The Entrepreneurship Subject in the Portuguese Education System

The Portuguese education system is organised into five levels: (1) Pre-school, (2) Basic education, (3) Secondary Education, (4) Post secondary non-tertiary education and (5) higher education. The compulsory education corresponds to the Basic education (Ensino basico) which is structured into three levels or cycles: The first cycle comprehends the first four years after pre-school, the second cycle corresponds to fifth and sixth year of schooling, and the third cycle comprises three years (the seventh, eighth and ninth). Usually, the basic education is attended by children from six to 15 years old (DGIDC n.d.). The compulsory education has been extended to 12 years of schooling since the school year of 2009/2010 (Presidencia da Republica 2009). Nowadays, the compulsory education comprises the basic (from first to ninth year) and the secondary education (from 10th to 12th year). For that reason, students enrolled in the seventh year of the Basic Education in the 2009/2010 school year, have to finish the secondary education, i.e., the 12th grade. However, since the Fifobi-project has initiated in the beginning of 2009 (before the new law), the level of compulsory education considered for the project is the Basic education, i.e., nine years of schooling.