CEDH - Contribuições em Revistas Científicas / Contribution to Journals
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- Predictors of academic success and failure in STEM higher education in Angola: evidence from first-year students using descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysisPublication . Tumbula, Samuel; Azevedo, Joaquim; Ribeiro, Luísa MotaSTEM programmes in higher education are characterised by high academic failure rates, particularly during the first year. In Angola, however, there is a notable lack of empirical research addressing this issue. This study represents one of the first empirical investigations into STEM student outcomes in Angola, providing data-driven insights previously unavailable in this context. Using survey responses from 491 first-year STEM students, descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis identified key positive predictors–such as academic competence, pedagogical support, and motivation–and negative predictors, including personal, institutional, and curricular barriers. Findings inform targeted recommendations such as enhanced mentoring programmes and curriculum reforms to strengthen success factors, mitigate obstacles, and guide policies for more inclusive and effective STEM higher education.
- Service-learning at Universidade Católica Portuguesa: a journey of institutionalization through the lens of student, faculty, and community partner perceptions and international standardsPublication . Ribeiro, Luísa Mota; Serra, Sara; Rodrigues, Sofia Nascimento; Themudo, Carmo; Pona, Rita Paiva eService-learning (SL) has emerged as a transformative pedagogy in higher education. While institutionalization in Europe remains incipient, case studies illustrate how universities can advance this process through intentional strategies. This paper presents a reflection on the journey of implementation and institutionalization of SL at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) between 2020 and 2025. Looking at the perspectives of students, faculty, and community partners, this work examines the extent to which UCP’s SL strategy aligns with global standards and contributes to a sustainable model of institutional integration. Throughout eight semesters, a total of 124 SL experiences were conducted, involving 147 curricular units, 24 extracurricular activities, and 9 interdisciplinary projects. These initiatives engaged 2 495 students, 62 faculty members, and 176 community partners, including 28 international organizations, and reached over 46 000 final beneficiaries. The results highlight key achievements while also identifying ongoing challenges related to quality assurance, faculty engagement, and long-term sustainability. Lessons learned underscore the importance of strategic alignment, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and evidence-based planning in embedding SL as a core institutional practice.
- AYA - I Am Not Afraid of You: combining assessment tools for evaluating a theater of the oppressed workshopPublication . Chagas, Lorena de Oliveira; Baltazar, André; Moreno, Ana Filipa; Bines, Rosana Kohl; Oliveira-Silva, Patrícia; Sá, CristinaThis interdisciplinary study investigates the transformative potential of the workshop AYA—I Am Not Afraid of You (“Aya—Não tenho medo de ti”), an innovative program that employs Theater of the Oppressed techniques to enhance well-being and empower young women. Participants engaged in collaborative and expressive activities to address and reframe experiences of oppression, fostering personal growth and collective resilience. A comprehensive mixed-method evaluation—integrating qualitative reflections, observational insights, surveys, and psychophysiological data—assessed the workshop’s influence on emotional well-being, reduction of reactiveness, and empowerment. The workshop took place in Porto, Portugal, with a small, purposefully selected sample of nine young Lusophone women, of Portuguese and Brazilian nationalities. While small in scale and diversity, the study demonstrates how such assessments can be adapted across cultural contexts. Results indicated improvements in well-being and embodied emotional indicators.
- Adaptation and validation of the youth internalizing and externalizing problems screener in Portugal: a unified psychological health screening toolPublication . Serrão, Rosário; Dias, Pedro; Andrés, Ana; Bowe, Mhairi; Renshaw, TylerResearch points to the importance of school-based universal screening focused on psychological health and well-being dimensions to reach a baseline that allows for the allocation of pupils on adequate interventions and supports, and monitors their response to intervention. When screening for mental health problems, it is recommended to screen for internalizing and externalizing behaviors. This study conducted an adaptation and validation of the Youth Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Screener (YIEPS) in the Portuguese context, following three main steps: translation, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Data was collected in 10 schools, with a final sample of 942 adolescents randomly split into two subsamples. Initially, EFA was conducted on one subsample and then CFA was conducted on the other. Results support a bifactor model with two specific factors (internalizing and conduct problems) and a general mental health problems factor, eliminating items pertaining to attention problems and hyperactivity-impulsivity. This adapted measurement model showed good internal consistency, reliability, concurrent and divergent validity with other measures of mental health problems, and psychosocial functioning. The YIEPS-Portuguese can be used in Portuguese schools to screen for psychological health difficulties, in addition to other measures to screen for the complete mental health of pupils.
- Relationship between leadership readiness and conflict management styles from the followers’ perspectivePublication . Silva, Inês; Morais, Catarina; Gomes, A. RuiLeaders have a critical role in promoting working conditions that actively consider the health and wellbeing of employees. Therefore, studying the impacts leadership produce at work is key. This study analyzes the relationship between leadership and conflict management styles, specifically examining how followers’ perception of managers’ leadership readiness relates to their perception of managers’ conflict management styles. The study included 185 participants (67.6% men; 28.1% women), all employees of a metalworking company, with ages between 19 and 67 years old (M = 38.14; SD =10.94). It was evaluated leadership (cycles, styles, and antecedent factors) and conflict management styles. The results showed that: (a) followers perceived that managers should turn clearer their leadership philosophy, practice, and criteria; and (b) positive perceptions of managers’ leadership were associated with higher levels of transformational conflict management style and lower levels of hesitant and competitive conflict management styles. Overall, this study indicates that there is a gap between followers’ and managers’ perceptions of leadership and that a more positive evaluation of leadership readiness relates to more positive management styles by the leaders.
- Parents and athletes’ relationship: “i’m the biggest fan!”.Publication . Pereira, Marco André Teixeira; Rui Gomes, A.; Morais, CatarinaSport represents a social and emotional learning environment in which parents play a crucial role in shaping young athletes’ motivation and well-being. This paper examines the effects of parental behavior in sport and introduces the Communication Efficacy Model as a framework for understanding and enhancing parent–athlete interactions. In this model, it is proposed that positive communication profiles enhance confidence and enjoyment in sports, while negative communication profiles generate anxiety and lack of engagement. Practical recommendations are offered to promote balanced and intentional communication based on listening, emotional regulation, and reinforcement of effort rather than outcomes. Overall, effective parental communication emerges as a key factor in turning sport into a shared process of growth, where both parents and children learn what it truly means to grow together.
- Schools' evaluation drift: inconsistencies and interpellations of a high-stake inspection systemPublication . Serra, Lídia Jesus Pecegueiro; Alves, José MatiasA consensus exists in transnational educational policy regarding the relevance of accountability and the contribution of school evaluation to education quality. This paper scrutinises the evaluation results of Portuguese schools provided by the Inspectorate services using a pairwise comparison between 194 schools evaluated in 2018-2020 and 2021-2023. Regarding the literature gap on the behaviour of accountability systems over time, this study can contribute to a reflection on justice and transparency in high-stakes systems. The findings suggest that (i) the external evaluation results drift following a directional evolutionary model, indicating progression concerning the self-evaluation, educational services, and results domains; (ii) the occurrence of standardisation and leadership legitimisation phenomenon; (iii) possible side ecects in the schools' evaluation process, namely evasive behaviour, apparent and constructed realities, and evaluation distortion; (iv) the external evaluation framework flexibility in accommodating territorial dicerences between schools without producing system disadvantage. Departing from insights into how a high-stakes external evaluation system operates over time, the study ocers an empirically grounded assumption that reveals dynamics not unique to Portugal, but characteristic of accountability regimes adopted across many educational systems. In conclusion, to improve the quality of education, low-stakes accountability systems should be implemented to strengthen transparent schools' autonomy.
- Adaptation and content validity of the Brazilian version of the mental health literacy questionnairePublication . Moreira, Wanderson Carneiro; Campos, Luísa; Dias, Pedro; de Sousa Nóbrega, Maria do Perpétuo SocorroOBJECTIVES: to perform cross-cultural adaptation and content validity of the Mental Health Literacy questionnaire into Brazilian Portuguese. METHODS: a validity study developed according to the following stages: (1) assessment of conceptual and item equivalence; (2) idiomatic and semantic equivalence (translation, back-translation, formal assessment, critical analysis by 17 experts and pre-testing with 32 young adults, using the survey technique); (3) operational equivalence. RESULTS: important changes were made to ensure instrument validity. The Content Validity Index for the Brazilian context was 97.2% (feasibility) and 98.9% (relevance). The instrument proved to be understandable and easy to apply in pre-testing. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: the Mental Health Literacy questionnaire, Brazilian version, contributes to assessing mental health literacy as well as to improving the quality of actions to promote, prevent and protect mental health in young people.
- A pedagogia social na formação dos educadores sociais, o papel das representações sociais e suas implicações educativasPublication . Ferreira, Arthur Vianna; Baptista, IsabelEste texto apresenta e discute resultados de uma investigação sobre Representações Sociais (RS) e Pedagogia Social, desenvolvida junto de um grupo de educadores sociais em formação no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. As RS estão presentes nos processos formativos de todos os educadores sociais e se desdobram na organização das suas práticas cotidianas. O seu objetivo principal foi compreender em que medida as RS contribuem para o condicionamento dos processos formativos dos educadores sociais, enquadrados pela Pedagogia Social entendida como ciência da educação específica pautada pelo princípio da hospitalidade. A pesquisa, de caráter exploratório, descritivo e qualitativo, envolveu a análise das atividades formativas de 26 educadores sociais entre os anos de 2023 e 2024. Os resultados mostraram a existência de RS de “formações docentes” ancoradas no núcleo figurativo “Escola”. Os desdobramentos dessas RS foram: o silenciamento da discussão sobre a Educação Social como área autônoma do fenômeno escolar; a dificuldade em entender as demandas próprias do contexto socioeducativo; e a exclusão do outro-educativo como parâmetro das práticas socioeducativas. Estes resultados sugerem a necessidade de desenvolver, e reafirmar, os conteúdos específicos da Pedagogia Social, em particular da noção de hospitalidade nos processos formativos dos educadores sociais de forma a reduzir os desvios provocados pelas RS.
- Pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes in women with eating disorders: a four-year longitudinal study with case seriesPublication . Machado, Bárbara César; Gonçalves, Sónia; Duarte, Sofia; Brandão, Isabel; Roma-Torres, António; Soares, FilipaBackground/Objectives: Eating disorders (EDs) often affect fertility, yet many women with ED still become mothers. The pattern of ED symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum, along with their effects on maternal and child health, is not yet fully understood. This longitudinal study aimed to (1) examine the course of ED symptoms from conception to postpartum, (2) evaluate pregnancy outcomes and children’s health and developmental milestones, and (3) assess ED status approximately four years after the initial evaluation. Methods: Thirty women with a prior ED diagnosis (21 with anorexia nervosa, 9 with bulimia nervosa) were evaluated at two time points. Time 1 with the Eating Disorders Examination and the Oxford Risk Factors for Eating Disorders: Interview Schedule; Time 2, approximately four years later, with the Eating Disorders Examination and the Clinical Interview on Reproductive History and Eating Behavior that also included clinical data related to mother’s health and baby’s health and development accessed through the Pregnant Women’s Health Bulletin and the Child and Youth Health Bulletin using the national health records. Results: ED symptoms (dietary restriction, self-induced vomiting, laxative misuse) persisted from conception through postpartum. BN participants reported more severe symptoms and higher rates of pregnancy complications (hyperemesis gravidarum, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia), while premature births occurred only in AN participants. Children of mothers with AN more frequently showed delays in developmental milestones (sitting, walking, speaking, sphincter control) compared to those of BN mothers. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of women with prior ED continued to experience symptoms during and after pregnancy, and nearly half still met diagnostic criteria four years later and are still in treatment. Cognitive features such as body dissatisfaction persisted despite partial symptom remission. These findings highlight the chronicity of ED and underscore the need for systematic screening, psychological support, and interdisciplinary follow-up during pregnancy and early motherhood.