A tomada de decisão política sobre a participação no PISA: Portugal à procura de uma pertença global

In this article we seek to reconstruct the decision-making process on Portugal’s entry into PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), in the timeframe between the moment when the 13th Portuguese Constitutional Government took office, in 1995, and the disclosure, in 2001, of the results of the first participation of Portuguese students in this international survey. From a methodological point of view, the emphasis was laid on a qualitative approach centred on a comprehensive analysis of policy documents, including legal documents (e.g., decree-laws, regulatory decrees, Ministerial Orders), Government programmes, presentation speeches and par liamentary debates held around it, and, also, in-depth interviews with key actors with government positions in the timeframe under study, and with leaders involved in the coordination of the first Portuguese participation in PISA. From a theoretical point of view, contributions regarding, on the one hand, the rise, mobilization and dissemination of international large-scale assessments and, on the other hand, the rationales for countries’ participation in these as sessments were mobilized. The results of our analysis suggest that the decision to have Portugal participate in PISA, which was not unanimous, has been taken by normative emulation and aimed to consolidate a particular direction of the national educational policy agenda.