The Centre for Research and Intervention in Education (CIIE) of the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences (FPCEUP) is a research institution supported by the Portuguese Research Funding Agency (FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation. Founded in 1988, CIIE has, over several decades, established itself as a national and international reference centre for research in lifelong education across multiple educational and social contexts. Its activity focuses on the development of high-quality research on key educational issues, combining scientific rigour, innovation and social impact, with a clear commitment to the democratic transformation of education and society.

CIIE is widely recognised as a centre of excellence for researching, innovating and inspiring change in education, always in close collaboration with and for educational communities. This excellence was acknowledged in the most recent evaluation by the FCT, in 2023/2024, in which it was once more awarded the rating of “Excellent”.

CIIE brings together excellent capacity and great experience of its team of researchers, having, especially in recent years, managed to achieve great success in attracting external funding, particularly from the European Union. Currently, 31 funded research and development projects are underway.

CIIE has also distinguished itself through the high quality of its advanced training, its international profile, and its central role in educating new generations of education researchers, notably through the Doctoral Programme in Educational Sciences (PDCE) of FPCEUP, which CIIE co-organises. The excellence of the PDCE was recognised in 2012-2013 when it was distinguished as an FCT PhD Programme (the only one in this field in the 1st edition of the FCT’s competition). CIIE offers its doctoral and master’s students especially attractive conditions for advanced training and career development, in a stimulating, collaborative and internationalised environment. Students are integrated into research communities of practice (CoPins), research and training groups that are small collectives organised around one or more thematic areas of specialisation and research interests. In these groups, senior researchers, early-career researchers, doctoral students, and professionals work together, sharing knowledge, methodologies, and challenges.

The CoPIns are integrated into three larger research groups:
• PITE – Policy, Inequalities and Transformative Education
• DJusT – Diversity, Social Justice and Territories
• SCINTE(a)+Democracy – Schooling, Curriculum, Teacher Education, Innovation + Democracy

This structure promotes a close, cooperative and intellectually stimulating research environment, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and the co-creation of knowledge.

CIIE also includes the Observatory of School Life (OBVIE), the Observatory of Sport, Education and Communities (ODEC), and the Digital Experimentation and Research in Education Laboratory (LabDERE).

The Centre also ensures the regular publication of the journals Educação, Sociedade & Culturas (ESC) and the Journal of Social Science Education (JSSE).


CIIE is supported, in the 2025-2029 period, by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), I.P., through national funds from the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES – Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior), and by the European Union-NextGenerationEU, via the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan [Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência – PRR], under the multi-year funding awarded to CIIE [grant awards no. UID/00167/2025 and UID/PRR/167/2025].