The PhD Defence in Educational Sciences of candidate   Paulo Carlos Lopes, will take place at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto (FPCEUP) on 20 December  2022, at 2.30PM. The thesis entitled  “Digital Technologies in the Lifelong Learning of Adults in Prison Context’ was developed under the supervision of João Caramelo, Assistant Professor at FPCEUP, member of CIIE and Luís Correia, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Porto - FLUP.

The session is open to the public.

Evaluation Pannel:

Chair: Amelia Lopes Full Professor,  FPCEUP

Members:

Rebeca André, Professor at the Gregório Semedo University in Luanda, Angola.

José Morgado, Associate Professor at the Institute of Education at the University of Minho.

Júlio dos Santos, Researcher at the Centre for African Studies at the University of Porto.

Luis Correia, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Porto - supervisor.

Teresa Medina, Assistant Professor at FPCEUP

ABSTRACT:
This study has as its object the perceptions about public school education in the eastern Angolan region, namely in the provinces of that region - Lunda-Norte, Lunda-Sul and Moxico. The objective is to produce knowledge about the public schooling process in that context, after the end of a long-armed conflict. Recently, it implemented the state mandate for schooling populations.
The work is developed from a theoretical problematic that presents and discusses the socio-historical construction of the educational and school systems as instruments conceived, built, implemented, or conducted by the State for the education of the population. In particular, the socio-historical-political path of schooling processes in Angola is considered, which is still in the political organization phase, and subject to pressures and interests that are manifested in the most diverse fields, whether social, economic, cultural, or religious, and internal and external influences, which generates many debates within the very macro and meso political structures and in the social microstructures of the country. Thus, from the perspective of social actors with different roles in the school education process, it reflects on the functions performed by the school in the context of the communities in the region, emphasizing aspects associated with the (re) construction of infrastructure, the allocation from material resources and conditions of school equipment, available human resources, the population's adherence to schooling, reconstructing a global picture of perceptions about school education in the context of local communities, namely about schooling in the interior of the country and its importance compared to the traditional education prevalent in those communities.
For this purpose, a survey was carried out aimed at teachers and students at secondary schools, document collection and analysis were carried out, and a wide range of semi-structured interviews were conducted with directors of secondary schools, representatives and MED directors, political representatives of the Angolan government as well as with families and parents of the region. The data collected in the survey were treated statistically and the documentary materials and interviews were subject to thematic content analysis.
The official statistical data seem to point to the existence of a concern and political will to implement and expand the process of school education and schooling of the populations in the last fifteen years of this century, with a more notable evolution of the schooling process in the period from 2008 to 2014 and less accentuated in the period between 2015 to 2018. From the analysis of these data, there is a profound variation in the distribution of school supply, regarding the territorial coverage of the school network, creation of school infrastructure, availability of school material and didactic and placement of teaching staff in schools of the communities in that region. On the other hand, the respondents of this study manifests the persistence of shortcomings in the schooling process in the region, respecting: available infrastructures, (e.g. schools, classrooms, state of conservation, hygiene and cleanliness of existing buildings, no running water, electricity, fencing, libraries, laboratories); school supplies (e.g. didactic material, desks, teacher desks.); policies to support schooling (e.g. school meals, school transport); teaching and learning processes in that context (e.g. low ratio of qualified teachers). The data collected also point to the finding that the population of that region has positive perceptions about the value of school education. There is a growing demand for school education, on the part of the population, in general, and of educational and family agents who want a good education for their children.
The study also points out that there are points of view that converge, as well as others that differ, such as real political will to implement and extend the public education system to the entire population in the last 15 years of this century. The initial motivation was followed by a phase of stagnation or even regression. A little later, the process resumed, covering most populations and inland regions, including the eastern zone, following experiences and success of other countries, in a process that is not unrelated to pressure from international organizations and people from communities and their traditional authorities. It is also noteworthy to mention insufficiency or lack of means, although it is also recognized that improvements are slowly emerging in the infrastructures, in the recruitment and enrollment process, in the teaching and learning conditions of the teaching and administrative staff and their working conditions. It was concluded that it is necessary to generalize in Angola, including the eastern region studied here, the teaching process, whether public, private, or cooperative to work together to complete the process previously started.