Textbooks and curricular reform in Portugal: Geography teachers' perceptions

This paper aims at researching how the use of Textbooks, as a central resource in education, has changed considering the curricular changes introduced in Portugal, with the publication of new legislation related to school learning and the integral training of students as they finish compulsory education. The research seeks to understand schoolteachers' views related to the curriculum changes and how they were followed by a new use of textbooks both by teachers and students. Data collection was done using questionnaires. The preliminary results point to the existence of a gap between the new curricular guidelines and the textbooks that support the work of teachers and students. In fact, the new legislation related to school learning and the integral training of students does not include a new concept and use of textbooks to respond to the new requirements of the national education system. Some recommendations and reflections are presented based on the needs detected by the teachers.