Pandemic, local leadership, and educational responses: The Portuguese case

Abstract

This article analyses the impacts of the pandemic crisis on the Portuguese education system, the effectiveness of the policies taken at the time to deal with them, and how local actors implemented national policy measures. In Portugal, as in many other countries, the adoption of educational solutions based on digital platforms was the main alternative. Overall, the policies implemented by the central government have proved to be generic responses that are poorly suited to the situations of pupils and families with the greatest material or socio-cultural needs. The response to the accumulation of different forms of inequality was built in the communities themselves, with situations of deprivation being resolved above all by municipalities, community or parents’ associations, making it possible to minimize their effects on access to education. Collaboration between schools and communities has also enabled the development of digital skills by the various educational actors and a better perception by schools of the inequalities in educational opportunities resulting from the pandemic, generating curricular adaptations and the dynamization of classes with innovative and participatory methodologies.