Documentos

PISA 2006: Science Competencies for Tomorrows World presents the results from the most recent PISA survey, which focused on science and also assessed mathematics and reading. It is divided into two volumes.

Volume 1: Analysis gives the most comprehensive international picture of science learning today, exploring not only how well students perform, but also their interests in science and their awareness of the opportunities that scientific competencies bring as well as the environment that schools offer for science learning. It places the performance of students, schools and countries in the context of their social background and identifies important educational policies and practices that are associated with educational success. By showing that some countries succeed in providing both high quality education and equitable learning outcomes, PISA sets ambitious goals for others.


Volume 2: Data/Données presents the PISA 2006 full data set underlying Volume 1.

Together with the PISA 2000 and PISA 2003 surveys, PISA 2006 completes the first cycle of assessment in the three key subject areas. PISA is now conducting a second cycle of surveys, beginning in 2009 with reading as the major subject and continuing in 2012 (mathematics) and 2015 (science).

Why study science? To quote the authors of this report: “Science is an important component of our European cultural heritage. It provides the most important explanations we have of the material world. In addition, some understanding of the practices and processes of science is essential to engage with many of the issues confronting contemporary society.” Yet in recent times fewer young people seem to be interested in science and technical subjects. Why is this? Does the problem lie in wider socio-cultural changes, and the ways in which young people in developed countries now live and wish to shape their lives? Or is it due to failings within science education itself? In order to explore these questions the Nuffield Foundation convened two seminars involving science educators from nine European countries. The seminars investigated the extent to which the issues were common across Europe, the similarities and differences between countries, and some attempted solutions and remedies.

Almost all Portuguese schools now use computers for teaching(97%) and have internet access (92%). 73% use the internet via a broadband connection. With this figure Portugal ranks at number 16 of the 27 countries participating in the survey.

Across OECD countries, governments are seeking policies to make education more effective while searching for additional resources to meet the increasing demand for education.



The 2007 edition of Education at a Glance enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries’ performance. It provides a rich, comparable and up-to-date array of indicators on the performance of education systems. The indicators look at who participates in education, what is spent on it and how education systems operate and at the results achieved. The latter includes indicators on a wide range of outcomes, from comparisons of student’s performance in key subject areas to the impact of education on earnings and on adults’ chances of employment.

10 lições para a vida de um antigo aluno do MIT

Since the origins of the declining interest among young people for science studies are found largely in the way science is taught in schools, this will be the main focus. In this context, whereas the science education community mostly agrees that pedagogical prac-tices based on inquiry-based methods are more effective, the reality of classroom practice is that in the majority of European countries, these methods are simply not being implemented.  The current initiatives in Europe actively pursuing the renewal of science education through in-quiry based methods show great promise but are not of the scale to bring about substantial impact, and are not able to exploit fully the potential European level support for dissemination and integration. 

EUN has published a major report on ICT impact on schools in Europe. The report, written in the framework of the ICT Cluster of the European Commission, draws on the evidence from 17 recent impact studies across Europe. It identifies 12 major findings concerning the impact of ICT on teaching and learning, identifies three types of barriers and makes 13 recommendations to policy-makers, educators and researchers.

Informação de várias fontes sobre o Plano Tecnológico da Educação 2007

Há cerca de dez anos atrás, a Secretaria de Estado da Juventude, em colaboração com o Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa, no âmbito do Programa de Estudos do Observatório Permanente da Juventude, previu uma linha de Estudos Sociográficos que identificasse e sistematizasse um conjunto de informação estatística sobre a situação social dos Jovens a viver em Portugal, produzida por fontes oficiais diversificadas e com os mais diversos fins, até aí dispersa e pouco visível. Com esse objectivo, procedeu-se a um projecto de investigação, na altura pioneiro em Portugal, que consistiu na recolha e sistematização de uma série de estatísticas oficiais, sobre algumas temáticas que, directa ou indirectamente, fornecem indicadores sobre a especificidade portuguesa da condição juvenil