There is a consensus that students should be involved in interdisciplinary activities that promote a solid education in STEAM subjects from an early age. The outdoor settings of schools present an advantageous context for STEAM education, allowing for a myriad of learning experiences. To understand how teachers perceive the pedagogical use of the school’s outdoor space, a study was carried out in a cluster of schools in a Portuguese city, including one middle school and 10 kindergarten and elementary schools. A mixed methods approach was used, combining a questionnaire for teachers (N = 49) with interviews (N = 8). The results indicate that teachers’ perceptions of the characteristics of their school’s outdoor spaces either facilitate or hinder the implementation of outdoor pedagogical activities. Most teachers concur that the outdoors provides contact with nature and encourages interdisciplinary and collaborative activities. However, the teachers surveyed admit to using the school’s outdoor spaces only occasionally, and this use decreases as the educational level at which they teach increases. The most common use of outdoor spaces is for physical and motor activities, promoting the well-being of children and youth. Although interdisciplinary activities in outdoor spaces are recognised, their implementation is limited and hampered by factors such as the length of curricula and the lack of training for teachers in these approaches. In this sense, there is an urgent need to train teachers in the interdisciplinary use of outdoor spaces to promote a solid education in STEAM subjects.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has created both opportunities and challenges in higher education. AI tools are increasingly regarded as potentially transformative, yet also contested, resources for enhancing teaching and learning. This study investigates the behavioral intentions and use behavior of Generative AI (GenAI) tools among Portuguese university students by applying the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model. Seven predictors (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence, hedonic motivation, habit, and price/value) were included to develop a model explaining the behavioral intention and use behavior of AI tools. Data were collected from 323 Portuguese university students and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results show that only hedonic motivation and habit significantly influence behavioral intention, with habit emerging as the strongest predictor. Behavioral intention, in turn, positively affects use behavior. Moreover, gender also moderates the relationship between habit and behavioral intention. These findings deepen our understanding of GenAI tools’ acceptance in higher education and underscore the central roles of enjoyment and routine in adoption processes. They further provide insights to support institutional strategies, inform curriculum design, and support the ethical integration of GenAI technologies in academic contexts.

Descobrir um sentido de vida é uma inquietação do ser humano que desde sempre existiu sendo considerado um objeto de estudo e foco de várias reflexões e teorias. Filósofos como Aristóteles e Epicuro afirmaram que o sentido da vida consiste em alcançar a verdadeira felicidade, reflectindo a necessidade de dar um significado à existência humana. Inicialmente, a investigação sobre o sentido da vida, ao tentar compreender a procura do indivíduo por um sentido, seguiu uma abordagem existencial, sendo que final do século XX, aquando da emergência da Psicologia Positiva emerge um maior investimento e conhecimento por parte da comunidade científica em torno destas questões, sendo o sentido da vida, considerado uma das componentes do bem-estar. Apresenta-se um estudo que teve como objectivo analisar a relação entre o sentido de vida, a saúde mental e o bem-estar numa amostra de 247 adultos, com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e os 69 anos. Os dados foram recolhidos com recurso ao Questionário de Sentido de Vida e à Escala Continuum de Saúde Mental. Os resultados indicaram que os indivíduos com níveis elevados de presença de sentido de vida apresentavam níveis igualmente elevados de bem-estar, enquanto que, por sua vez, os indivíduos com níveis elevados de procura de sentido de vida, apresentaram níveis menores de bemestar, sublinhando a forte relação entre estas duas dimensões.