Educators working in museums, zoos, and botanic gardens are increasingly required to demonstrate impact. These requirements position 'performative evaluation' as the dominant model, one which also acts as a political, non-neutral, and managerial form of accountability. In contrast, 'practice evaluation' is intended to be democratic, dialogic, and…

School visits to science museums are recognized educational resources that provide students with unique learning experiences, if teachers intentionally plan these. Surprisingly one finds that investigations analyzing teachers adopted practices by systematic monitoring, without researcher intervention, are almost non-existent in the literature. We…

This paper examines the praxeology of informal educational practices (i.e. how participants produce setting-specific practices to make a tour happen) in the Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra through close analysis of a video-recorded excerpt of a guided tour. Guided visits in informal science settings are…

In recent years, Portuguese universities have diversified their strategies for the promotion of entrepreneurial education among (under/post) graduates, both through formal education and non-formal and informal activities. Indeed, Higher Education Institutions can provide entrepreneurial learning opportunities for students, stimulating new…

Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and…

Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and…

In the field of lifelong learning, it is universally accepted that education for and during old age is a powerful tool in the process of successful aging. This paper presents the results of a research and intervention project that worked with older people at a Day Centre belonging to a Private Institution for Social Solidarity in the north of…

Validation and guidance help individuals, organisations and Member States adapt to career challenges and create successful lifelong learning systems. However, little is known about how they are linked in practice and how this connection can be made more efficient. Building on Cedefop's expertise in the two areas, this study -- based on analysis of…

This paper suggests possible futures for astronomy activities in a post-COVID environment. A corpus of video recordings of astronomy education sessions held in different settings allowed the authors to analyse how sessions are achieved, with inclusive focus on the astronomers, the public attending sessions, and people looking through telescopes.…

The annual Ecsite conference is the largest conference in Europe for people working in science museums, science centers and other science engagement organizations. In 2017, the 28th Ecsite conference was held in Porto, Portugal, from the 15th-17th of June. This review includes a short history of Ecsite and its annual conference as well as critical…

Background: Recent studies shows lack of knowledge concerning health literacy relatively microorganism/disease and the correct use of antibiotics. These facts lead to the spreading of resistant strains bacteria. Aims: The overarching goals of this study were a) to promote health literacy predominantly in respect to microorganism/disease, diseases…

This study aims at evaluating the environmental education (EE) and communication intervention for the valorization of migratory fish resources in an estuary of northern Portugal. The EE component intervention was implemented among Middle School pupils of that region. Students' knowledge was quantitatively evaluated with an experimental approach of…

The main objective of this article is to analyse informal learning processes in the field of video games. As many teenagers are engaged in these kinds of practices, the big question is: How do teens learn to play video games? In most cases they do not learn to play video games at school or with their parents, and therefore it is necessary to map…

This article examines the perspectives and feelings of children in the first two years of a music workshop developed with pupils from a state school in northern Portugal. The study followed a participatory action research design, with data including field notes, two group interviews with the children, children's artefacts, such as texts or…

Ecopedagogy demands we identify non-orthodox educational practices, under the assumption that only by valuing marginal or unconventional experiences we could face the educational challenges emerging from globalization. My dissertation opens with a theoretical study that is dedicated to the establishment of the best epistemological categories to…