This research project is being developed in the context of the Doctoral Program in Education Sciences, at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Oporto, Portugal (FPCE-UP), having as a host institution (and partner) the Civil Parish Government of Massarelos (Oporto). Its main purpose is to explore the potential surrounding social-educational mediation processes, in a Local Development context, namely as to what concerns supporting the development of a Local Educational Project and a Local Educational Council. Taking in consideration that the Civil Parish of Massarelos is demographically representative of the Oporto city, and the recent publication of this city’s Educative Charter, we believe that this Parish can be a “test tube” for a “local education culture” and an “Educating City”. Our objective is to analyse, in the context of Massarelos, the existence of favourable conditions to the emergence of a structure similar to the Integrated Formative System (Villar, 2001), which enables the development of “solidary spaces”: space-time contexts that favour the mobilization of the action of the people, the educational/formative institutions, local associations, local government instances and the companies, all of which are intended to be deeply involved in the whole process. This research project intents to be a “case-study”, from which will emerge a set of instruments of a possible intervention model, towards the mobilization, articulation and attribution of meanings to the action of local institutions in similar or wider contexts; it also is a comparative (as it mobilizes contributions of research projects developed in similar contexts) and longitudinal study.
Based on the action principles derived from the International Association of Educating Cities, through its Charter of Educating Cities, the Project “Massarelos, Educating Parish” has as main purpose to promote the engagement of the local community around the objective of working together in a series of initiatives concerning the improvement of the life quality and the cause of Education (of children, young people and adults). We assume that the educational development of the Parish is a fundamental dimension of its global development.
The access to the institutional positions facing the educational issue was made through semi-structured interviews, directed to the Civil Parish Government, public and private schools (of all levels) and local associations. The latter two were also probed through written inquiries (concerning the knowledge and analysis of their population and activities), which were analysed using the SPSS software.
The next research phase (beginning in September/2008) will involve the use of focus-group discussions, with the purpose of understanding the Massarelos’ inhabitants’ perception of the fragilities and potentialities of their Parish as a public space and an educating context. The main targets will be: a) children and youngsters (namely through Students’ Associations) and their families (namely through Parents’ Associations) – separately; b) local associations’ leaders and associates; and c) entrepreneurs associated with the Civil Parish Government’s Project “+Empresas” (to support the development of local companies).

References:
VILLAR, Maria Belén Caballo (2001). «A Cidade Educadora. Nova perspectiva de organização e intervenção municipal». Lisbon: Piaget Institute.