Cultural diversity in schools takes on various forms, including social class, ethnicity, religion and nationality, among other factors that constitute students’ identity, influencing their learning. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges that educational systems face internationally is the effective inclusion of all children and young people in schools. For this process to be successful, the roles played by teachers are essential. Thus, our main objective with this systematic literature review is to expand knowledge and awareness of cultural diversity issues to promote the inclusion of learners from primary to secondary education in Europe. To achieve this, we will highlight teachers’ perceptions of students’ cultural diversity and identify a range of strategies and practices that can contribute to the development of their professional learning. The search was conducted in two databases, Scopus and the Web of Science, and focused on articles published between 2010 and 2022. Of the 3976 identified articles, 41 were included in this study. The findings suggest that teachers consider diversity to be a challenge despite the existence of a favorable view toward students’ cultural diversity. A set of solutions is given for the development of inclusion processes.

RESUMO Neste artigo problematiza-se a identidade profissional dos professores, com base na análise das reflexões finais de quatro mestrandos da Universidade de Lisboa, procurando-se compreender as concepções de identidade profissional desses futuros professores de ciências do ensino secundário. Nesta análise utiliza-se uma metodologia qualitativa centrada em uma perspectiva narrativa. Em suas reflexões, esses futuros professores referem a importância das aprendizagens que realizaram no âmbito da prática de ensino supervisionada e o seu contributo para o desenvolvimento profissional. Essas narrativas, escritas em primeira pessoa, expressam as percepções dos mestrandos sobre a própria evolução ao longo do processo de formação inicial e evidenciam suas identidades profissionais no final desse ciclo de formação. Essa evolução decorre de suas experiências letivas e não letivas e revela diferentes graus de consolidação das suas identidades profissionais.

One argument for the inclusion of children with special education needs (SEN) is that they will benefit from the interactions and relationships with their typically developing peers. However, students with SEN tend to be more rejected than their non-SEN peers. Considering the negative consequences of peer rejection on socioemotional development and school adjustment, the current study aims to understand the behavioural correlates and specific characteristics of the students with SEN associated with peer rejection. Participants were 227 students (107 with SEN); 53.7% male; mean age 10.79 (SD = 2.16); attending the 3rd (33.9%), 5th (35.3%) and 7th grades (30.8%). Students filled in a Sociometric task and 47 regular school teachers and 31 special education teachers provided information regarding sociodemographic and educational data, behavioural characteristics and student-teacher relationship. SEN status was the most important predictor of rejection followed by social skills. In the case of students with SEN, less familiarity with peers and a less close student-teacher relationship were also associated with rejection. Thus, the findings emphasise the need of professional development programs to assist teachers in the promotion of positive relationships with their students and a positive peer culture within the class.

In this paper we present an evaluation of an App for mobile devices, ‘Roteiro dos Descobrimentos’, as an educational digital resource for primary school students. The study involved the participation of 131 students and eight teachers. Data were collected from participant observation, students’ questionnaires and interviews to students and teachers. According to students, they learned new things, related with the topics explored, in an easy and funny way. Students also emphasized as positive aspects the fact that they had to face different challenges and the need to mobilize their knowledge to solve them. Teachers referred that students showed great interest and enthusiasm during the activities. As main gains, teachers stressed that the application fosters the relationship of students with the city, facilitates collaboration, and promotes students’ autonomy. In resume, it seems that the playful and interactive dimension of the App promoted the development of important skills such as the ability to interact with the environment, collaborative work, autonomy, and reading and interpretation skills. As a conclusion, there is a great receptivity to integrate mobile technologies in the teaching and learning process, but the role of the teacher can’t be dismissed, as a mediator and educator.

A educação para a cidadania tem sido uma preocupação dos pedagogos, das sociedades e dos sistemas educativos através dos tempos, embora a designação assumida nem sempre tenha sido esta (expressões como educação cívica; formação pessoal e social foram utilizadas para designar uma área próxima da educação para a cidadania, em Portugal). Este artigo enfatiza a pertinência e a necessidade de reflectir e promover a educação para a cidadania na actualidade, em vários contextos, particularmente na escola, e de várias formas (disciplinar, transdisciplinar e interdisciplinar). Destaca-se e debate-se ainda um conjunto de oito temáticas, que deverão estar associadas à promoção da cidadania, bem como uma metodologia de natureza construtivista que inclua estratégias que mobilizem os domínios cognitivos; afectivo-motivacional; social e comportamental, nas diferentes etapas de desenvolvimento de crianças, adolescentes e adultos. Assim, os grandes oito temas da cidadania sugeridos são as concepções, atitudes e comportamentos referentes aos seguintes aspectos: o Estado e a nacionalidade; a religião e as diferentes manifestações religiosas; as relações do ser humano com a natureza e a organização socioeconómica; a estrutura e o papel da família, juntamente com os papéis associados ao género; os aspectos relacionados com a saúde e a segurança; as diferentes raças, etnias e culturas; a civilidade, a convivência social e regulação das relações interpessoais; e finalmente o modo de utilização das tecnologias da informação e comunicação.