Between Policy and Practice: A Longitudinal Reflection on the Implementation of the ENEC in Portugal (2017–2025)

  • Sofia Almeida Santos stigação e Intervenção Educativas (CIIE), Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8512-2335
  • Daniela Ferreira Departamento Ciências da Educação; Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Educativas (CIIE), Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5335-4337
  • Louise Lima Centro de Estudos Interdisciplinares em Educação e Desenvolvimento (CeiED), Universidade Lusófona, Lisboa, Portugal. Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3042-8097
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24140/issn.1645-7250.rle68.dt04

Abstract

This article analyzes the implementation of the National Strategy for Citizenship Education (ENEC, 2017) and the subject Citizenship and Development (CD) in Portugal between 2017 and 2025. Drawing on a qualitative and longitudinal approach, which combined 20 focus group discussions conducted in three phases (2020, 2023, and 2025) and the analysis of the External Evaluation of Curricular Autonomy and Flexibility, it seeks to understand teachers’ and students’ perceptions as well as to identify organizational, pedagogical, and assessment practices over time. Findings reveal that although widely recognized as relevant, CD is often perceived as the “poor relative” of the curriculum, constrained by teacher resistance, weak institutional integration, and the predominance of transmissive and classificatory practices. The article concludes that consolidating CD requires mobilizing pedagogical leadership, specific training, stronger curricular articulation, and assessment criteria aligned with a formative logic, highlighting the persistent gap between policy and the challenges of consolidating a democratic and participatory school culture.


Keywords: Citizenship Education; Educational Policy; Teachers and Students’ perceptions; Democratic school culture

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Published
2025-12-19
How to Cite
Sofia Almeida Santos, Daniela Ferreira, & Louise Lima. (2025). Between Policy and Practice: A Longitudinal Reflection on the Implementation of the ENEC in Portugal (2017–2025). Revista Lusófona De Educação, 68(68), 83-102. https://doi.org/10.24140/issn.1645-7250.rle68.dt04
Issue
Vol. 68 No. 68 (2025): Revista Lusófona da Educação
Section
Dossier

Copyright (c) 2025 Sofia Almeida Santos, Daniela Ferreira, Louise Lima

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