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- Interdisciplinarity in the 1st Cycle of Basic Education: Teachers’ perceptions and practicesPublication . Laranjeira, Vanessa; Cardoso, Ana Paula; Rocha, JoãoInterdisciplinarity is a complex and difficult concept to encapsulate. However, generally speaking, it is recognized to be characterized by a combination of knowledge from various areas, congregated to address a particular issue. Hence, it is particularly promising in the 1st cycle of basic education (CEB) [years 1-4 of schooling], at an educational level where a single teacher works different curricular areas. It is thus necessary to articulate the different content, in order to develop a more complete and whole view of knowledge. The purpose of this communication, therefore, is to reveal an empirical study whose aim is to understand the importance and the meaning that 1st CEB teachers give interdisciplinarity, how often it is carried out, the main difficulties encountered, experiences and the most widely used resources and the curriculum areas where interdisciplinary practices are most evident. For this, a descriptive methodology was used with a survey by questionnaire administered to a representative sample of 45 1st CEB teachers working in a school group in the municipality of Viseu (central region of Portugal). The vast majority are women with over twenty years of service and whose academic qualification is an honour’s degree. The data obtained indicate that teachers’ general understanding of interdisciplinarity is in line with what Pombo et al. (1994) refer, in particular, as a reciprocal exchange and integration between the various disciplines resulting in enriching all of them. It is also in line with Japissu (1976) as a process in which there is an interaction and corresponding influence of some subjects on others. Interdisciplinarity is considered very important by most responding teachers and taken into account in their teaching, although with variable frequency, and it is included in most group plans. Schools and teachers, in particular, are now faced with the need to help their students develop intelligibility frameworks of the real so that they can integrate the diversity of information from different media. The implementation of interdisciplinary practices appears as a relevant strategy, facilitating a more effective pedagogical action, able to respond to the current demands of society.
- Teachers’ perception of the Head of Department’s performance and pedagogical supervision (Perceção dos professores sobre o desempenho do Coordenador de Departamento Curricular e supervisão pedagógica)Publication . Abreu, Alice; Cardoso, Ana Paula; Rocha, JoãoIntroduction: Within Portuguese schools the Head of Department is an intermediate manager, a supervisor and a leader who must be capable of playing a leading role and demonstrating the appropriate communicative skills so that he can mobilize the teachers who are part of his team to fulfill their educational ideals. For this reason, pedagogical supervision takes on a prominent role in the activities he has to develop. Objectives: To know how teachers at the several levels of education, other than that of Higher Education, perceive head of department’s performance within the current Portuguese school organization and of some factors that can influence that performance, notably the specialized training in pedagogical/instructional supervision. Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional methodology was used using a survey carried out through the application of a questionnaire. The sample was composed of 106 teachers from all academic departments who were working in a school grouping located in the Viseu district. The data collected were subject to a descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Results: The teachers seem to value the promotion of an articulated work between the different teachers of the academic department to which they belong and between teachers from different departments, the creation of encouragement actions that would foster a reflection on their teaching practices and an openness to change and innovation. They also consider that the Head of Department should promote collaborative work, as well as generate and share knowledge. However, they state that the Head of Department’s workload and the consequent lack of time to respond to all requests that his position requires may have a negative influence on his performance. Conclusion: The Heads of Academic Department should assume the need for training in their activity to ensure legitimacy and credibility in the most wide-ranging aspects and dimensions, both at a personal/relational level, and at a professional level.
- Citizenship education and pedagogical practices of the teacher of the 1st cycle of basic educationPublication . Costa, Ana Sofia; Cardoso, Ana Paula; Rocha, JoãoCitizenship Education is being increasingly debated, due to social changes that are rapidly occurring. Nowadays, the school must take on new challenges that should be reflected in teachers’ pedagogical practices. This is where school gains prominence as a main agent in the formation of active citizens, capable of contributing to the development and well-being of the society in which they live, by educating them for citizenship. Therefore, the present investigation aimed to understand if Citizenship Education is a disciplinary area valued by teachers in the 1st Cycle of Basic Education (CEB) [years 1-4] in the classroom, based in their perspectives. For this, we tried to verify how often Citizenship Education is addressed, in the classroom; to know the importance attributed to this subject in the various areas of student training; to identify those responsible for selecting the content covered in Citizenship Education; and to analyse the thematic areas of Citizenship Education more and less worked on in the classroom. To this end, we carried out a descriptive research using a questionnaire sent to a non-probabilistic sample of ninety-one 1st CEB teachers working in the municipality of Viseu (Portugal). The data showed that teachers attribute relevance to Citizenship Education teaching in various areas of educational action, and approach it quite frequently in their teaching practice. It was also observed that content selection responsibility rests mainly over teachers and students, and that there are thematic areas of Citizenship little addressed, such as the European Dimension of Education, or the of Education for Entrepreneurship. Considering that school is a privileged space for citizenship development, it is required that teachers guide their pedagogical practices towards themes on which it is necessary to reflect, in order to promote the development of social skills from a very early age.
- Group work as a factor enhancing curriculum integration in primary educationPublication . Pereira, Cândida; Cardoso, Ana Paula; Rocha, JoãoIn the current educational system, the 1st cycle of basic education (1st CBE) [year 1-4] is characterised as providing a comprehensive education, with the aim of achieving integrated and interdisciplinary knowledge, capable of developing basic skills in Portuguese, mathematics, science and social studies and artistic expression (Ministry of Education, 2004). According to decree-law, n.º 241/2001 of 30 August, the 1st CBE teacher develops the respective curriculum, mobilising and integrating the scientific knowledge of the areas upon which it is based and the skills required to advance student learning. Therefore, strategies to motivate integrative activities, where students have the opportunity to share ideas, opinions, and experiences as well as possible solutions, should be sought. The aim of this paper is precisely to understand whether methodology of group work can be an enabling strategy of 1st CBE curriculum integration. To this end, we sought to ascertain the opinion of teachers with regards to group work – whether they consider it important, if it is a common practice in implementing the curriculum and in which curricular areas it is used most often. We also wanted to examine whether teachers use group work as a strategy for curriculum integration in the classroom as well as the main difficulties they felt. Empirically, we carried out descriptive research with a survey by questionnaire which was prepared for this purpose. It was applied to 1st CBE teachers working in a school group in the municipality of Viseu schools (central region of Portugal). This was a convenience sample of 43 mostly female (90.7%) teachers, aged between 30 and 59 years. The data obtained showed that teachers attach great importance to the methodology of group work, but use it with variable frequency in their classroom teaching practice. They also indicate that group work, including pair work is a widely used strategy for curriculum integration in the 1st CBE. Nevertheless, some obstacles to this practice are identified as the vast syllabus of the 1st CBE, importance given to preparing for exams and the excessive number of students per class. These findings may be important to help envisage changes to the organisation of schools and teaching activities, counteracting the compartmentalised organisation by subjects which tends to persist in the 1st CBE.