RCAAP Repository

The existing research on adaptation to superior education suggests that it is influenced by internalist factors that are related to students’ own personal characteristics and by factors associated with the university context, referring to the characteristics and specifics of their education contexts. This study intends to understand, from a group of volunteer students of a public University, the influence of extracurricular activities on the perception that they held on the adjustment to superior education and of the acquisition of professional abilities. We used a qualitative research methodology, obtaining the perceptions of students through an interview. We concluded that the universities have an important role on the maximization of the psychological development of their students, which is seen as favored by the combination of physical and infrastructural conditions, relational and on the investment in the promotion of values associated with citizenship, responsibility, reflection and autonomy of students, particularly through initiatives of academic involvement.

In this paper, we present the process and the results of an ethnographic research carried out in six school centres in Malaga (Spain) about the participation from immigrant students’ families in school life. The centres where this research was carried out are referred to and the methodology used is also explained. The most important conclusions are also presented, not only the ones that refer to the research process, but also the ones that relate to its focus. In the last part of the paper, there is a refl ection about the negotiation of the content of the reports with the participants.

The mail goal of the present study is to understand the relation between academic competence and social competence in students from elementary school. The participants were 75 3rd grade students, aged between 8 and 10 years old, from public and private schools in the northern Portugal. The sample included students with learning disabilities and students with high academic competence, identified by their teachers. The results highlight a strong relation between academic competence and social competence: students with learning disabilities have a significant lower level of social skills and higher level of behavior problems than students with high academic competence. The results also showed that students with learning disabilities are strongly rejected by their peers. This study emphasizes that children with learning disabilities have difficulties, not only in academic skills, but also in the field of social skills. This kind of findings should be considered for understanding and intervention.

Retention in secondary education is a factor of exclusion with high socioeconomic costs. The practice of retention is rooted in factors related to an organizational inertia, anchored in personal, social and organizational idiosyncrasies in what concerns to the mission of school and to the value of academic excellence. There is an image of status and cognitive level accessible only to a few that is still associated with secondary education and is ratified by the need of retaining students. The concept of academic success is related to the idea of sequentiality; the concept of retention shows us exactly that: an imposed stop along the way. The look that the investigator directs towards success formulates the doubt about the responsibilities that can be addressed to school. Three years from the arrival to secondary education of the first cohort of students within compulsory education, we see this as a good timing to, in the field of educational sciences investigation; readdress the discussion about educational success.

This article presents two validation studies of the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ; Bates, Freeland & Lounsbury, 1979), to the Portuguese population. Data was collected among preschool teachers of children aged between 11 and 20 months (Study 1) and preschool teachers of children aged between 21 and 32 months. Study 1 used a convenience sample of 289 babies and Study 2 a convenience sample of 398 children. The aim of both studies was the assessment of the psychometric qualities of this instrument. These studies allowed the identification of adequate factorial solutions for each age group. The levels of internal consistency are, in general, satisfactory.

Este artigo retrata um estudo sobre a liderança escolar realizado numa escola secundária em Lisboa. Trata-se de saber, através de um estudo de caso, de que forma uma escola desenvolve a Direcção Por Valores (DPV) distanciando-se dos modelos clássicos de gestão assentes na centralização burocrático-taylorista. Deste modo, recorremos a uma metodologia qualitativa, privilegiando a análise dos documentos institucionais da escola, as entrevistas aos gestores escolares e os diários de campo. Graças a estes instrumentos de pesquisa, procurámos captar os valores em jogo e as lógicas de (in)acção no governo da escola. O estudo revelou que os valores são considerados, pelos líderes, imprescindíveis para a gestão e desenvolvimento da escola. Todos os membros da comunidade educativa (direcção, professores, alunos, pais, encarregados de educação) são considerados responsáveis pela vivência e transmissão dos valores dentro e fora da escola onde o exemplo aparece como a via por excelência para a comunicação dos valores. O estudo revelou também que o excesso de legislação e regulamentação pormenorizada em vigor no sistema educativo português contraria, de alguma maneira, a prática e a lógica da Direcção Por Valores na escola.

Os Ambientes de Aprendizagem Enriquecidos pela Tecnologia (TELE) são fundamentais na competitividade das Instituições do Ensino Superior (IES). A globalização das fontes do saber, o crescimento da concorrência entre instituições, o encurtamento da duração dos ciclos de formação, o aumento da importância da formação ao longo da vida e o aprofundamento da cooperação entre IES de países diferentes são alguns dos factores que exigem ambientes de aprendizagem tecnologicamente ricos, com base de trabalho online . Os TELE são vistos como suporte fundamental na reengenharia pedagógica, podendo suportar de forma mais efectiva a aproximação a filosofias educacionais de cariz mais construtivista. Contudo, apesar dos avultados investimentos, uma parte significativa destes ambientes falha ou fi ca aquém das expectativas. A inadequação das políticas para introduzir mudanças nas organizações por via da tecnologia e a falta de modelos de gestão e avaliação são aspectos que comprometem o sucesso destas iniciativas. Os TELE têm um grande potencial inovador e, por norma, implicam um investimento muito alto que tem de ser justificado, demonstrando a relação custo/benefício das tecnologias. Assim, a definição de modelos de gestão e de avaliação, que funcionem como guias de acção, são factores fundamentais para eficácia das acções e garantia da qualidade. Neste trabalho, que decorre da revisão de literatura, apresentamos alguns modelos que orientam o processo de mudança e inovação nas organizações e linhas-guias para avaliação, enquanto instrumento de gestão, de TELE.

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Contracts of autonomy are part of a larger context of study that is the decentralization of the educational administration and are closely related to new ways of regulation of the public action and to a new form of school management. In this study, of which the main results are presented here, we use a qualitative approach to understand the contracting process of the autonomy of schools in Portugal, we analysed the autonomy agreemented contracts signed on September 10th, 2007 and other produced documents and we listened to the points of view of the 22 School Directors or school associated groups with a contract and a director of each Regional Head of Education. The governance by contract is a mode of regulation of educational policies and of state action in Education that fits the perspective of organizational development of schools and legitimized itself through the objectives of school improvement, quality of public service of education and improving learning outcomes of students.

O estudo realizado permitiu a compreensão e o conhecimento do modo como se articulam os projetos estruturantes da organização escolar, PEE e PCE, e o seu impacto no planeamento da ação pedagógica e na gestão do currículo consubstanciados no mapa anual de atividades. Ao longo do processo de investigação, analisámos as culturas de trabalho e o tipo de lógicas supervisivas presentes, nos departamentos e grupos disciplinares, nas fases de conceção, implementação e avaliação dos projetos atendendo aos constrangimentos e potencialidades sinalizadas pelos atores, bem como às propostas de melhorias enunciadas para o quadro organizacional em presença. A abordagem teórica possibilitou-nos uma incursão sobre os conceitos de escola, autonomia, projeto, supervisão, culturas e modelos organizacionais. Na vertente empírica, o estudo baseou-se numa metodologia qualitativa sustentada na realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas aos atores-chave, análise de conteúdo da esfera documental, observação empírica, constituição de um diário de campo e análise de atas e planificações anuais de diferentes grupos disciplinares. O tratamento e a triangulação dos dados colhidos permitiu extrair evidências e encontrar respostas para as questões de investigação inicialmente traçadas. As conclusões retiradas permitiram destacar o carácter essencialmente retórico dos projetos e a sua débil articulação à praxis organizacional. Foi também possível analisar e compreender o conjunto de razões que conduzem, em contexto, ao predomínio de culturas de trabalho pouco colegiais e colaborativas, à débil presença de mecanismos de supervisão e à escassez de culturas de autorregulação e autoavaliação das práticas institucionais.

This article summarizes a case study in the School of Castêlo da Maia (ESCM), which investigated the impact that the project “More Success Classes” (TSM) against academic failure had on education, stimulation and socialization of low-income students. The project developed on the field since 2006/07 is based on a methodology of setting up the classes based on careful analysis of the student’s school history, grouping in the same class pupils with difficulties at the same previous three core subjects: Portuguese, English and Mathematics. This option of forming classes relatively “homogeneous” reflects an option not always consensuous in educational research. But, as the results of the study show, success in these classes was increased by a set of combined factors of pedagogy and didactics, administrative and human resources. Regarding the project’s impact on the results of the instruction of students, it is clear that it was a success, since no student was retained at the end of the cycle, and this dimension was evaluated positively by all stakeholders. In relation to stimulation, although the overall result is positive, there is less agreement and convergence of views and the teachers the ones who evaluated less positively this aspect. The project’s impact on the socialization of students is evaluated positively by all participants, except for teachers who less favorably evaluate some of the indicators in this dimension.

The curriculum innovation refers to the processes of curriculum design as to its development. This article presents a summary of research within the PhD in Education, the dissertation entitled “The modular structure of vocational courses in public secondary schools: the current curriculum practices. Two case studies” is a qualitative research case study based on a methodological approach to collaborative action research (C-A-R), carried out in two public secondary schools. This study aims to identify the critical success factors arisen from the pushed on generalization of school vocational courses, created by the Reform of Secondary Education (approved by the Decree-Law No. 74/2004 of March 26th, with the corrections brought by the Declaration of Rectification No. 44/2004 of May 25th), as well as, to determine the plans of intervention, restructuring and improvement in the application of the modular curriculum structure needed to be led in, so that the organizational, teaching and assessment practices can be developed consistently with the theoretical model advocated and implemented in vocational schools. Furthermore, the aim is to deepen the perceptions, the knowledge of the teaching practices and the teaching and assessment strategies used by the teachers in vocational courses in order to implement the Modular Structure (MS) in public secondary schools, whereas “the commitment in a modular structure represents one of the key elements of the training project in the Vocational Schools” (Azevedo, J., 1991). Thus, in order that the training practices can be developed coherently with the curriculum model which grounds the MS, so as to foster the innovation desired, it is considered that the analysis model adopted in this research can be a strategic tool to give new meanings to school and to professional teaching in the vocational education. The analytical model adopted – integrated model of innovation to manage the change in the public school curriculum with vocational courses – is based on four foundations: modular curriculum development, teacher professional development, organizational development and development of teaching and learning processes. It is considered that with this research the original objectives were largely achieved and thus was given a significant contribution in the area of knowledge – vocational education. This conviction has been strengthened throughout the fieldwork in both cases, the data collected, analyzed, interpreted and compared, which cannot be generalized, open a wider window in order to observe how MS is being appropriate by teachers and implemented in ESP and thus open up opportunities to build new proposals for improvement.

The Questionnaire on Hyperactivity for Teachers (QHT), was developed in order to collect data on teachers’ knowledge about Hyperactivity Disorder Attention deficit as part of an academic study. The QHT operationalizes the following variables: teachers’ knowledge about ADHD, strategies used to address problematic student behaviour and their academic achievement. In order to evaluate the psychometric properties of the QHT, internal consistency of the thirty-four questions related to knowledge of the teacher in the face of ADHD was assessed, after applying the Questionnaire to a sample of 167 elementary school teachers. Cronbach’alpha coefficient was 0.82, showing that the QHT is a reliable instrument to use with elementary school teachers.

Available research about teachers’ education has been developing in Portugal from early 1990s. In this paper, the main conclusions of some major literature reviews on teachers education along this period are examined, focusing on the representation they reflect about what means to be a teacher in Portugal in the transition of the millennium – teaching activity and organization of teaching work – and about the more evident conceptions on the nature, construction and use of the specific knowledge required for teaching. Three extensive research reviews, published in 2004, 2005 and 2006, were examined. They cover the period between 1990 and 2006 and focus pre-service and inservice teachers education, supervision and identity, and organization of teaching work in schools. The predominant features evident in these reviews point out to the need of a further clarification of the boundaries of teachers’ education research field, emphasize influence of the perceived nature of the activity of teaching and of the specifi c knowledge it requires over teacher education practices, and illuminate the need to overcoming the traditional dychotomic view of theory-practice as a key question for the field. In methodological terms, , the reviews exhibit an unbalance between types of research, with a strong predominance of descriptive research and case studies, the orientation towards studying conceptions and representations rather than actual teaching and teacher education practices. These aspects contribute to a relatively insufficient clarifi cation of the boundaries of the research field under analysis.

A relação Família-Escola contribui de forma inequívoca para o sucesso escolar dos alunos (Epstein, 1995). Desta forma, importa conhecer quais as práticas de relação Família-Escola e compreender quais os fatores que facilitam e quais os que bloqueiam esta relação. Participaram neste estudo seis diretores de turma (DT) do 9.º ano e doze pais destes alunos, que frequentavam três estabelecimentos de ensino privado da área metropolitana do Porto. A recolha de dados foi realizada através de uma entrevista semi-estruturada, procurando-se aceder à experiência individual de cada um destes elementos, privilegiando uma lógica indutiva e interpretativa. Os resultados apontam no sentido de os DT valorizarem o papel dos pais no processo educativo dos seus filhos, criando diversas oportunidades para a participação dos mesmos, ajustando as formas de comunicação e promovendo o seu envolvimento. Esta atitude positiva dos DT, que procuram ajustar-se às disponibilidades dos pais, é percecionada por estes como facilitadora da relação, sendo os contactos informais muito valorizados por pais e professores. No final são apontadas limitações resultantes no número dos participantes envolvidos e especificidade do contexto.

The little involvement of tutors in the school life of their children, identified as a problem that all the school community experiences, schools and teachers in particular, is a phenomenon that has aroused the attention of many investigators, as well as the regard of the political power, noticeable in the vast publication of scientific studies and in the profuse regulatory production of which has been targeted in the last few years. This study, developed within the thesis in School Administration and Organization Master and oriented by Professor Teresa Sarmento, had as its main objective the characterization of the school-family relationship in a particular middle school of the centre region of the country. To do so, the perception of a sample of tutors and class directors was observed, using questionnaires and interviews. In this article the results are presented regarding the level of communication between tutors and class directors, the areas where that participation should be more effective, the existent constraints to that participation/involvement, as well as some strategies that the school can develop. The results suggest the existence of difficulties caused by the dynamics and family limitations, and also by the organizational and functional school culture.

The present study aimed to characterize and compare two groups of mothers, the psychosocial risk group and the non-risk group, with respect to discipline strategies. Mothers who participated in the study had children between 12 and 48 months. It was used an observational methodology that consisted in filming the interaction of mothers with their children in two different tasks “clean up” and “don’t touch”. These tasks have been coded according to the Scales of Van der Mark, Van IJzendoorn and Bakermans-Kranenburg to positive and coercive discipline strategies (2002). The main results of this study point out a pattern: mothers of psychosocial risk group use more often coercive discipline strategies, while the group of mothers at non-risk condition use more frequently positive discipline strategies.

The article presents findings from a research intended to characterize teenagers parents’ perceptions regarding psychoactive substance (PAS) use in adolescence, protective factors perceived as more effective, and educational strategies contemplated if in presence of PAS usage. The authors parted from consensus regarding centrality of parental role in protection promotion and risk prevention associated with developmental risk in adolescence; and from literature limitations in what concerns knowledge on parental perceptions in this field. A qualitative study was developed based on interviews to a convenience sample composed of N=9 parents of adolescents with ages ranging from 13 to 18 y.o.a.. Data were collected through a semi-structured procedure using an interview script developed for this purpose, and analyzed through content analysis supported by qualitative analysis soft ware QSR NVivo8. The study allowed data gathering on a number of contents relevant to understand participants’ interpretations and views on the subject. Results show us that parental role in social and personal competence promotion is somewhat neglected, what may compromise eff ective prevention of risk of PAS use based in the family.

In contemporary Western societies, it seems that we are witnessing a worsening of the sense of uncertainty, a decrease of social cohesion and, simultaneously, an increase of vocational alternatives and possibilities of choice. The goal of this project is then related to the way that graduated adults perceive themselves when facing non-employment situations, that is, when they cannot obtain an employment in their qualification level and/or training area. In addition, we try to understand what are the strategies implemented by individuals to deal with these developmental transitions. We believe this work has scientific relevance, because it is about an understudied problem in Portugal, and social pertinence, also, given the fact that it refers to a signifi cant set of unemployed people, to which we must add the numbers of “inactive” (available and discouraged) and underemployment (visible and perceived) that are not part of the official statistics.

Nowadays it can’t be denied that we are surrounded by a widespread and global discourse, which asserts the crucial importance of promoting lifelong learning. In Portugal, this discourse has taken shape in a strategic policy emphasis on qualification levels, which lead to an also undeniably high financial investment of current policies in the “Operational Programme for Human Potential”, implemented by the “New Opportunities Initiative”. Studies of an external evaluation, developed by the Portuguese Catholic University (Valente, Carvalho and Carvalho, 2009) have shown, however, that although participation in this initiative seems to promote greater availability and capacity for lifelong learning, the gains are more signifi cant in the motivation of adults than in their effective participation in education and training. In the analysis of facilitators or inhibitors of participation in lifelong learning, we proposed the need to develop an integrative theory of multidirectional influences of several variables, distant from an approach that blames only the person for not being participative. It is also suggested the importance of promoting vocational guidance in order to support the individual in managing their learning paths and meaning making processes.