The Doors that 'April Opened': Higher Education in Social Work in Portugal at the ISMT in Coimbra

Abstract

The “Carnation Revolution” opened up Portugal to the world and 'invaded' the Schools of Social Work with an impact on the training of Portuguese Social Work (PSW) and Miguel Torga Institute of Higher Education (ISMT), allowing them to conquer academic and professional fields. This paper conducts a socio-historical analysis of training based on documents from the ISMT Archives and interviews with key personalities. It explores three significant periods that mark the evolution of training in PSW at ISMT in Coimbra: 1) 1974 to 1990: during this period, the secularization of training took place, education was democratized, and students gained social rights while participating in struggles for their training and profession; 2) 1990s: this period highlighted the recognition of the degree, which aled to the development of postgraduate training and research, expanding career opportunities and professional fields; 3) Post Bologna Process: this section addresses the changes imposed by the Bologna Process, which reduced the duration of training from five to four years in 2004 and further to seven semesters in 2007, resulting in substantial changes for training and the profession.