O mal-estar discente numa escola de outro século

: olhares de alunos

Abstract

This study is based on the purpose of trying to understand the perceptions and experiences of students of primary and secondary school about their personal and school experiences. We know little about what good students (with high academic results) think about school, about their education process. This ignorance was our greatest motivation and the chosen research area. It is, therefore, an exploratory, descriptive and interpretive study within the qualitative paradigm intending to portray students’ vision and school experiences. Thus, this study gets in the personal world of the participants, usually ignored in decisions about schooling process (at different levels: classroom, school, ministry of education). Facing the school reality as a complex reality that requires an analysis at different angles, this research discusses the challenges that schools are currently facing through the voice of the students. The data was collected from students from 9th, 10th and 12th grade, in an urban high school in the center of Oporto. The data collection technique used in this research was the "Focus Group". The collected and analyzed data in this study allow us to conclude that, in general, the process of schooling reveals serious shortcomings in its course and it is perceived a lack of direction in school practices experienced by students. The students tend to have a negative view of the dimensions related to the lesson, to the assessment and to the teacher, revealing a more balanced view of the school in general.

Date of Award	21 Apr 2016
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	José Matias Alves (Supervisor)