The portuguese as a second language in the national curriculum: Trajectory of an education policy

Abstract

The increase in migratory flows has translated into a significant increase in linguistic and cultural diversity in schools, where the number of students for whom Portuguese is not their mother tongue. In this context, the total or partial lack of knowledge of the language proves to be a barrier for the development of interpersonal relationships and for the access to the program contents. This article aims to observe the trajectory of an educational policy - the introduction of the Portuguese as a second language in the national curriculum - in the frame of the analysis of public policies. For this purpose, a qualitative-interpretative methodology was applied, based on the study of factual information (government programs, legislative acts and works and reports from various institutions), supported by the Policy Cycle and the Multiple Streams Framework. The analysis carried out allowed the systematization of the entire process of the policy in question. As for the results achieved in the different stages of the political cycle, these point to the occurrence of changes in the policy, resulting from government options associated with the curricular restructuring undertaken. The impact assessment of the existing and the changes introduced recently allow us to infer that the objectives established have helped to minimize the problem, but not to solve it.