Schools In Portugal Research Articles

Actitudes ante la inmigración del alumnado de una escuela de enfermería de Portugal

Background: Cultural diversity is present in all societies. Nurses must be culturally competent to provide quality care. Objective: To validate the Scale of Attitude toward Immigration in Nursing (EAIE) in Portuguese and to know the attitudes toward the immigration of the first-year undergraduate students of a nursing school in Portugal. Methodology: Descriptive, exploratory, and analytical study, with the translation and transcultural adaptation of the EAIE to the Portuguese language, composed of 39 items. The participants were 143 students. Results: Scale with a good internal consistency, assessed with Cronbach’s α (0,94). With the univariate analysis of the scale and each separate item, significant attitudinal differences were identified between men and women in 6 items, and among age groups in 2 items. Conclusion: The attitudes of a portion of the students are not favorable to the full recognition of the rights of health and social resources of the immigrants. It is necessary to develop the training in cultural competence and the Universal Right to health

EFQM model implementation in a Portuguese Higher Education Institution

Abstract Education sector, and particularly, Higher Education Institutions (HEI), is nowadays an increasingly competitive sector, where the HEI’s success, relies on stakeholder’s recognition, along with their capacity to attract funding, to achieve sustainability. To attends such demands, HEI tends to incorporate into their strategy, Internal Quality Assurance Systems (IQAS). Additionally, and according to some works, existed on literature, HEI should follows a logic of continuous improvement, through the services provided to their stakeholders, where EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) model, arises as an alternative solution to be considered. However, and although the success achieved with this model on private sector, there are no certainties about the results of their implementation in HEI, since some of the adopted models have a set of techniques based on theories, sometimes incompatible within HEI nature. Therefore, and by using the case study methodology, it is intended to analyze the feasibility of an IQAS implementation, based on the EFQM model, in an Engineering School in Portugal. For this purpose, they are identified some advantages and difficulties found within its implementation, as well as ways to overcome them, contributing therefore with some answers for a better EFQM implementation into a HEI in general.

Health Promotion in Children and Youth: Contributions of Social Work in Building Collaborative Networks in Schools in Portugal

In Portugal, direct-practice with children and youth in schools was a traditional area of social work intervention especially with regard to health education. However, direct-practice by social workers in schools has significantly declined in recent years. This article presents a case study in this area highlighting the “Plataforma Saude na Escola” (Health Platform at School), a program developed by the municipality of Cascais, located near Lisbon. The article explores new contributions for social work intervention with children and youth in schools. The program being described draws upon a collaboration of different areas and organizations in which social work is a component to promote/improve the social determinants of children's health. The analysis of the program focuses on the methodological and ethical-political dimensions. The major finding is that the collective function of social work with children and youth people is enhanced through collaborative networks and the strengthening of empowerment, both individual and structural.

Social work in public schools: Ratios of students per social worker in Portugal

Aim: This research estimates the ratio of students per social worker in public schools in Portugal. Methods: Documentary analysis was used to collect data following three steps, with specific criteria: 1) official documentary sources were first used to identify the schools that allow hiring social workers; 2) evidence was collected of their employability in the institutional webpage of each school; 3) a database was built, at the national and regional level for continental Portugal. Results: One hundred and twelve social workers have been identified in a universe of 811 public schools (grouped and ungrouped schools). The national ratio social worker/students in all schools of continental Portugal was 1:12,086, varying between 1:8,753 and 1:22,237. The ratio in the schools that have social worker(s) was 1:1,394, varying between 1:1,210 and 1:1,768, depending on the region. Conclusions: School social workers are very residual in the public school, highlighting alarming and unequal territorial ratios social worker-students. The results make clear the disinvestment in the profession and its aims in the education field. These results call on national and European organizations of social workers to recommend ratios of students per social worker, requiring a major investment in this crucial area of social intervention.

Can waist circumference provide a new "third" dimension to BMI when predicting percentage body fat in children? Insights using allometric modelling.

Body mass index (BMI) is often criticized for not being able to distinguish between lean and fat tissue. Waist circumference (WC), adjusted for stature, is proposed as an alternative weight status index, as it is more sensitive to changes in central adiposity. The purpose of the study is to combine the three dimensions of height, mass, and WC to provide a simple, meaningful, and more accurate index associated with percentage body fat (BF%). We employed a four independent sample design. Sample 1 consisted of 551 children (320 boys) (mean±SD of age=7.2±2.0years), recruited from London, UK. Samples 2, 3, and 4 consisted of 5387 children (2649 boys) aged 7 to 17years recruited from schools in Portugal. Allometric modelling was used to identify the most effective anthropometric index associated with BF%. The data from samples 2, 3, and 4 were used to confirm and cross-validate the model derived in sample 1. The allometric models from all four samples identified a positive mass exponent and a negative height exponent that was approximately twice that of the mass exponent and a waist circumference exponent that was approximately half the mass exponent. Consequently, the body shape index most strongly associated with BF% was . The component of the new index can simply be interpreted as a WC "weighting" of the traditional BMI. Compared with using BMI and WC in isolation, could provide a more effective and equally noninvasive proxy for BF% in children that can be used in public and community health settings.

What Students Tell Teachers about Practices that Integrate Subjects with English in a Lower Secondary School in Portugal

Abstract CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) is an approach thought to provide, mainly during Content (non-language, subject) classes, a meaningful environment at school for the use and learning of a foreign language (FL), and may also improve conditions and practices of the specific subject. Moreover, CLIL can represent a research context to gauge the importance of language-aware teaching as is the case with the Portuguese “English Plus” project (EP), in which History and Science are taught/ learnt with/in English at lower secondary school. Our doctoral research is designed as a descriptive-explanatory case study on the EP project and its participants (English and Science teachers, former and current students). More specifically, this work focuses on students and shows their relationship with the EP approach and (dis)advantages in learning a subject with a FL. Data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire and interview, with subsequent content analysis. The importance of “integrated learning” and of diverse strategies used by the teacher to support/scaffold learning is present in students’ perspectives which may further influence teaching practices

Interculturality in English Language Teaching – A Small Study with Portuguese Teachers

AbstractUNESCO and many other organisations worldwide have been working on approaches in education to develop tolerance, respect for cultural diversity, and intercultural dialogue. Particularly, the Council of Europe has laid out guiding principles in several documents to promote intercultural competence, following Byram’s and Zarate’s efforts in integrating this important component in language education. The commitment to developing the notion of intercultural competence has been so influential that many countries, e.g., Portugal, have established the intercultural domain as a goal in the foreign language curricula. However, this commitment has been questioned by researchers worldwide who consider that action is needed to effectively promote intercultural competence. The research coordinated by Sercu, for example, suggests that, although foreign language teachers are willing to comply with an intercultural dimension, their profile is more compatible with that of a traditional foreign language teacher, rather than with a foreign language teacher, who promotes intercultural communicative competence. In this study, I propose to examine teachers’ perceptions and beliefs about intercultural communicative competence in a cluster of schools in Portugal and compare these findings with Sercu’s study. Despite a twelve-year gap, the present study draws similar conclusions.

The Academic Performance Stages of Change Inventory (APSCI): An application of the Transtheoretical Model to academic performance

ABSTRACT The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) conceptualizes change as a process with five identifiable stages. Each stage has psychological characteristics that are manifestations of an underlying continuum of change. Surprisingly few studies have applied the TTM to understand the process involved with academic development. The objective of this study was to assess a new instrument designed to measure the stages of change in the development of academic performance: the Academic Performance Stages of Change Inventory (APSCI). High-school students (N = 564) were sampled from the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades of a secondary school in Portugal. Results showed that a correlated five-factor structure, corresponding to the five stages of change, had good empirical fit. The latent factors of this model (stages) were shown to have the same meaning across school grade and gender. We concluded that the five APSCI subscales had reasonable internal consistency considering the small number of items per factor. Students in the later stages of change tended to have better academic performances and to be more engaged in school than those in the earlier stages, particularly the pre-contemplation stage. This study provides good preliminary evidence that the APSCI is a suitable tool for assessing stages of change of academic performance.

BOYS READING: UM PROJETO SOBRE COMO MOTIVAR RAPAZES ADOLESCENTES PARA A LITERATURA

Este artigo aborda o problema da motivação para a leitura, especialmente no caso dos rapazes com idades compreendidas entre os 10 e os 15 anos. Algumas investigações evidenciam que os rapazes leem menos do que as raparigas porque eles não estão intrinsecamente motivados e não lhes é proporcionado o acesso ao tipo de livros que poderão gostar. Apresentamos, aqui, parte de um Projeto Europeu, Boys Reading, como um bom exemplo da possibilidade de conquistar leitores relutantes para os livros. Na verdade, se os rapazes estiverem verdadeiramente motivados e contactarem com textos que apreciem, as suas atitudes mudam e podem tornar-se leitores. São apresentados dois estudos de caso desenvolvidos em duas escolas diferentes em Portugal, com algumas evidências de que é possível transformar leitores relutantes em leitores ávidos.

The ambivalence of the External Evaluation of Schools effects in the school practices

Nós realizamos uma revisão exploratória da literatura de pesquisa e de políticas públicas relativas às avaliações internacionais em grande escala (ILSAs em inglês) e fizemos duas enquetes com especialistas, criadores de políticas públicas e educadores para entender se, até que ponto e como tais avaliações influenciaram a produção de políticas públicas no contexto nacional. Nossa revisão da literatura confirma que as ILSAs, com seus usos múltiplos e ambíguos, funcionam cada vez mais como soluções idióticas em busca do problema certo – ou seja, elas parecem ser usadas como ferramentas para legitimar reformas educacionais. Com “idióticas” não estamos nos referindo ao uso comum da palavra, que denota alguém que não é muito inteligente, mas ao significado original da palavra em grego antigo, ou seja, particular em oposição a perspectivas cívicas ou públicas. Os resultados de nossa enquete mostraram uma percepção crescente entre pesquisadores, criadores de políticas públicas e educadores, além de outros envolvidos, de que as ILSAs estão tendo um efeito nas políticas educacionais nacionais, visto que mais de um terço (38%) dos entrevistados afirmaram que as ILSAs foram, de modo geral, mal aplicadas nos contextos das políticas públicas nacionais. Contudo, ao passo que a literatura sobre a ILSA indica que essas avalições estão tendo alguma influência, há pouca evidência de que exista qualquer relação causal positiva ou negativa entre a participação da ILSA e a implementação de reformas educacionais. Talvez a mudança mais significativa associada com o uso das ILSAs na literatura que revisamos seja a maneira pela qual novas condições para a comparação educacional em nível nacional, regional e global se tornaram possíveis.

A ambivalência dos efeitos da avaliação externa das escolas nas práticas escolares

O presente artigo procura descrever a Avaliação Externa das Escolas em Portugal através de um breve enquadramento nas políticas educativas Europeias, numa lógica de reciprocidade entre os níveis nacional e transnacional, com o objetivo de refletir em torno das seguintes questões: A Avaliação Externa das Escolas promove a qualidade educativa? Que efeitos produz a Avaliação Externa das Escolas nas práticas docentes? Se, por um lado, existem vários estudos que destacam o facto de a Avaliação Externa das Escolas promover uma abordagem transformadora e formativa nas práticas escolares, através de consequências mais ou menos diretas, por outro, há estudos que clarificam que esses efeitos se refletem com pouca profundidade na realidade pedagógica. É neste contexto ambíguo que se pretende aprofundar a reflexão sobre a Avaliação Externa das Escolas e respetivos efeitos nas práticas escolares, nomeadamente, nas dimensões curricular e pedagógica, recorrendo às conclusões de vários estudos nacionais e internacionais para aprofundar a discussão.

Efeitos da Construção de um Jogo Educativo de Matemática nas Atitudes e Aprendizagem Alunos: Estudo de Caso

This work describes the process of conception and development of an educational game of mathematics called Mathematical Trivial, by students of the eighth grade of schooling, in a public school in Portugal. The game allows to practice the most varied mathematical contents through small adaptations, in any year of elementary education. In this work, we investigated whether the design of an educational game promotes the learning of mathematical concepts and identified the implications of students' attitudes towards mathematics. The methodology used was a case study design. This is a mixed case study because there is a combination of tools and techniques associated with qualitative and quantitative studies. The data collection was done through naturalistic observation, the application of tasks and the application of a questionnaire survey. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using spss software. The results suggest that the use of the educational game, as a resource to support the classes, produces a significant improvement of the students 'attitudes towards mathematics, as well as, it contributes to develop students' motivation. In addition, the process of constructing the educational game points to an improvement in the learning of geometrical concepts inherent to the game, in a playful and dynamic way.

Geosciences in professional education: a comparative study between Brazil and Portugal

Brazil faces educational and environmental crisis that enhance the importance of valuing geoscientific contents in school cur-ricula, especially in basic education. The modality of technical education integrated to high school courses (TEIHSC) open broad possibilities to build an integrated view of nature and of human interference. However, the current situation is one of great fragmentation of contents and diversification of teaching-learning approaches. As a contribution to understand better the national reality, the present project aims to carry out a survey of geoscientific themes present in the Brazilian official curricula of TEIHS courses and in the curricula of secondary professional education of public schools in Portugal. The distribution of technical schools in this teaching modality – TEIHS comprises the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Espíri-to Santo and even in the official curricula of federal technical schools situated in these states. This project should discuss cur-ricular convergences and divergences from the background of the following courses: Agriculture, Surveying, Environmental Control, Forestry, Environment, Mining, Oil and Gas, Environmental Management, Agricultural Production, Forestry and Envi-ronmental Resources, Tourism and Environmental and Rural Tourism. The investigation will produce a comprehensive pano-rama of proposals for including geoscientific contents within this type of school integrative curriculum. The debate should at-tempt to recompose the basic needs to help citizens for taking well-founded decisions about socioeconomic, political and envi-ronmental changes.

A crítica jesuíta à Escola Nova na Revista Brotéria (décadas de 1930 e 1940)

This article intends to analyze the criticism of the Portuguese Jesuit pedagogues published in two dozen articles in the Broteria Journal in the 1930s and 1940s. The New School Movement was observed by pedagogues and philosophers of the education of the Society of Jesus, namely Paulo Durao, Jose Gomes Braz, and Costa Lima, who studied the theory and the presuppositions of this pedagogical movement valuing the aspects that coincided with the values of the Ignatian pedagogy and criticizing options and pedagogical practices opposed to the educational principles of Catholic doctrine then present. Their religious neutrality and appropriation of “secular associations” were supposed to be ideologically instrumentalizing this educational movement in order to distance themselves from, or even oppose themselves, the so-called Catholic-inspired education. We try to reflect critically on the evolution of the Jesuit thought expressed in Broteria Journal regarding the diffusion of the New School in Portugal in the context of the New State and to emphasize the attempt of dialogue between Jesuit pedagogical article writers and this movement that contributes to diversify the ideologies and pedagogical methodologies implemented in the country.Keywords: New School, Jesuits, Catholicism.

A crítica jesuíta à Escola Nova na Revista Brotéria (décadas de 1930 e 1940)

This article intends to analyze the criticism of the Portuguese Jesuit pedagogues published in two dozen articles in the Broteria Journal in the 1930s and 1940s. The New School Movement was observed by pedagogues and philosophers of the education of the Society of Jesus, namely Paulo Durao, Jose Gomes Braz, and Costa Lima, who studied the theory and the presuppositions of this pedagogical movement valuing the aspects that coincided with the values of the Ignatian pedagogy and criticizing options and pedagogical practices opposed to the educational principles of Catholic doctrine then present. Their religious neutrality and appropriation of “secular associations” were supposed to be ideologically instrumentalizing this educational movement in order to distance themselves from, or even oppose themselves, the so-called Catholic-inspired education. We try to reflect critically on the evolution of the Jesuit thought expressed in Broteria Journal regarding the diffusion of the New School in Portugal in the context of the New State and to emphasize the attempt of dialogue between Jesuit pedagogical article writers and this movement that contributes to diversify the ideologies and pedagogical methodologies implemented in the country.Keywords: New School, Jesuits, Catholicism.

School effects on students' engagement with school: Academic performance moderates the effect of school support for learning on students' engagement

The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate how school support-for-learning, from peers and teachers, influences the relationship between prior academic performance and an indicator of cognitive engagement (students' future aspirations and perceptions of schoolwork). A sample of 4406 adolescent students from 68 schools in Portugal completed the self-report Student Engagement Instrument as a measure of future aspirations and perceptions of schoolwork, and perceived support for learning. We obtained students' previous year exam grades in Maths and Portuguese from school records to form a composite measure of academic performance. We used Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) to assess whether school-level support-for-learning moderates the student-level effect of performance on engagement. Higher achieving students reported higher scores for our indicator of cognitive engagement than lower achieving students. This association was weaker in schools with high support-for-learning than those with low support-for-learning. Altogether, our results demonstrate the importance of supportive school environments in buffering the negative effect of poor performance on engagement and promoting educational equity.

The Impact of Exposure to Cartoons Promoting Healthy Eating on Children's Food Preferences and Choices

ObjectiveThis study explored whether a cartoon show with healthy eating messages positively affected children's food choices and food preferences. DesignExperimental between-subjects design. SettingFour elementary schools in Portugal were investigated. ParticipantsChildren (aged 4–8 years; n = 142) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: a comparison group (n = 73) was exposed to cartoons with no reference to food and an intervention group (n = 69) was exposed to cartoons with healthy eating messages. After viewing, each child was given the opportunity to eat ad libitum for 10 minutes from a small selection of snack foods. Main Outcome MeasureNumber of healthy and unhealthy food items chosen. Food preferences were measured using an adapted version of the Leeds Food Preference Checklist. AnalysisGeneralized linear models were used to test for differences between groups. Results were considered significant at P ≤ .05. ResultsChildren in the experimental group chose significantly more healthy food items than did those in the comparison group (B = –.600; SE = .19; P < .05). Conclusions and ImplicationsFuture studies may address the effect of prolonged exposure to healthy eating cartoons. Cartoons can be used to promote healthy food choices and can be a part of health promotion campaigns.

Positive Transition to Middle School: A Multilevel Model Analysis of a Portuguese School Adjustment Program

Transition to middle school in Portugal is associated with increased levels of stress for students, as well as an increase in grade retention. This study investigated the impact of a school adjustment program designed to support students during this transition, and its differential results by gender and fourth-grade class size. Multilevel linear modeling (MLM) with a repeated-measures design was used. Three cohorts of students ( n = 743) completed the School Stress Survey in fourth (middle and end) and fifth grades (end). In addition, fifth-grade school records were collected for information about absenteeism and transition. After adjusting for gender and fourth-grade class size, positive interaction effects from the intervention were found in academic and teacher/rules stress, as well as higher rates of transition to sixth grade and lower rates of absenteeism. Differential effects by gender also were found with girls displaying higher school success and lower school absenteeism along the transition; however, they also displayed larger increases in academic and peer-related stress during the period. No gender differences in benefits from program participation were found. The positive results support the implementation of the program among Portuguese fourth graders.

Desenvolvimento de Competências Transversais nas Escolas: um programa de intervenção

In this article we propose a soft skills development program, which was designed to be applied in schools in Portugal to secondary school students and to be guided by teachers or trainers, with the participation of parents and other stakeholders of the community. The approach and the active strategies chosen place the student as the protagonist and co-creator of knowledge, the teacher/trainer as the learning conditions’ creator and facilitator. Problem solving is the active and central learning strategy that guides the whole program, and cooperative learning is another of the strategies applied throughout the sessions. Students are challenged to identify and create solutions to the problems which most challenge them, whether in the school community or in the wider community. Throughout this process, the teacher/facilitator creates conditions for students to develop the necessary transversal skills to solve the identified problems. This program responds to the need to develop soft skills and talent in young people in the education system in Portugal. Through this learning program, we aim to contribute to the creation of learning conditions for young people to prepare themselves for a rapidly changing labor market, to fight unemployment, demotivation and to create conditions to do what they love. In this regard, it is proposed the intervention through the training of young people in solving complex problems, cooperation and active citizenship in the community.

Teachers’ voices on language awareness in pre-primary and primary school settings: implications for teacher education

ABSTRACTThis paper shares the voices of six teachers regarding two language awareness projects carried out in one pre-primary and one primary school in Portugal. These projects present innovative practices in teaching young and very young learners to reflect upon language and linguistic diversity and to become aware of world issues (e.g. poverty, discrimination and climate changes). Based upon interviews conducted with the teachers after the staging of the two projects, we analyse teachers’ discourses regarding the learning outcomes of the activities, their beliefs and knowledge about language awareness and the possibilities for including this approach in the curriculum. Results suggest that teachers acknowledge the relevance of language awareness in the education of more engaged and respectful citizens; however, they feel insecure and unprepared to include it in their teaching practice and in their professional knowledge. Implications of these findings for pre-service and in-service teacher education are discussed.