TRAINING AND RESEARCH IN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION IN PORTUGAL

Abstract

Educational administration is currently an expanding scientific area, with a notable investigative dynamism and increasing social and political visibility. In the context of the Portuguese reality, in the last two decades, there has been an accelerated movement towards the creation of postgraduate courses, an increase in individual and collective research and an increase in scientific publications. The growing centrality assumed by the sociological approaches of educational organizations, associated with the vast collection of research and scientific publications, has driven the realization of a meta-analysis to a wide range of works produced in this area. We selected 92 dissertations carried out as part of the pioneer master's course, and the oldest in the country in the area of ​​educational administration - the master's degree in Educational Sciences, specialization in Educational Administration at the University of Minho. Of the main trends identified, we highlight: i) the synchrony between the political agenda, professional experiences and research interests; ii) adherence to a certain theoretical pluralism, mobilizing two or more models of organizational analysis; iii) the use of a predominantly qualitative methodology, with an emphasis on the case study method; iv) the mobilization of a meso-approach of the school organization, seeking to articulate the micro and macro-analytical levels. On a more substantive level, this study also contributed to the discussion around some dilemmas and agendas that, in our view, intersect the construction of the educational administration object.