A Diachronic History of Public Policies on Entrepreneurship Education Programmes in Portugal (2006-2018) Francisco Banha, Adão Flores and Luís Coelho University of Algarve (FEUALG), CEFAGE-UÉvora and CIEO-UALG, Portugal fmbanha@ualg.pt aflores@ualg.pt lcoelho@ualg.pt DOI: 10.34190/EIE.21.084 Abstract: This paper provides a comprehensive and diachronic overview of the history of the of education for entrepreneurship programmes in Portuguese schools. Following the example of other European countries, these programmes began in Portugal in 2006 as a response to recommendations issued by the European Commission. This text will provide an account of the political and social initiatives that propelled these programmes, as well as an understanding of how they have been implemented. We propose a critical, multi-level analysis of a circumstance that reaches beyond the realm of education and extends well into other, crucial aspects of public policy, such as: citizenship and entrepreneurship competences, evidence-based policymaking, and the relation between entrepreneurship and economic development. This is the first study that examines the history of the education for entrepreneurship programmes in Portugal. Using a case study approach, this paper contributes to the knowledge of the development of this education strand in the country and its presence in the regions that have had a continued exposure to them – through a systematisation and presentation of original qualitative and quantitative data (concerning the number of students, institutions and educators involved) and results. Moreover, this paper will also highlight the pedagogic strategies and methodologies used (in the face of the difficulties presented) in the implementation of these programmes, in order to make sure that the learning outcomes were aligned with best practices observed in the field of entrepreneurship education. We also add to the literature by showing how initiatives might be enhanced and strengthened through public policymaking and how they refresh the education system and introduce new challenges for all parts involved (i.e., students, parents, schools, teachers, businesses, and local entities – which, as we will see for the Portuguese case, are still far from acting in an articulated manner and under a common strategy). The conclusions include the identification of best practices and success factors (as well as the identification of blocking factors), thus meaning that this study not only provides a deeper comprehension of socio-political phenomena, but also a vision for future projects and strategies connected to this field of education. Keywords: entrepreneurship education, citizenship education, compulsory education, public policies, decision-making process, economic development 1. Introduction This paper focuses on the development of the public policies on entrepreneurship education 1 and its implementation in Portugal. It should be highlighted that there is a strong need to study the phenomenon of entrepreneurship (especially entrepreneurship education) in Portugal. Indeed, this has remained an acknowledged gap in the literature (Banha, 2020), which we intend to help fill – even if only in broad strokes. This enquiry initially stemmed from a suspicion that there has been discrepancy between institutional discourse and actual political action to advance EE in the country. Since 2003, several studies by the European Commission and other European Union institutions on entrepreneurship education (EE) have emphasized its importance and discussed the benefits of including it in all levels of education, as shown in the Figure1, below: In Portugal there is a lack of school participation in EE. For example, the penetration rate of entrepreneurship education programs in the academic year 2017/2018, despite having started in 2006, was 4% and 2.2%, regarding students and teachers, respectively. In turn, only 0.26% of the continuous training actions carried out by teachers in that school year covered EE. The following table systematizes data on the evolution of the numbers of entrepreneurship education in Portugal: 1 For a comprehensive literature review regarding the “on/about through” framework of entrepreneurship education, as well as an overview about the concept of entrepreneurship as a pedagogical ethos see Kakouris and Liargovas, 2020. 71