‘In Portugal, it is unacceptable to suggest that a child is better off at a special school’

Portugal has transferred almost all children in special education to ‘normal’ schools. In the Netherlands, the number of children in special schools actually increased in recent years. Follow the Money investigated the differences in both countries.

The inclusive approach in Portugal has been enshrined in a number of education laws. In 2008, the government decided to close special schools for primary and secondary education and to place students back into regular education.

With this new legislation, the school no longer needs a medical diagnosis to intervene. The focus now is on needs rather than diagnosis. If a child is acting hyperactive and has difficulty concentrating, he/she can get guidance from a school psychologist without a proper ADHD diagnosis.

Schools draw up an individual support plan for each child with special needs (learning delays, mental or physical problems) and are assisted by physiotherapists, psychologists, speech therapists or special-need teachers. In 2017 the number of pupils with special needs in regular education had doubled and nowadays almost all children with special needs (over 98%) go to regular schools.

Portuguese schools receive a fixed amount per student and can apply for extra money for children with special needs; to pay for psychologists, wheelchair lifts or teaching materials. Inclusive policies are not only aimed at students with special needs or disabilities. Extensive attention is also paid to the backgrounds and cultures of migrant children, who nowadays constitute 15% of the pupils in primary and secondary education.

Despite the many adjustments the schools have to make in the field of education (special-need teachers, therapists) and infrastructure (e.g. wheelchair accessibility), the country spends less on education than the Netherlands. Last year education expenditure in Portugal was exactly at the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) average of 5.1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while Dutch spending was 5.4%.

At the same time Portugal showed – according to the OECD – a positive trajectory on the international Pisa research, which compares the scores of 15-year olds in the fields of reading skills, mathematics and sciences.

Overall scores are falling in recent years, a trend that is visible in many countries. Possible explanations are migration, increasing inequality, use of smartphones and the impact of the corona epidemic.

In 2022, Portuguese children scored around the OECD average on all three parts, higher than at the start of Pisa in 2000. In reading skills, the Netherlands has been scoring worse than Portugal for the last five years and in mathematics and sciences, the Netherlands still has a slight advantage but the level drops faster than in Portugal.

The Dutch Education Inspectorate (Onderwijsraad) mentioned Portugal in their State of Education 2024 as an example of a country where inclusion is the norm. The Netherlands itself failed to achieve that goal.
Although the Dutch Appropriate Education Act from 2014 was intended to reduce the number of students in special education, their numbers only continue to increase.


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