'The people need to be enlightened and taught'

Revolution and popular education

Bibliographic Data

ID21866935
AuthorsCarla Vilhena (0000-0002-5524-5174, Algarve Biomedical Center), Luís Carlos Martins D ́almeida Mota (0000-0003-4014-9590, Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra), Amanda Fragoso (0000-0002-2212-7307, Algarve Biomedical Center)
Year2026
Pages1-18
Publication date2026-02-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2000-7426 • E-ISSN: 2000-7426
PublisherLinköping University Electronic Press (PUBLISHER • SE)
DOI10.3384/rela.2000-7426.6059
OpenAlexW7127628170
LanguageEN
References cited18

This article explores the social, educational, and participatory practices during the revolutionary period in Portugal (1974-1976), a historical moment marked by a combination of political rupture and grassroots mobilisation. By focusing on four key initiatives – agrarian reform, popular education, the MFA’s Cultural Dynamization and Civic Action Campaign, and the Student Civic Service – this study sheds light on the diversity of popular educational experiences and social transformation movements of the time. It analyses how education and civic engagement were conceived and employed as tools for societal transformation. The results show that, during the revolutionary period, civil society, previously repressed under the dictatorship, played a crucial role in the democratisation of education. They also highlight the significant contribution of the popular classes and of popular education in the broader transformation of Portuguese society

Citizen journalism · Civil society · Democratization · Grassroots · Politics · Popular education · Portuguese · Social movement · Social transformation · Historical and Political Studies · Historical Education and Society · History, Culture, and Society

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access