Admission to Initial Teacher training Programs for Primary Education: A Common Challenge?

A Perspective from Spain and Portugal

Abstract

The growing international interest in teacher quality has intensified attention on admission policies for initial teacher training programmes, as these shape both the profile of future graduates and the attractiveness of the teaching profession. This study analyses and compares the processes of access to and admission into initial teacher training programmes for primary education (ages 6–12) in Spain and the corresponding levels of basic education in Portugal. To this end, a Comparative Case Study (CCS) approach is employed to examine how both countries regulate entry into these programmes. The findings reveal that, although both systems operate within the framework of the European Higher Education Area, Spain and Portugal have developed distinct transition models. Spain maintains a concurrent model in which admission is primarily determined by higher education entrance qualifications, whereas Portugal follows a consecutive model in which entry into qualifying teacher education is achieved through master's degree programmes, recently reformed in response to the growing teacher shortage. The study contributes to the international debate by demonstrating how curricular structures and policy priorities shape admission models and generate different responses to the contemporary challenges of teacher attraction, selection, and professionalisation.