Bártolo Paiva Campos

Personal and Social Education in Portugal

Abstract Personal and social education has increasingly become a central concern in formal education, mainly due to the fact that the “traditional” school organisation is not fulfilling its duties in preparing youngsters for active participation in society. In Portugal the last decades have been characterised by a rapid social change that had a profound impact on the educational system. A review of the major transformations in Portuguese education is presented, with a special emphasis on the Education Act (1986). The role of the school in preparing students for the experiences, opportunities and responsibilities of adult life is translated in an area of personal and social education that assumes four curricular strategies: cross‐curricular dissemination; a non‐disciplinary curricular space for project development (school area); a specific discipline of one hour per week‐‐personal and social development‐‐alternative to moral and religious education; and extracurricular activities.