Research Centre on Child Studies

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Organizational Unit

Publications

Assessment of workplace-based learning: key findings from an ECE professional master programme in Portugal

Publication . Araújo, Sara Barros; Antunes, Ana Pereira

Workplace-based experiences are considered centrally relevant in the professional preparation of prospective teachers. In spite of this, few studies have focused on the assessment of workplace based learning (WBL) in early childhood education (ECE). This study aims to examine pathways of professional learning of students attending an ECE professional Master programme in Portugal, based on an authentic and participatory approach to assessment. A cohort of 62 students participated in this exploratory study. Data were collected through an assessment grid organised in four domains (observation, planning, action and reflection) and 25 dimensions, in two moments: interim regulatory assessment and final assessment. Key findings point to statistically significant differences between the two moments, showing the progress of students at the level of competences in all domains and dimensions. Results allow to identify tendencies on students’ learning pathways in core domains of professionalism and represent an input for understanding the effectiveness of the ECE professional Master programme.

2021Journal article

Open access

Parenting during the COVID-19 lockdown in Portugal: changes in daily routines, co-parenting relationships, emotional experiences, and support networks

Publication . Antunes, Ana P.; Martins, Silvana; Magalhães, Laura; Almeida, Ana T.

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged parental resources pertinent to coping with lockdowns. The main objective of this work was to study parenting during the COVID-19 lockdown. Specifically at focus were parental behaviors concerning key domains for the family (daily routine, co-parenting, emotional experience, and support network) and changes related to the pandemic and associated with the parents’ employment statuses. An online survey was carried out through an ad hoc questionnaire where participants completed questions about their sociodemographic data and rated how much their family routines, their co-parenting relationship, their emotional experiences, and the support available in the family network varied on a 5-point scale. The participants included 1384 parents, of which 286 responded to open questions regarding impactful experiences during the lockdown. The results showed differences in daily routine, co-parenting, emotional experience, and support network according to the parents’ employment statuses. Between-group comparisons showed that at-home parents caring for children with governmental aids generally revealed more positive parenting behavior changes, while at-home parents who were teleworking reported more difficulties in parent-child activities and co-parenting. Furthermore, the content analysis of the data confirmed how important themes such as family dynamics, professional activities, and the relationship with the school community were throughout the participants’ accounts of gains and losses. Overall, parents’ employment statuses are associated with diverse experiences during lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of family resources and parental resilience, particularly during circumstances jeopardizing the ever-sensitive work-family balance.

2021Journal article

Open access

Mudanças na parentalidade em tempos de COVID-19: um estudo com pais e mães em Portugal

Publication . Antunes, Ana P.; Martins, Silvana; Almeida, Ana T.

A situação de pandemia mundial devido à COVID-19 teve implicações diversas na vida das famílias. Em Portugal, após ter sido decretado o primeiro confinamento geral em março de 2020, as interações e as vivências diárias de adultos e crianças dominaram o espaço de habitação. Dessa forma, também o exercício da parentalidade se confrontou com novas dinâmicas e exigências. O objetivo deste estudo é perceber como é que a experiência do confinamento foi associada a mudanças em que o funcionamento familiar depende em grande medida do modo como é exercida a parentalidade. Os participantes foram 1384 pais ou cuidadores (89.9% mães) que viviam com pelo menos um filho com menos de 18 anos, tendo participado de forma voluntária e consentida, respondendo ao convite partilhado nas redes sociais (e.g., Facebook, WhatsApp). Responderam no inquérito online, formado por 5 escalas relativas às rotinas diárias, à coparentalidade, à comunicação e regulação emocional, às redes de suporte social e ao humor, indicando o grau das mudanças no funcionamento familiar associadas ao exercício da parentalidade durante o tempo em confinamento. A partir do controlo do efeito das variáveis etapa do ciclo vital e a condição laboral, os resultados (Two-Way Manova) evidenciam mudanças no exercício da parentalidade. A etapa do ciclo e a condição do teletrabalho parecem surtir efeitos na disciplina positiva, no envolvimento familiar, no papel parental, na aliança parental e no acordo entre cônjuges, na tensão e sensibilidade emocional, bem como na perceção de apoio da rede informal. Salienta-se o papel das capacidades parentais e da parentalidade positiva como recursos de proteção necessários à estabilidade e ajustamento da criança e ao bem-estar da família.

2021Conference object

Open access

Mothers as victims of intimate partner violence: the decision to leave or stay and resilience-oriented intervention

Publication . Sani, Ana Isabel; Pereira, Dora

This paper presents a qualitative study to understand the reasons for leaving or staying in an abusive relationship and how this informs planning for psychosocial interventions with victims. We present a study of 15 Portuguese women with children who were victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). The sample consisted of women, helped by a Victim Support Office, who volunteered to participate in a semi-structured interview and whose narrative responses were recorded and transcribed for analysis. The results, organized into two broad categories, reveal that the reasons for staying in the abusive relationship are essentially related to extrinsic factors (e.g., children, the aggressor, society), which reinforces myths (e.g., marriage is for life) and makes it difficult to break the cycle of violence. However, the decision to leave the abusive relationship is also based on the same factors which, when reconceptualized and empowered, contribute to the intrinsic recognition of the problem and the decision-making process. We find that the resilience portfolio model, which focuses on three major factors (self-regulation, interpersonal forces, and construction of meaning), favors the identification of protective factors that can guide interventions for individuals facing situations of adversity such as IPV.

2020Journal article

Open access