Are (inter)generational inequalities behind Portugal’s bad results in adult literacy?

On December 10th 2023, the results of the latest OECD survey on adult skills, conducted in 2023 as part of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), were released. This edition of the survey involved 31 countries and global economies, including Portugal. The collected data characterise the population aged 16 to 65…

Eurobarometer reveals Portuguese are more concerned with cost of living, housing, and transportation than the rest of Europe

A survey conducted by the European Commission reveals that, in 2024, 83% of the Portuguese respondents report living in regions with a good or very good quality of life (+1 p.p. compared to the EU). Satisfaction with the economic situation of their region is similar to that of other European citizens (65%). The issues that…

National survey reveals ethnic-racial inequalities in education, labour status, housing and experience of discrimination in Portugal

A new survey by the National Statistics Institute (INE) reveals ethnic-racial inequalities in education, labour status, housing, and experience of discrimination in Portugal. According to the Survey on the Life Conditions, Origins and Trajectories of the Resident Population – ICOT (INE, 2023), the adult population in Portugal who identifies as Roma or black suffers around…

[Call for papers] 14th Conference of the European Sociological Association

Manchester, UK, 20-23 August 2019 | Abstract submission deadline: 1st February 2019 RS11 – ‘Questioning Precariousness: Labour, Collective Organising and Everyday Life’ Precariousness has a complex and multidimensional connotation and has been measured mainly by referring to the extent to which non-standard work arrangements impact on the stability of employment and the availability of workers’ rights. By…

Girls in primary school age are still disadvantaged whereas the inverse situation for boys is observed in secondary school

UNESCO launched in 2012 the report “Gender Parity Index (GPI)”. Updated information for 2016 is already available in the “eAtlas of Gender Equality and Education”, which shows data for all levels of education disaggregated by sex across time, the information presented is collected by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) with partnership of the OECD…

Research on Inequality and Migration under Threat

It is difficult to understand, and completely unacceptable, that academic research centres get downgraded due to their focus on inequality and migration. Yet, this is about to happen in the evaluation that FCT, the agency responsible for science funding in Portugal is conducting on all the country’s research centres. FCT commissioned this evaluation to the…

Thinking the future through skill assessment. Interview with Irwin Kirsch

Irwin Kirsch is the Director of the Center for Global Assessment at Educational Testing Service (ETS). He is also an expert on literacy and skills assessment. He has a wide experience directing US and international large-scale assessments on literacy. He is currently Project Manager of PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies), an international large-scale…