Abstract

NASCIMENTO, Ana  and  CABRITO, Belmiro. The Autonomy of Portuguese Higher Education between law and practice - multiple case study. Rev. Educ. Questão [online]. 2017, vol.55, n.45, pp.42-73. ISSN 1981-1802.  https://doi.org/10.21680/1981-1802.2017v55n45ID12745.

Autonomy in higher education has had several interpretations. However, the “university autonomy” and “academic freedom” have always been present. Here, authors discuss these concepts and contextualize them in current Portuguese reality, departing from a PhD research in Education: “The Portuguese higher education finance: diversifying income streams”. The public underfinancing of public higher education institutions, from the 1990s onwards, has led its leaders to look for alternative revenues in the private sector, but such financing can threat higher education autonomy and academic freedom. This research intended, among other goals, to clarify how higher education leaders interpret their autonomy, considering the financial dependency of their institutions towards private sponsors. It’s a qualitative research, based on 37 semi directive interviews to institutional leaders from the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and sponsors. The authors conclude that the interviewees consider that their autonomy is reduced, namely the financial and administrative autonomy due to financial difficulties.

Keywords : Higher education; Autonomy; Funding; Cost-sharing.

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