The central purpose of the research is to relate school results with a series of variables characterising the pupils and their families in order to measure their effect on these results. We plan to analyse the results achieved in national 4th, 6th and 9th grade exams considering the effects, on one hand, of the pupils’ sex, place of birth and nationality and, on the other hand, the class, place of birth and nationality of their parents. Subsidiarily, we will identify schools with dissimilar results but very similar student populations in terms of social condition and the national origin of their families, and explore some aspects of the “school effect” (leadership profile, education plan and organisation of classes and periods) on achievement or failure.

The aim of the project is to assure the participation of Portugal on PIAAC, a large scale assessment. PIAAC is an International study, promoted by OECD, aiming to assess adult competencies. A survey will be conducted in about 30 OECD country members to measure skills of literacy, numeracy and problem solving in rich technology environments, among the population between 16 and 65 years old. The assessment will be available and undertaken in two different formats: paper or computer based.

In recent years the increasing migratory pressure in Portugal and its growing demographic and cultural importance has become an issue of general interest and wide debate. There remains, however, inadequate scientific knowledge about the configurations and conditions that characterize this segment of Portuguese society, one that is considerably heterogeneous from a cultural, social and age-structure point of view. In the field of sociology, there is a shortage of data regarding, for example, the social composition, schooling processes and life courses of the young descendants of immigrants in Portugal. For this reason, this research proposes to build a stock of multidimensional information that helps us to state the issues and allows rectification of some of the insufficiencies ascertained.