The Policy Agenda Setting in Angolan Education Policies: Analysis of the Project for the Creation of Reference Schools

Abstract

This study analyzes the policy agenda-setting process of the Project for the Creation of Reference Schools in Angola, based on analytical models from the Political Science field referring to agenda-setting, seeking to understand the elements considered for the formulation of this project and identify the visible and invisible participants that intervened or influenced the process. With a qualitative bias, supported by documents and bibliographic references, the study fits into the field of research on policies and programs, based on the analysis of the policy-making process. The political analysis of the project indicates that the modality adopted for defining the policy agenda was top-down, that is, having the State as the main component, as visible participants through politicians, namely, the President of the Republic and his auxiliary bodies, with emphasis on the Office of the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, which signals some deviation in the pattern of public policies formulation of the Angolan government, given that this responsibility lies with the Ministry of Education, in interaction with its social partners. On the other hand, it was found that for the formulation of the project, the government considered elements related to the need for democratization access to schools and improvement of education quality in the country, to respond to international agendas by itself subscribed.