Isabel Alçada

Portuguese writer and teacher (born 1950)

teacher
writer
politician

LanguagePortugueseAlma materUniversity of Lisbon, Boston UniversityGenre

children's literature
young adult literature

Years active1982–presentNotable worksUma aventura seriesMinister of EducationIn office
2009–2011Prime MinisterJosé SócratesPreceded byMaria de Lurdes RodriguesSucceeded byNuno Crato

Maria Isabel Girão de Melo Veiga Vilar GOIH GOIP^[1]^[2] (Lisbon, 29 May 1950),^[3] better known by her pen name, Isabel Alçada, is a Portuguese teacher, writer, and politician. As a writer, she is mainly dedicated to children's literature, being primarily known for writing the Uma aventura series of books with her writing partner Ana Maria Magalhães.^[4]^[5]

Alçada has also held a number of education-related government-appointed positions, including coordinator for the working group that would conceive the Portuguese school library network (1995-1996), and commissioner for the National Reading Plan (2006-2009). From 2009 to 2011 she was the Minister of Education in the XVIII Constitutional Government of Portugal.^[6]^[7]

Life and work

Isabel Alçada was born in Lisbon on 29 May 1950. She attended Lycée français Charles Lepierre and took her Bachelor's degree in philosophy at the University of Lisbon, later obtaining a Master's degree in education sciences from the Boston University. In 1976, she decided to follow a career teaching Portuguese and History to 5th and 6th grade students (the 2nd cycle in the Portuguese basic education system); and in 1985, she joined the teaching staff of the Lisbon School of Education.^[3]^[7]

She met Ana Maria Magalhães in 1976 at the Escola Básica Fernando Pessoa where they were both teachers. The two teachers formed a friendship and writing partnership, publishing their first book, Uma Aventura na Cidade, in 1982.^[5]^[8] This would be become the first book of the Uma aventura series which would go on to have dozens of books.^[9]

References

^ Charter 10/2006 (PDF) (in Portuguese). 17 January 2006.
^ Charter 6/2022 (in Portuguese). 18 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Ministra da Educação". www.portugal.gov.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
^ "Isabel Alçada". Infopédia. Porto: Porto Editora. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b Puga, Rogério Miguel. "Alçada, Isabel". In Puga, Rogério Miguel (ed.). E-Dicionário de Escrita de Viagens Portuguesa (in Portuguese). Lisbon, London, São Paulo: CETAPS-Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Institute of Modern Languages Research-University of London, Laboratório de Interlocuções com a Ásia-University of São Paulo. ISBN 78-972-99724-2-3. Retrieved 16 December 2023.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
^ "Isabel Alçada". Pato Lógico (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Ministra da Educação: Isabel Alçada" [Minister of Education: Isabel Alçada]. Expresso (in Portuguese). 22 October 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
^ "Ana Maria Magalhães". Infopédia. Porto: Porto Editora. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
^ Puga, Rogério Miguel. "Uma Aventura (colecção)". In Puga, Rogério Miguel (ed.). E-Dicionário de Escrita de Viagens Portuguesa (in Portuguese). Lisbon, London, São Paulo: CETAPS-Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Institute of Modern Languages Research-University of London, Laboratório de Interlocuções com a Ásia-University of São Paulo. ISBN 78-972-99724-2-3. Retrieved 14 December 2023.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)