Private secondary school principals' perceptions of their role and of the changes in the legislation regarding private education in Portugal between 1974-1989

On April 25, 1974 a military revolution put an end to more than forty years of dictatorship in Portugal. One area particularly affected by the new Constitution approved in 1976 was private education. The Constitution stated in Article 75.2: "The State shall supervise private education, which is a substitute for public education." Private school principals feared that, once the State had established enough public institutions to cover the scholar needs of the national territory, private education did not have any role in the new Portuguese society. They were determined to fight for their right to educate children.;This study explores secondary private school principals' perception of the changes in the legislation referring to private schools and their own contributions to that evolution during the period 1974-1989. Principals were asked about three specific issues: the publication in 1980 of the Statute of Private and Cooperative Education, the changes brought by the legislation whereby public funds were provided to private schools, and the changes brought by the legislation that granted them autonomy.;The population included all the principals of secondary private schools in Portugal. A cross-sectional survey was employed. The population surveyed was 181 from whom 135, or 74.6%, responded. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. After that, the correlation between demographic variables and the principals' perceptions were determined using Chi-square tests for independence to assess the probability of association and Cramer's V test to determine their magnitude.;The data suggest that principals perceived a positive change in the legislation during the period 1974-1989. The publication of the Statute of Private and Cooperative Education in 1980 was perceived as the major change, followed by the legislation that granted autonomy to private schools, and, with less enthusiasm, by the legislation regulating public financial aid. Principals also perceived that their intervention had had a positive influence in the change of the legislation during the same period.