Implementation of Decree-Law No. 54/2018: Experiences and perceptions of a multidisciplinary team

Abstract

In 2018, a new educational policy was introduced in Portugal, Decree-Law n.º 54/2018, proposing changes that generated challenges and opportunities for school professionals. This study took place in the first year of Decree-Law n.º54/2018 and aimed to analyse the experiences and perceptions of professionals – permanent elements – belonging to the multidisciplinary team of a Cluster of Schools in the north region, regarding the implementation of the new Decree-Law. The data were obtained at two different moments: at the beginning and at the end of the academic year 2018-2019, through individual interviews with each of the six permanent members of the multidisciplinary team. The analysed themes concerned the general opinion of the decree-law; the multidisciplinary team; the reconfiguration of the Learning Support Center; the identification of support measures and the conditions for the implementation of the decree-law. The participants stressed, in both moments of the study, the scope of the diploma and the fact that it does not respond only to a specific population. The lack of knowledge and the strategy to continue the previous educational responses gave rise, at the end of the year, to an evolution of the strategy to facilitate its implementation with the development of specific guidelines - resultant from the challenges faced - for all professionals. Professionals identified training, time for meetings and coordination between professionals, human resources and support from the Ministry of Education as important conditions for the implementation of the new decree-law.