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