From “instruction for Chinese” to bilingual talents: Evolution of public policies of Portuguese language teaching in Macao

Abstract

This article presents an empirical research on the evolution of public policies of Portuguese language teaching in Macao from the period of Portuguese administration to the present day, inscribed in the studies on educational policies that resort to the theory of social regulation. Through archival research and an interview with a senior official responsible for education in the Macao Special Administrative Region, data showed an intensification and diversification of the modes of institutional regulation and control associated with changes in the territory’s political and administrative status. At the same time, the research showed that this evolution signals current trends in changes in the modes of regulation under way in other geographical contexts.