Escola Superior de Educação de Portalegre - an overview

The College

Escola Superior de Educação de Portalegre (ESEP) - Portalegre College of Education - is part of the Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre - Portalegre Polytechnics Institute - together with a College of Management and Technology and a College of Agrarian Studies. ESEP was legally founded in 1979 and began its activities only in 1985, after a period of training of the first staff and School Board members.

As a College of Education, ESEP has provided initial and in-service training for (future) teachers in Infant School (4 years course), Primary School (4 years course) and Lower Secondary School (4 years course) - Branches of Mathematics and Sciences, Portuguese and English, Portuguese and French and Visual Arts and Technology.

Since the school year 1993/94 ESEP has been offering Post-Graduated Studies (2 years course) in School Administration, Pedagogic Supervision, and Community Education and the Preservation of the Cultural and Environmental Heritage.

From the school year 1994/95 ESEP offered the first non-education courses (4 years courses): Journalism, Tourism and Cultural Animation.

The total number of students at present is about 1000 and the staff about 80 members.

Besides initial in-service and Post-Graduation studies, ESEP has been involved in various research projects with national and foreign institutions. It also edits a nation-wide educational journal called Aprender. (Learning)

The Building

The ESEP building is a reconstructed 18th Century palace which underwent wide remodelation, and to which a new building was added in the old surrounding ground.  It is situated in Portalegre old town, just outside the ancient walls of the city; opposite its coat of arms decorated fa~gade lies PraÇa da Rep?blica (Republic Square), an ancient square, recently reconstructed and renovated, where the old market took place, and also bullfighting.

Facilities

ESEP provides a large number of facilities to its students and staff.

There is a Pedagogic Animation and Resources Centre, comprising the sectors of Documentation (Library), Audio-Visual Production, Informatics and Publishing.  The Library possesses about 20 000 documents, including books, national and foreign, the most widely known national and foreign education journals, general information magazines and newspapers in Portuguese and in foreign languages, videos, CD-ROM, satellite dish TV reception, together with all the equipment to use the media locally; it is open throughout the day and its services are completely computerised.

The Informatics Centre is equipped with about 30 single post computers, of which 6 are Macintosh, and provides free access facilities for students throughout the day.

The Publishing Centre manages a set of photocopying machines with electronic access via a special card that is bought and reloaded at the Centre.

The Audio-Visual Centre manages the audio and video resources, both for teaching purposes and for individual work of students who can use its facilities for the production of documents.

There is also a Language Lab, a Sciences Lab, Music Rooms, an Auditorium, a Gymnasium, an Arts Room.

The canteen, open for lunch and dinner, except on weekends and holidays, is complemented by a cafeteria, with light snacks, coffee, etc.

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