Higher Education In Portugal Research Articles

Translation, adaptation and validation of the Fantastic Lifestyle Assessment questionnaire with students in higher education

The scope of this study was to make the translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the Fantastic Lifestyle Assessment questionnaire in a group of students in higher education in Portugal. The process of translation and validation consisted of translation, back translation, expert committee review, pre-testing and testing of the psychometric properties. The final version adapted with 30 questions was applied to a sample of 707 university students. The results showed that the instrument demonstrated good overall internal consistency for an instrument used to measure a latent variable. When the items were grouped into domains, it was found that they all contributed equally to the stability of the instrument. The reproducibility assessed by intraclass correlation was high. Construct validity tested by the classification capacity of the instrument in four, three and two categories was 67.6%, 67.6% and 100%, with a Kappa index of 0.55, 0.55 and 1.00, respectively. The concurrent validity was also evaluated by correlating it with "My Lifestyle," namely another instrument measuring the same construct. The conclusion was that the Fantastic Lifestyle Assessment, is a reliable and valid instrument for lifestyle assessment in young adults.

La movilidad internacional de los estudiantes de educación superior brasileños para Portugal.

Este artículo es el resultado de un estudio que está todavía en desarrollo, el cual incluye la análisis de las fuentes secundarias de información y los datos do Proyecto THEMIS - Theorising the Evolution of European Migration Systems. Esto proporcionó algunas “pistas” de investigación que tienen como objetivo profundizar el conocimiento y la comprensión de los patrones de movilidad internacional de los estudiantes de educación superior brasileños en Portugal. Se pretende, por tanto, analizar los factores macro, meso y micro que puedan ser responsables por este tipo de movilidad, así como explicar la elección del país de destino y los planes para otros tipos de migración futura.

Satisfação e Motivação no Trabalho: Um Estudo sobre os Docentes do Ensino Superior em Portugal

Os académicos constituem um importante grupo nas Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES), dada a relevância do seu papel na prossecução dos objetivos das instituições. A centralidade do papel do corpo docente faz dos académicos como que escultores da cultura institucional com implicações na qualidade da instituição e no sucesso dos estudantes. Existem muitos fatores que contribuem para minar o empenho do pessoal docente para com as suas instituições e as suas carreiras. A satisfação no trabalho é importante para a revitalização da motivação dos docentes e para manter vivo o seu entusiasmo. Conhecem‑se vários estudos internacionais sobre este tema, contudo muito pouco é conhecido no contexto do ensino superior em Portugal. Este artigo refere‑se a um estudo em curso, financiado pela FCT, que incide sobre a satisfação e motivação do pessoal docente das IES em Portugal.

O ensino superior politécnico em portugal: presente e futuro

Res_eng:The richness and well-being of countries, organisations and individuals have been founded on the creation, dissemination and use of knowledge. Therefore, there are moments in the life of peoples and societies, where sharing a common enlarged civic feeling leads to consensus over the imperative to act with courage and determination on an emergent need, namely: What are the needs of higher education in Portugal? In what way can higher education contribute so that Portugal may face the challenges for the next decades? An usual conclusion is that gobal reordering is considered as a priority. The time signs point to an interplay of favourable conditions to this quality leap, namely a huge contextual change, an international opportunity and the insatisfaction among meaningful segments of society. The timely initiative of promoting a discussion about the condition of the Portuguese higher education remains a central issue in a debate that is still lively and should lead us to a calm yet courageous reflection on the matter. The redefinition of the university and polytechnic sub-systems is urgent, with well distinct competencies translated to practice. Currently decades of academic governance are under discussion. Hence the need to name the main proposals for the future of the Portuguese polytechnic higher education, on the path to its construction and in accordance with a strategic vision aiming at a thorough and rigorous reform.

Impact (s) of Doctoral Degrees Held by Faculty Members in Portuguese Higher Education

In order to verify the impact(s) of doctoral programs processes of faculty members in higher education in Portugal, we applied a questionnaire survey to the completed PhD of teachers. This study is based on a questionnaire survey to the doctoral degrees of faculty members in Portuguese higher education, completed between 2007 and 2012, the survey was held between April 16 and May 6, 2012, to all teachers in Portuguese higher education having quickly reached 1001 answers that we briefly analyze here. It appears that in this period of analysis, there were many faculty members who have successfully completed their doctoral process, meeting the quality standards that enable the integration of higher education in the Portuguese panorama of internationalization, especially in view of the requirements of the Bologna process.

Analysing public relations education through international standards: The Portuguese case

By using international reports on PR education as a benchmark we analyse the status of PR higher education in Portugal. Despite differences among the study programs, the findings reveal that the standard five courses recommendation by the Commission on Public Relations Education (CPRE) are a part of Portuguese undergraduate curriculum. This includes 12 of the 14 content field guidelines needed to achieve the ideal master's program. Data shows, however, the difficulty of positioning public relations in Portugal as an autonomous field within Communication Sciences.

Waves of (Dis)Satisfaction: Effects of the Numerus Clausus system in Portugal

Access to higher education in Portugal is governed by a quota system (numerus clausus).The purpose of this article is to answer two questions: First, how does the numerus clausus system shape the demand for medical studies? Second, how do non‐enrolled medical candidates influence the global allocation system and generate waves of dissatisfaction?The results show that students who do not succeed in entering medicine register in other programmes, such as pharmacy, veterinary medicine and dental studies, generating a first wave of dissatisfaction. Because students who are not placed in medicine occupy a large share of the places available in those other programmes, the wave of dissatisfaction propagates, with students being pushed to other programmes, especially biology and biochemistry. This process has also been analysed from a spatial perspective. Apparently, when students are competing to obtain a study place in a programme with prestige and good professional career perspectives such as medicine moving to a more peripheral region becomes more frequent.

O sistema de ensino em Serviço Social Pós Bolonha. Uma visão crítica

This article aims to understand in a critical perspective the higher education in Portugal, after Bologna, showing how the social work adapted itself to this process. This change in higher education had substantial changes with respect to its configuration, access and timeliness. The training courses based on the level of degree, which in Portugal were ten semesters and passed for six or seven semesters. Access has been democratized through specific exams for students older than 23 years professional experience with and without regular courses in secondary education. This paper now presents itself situates the education system in Portugal and highlights the impact of the Bologna school of Social Work. In this case study we assess that this policy has changed the paradigm of teaching, now focused on training and lifelong appreciation of the experience, and that the decrease in the formative years training and devalued profession of Social Work.

O ensino superior da História em Portugal (1859-1911)

Com a realização deste artigo procurei reunir contributos para uma reflexão em torno do processo de surgimento do ensino superior da História em Portugal. Analisei o seu desenvolvimento como área do conhecimento autonomizada, aceite como saber relevante. Visei ampliar o entendimento sobre os mecanismos que conduziram à conquista desse estatuto, sem deixar de ter presente que a disciplinarização não obedece exclusivamente a questões de caráter científico ou acadêmico. Estudei de forma particular o Curso Superior de Letras, criado por D. Pedro V em 1858 e que foi o primeiro estabelecimento português consagrado especificamente ao ensino das ciências sociais e humanas. Com a implantação da República, essa instituição haveria de converter-se na Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa, criada em 1910.

Education and training for hospital pharmacists in Portugal

In Portugal the integrated degree of Master in Pharmaceutical Sciences allows pharmacists to work in diverse professional areas including community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, clinical biology, the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory...

Marketing in higher education: A comparative analysis of the Brazil and Portuguese cases

Approaching marketing as applied to higher education, this study aims to discuss the theoretical concepts of marketing in education and apply them to the Brazilian and Portuguese contexts. Taking into consideration how education marketing has attained greatest expression in the U.S., its application to different realities requires adjustments. We begin with a literature review of the traditional education marketing concepts with emphasis on the marketing-mix applied to education. We then proceed with a characterization of the current higher education contexts in Brazil and Portugal before comparing the application of the educational marketing in these two realities focusing analysis on the educational marketing-mix in effect. It was found that higher education in Brazil has very different characteristics to higher education in Portugal and both differ in the application of more traditional marketing concepts to education and demonstrating the inadequacy of applying general approaches when establishing marketing strategies for these institutions.

The diverse pathways of higher education students: A sociological analysis on inequality, context and agency

One of the consequences of the extension of access to higher education in Portugal, as in other countries, has been the diversification of students’ social background. This process has not led to the elimination of social inequalities in students’ access to and success in higher education, but those inequalities have not remained the same. In fact, there have been some highly significant and complex changes in this area. To study them, we carried out a comprehensive sociological investigation that covers the entire Portuguese higher education system – including universities and polytechnics – covering different areas of knowledge in different regions. The theoretic model included three levels of analysis: structural, institutional and biographical. The research design involved quantitative and qualitative methodological procedures. At the biographical level, in-depth interviews were conducted with 170 students. From these interviews we drew ‘sociological portraits’ and built analytical types both of these students’ structural and institutional positioning in their educational path and of how they actively shaped diverse types of personal trajectories. The identification of these types of student paths may help advance knowledge in this field, shedding considerably more light than the usual administrative categories of ‘success’, ‘failure’ and ‘dropout’.

Academics in a New Work Environment: the Impact of New Public Management on Work Conditions

AbstractNew public management (NPM) approaches have informed policy in the public sector in advanced countries in the last decade. Some authors suggest that the main objective of NPM at the organisational level is to change the traditional way professionals are regulated. This study examines the impact of NPM on the working conditions of Portuguese higher education academics. The empirical data are based on official statistics, and the analysis leads to the following conclusions. Changes have been slow, but already reveal a corrosion of traditional employment practices. Employment has become more precarious as professionals are increasingly employed on non‐tenured contracts. This tendency is more evident in the polytechnic sector. In short, this means that the growth in skilled employment in higher education in Portugal is based on precarious employment relations.

Effects of Managerialism on the Perceptions of Higher Education in Portugal

How does the rhetoric of managerialism influence actors' perceptions about the ultimate goals of Portuguese higher education (HE)? From the data, based on interviews, three major themes were extracted: teaching/research relationship, HE's cultural and social relevance, and its economical relevance. The actors' narratives led to the conclusion that the ‘managerialist rhetoric’ is not dominant. In the teaching/research relationship, most actors considered that research should be the main force behind teaching. In cultural and social relevance, the actors' discourses reflect an idea of HE based on ‘traditional’ academic values. Finally, a more utilitarian perspective of HE emerges in some actors' discourses about developing a closer connection both between teaching and the labour market and between research and economic competitive needs.

O financiamento do ensino superior em Portugal: entre o Estado e o mercado

Neste artigo discutem-se as novas tendências de financiamento do ensino superior, nomeadamente em Portugal, concluindo-se que os governos têm vindo a desresponsabilizar-se dessa sua função, apelando ao mercado e à diversificação das fontes de financiamento. Tendo em atenção que os estudantes já são os principais financiadores do ensino superior, a necessidade de se promover a equidade, bem como alguns efeitos negativos que a deserção do Estado pode acarretar para os indivíduos, para as universidades e para a sociedade em geral, conclui-se que o financiamento do ensino superior deve ser da responsabilidade do Estado, sem prejuízo da procura de outras fontes de financiamento por parte das instituições de ensino superior.

THE PERCEIVED STATUS OF STRATEGIC PLANNING IN PORTUGUESE HIGHEREDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

This study examined the status of planning within the various types of higher education institutions in Portugal. Higher education in Portugal is a binary system with university and non- university sectors. The university sector integrates public and private universities and the Catholic university. The nonuniversity sector integrates public polytechnic institutes and other establishments, the latter being private institutions. A survey methodology was used to measure perceptions from rectors and presidents within the entire system. Results suggest that institutional planning in Portuguese higher education is in its beginning phases, but there is a desire to expand that participation. While public institutions appear to be most active in attempting to establish such a process, many are doing less than strategic planning. The authors report details of the findings and make recommendations for advancing strategic planning within the system of Portuguese higher education.

Higher education: an education for the Élites? The Portuguese case

This article raises questions about the degree of equity of higher education in Portugal. It is based on research that the author conducted in 1995 and 1996. From diversified indicators, namely the academic level and social class of the parents of university students in particular, and the Portuguese population, the author concludes that, in general, Portuguese higher education is not equitable. Moreover, Portuguese university education can hardly be described as promoting the universal right to education. The author backs his conclusion by a determination of the spending of students and families on education and the large proportion that the sum represents in their total budgets. The article ends with some suggestions as to how to guarantee fulfillment of the universal right to education.

Public and Private Higher Education in Portugal: unintended effects of deregulation

In a recent paper (Teixeira & Amaral, 2001), we presented a preliminary analysis of the effects of privatisation on the diversity of higher education systems. The conditions for promoting diversity are complex and difficult to pinpoint. With the advent of the 'market rhetoric', it is often considered that diversity in higher education is better ensured under stronger market regulation. Since privatisation is one of the main strategies for introducing market mechanisms in higher education, we analyse the consequences of the emergence of a private sector in Portugal, with special emphasis on its effects on its diversity. In the times of financial stringency which followed the 1974 Revolution, the development of the private sector was seen as positive, allowing for additional enrolments with no costs to the public purse. At the same time, advocates of private initiative claimed that private higher education institutions would be far more responsive than their public counterparts to demands of society and the labour market, due to their greater flexibility, entrepreneurial management and the need to ensure their clients' satisfaction. The private sector was thus supposed to provide more diversity, both at regional and disciplinary levels, while creating innovative solutions in its quest for protected market niches. In this article, we analyse how far these objectives have materialised, or if, on the contrary, they have remained in the domain of political wishful thinking.

Higher Education and Equity in Portugal

The main topic of this article is to consider the role of the State in providing higher education in Portugal, paying attention to the fact that the privatisation of higher education has been in place since the eighties (Amaral 1999) and also that it is difficult for students and their families to find the monetary resources needed for attendance at university (Cabrito 1999). The discussion focuses on the funding of higher education in a quasi-market situation (Le Grand et al. 1993), as Portugal hasn't escaped the universal trend towards privatisation of education (Whitty et al. 1998). In the last decade, the relationship between State, universities and students has been changing rapidly (Acherman et al. 1989; Barr et al. 1993; Williams 1990; Henkel et al. 1999), and some arguments are presented that equity in access to higher education must be guaranteed (Mora 1997; UNESCO 1998; Williams 1992). In this connection, the need is argued for free attendance on higher education and State subsidies to students to cover the costs of education. Firstly, the economic and social condition of university students is presented. Using data from two periods, one academic year from the 60s and one from the 90s, the increase in the degree of equity that the university system had known in recent decades can be verified. According to the analysis, the Portuguese population in general is better represented in the university student body nowadays, than in the 60s. Therefore, it is possible to discuss the maintenance of a low degree of equity in the Portuguese university system. For this, the economic and social condition of university students is compared with – that of the Portuguese population in the 90s. Secondly, the expectations of the students of higher education are presented, in order to understand the value attached by them to a university degree, which explains the social demand for education. Finally, the costs of higher education, both private and public, are evaluated. From this evaluation, it is possible to conclude that the principal source of funding of higher education costs is the student and his/her family and to discuss the need for a more interventionist State in higher education financing.

Access to Higher Education in Portugal: selection procedures revisited from studies at the University of Lisbon

Abstract Higher education selection procedures in Portugal are presented and examined from the point of view of their relatedness and the predictive validity to academic performance in the first year of higher education. Data collected from 1989 to 1992 on freshmen samples at the Faculty of Psychology and Education of the University of Lisbon showed that the high school record relates more consistently to academic performance (grade point average and number of courses completed) than entrance examinations (national examination and university examinations), for which the pattern varies across groups. Technical aspects and the social implications of selection practices are discussed.