through protocols between the ME and civil society partners.

On the other hand, to develop teachers’ professional knowledge through the dissemination of information within the citizenship education thematic fields, DGE's website has a section dedicated to this area. There, teachers and students, but also parents, educators and other interested parties, will find, among others, the following features: news, reference documents, microsites for each of the citizenship education thematic fields, legislation, digital library, guidelines, resources, best practices, projects, and useful links.