Graduation course in Basic Education in Portugal as a prerequisite for access to master’s degrees that qualify for teaching in the first six years of schooling

Abstract

The European Higher Education Area, resulting from the Bologna Process, implied changes in initial teacher education, which in Portugal is obtained through master’s degrees. In the case of training for the first six years of schooling, access to these professionalising master’s degrees requires an undergraduate degree in Basic Education. Using this situation as a reference, the paper reports on a study that answers the following research questions: i) What perceptions do finalist students of this graduation have about the course?; ii) what importance do these students attribute to the Initiation to Professional Practice curriculum? iii) what influence do these students attribute to this training in choosing their future professional path? Data were collected through an online questionnaire whose responses were worked through simple statistics and content analysis. These data allowed us to conclude: the students consider that the undergraduate course in Basic Education offers solid theoretical preparation for future work as educators or teachers; however, many of them expressed only moderate satisfaction, or even no satisfaction, with the course, particularly in the relationship between the practical components and what is expected of professional performance; the students attribute great importance and even some influence to the teachers who, in the schools, receive them and support them in their socialisation for future professional activity.