Resumo Este artigo desenvolve uma reflexão sobre as mediações entre os mundos juvenil e escolar, a partir das percepções de estudantes do norte de Portugal acerca da sua formação. O foco recai sobre o ensino secundário realizado no contexto da vertente artística especializada, uma das ofertas disponíveis para os jovens portugueses que, desde 2009, devem obrigatoriamente frequentar tal ciclo de estudos. A investigação se debruça sobre os desafios do ensino secundário e a exigência da integração juvenil no seu contexto, ao passo em que problematiza, a partir do olhar juvenil, a resposta do ensino artístico especializado a elementos de ordem social, cognitiva, cívica e profissional que são intrínsecos à formação escolar. A fim de atingir os objetivos propostos, foram realizadas seis entrevistas de tipo biográfico, com estudantes dos três anos do ensino secundário artístico especializado de uma instituição do Porto. Os jovens tinham idades compreendidas entre os 16 e os 18 anos e as entrevistas fazem uma exploração de sua trajetória educacional com a finalidade de situar biograficamente os sentidos que se atribuem à frequência da via artística especializada no ensino secundário. A análise dos dados foi realizada a partir de uma abordagem narrativa, com o auxílio das técnicas da análise de conteúdo. Os resultados apontam para uma valorização do processo educativo por parte dos alunos em que sobressai a importância de dinâmicas escolares que viabilizam a desconstrução de sistemas hierárquicos, numa aposta veiculada pela informalidade e a inovação, sentidos corroborados por um espírito de diversidade e diálogo social.

Transnational guidelines on skills and competencies for lifelong learning, along with curriculum reforms to promote curriculum flexibility and autonomy in schools, are pressing teachers to be engaged in curriculum and pedagogical innovation focused on student‐centred approaches favourable to developing learner autonomy. Drawing on a design research project focused on self‐regulated learning, in this article, we explore how an initiative aimed at fostering pedagogical innovation through peer observation and feedback amongst students has the potential to promote teacher agency in engaging in sustained innovation. The project was developed in four Portuguese schools, and data collection involves a wide set of materials, including notes from participant observation, a series of focus groups and written reports produced by participating teachers in the first cycle of the project (school year 2023–2024). Stemming from content analysis of thematic nature, results suggest that keeping strategies rather open to local adaptation, as well as involving teachers in the different phases of the intervention, including the model design, has prompted their sense of agency. Also, teachers value the existence of an extended community, mainly researchers and teachers of other subjects, to whom they could communicate during the development of the project to explore ideas and discuss practices.

While the central role that technology currently plays in the different domains of society is acknowledged, it is pressing to understand how it also affects the compulsory education setting. The increasing technological richness of the world influences everyday life and brings about higher expectations for schools to take a lead in shaping competent citizens for the twenty-first century. The aim of this article is to advance knowledge of how innovation is taking place in schools when it admits the implementation of technology as a fundamental dimension. This review draws on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and covers the period 2017–22 to identify 30 studies for inclusion. The analyses suggest that innovative practices are highly diverse in nature and that they target different disciplines and levels of compulsory education. Innovation is sensitive to place, historicity and time. It is often delayed by infrastructure issues (first-order barriers) and beliefs (second-order barriers), while among its key drivers are leadership, support networks and professional development.

Family involvement in education is highlighted as a key factor to boost students’ success. In this paper, we analyze ninth-graders’ discourses on how they see family participation in school-related activities. data derive from 38 biographical interviews involving students from eight public schools from North Portugal. Following a narrative approach, findings emphasize that active involvement of parents make up a fundamental dimension for the consolidation of educational projects. data reveal that mothers play a leader role in the educational setting, while fathers’ lack of participation can impact negatively on students’ trajectories. In addition, research indicates that an extended family can emerge as crucial to the maintenance of a schooling project.