Browsing by Author "Alves, Sílvia"
Now showing 1 - 10 of 33
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- A avaliação das necessidades de apoio no desenvolvimento de planos individuais de transiçãoPublication . Santos, Miguel; Sanches-Ferreira, Manuela; Silveira-Maia, Mónica; Martins, Susana; Alves, Sílvia; Lopes-dos-Santos, PedroUma sociedade inclusiva assenta na garantia e defesa dos direitos humanos e é caracterizada pela participação de todos os cidadãos nas várias dimensões e contextos da vida. Neste ensaio, demonstraremos como a avaliação das necessidades de apoio dos jovens com incapacidade intelectual, e especificamente a avaliação através da Supports Intensity Scale (SIS - Escala de Intensidade de Apoios), constitui um passo essencial no desenvolvimento de Planos Individuais de Transição numa perspetiva centrada na pessoa, que pragmatiza os princípios de uma sociedade inclusiva.
- Building inclusive preschool classrooms: How desirable and feasible is a set of strategies that facilitate teacher-child relationships?Publication . Sanches-Ferreira, Manuela; Gonçalves, Joana L.; Araújo, Sara Barros; Alves, Sílvia; Barros, SílviaPositive teacher-child relationships promote children’s engagement, as children feel more secure to explore and participate in free or oriented activities. For children with disabilities, a context wherein they can receive the support to maintain a positive engagement in different activities is even more relevant. A scarcity of research exists on how to promote ECEC quality, namely, how to facilitate teacher-child interactions in inclusive environments. This study aims to evaluate preschool teachers’ opinions about the desirability and feasibility of a set of empirically validated strategies to improve teacher-child interactions in ECEC classrooms, for the group and children with disabilities. The participants were 89 Portuguese preschool teachers. Based on a non-systematic literature review, a questionnaire composed of 22 strategies to facilitate teacher-child interactions (in 4 dimensions: emotionally responsive interactions, classroom management, attend to children’s perspectives, and scaffolding learning) was developed. Along with the questionnaire, a set of socio-demographic variables was also collected. ECEC teachers scored significantly higher in the desirability subscale compared with the feasibility subscale in all dimensions and at both the child and the group level. This gap between teachers’ perceived desirability and feasibility provides important insights regarding the dimensions which are important to reinforce in ECEC teachers’ education and professional development. The mean difference between the desirability and feasibility subscales registered a higher effect size at the child’s level than at the group’s level, confirming that the inclusion of children with disabilities in preschool settings remains a challenge. Moreover, the effect size was small to moderate in the Emotionally Responsive Interactions dimension for both child and group levels. These results are aligned with previous studies stating that among different self-identified dimensions for improvement, emotional support is the less evoked by ECEC teachers. Across all dimensions, the main reason teachers give for difficulty in feasibility, both at the group and child’s level, is lack of knowledge. Overall, understanding the reasons teachers attribute to the difference between the strategies’ desirability and feasibility informs the assessment of teacher education needs and might be operationalized as a new observation instrument.
- Children and Young People’s Participation in decision-making in Foster CarePublication . Delgado, Paulo; Carvalho, João M. S.; Alves, SílviaChildren’s participation in decisions about their lives is a crucial point of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the basis of child welfare and protection worldwide. Despite these clear guidelines, there is evidence that children’s voices may be heard but often with little impact on the decisions made by professionals in the childcare system. This study seeks to ascertain whether the voice of children living in foster care is considered and respected when making decisions that concern them, whether the children effectively exercise it, and what factors impact their participation. A systematic scoping review was performed to clarify concepts and unveil research gaps, using eleven scientific databases and publishers that allowed us to identify twelve recent studies in critical journals. In the light of the Bouma et al., (2018) model, the findings showed that there is, in general, a lack of effective children’s participation, namely in terms of information, listening, and involvement. Children’s voices still have a minimum impact on the decisions made in the childcare system. It will be necessary to avoid the bureaucratic assumption that there is an age cut-off point to promote participation. More, it is stressed the importance of a trusting, sincere and confidential relationship between the child and the social worker and the need to ensure training for professionals who intervene in review/statutory meetings or judicial proceedings, namely in the court of law.
- Conditions for Implementing the ICF-CY in Education: The Experience in PortugalPublication . Sanches-Ferreira, Manuela; Silveira-Maia, Mónica; Alves, Sílvia; Simeonsson, Rune J.Reflecting international trends for implementing inclusive education, Portugal enacted a special education law (Law No. 3/2008) in 2008, defining substantial changes in educational practice. One of the most important changes consisted in determining that eligibility for special education services be based on the functioning profile of students documented with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, version for children and youth [ICF-CY, WHO (World Health Organization), 2007]. The study described in this manuscript belongs to a broader project and consisted of the administration of a survey to a nationally representative sample of 551 professionals, to examine factors they considered as most influential to the perceived ease in using the ICF-CY, as well as identifying the extent to which the professional groups and the enrollment on training relates to the opinion about the use of the ICF. For sample recruitment, 414 clusters of schools were randomly selected, stratified according to the distribution of schools in the different Regional Directorates of Education in Portugal. The survey consisted of demographic questions and 49 scaled items, assessed on a 4-point Likert scale in which respondents rated: (i) the perceived ease on the ICF-CY usage; (ii) their level of knowledge on conceptual and procedural aspects inherent to the Law implementation, as well as, on regard to performed roles defined; (iii) the extent to which their schools presented conditions for collaboration; and (iv) the importance of contextual variables as valued conditions for using the ICF-CY. Results showed that the establishment of mechanisms for collaboration and interdisciplinarity were central conditions to meet the comprehensiveness and rigor defining an ICF-CY-based assessment. Likewise, consideration of diverse backgrounds and needs of professional groups in terms of knowledge needs to be a central requirement for implementing an ICF-CY informed approach. An important implication for training programs is to have an expanded focus on demonstrations on how the ICF-CY can be used to support the implementation of socio-ecological and inclusive perspectives.
- Consultancy In Action: Implementing The ICF-CY Within The New Practices In Special Education Needs Assessment In ArmeniaPublication . Sanches-Ferreira, Manuela; Silveira-Maia, Mónica; Alves, Sílvia; Poghosyan, MeriOver the last decade, with the help of UNICEF, international organizations and the civil society, the Armenian government has been developing efforts to reform the education system and promote inclusive education by expanding the network of inclusive schools and increasing budgetary allocations to children with special education needs. As a next major step the Ministry of Education plans to gradually transform special schools into resources centres supporting inclusive education.
- Dimensões ambientais e produtos e tecnologias influentes na participação e inclusão de alunos com incapacidadePublication . Silveira-Maia, Mónica; Lopes-dos-Santos, Pedro; Sanches-Ferreira, Manuela; Alves, Sílvia; Parada, Ana
- Eligibility for Special Education Services: Six Years of the ICF-CY ImplementationPublication . Sanches-Ferreira, Manuela; Silveira-Maia, Mónica; Alves, SílviaThe debate around students? eligibility for special education services remains actual due to its preponderance for determining the resources allocation and services distribution (Burke & Ruedel, 2008; Hollenweger, 2008). This is also the case of Portugal that in 2008 enacted a special education law, which prescribed a new approach for defining the target group for special education services based on the use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, version for children and youth, ICF-CY (2007), as a common language and framework to guide the assessment and eligibility determination processes. Special education services were defined for students with: "significant limitations in terms of activity and participation in one or more areas of life, due to structural and functional permanent changes resulting in continued difficulties in communication, learning, mobility, autonomy, interpersonal relationships and social participation" (Paragraph 1 of Article 1st, Chapter I). In line with this definition, DL 3/2008 introduced the principle that documentation of functioning profiles of students ? reflecting the ICF terminology and framework ? should base eligibility determination.
- Evaluating implementation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health in Portugal's special education lawPublication . Sanches-Ferreira, Manuela; Simeonsson, Rune J.; Silveira-Maia, Mónica; Alves, SílviaThis paper reports the results of a national two-year project, commissioned by the Portuguese Ministry of Education, to investigate the implementation of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) under Decree-Law 3/2008. The Decree-Law also introduced the principle that the documentation of students' functioning profiles should be the basis for eligibility decision-making – replacing the need of a diagnosis. Of specific interest was the study of the ICF implementation in the assessment, eligibility and intervention processes of students in need of specialised supports. To that end, the study was based on a document analysis of case records of 214 students. The analysis of functioning profiles showed that the ICF use promoted a functional approach in students' assessment. In addition, the use of the ICF contributed to the differentiation of eligible and non-eligible students based on their functioning profiles and addressed the most suitable educational interventions within the Individualised Education Plans.
- Exploração da autocompaixão no contexto de um programa de Minfulness-based Cognition TherapyPublication . Serrão, Carla; Alves, SílviaCONTEXTO: Os profissionais de saúde e da área social estão diariamente expostos a situações de sofrimento que podem gerar stresse e burnout e afetar a tarefa de cuidar. Desenvolvidos sobretudo em populações clínicas, os programas de intervenção baseados em Mindfulness – especificamente o Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) – têm demonstrado resultados promissores na redução da depressão, do stresse e da ansiedade. OBJETIVO(S): Avaliar o efeito do MBCT, desenvolvido junto de profissionais de saúde e da área social, nos níveis de Mindfulness, autocompaixão, stresse, ansiedade e depressão e explorar a relação entre a autocompaixão e as restantes variáveis em estudo. METODOLOGIA: 26 profissionais/futuros profissionais de saúde e da área social que participaram no programa MBCT completaram a avaliação pré e pós-intervenção; Instrumentos: Escala de Autocompaixão, Questionário Cinco Facetas Mindfulness, Escala de Stresse Percebido, Inventário de Depressão de Beck e Inventário de Ansiedade de Beck. RESULTADOS: Os participantes aumentaram nos níveis de Mindfulness e de autocompaixão e reduziram nos sintomas de depressão e de ansiedade. Os resultados indicam ainda uma associação, entre moderada e forte, entre as diferentes componentes da autocompaixão e o Mindfulness e o stresse antes e após o programa. CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados positivos do programa de MBCT sugerem o seu potencial para desenvolver nos profissionais competências essenciais à intervenção terapêutica, designadamente uma maior compreensão e aceitação da pessoa e do seu sofrimento.
- FRIEND-SHIP Intervention Program - the HandbookPublication . Aroni, K.; Toulia, A.; Alves, Sílvia; Hassani, S.; Heidrich, F.; Franzen, K.; Görel, G.; Löper, M. F.; Aguiar, T.; Silveira-Maia, Mónica; Sanches-Ferreira, Manuela; Hellmich, F.; Schwab, S.; Avramidis, E.This handbook is the product of collaboration within the “FRIEND-SHIP—Improving Students’ Social Participation in Primary and Secondary Schools Across Europe” Project, funded by the European Commission—Erasmus+ Programme, Project No.: 2019-1-AT01-KA201-05 1226. One of the main outputs of this Project consisted of the development of the FRIEND-SHIP Program, a school-based intervention aimed at improving social participation of all students between 8 and 11 years of age. The FRIEND-SHIP Program is intended to be implemented by teachers and consists of 12 sessions, each with the duration of 45–60 minutes, implemented twice a week over six weeks. The activities that comprise this program are essentially experiential. Students are invited to take an active and involved role by participating in group activities, role-playing, social stories, arts, and physical activities. The main purpose of this handbook is to support teachers in implementing the FRIEND-SHIP program with their classes. This handbook is divided in three parts: • CHAPTERS 1, 2 and 3 cover background information about social participation and inclusion, as well as the description of the target audience of this handbook and the digital tool for evaluating the FRIEND-SHIP Program effects. • CHAPTER 4 covers the FRIEND-SHIP Intervention Program, including guiding principles, aims, and detailed descriptions of sessions. • CHAPTER 5 covers the information gathered with the implementation of the FRIEND-SHIP Intervention Program throughout the Project life.