The Impact of Lisbon's Strategy on the Patterns of Education and Training in Portugal*

Abstract

The directives that resulted from the Lisbon Summit transformed education and training into a priority within Europe. The intended development model constituted an enormous challenge for certain member states and in particular for Portugal, where schooling patterns were far behind the European average. Consequently, in the first decade of the 21st century, Portugal defined a wide set of measures aiming for the achievement of the education patterns defined.In this article we propose to assess the path taken by Portugal in this field, highlighting aspects related with literacy levels, early school leaving rates, gender differences, number of high school and college graduates, and engagement in lifelong learning activities. Our reflection is based upon the analysis of education, training and employment statistics between 2000 and 2010, as well as of the reports produced by the European Union to evaluate the progress of its member states in regard to the goals set for 2010 and 2020. The analysis shows major progress in the patterns of education and training of Portuguese citizens. However, this progress has not been consistent throughout all the above-mentioned domains and is clearly less evident for adult population. Furthermore, the patterns of education and training of young people still reveal a relative backwardness when compared to other European countries, although less significant than in the early 21st century.