Portuguese education is based on humanistic ideals, focusing on cultivating practical analytical skills and protecting children's creativity, all while rooted in a long-standing Western historical and cultural tradition. Furthermore, Portugal is home to ancient European university towns and boasts an advanced education system. It is precisely because of this high-quality Western education that many Chinese parents have chosen Portugal when considering overseas immigration and settlement. By purchasing 500,000 euros worth of Portuguese real estate, the entire family of three generations can immigrate to Portugal, and children can enjoy free education in Portuguese public schools during the compulsory education stage.
Recently, the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science issued a statement announcing that by 2020, approximately 30 million euros in EU funding will be spent on the recruitment and training of psychologists working in schools, as well as on providing material support for their work. The announcement stated that "this will achieve the goal of providing one psychologist for every 1100 students."
According to statistics from the Portuguese Psychologists Association, there are currently about 775 psychologists working in schools nationwide. However, with 1.2 million students in the country, this means that in some cases, one psychologist is responsible for 2,000 students.
The published announcement also indicates that the proposal to provide more full-time school psychologists for students is included in the Human Capital (POCH) program, which is supported by funding from the European Union.
To successfully advance this program, an agreement must be signed to help identify which materials are truly necessary for school psychologists to carry out their work. This agreement will be signed at the conclusion of the seminar. According to the agreement, the Portuguese Psychologists Association will also provide advice and support for the program and certify the qualifications of school psychologists trained by the Directorate-General for Education. The association's role also includes determining the content and format of the training.
The work of psychologists in schools will also be supervised, and they will cooperate with the Portuguese Psychologists Association to provide internship opportunities for school psychologist trainees. It is expected that the Ministry of Education will establish a platform, modeled after the public health sector, to track and record every psychological counseling and intervention session provided by school psychologists to students.
The Portuguese Ministry of Education stated that in the previous academic year, the Ministry hired 214 psychologists to provide counseling for the 2014/2015 academic year. This figure was determined after the Directorate-General for Education assessed the needs of all schools. As the program progresses, in the 2015/2016 academic year, 71% of Portuguese schools will have one or more psychologists.