The curriculum in school external evaluation frameworks in Portugal and England

Abstract

The curriculum has been target of social and political demands due to its central role in school education and to the changes that occurred in education over the 20th century. The changes include more autonomy assigned to schools and teachers and the establishment of educational standards. These raised concerns that led European bodies to recommend the implementation of quality assurance systems. As a response, many countries created school external evaluation (SEE) processes in an attempt to improve school education and the curricula. Portugal and England are two countries that followed this tendency. This paper analyses SEE frameworks used in both countries to answer the following question: (1) How is the curriculum being addressed in the SEE in Portugal’s and England’s frameworks? The main conclusions drawn are as follows: (1) the curriculum is conceived as an open project; (2) the SEE frameworks from both countries address the curriculum by focusing on teachers’ role as curriculum developers and their curriculum development processes; and (3) the frameworks from Portugal and England reveal a concern with assessing the actual classroom environment and functioning.