News
Meritocracy, Assessment, and Humanist Education in Debate at the 2025 Education Biennial
The 2025 Education Biennial has been a platform for essential debates on the future of education in a world shaped by tensions between globalization, nationalism, and technocracy. Among the event’s highlights, António Teodoro’s recent intervention stood out by offering a critical rethinking of current education policies and advocating for a truly humanist approach to education.
The discussion addressed key themes such as:
- The influence of global and nationalist agendas on education policy-making;
- A critique of meritocratic logic and the dominance of international assessments;
- The urgency of pedagogical practices focused on subjectivation, resonance, and the common good;
- The importance of inclusive assessment models and critical teacher education;
- The challenges posed by digital transformation in education and the risk of deepening inequalities.
The message is clear: we must reimagine the mission of the school as a space for citizenship, social justice, and active participation.
Read the full article on the Biennial’s website (Portuguese): Meritocracy, Assessment and Humanist Education: Key Ideas to Reimagine School
Leanete Thomas Dotta awarded the Best Publication Award 2024 by CiCea
Researcher Leanete Thomas Dotta has been awarded the prestigious Best Publication Award 2024 – Category Research by the Children’s Identity and Citizenship European Association (CiCea), together with her colleague, researcher Thiago Freires.
The award recognizes their article entitled Young People’s Construction of Identity in the Context of Southern Europe: Finding Leads for Citizenship Education, which stands out for its relevance and originality in the field of citizenship education, with a particular focus on youth identity construction in the context of Southern Europe.
Granted in May 2025, this distinction highlights the authors' valuable contribution to European research in the areas of education, identity, and citizenship—key themes in addressing the contemporary challenges faced by schools and democratic societies.
CiCea is an internationally renowned scientific association dedicated to the study of citizenship and identity in children and young people. It promotes excellence in research and recognizes outstanding publications for their academic contribution and educational impact.
Congratulations to the authors on this international recognition!
Video on CoARA and Research Reforms in Europe Now Available
CeiED has released the video from the Citizen Science Doctoral College Workshop on Citizen Science, titled "CoARA and Research Reforms in Europe",
CeiED Represented at the EDULOG 2025 International Conference
Researcher Cristina Sin, integrated member of CeiED, participated in the EDULOG 2025 International Conference
Webinar “Brain, Mind and Education” Now Available on YouTube
The video of the webinar “Brain, Mind and Education”, held on May 21, 2025, is now available on the CeiED YouTube channel.
Education Sciences students visit the Porta Amiga Centre (AMI) in Marvila
At the end of May, Education Sciences students from Lusófona University — including those from the Bachelor's in Social Education, the Master’s in Special Education – Cognitive and Motor Domain, and the Specialisation in Adult Education and Community Intervention — visited the Flamenga neighbourhood in Marvila. The visit was guided by Nara Miranda, from Akademia Mar & Vila (Community Group of the Flamenga Neighbourhood, Marvila).
The students visited the Porta Amiga Centre, run by the AMI Foundation, and learned about several community initiatives taking place in the Flamenga neighbourhood. This AMI hub operates as a Day Centre, where several local women meet daily and take part in a variety of in-person and online activities.
The students listened not only to the team responsible for the community space but also to some of its participants:
"I had never been to a museum before, and now I don’t want anything else."
"This place is like another family. I don’t feel alone. I know that if I need anything, I can call any of them."
"Here we sing, go on outings, do crafts, crochet. We have movement classes. We play. We learn so much from each other."
In addition to hearing these moving testimonies, the students joined in a STOP game and sang well-known folk songs. It was a memorable moment of warmth and shared joy. After all, they are all part of this great human family that enjoys welcoming others, celebrating together, and feeling embraced and recognised.
"You could feel that warmth and joy you get among lifelong friends, even though they were just meeting for the first time" – Professor Margarida Belchior.
A heartfelt thank you to each and every one who contributed to this wonderful morning of shared experiences and learning — from all the students and the organising professors, Margarida Belchior and Maria Odete Emygdio da Silva.
Yet another way of opening the university to the outside world and reaching out to communities, promoting Public Science.
