BEYOND PUBLIC AND PRIVATE: LEGAL STATUS AND OWNERSHIP AS DETERMINANTS OF INSTITUTIONAL DIFFERENTIATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION
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Este artigo examina como o estatuto jurídico e as entidades instituidoras contribuem para a diferenciação das instituições de ensino superior (IES), utilizando o sistema de ensino superior português como contexto empírico. Pretende ir além da dicotomia convencional público–privado, demonstrando que o estatuto jurídico e a propriedade são variáveis fundamentais para explicar a diversidade e o comportamento das IES privadas.
O estudo adota um desenho de investigação qualitativa baseado na análise documental, combinando dois eixos analíticos: o mapeamento jurídico-institucional e o mapeamento da propriedade. A análise baseia-se em fontes oficiais e institucionais, incluindo o Diário da República, o Portal da Justiça e a base de dados SABI, abrangendo o período de 2004 a 2021. Isto permite realizar análises tanto transversais como longitudinais.
Os resultados revelam que o ensino superior privado é caracterizado por um elevado grau de heterogeneidade organizacional, com múltiplas formas jurídicas de entidades instituidoras a coexistirem. Esta diversidade decorre diretamente do enquadramento jurídico que regula o setor. O estudo mostra também que a propriedade no ensino superior deve ser entendida como um sistema de controlo, e não apenas como uma relação formal de propriedade. Um dos principais resultados é o papel central da entidade instituidora no setor privado do ensino superior em Portugal, onde as instituições geralmente não possuem personalidade jurídica autónoma e o controlo efetivo é exercido pelas entidades instituidoras.
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