Born to fail?: some lessons from a national program to improve education in poor districts

The article analyses the main benefits of a Portuguese Programme, launched in 1996, which was designed to support schools in segregated districts (TEIPs). The first part of the article presents a theoretical frame-work, before moving on to the main features of the TEIP programme in contemporary Portuguese society and education. An explanation of the methodological procedures applied in the research is also included. In the second part of the article, the main results are discussed. In broad terms, the programme succeeded in reducing violence patterns and drop-out rates. On the other hand, an improvement in academic outcomes is slow and the links to local communities and the labour market are variable and, in both cases, highly dependent of local variables. In the conclusion, the authors systematise the opportunities and challenges of such a ‘territorial approach’ and point out some key factors in enhancing its success.