RCAAP Repository

This article discusses computer-based simulations and games approaches in learning and teaching in Portuguese higher education. lnformation Technologies can be an important innovation factor in teaching and learning techniques, like the ones we observe in other human activities. Simulations and games provide a "believable" user experience, and players are like actors performing different roles for the development of criticai skills. We study how academics use different simulation-based teaching and learning approaches and how they perceive the barriers in adopting such techniques. ln order to investigate the use of different approaches we did an on-line survey for 926 Portuguese Teachers with 23.3% respondents. The findings have shown low didactic utilization, however it have also shown significant leveis of interest in the future as teachers believe in their pedagogical potential.

ln this work we tried to find which factors influence youths to early leave secondary schools in Vila Nova de Gaia. Through a qualitative study we interviewed youngsters who had attended grade 10 or 11, within six secondary schools in the municipality, and had left before completing their secondary studies. We also tried to know what head executives of these secondary schools thought about the relevance each group of factors performed to influence early school withdrawing. Our findings suggest the early school leaving, as a multi-dimensional process, is influenced by a wide variety of in-school and out-of-school factors that have, as a consequence, serious individual and social costs. The influence degree of one or more factors depends on the current social, economic, and educational situation of youths at the moment they leave school. The study of the head executives' understandings suggests they converge with youngsters' perspectives about the main factors; however, they diverge about the influence leve! of each group of factors in early leaving decisions.

Data míníng é uma importante ferramenta, disponível, para obter o máximo possível de conhecimentos a partir de informação recolhida por fontes primárias, utilizando instrumentos como questionários, ou a partir de fontes secundárias. Hoje em dia, muitas e diferentes informações são recolhidas nas escolas e organizações, é da maior importância analisá-las de forma apropriada, não apenas através de estatísticas descritivas, mas também por estatística inferencial e investigação multivariada. Este trabalho apresenta sucintamente técnicas de estatística inferencial paramétrica e não paramétrica, descrevendo as condições em que podem ser aplicadas, e também ferramentas de análise multivariada, como análise factorial de componentes principais e agrupamentos em clusters hierárquicos. A Estrutura de Avaliação Comum (Common Assessment Framework - CAF) é um processo de investigação baseada na aplicação de questionários, desenvolvido para as administrações públicas europeias, tendo por objectivo uma auto-análise mais eficiente e implementar acções para introduzir melhorias, no âmbito de uma abordagem de gestão da qualidade total. O objectivo principal deste trabalho consiste na introdução de técnicas que possibilitem a transformação de informação em conhecimento, em educação, pelo que, a título exemplificativo, as técnicas inferenciais e multi variadas apresentadas são aplicados a um conjunto de informações recolhidas pela utilização da CAF em organizações educativas, proporcionando um conjunto complementar de conhecimentos para melhorar e reforçar a implementação de acções, no contexto de uma abordagem de qualidade total.

ln the expectation of that this analysis can constitute a reflective instrument on the intervention of the inspection in the nursery education and the current positioning of the inspector face to the pre-school teachers, we initiate the present article with a boarding on the nursery education in the current educative politics. Later, we present some practical implications of the work of the inspector in kindergartens, mobilizing, for such, our lived experience wants in the scope of the teaching career, wants in the performance of inspective functions. The work of inspectors include, among others aspects, to combine the national priorities with the priorities of the schools, to stimulate the reflection dimension in those organizations, to guide the educative management resulted and to feed a severity culture. ln this way, the inspector, more than what a criticai conscience of the educative system, will be a constructor of this system, making what it is decisive and important, undertaking with security and firmness logic of effectiveness, directional for the culture of requirement and responsibility.

The paper discusses the concept of transdisciplinarity showing how it connects to the adaptation of science to the public space. The epistemic conditions of knowledge underpinning ethical and social decisions are related to the work of Bruno Latour on articulated propositions and the production of multiverses. The novelty of this author is the identification of the psicosocial and cultural aspects of research as well as the applied role of sciences that demanda new kind of transdisciplinar view.

No summary/description provided

The current work aims to show how, by manipulating the school organizational and educational conditions - by forming relatively homogenous classes, distributing teachers, laying emphasis upon the core subjects, coopera tive work, supervising permanently the students and finally by closely monitoring/following the exogenous factors that can influence the student's performance - the students can get better results than the ones achieved with traditional school conditions. This study presents a description of the project Phoenix's development and operationalization, as well as its first year implementation. Our case study has a naturalistic research design, with an assessment or intrinsic approach. A number of data collection techniques have been used, such as document analysis, interview, survey by questionnaire and non-participant observation. The following conclusions have been reached: there is a positive correlation between the project development and the students' results; the Phoenix project promotes learning and enhances the students' success not only in the subjects directly related to the Phoenix project, but also in the remaining subjects, thus significantly increasing ali the success pointers.

This study is centered in language acquisition and development of toddlers and children in pre-school years. W e explore individual trajectories listening parents and educators and also evaluate language development in order to understand which are typical characteristjcs of each step of normal language development. The research project was carried out with a group of 67 participants (children between two and half years and six years in a day care center for toddlers and preschool context). Comparative analysis between parents and educators data do not expose relevant tendency but the number of coincident answers allow us to conclude that both of them have a large knowledge about children. Results also reveals similar difficulties in each age group and better results for girls. Obtained data attested an evolution trend in comprehension and expression language as age progresses.

With this text we intend to present some of the results obtained through a research project that had as its main objective to explore the issue of self-evaluation of schools in Portugal, with the support of the reports of the externa! evaluation undertaken by the General lnspection of Education, in the 2007-2008 academic year. The peculiarity of this goal has led methodological options to tend towards a perspective of interpretive investigation of a documental corpus, in which content analysis is the selected method. The results of the research have pointed out to an increasing development of self- evaluation processes in Portuguese schools.

This study aims to analyze and understand the motivations, aspirations and expectations of students who attend the 9th grade. Involving 932 students random selected, this is, in fact, a replication of one of Azevedo's study (1991) that has enabled us to confirm the results of the previous study, since we have seen a strengthening of students' expectations, particularly with regard to further studies. It appears that the variables we defined, gender and previous educational background of students, the socio-professional status and parent's academic capital (qualifying school) have clear influence on the student's school and professional projects. Finally, with regard to professions sought by the students we have observed the devaluation of occupations with lower social status, with a revaluation of those with higher social status.

This paper is part of a wider research on lntergenerational Education and emphasizes the role of curricular mediators for the attitudinal change of students regarding old people and their societal role. It is possible to transform and develop new mental representations of old age by promoting positive attitudes and generating a significant and inclusive socioeducational culture. ln this context, textbooks as educational mediators are (should be) privileged carriers of learning and are central to promote a community that is genuinely committed to the development of a responsible and inclusive citizenship.

This investigation emphasizes the relation between teaching and learning in a training program in leadership. Therefore, the purpose of this study is related to the analysis of factors associated to the teaching- learning process, noting facilitators and barriers to the skills development. Certain facilitator aspects, that are related to the collective learning, such as ateam levei and psychological safety, were identified, which their members allow for the exposure. The factors that enhance the practical nature oflearning are followed by reflection, where is emphasized the return on experience as fundamental to explore the diversity and consequent learning. Finally, the last facilitators enhance the importance of observation. The levei of barriers points out aspects connected to the organization of the course in terms of schedule, date, and time concentration. ln conclusion of this study, as a fundamental aspect, it is advocated the need to contextualize the learning. The real work context is pointed out since skills are developed, expressed and validated in the specific field of application.

The expansion of vocational training to secondary schools has led, in the last years, many vocational schools to implement the ISO 9001 Standard in the hope of differentiating themselves through quality. This study, which is the first of its kind in Portugal, aims to discuss the benefits, drawbacks and key success factors of the implementation of the ISO 9001:2000 Standard in vocational schools using a methodology of multiple-case study. The results show internai benefits at the organizational levei, externa! benefits at the reputation and strategy levei, drawbacks derived from bureaucracy, the interpretation and adaptation of the Standard, and as key success factors the quality team and management commitment and support. It is hoped, thus, to contribute to assist school management boards in identifying courses of action that could make the implementation of this Standard more effective.

The phenomenon of social media takes place in multiple leveis of human activity: education, economy, politics, etc .. ln Portugal, these platforms have already attracted more than 70% oflntemet users and it's the third European country with the highest rate of usage. The Web 2.0 services appear as a new communication solution for higher education institutions, that face severa! problems: the decline of candidates, the growth of competition, financial constraints and the excess of graduates in areas of low employability (Torres, 2004). To be aware and understand this new way of creating and distributing content is to be open to new communication concepts of mediated interaction, not resulting from a simple conversion exercise of traditional media content to an on-line version. The study tried to analyze and respond to important issues to the characterization of this phenomenon and it's use to organizations, through a qualitative methodology based on observation of cases and platforms with a descriptive and analytical research. This process allowed to construct a model for the integration of social media in the organizations' communication strategy.

No summary/description provided

The scarce investigation in Portuguese language and the oblivion about the problematic of the holistic paradigm, forced me to an additional effort in this area. I focused my attention in the scientific model of the last four centuries and mainly in the holistic vision. Besides describing the essential elements of the scientific mechanical paradigm and the holistic paradigm, as well as the education in these two paradigms, we want to denounce, as Martha Nussbaum did, the atrophy of the education to the technical-scientific dimension, as well as to underline, as Ken Wilber did, the transdisciplinarity, the interdependence, the holisticity of the education.

This article tries to present some of the data on the problematic of indiscipline in students of a junior high school. This is a case study conducted in a Portuguese school in a metropolitan space of a big city of the south bank of the Tagus River. The main empirical basis of the research is constituted by a set of documents regarding the 885 “disciplinary events” registered in the school during the 2007/2008 school year. These documents were consulted in the archive of the school and subject of statistical treatment. With this study we aim to describe the disciplinary events, the characteristics of the several actors involved, and the mechanisms of response from the different schools bodies and agents. Taking into account the vast set of dimensions that this theme presents us, the data we present here are limited to the analysis of the following aspects: the scale of the phenomenon; the students involved (year of schooling, age, gender, nationality); the teachers involved (gender, curricular department, subjects they teach); the context in which the isolated behavior occurs, namely if it happens in the restricted space of the classroom or at the enlarged space of the school.

This article presents the result of a research project which its main objective was to explore the impact of the new inclusive education policies in the special education teachers’ and regular education teachers’ perceptions and attitudes. So, an exploratory study was conducted and four special education teachers and four regular education teachers were interviewed. The results of the research have highlighted that there is a positive attitude towards the legislation and inclusion, although they are many aspects that need to be improved, such as human and material resources.  

The family is children’s context par excellence. However, contrary to this belief, dysfunctional family relationships lead to children’s confinement to institutions where their childhood and youth will take place. It is expected that the inclusion of these children “at risk”, dealing with very specific problems and attending regular classes, should work in complete safety. The current article presents a research that aims to analyze the way schools organize themselves in order to include and guide children running social risks, in particular some children living in institutions in the district of Viseu. A theoretical and conceptual reflection provides the basis for the study focusing on the emergence of cooperation between the school and the foster institution. In conclusion, it is believed that there is a gap between intended representations of foster institutions and their effective practices promoting inclusion.

The recent “opening” of higher education institutions (HEI) to “new publics” raises some questions: first of all, that of the transformation (or not) of an education subsystem often described as conservative. The unsolved problem of the lack of devices directed to the recognition of adults’ prior learning (at a higher education level) might work as a challenge that could contribute to solve this problem, that is, the knowledge (often unrecognised by the subjects themselves, but also by others, namely through formal devices of recognition) acquired and developed by adults, in their lives and with their lives, together with the needs that they seek to satisfy through education and training, could invite HEI to change. This paper intends to explore part of the wide range of meanings that adults construct concerning higher education, stressing the obstacles and facilitators of adult learning, in a journey through three spheres: individual, social and institutional. The research plan presented here intends to draw a conceptual and critical framework of the problematic, based on the perspectives of HEI directors, professors and adult learners. Even though the study privileges the local level, both concerning the institutions and the individuals, the national and transnational governance devices and processes have been considered as well. The analytic dimensions embrace the processes and products of adult learning, the assessment methodologies, the pedagogical practices, the curricular plans and frameworks, the (career and pedagogical) guidance and support devices — namely tutorship —, as well as the courses, programmes and institutions’ functioning and organization.