Search

The goals of this paper are to explain the extent to which multidisciplinary peer observation practices may improve reflection among lecturers concerning their pedagogical practices and identify the kind of reflection it improves. In this sense, the paper presents a study with the objective of determining the importance that lecturers give to reflection upon their pedagogical practices as they are engaged in a multidisciplinary peer observation program. Data were collected through interviews and observation records. The results suggest a confirmation, among other aspects, of a commitment to a reflective discourse both in the work carried out by lecturers and as it concerns the pedagogical issues of their training.

The paper describes an analysis of the questions posed by high school students regarding relationships between science and religion in a series of debates with scientists in public high schools of the northern part of Portugal. The exploratory interpretation of 171 collected anonymous written questions allowed for the detection of fragilities in the students' ideas about the nature of science and the nature of religion, connected with a trend to reject religion using scientism arguments. The findings reinforce a need of revising the fragmented teaching of nature of science and its connections with religion towards a more contextualized approach of diversified episodes of these social endeavours, anchored in life's 'big questions' that allow students to make cross-disciplinary connections. Our analysis also supports the need for more research on students' questions rather than on students' "answers" in more common research methodologies conducted to inform the development of a more meaningful curriculum.

According to the Teaching and Learning International Survey (2019), the average age for a teacher, across OECD countries, is 44 years old, and the teacher workforce has aged in a number of countries, over the past 5 to 10 years. Given the demands expected from the contemporary teaching profession, the study of possible implications of ageing on the use of digital technologies in education is even more pertinent and relevant. This study aims to analyse veteran teachers' perceptions about digital technologies and outline possible pathways for their professional development. Data collected through literature review and content analysis of veteran teachers' perceptions, expressed in a continuing education training programme, show there are positive and negative thoughts and dilemmas related to the role of digital technology in education, and that there are myths regarding veteran teachers' digital skills, competences and motivation to change practices, as well as misconceptions about the relationship between technologies and educational reforms. The results also indicate possible pathways to successful training practice with this target group.

Over the past decade, several European countries have implemented policies and programmes leading to the introduction of the concept of "all-day schooling," thus acknowledging the need to guarantee the guard of all children and to enhance equal opportunities of success at school. The Portuguese Ministry of Education created and funded the Curricular Enrichment Activities Programme as a measure to support the generalisation of all-day schooling in Portuguese primary schools. Our study aimed at evaluating the reach of the political measures associated with all-day schooling, as was implemented in Portugal by the AEC programme, by focusing on two central dimensions: the political and the curricular. Two cases of different local decisions were studied. The results revealed a unanimous valorisation of the philosophy and the objectives underlying the AEC programme, which gives shape to a "good measure" of social and educational public policies, consistent with the nuclear project of all-day schooling. They also showed, however, that the dimension of the curricular enrichment still needs to be improved.

This article aims to map the research trends on the processes of students' transition to higher education in the European context. For this, a review of literature was carried out, aiming to understand how the processes of transition to higher education in Europe are being studied. The qualitative analysis of these references allowed us to understand how the research relates to the social and political situations in the contexts in which it occurs, and it was possible to identify relationships between research perspectives and the challenges of educational contexts over time. From this premise, there are also differences found between studies of the European context, in general, and those that are specific to the Portuguese context. While in the European context an educational perspective on the transition is highlighted, in the Portuguese context, a more psychological or individual perspective was found, with a greater focus on the student and his/her characteristics.

Peer Observation of Teaching has raised a lot of interest as a device for quality enhancement of teaching. While much research has focused on its models, implementation schemes and feedback to the observed, little attention has been paid to what the observer actually sees and can learn from the observation. A multidisciplinary peer observation of teaching program is described, and its data is used to identify the pedagogical aspects to which lecturers pay more attention to when observing classes. The discussion addresses the valuable learning opportunities for observers provided by this program, as well as its usefulness in disseminating, sharing and clarifying quality teaching practices. The need for further research concerning teacher-student relationships and students' engagement is also suggested.

This article intends to debate the institutional modes of first-year adjustment to higher education. Specifically, the aim is to analyze and consider the need to include social and academic integration activities in the curricular programs. The presented contributions are based on the investigations over the case study course that was studied using non-experimental and descriptive approach. The "Projeto FEUP" (Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto) course is analyzed as it addresses the mentioned integration concerns explicitly by providing tutoring by selected older students (relating to social integration) and adequate teamwork challenges (relating to academic integration). The presented case study course is given to about 1,000 students across nine engineering degrees at the Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto, in Portugal. The article includes some details about not infrequent practices such as "hazing" of newcomer students and strategies for circumventing associated disadvantages. The results shown in the article indicate that the students involved tend to see it as a significant academic integration device, regarding mainly academic work and expectations.

The study followed students in their 10th year of schooling that entered a new secondary education school in order to examine their perceptions of their previous schools' work and of its relationship with the difficulties they experience when in the transition. The analysis of 155 completed questionnaires of previous students of nine basic education schools verified that students generally appreciated their former schools' work in facilitating their transition experience, particularly in academic and procedural aspects. They also recognised the importance of their own skills, attitudes and previous experiences in their transition phase to the new secondary school. Nevertheless, results indicate that for quality improvement purposes, basic education schools should develop projects aimed at fostering their students' study/work methods in order for them to be able to face increased volume and rigour in their future performances.

Teachers' role in curriculum design is a broad question that inspires political educational reforms among European countries, a trend that even extends to higher education politics. The perspective on teachers' role in curriculum, both at the level of the policies and of the practices, shapes recent educational reforms in Portugal. These are the concerns underlying our research that intends to substantiate school teachers' involvement in curriculum development as it is experienced by them, and while comparing their views to the roles they are attributed in the political and academic dominant discourses. To reach teachers' perceptions, we distributed questionnaires which were completed by 214 teachers in primary and secondary schools. We could conclude that the enactment of a professional identity on the basis of teacher assumption of their role as real curriculum designers is still far from being achieved.

This paper focuses on the issue of how engineering programmes demand and/or promote argumentative reasoning, which is a subsequent aspect of curricular development. This was the main objective of the project on which this paper reports. This is to say that the focus is on assessment as a way to establish to what extent argumentative reasoning is demanded and mobilised in teaching and learning processes. This aim was achieved using a sample of assignments developed in courses in different Bologna undergraduate programmes at the Engineering School at the University of Porto, during the first semester of the academic year 2009/2010. Whereas problem solving in engineering constitutes a structural element in the curricular organisation of the engineering programmes and is strongly related to argumentative skills, it was possible to conclude that students demonstrate and explain extensively, but do not argue, possibly because their teachers do not invite them to do so in assessment situations. (Contains 6 tables.)