A diversidade na formulação de instrumentos de política educativa local

The regulation pertaining to Educational Charters and other local educational policy instruments (namely, strategic plans) does not necessarily lead to their homogenization. This paper, situated within an investigation aiming to evaluate the multilevel (vertical) governance of education in Portugal, highlights the diversity of perspectives that emerge during the formulation of those instruments. Whether influenced by territorial characteristics (political, socioeconomic or educational) or by the stakeholders involved in their elaboration, different Educational Charters assign varying degrees of importance to issues as diverse as monitoring, as well as the opportunities and constraints arising from the European strategy. Additionally, formal issues, such as the scope or depth of diagnoses and proposals for the reconfiguration of the school network (and associated methodologies), also exhibit differences. This study examines these variations and others through a content analysis relying on a sample of local educational policy instruments (Educational Charters and Strategic Plans) from 10 municipalities in mainland Portugal (two from each region considered in the implementation of the Cohesion Policy), published during the period 2014-2020. The analysis also compares these instruments with the guidelines of legal norms, namely the most recent Decree-Law No. 21/2019, and with other national strategic documents, potentially shedding light on certain variations.