Data and Reflections on Access-Transition to Higher Education in Portugal

Abstract

This chapter analyses inequalities in the transition from upper secondary to higher education in Portugal, using empirical data from the General-Directorate of Education and Science Statistics (DGEEC). It argues that educational inequalities are already present in Portuguese students’ trajectories before higher education and that the transition to higher education therefore reflects these different opportunities. The central argument is that socioeconomic status is the most important aspect that directly or indirectly conditions transition to higher education in Portugal, and thus is the primary source of inequality in participation. The findings also point to other factors similar to those already highlighted in the literature as responsible for inequalities in access to higher education: previous schooling, gender, different regional opportunities and selection and admission criteria, with socioeconomic status appearing to be transversal to and/or aggravate the influence of most of these other factors (except gender). Disadvantaged students who manage to surmount all the different obstacles and reach higher education belong to a group of resilient “academic survivors”. Based on the findings of this study, several areas of intervention are proposed.

How Has the Pandemic Affected Access and the Feeling of Belonging in Portuguese Higher Education?

“…These data compare the years 2017 and 2020. By this analysis we can confirm that the double recruitment social pattern [4,9] noted above has intensified, attenuating (without eliminating) the difference between the relative proportion of parents with higher education and the Portuguese population in the corresponding age group (45-64 years).…”

“…Access to Portuguese higher education has increased significantly [4,6,10]. In the past 20 years, the number of first-time enrolments in higher education-including public, private, and polytechnic institutions as well as universities-students enrolled for the first time in the first year [16] increased from 93,249 (2000/01) to 144,528 (2020/21), which shows significant growth.…”

“…Keeping Portugal as the analytical centre of focus makes it crucial to acknowledge that the dynamics of access and attendance to higher education [6] can be addressed through the enlargement and social diversification of its population in the last decades [3,4]. However, this also expresses relevant fluctuations with different meanings.…”

“…The main aim of this research is to analyse the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dynamics of access and social diversification in Portuguese higher education. It highlights accessibility in students' development in higher education [1] as well as a sense of belonging and engagement in the system [2], its social widening [3,4], how it may be affected by the pandemic, and what policy responses are triggered to address it [5]. The Portuguese higher education system has undergone a dynamic expansion and social widening in recent decades [4,6].…”

“…It highlights accessibility in students' development in higher education [1] as well as a sense of belonging and engagement in the system [2], its social widening [3,4], how it may be affected by the pandemic, and what policy responses are triggered to address it [5]. The Portuguese higher education system has undergone a dynamic expansion and social widening in recent decades [4,6]. This was a response to an active population still relatively lacking this type of qualification [7].…”