ISCAP - ATC de Assessoria e Comunicação Organizacional
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Browsing ISCAP - ATC de Assessoria e Comunicação Organizacional by Author "Costa, Ana Cristina"
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- Building a knowledge and learning society in Portugal: adult students in technological schools and higher education institutionsPublication . Correia, Ana Maria Ramalho; Sá, Dulce Maria Cardoso Pereira; Costa, Ana Cristina; Mesquita, AnabelaLifelong learning (LLL) has received increasing attention in recent years. It implies that learning should take place at all stages of the “life cycle and it should be life-wide, that is embedded in all life contexts from the school to the work place, the home and the community” (Green, 2002, p.613). The ‘learning society’, is the vision of a society where there are recognized opportunities for learning for every person, wherever they are and however old they happen to be. Globalization and the rise of new information technologies are some of the driving forces that cause depreciation of specialised competences. This happens very quickly in terms of economic value; consequently, workers of all skills levels, during their working life, must have the opportunity to update “their technical skills and enhance general skills to keep pace with continuous technological change and new job requirements” (Fahr, 2005, p. 75). It is in this context that LLL tops the policy agenda of international bodies, national governments and non-governmental organizations, in the field of education and training, to justify the need for LLL opportunities for the population as they face contemporary employability challenges. It is in this context that the requirement and interest to analyse the behaviour patterns of adult learners has developed over the last few years
- Educational characteristics of adult students in portuguese technological schoolsPublication . Correia, Ana Maria Ramalho; Sá, Dulce Magalhães de; Costa, Ana Cristina; Mesquita, AnabelaDespite a massive expansion of education in Portugal, since the 1970’s, educational attainment of the adult population in the country remains low. The numbers of working-age people in some form of continuing education are among the lowest, according to the OECD and EU-27 statistics. Technological Schools(TS), initially created in the 1990’s, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Economy in partnership with industry and industrial associations, aimed to prepare qualified staff for industries and services in the country, particularly in the engineering sector, through the provision of post secondary non-university programmes of studies, the CET (Technological Specialization Courses). Successful CET students are awarded a DET(Diploma of Technological Specialization), which corresponds to Vocational Qualification level IV of the EU, according to the latest alteration (2005) of the Education Systems Act (introduced in 1986). In this, CET’s are also clearly defined as one of the routes for access to Higher Education (HE), in Portugal. The PRILHE (Promoting Reflective and Independent Learning in Higher Education) multinational project, funded by the European Socrates Grundtvig Programme, aimed to identify the learning processes which enable adult students in higher education to become autonomous reflective learners and search best practices to support these learning processes. During this research, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to determine how students organise their studies and develop their learning skills. The Portuguese partner in the project’ consortium used a two case studies approach, one with students of Higher Education Institutions and other with students of TS. This paper only applies to students of TS, as these have a predominant bias towards engineering. Results show that student motivation and professional teaching support contribute equally to the development of an autonomous and reflective approach to learning in adult students; this is essential for success in a knowledge economy, where lifelong learning is the key to continuous employment.
- Knowledge sharing and learning processes: case study of portuguese technological schools and higher education institutionsPublication . Correia, Ana Maria Ramalho; Sá, Dulce Magalhães de; Costa, Ana Cristina; Mesquita, AnabelaThe interest in adult learners has increased over the last few years. When we study their biographies, we realize that they reveal uncertainty and sometimes a lack of confidence concerning their potential. However, we also realize that some of them have developed approaches to deal with these difficulties and have become autonomous and independent learners. This situation may be related to the pathways chosen during their lifetime. As a consequence, we may have different identities emerging from different institutions. In Portugal, adults may choose Universities or Technological Schools to pursue their education. Is this choice dependent on how they lived before? And has this choice affected the way they learn and develop their autonomy and independence? The Portuguese case shows that there are similarities between students from Technological Schools and Universities but also differences, mostly related with the approach used to learn and the way teachers take into consideration the way students learn. It seems that Technological Schools have “best practices” that should be shared with the other institutions.
- Lifelong learning: case study of adult students in portuguese technological schools and higher education institutionsPublication . Correia, Ana Maria Ramalho; Sá, Dulce Magalhães de; Costa, Ana Cristina; Mesquita, AnabelaAdult education, especially at the tertiary level, is significant when preparing citizens to work in today’s continuously evolving markets, a hallmark of the knowledge-based economies. This paper focuses on the identification of learning strategies used by Portuguese non-traditional adult students who embark on lifelong learning routes to obtain tertiary level education. The results of a case study undertaken within the project PRILHE (Promoting Reflective Independent Learning in HE) funded by the European Commission Socrates Adult Education Programme Socrates – (113869-CP-1-2004-1-UKGRUNDTVIG- G1) are presented and discussed. It seems that there is still a long way to go before non-traditional adult students can benefit from lifelong learning opportunities, at tertiary level in Portugal; nevertheless the study presents evidence of some “best practices” in TS which could be shared with HEI.