Special and Inclusive Education in Portugal: a word from the Director of Special Education and Socio-Educational Support Services. Intervew: Filomena Pereira

Abstract

An interview, carried out with the Director of Special Education Services and Socio-Educational Support of the Directorate-General for Education of the Portuguese Ministry of Education, presented her academic and professional trajectory, mainly in the area of Special and Inclusive Education, and a brief history of the trajectory of Special Education through the country. With relevant participation in the formulation of legislation about the area, since 1994 Filomena has been regularly involved as a representative of the Ministry of Education of Portugal and in several Working Groups of the European Union that deal with the subject. Filomena reports on how teachers are trained in Portugal to work from the perspective of inclusive education and ends the interview by sharing her vision of how countries should think about education from this perspective.