Due to COVID-19, many countries implemented emergency plans, such as lockdown and school closures. This new situation has significantly affected families, namely, the involvement required to support children’s learning at home. The current study aimed to analyze Portuguese parents’ perceptions of their home-based parental involvement in their children’s learning during the lockdown and school closures in 2020 due to COVID-19. An online survey, using a closed-ended questionnaire, was employed. Variables included parents’ sociodemographic and COVID-19 related characteristics; students’ sociodemographic characteristics; distance learning context; parental involvement; and students’ autonomy. Data were collected from a sample of 21,333 parents with children from elementary school to secondary education, and statistical data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26. Findings revealed that Portuguese parents supported their children during the pandemic mainly through the monitoring of attention in classes and task realization. However, several variables appear to significantly determine parental involvement time, which is higher when students attend public schools, when they are less autonomous and younger, when parents’ level of education is lower, when the child is a boy (except in secondary education where gender is not relevant), and when the online school time is higher. Findings highlight the need for a significant investment of time from parents, particularly of primary school children, making it difficult to cohere work or telework with school activities. Implications for policies, schools, families are discussed in order to promote children’s learning and success.

The purpose of this scoping review is to analyse the literature concerning principals’ problems and challenges, beginning in 2003 and ending in 2019. The research team conducted an extensive search to locate relevant academic literature, comprising 17 years of research, and a total of 153 documents were analysed. According to the findings, most of the documents (71%) correspond to the last six years (2014–2019), and most are studies from Anglo-Saxon countries (55%). The results point to eight main categories related to the complex nature of the job (the management challenge, the complexity challenge and the learning challenge), and interactions with different stakeholders (problems with educational authorities and educational policy; the staff and teaching process; the students; the families and the school community; and the society). Although the importance given to each category varies from one context to another, problems concerning the complex nature of the job and with the educational authorities and the educational policy are the most recurrent. A significant increase in the number and complexity of problems and challenges throughout the times was noticed, which seems to enhance the need for changes in educational policies and the careful design and implementation of leadership training programmes.

The organisation of K-18 schools and the management function are similar in Portugal and Spain, although, in recent years, Portugal has surpassed Spain’s educational results. Based on the last international reports, this article compares the educational systems of both countries considering some variables related to the management model: (i) the general organisation of education in these stages, (ii) the characteristics of the teaching profession, including the process of recruitment and selection of teachers and principals, and (iii) the level of school autonomy and the type of management and leadership. Findings corroborated the existence of structural proximity in the governance of schools within the framework of a management model that is both centralized and participatory. However, there are differences in the permanency of educational laws, the duration of compulsory education, the grouping of schools, and the requirements to be a teacher. We conclude that the policies undertaken by Portugal to improve education (such as the extension of compulsory schooling, legislative stability, or the rethinking of the internal organization of schools) are succeeding and can serve as an example for Spain. Both countries could help principals become leaders for learning and improve their autonomy to favour changes in education.

Worldwide, leadership stories are narratives of principals facing very different problems. The purpose of this study was to identify the current problems faced by Portuguese school principals, through these actors’ voice. Nineteen public school Portuguese principals participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, coded, and categorised using Nvivo11 Pro. The analysis revealed that Portuguese principals have the same problems as their colleagues worldwide, but there are problems specifically related to the Portuguese educational system: problems from the process of school clustering and the leader-centred system of school management of this country. A framework to analyse the emerged problems and practical recommendations are proposed for school leaders, researchers, and policymakers to improve educational leadership.

School-based universal well-being screening is proposed within the Multi-tiered Systems of Support approach to collect data on school and individual well-being. Universal screening allows for data-based informed decision, allocating each pupil or set of pupils in universal, selective and/or indicated structured interventions and supports. However, schools require adequate and validated measures of both positive well-being and indicators of psychological health problems. This study focused on the adaptation and validation of the Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (SSWQ) in Portugal, a tool directed to positive well-being screening. After a translation process, data was collected in 10 schools. A sample of 942 school pupils in the 3rd cycle was randomly split into two subsamples. First was conducted on one subsample, and then, CFA was conducted in the other. Gender and school year invariance were also conducted with the CFA subsample. Internal consistency was likewise analysed. The analysis finished with convergent and discriminant validity. Overall, results supported a second-order factor model (subjective well-being), including four first-order factors, with the elimination of one item and changing one item to another subscale. Results showed good reliability of each factor (all above 0.70). Full measurement invariance was reached for gender (male and female) and school year (7th, 8th and 9th grades). Convergent validity was found with measures of satisfaction with school, group identification with peers and school social support, and divergent validity was found with BPM-Y. Altogether, results support that SSWQ-PG can be used to screen for subjective well-being in schools, helping schools in identifying and addressing pupils’ mental health needs more effectively.

Este estudo qualitativo teve como objetivo analisar as perceções de alunos adolescentes acerca dos aspetos que facilitam e dificultam a sua aprendizagem. O conhecimento das perceções dos alunos sobre a sua aprendizagem permite melhorar a qualidade dos processos de ensino-aprendizagem. A partir de um guião semiestruturado, foram realizados cinco grupos focais, em cinco escolas privadas do Norte de Portugal, tendo participado 32 alunos selecionados aleatoriamente. Os participantes eram alunos do 3º ciclo do Ensino Básico (7º, 8º e 9º anos), com idades compreendidas entre os 12 e os 15 anos. A análise dos dados seguiu um processo semi-indutivo de codificação descritiva. Os resultados realçam o papel fundamental do professor na aprendizagem; a importância da ação vs passividade dos alunos na sala de aula; a relevância da dimensão emocional e relacional para o envolvimento do aluno; e a relevância das estratégias de autorregulação da aprendizagem. Como implicações sugere-se a concretização de ações junto de professores e alunos assente nos dados recolhidos e analisados, que sejam promotoras da metacognição de ambos.