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On July 4 and 5, 2025, the 1st Art and Education Conference took place at Universidade Lusófona in Lisbon. The event was organized by Arte Central, in partnership with the university, and received institutional recognition from InSEA – International Society for Education Through Art, an official partner of UNESCO.

The 15th CeiED Researchers’ Meeting, held on July 10 and 11, 2025, at Universidade Lusófona, proved to be a remarkable success. With over 70 presentations and more than 100 participants, the event reaffirmed its role as a privileged space for reflection and knowledge exchange in the field of education and development research.

Under the theme “Past, Present and Future of Doctoral Education: a reflection 20 years after the Salzburg Principles”, the meeting fostered an in-depth debate on the trajectories, challenges, and possibilities of doctoral training in today’s context. The event brought together undergraduate, master's, doctoral and post-doctoral students, as well as researchers and academics from the Educational Sciences and Sociomuseology fields, encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration.

The opening session featured contributions from António Teodoro, António Costa Pinto, Diana da Silva Dias, Mário Moutinho, Ana Rita Alves, and Felisberto Costa, reflecting the institutional commitment to strengthening research and advanced training.

Highlights included the keynote lecture by Sónia Cardoso and the many parallel sessions that spanned the two-day program, addressing topics such as the internationalisation of doctoral education, academic representation, the challenges of digitalisation, and the relationship between science and society.

Beyond the scientific communications, the program featured exhibitions, performances, and thematic workshops, such as the session on “Public Science, Academic Engagement and Reciprocity of Knowledge,” reinforcing the participatory and innovative nature of the event. One of the most memorable moments was the poetic performance “Malemolência Doutoral” by Raquel Lima, which offered a reflective and inspiring pause on the university canteen terrace.

The closing session brought together representatives from the Doctoral College, CeiED, and the Organising Committee, highlighting the event’s collective and collaborative spirit and reaffirming the role of the meeting as a space for the co-construction of knowledge and a commitment to science as a public good.

CeiED extends its gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of this edition, which reinforces the importance of research as a driving force for educational and social transformation.

Access the book of abstracts here (Portuguese).

Photographs kindly provided by Petaxi Baptista.

On July 1, 2025, at 2:30 p.m., the public defense of the doctoral thesis in Education by Altemar Lima de Sousa took place at the Agostinho da Silva Auditorium. The thesis is entitled "Exclusionary Inclusion: School Failure along the Carajás Railway Corridor in the State of Maranhão – Brazil."

The session was supervised by Professor Manuel Tavares Gomes from Universidade Lusófona and brought together a jury composed of distinguished national and international scholars:

• Professor António Neves Duarte Teodoro – Universidade Lusófona
• Professor Leanete Teresinha Thomas Dotta – Researcher at CeiED, Universidade Lusófona
• Professor Ana Inês Aires Mesquita Vieira Ferreira – Universidade Lusófona
• Professor Maria José Pires Barros Cardozo – Federal University of Maranhão
• Professor Luís Miguel dos Santos Sebastião – University of Évora
• Professor Pedro António da Silva Abrantes – Universidade Aberta

The defense was held in a hybrid format, with live streaming via Zoom, allowing colleagues, friends, and members of the international academic community to attend remotely.

Altemar Lima de Sousa’s thesis makes a significant contribution to the study of educational inequalities in Brazil, offering a critical analysis of exclusionary processes that persist in contexts initially designed to be inclusive.

The 8th Conference of the International Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies (IAACS), titled Curriculum Studies in the Post/Anthropocene, took place from June 24 to 27, 2025, at the Institute of Education of Mauritius.

Researcher Elsa Estrela, a member of the association, participated in the conference with the presentation Towards a democratic curriculum: the narrative paradigm to achieve a state of viscosity. Her presentation sparked a highly relevant discussion, encouraging the exchange and sharing of perspectives and approaches, as well as the national integration of the curricular concepts discussed.

Held every three years, this conference aimed to address the evolving intersections of curriculum theory and the complex challenges posed by the Anthropocene and beyond. In this context, it explored the implications of these developments for curriculum studies, engaging with contemporary theories in fields such as new materialisms, feminist materialisms, speculative realism, object-oriented ontologies, and agential realism.

The themes addressed in the parallel sessions and thematic panels included: Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Curriculum; Posthumanist Theories and Materialism; Sustainability, Social Justice and Planetary Challenges; Decoloniality and Cultural Narratives; and Methodologies and “complicated conversations”. The conference also featured three keynote lectures by highly relevant scholars in the field:

• Lesley Le Grange, from Stellenbosch University, South Africa, questioned the 50 years of the concept currere and proposed rethinking it within the posthuman framework, challenging traditional subjectivity through the lens of posthumanist theories and the “thick now”.
• Bill Green, Emeritus Professor at Charles Sturt University, explored the tensions between national and post-national curricula, reflecting on decolonization and epistemic justice in different contexts.
• João M. Paraskeva, from the University of Strathclyde, presented the concept of Itinerant Curriculum Theory, advocating for epistemological freedom and curricular autonomy.

The conference reinforced the urgency of rethinking the curriculum in a world marked by multiple crises—environmental, technological, and social—defending interdisciplinary, critical, and open approaches. The emerging curriculum is not merely a teaching tool but a co-creator of sustainable, pluralistic, and inclusive futures—navigating between humanisms, technologies, and living ecologies.

The book Uma Vida por Escrito (Vol. 1 – Publications in the National Plan) is now available. This facsimile edition brings together key texts by Ana Maria Bénard da Costa, a leading figure in the field of special education in Portugal.

The publication follows the release of Memórias de uma educação especial – do modelo médico à educação inclusiva, and compiles a selection of essential writings that shaped the author’s educational thinking and practice over recent decades. The book documents her work at institutions such as the Hellen Keller Centre, the Institute of Assistance to Minors (where she coordinated the Service for the Education of the Visually Impaired), and later her role at the Ministry of Education as Director of Special Education Services — a position in which she played a central role in shaping public policies for the inclusion of students with disabilities.

Published by Edições Universitárias Lusófonas (EUL), the book was edited by Isabel Amaral, Ana Maria Bénard da Costa, and Francisco Alberto Ramos Leitão, and represents a valuable contribution to the history of inclusive education in Portugal.

"This book is not just a documentary record, but a tribute to the coherence, vision, and lifelong commitment of Dr. Ana Maria Bénard da Costa to a more just and human education." – Francisco Ramos Leitão and Isabel Amaral

Read the ebook here. [Portuguese]

On July 1, 2025, the public defense of the PhD thesis in Education by Ana Sofia Clemente Gonçalves took place at the Agostinho da Silva Auditorium of the Universidade Lusófona.

Her thesis, titled:
 “Practices for an Inclusive Education – Learning Communities and Their Contribution to the School Success of All”, explores the role of learning communities in promoting inclusive practices and fostering academic success for all students.

The session was chaired by Professor António Teodoro (Universidade Lusófona) and the examination committee was composed of:

• Supervisor:
  
  • João Filipe de Lacerda Matos – Universidade Lusófona
• External Examiners:
  
  • Ana Sofia Martins Silva Freire dos Santos Raposo – University of Lisbon
  • Ana Isabel Ricardo Gonçalves Pedro – University of Lisbon
• Committee Members:
  
  • Margarida Maria Sales Henriques Belchior – Researcher at CeiED, Universidade Lusófona
  • Elsa Maria Bacala Estrela – Universidade Lusófona
  • Lucimar Almeida Dantas – Universidade Lusófona

The defense was held publicly and broadcast via Zoom, marked by a rigorous and enriching academic discussion.

The CeiED warmly congratulates the new PhD holder, Ana Sofia Clemente Gonçalves, for her valuable scientific contribution to the advancement of inclusive and transformative education.