Grade retention is one of the most discussed and controversial educational measures, and yet, it is still widely applied in many countries. Research investigating the effects of grade retention on students' psychosocial variables presents mixed findings, partly due to the variables assessed, methodological issues, and the length of the studies.…

In societies where authoritarian and populist perspectives are on the rise, a focus on the concept of democracy within education can provide a meaningful space to reflect critically on, and disrupt, the status quo. In post-dictatorship Portugal, democracy has become a central symbolic concept within education policy and, in particular, Early…

This study compares the achievement of two cohorts of immigrants with ages between 7 and 30 years old. Two sets of participants were assessed in two points in time and in different regions of Portugal. 169 students with similar immigration conditions for this analysis (nationality, length of residence, previous education in the country of origin)…

This study addresses the growing interest in transformative experiences in international academic tourism from a managerial and consumer perspective. While the managerial perspective focuses on delivering highly personalized experiences that profoundly impact each individual, the consumer perspective emphasizes inner transformation and personal…

It is broadly admitted that social contexts of reasoning may prompt children and adolescents to improve the quality of their reasoning. However, it is not clear how this quality may be assessed when it comes to arguments expressed within oral interactions in diverse settings (whole-class or small-group discussions) by students of different ages…

The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) conceptualizes change as a process with five identifiable stages. Each stage has psychological characteristics that are manifestations of an underlying continuum of change. Surprisingly few studies have applied the TTM to understand the process involved with academic development. The objective of this study was to…

The recent shift towards more practice-oriented doctoral training programmes relevant for non-academic settings raises the important, but still largely unexplored, question regarding how the relationships between research and professional practice are understood, experienced, and developed in contemporary doctoral education. Drawing on a…

Nurturing students' continuous learning is a current trend in the higher education agenda. Curricula and academic contents should enable students to take part in stimulating learning experiences, as well as promoting both developing and training opportunities in the course of their lives and careers. Despite the relevance given to lifelong…

Increasingly, lifelong learning is of growing importance and it refers to the constant experiences and needs of individuals adapting to the development of their personal and social skills in relation to the contexts and circumstances in which they are inserted. For this, one of the primary requirements to be able to enjoy a high Quality of Life.…

The literature on higher education student success offers a considerable set of definitions of this concept, reflecting its semantic polysemy. This is understandable, inasmuch that the highly competitive environment where higher education institutions operate requires that they constantly seek legitimation and competitive advantage based on their…

Researching across languages and cultures is a theme increasingly studied in diversified contexts due to the internationalisation of higher education. At the level of doctoral studies, this impacts on the process of doing and supervising a PhD. In Portugal, research concerning this issue is scarce and this paper intends to discuss the meanings and…

This paper explores students' non-economic motives for attending university. Drawing on the results of a tri-national survey involving online questionnaires and email interviews with education students at English, German and Portuguese universities, it compares and discusses the extent to which the participants are motivated by a number of…

Academic work in higher education has been influenced by global trends such as accountability, massification and deteriorating financial support. Within this broader context, the performance of academic staff as teachers and researchers has an impact on student learning and implications for the quality of higher education institutions (HEIs).…

This paper assumes that formative processes are not limited to the school context or model but that other life contexts and experiences, even if not intentionally, have educational effects. These informal formative contexts and experiences can play a key role individual´s development, resulting not only in superficial changes, but also in deep…

This paper focuses on recognition of prior learning as part of a national policy based on European Union guidelines for lifelong learning, and it explains how recognition of prior learning has been perceived since it was implemented in Portugal in 2000. Data discussed are the result of a mixed method research project that surveyed adult learners,…