ICT and Curriculum Innovation

“The title chosen for this journal requires a brief explanation. Human beings are the only beings in the universe constantly

searching to get more knowledge about it, which is inherent to their survival and to the affirmation of their human condition. As inquisitive beings, they are condemned to learning and self-interrogation, which is a permanent and

never ending task, since it implies questioning the results obtained and always beginning again. On the other hand, knowledge production takes different forms, including scientific knowledge. This kind of knowledge is distinct from other kinds of knowledge because it is systematic and because of a conscious and explicit use of a method,

which is permanently subjected to meta-analysis, both individually and collectively. Scientific work is, therefore, a

constant search for truth through a kind of knowledge which is always provisional and conjectural and empirically

refutable. Besides, the recognition of the need for this constant recommencement is

historically illustrated by the rediscovery of theories which had been ignored in their time and were later brought to light (as in the case of the heliocentric theory of Aristarchus), or by the rediscovery of visionaries who anticipated today’s problems

the human adventure in the search for knowledge with Sisyphus fate of incessantly restarting the same task.” (Ivan Illich is one example). It is from these characteristics of scientific work that it is possible to compare

Sísifo

educational sciences journal

Educational Sciences R&D Unit of the University of Lisbon

Edited by Rui Canário and Jorge Ramos do Ó

no.

03 · Mai | Jun | Jul | Aug · 2007

> ICT and Curriculum Innovation

responsible editors: Helena Peralta

and Fernando Albuquerque Costa

issn 1646‑6500

http://sisifo.fpce.ul.pt

Contents Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presentation note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1‑2 3‑6

Dossier Educational Technologies. Analysis of Master dissertations carried out in Portugal Fernando Albuquerque Costa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No. 03

ITC and Curriculum Innovation

7‑24

Profiting from the Internet in Primary and Secondary School Teaching From Online Resources and Tools to LMS Ana Amélia Amorim Carvalho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25‑38 The Limits and Possibilities of ICT in Education Guilhermina Lobato Miranda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39‑48 The ICT at Elementary School and Kindergarten Reasons and factors for their integration Lúcia Amante . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49‑62 Project “Early Technical Education” An opportunity to implement practices of curriculum innovation Ana Margarida Veiga Simão, Belmiro Cabrito, Elisabete Rodrigues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63‑74 Teachers’s competence and confidence regarding the use of ICT Helena Peralta, Fernando Albuquerque Costa . . . . . . . . .

Sísifo

Educational sCiences jour nal

75‑84

The Curriculum in a community of practice Cristina Costa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85‑96 Digital Simulation and experimental activities in Physics and Chemistry Pilot study on the impact of the resource “Fusion and Boiling Points” with Level 7 pupils Carla Morais, João Paiva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97‑108 Book reviews Review of “Life on the Screen. Identity on the Age of the Internet”, by Sherry Turkle [1997] Lisboa: Relógio d’Água Mónica Raleiras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109‑112

Editors Responsible editors of the current number: Helena Peralta and Fernando Albuquerque Costa Managing Editor: Rui Canário Assistant Editor: Jorge Ramos do Ó Editorial Board: Rui Canário, Luís Miguel Carvalho, Fernando Albuquerque Costa, Helena Peralta, Jorge Ramos do Ó Contributors to the current number: Authors: Lúcia Amante, Ana Amélia Amorim Carvalho, Belmiro Cabrito, Telmo Caria, Cristina Costa, Fernando Albuquerque Costa, Guilhermina Lobato Miranda, Carla Morais, João Paiva, Helena Peralta, Mónica Raleiras, Elisabete Rodrigues, José Luis Rodríguez Illera and Ana Margarida Veiga Simão. Translators: Robert G. Carter, Thomas Kundert, Filomena Matos and Tânia Lopes da Silva Editorial Assistants: Gabriela Lourenço and Mónica Raleiras Illustr ation by Pedro Proença

Conferences How virtual communities of practice and learning communities can change our vision of education Conference given at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Lisbon, on 31st May 2007

José L. Rodríguez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113‑120 Other articles The Professional Culture of the primary school teacher in Portugal A line of research undergoing development Telmo H. Caria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121‑134 Sísifo, educational sciences journal Instructions to Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135‑136

Institutional Information Property: Educational Sciences R&D Unit of the University of Lisbon issn: 1646-6500 Support: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Contacts Alameda da Universidade, 1649-013 Lisboa. Telephone: 217943651 Fax: 217933408 e-mail: [email protected]

sí si f o / e duc at iona l s c i e nc e s jou r na l · no. 3 · m ay/aug 0 7

issn 1646‑6500

Editorial

Talking about his work, Paul Cézanne once said he would like to produce a painting “for the museums”. He, who was one of the founders of modern painting and whose ruptures opened up to the vanguards of the 20th century – obsessive in his quest for perfection and permanently unhappy and anxious about the quality of his pictoric production (such as Émile Zola portrayed him in his renowned “L’Oeuvre”). From an author systematically relegated to the “salons of the refused” by the academics at service and ostracized by critiques and general public, this explicit search for the construction of a new classicism cannot but express his refusal in seeing creation, in this case aesthetic creation, as something conjunctural and ephemeral. In a completely different plan, during his tenyear-long imprisonment in Mussolini’s jails (from where he only got out to die) the communist militant and theorist António Gramsci produced an outstanding intellectual work, namely under the form of scattered notes now gathered in a book entitled “Memórias do Cárcere”, with the aim to prepare a project that would never come to light. Yet, though unknown and unedited for several decades, Gramsci’s intellectual production fulfilled the main purpose of his activity in prison as he put it in a letter he wrote shortly after his detention: to produce something “for ever”. Gramsci uses the German words “für ewig” referring to Goethe’s notion of disinterested erudite work. With both these examples I mean to stress the idea that creation (aesthetic or scientific), as a human

being’s intrinsic need to accomplish the “expression of one’s self ”, is inscribed in an anthropological dimension that cannot conform to the notions of ephemeral, immediate, useful or conjunctural. Creation presumes a long time-span, which includes not only memory, but also a view of the future and the capacity to express a coherent narrative about one’ trajectory. Ours is a time of ephemeral, conjuncture, precariousness, usefulness, short-termness. From this perspective there is neither past nor future, but rather a mere horizon line defined as follows in one of Cormac McCarthy’s novels (2007, p. 112): people were always preparing themselves for the future. I didn’t believe that. The future wasn’t preparing itself for them. The future didn’t even know of their existence”. This culture of the “new capitalism” produces human beings adapted to total uncertainty and tends to deprive them from the possibility to live in community and think and act as craftsmen, that is, in Sennett’s words (2007) “to make something well, even if you get nothing from it”. And Sennett adds: “only this type of disinterested commitment can emotionally exalt, otherwise people will perish in their struggle for survival” (p. 133). The publication of this third number of Sísifo Journal is simultaneous with the process of global evaluation of research units and centres, namely in the field of Social Science and Education Sciences. Both the institution and the researchers (as a team or individually) see their activity externally scrutinised and analysed on the basis of a retrospective

examination of a self-evaluation nature. Nothing should be considered more common and desirable than viewing this process of explicitation and critical analysis as something absolutely necessary for the development of a fruitful and relevant research activity, capable of optimizing the scarce resources available, once it is conducted rigorously and clearly, following previously set and shared rules and with enough time to accomplish it. There is high need for external, regular and demanding evaluation; however, it will only gain full legitimacy if it is accompanied by the implementation of favourable conditions capable of enhancing scientific activity, which to be fruitful in terms of production of new and socially relevant knowledge requires conditions not yet provided by the institutions supposedly responsible for that. “The new culture of capitalism” entered “quickly and deeply” into the policies of those in charge of investigation, though obviously on behalf of “modernization”, “productivity” and “competitiveness”. Criticizing such “modernizing” intents does not mean defending the “status quo” nor does it mean satisfaction with what has been attained so far. It is rather the expression of concern and awareness about the negative impacts of the imposition of incentives towards scientific production based on the “publish or perish” academic motto. The field of scientific production tends to become a land ruled by a kind of Darwinism, of serial production, Taylorized, and grounded on a proletarized “labour force” subjected to increasingly precarious forms of work. Financing restrains and conditions not only the themes but also the results of what is to be studied (in France, people used to say that the creation of the Goncourt prize made a certain literary style flourish to try to match expectations). Instead of forming a community of peers, researchers become rivals and tend to value immediateness, trying to get the most with minimum risk. The bibliometry that governs evaluation contributes to promote different redundancies and to dissuade disinterested production by depreciating the “classics”, which happily hasn’t

sísifo 3 | editorial

been able to prevent Plato from being continuously quoted even if he hasn’t published anything for the last five years… In this context, the trend towards specialization and fragmentation of scientific production gets even stronger, which paradoxically makes research useless and research work alienated. This trend leads to a situation classified by Karl Popper (1999) as tragic or even desperate. Moreover, it induces everywhere “the young scientist eager to follow the latest fashion and the most recent slang (p. 98). Doctoral students have been increasingly subjected to training, rather than introduced to the tradition of “being caught and guided by great and apparently insoluble enigmas”. Persistence of such trends — which de facto despise science by undervaluing its creative nature, a tradition of criticism and the production of not immediately useful knowledge — will lead, in Karl Popper’s words, “to a spiritual catastrophe comparable in its consequence to nuclear armament” (p. 99).

Bibliographical references McCarthy, Cormac (2007). A estrada. Lisboa: Relógio de Água. Crehan, Kate (2004). Gramsci, cultura e antropologia. Lisboa: Campo da Comunicação. Gramsci, António (2004). Cadernos do cárcere. Vo lume 1. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Civilização Brasileira. Popper, Karl (1999). O mito do contexto. Em defesa da ciência e da racionalidade. Lisboa: Edições 70. Sennett, Richard (2007). A cultura do novo capita lismo. Lisboa: Relógio de Água.

Rui Canário (Lisbon, 31st July 2007)

Translated by Filomena Matos


issn 1646‑6500

Presentation note

ICT and Curriculum Innovation Fernando Albuquerque Costa Helena Peralta

The third number of Sísifo is particularly dedicated to issues related to technologies and learning in a perspective of curriculum innovation. It comes at a time of great change namely in terms of the power of information and communication digital technologies and after a period of renewed excitement on their use and integration into school. Change because the advent of the Internet made finally possible to implement ideas only imagined by a few visionaries, which at least potentially can be of great value for the pedagogic and didactical fields. Renewed excitement not only because they are believed to contribute to change the face of school as we know it today, as happened in the past with other “new” technologies, but also because, as defended by the most optimistic, they have the potential to solve the problems school is now facing and apparently with no solution in sight. As several authors evidenced, reality has nothing to do with this (Cuban, 1993, 2001; Franssila & Pehkonen, 2005; OECD, 2005; Paiva, 2002; Pelgrum, 2001; Wallin, 2005): no matter how powerful computers can be, it is not enough to add more computers to make things change in a way to enable us to profit from their most valuable feature: construction of knowledge by the pupils themselves. Although the proliferation of computers has already somehow changed the face of school, educational practice is held to continue the same as before the use of computers (Papert, 2000), at least in its essence, in what is known as school defining features:

teacher - pupil power relations, the relationship of both with knowledge, the way knowledge and learning are perceived; and last but not least the role of means in information transference and knowledge building. The teaching paradigm and the processes of learning stimulation continue to be the same as before, in spite of an emerging idea on the meaning of learning and a new rhetoric favourable to the adoption of ever improved alternative strategies, resources and infrastructures. This is also what happens in Portugal, one of the European countries where pupil-computer ratio is higher (about 1 computer for every 15 pupils) and with lower rates of teacher preparation for the use of technologies (European Commission, 2006). Nothing to wonder about considering there is no particular attention paid to this field either in initial or in continuous teacher training (Brito et al., 2004; Matos, 2004; Ponte & Serrazina, 1998). Paradoxically or perhaps not, it’s the youths who seem to take the most of available technologies, autonomously and with no help from teachers, using them to reach much further than school learning and doing this with a surprising level of effectiveness as evidenced by several national and international studies. This is for example the case of the outcomes of a questionnaire applied with PISA 2003 (OECD, 2005), where Portuguese fifteen-year-olds occupy interesting positions in the rankings related not only to attitudes but also to knowledge and skills needed for the use of digital technologies. Knowl

edge and skills almost always ignored or undervalued by school, therefore contributing to deepen the gap between school supplies, pupils expectations as for what school should supply, and the true power of technologies in present society. Though dealing with widely different features, the articles included in this thematic dossier have as their common denominator the aim to contribute to the reflection on issues emerging from the use of digital technologies in Portuguese schools. This reflection is not only grounded on individual perceptions about the implications of technology integration into educational contexts, but it is also grounded on research conducted in Portugal, namely within Master’s programmes and within concrete projects of computer integration into school environments, from pre-school to vocational education. Projects including the most recent network technologies and a reflection on their pedagogic potential, along with an analysis of teacher practice or didactic projects in specific subjects such as Physics and Chemistry. Put another way, this dossier could count on the contribution of colleagues from widely different areas of interest and research fields which therefore represent the diversity of approaches that has characterized this field for the last few years. In the first article, Fernando Albuquerque Costa draws an analytical synthesis of Master’s theses conducted in Portugal in the field of Educational Technologies within the last twenty-five years, providing an overview of research undertaken, methodologies used, main research objects and technical reference frameworks while enabling us to understand to what extent research affords opportunities for school development. Focusing on the potential of the Internet for educational purposes, Ana Amélia Carvalho leads us through a research-based overview of the different types of resources used and issues arisen in the introduction of the Internet into educational environments, of most recent online tools as is the case of learning management systems, and of what has been lately known as social software. In the third article, in a more speculative style and with historical concerns, Guilhermina Lobato Miranda elaborates on the limits and potential of information and communication technologies in educational environments.

sísifo 3 | presentation note

Lúcia Amante focuses on the use of ICT with very young children, namely in Kindergarten education, trying to identify both the legitimating reasons for computer integration at so early a stage and some of the factors to be taken into account in this process. In the same sense of an early intervention though with gender equality concerns as for access and use of technologies, in the article that follows Ana Maria Veiga Simão, Elisabete Rodrigues e Belmiro Cabrito tell us about the work carried out within an international project involving different institutions, which had early technical education as its core element. The sixth text by Helena Peralta and Fernando Albuquerque Costa is also the result of an international project aiming at studying teachers’ competence and level of confidence in the use of new technologies for educational purposes. This paper provides the outcomes of a qualitative study that laid the foundation for a broader research project aiming to compare different realities from different countries involved. Cristina Costa describes an online community of practice for teachers of English as a Second Language where curriculum development plays the central role both as a meaningful learning resource and as an in-service teacher training strategy. The last paper in this dossier, written by João Paiva and Carla Morais, provides a brief description of a study where pupils are involved in experimental work in Physics and Chemistry, mainly relying on digital simulation. Such as in previous issues, one review will also be published to complement this thematic dossier, along with the text that served as a basis for a Conference by José Luis Rodríguez Illera from the University of Barcelona, which was held in May 2007 in the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Lisbon. Life on the Screen by Sherry Turkle is reviewed by Mónica Raleiras who presents us with a rich text about identity issues in the age of the Internet. Turkle’s work is already available in Portuguese and maybe only now we are prepared to fully understand it because virtual environments and their implications are now more familiar to us, both from a personal point of view and from an educational point of view.

The unedited text of the conference uttered by José Luis Rodríguez Illera about virtual communities of practice analyses the core concepts that have been grounding the development of this issue over the last few years, linking it with a new perspective on the concept of learning and discussing its implications namely for education and theory of education.

Bibliographical references Brito, C.; Duarte, J. & Baía, M. (2004). As tecnologias de informação na formação contínua de professores. Uma nova leitura da realidade. Lisboa: Editorial do Ministério da Educação. Cuban, L. (1993). Computers meet classroom: classroom wins. Teachers College Record, 95, 2, pp. 185-210. Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and Underused. Computers in the classroom. London: Harvard University Press. European Commission (2006). Benchmarking Access and Use of ICT in European Schools 2006. Final Report from Head Teacher and Classroom Teacher. Surveys in 27 European Countries. Franssila, H. & Pehkonen, M. (2005). Why do ICT-strategy implementation in schools fail and ICT-practices do not develop? In Media Skills and Competence Conference Proceedings. Tampere, Finland, pp. 9-16.

Matos, J. F. (2004). As tecnologias de informação e comunicação e a formação inicial de professores em Portugal: radiografia da situação em 2003. Lisboa: Ministério da Educação, Gabinete de Informação e Avaliação do Sistema Educativo. OCDE (2005). Are Students Ready for a TechnologyRich World? What PISA Studies Tell Us. OCDE. Paiva, J. (2002). As Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação: Utilização pelos Professores. Lisboa: Ministério da Educação - DAPP. Papert, S. (2000). Change and resistance to change in education. Taking a deeper look at why School hasn’t changed. In A. Dias de Carvalho et al., Novo conhecimento. Nova aprendizagem. Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, pp. 61-70. Pelgrum, W. J. (2001). Obstacles to the integration of ICT in education: results from a worldwide educational assessment. Computers & Education, 37, 37, pp. 163-178. Ponte, J. P. & Serrazina, L. (1998). As Novas Tecnologias na Formação Inicial de Professores. Lisboa: DAPP-Ministério da Educação. Turkle, S. (1997). A Vida no Ecrã. Lisboa: Relógio d’Água. Wallin, E. (2005). The Rise and Fall of Swedish Educational Technology 1960–1980. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 5, pp. 437–460.

Translated by Filomena Matos




issn 1646‑6500

Educational Technologies: analysis of Master dissertations carried out in Portugal Fernando Albuquerque Costa [email protected] Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Lisbon

Abstract: Acknowledging the importance scientific research may have in terms of the foundation, orientation and evaluation of the use of technologies in an educational context, it is only natural that there should also be greater knowledge on the research carried out in this particular field. This is what we set out to achieve in a recent conference held in Portugal on the theme Research in Education1. Using the theme of the conference itself – Research in Education between 1960 and 2005 – as our basis, we decided to focus on what has actually been the object of research in our country within the framework of Educational Technology. We realised, at a very early stage, that there were hardly any studies in this field before Portuguese universities took on a more active role, nor in the field of educational technologies, particularly after the appearance of the first Masters courses at the University of Minho in 1987. Even though we are not aware of any in-depth study to characterise scientific research developed in Portugal in this area, several Portuguese authors have referred to this issue in some way or another (Abrantes, 1981, 1998; Blanco & Silva, 1993; Caldas, 2001; Fernandes, 1969; Ponte, 1994; Silva, 2000). On the other hand, since we have stated that a considerable part of research, in this particular field, focuses precisely on this academic qualification, we have decided to construct our analysis around this aspect. Therefore, in this article we present the result of the studies on Masters dissertations carried out in Portugal, with a view to furthering understanding of the studied themes, their theoretical and methodological frameworks, and to finding out where they are carried out, who does the research, what the collection techniques are and the type of data analysis used, just to mention some of the aspects around which our analysis is centred. This is an exploratory analysis within a restricted context, however, we hope that it may contribute to the acquisition of more profound knowledge regarding research practices in this specific field of Educational Sciences in Portugal. Keywords: Educational technology, Scientific research, Masters dissertations, Paradigms, Tendencies, Portugal. Costa, Fernando Albuquerque (2007). Educational Technologies: analysis of Master dissertations carried out in Portugal. Sísifo. Educational Sciences Journal, 03, pp. 7‑24. Retrieved [month, year] from http://sisifo.fpce.ul.pt

Introduction Research in the area regarding the integration of technology in an educational context is recognisably conditioned by a series of varied factors, as, indeed, is the case in other fields and areas of Educational Sciences. Since one of the aims of the Conference was to contribute to the historical overview of research, carried out in the different areas of Educational Sciences, and given the importance that this very research may have in overcoming ambiguities and insufficiencies as far as the integration of technology in schools is concerned, it is, perhaps, appropriate to consider some of the challenges scientific research has to face in this particular area. One of the first points we would like to consider is directly related to the results of the research, itself, in the field of educational sciences which, according to some analytical studies, are not conclusive. In fact, they are, rather, quite the opposite. Modest positive effects in learning (Pelgrum, 2001; Pelgrum & Law, 2004; Plomp & Pelgrum, 1991; Walker, 1994) and the non-existence of “significant differences”, with or without the use of technologies, are some of the more obvious conclusions of an analysis of the set of studies in which computer use is compared with other traditionally used learning means (Russell, 1999). Secondly, there also continues to be some confusion as to what is really worth researching and how the process should be carried out which, in some

situations, questions the actual credibility of the studies performed. Weaknesses, as far as restrictions of the supporting theoretical framework are concerned, lack of clarity in the definition of study objects, inadequacy and insufficiency in methodological terms are some of the main areas of criticism (Coutinho, 2000a; Reeves, 1995, 1997, 2000) which contribute to better or poorer research quality. From an epistemological perspective, weaknesses may be found on two levels (Salomon, 2000, 2002): On the one hand, since there is still the belief that the use of certain means over others produces better results in learning, thus, leading to positivist research practices. According to the author, the latter are inadequate since, more often than not, the final results are disappointing and provide no contribution to the valorisation and acceptance of the revolutionary potential (Walker, 1994) of technology in Education. On the other, these weaknesses are due to insistence on evaluating the same types of products and results that are traditionally prioritised by the school. In Salomon’s opinion, this is precisely where the main error lies, since owing to the potential of these technologies to become powerful tools for a wide range of more demanding purposes, in cognitive terms, research should be focusing on other empirical objects and adopting more suitable methodologies, consistent with these new study objects2. From this perspective, as several authors suggest, it would, indeed, make sense if research shifted its focus to centre on the study of contexts in which

sísifo 3 | fernando albuquerque costa | educational technologies: analysis of master dissertations

learning has a place, mainly with a view to understanding how these contexts should be structured, so as to motivate the students to use their cognitive potential to the full ( Corte, 1996) and, subsequently, to enable them to accomplish the best results at school. This way of looking at the problem of integrating computers in the teaching and learning process suggests that observation and data collection, from an ecological perspective, should be based on the use of technology’s potential by pupils and teachers and its implications in the activities of both. It is an observation in action, where a more inductive and ethnographical approach makes sense and one which has, in fact, been accompanying movements in this direction since the nineties, both in research in general and, particularly, in Educational Sciences. Therefore, instead of the techniques of quantitative analysis used in co relational and classic experimental studies (based exclusively on quantifiable and measurable data), the use of techniques and methods is more justifiable, since it furthers understanding of the complexity of reality and the subjectivity of the actors (Figueiredo, 2005). Instead of explaining the phenomena (construction of laws and theories), it is more important to understand them (identification of regularities, patterns, contradictions, etc.) in light of the meaning attributed to them by individuals and the way they are perceived at a given moment, in a given context by the agents (Pourtois & Desmet, 1988). More than a strict, standardised plan, it is a perspective that demands great flexibility from the researcher and a clinical attitude, with the support of a wide range of collection techniques and data analysis (including quantitative procedures). The researcher’s ability to create a personal and suitable strategy for approaching the problems in question, according to the context and the study’s aims, is put to the test (Pourtois & Desmet, 1988; Taylor & Bogdan, 1984). Although it is not appropriate to focus, here, on aspects related to doubts and questions on the growing attention given to qualitative data or to reservations regarding the credibility of qualitative approaches, in terms of validity, objectivity and neutrality, for example, it does, however, make sense to draw attention to what this might mean to the researcher, in terms of the increasing need for rigour

in the process and a guarantee of the scientificity of the methods used. The afore-mentioned dissatisfaction with the overall results of the research, as well as movements, in the related subjects, towards a methodological openness, end up encouraging the creation of favourable conditions so that this opposition may also disappear here, giving rise to a commitment and conjugation between the two underlying philosophies, and thus, creating a personal methodological reference system which is better adapted to research in learning contexts enriched with the potential of new technologies (Coutinho & Chaves, 2001). Indeed, this aspect leads us to the final question which is worth considering, since it may be linked to the stronger or weaker impact and influence of research on educational practices. Even though we accept that this aspect is not directly related to the researcher, it is still important to refer to it since it may affect the decision on “what” to research and “why” (pertinence and social relevance of the research) and the resulting justification in terms of the costs involving its accomplishment (cost-benefit analysis). In fact, according to some authors, the effects of research on educational practice are, in most cases, slow and indirect (Atkinson & Jackson, 1992; Holloway, 1996), even though this might occur for a number of different reasons. It may depend not only on greater or less quality and credibility of the research carried out, but also if and how it is used afterwards (Holloway, 1996). As far as research in the field of educational technology is concerned, there has been very little change in the classroom, in spite of very few systematic and in-depth studies on its use in the daily practices of teachers and students (Costa & Peralta, 2006). On the one hand, there seems to be a link between the scope of the studies carried out and the degree of influence such a variable is likely to have on political decision and, consequently, although indirectly, in micro terms, on specific teaching and learning practices. According to Holloway (1996), studies with a view to describing and characterising reality (understanding the degree of diffusion and explaining the what, where and why of acceptance or rejection of technologies in education), usually performed on a large scale by means of surveys, tend


to have greater influence on decision makers than research studies on more restricted realities (what goes on at school or in the classroom, for example), which are far less widespread in general and less considered (acknowledged) in terms of political decision (Holloway, 1996). Based on the revision of a recently accomplished research study, the author defends the idea that most of these studies create a vision of the problems that is more “focused on equipment”, on the “potential of technologies” and technical issues. This approach provides little information on the changes in schools and on how the research study, itself, affects these changes (Holloway, 1996). On the other hand there is concern, mentioned by Thomas Reeves (2000), due to the fact that literature revision and meta-analyses in this area do not provide sufficiently clear, practical guidelines, owing, mainly, to the insufficient quality of the studies on which they are based. According to the author, despite the fact that more and more researchers have started to monitor interpretation aims, the understanding of phenomena and the resolution of practical problems, having also adopted methodologies of a more qualitative nature, there is still little evidence that the quality of research has improved, with natural implications resulting from this. In his opinion, this is also due to the fact that most research in this field is performed by isolated researchers. It is rarely connected to the more solid lines of research and developed within the framework of academic assignments (Masters dissertations or PhD theses) such as those we have analysed, or to progress in their academic careers. A rather sterile type of research, not only in terms of the results achieved (see what was said on the inconclusiveness of the results), but mainly in terms of practical use and objective influence in the contexts in which it was developed, will generally not go beyond possible individual changes, on the part of the researcher(s) in question.

Research and Aims As a contribution to the characterisation of scientific research activity in Portugal, within the field of Educational Technology, between 1960 and 2005, we are 10

of the opinion that certain central issues should be discussed, around which analysis criteria and the presentation of results are organised: What are the themes being studied? Which reference tables are used? What research methodologies are used? As far as an analysis of the studied themes is concerned, we were primarily interested in finding out whether the research study is determined mainly by practice needs, in other words, a study based on the problems and issues the use of technology has brought to the teaching and learning process, or, on the other hand, whether it is determined more by the way the different perspectives and ideologies (explicit or implicit) interpret the educational act and the subsequent role of technological resources. Our aim, furthermore, was to identify the themes in which research, empirical objects and the purpose for their study are raised: whether the studies focus mainly on the analysis and description of reality, whether the intention is to intervene or if they are mainly concerned with the conception and accomplishment of material or any other kind of support resources for communication or knowledge acquisition. As regards the identification of theoretical reference tables, we tried to find marks that would enable us to classify them within the main perspectives traditionally used in this field, namely behaviourist, cognitive, constructivist, systemic, communicational, multimedia perspectives, etc…Without undermining explicit references to other approaches, our aim was to try to understand the extent to which research carried out in Portugal follows the main tendencies of research carried out internationally and its specificities in terms of the theoretical support on which it is based. As for the characterisation of research methodologies, and since it is directly related to the epistemological status of the research undergone, particular attention should be drawn to this fact in articulation with the aspects that have just been mentioned. Indeed, this is a crucially important aspect, since it is on this very level that many authors find sufficient reasons to harshly criticise the quality of research carried out in this field. However, as Reeves affirms, although not worse than research in education in general (Reeves, 2000), the effective quality of research developed in this area is still one of the main sources of controversy and, according to the author,


is mainly the result of confusion between basic research and applied research. Although it is clearly not our most urgent aim to evaluate the quality of the research produced, especially in view of the afore-mentioned limitations, we will continue to pay attention to this issue and try to collect data that will allow us to come back to the subject at a later stage. Therefore, in order to be able to address the issue in terms of the research methodologies used on a more global level, we believe it is necessary to: distinguish the research aims set out in terms of “explanation” versus “understanding” of the phenomena versus “problem solving”; to characterise the methodological designs used within the “experimental” versus “non-experimental” binomial; to characterise the type of data analysis (“qualitative” versus “quantitative”); to identify the analysis techniques used and, finally, to characterise the scope of the sample on which the studies are focused (macro, meso, micro). Methodology It is not our immediate aim to carry out an exhaustive historical analysis and so, we have decided to adopt an exploratory attitude which will enable us, above all, to understand the evolution that has been registered, while trying to highlight the main research areas and tendencies. We are aware of the complexity of such a task which is, for the most part, a result of the actual complexity of Educational Sciences, from both the perspective of the multiplicity and interpenetration of theoretical reference frameworks and the strictly methodological perspective, from which we can not detach ourselves. Nevertheless, it is our aim to be attentive to articulation between the evolution registered in the different related areas (from the perspective of an evolution of the theoretical reference frameworks), and the tendencies that were affirmed internationally in terms of actual research methodologies (evolution of the research paradigms). Documental corpus As already mentioned, the results of the analysis of Masters dissertations, supervised by Portuguese universities for almost a decade and a half, will be presented in this article. The reviewed documentation up to the present moment consists of 254 dissertations (see Table 1 – Reviewed documentation).

Table 1 Reviewed documentation Type of publication No of texts* Dissertations Master 254 PhD 23 * Data reviewed until December 2005 (activity in progress)

Analysis Criteria Given the nature of the “corpus”, we used the normal procedures of documental analysis in our initial approach for the classification and indexation of the identified texts. This also allowed for the organisation of a referenced data base in this area, thus, facilitating access and data up-dating at a later stage. The second phase involved a qualitative analysis of the collected texts’ content, with particular emphasis on a summary of them, so as to identify the characteristics that help to “contextualise” each research study, based on pre-established criteria. These criteria, which will be presented in more detail in the next section, are directly related to and stem from the afore-mentioned aims of this study. Without undermining some adjustments we made, as a result of the need to accommodate some of the emerging categories, an analysis structure was constructed around three of the above-mentioned central themes: studied themes, theoretical reference frameworks and methodological options. Criterion 1 – Studied themes. With a view to identifying the main themes under study, this criterion is essentially applied to the formulation of the central research question (influential in the selection of the study object, mobilisation of a theoretical reference framework, definition of aims or formulation of research possibilities and the drawing up of a plan for the collection of empirical data). In order to better understand the scope of the developed research, we have set out some aspects of this criterion in order to identify not only the central theme under study, and the empirical field from where the data is collected (object of study), but also the origin of the research itself (research lines, reality problems) and its ultimate purpose (analysis of reality, intervention, conception and development). We have also included a criterion referring to the context studied, with a view to understanding the type of study distribution between the professional and school context and, as

sísifo 3 | fernando albuquerque costa | educational technologies: analysis of master dissertations 11

regards the latter, through the different educational levels (see Table 2 – Identification and characterisation of the studied themes). Criterion 2 – Theoretical Reference Tables. With a view to identifying the theoretical frameworks used as research support, this criterion applies to the references made by the researcher to the scientific areas, theories or specific authors, in terms of clarifying the research question, supervising the collection of data and serving as the basis for interpretation (Table 3 – identification and characterisation of theoretical reference frameworks). Criterion 3 – Methodological Options. Finally, with a view to characterising the research methodologies used, this criterion applies to the description that is made, in each individual work, of the nature, arguments and collection of data techniques, as well as the methodological procedures adopted in the planning, analysis and interpretation. As with the previous criterion, we have considered the different aspects for the characterisation of the methodological options: the research aims (search for explanation, search for understanding, description of reality, problem solving); the methodological plan (experimental, non-experimental); data analysis (quantitative, qualitative); the techniques and instruments used and the scope of the sample (see Table 4 – Characterisation of the methodologies). Table 2 identification and characterisation of the studied themes Main theme

Origin Aim: To identify the main themes studied

Purpose

Object of Study

Context

12

Image, Audiovisuals Information Technologies Teaching and Learning Teacher Training Others Lines of Research Specific Problems of reality Other Analysis Intervention Conception and development Other Pupil Teacher Materials Teaching and learning process Teacher training Other School (educational level) Professional Other

The frequencies of each category of analysis and respective percentages were calculated with the SPSS. In order to guarantee the validity of the categorisation process, a second classification was drawn up for a random sample of dissertations, having achieved a coefficient of 83.50% in the equivalence test between the two classifications obtained. Table 3 identification and characterisation of the theoretical reference frameworks

Aim: To identify the main theoretical reference frameworks used as research support.

Theoretical references*

Behaviourist Perspective (Skinner, Gagné, Bloom…) Communicational, Multimedia Perspective (Shannon e Weaver, Mayer…) Systemic Perspective (Bertalanfy, Romiszovsky…) Cognitive and constructivist perspectives (Bruner, Piaget, Giardina, Papert…) Hypermedia Approach and cognitive flexibility (Nelson, Spiro…) Other

* Classification systematised by Chaves (1998) and Pereira (1993).

Table 4 characterisation of methodologies Search for explanation Search for understanding Research Aims Problem solving Other (mere description…) Experimental Methodological Non-experimental Level Aim: Mixed To Quantitative characterise Type of analysis Qualitative the research Mixed methodologies Statistical Analysis… used Observation, nonTechniques structured interviews, documental analysis… Mixed Macro Scope of the Meso sample Micro

Presentation and discussion of results Where is the research carried out? In order to better understand the overall panorama of the research carried out, we will begin by present-


ing the information regarding the distribution of the dissertations in the universities where they were carried out. As may be observed in Table 5 (Dissertations per University), the dissertations included in the analysis (226) are concentrated in just five Portuguese universities3.

dissertations concluded) to the 90s with more than half of the analysed theses (136), or 60.2% of the total.

Table 5 Dissertations per university Distribution of frequencies and percentages UNIVERSITIES f %

1986-1990 1991-1995 1996-2000 2001-2005 Total

U. Aberta [Open Uni.] U. de Aveiro [Aveiro Uni.] U. de Lisboa [Lisbon Uni] U. do Minho [Minho Uni] U. Nova de Lisboa Total

41 25 54 98 8 226

18.1 11.1 23.9 43.4 3.5 100.0

The University of Minho stands out from the rest as it was there that almost half of the dissertations carried out were analysed (43.4%), followed by the University of Lisbon with 23.9%. We may, indeed, conclude that three quarters of academic research for Master courses carried out in Portugal in the field of Educational Technology are held at these two universities. If, in our analysis, we exclude the Universidade Aberta4, it is only fair to associate the more recent universities (Aveiro, Minho, Nova) and the greater amount of research carried out there: Around two thirds, against around one third in the University of Lisbon, the only representative of the so-called “Classic” Universities among those considered. This fact may be interpreted in support of the possibility that the appearance of new universities, from the 80’s onwards has been a contributory factor in the development of this scientific area. How does the number of dissertations evolve? We have tried to understand how the dissertations are distributed over the four periods of five years in which we have divided the last two decades, in order to verify the evolution of time since the appearance of the first studies of Master5 courses, up to the present day. Therefore, based on Table 6 (Evolution of the number of dissertations), it is possible to observe an overall crescendo in research, which is particularly clear in the transition from the 80s (with only 8

Table 6 Evolution of the number of dissertations Distribution of frequencies and percentages PERIODS Freq. % 8 77 59 82 226

3.5 34.1 26.1 36.3 100.0

In the last period taken into consideration which includes the years between 2001 and 2005 in the new millennium, there are 82 dissertations (36.3%). The set of results seems to point towards a continuation of the research rhythm at this academic level, with the possibility of even stronger reinforcement with the scientific production of other courses which have opened in the meantime, such as the Mestrado em Informática Educacional [Master in Educational Computer Technology] offered by the Portuguese Catholic University and which, as is already known, perhaps for its accomplishment mainly by distancelearning, achieved a remarkable number of enrolments in its first edition. These results, coupled with the high demand for post-graduations in this field, namely on the part of teachers, may represent more favourable settings in terms of the actual use of technologies for educational purposes as well as providing strong evidence of the amount of research carried out in our country,. This is mainly due to the critical mass these teachers and other participants in the educational phenomenon become a part of, and also the impact their action may have in the near future, namely if appropriately integrated in specific intervention projects created for this purpose. What themes are studied? As we were able to explain earlier on, we used a set of diversified criteria as the reference for the characterisation of the studied themes, with a view to highlighting the research carried out. Thus, we were able to contribute to the acquisition of more profound knowledge on what is researched, why it is researched, the context and purpose. The idea is,


then, that the analysis of these arguments may provide an overall perspective of the effort deposited in the research carried out in academic contexts and, eventually, open new horizons, at least in terms of social relevance, as a contribution to the innovation and alteration of ways of teaching and learning in our schools. The following tables refer specifically to each one of these analysis bases, in other words: to the main themes handled; to the root of the problems that instigated the research; to the purposes set out by the authors of the research studies; to the specific study objects and, finally, to the observed and studied contexts. Main themes handled Based on the analysis of Table 7 (Themes handled in the research study) it may be said that there is a predominance of studies of themes related to “information technologies” as a tool and resource, subject to being studied regardless of their connection (or not) to specific study objects. In other words, they are at the service of learning on the part of the pupil, at the service of the teacher, at the service of the teaching and learning process itself, in general (41,1%). Whenever they are not connected to other study objects, “information technologies” emerge as the object of analysis themselves (evaluation of software, for example), object of development, such as the studies leaning towards the creation and development of new applications for specific purposes (a multimedia application for Children’s Drawing, to give a specific example). Table 7 Themes handled in the research Distribution of frequencies and percentages MAIN THEME Freq. % Audiovisuals Information Technologies Teaching and Learning Teacher Training Other Total

39 90 47 20 23 219

17.8 41.1 21.5 9.1 10.5 100.0

There is, indeed, a great distance between the study of “audiovisuals” (with just 17.8%), confirming the growing interest in digital technologies and the importance adopted by the latter in terms of the 14

audiovisual and analogical technologies with which they are associated. As may also be understood, they are only predominant up to the point where computers take on effective and generalised expression in more recent, modern-day society. Only 9.1% of the studies focus on the theme “teacher training” (20 dissertations), but around a quarter focus on the observation and analysis of teaching and learning”. These are two interesting results, especially in terms of what each one means in itself, but also since they each point in opposite directions. If, on the one hand, it is crucial that attention be shifted to the study of the ways in which technologies are integrated in the teaching and learning process, it is worrying that little attention continues to be given to the contexts in which teachers should be expected to be professionally prepared, which implies the integration and use of these same technologies in their teaching practices. Although we are aware that it is not in the context of academic studies of an individual nature that this should be done, it is still an indicator of the critical situation in which we find ourselves and which is characterised by the complete absence of an integrated and articulated vision of the professional development of teachers in this field. Interestingly, as the few studies on this theme clearly show (Costa & Peralta, 2006; Matos, 2005; Ponte & Serrazina, 1998; Ponte et al., 2000), this also occurs in terms of initial personal training which, in our opinion, is one of the most worrying factors within the national context. Despite being in harmony with what happens internationally in terms of the impact of initial training among the new generations of teachers (Brett et al., 1997; ITRC, 1998; Makrakis, 1997; Willis & Mehlinger, 1996), what is worse is that in Portugal this is not by any means an object of structured and consistent intervention, deriving from previous, in-depth reflection on the role of technologies in learning. From a “geographical” perspective of the themes, in other words, of their distribution around the universities in which the dissertations were carried out, observation of the results suggests some preferences that may be interesting to explore: in the University of Minho “information technologies” are, by far, the most preferred theme (22.83%); the case is the same in the University of Aveiro, although on a smaller scale


(5.94%); in the Open University, the most studied theme is “image audiovisuals” (8.22%), closely followed by “information technologies” (7.31%); in the University of Lisbon the main interest is “teaching and learning” with “teacher training” in second place. Origin of the Research As far as the selection of the studied themes is concerned, it is possible to observe through Table 8 (Origin of the research), that the “problems of reality” are what determine what is going to be the research focus. Indeed, they are clearly predominant, in almost all the studies (94.2%), which is why they can be associated with the interest of authors in acquiring greater knowledge on the issues or problems which they have encountered, in some form or other, in their professional activity. Table 8 Origin of the research Distribution of frequencies and percentages ORIGIN Freq. % Lines of Research Problems of reality Other Total

2 213 5 220

0.9 96.8 2.3 100.0

As, perhaps, was expected, given the type of sporadic relationship established with the universities in order to obtain this academic level, there are hardly any research studies in which their insertion in a particular “line of research” is clearly and expressly adopted, such as, in a certain centre or research unit. Main Purposes In accordance with the results in Table 9 (Research purposes) and in harmony with what has been said on the origin of the research, it may be affirmed that the main motivation for the accomplishment of the research developed in the analysed dissertations is clearly the understanding of the observed phenomena, situations or contexts. Indeed, in almost two thirds of the studies (70.4%) the dominant purpose is “analysis”, followed by “conception and development” which emerges in second place, even though at a great distance with 25.5% of the cases, in other words, a third of the research considered.

Table 9 Research purposes Distribution of frequencies and percentages PURPOSE Freq. % Analysis Intervention Conception and Total

152 9 55 216

70.4 4.2 25.5 100.0

Both figures seem to make sense, in that we are referring to something very recent, in constant evolution and whose outlines, as we have already seen, are not very clear, at least not for those confronting the difficulties and inherent implications of the use and integration of machines for the first time, in an environment that had previously been exclusively reserved for human action and interaction. Indeed, it could be a good indicator of development in this field and of its practical applications, if the impact of the set of research studies carried out in order to obtain an academic level were different. Perhaps owing to the fragile position of the authors of these research studies who, as we have already mentioned, are mainly teachers who individually go in search of an academic qualification that will allow them to progress in their career, the number of dissertations with a view to “intervening” is not expected to be high. However, a structured intervention with a specific institutional support, for example in terms of a school or a set of schools would be expected. The high degree of this area’s applicability contrasts with the low percentage found in studies with this purpose (4.2%, in other words only 9 dissertations), which still corresponds to what was said in the previous paragraph. As regards the association between universities and aims, the results point to a preference for “analysis” and an understanding of reality in the cases of the Universities of Minho (26.39%), Lisbon (24.55%), Aveiro (8.33%) and Nova (3.70%), and for the “development” of materials in the Open University (11.57%),but also in the University of Minho (10.65%). Main study objects The analysis of the results presented in Table 10 (Study objects) show that the “materials” are the main focus of the research developed among the analysed Masters dissertations, with 37.1% of the studies, or 79 dissertations6.


Focus on the “teaching and learning process” appears in second place, with 22.5% of the studies (48 dissertations). Conjugating this figure with the set of theses that concentrate more specifically on the “pupil” (considered individually and directly related to learning), with 11.3% (24 theses), and on the “teacher” (studies primarily related to attitudes towards technologies or with a view to discovering the kind of use made of technologies), with 15.5% (33 dissertations), it is also possible to observe the special interest that the related topics deserve, not exactly technology itself, but the context in which it is supposed to be used, with its more direct users and with the role it may have in learning. Table 10 Study objects Distribution of frequencies and percentages STUDY OBJECT Freq. % Pupil Teacher Materials Teaching and Learning Teacher Training Other Total

24 33 79 48 13 16 213

11.3 15.5 37.1 22.5 6.1 7.5 100.0

On the other hand, only 6.1% of the studies focus on “teacher training” which is, indeed, the lowest figure in this category. Corroborating what has already been said on teacher training and pointing in the same direction, it is interesting to see that only three dissertations have the process and practices of teacher training as their main focal point, which is rather curious since the former is, recognisably and unavoidably, a touchstone here and in other areas of Educational Sciences. In terms of the geography of the study objects, it is interesting to note the preferences of the Universities of Minho (18.78%), the Open University (11.74%) and Aveiro (5.63%) for studies focusing on “materials”. As far as the University of Lisbon is concerned, preference is shared in the same way for two of the study objects that are more directly related to the didactic situation itself, in other words the “teacher” (7.98%) and the “teaching-learning” process (7.98%).

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Research focus As already mentioned on a number of occasions, it is mainly teachers who go in search of obtaining post-graduate qualifications in the field of Educational Sciences, particularly in those areas which may be directly related to the structured reflection on the relationship between technology and its use for educational purposes, namely in terms of a Masters degree . Perhaps because of this, the “school” context, in the corpus considered here, represents almost all the research studies carried out (200 dissertations, 95.7%), with only one residual figure (3.3%) of dissertations developed in a “professional” context outside the school (See Table 11 – Contexts in which research is carried out). Table 11 Contexts in which research is carried out Distribution of frequency and percentages CONTEXT Freq. % School Professional Other Total

200 7 2 209

95.7 3.3 1.0 100.0

Main theoretical reference frameworks The sturdiness of the theoretical support is one of the fundamental attributes of scientific research and, as it would have to be, is a guarantee of the quality and credibility of the studies carried out. As far as the dissertations are concerned for obtaining an academic qualification such as those we have already analysed, it is important to know the theoretical references used in the research process so that it is possible to evaluate which are the more predominant tendencies at a particular moment and how they are distributed around the universities where the research is being supervised. According to the results presented in Table 12 (Theoretical reference frameworks), it is possible to conclude that most of the dissertations (53.6%) do not use what we had originally considered the basis of our analysis as their theoretical references and which, as has already been mentioned, were founded on the perspectives that are traditionally stimulated to study the theme of Educational Technology. In addition to our initial difficulty in


some research studies in identifying the theoretical reference framework, whether through a lack of clarity in its specification or a lack of clarity in the option for just one of the perspectives considered in our analysis, we also included the studies that presented other frameworks of theoretical structures in this category (“other references”) in addition to those we had defined a priori. Table 12 Theoretical reference frameworks Distribution of frequency and percentage THEORETICAL REFERENCES Freq. % Communication and Multimedia Cognitivism and Constructivism Hypermedia and Cognitive Flexibility Other Total

32 16 17 75 140

22.9 11.4 12.1 53.6 100.0

A possible interpretation of this result, in terms of the last alternative, may be related to the loan sought in other scientific areas, particularly those directly linked to specific themes and study objects, such as teacher training. If a certain dissertation has teacher training as its main study object, it is natural that the researcher will try to construct the respective theoretical framework in light of current knowledge on teacher training models, for example. In our opinion, this would be extremely beneficial from an interdisciplinary perspective and the broadening of scope to include scientific related areas, in order to study issues that are frequently confined to researchers from the area of technology. This could have profound implications in terms of the impact and relevance of the research carried out, both in general terms and in strictly scientific ones. Since it was only possible to clearly classify the dissertations analysed in only three of the five previously defined categories of analysis, it is through them that the rest of the theoretical reference figures are distributed. The dissertations that were theoretically supported by a “communicational and multimedia” approach were at the top with 22.9%, closely followed by dissertations based on an approach we have referred to as “hypermedia and cognitive flexibility” (12.1%) and the studies that were based on a “cognitive and constructivist” approach (11.4%). Interestingly, or maybe not so, the number of stud

ies based explicitly on both the behaviourist perspective and the systemic approach was insignificant, which may, in some way, also be connected to a paradigm inflection to which some authors refer (Coutinho, 2000b, 2005; Pereira, 1993,) in terms of the understanding of the educational phenomena in light of more up to date approaches which are more in touch with the challenges that digital and network technologies have brought to the teaching and learning process. Methodologies Although the methodologies used in any research study should result from what is intended to be studied and the foreseen purposes, the selection and adoption of methodological procedures, or the establishment of a research plan, or the selection of collection techniques and data analysis are not always exclusively determined by the in-depth analysis of what is most appropriate and consistent from an epistemological perspective with the specificity of the study object. Indeed, there are often more circumstantial factors that end up conditioning both the design of the research and the instruments used. In the specific case of the Masters dissertations, many of them will represent these contingencies, and so, the results we obtain may also serve as a source of reflection , namely as far as the research quality is concerned, and as we have previously mentioned, should arouse concern for the educational community in general, and for each researcher in particular. Research Aims As regards the research aims explicitly set out in the dissertations and based on the results presented in Table 13 (research aims), it is possible to conclude that “understanding” of the phenomena or problems is the most frequent category, with a total of 168 dissertations (78.9%), followed, at a large distance, by the category “others” (13.6%), in which both the aims that did not correspond to the criteria considered and the dissertations in which more than one of these aims would be expected were included. Only 15 theses (7.0%) refer explicitly to the aim of “problem solving” and the intention to “explain” the studied phenomena is hardly visible at all in the dissertations (0.5%).


Table 13 research aims Distribution of frequency and percentages RESEARCH AIMS Freq. %

Table 15 Type of analysis Distribution of frequency and percentages TYPE OF ANALYSIS Freq. %

Explanation Understanding Problem Solving Other Total

Quantitative Qualitative Mixed Total

1 168 15 29 213

0.5 78.9 7.0 13.6 100.0

It is also worth mentioning that the above-mentioned setting clearly occurs in all the universities where the dissertations were carried out. Methodological Design With a view to understanding how the dissertations are situated in terms of methodological design, a clear “non-experimental” predominance was registered with 78.7% of all the studies performed (140 dissertations), over the designs organised according to a more “experimental” logic, with only 34 dissertations (19.1%), and over the “mixed” plans, with just 4 studies (see Table 14 – methodological design). Table 14 methodological design Distribution of frequency and percentages METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN Freq. % Experimental Non Experimental Mixed Total

34 140 4 178

19.1 78.7 2.2 100.0

As regards the methodological design, itself, the results enable us to conclude that, on the one hand the “non-experimental” methods are preferred in all the universities and only the University of Minho also appears in the “experimental” designs. Type of Data As with the previous results, it is possible to observe in Table 15 (Type of analysis) the preference of most dissertations for a “qualitative” type of data analysis (56.0%), over a “quantitative” analysis used in only 45 dissertations, in other words, 30.0% of all the cases in which this information is given explicitly. 18

45 84 21 150

30.0 56.0 14.0 100.0

In a small percentage of these studies (14.0%) combinations of both types of analysis are used (“mixed” analysis). However, the option for qualitative data is clear in all the universities in whose dissertations it was possible to discover this information. Techniques Based on the results presented in Table 16 (Techniques ), in accordance with previous results, it is possible to verify the predominance of “non-statistical” data collection techniques (observation, non-structured interviews, personal notes…) with 57.8% of all the studies in which this information is supplied, over the so-called “statistical” techniques in just 31.3% of these studies. In similarity to what was observed in the above section, dissertations where “mixed” techniques (10.9%) were used are also identified here. Table 16 Techniques Distribution of frequencies and percentages TECHNIQUES Freq. % Statistical Analysis Observation, non-structured interviews, registers… Mixed Total

46

31.3

85

57.8

16 147

10.9 100.0

The preference for “statistical” techniques (25.85%) is only noticeable at the University of Minho, even though “non-statistical” techniques are also used there in a relevant way (14.97%). The option for “non-statistical” techniques is clearly an option of the University of Lisbon (27.21%), the Open University (8.84%) and also the dissertations carried out at the New University [Nova] (4.08%).


Scope of the sample As for the scope of the sample, Table 17 (scope of the sample) shows that in 68.0% of the dissertations where this information is explicit, they focused, as perhaps was to be expected, on small-scale studies (“micro” sample). Only 28.4% are part of studies with considerable scope (“meso”) and 3.6% of largescale studies (“macro”). Table 17 Scope of the sample Distribution of frequency and percentages SAMPLE Freq. % Macro Meso Micro Total

7 55 132 194

3,6 28,4 68,0 100,0

In this particular criterion, the option is clearly for samples of a weak range in all the universities, even though there is also a percentage of dissertations with relatively larger samples, such as in the University of Minho (14.95%) and in the University of Lisbon (6.19%).

Summary and perspectives With a view to highlighting the more salient aspects of the scientific research in question here, we will end on some of the main arguments already presented, and which, to a certain extent, may serve as a systematisation of the main tendencies of what is researched in this field in Portugal in terms of Masters degrees. It is worth mentioning that, as has been the case internationally over recent years, first of all, interest in the study of themes related to audiovisuals has shifted to the study of themes more directly related to “new” information and communication technologies, in other words, digital technologies. As a study object in itself (studies with a technological slant), but also, even though on a lesser scale, in its direct relationship with the agents, contexts and learning objectives (pedagogical studies). On the other hand, the little attention given to training contexts (initial training and continuous training) and to the preparations of professionals

(teachers, trainers) for the integration of technologies in their practices is also worth mentioning. Even though universities may have research lines with preferred themes and approaches which might, to a certain extent, influence what is studied in terms of dissertations, it is the school setting and the issues or problems of reality that motivate their authors, most of whom are teachers, who focus, primarily, on analysing and understanding the observed phenomena, situations and contexts. Therefore, it is not the priority to stimulate the interest of these research teachers since, as may be easily understood, their intervention is strongly restricted to individual action. Studies regarding the conception and development of materials take second place, as far as the research aims are concerned, and are of considerable relevance since they represent a third of the analysed dissertations. In terms of the theoretical framework, different signs seem to lean towards what some refer to as a paradigmatic inflection towards the use of more up to date and adjusted approaches to the new ways of equating learning and that which educational policies have introduced in the official curriculum. In other words, it refers to the pupil as an active agent in the construction of his/her learning, the latter being socially constructed, etc…There is also inflection towards greater attention being given, not so much to technology, itself, but rather to its direct relationship with the actual teaching and learning process and its implications in terms of its openness and stimulation of other knowledge. Thus, it is granted an interdisciplinary status and involves other, traditionally ignored scientific areas, which are of the utmost importance, such as Curriculum, Assessment and even Teacher Training, itself. Finally, an inflection may also be spoken of in terms of methodology (methodological inflection), since there is a clear withdrawal from the traditionally preferred classic methods (experimental method, co relational studies, the comparison of means…), as some authors had already mentioned, and which is obvious in the tendency to use “nonexperimental” research designs, the preference for “non-statistical” data techniques and the option for a qualitative type of data. In short, it may be said that the research presented here represents a relevant part of the research


developed over the last two decades in Portugal. The high demand for post graduation courses at universities from the nineties onwards, particularly in this field, indeed, corresponding to the strong appeal of new technologies and their potential for use in Education, is perhaps, one of this period’s main characteristics and influences what is researched in Portugal in this field. In fact, as we have already observed, teachers are the ones who are more interested in taking a Masters course in this area, even though their motivations are directly related to the study of integrating technology in education, but also for reasons to do with the development of their professional career. Owing to an increase in the supply of Masters courses at some universities which are directly related to educational technology, the tendency over the last fifteen years has been for demand to also increase. Despite being a good indicator of the amount of research carried out, this fact sheds very little light on the direct contribution of research to educational practices, namely in terms of clarification of ways of using the technologies, their implications for the organisation of contexts, their impact on learning, just to mention a few of the crucial aspects regarding which there is no systematic information. However, it is still an important contribution on the part of the teachers who are involved in it, for the emerging critical mass and the impact it may have in the near future, for example, in the schools where they work. As previously discussed, it could have a positive impact, especially if it is duly considered and employed in structured intervention projects that are suitably supported by the educational projects of the same schools. The little research carried out beyond the academic context and the absence of systematic evalu-

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ation studies on the introduction of technologies in schools are two characteristics that we may also associate with the second period in consideration. In accordance with international tendency, they lead us to assume that the results of the scientific studies will have a weak impact on the practices of those who, for a wide range of mainly circumstantial reasons, were able to use the available technology, at a given moment, for educational purposes. Even though the scientific and methodological support to the introduction of technologies in an educational setting is apparently of vital importance, where research is expected, as is the case in other areas of knowledge, to precede the respective professional practices, in educational technologies the opposite seems to happen. Technologies reach the schools, are used, generally by the teachers who are more sensitive to their integration in the teaching and learning process, and only much later does a possible reflection emerge (when it does emerge) on their possible benefits for learning. This reflection depends, more often than not, on circumstantial factors (such as carrying out studies to obtain a Masters degree) and is only sporadically integrated in a broader project or research line, with a view to equating new forms of teaching and learning with technologies and to bringing about specific support for different types of use and practice of these same technologies. This is a crucially important aspect, especially as far as new technologies are concerned, not only because of the challenges they represent (may represent) in terms of the innovation of conception and teaching and learning practices, but also because of the need to strictly and systematically monitor their implementation, or evaluate their impact and respective effects on a number of different levels of schooling.


Endnotes 1. XV Conference of the Portuguese Branch of AFIRSE – Association Francophone Internationale de Recherche en Sciences de l’Education (Lisbon, February 2006). 2. “There are literally hundreds if not thousands of studies that keep repeating this horse-racing paradigm, a paradigm that was condemned and sentenced to death years ago when discovery learning, educational television, and CAI were compared with their traditional competitors” (Salomon, 2000). Basically, it is like trying to measure a certain object without a valid measurement unit, since it was not constructed in view of the nature and characteristics of such an object. 3. Even though we are aware that there are Masters dissertations in other Portuguese universities, resulting from research connected, in some degree, to the area of Educational Technology, we were unable to gain access to the respective information from the data bases we consulted. We were also unable to gain access to the respective libraries or documentation centres in time. We have been informed that the Universities of Coimbra, Porto and Algarve are members of this group, even though the figures are not very significant, due to the lack of Masters courses in this specific area at these Universities. 4. Exclusion of the Universidade Aberta [Open University] can only be justified by its marked difference in relation to the other universities, at least in terms of the means it uses to accomplish its mission. However, in this specific case, only as a way of testing the possibility of the decisive contribution of the surge of new universities after April 25th 1974. 5. The first Master of Education courses of which we know, specialising in the area of Educational Technology were held at the University of Minho in the academic year 1991/92 (Chaves, 1998), although there had already been a specialisation at this Uni versity in Informática no Ensino [Computer Technology in Education](since 1987). During the academic year 1991/92 a Master course also opened at the Universidade Aberta on Multimedia Communication. 6. This fact seems to tie in with the results observed in relation to the “main theme”, in which interest in the more technological aspects was much higher, reaching a percentage of 58.9% of the stud

ies when considered in conjunction with “information technologies” and the “audiovisuals” (it is worth mentioning that the set of themes that are not directly related to the “technologies” – “teaching and learning” and “teacher training”- represent only 30.6% of the cases).

Bibliographical references Abrantes, J. C. (1981). Tecnologia Educativa. In M. Silva & I. Tamen (eds.), Sistema de Ensino em Portugal. Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, pp. 521-551. Abrantes, J. C. (1998). Os media e a escola: da imprensa aos audiovisuais no ensino e na formação. Lisboa: Texto Editora. Atkinson, R. C. & Jackson, G. B. (1992). Research and education reform : roles for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Blanco, E. & Silva, B. (1993). Tecnologia educativa em Portugal: conceito, origens, evolução, áreas de intervenção e investigação. Revista Portuguesa de Educação - CIEd, 6, 3, pp. 37-55. Brett, A.; Lee, O. & Sorhaindo, L. (1997). Effect of Field-Based Technology Laboratory on Preservice Teachers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Infusion of Technology. Florida Journal of Educational Research, 37, 1, pp. 1-16. Caldas, J. C. (2001). O vídeo na escola em Portugal. In B. Silva & L. Almeida (eds.), Congresso Galaico-Português de Psicopedagogia. Braga: Centro de Estudos em Educação e Psicologia, pp. 383-394. Chaves, J. H. (1998). Mestrado em Educação/Área de Especialização em Tecnologia Educativa. Resumo das Dissertações da 1ª Edição do Curso. Costa, F. & Peralta, H. (2006). Primary teachers’ competence and confidence. Level regarding the use of ICT. In ED-MEDIA - World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications. Orlando. Coutinho, C. (2000a). ICT in education in Portugal: a review of 15 years of research. Comunicação apresentada na AECT. Coutinho, C. (2000b). Percursos de investigação em Tecnologia Educativa em Portugal: Uma abordagem temática e metodológica a publicações


científicas (1985-2000). Braga: Cied/Universidade do Minho. Coutinho, C. (2005). Evaluation research in education: the importance of a paradigmatic debate of fundamentals and practices. Comunicação apresentada no IX Congreso de Metodología de las Ciencias Sociales y de la Salud, Granada. Coutinho, C. & Chaves, J. H. (2001). Desafios à investigação em TIC na educação: as metodologias de desenvolvimento. In P. Dias & C. V. d. Freitas (eds.), Actas da II Conferência Internacional Desafios/Challenges 2001. Braga: Universidade do Minho, Centro de Competência Nónio Sec. XXI, pp. 895-904. de Corte, E. (1996). Aprendizage apoyado en el computador: una perspectiva a partir de investigación acerca del aprendizage y la instrucción. Comunicação apresentada no III Congresso Iberoamericano de Informática Educativa. Colômbia. Fernandes, R. (1969). Para a história dos meios audiovisuais na escola portuguesa. Separata da «Revista de Portugal», Série A: Língua Portuguesa, XXXIV, Lisboa, p. 3. Figueiredo, A. D. (2005). Learning Contexts: a Blueprint for Research. Interactive Educational Multimedia, 11 (October), pp. 127-139. Holloway, R. (1996). Diffusion and adoption of Educational Technology: A critique of research design. In D. Jonassen (ed.), Handbook of Research for Educational Communications and Technnology. New York: MacMillan, pp. 1107-1133. ITRC - Instructional Technology Resource Center (1998). Integration of Technology in Preservice Teacher Education Programs: The SouthEast and Islands Regional Profile. Orlando, Florida: Instructional Technology Resource Center. College of Education. University of Central Florida. Makrakis, V. (1997). Perceived Relevance of Information Technology Courses to Prospective Teachers’ Professional Needs: the case of Greece. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 6, 2, pp. 157-167. Matos, J. F. (2005). As Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação e a Formação Incial de Professores em Portugal: radiografia da situação em 2003. Lisboa: GIASE-ME. Pelgrum, W. J. (2001). Obstacles to the integration of ICT in education: results from a worldwide 22

educational assessment. Computers & Education, 37, 37, pp. 163-178. Pelgrum, W. J. & Law, N. (2004). Les TIC et l’education dans le monde: tendances, enjeux et perspectives. Paris: UNESCO. Pereira, D. C. (1993). A Tecnologia Educativa e a mudança desejável no sistema educativo. Revista Portuguesa de Educação - CIEd, 6, 3, pp. 19-36. Plomp, T. & Pelgrum, W. (1991). Introduction of computers in education: state of art in eight countries. Computers & Education, 19, pp. 249258. Ponte, J. P. (1994). O projecto MINERVA: introduzindo as NTI na educação em Portugal: introducing NIT in education Portugal. Lisboa: ME/DEP GEF. Ponte, J. P. & Serrazina, L. (1998). As Novas Tecnologias na Formação Inicial de Professores. Lisboa: DAPP-Ministério da Educação. Ponte, J. P. d.; Oliveira, P.; Varandas, J. M.; Oliveira, H. & Fonseca, H. (2000). Tecnologias de informação e comunicação na formação de. professores: Que desafios? Revista Ibero-Americana de Educación, 24, pp. 63-90. Pourtois, J.-P. & Desmet, H. (1988). Épistémologie et instrumentation en sciences humaines. Liège; Bruxelles: Pierre Mardaga. Reeves, T. (1995). Questioning the Questions of Instructional Technology Research. In M. R. Simonson & M. Anderson (eds.), Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Research and Theory Division. Anaheim, C.A., pp. 457-470. Reeves, T. (1997). Evaluating What Really Matters in Computer-Based Education. University of Georgia. Retrived January 2004 from http://www. educationau.edu.au/archives/cp/reeves.htm Reeves, T. (2000). Enhancing the Worth of Instructional Technology Research through “Design Experiments” and Other Development Research Strategies. Comunicação apresentada na Session 41.29. International Perspectives on Instructional Technology Research for the 21st Century, New Orleans, LA, USA. Russell, T. L. (1999). The no significant difference phenomenon. North Carolina State University: Raleigh, NC, USA.


Salomon, G. (2000). It’s not just the tool, but the educational rationale that counts. Comunicação apresentada na Ed-Media Meeting, Montreal. Salomon, G. (2002). Technology and Pedagogy: Why Don’t We See the Promised Revolution? Educational Technology, pp. 71-75. Silva,B.(2000).As tecnologias de informação e comunicação nas reformas educativas em Portugal. Revista Portuguesa de Educação - CIEd, pp. 111-153. Taylor & Bogdan, R. (1984). Introduction to qualitative research methods : the search for meanings 2nd. New York: Wiley.

Walker, D. (1994). New information technology and the curriculum. In T. Husen & N. T. Postlethwaite (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Education (Vol. 7). Oxford: Pergamon Press, pp. 4081-4088. Willis, J. & Mehlinger, H. (1996). Information technology and teacher education. In J. Sikula (ed.), Handbook of Research on Teacher Education. NY: Mc.Millan, pp. 978-1029.

Translated by Tânia Lopes da Silva


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issn 1646‑6500

Profiting from the Internet in Primary and Secondary School Teaching: from Online Resources and Tools to LMS Ana Amélia Amorim Carvalho [email protected] Minho University

Abstract: Internet access in schools, IT equipment in the classroom and the “School, Teachers and Laptop Computers” initiative have created the technological conditions for teachers and pupils to benefit from the diversity of information online, and to communicate, collaborate and share with one another, as well as the possibility of online publishing. Integrating Internet Services in teaching practices for particular and a broad range of subjects can provide thematic, social and digital enrichment for the agents involved. The second part of this article will discuss this topic. We shall begin by highlighting the emergence of the knowledge economy in a network, as a cognitive extension. Out of this reality arises the need for connectivity and the importance of connectivism, which is indispensable for the 21st-century human being and which we will focus on in the second part. In the third part, we focus on the advantages of using Learning Management Systems (LMS), such as Moodle, to back up traditional learning whereby the teacher and pupils are in personal contact. We also analyse its implications with regard to supporting the pupil and online interaction, which leads the educational agents to shift from teaching techniques where both parties are present to a mixed approach: blended-learning. Finally, we conclude by emphasising the importance of starting to use online resources and tools to bring about an environment that is familiar for the pupils and through which they can learn critically and collaboratively. Keywords: Collaboration, Communication, Connectivism, LMS, Research, Online publishing.

Carvalho, Ana Amélia Amorim (2007). Profiting from the Internet in Primary and Secondary School Teaching: from Online Resources and Tools to LMS. Sísifo. Educational Sciences Journal, 03, pp. 25‑38. Retrieved [month, year] from http://sisifo.fpce.ul.pt

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Introduction Terms such as the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) have firmly established themselves as part of everyday life, as proven by the expression “the Internet is the fabric of our lives” (Castells, 2004, p. 15). The Internet is reflected in the reorganisation of our lives, in the way we communicate and the way we learn. Its importance is so striking that Castells (2004), in comparing the magnitude of its impact to the Gutenberg galaxy, an expression coined by McLuhan (1962) to describe the effect of the creation of print by Gutenberg, proposed the analogy, the Internet Galaxy. “There in not a centrality [on the Internet], but rather a nodality, based on a reticular geometry” (Castells, 2004, p. 267). It remains an open network and a means of learning and sharing, supporting several services. The World Wide Web was designed to be a pool of human knowledge, constituting a space for sharing (Berners-Lee et al., 1994), which has grown at an unimaginable pace. The World Wide Web (W3) was developed to be a pool of human knowledge, which would allow collaborators in remote sites to share their ideas and all aspects of a common project (Berners-Lee et al., 1994, p. 76). Lévy (2001) claims the dimension of the Web is “oceanic and without shape” (p.154), towards which 26

all who publish on it contribute. Moreover, all Web authors are potentially at the same level: “a child is on an equal footing with a multinational” (Lévy, 2000, p. 154). It is therefore indispensable that we prepare future generations for this new way of being, where everybody is a consumer and a producer and where the ability to search for and assess the quality of the information is critical (Carvalho, 2006; Carvalho et al., 2005). Within a few decades, cyberspace, virtual communities, image banks, interactive simulations, the irrepressible increase in the volume of texts and signs, will be the principal mediator of the collective intelligence of humanity. This new medium of information and communication brings extraordinary kinds of knowledge, unprecedented assessment criteria to guide knowledge, new protagonists in the production and processing of knowledge. The entire education policy should take this into consideration (Lévy, 2000, p. 179). It is along these lines that the Ministries of Science and Technology and Education have been organising various initiatives seeking to encourage the integration of the Internet in schools. In 2002, the Ministry of Science and Technology, in partnership with the Foundation for National Scientific Computation (FCCN), Higher Education Colleges and some Universities organised the Monitoring Programme of Educational Use of the Internet in Public

sísifo 3 | ana amélia amorim carvalho | profiting from the internet in primary and secondary school teaching

Schools of the 1st Cycle of Primary Education, abbreviated to Internet@EB1. This programme continued in the “Basic ICT skills in Primary Schools” project, overseen by the Ministry of Education through the Computers, Networks and Internet in Schools (CRIE) Task Force, and more recently the “Schools, Teachers and Laptop Computers Initiative”, in March 2006. This has led many schools to be equipped with laptops. In order to take advantage of this equipment and the learning potential using the Internet, it is essential not to neglect teacher training. The training has to focus not only on the use of the technology but also on its pedagogical integration in the classroom. In addition to the theoretical contextualisation, the teachers must be given specific application examples in their subject areas so that they can see how to integrate the resources and tools, how to exploit them dynamically, and what their role is in the lesson. Zhao (2007) points out that the knowledge teachers have regarding technology and the way they use it are critical factors for the pupils to successfully learn using the technology. With the rapid evolution of knowledge, education should give priority to the “acquisition of the intellectual ability needed to learn to learn throughout life, obtaining learning information digitally, recombining it and using it to produce knowledge for the desired objective at each given moment” (Castells, 2004, p. 320). As such, the teacher has a new role: to facilitate learning, supporting the pupils in their individual and collaborative construction of knowledge; providing them with autonomy in learning, motivating the development of critical thinking, the ability to take decisions and high-level learning1. A teacher who uses technology is sometimes thought of as an innovative teacher, who organises his lessons following a constructivist approach. We would like to point out that the use of technology is no guarantee, in itself, of a given kind of approach – more directive, centred on the teacher, or more centred on the pupil, more constructivist – or the kind of organisation of the class, in individual or collaborative work. In truth, it can strengthen approaches centred on the teacher. In the study carried out by Zhao (2007), on the integration of technology in lessons, it was found that teachers used the technology

in a continuum that went from an approach centred on the teacher to an approach centred on the pupil. The position we advocate gives particular emphasis to the use of the Internet and its services as a means of learning, individually and collaboratively, not only through free or structured research but also as a means to present and share the work to the class and to anybody who would like to access it online. In this article we begin by looking at the emergence of the knowledge economy on the Web, pointing out its implications in the way we depend on the connections we establish on the Net for permanent updating. Hence, allying the need for connectivity leads inevitably to a new concept: connectivism. This emergence of knowledge on the Net has led to the need for new skills such as searching, selecting and citing; cooperating and collaborating in person and online; and also publishing and sharing online. The diversity of information online as well as the activities geared towards research, automatic correction exercises, simulations, games, among others, constitute resources to be integrated into the teaching practices. On the other hand, the ability to collaborate is increasingly more important, which calls for the teacher to implement dynamic exercises in the classrooms, helping the pupils distinguish collaboration from cooperation. Finally, we shall focus on the advantages and limitations of a Learning Management System (LMS), such as Moodle, a platform to aid learning whereby the teacher and pupils are in personal contact. Given the high number of addresses of Portuguese schools on the official Moodle site, probably as a consequence of the “moodle.edu.pt” project, the need has arisen to research the real use and pedagogy of the system.

The emergence of the knowledge economy in a network The dualism of the knowledge society and the knowledge economy are related, as pointed out by Peters (2007). The ideas of the economy associated with a network arose in the 1970s, when Roland Artle, Christian Averous, Lyn Squire and Jeffrey Rohlfs showed the possibility of an alternative market. In the 1990s global changes took place in


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the IT industries, followed by the liberalisation of telecommunications (idem). Burke (2002) referring to the second wave of sociology of knowledge, mentions among several aspects, that this is different from the first because there has been a change from the acquisition and transmission of knowledge to its construction or production, and that the holders of knowledge are no longer a class or an elite (apud Peters, 2007). The number of Web sites and pages rises on a daily basis. The knowledge constructed doubles every 18 months, according to the American Society of Training and Documentation (ASTD apud Siemens, 2005). The emphasis is no longer on accumulating knowledge but rather on the capacity to select, transform and reuse it in new situations. To make access to information similar or related, Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published the specifications for the semantic Web, the new generation Web, outlining its functionalities. The W3C intends to create a universal means to exchange information, linking descriptions to the documents outlining their meaning to make it easier to search for and localise them. The Semantic Web provides a common framework that allows data to be shared and reused across application, enterprise, and community boundaries. It is a collaborative effort led by W3C with participation from a large number of researchers and industrial partners (W3C, 2007, s.p.). O’ Reilly (2005) proposed the concept of Web 2.0, which consists of the conceptualisation of a new generation of Web applications. The Web is viewed as a platform in which everything is accessible. People no longer need to have software on their computer because it is available online, making immediate editing and publication easy, such as Wikipedia, wiki, podcast, blog. It is a new level of interaction that makes it easy to collaborate and share information, as happens with hi5, myspace, to mention just two kinds of social software. Bryant (2006) also points out the usefulness of “social bookmarking”, such as Del.icio.us, and “social networking”, and Elgg, which encompasses blog, archives and categorisation using tags. 28

Beyond this, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) technology enables subscription to a connection to the page2, with the user receiving notification every time the page is changed. Owing to the ease of access created by the Net, a new approach has been gathering pace – connectivity – which requires that the teachers and pupils have the capacity to deal with knowledge on the network. Knowledge on the Internet, according to Albion and Maddux (2007), gives rise to three pillars: copyright and plagiarism, development of capacities and skills for effective collaboration and assessment of the pupil. With regard to this last point, the authors argue that if the knowledge is on the Net, the assessment should also be reflected on the Net. Likewise, Monereo (2005) acknowledges that the Internet has become a cognitive extension and a widespread means of socialisation, particularly among the young. The author identifies four sociocognitive skills that can and should be enhanced using the Internet: learning to look for information, learning to communicate, learning to collaborate and learning to take part in society. There are endless Net learning opportunities for teachers and pupils. There is a wide range of resources, which implies research and exploration time. Content, automatic correction activities, simulations and games are available for all the subjects. The following example shows how the pupils can be involved in learning and in teaching of content, making the most of the Web resources, sharing the knowledge, encouraging the acquisition of technological skills by the pupils. The author also states that the results obtained in the tests were superior to those obtained using a traditional approach. Instead of lecturing, the participant [teacher] divided students into small groups. Each group explored a different revolution, created a PowerPoint presentation with pictures from the Internet, and then taught the class about their topic. Then, each group created test questions (…) and the teacher drew from their test questions to create a (…) test for the class to take. Further, all students used Inspiration to create a web of the wars and Timeliner program to make a timeline of the major war events (Zhao, 2007, p. 325).


Connectivity and connectivism Connectivity characterises the being of the subject in the network. It is an indispensable capacity in the knowledge economy. Knowing what to connect to has become a bedrock in the perspective of several authors. For example, Castells (2004, p. 76) emphasises the connectivity through an epitaph, mentioning “self-managed connectivity, in other words, the ability of any person to find their own destiny on the Net, and if they do not find it, to create and publish their own information, thus giving rise to the creation of a new Network.” Salvat (2003), in listing ten aspects that characterise the digital generation in teaching-learning situations, outlines connectivity, stating that it supplies various opportunities to access the information and social relations, concluding that: “For this reason this new generation tends to think differently when faced with a problem and the forms of access, searching for information and communication using ICT” (s.p.). Siemens (2005) recognises the importance of connectivity, stating that “we derive our competence from forming connections”. He points out not only the importance of establishing connections between sources of information but also of creating useful information standards. Connections between different ideas and areas can lead to innovations. The author points out that learning theories, such as behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism, do not explore the impact of the technologies and networks on learning, proposing a learning theory for the digital era: connectivism. Siemens (2005) mentions that connectivism integrates the principles of the theories of chaos, network, complexity and self-organisation. He lists the following seven principles of connectivism: - learning and knowledge are based on diversity of opinions; - learning is a process of connecting specialised nodes or sources of information; - learning can be in non-human applications; - the capacity for learning more is more crucial than what is known; - creating and maintaining connections is necessary to enable continuous learning; - the capacity to identify connections between areas, ideas and concepts is crucial;

- to keep up to date is the intention of all the connectivist learning activities; - decision making is in itself a learning process: choosing what to learn and forecasting the consequences of the new information in the real world that will be changed (idem). We do not believe there are grounds to consider connectivism as a learning theory, as described by Siemens (2005), albeit we acknowledge the importance of connectivism in the digital era. The author makes an excellent case as regards the importance of connections in learning. As he points out, the connections that allow us to learn more are more important than the current status of our knowledge. Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing (Siemens, 2005, s.p.). Connectivism is grounded on the fact that the decisions made are based on information that is also constantly changing. Hence, distinguishing between important information and very important information is vital. Likewise, the ability to recognise when new information will change the status of the decisions made has also become crucial, particularly for the organisations. The author points out that the individual and the organisations are learning organisations (Siemens, 2005). One of the skills to develop in this era is to recognise the importance of learning, whereby the subject is aware of the change arising from the new information. Researching: selecting, citing and plagiarising Thirty years ago people accessed information chiefly in libraries, where recent books and articles could be found. Currently, everything, or almost everything, is on the Web. Even if a certain text is not available, at least its reference details will be, and the user can order it. In recent years the Open Access policy has reversed the traditional way some scientific maga-


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zines are processed, making access open to all, free of charge, but maintaining the assessment criteria of the articles by experts in the various fields. Hence, as stated by Albion and Maddux (2007), more than access to information the challenge now is above all to select information. This idea gains more importance when one considers that online publication is not necessarily subject to any prior assessment as to its quality, as usually is the case in a publisher. Furthermore, with Web 2.0 (O’Reilly, 2005) the ease of online publication will widen the scope of potential authors. Therefore, knowing how to search for and assess the quality of the information are today two extremely important complementary requirements. It is necessary to guide the pupils in the assessment of the information found, helping them to identify the parameters that aid them in the process (Carvalho, 2006; Carvalho et al., 2005; Pinto, 2006). Encouraging free searching, without any guidelines, in a classroom of inexperienced pupils will bring more problems than advantages. This kind of approach has led some pupils to associate a lesson searching on the Internet with a lesson surfing the Web; a chance to do what they feel like. Therefore, as well as the general search topic, more specific aspects should be requested, that enable the funnelling of the search and also guide the selection of the information for the pupils. Activities have been devised, such as Treasure Hunt and WebQuest, which take advantage of the resources existing on the Web, providing links to sites and guiding the pupils in the steps to be followed. It has been noted that the pupils react positively, putting full endeavour into the tasks requested (Cruz, 2006; Cruz & Carvalho, 2005; Guimarães, 2005; Martins, 2007). The Treasure Hunt presents as introduction to the topic, several questions about it, preferably of increasing difficulty, links to sites and ends with a question bringing together all the issues raised, namely with the big final question (see example on Albert Einstein3). WebQuest is more complex and is made up of five components: introduction, task, process, assessment and conclusion (see Carvalho, 2002). The concept was created in 1995 by Bernie Dodge and Tom March (Dodge, 1995), with the goal of taking advantage of online resources and encour30

aging teachers to use the technology. Dodge (2002) says the task is the most important component of WebQuest, having proposed twelve kinds of tasks – “WebQuest Taskonomy”. To his great surprise, many of the existing WebQuests are not true WebQuests, because they only request the reproduction of the information found in the sites (Dodge, 2006). The process constitutes, in our opinion, an essential component in guiding the work of the pupils. They receive information about what to do, what sites to access, how to present given information, each step of the way. This makes WebQuest self-sufficient, encouraging the autonomy of the subjects in the learning. Another aspect that cannot be neglected is reference to the sites visited, thus safeguarding author rights and plagiarism. Reusing resources in different contexts is a way of profiting from the information available. Sensitive to these aspects, a lot of sites give permission for reusing material through “Creative Commons”4, although this does not entitle one to omit reference to the origin of the information. Although access is free, the reference should be as complete as possible, indicating the author, year, Internet address (URL) and date of access. In tackling these aspects it is also indispensable to distinguish between citing and plagiarising. Many teachers notice frequent plagiarising in the work of their pupils and often not because the pupils are dishonest; it’s a question of ignorance. Learning how to analyse, summarise and reapply material in different contexts has become indispensable and can simultaneously be a way of combating plagiarism.

Communication, cooperation and collaboration Socio-cognitive skills are attaining more and more importance and can also be developed through the Internet (Monereo, 2005). More and more emphasis is given to collaboration, group dynamics, selfregulation and leadership. Social constructivism values negotiation in the construction of meaning with others (Bonk & Cunningham, 1998; Jonassen et al., 1995; von Glasersfels, 1996). Vygotsky (1978) also views learning as a social process, developing the concept of near development zone. The subjects


benefit from a colleague’s ability or the support of the teacher at a more advanced level and who can help the pupil to make the step up to a higher level of development. Activities such as WebQuest and Treasure Hunt, among others, are based on teamwork, implying interaction among the pupils, negotiation of the ongoing learning, making one responsible for the work being carried out. These activities usually aim to encourage collaborative work which implies constant interaction between the subjects during the undertaking of the tasks. However, often the work actually becomes cooperative, and not collaborative. Although there are different definitions (Dillenbourg, 1999; Gokhale, 1995; Johnson & Johnson, 2000) and even if one does not differentiate between collaboration and cooperation, we believe the terms refer to different situations, with the term cooperative preceding the term collaborative. The two words share the idea of “working with”, but the difference resides in the way the process is carried out. As Henri and Rigault (1996) mention, in a cooperative approach the tasks are divided among the members of the group and are carried out individually, while in a collaborative approach the tasks are carried out by everyone in a continuous process of sharing, dialogue and negotiation. Often pupils quickly decide to carry out the work in a cooperative way, dividing the tasks and making each one responsible for one task. For this reason, it is up to the teachers to tell their pupils how they should work, providing them with guidelines (Hathorn & Ingram, 2002; Johnson & Johnson, 2000; March, 2003; Paulus, 2005). The synchronous online facilities make dialogue and negotiation easier, with chat rooms (MSN) and online telephone or videoconferencing connections (Skype), for example. Shared written tools, such as Wiki, make online publication and the construction of knowledge easier.

Publishing and sharing online When pupils know that their work is going to be made available on the Web, they often gain more satisfaction and put more endeavour into it, because other Internet Users can see what they have pro-

duced. This is especially keenly felt when they receive a comment about the work carried out, such as on a blog (Cruz & Carvalho, 2006). As such they become producers on the Web (Eça, 1998), contributing to the aforementioned oceanic mass (Lévy, 2001). The Web 2.0 tools make publication an easy task. Teachers, colleagues and guardians can monitor the work carried out. The pupils can use the school IT rooms or library to publish online. The luckier ones can work at home. Some have now replaced the homework book with wiki or a blog (Carvalho et al., 2006). In teaching pupils to use free, user-friendly Web publishing tools, one is contributing to the development and preparation of citizens ready for the information and knowledge society. And in this way we are supplying the conditions needed so that pupils can learn with the technology, supporting them in the “construction of meanings” (Jonassen, 2007, p. 21). Studies carried out in this field show that the pupils learn the content, learn to search for and assess the information found, summarise it and present it online (Cruz et al., 2007; Moura & Carvalho, 2006). They feel proud of their work. Teachers who create sites to support the subjects they teach not only plan their lessons, but also the activities to be carried out with links to other sites, as well as integration of tools that can be used collaboratively, such as blogs, podcast and wiki, and communication tools such as forums and chats (cf. Cruz, 2006; Moura, 2005). The activities can be WebQuest, Treasure Hunt, other guided research activities, HotPotatoes exercises, audio information on podcast, videos on YouTube, among others. When viewing the work made available by the pupils, for example through Blogger, Goowy, or Podomatic, the teacher can comment on each piece of work produced. Debates can also take place asynchronously in the forum. At times pupils request assistance online, outside school time, in a chat service. The children’s guardians, as they also see the tasks to be done and the products of the pupils, as well as the comments of the teacher with regard to each piece of work made available, are no longer apprehensive and no longer view the Internet as a moment of leisure in the lessons. There is now a wide range of tools5 available that teachers and pupils can use and which have the ad-


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vantage of being free and making online publication easy. As examples we point out: Blogger, WordPress (blog); Pbwiki, Wikispaces (wiki), Podomatic (podcast: audio and video), Google Docs & Spreadsheets (word processor and spreadsheet), Goowy (personal portal), Bubbl, Glinkr (map of concepts); Timeliner, Dandelife (timeline), Slideshare (sharing of presentations), Flickr (sharing photos), Bubbleshare, Slidestory (sharing photos and audio); Voki (3D presentations); Jumpcut (video and image sharing); Modulus (video), Google Video, DailyMotion and YouTube (video sharing), Google Agenda (agenda), Google Page Creator (Web pages), SurveyMonkey (online questionnaires). There are still many (pupils, teachers and people in general) who only see what others do. These are still in a “voyeur” phase, and they have to grow to attain maturity, beginning to contribute to the Web.

Using Learning Management Systems (LMS): advantages and limitations Learning Management Systems (LMS) came about to support online distance training. The systems make it easier to provide resources in different formats such as text, video and audio, site links, alerts for pupils, teacher-pupil interaction using communication tools, collaborative learning support tools and register of activities undertaken by pupils. The pupil, through an LMS, is in a good position to learn because as Mason (2006) states, “the learner now decides when and where to log on, how to work through the course materials, what resources to draw on, whom to work with collaboratively, when to contribute to discussions, and so on” (p. 65). LMS are now used in a blended-learning regime, to support sessions in which the pupil and teacher are not face to face, and also to support face-to-face teaching in higher education and more recently at different teaching levels. The Ministry of Education through the CRIE Task Force has given training to many teachers in Portuguese schools through the open source Moodle platform, in accordance with the Continuous Training Reference Framework for Teachers in ICT. These initiatives help to make teachers aware 32

of the possible use of technology, in this case the system. However, the training only becomes useful if it is adapted to the prior knowledge of the training teachers and their academic practices. Some issues make us uneasy, such as: will teachers who do not use blog, wiki or chat, for example, in the classroom be able to use these tools in the adopted system? Will they be able to change their teaching style quickly? Will they manage to grasp the advantages and limitations of each method? With regard to the training, Duarte et al. (2007) and Valente and Moreira (2007) are critical and concerned. Some trainers have also complained that although they try to focus on the pedagogical aspects of the system, they are questioned about the technical functionalities. Furthermore, Duarte et al. (2007) mention that “issues related to the administration of a moodle subject are at the centre of the trainers’ concerns, instead of questions about project work and integration of ICT into the everyday school context and the classroom, and the nature of the support materials available and expected training products” (p. 614). The authors point out that: “although there are some advantages in unifying the software used [Moodle] we believe there is also a danger of confusing the product, however good it is, with the software lesson it belongs to” (Duarte et al., 2007, p. 616). Valente and Moreira (2007) reiterate this concern somewhat, mentioning that they “also have some reservations about the efficacy of the way in which a Moodle aspect has pushed its way into the scope of everything labelled training” (p. 798). Based on the interactions registered in the CCUM (Minho University Skills Centre), Valente and Moreira (2007) conclude that the “system is used more as an information bank than a place to build knowledge taking into consideration the huge difference between the page views and the page editing” (p. 789). Following the nationwide endeavour to train teachers in ICT in 2006, implementing the same training model, with the same support materials and using Moodle as a work system, Valente and Moreira (2007, p. 789) ask whether “the platform will become more of a fashion rather than an unmistakeable factor of innovation,” pointing out the need to analyse the assessment reports as regards the training. We add that it is necessary to visit the schools to assess the impact of the training.


As a result of this training, reports have started to appear on the use of the Moodle system, such as those of Lacerda (2007), Lopes and Gomes (2007) and Flores and Flores (2007), experienced teachers at using ICT. Lacerda (2007) states that “this system allows teachers to define a teaching and learning methodology, organising the interaction space in accordance with a given purpose, encouraging selflearning by using a collaboration network” (p. 316), having placed files for viewing or downloading, indicating sites, multiple choice tests carried out on Hot Potatoes, chat, portfolios and forums that were used by pupils (N=42) of two 10th year Biology and Geology classes. Lopes and Gomes (2007) describe an experience carried out from April to June 2006 with a class of 15 Biology and Geology pupils from the 11th year, which intended to involve the pupils in research, sharing and interaction activities. The activities proposed in the time slots of the subject were “writing of dairies to register the learning, participation in discussion forums and organisation of small learning portfolios” (p. 820). Flores and Flores (2007) describe the use of Moodle in the 1st year of Primary Schooling, having created a space for pupils and teachers and another for the children’s guardians. The pupils were provided with “a multi-disciplinary facility: On-line Games, Portuguese Language, Study on the Environment, Mathematics, English and Artistic Expression” (p. 496), which the parents could explore with their children at home. Among the 22 pupils in the class, “10 had a computer and only 5 accessed the Internet” (Flores & Flores, 2007, p. 498). In another study carried out by Cruz (2004) the parents acknowledged the importance of accessing the Internet and purchased a computer and access to the Web. User-friendliness If many of the tools that the systems make available (blog, wiki, chat, forums, automatic correction tests, portfolios, etc) can be found free on the Web, the following question has to be asked: why use a platform when I can group together in one site links to the different tools that I can then choose as the teacher? This problem, to feel the need for a given tool, is felt by the trainers, as reported by Valente and Moreira (2007), “the wide range of accessories that

the system brings is not enough to satisfy the anxiety for innovation that many users feel, leading to a search for new functionalities” (p. 786). The answer lies in the fact that it is easier to use a platform in which there are several tools than to create a site and provide links to the different tools. However, there are two major constraints in using a platform: on the one hand the specific functionalities of each platform, and on the other hand the functionalities that the system administrator has defined as relevant and which may be limiting for the teacher. The administrator defines the functionalities he makes available in a simple platform and if he is not sensitive to collaborative approaches, for example, he may not make the tools required available. Or he may decide that a given tool is of no interest for his lessons, forgetting that it is of interest for other teachers. This is one of the reasons why Moodle platforms accommodate different functionalities. The ease in using them is recognised by the users after an introduction to the platform, as mentioned by Cowan (2006), Carvalho (2007) and Lacerda (2007), among others. Privacy and security on the Internet Accessing a platform usually requires a password. This makes the information private for the teachers and their pupils, who can build a small learning community. In private they share doubts, discoveries, reflections. Teachers and pupils are protected from the curiosity of outsiders. The platform ensures Internet security. Privacy and security are guaranteed. However, as one is in a protected space – the platform – one also loses contact with other people, whether they are school colleagues or pupils from other schools and who would like to leave a “post” on the blog. All are options with their advantages and their limitations. Support given to pupils online either synchronously or asynchronously, in the form of comments made about the work or messages placed on a forum, clarification of doubts, often using “emoticons”, help to create a spirit of sharing and companionship in the learning. Even in the event of illness of the teacher or the pupil, it is possible to stay in touch using this system, provided that a computer connected to the Internet is available at home.


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What about the future? The future is an open book. Everything depends on the options taken and the need each teacher feels to change their practices. We are not in favour of the platform looking like the school site, as happens in some cases. While it is possible to familiarise teachers and students with the environment of the platform, with its interface, one must beware of the other side of the coin. It may induce some teachers into the error of using it as a source of content. If it is called a learning support platform, or more commonly a learning platform, why should it function like a school portal? Why denigrate its functionalities? It would be more useful for the school site to contain useful and pertinent information for the children’s guardians, teachers and pupils, such as location, contacts, management board, timetables, school calendar, times for meeting class heads, among other data. This site should have a link to the platform adopted. As such, the school information made available for the educational agents and the community in general would be distinguished from the learning support platform. This learning environment should be maintained to guide, to question, to reflect, to learn collaboratively. It does not surprise us that in an initial approach the platform may be used as an information deposit. It is inevitable there will be a period of adaptation, and it is simpler to provide content than to use the other tools. Moreover, it is extremely useful for the teacher and the pupils to provide the resources, view them and analyse them. Valente and Moreira (2007) also mention that the platform is being used more as an information bank. Lopes and Gomes (2007, p. 819) report that of the 17 subjects encompassed in the platform of the school, 6 “subjects provide educational materials, but without any interaction activity”, 6 “provide educational material and a forum to help and guide the pupils, but with no interaction activities” and only 5 “provide a range of dynamic activities of interaction and collaboration among pupils and between the pupils and the teacher on the platform”. In this last case several interaction strategies and activities were used, ranging from participation and collaboration in thematic forums to the compiling of digital portfolios and, in some cases, the writing of lesson 34

diaries and self-assessment activities online” (ibidem). The pupils themselves valued the resources on the platform when surveyed, and the data was backed up by the number to times the platform was accessed, as the teachers stated: “out of all visits to the virtual space, approximately 80% were made to access the resources and only around 15% to take part in some interaction activity” (Lopes & Gomes, 2007, p. 821). Pupils also take time to get used to the new methodologies. Other studies have shown the need for pupils to confirm the task to be carried out with the teacher, no matter how explicit the instructions on the site are (Barros, 2006; Cruz, 2006; Guimarães, 2005; Oliveira, 2002). These facilities act as guides for the pupils’ learning, making them no longer dependent on the teacher which can take time. Likewise, they are adapted to the new approaches and acknowledge their importance in the learning and recognise that it needs time to get used to a different form of learning. We must not forget that pupils are used to having their assessment centred on the content, thus acknowledging the importance of the content contained in the platform is coherent with a method they are not familiar with. In the official Moodle site6, Portugal is very well represented with 1023 Portuguese sites registered out of a total of 26 846 coming from 184 countries, which is certainly down to the “moodle.edu.pt” project7. We now require studies that allow us to assess what is being done with the platform. Among the teachers who receive training, how many are using the system in their subjects? What functionalities do they use? How do they take advantage of the platform in the classroom and outside it? Do they provide online support for their pupils? Is the system being used as a resource bank and/or as a space for sharing learning? What impact does it have on the learning? What do the teachers and pupils think about the system? What role does the Management Board play in making the platform a dynamic part of the school? These are some of the questions that must be answered to understand how a system that now deserves to be called the Moodle phenomenon is being used.


Conclusion Throughout this article we have advocated the use of resources that exist on the Web and pointed out the need to learn how to search for and assess the information found and to properly refer to the sources. It is important that pupils know the difference between citing and plagiarising. There are a series of free tools available on the Web which allow the building of blogs, wikis, podcasts, concept maps, etc., which arouse the interest of pupils and motivate them to learn because they are also going to publish online and will receive comments from colleagues, the teacher and possibly other Internet users. They learn how to criticise the work of others and carry out work in collaboration, taking advantage of the ease of publication and interacting on the Web using the tools available on Web 2.0. There are many teachers who, aware of the importance of these tools, develop sites with resources, activities, collaborative and communication tools, creating interactive dynamics with their pupils where they share work, doubts and reflections and where collaborative learning is possible through challenging tasks. All these functionalities can be implemented in a learning support platform, with the advantage of the teacher and pupils having privacy and feeling secure that they are not exposed to other Internet Users. The system requires that the teacher has knowledge of the technology, and is creative and extremely dedicated to design and carry out the activities. There are other platforms, such as the “Virtual School”, which provides the programmed content of each subject with interactive learning activities and guidelines for the pupils. In a study carried out by Santos (2006), 12th-year Mathematics pupils and teachers considered integration of the Virtual School into the lessons extremely beneficial. We believe that at this point it is up to the Ministry of Education to take responsibility for providing interactive high quality content for the different teaching levels, as happens in Brazil in the Virtual Interactive Education Network (RIVED) site, where there are many objects of learning ready to be used, which intend to stimulate reasoning and critical thinking. This enables teachers to download the content and insert it into the system in their subject.

3D environments having been gaining popularity such as Active Worlds, There, Red Light Centre, and especially Second Life (SL). The virtual world in 3D is built by the residents, with each person creating their own character. Opened to the public in 2003, it currently contains 7 256 167 people according to the information on the SL site8. It has been used particularly in higher education, but since 2005 a space was created for adolescents, the Teen Second Life. Open University, in the United Kingdom, is currently undertaking the “Schome Park” project, developed in Teen Second Life. The encouraging results obtained in the pilot study suggest that 3D learning environments could have a promising future. The very name of the project Schome (not school, not home) suggests a hybrid place. In the site (Twining, 2007) of the project a new way of educating is advocated, which will support lifelong learning. It will encompass physical and virtual spaces and focuses on the process. With mobile technologies such as Tablet PCs, PDAs and mobile phones becoming less and less expensive, access at any place at any time to the information desired online is beginning to get easier. In addition, from September 2007 onwards the eInitiatives programme gets underway, within the scope of the New Opportunities project, where primary and secondary school teachers and pupils, among others, can acquire a laptop and broadband access at low cost. Above all, we would like to conclude drawing attention to the need to have an open and adaptable spirit to new tools which can be taken advantage of in the teaching-learning process. What today seems fascinating will soon belong to the past. The arrival of the new Seadragon portal will change the way we use screens and navigate through the information. With Microsoft Surface we will be able to change the way we interact with digital content: without a mouse or keyboard, the screen is integrated into a table and with hands one interacts with the content, also allowing several people to work simultaneously. These new innovations will change the way we interact with the content and how we communicate, but what is most important is to create situations that involve the pupils in the learning, help them to develop critical thinking and to prepare them for decision making in a globalised and competitive society.


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Endnotes 1. Equivalent to the expression “higher-order thinking”. 2. The sites must have RSS feeds. 3. “Albert Einstein: Treasure Hunt”. At http:// www.iep.uminho.pt/aac/diversos/CT/einstein/ (visited in June 2007). 4. “Through Creative Commons, the author of a text defines the conditions to share the material with third parties, in a proactive and constructive way. All the licences require that the author of the text be credited in the way he specifies.” At http://www.creativecommons.pt/ (visited in June 2007) 5. Web Tools –Web 2.0 –List of Web 2.0 application links. At http://www.web20searchengine.com/ web20/web-2.0-list.htm (visited in June 2007). 6. http://moodle.org/sites/ (visited on 11 June 2007). 7. Project to disseminate the Moodle platform throughout primary and secondary school education. At http://moodle.crie.min-edu.pt/mod/resource/view.php?id=10074 (visited in June 2007). 8. http://secondlife.com/ (visited on 20 June 2007).

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Translated by Thomas Kundert



issn 1646‑6500

The Limits and Possibilities of ICT in Education Guilhermina Lobato Miranda [email protected] Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Lisbon

Abstract: I will begin this article by clarifying the concept of Educational Technology and its related terms. I will then go on to analyse the more conclusive results of research in this field in order to describe the projects in which I have been involved, where technology was used to produce innovation. This article does not mention any cognitive or educational “revolutionary experience”, since this would surpass the limits of what technology is capable of accomplishing. Part of the education of the new generations has to be conservative, i.e., the experience and knowledge constructed by earlier generations has to be passed down. Disciplinary knowledge is an exemplary condensation of human effort and talent. How can technology support the transmission and acquisition of such knowledge? Besides being capable of using technology, should the new generations not also have a rational and educated discourse on the subject? Is this not the role of the school also? These are some of the main issues I wish to address.

Keywords: Educational Technology, Information and Communication Technology, Teaching and Learning, Virtual Learning Environments

Miranda, Guilhermina Lobato (2007). The Limits and Possibilities of ICT in Education. Sísifo. Educational Sciences Journal, 03, pp. 39‑48. Retrieved [month, year] from http://sisifo.fpce.ul.pt

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Introduction

Definitions

Human beings have a natural tendency to simplify the information they receive from the environment. They create categories and associations so as to memorise and understand what is going on around them. One of the most recurring associations in education is bringing teaching and learning together. This is only natural. Indeed, it is hoped by the teacher that what is taught is learned and in turn, the aim of the learner is to memorise and understand what is taught. Teaching and learning are two sides of the same coin, though they are not always in tune. There should be a relationship of sorts between what is taught and what is learned, however, as research has shown, it is not a simple one. By the same token, the concept of technology has been associated with that of innovation and both with advances in the teaching and learning processes. It is thought that the introduction of new technological resources in the teaching process will produce positive results in learning. This stems from the belief that these new resources will change the way teachers have taught up to now and the way pupils have been learning. Furthermore, it is believed that new programmes, methods and curricula will guarantee better learning. Throughout the article we will see that such simple assertions are not always true.

Let us begin with a conceptual clarification. What exactly are we talking about when we refer to Educational Technology (ET), Educational Technologies, Applied Educational Technologies, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), New Information Technologies (NIT) or New Information and Communication Technologies (NICT), Computer Literacy and Technological Education? The term Educational Technology already has a tradition in the Anglo-Saxon world. This field of education goes back to the 1940s and was developed by Skinner a decade later with programmed education (See Skinner, 1953, 1968). The term is not restricted to the technical resources used but covers all processes to do with the conception, development and evaluation of learning. Hence, the terms Educational Technology and Instructional Technology are used as synonyms for the “theory and practice of the planning, development, use, management and evaluation of learning processes and resources” (cit. Thompson; Simonson & Hargrave, 1996, p. 2), with a view to stabilising the terminology used in this field. This definition covers what is considered to be the field of Educational Technology, which includes three subfields, each of which has an impact on the student and his/her learning: 1) the functions of educational management, 2) the functions of educational development, and 3) learning resources. As we may see, the term Educational Technology is rooted in an Anglo-Saxon tradition which gives value to educa-

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tion and is influenced by theory produced within the framework of learning psychology, namely by behavioural and cognitive theories as well as the more recent constructivist theories. The Theory of Systems and the Theory of Communication (see Thompson, Simonson & Hargrave, 1996) are also theoretical inspirations in the field of Educational Technology. The term Applied Educational Technologies may be considered a synonym for Educational Technologies since it refers to all forms of technological applications to the processes involved in educational functioning, including the application of technology to financial and administrative management or to any other process including, of course, the educational process, itself. For those who work in the field of Educational Technology not only the resources and technical progress are of interest, but also, and particularly, the processes which determine and improve learning. These may include specific types of technical resources such as, for example, the computer and the Internet. The use of the computer and the Internet for educational purposes may be considered a sub-field of Educational Technology. The term Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) refers to the combination of computer technology and telecommunication technology, which is particularly strongly in the World Wide Web (WWW). When such technologies are used for educational purposes, namely to support and improve the learning of students and to develop learning environments, we may consider ICT a subfield of Educational Technology. The terms New Educational Technologies (NTI) and New Information and Communication Technologies (NICT) seem, therefore, redundant as the reference to “New” brings nothing to the boundary and clarification of the field. Furthermore, what may be new today is no longer so tomorrow. As the reader may have already noticed, I prefer to use the term “Educational Technology” to define a theoretical research field with which I am familiar. However, I do not consider the terms “Educational Technologies” or “Information and Communication Technologies” to be unsuitable, as long as they are used in the above-mentioned sense. The term Computer Literacy may be defined as “a set of competences, knowledge and attitudes

in relation to computers which enable one to use computer technology confidently in daily life” (McInnerney, McInnerney & Marsh; Soloway, Turk & Wilay, cited by Tsai & Tsai, 2003, p. 48). This definition covers three areas which require clarification: the first, knowledge and competences with regard to computer technology; secondly, positive attitudes towards technology and finally, having the confidence to use computers comfortably, without anxiety. Therefore, the aim of computer literacy should be to support teachers and students in their initial acquisition or to improve their competences and knowledge in this area, to develop positive attitudes towards the computer and the Internet and to reduce anxiety towards its use and understanding. It should also support students, particularly those in secondary education, to critically analyse the evolution of technology and its fields of application. Here, however, we are already entering Technological Education, another area. This is a far broader concept than the previous one, since it implies “knowing how to use” technology as well as analysing its evolution and impact on society. It also assumes the development of a rational discourse on technology. As Postman says (2002), “Technological education is not a technical subject, it is a branch of humanities” (p. 218). Education is only truly technological when students are taught the historical background of the different technologies (illuminated manuscripts, alphabet, typography… computers and the Internet) and their creators, their economic, social and psychological effects and even how they have reconstructed the world and continue to do so. It is also necessary to show how technology “creates new worlds, both good and bad” (Postman, 2002, p. 219). Furthermore, students should be taught to read and interpret and know how to differentiate the information that is transmitted to us by various symbols. For example, how do images differ from words, a painting from a photograph, spoken from written discourse? Going back to the concept of technological literacy, first of all, some issues need to be addressed: a) What knowledge and competences should the students acquire in school, from pre-school up to the end of secondary education? b) How should the learning of this knowledge be organised and sequenced by developing a spiral curriculum? c)

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Should such knowledge and competences be integrated in the curricula of the already existing subjects, should autonomous subjects be created (especially from the 2nd cycle of basic education onwards) or should both these strategies be used simultaneously? There are no hard and fast answers to these questions. I believe that the best strategy is to supply the schools with some level of technology (namely computers with access to the Internet) and to use it in other subjects as well as the specific ones, such as ICT in Levels 9 and 10, an option brought in by the Ministry of Education.

Technology and the teaching and learning processes In this part of the article, I would like to briefly describe some of the more innovative experiences with computer technology for developing learning environments. However, first of all, I would like to mention the more conclusive research results and characteristics in the field of educational technology and discuss what characteristics are considered to be representative of effective learning nowadays. Research Results Research has shown that the strategy of adding technology to the already existing activities in school and in the classroom, without changing habitual teaching practices, does not produce good results in student learning (See De Corte, 1993; Jonassen, 1996; Thompson, Simonson & Hargrave, 1996, among others). Nevertheless, this has been one of the most widely used strategies. There are a number of understandable reasons for this, but two of them are particularly important. The first is due to the fact that the vast majority of teachers are not proficient users of technology, especially computer technology. A number of studies have shown that most teachers consider the two main obstacles to using technology in pedagogical practices to be a lack of resources and training (See. Paiva, 2002; Pelgrum, 2001; Silva, 2003; among others). The second reason is based on how the innovative integration of technologies demands great re42

flection and the alteration of teaching conceptions and practices, something most teachers are reluctant to take onboard. Changing these aspects is not easy at all since it depends largely on effort, persistence and dedication. The problem is that some teachers have a romantic conception of the processes that determine learning and knowledge construction and, concomitantly, the use of technology in teaching and learning. They think that equipping classrooms with computers and the Internet is sufficient for students to learn and for practices to change. We know very well that this is not the case. As I have already mentioned, the most conclusive research results based on the monitoring of the large scale introduction of computer technology in education (especially since the 80s) show that simply adding these resources to the activities that already exist in schools does not produce visible positive results in student learning, in classroom dynamics or in teacher dedication (De Corte, 1993; Jonassen, 1996; among others). Some authors, such as Clark (1994), believe that Educational Media alone will never influence student performance. Positive effects only emerge when the teachers believe and adopt a “wholehearted” approach to the learning and mastering of this area and when they draw up challenging and creative activities which make the fullest use of the possibilities provided by technology. For this to be accomplished, teachers need to present technology to students a) as a new formalism for processing and representing information; b) as a means to support students in their construction of significant knowledge; c) in order to develop projects, by creatively integrating (and not adding) new technologies in the curriculum. Let us briefly analyse each one of these aspects. Considering that teachers should use computer tools as new formalisms in order to process and represent information first implies understanding that written language, the decimal system and basic arithmetic operations, the logic of classes and relations (classification systems), graphs… are Conventional Information Representation and Processing Systems, in which all communication power and knowledge processing is contained (Mendelsohn, 1999). In this literate and post industrialised world of ours, they should be learned and dominated with


a certain amount of skill by the end of the 1st Cycle, when the children are aged between 9 and 10 years, and this learning process should continue until they are fully mastered by them. What is interesting is that the learning of these systems radically changes the way children perceive the world and themselves (mainly in terms of self-awareness), in other words, they interfere with the natural course of development (Luria, 1990; Vygotsky, 1991, 1994) by broadening it (Bruner, 1998, 1999). Cognitive development follows a pattern that is characterised precisely by the progressive mastery of spatial representations (forms and transformations), symbolic representations (where language and the written word are influential) the processing of relations (creating category systems, classes and their relations) and the processing of dimensions (number, arithmetic and later algebra). There seems to be harmony between the development of superior psychological functions (Vygotsky, 1994) and conventional information processing and representation systems. What happens is that these computer systems, seen as new formalisms for processing and representing information, which are strongly anchored to conventional systems, will change how children are accustomed to learning and also broaden their cognitive development. The following are examples: text processors have changed the way children write; not only do they need to learn the conventions and procedures of writing on paper, but also the procedures and functions of a text editor. The same may be said of the design programmes, graphs and data bases. They alter the way of creating design, graphs and classifying things since they are based on formalisms which are not the same as traditional ones. They demand new ways of learning and increase the former ones. In most schools teachers believe this type of learning may be acquired through analogical transference, without the need for a more structured and formal type of learning, which has led to some disappointment. However, if the teacher masters these new tools, he/she will be in a position to offer support to students to explore the potentiality of these new information processing and representation systems. Writing may be expressed in a far more flexible way when a text processor is used. Constructing and transforming graphs can be a very rewarding activ

ity, not to mention the construction of data bases on every subject imaginable. Changes in ways of learning and cognitively organising information will not be visible immediately, since all mental change processes are slow and can last generations. However, the learning of certain symbolic systems and their formalisms interferes with, or rather, leaves its “marks” on mental and even brain organisation according to Vygotsky (1991, 1994) and Luria (1990) and has an impact on what is being brought to light by research in the field of neurosciences (See Squire & Kandel, 1999). With these new information and communication processing and representation systems, teachers may develop activities to encourage the acquisition of significant disciplinary knowledge. This can only occur if learning is viewed as a (re)constructive, cumulative, self-regulated, intentional, contextualised and collaborative process. Learning is a re(constructive) process, which means that students construct new knowledge on the basis of already acquired structures and representations on the phenomena being studied and may be cognitively and emotionally involved in the processing of new information. Effective learning should demand effort and keep the pupils motivated to accomplish tasks. This must be achieved with an optimum level of uncertainty (Bruner, 1999) and within the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1991), in other words, it should not prevent the crisis of thinking (Van Hiele, 1986). Teachers should take care not to impose their structure and thinking style on the students but instead, create situations, problems, exercises and projects that will lead the pupils to higher levels of knowledge. Cumulative learning implies that new knowledge is acquired on the basis of previously accomplished learning (Gagné, 1975). All subjects demand this previous knowledge. However, there are some which are more cumulative than others, such as mathematics and also physics, to a certain extent. Here, the main problem seems to stem from the difficulty in altering conceptions already developed by the pupils to explain different phenomena, before initiating their scientific study. These spontaneous concepts often contradict those accepted by the scientific community and, more often than not, hinder rather than facilitate further learning (See Gardner, 1993; Pina, 2005).

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Self-regulated learning means that the teachers should support students in their development of learning strategies, so as to acquire study and intellectual work habits as well as patterns for correcting their own work, with a view to acquiring progressive independence from the teacher (See Brown, 1987; Collins & Brown, 1988). Learning for specific purposes implies that knowledge, on the part of students, of the purposes or requirements to be met in each learning situation, facilitates the process of knowledge construction since it guides him/her towards an intention or objective (See Bruner, 1999). Furthermore, it has the advantage of motivating students to achieve the established aims, thus, guaranteeing greater ability to overcome the obstacles found in any learning process (See Gagné, 1984; Lemos, 2005). Nowadays, it is generally thought that effective learning should also be contextualised and collaborative. While the afore-mentioned characteristics leave me with no doubts, these two have not yet been proven by the research results. Nevertheless, they are important learning characteristics, especially in terms of environments that can be modelled with recourse to computers and the Internet. Contextualised learning means that its meaning comes from the context in which it took place. The contexts themselves facilitate or hinder the application of knowledge. People learn not only that which is directly taught to them, but they also develop participation patterns in practising communities by progressively adapting to the discourse, knowledge and know-how of each community, its resources and even identities (See Greeno, 1998; Lave, 1997; Lave & Wenger, 1995; among others). So, the creation of practising and learning communities is facilitated today by the Internet. To say that learning is collaborative means that it occurs in contexts in which social practices imply collaboration among students and, likewise, between students and adults. In principle, the latter become tutors who progressively mould specific knowledge and attitudes. In these situations, learning is viewed primarily as a social interaction process which should be encouraged by teachers. For example, the development of cognitive structures, especially formal thinking, depends largely on cognitive decentration, i.e., being able to cooperate with others, in 44

other words, accomplish tasks together by listening to arguments and counter arguing (Perret-Clermont & Schubauer-Leoni, 1989; Piaget, 1971). The Internet can facilitate such collaborative learning if the teacher creates projects where students (and other adults) may carry out activities, resolve problems in cooperation and participate in common tasks. However, not all learning is achieved collaboratively and not all students are comfortable or learn in this kind of environment (See Hopper, 2003). Around 20% of university students prefer to work and learn alone (McClanaghan, 2000, cited by Hopper, 2003). As we may see, it is not enough to introduce computers and the Internet in schools to obtain positive results in student learning. It is also necessary to reflect on what makes it effective and to change the organisation of the spaces and curricula activities so that these new tools may support the acquisition of significant disciplinary knowledge. For instance, the use of technology in the educational practices of teachers may contribute towards greater technological literacy for students and teachers, generate motivation, create relationship networks, etc. These are all extremely important aspects for the integration, and not the addition, of technology to curricular activities. Experiments The following four experiments highlight what I have just mentioned. Due to the word limit imposed upon this article, I will briefly describe only one of them. Further information may be found in the works listed in the bibliography. One of these experiments was developed within the context of research leading to a PhD and is called Concepção de um ambiente de aprendizagem Logo em meio escolar: efeitos na cognição e nos conhecimentos geométricos de crianças de 9-10 anos [Conception of a learning environment within a school framework: effects on the cognition and geometric knowledge of 9 to 10 year old children] (Miranda, 1998). Two were carried out by students taking a Master’s degree in Education Sciences, the specialisation area in Educational Technology. One is entitled Comunidade Virtual de Aprendizagem de Matemática: uma experiência com alunos do 10º ano de escolaridade [Virtual Maths Community: experiment with Level 10 pupils (Inácio, 2006) and the other is called


Integrar a teoria e a prática através de um fórum de discussão: um estudo de investigação-acção aplicado à enfermagem da criança e do adolescente [Integrating theory and practice through a discussion forum: a research-action study applied to the nursing of the child and adolescent] (Paixão, 2006). The last experiment was developed in the context of preparing a degree monograph and is called Projecto Prom@tic (Rolo, 2001). An article was published describing this experiment (Miranda & Rolo, 2002) and is available online at: http://www.leeds. ac.uk/educol/documents/00002194.htm. Virtual Maths Community This experiment was developed in the academic year 2004/2005, with a Level 10 class by Ricardo Inácio, a student of the Master’s degree in Educational Technology at the time. This experiment has since been continued. The main aim was to create, develop and evaluate a virtual maths environment (VLE). It also set out to study the factors that have positive and negative impacts on the development of a virtual learning community (VLC) in a school environment, functioning as a compliment and not a substitution for contact hours in the classroom. It was also the aim to analyse the effects of this environment on school results and student approaches to learning. The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) was based on the WWW and acted as a support resource to student learning for the three areas that integrate the Maths program: Plane and Spatial Geometry I, Functions I and Statistics. The construction of this virtual environment, as the author states, “has been characterised as a slow, evolutionary phased process” (Inácio, 2006, p. 99). The creation and construction of the page took nine months and underwent a number of stages. I will only refer to the most important ones: (a) creation of storyboards, which consisted of drawings and tables with reference to colours, sources, texts, navigation bars, content layout and communication tools; (b) development of the page, conciliating a variety of programming languages; (c) validation of the VLE, by specialists, both from a technical perspective and in terms of maths content; (d) presentation of the VLE to the students, explaining how it functioned and what the aims were.

There is a great variety of content in this VLE but, as far as I am concerned, the most interesting is the combination of the different types of content with the maths activities, the synchronic and asynchronous communication activities and also the social activities. The tools that were available were used by the students, some more than others, as is common in all environments, be they presential or virtual. The teacher had an important role in stimulating this environment, not only in terms of the teaching and learning process, but even in the construction of a real virtual Maths community. Transforming an environment into a virtual community is not an easy task since there has to be a group of people who share knowledge, interests, and aims in a specific field and where friendships may be made through cyberspace (See Inácio, 2006). The varying durability of Virtual Learning Communities also depends on a number of factors. However, the role of the motivator is crucial so that the “life span” of a VLC may be longer. The one we are describing lasted an academic year even though the teacher is extending the experiment to another Level 10 class. The most remarkable results of this study are: (1) understanding that it is possible to create, develop and use virtual learning communities in secondary education to the service of the pupils and the innovation of teaching methods, especially in a subject that is generally considered to be difficult and in which there is a high failure rate; (2) analysis of the factors that facilitate and hinder the construction of a VLC, thus, contributing to the understanding of these communities; (3) greater interest in this subject on the part of most pupils, despite the fact that those who used and benefited most from this environment were the pupils who were initially prepared to study and give more importance to academic commitment; (4) the existence of a positive and significant correlation between VLC Frequency and Pupil Classifications (r=0,715; p What is the boling point of water? Correct Determination of the fusion point of lead Temperature Heating time (mins) Restart What is the fusion point of lead? Correct 2. Figure 2 Roteiro de Exploração for the simulation “Fusion and Boiling Points” Name ______ No. ____ Class ____ Date ____ The temperature at which a solid substance melts, called the fusion point. For example, aluminium melts at 600ºC, while iron melts at 1540ºC. The distinction between liquid substances can be made not only by the temperature at which they solidify, but also the temperature at which they boil, called boiling point. In this simulation “Fusion and boiling Points”, you can choose substances and determine their 106

fusion or boiling point from the graph reading of the temperature according to time. Fusion and Boiling Points 1. On the screen with the table of substances, choose water to determine the fusion point and then click on the following button. Click on one of the substances below and see their fusion and boiling points Fusion Point 1. Water 2. Sulphur 3. Lead Boiling Point 1. Water 2. Ethanol (Alcohol) 3. Acetone 2. A container with the selected substance in its solid state, a thermometer and temperature graph based on heating time are shown on the following screen. Click on the start button and you will be able to see the simulation from the beginning of the heating of the substance. At the end you can restart the simulation. Determination of the fusion point of water Temperature Heating time (mins) Start a. Once the heating has started, what do you see in the container? b. What change of stage occurs in the substance? c. As the heating takes place, what happens to the temperature on the thermometer? d. Make a note of what you see on the graph. e. What does the constant level of the graph correspond to? f. What is the fusion point figure of this substance? 2. Repeat the same for the other two substances and indicate their fusion points. Substance Water Sulphur Lead

Fusion Point

sísifo 3 | carla mor ais / joão paiva | digital simulation and experimental activities in physics and chemistry

4. After determining the fusion points, it is time to select a substance from the boiling point table and to proceed in the same way to determine the fusion point. Click on one of the substances below and see their fusion and boiling points Fusion Point 4. Water 5. Sulphur 6. Lead Boiling Point 4. Water 5. Ethanol (Alcohol) 6. Acetone 6. A flask with the selected substance in its liquid state, a thermometer and temperature graph based on heating time are shown on the following screen. Click on the start button and you will be able to see the simulation from the beginning of the heating of the substance. At the end you can restart the simulation. Determination of the boiling point of ethanol. Temperature Heating time (mins) Start

Bibliographical references Adell, J. (1997). Tendencias en educación en la sociedad de las tecnologías de la información. Edutec: Revista Electrónica de Tecnologia Educativa, 7. Retrieved May 2007 from http://www.uib.es/ depart/gte/revelec7.html Boyle, T. (1997). Design for multimedia learning. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Europe. Cachapuz, A.; Praia, J. & Jorge, M. (2002). Ciência, Educação em Ciência e Ensino das Ciências. Lisboa: CEEC. Departamento da Educação Básica (2001). Ciências Físicas e Naturais – Orientações Curriculares para o 3º ciclo do Ensino Básico. Lisboa: Mi nistério da Educação. Fiolhais, C.; Fiolhais, M; Gil, V.; Paiva, J.; Morais, C. & Costa, S. (2006). 7CFQ – Ciências Físico-Químicas 7º Ano. Lisboa: Texto Editores. Gunstone, R. (1991). Reconstructing theory from practical experience. In B. Woolnough (ed.),

Practical Science. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, pp. 67-77. Livro Verde (1997). Livro Verde para a Sociedade da informação em Portugal. Missão para a Sociedade da informação. Lisboa: Graforim. Martins, Anabela et al. (2002). Livro Branco da Física e da Química – Diagnóstico 2000 Recomendações 2002. Lisboa: Sociedade Portuguesa de Física, Sociedade Portuguesa de Química. Martins, Anabela et al. (2005). Livro Branco da Física e da Química – Opinião dos alunos 2003. Lisboa: Sociedade Portuguesa de Física, Sociedade Portuguesa de Química. Ministério da Educação (2001). Decreto-Lei nº 6/2001. Retrieved May 2007 from http://www.spn.pt/Default.aspx?aba=27&cat=22&doc=417&mid=115 Mintzes, J.; Wandersee, J. & Novak, J. (1998). Teaching Science For Understanding. San Diego: Academic Press. Morais, C. (2006). “+ Química Digital” – Recursos digitais no ensino da Química: uma experiência no 7.º ano de escolaridade. Tese de Mestrado em Educação Multimédia. Porto: Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto. Oliveira, T. (1999). Trabalho Experimental e Formação de Professores. Colóquio Ensino experimental e Construção de saberes. Lisboa: Conse lho Nacional da Educação. Paiva, J. & Morais C. (2006). Molecularium: molecular simulations on line for the teaching of chemistry; 8th European Conference on Research in Chemical Education (ECRICE). Budapest: Hungary. Roerden, P. (1997). Net lessons: web-based projects for your classroom.Sebastopol: O’Reilly & Associates. Salomon, G. (2002).Technology and Pedagogy Why Don’t We See the Promised Revolution? Educational Technology, 42, 2, pp. 71-75. Sweeney, A. & Paradis, J. (2004). Developing a laboratory model for the professional preparation of future science teachers: a situated cognition perspective. Research in Science Education, 34, pp. 195-219. Wild, M. (1996). Technology Refusal: rationalising the failure of students and beginning teachers to use computers. British Journal of Educational Technology, 27, 2, pp. 134-143.

Translated by Tânia Lopes da Silva

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Book reviews

Life on the Screen. Identity in the Age of the Internet, by Sherry Turkle Web 2.0, Second Life, virtual communities, avatars, social software, instant messenger, are often topics of conversation and discussion, whether enthusiastically or with a certain apprehension and disapproval, above all when the question is raised about the socio-effective development of the generations who already have a good command of these tools. In the discussion, opinions are divided between those who view this configuration as a breakdown of physical and cultural barriers and those who consider that we are treating human relations and the relationship with the world too lightly. So that we can place ourselves in a critical position in the light of these practices, Sherry Turkle’s work is a useful and enlightening tool, as the research she has been developing is in the field of the subjective relationship and intimacy we establish with technology. In this work, Sherry Turkle, professor of Social Studies in MIT, traces a temporal chart of the last decades of how we have come to relate to computers and technology and how we have been thinking of ourselves and of the apparatus in this relationship, whether in the realm of philosophy, scientific investigation or even literature and cinema. Broaching themes like computer interface, artificial intelligence and MUDs (Multi-User Domains – simulations of real life in which the users participate, creating characters and interacting with them), Sherry Turkle bases her study on interviews with users who have different experiences with computers, to refer to an “erosion of frontiers between the real and the virtual, the animate and the inanimate, the unified self and the multiple self ” (p. 12). Thus, what happens in the virtual worlds also touches life offline even because, it should be reminded, the idea of virtual reality precedes

communication networks and the idea of cyberspace, despite arguments about the dangers of the Internet and the possible discrepancy between real and virtual life. The participation in these virtual worlds is presented in this work as a simulation of something, a simulation that has invaded our lives for a long time, as Baudrillard (1991) foresaw. Once this false real/virtual opposition has been overcome, the writer states that experiences with computers and the establishment of technology in our daily lives enable “people to reach a certain understanding of post-modernism and recognise its usefulness in portraying certain aspects of their experiences both online and offline” (p. 25). To summarise, I present some key ideas that make Life on the Screen relevant to our understanding of our relationship with technology: • From humans to cyborgs. The writer shows how, during recent decades, the reflection on the human/machine “opposition”, which was due to rapid technological development, created an inverse effect: we think of our humanity via the computer, we define it through the computer, an idea which is not strange to Donna Haraway (2006) for whom, rather than being humans, we become humans. We become human with others, whether in relation with animals or technology. The computer is, therefore, for these writers, a cipherobject which condenses the nucleus of human “nature” that has been “settling”. There are many examples given by Sherry Turkle, which illustrate this relationship. Thus, the writer refers to the use of the personal computer in the development and diffusion of psychotherapies, which led to adapt these theories to the machine and, as such, to invest in some psychological theories and not in others. In the same way, we began to think about our “programability”, like the machine, with the

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development of studies on ADN and the proliferation of antidepressants. Also studies on artificial intelligence are based more and more on the idea that the machine has a measure of unpredictability, just like the human mind which today we consider to be emergent, decentralized and with multiple subjectivities. Human and machine exist side by side and the difference we see between them becomes more and more subjective. • We establish intimate relationships with the computer. The intimate relationships we form with the computer are varied, from the successful use of psychotherapeutic software for treating depression (which, surprisingly, made the users feel the need to make confidences to the machine), to the “personalization” we make of its surfaces. We want to be alone with our personal computer, building up its “content” and adorning our virtual space. We do not want to dominate the workings of the computer and try to know it as we know a person: we discover short cuts, tricks and peculiarities. Thus, “the physical object has been relegated to the background. The psychological object has become the centre of attention and the object of additional elaboration” (p. 115), says Turkle. In this way, we follow the magical mind of the child for whom toys may have their own personality. The writer places the blossoming of the self-help and “do-it-yourself ” world in a context in which the computer becomes the ideal partner for organizing our daily life. The computer, according to Turkle, is therefore a mirror of our self. • The Internet brings people together and at the same time pushes them away. Through interaction with other online users, “we project onto our computer screens our personal fantasies in which we are the producers, directors and stars” (p. 37). We can be physically isolated, disconnected from the outside world and at the same time, form significant relationships with other users who are geographically a long way away and whose profile would unlikely be found among our “real life” friends. For other authors, as Sherry Turkle herself says, this is a symptom of the decline in the depth and authenticity with which we experiment with our emotions. Besides, and as Bauman (2005) states, we need the computer and other technologies to be connected to others. We use the mobile phone and text messages so that we can feel that someone is available at any time and is concerned about us. In the same way, one of the charms of the virtual worlds is that there is always someone interested in interacting with us. • A performing relationship. In virtual worlds, we can create characters we can play and whom we can more or less identify with in our life offline. We can 110

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keep up a performance to fit the character. As the writer points out, this culture enables us to think about our own identity as being fluid, multiple and complex. She uses as an example the possibility of adopting a different or ambiguous gender online, and the need that many users feel to do this, whether by widening the possibilities of performance or by being able to carry out fantasies which we can accept and fulfil only in a virtual world, understood as a suspension of reality. Thus, the writer returns to the idea of gender performance, the last category of organization of docile bodies, just as suggested by Judith Butler (2003). So we can say that via the identity(ies) we use online, we can think of our identity(ies) offline. • The computer as a metaphor. The writer shows us how, throughout the last decades, computers have ceased to be considered “giant calculators” whose “innards” could be analysed and known, as its behaviour was linear and its program code obeyed rigid, universal criteria. They are now seen as opaque objects, too complicated to be understood and without the need to understand the inner workings to use them. In parallel, the way of thinking about society and our philosophy of our daily life, according to Turkle, changed in the same direction, in a way that it is no longer viable “to analyse complicated things by fragmenting them into simpler parts to enable us to know their contours” (p. 63). When we thought would be able to know the “innards” of the computer, (p. 63), we thought we would know and act about society. In this way, the writer describes the use of Macintosh and browsing via windows as a certain magical sensation, as our clicks and our “navigation” over the surface presented, based on various simulations, allows the realization of actions for which we don’t have to even glimpse the internal structures and method of working. But it is for the same reason that many users feel that this object was emblematic of its loss of power as, and in the sense denounced by Ivan Illich, only a few specialists know how the machine works. • Browsing by surfaces. From Sherry Tuckle’s analysis of the development of our relationship with our computer, we concluded that we have been choosing to browse by ready-prepared surfaces, which we adapt according to what is allowed, this idea of adaptation being more and more attractive. Surfaces which we assume to be too complex to be analysed and on which we browse with our avatars – unfolding disposable identities – entering network games, participating in forums, beginning simulations of real life. In this aspect, the writer follows the view of Baudrillard (1991) about the simulations we produce from other simulations. I’d venture this attraction, this “non-enrolment”, is the same that led to

the expansion of the fantastic universes (Tolkien, Harry Potter, New Age). In exchange, we receive the pleasure of browsing. We browse to amplify our self: to “stop being me and become another”, testing our limits, or so as to know ourselves, seeking a condenser unit for our identity and magnifying its mirror. We are fascinated by this world of creation even within the limits of what we are permitted to create. With the tips of our fingers on our computer keyboard, in the view of Donna Haraway, we approach the image of God and His creative finger. We can become experts and “manoeuvre” a surface (a computer game, an operative system) without knowing its workings in depth. Thus we build ourselves starting with the machine and not vice versa. The development of our relationship with the computer is then presented by the writer as a metaphor of the preference of the surface over the depth, of the simulation over the real, of the trivial over the serious. • The virtual as moratorium. Life on the Screen shows us, from the experiences of the users, how a virtual world can be used as a laboratory of experiences of one’s own identity (“On the Internet nobody knows you are a dog”, p. 16), where we invent ourselves as we make progress. This then is an element of attraction to the virtual worlds: the possibility of experimenting, playing, testing identities like a prolonged adolescence. Now it is this possibility of unfolding the personality which leads the writer to say that for many users the participation in virtual worlds is a therapy of nature similar to the psychodrama and a period of moratorium. Following a decade since the Portuguese edition of Life on the Screen, the theme of “identity in the era of the Internet” has gained new twists, which naturally have not been dealt with by the writer, as for example: • The Observed and the Observers. The available technologies and the amplification of our existence to a virtual dimension enable us to observe more and to be more observed (note, as an example, the interest in webcams) which, according to Zizek (2004), does not represent a novelty in as much as we need “witnesses” to our acts. Introducing oneself in a virtual public space can be then a good way of having this anonymous audience. In private, there are questions of security regarding the relationships the users establish between themselves via the Internet as well as the tracks we create online and for which we are responsible. Our “virtual acts” are attributed to us via the mechanisms of vigilance. • Public diaries. The explosion of personal weblogs transmits a new relationship of the individual with

the reflectivity and the autobiography, as well as the responsibility for the contents. We need to exist online to be recognized. • New ways of exclusion. The institutionalization of “virtual existence” creates new ways of exclusion based, for example, on digital literacy. • New spaces for performing. The use of social software (Orkut, Hi5, Myspace and Facebook being the most popular) has caused a great impact on the structure of the socio-affective life of youngsters. This type of software leads to a “presentation of oneself ” (via the selection of images, creation of networks of friends, descriptions of oneself ), apart from the avatars, and establishes itself more and more as a “performance” space for the subject. In this case, the creation of virtual characters is not dealt with, but rather the construction of one’s own identity online, selecting what to show and what to omit, according to common practice. In our daily life, we are encouraged to have a virtual public life and it is more and more difficult to escape this enticement. In this context, through direct consultation with the users’ more subjective experience, Life on the Screen has the merit of giving us the trajectory for building relationships with technology, of interpreting this phenomenon according to several theoretical approaches and of showing how the emerging culture of simulation affects the ideas of body, mind and machine, which poses the questions: “What is real? What are we willing to consider real? Up to what extent are we willing to take simulations for reality? How do we maintain the perception that there is a reality which is distinct from simulation?”(p. 108). Such questions touch on our everyday lives and are not specific to the use of the Internet or computers for learning. Thus, only by accepting this prerogative that humanity and technology are closely connected can we, as suggested by Zizek (2004), question ourselves about the “ reality of the virtual” and the “virtuality of the real”, seeking an answer not for what the subject produces, but for the way the subject is produced in these practices and discussions. Bibliographic References: Baudrillard, J. (1991). Simulacros e simulação. Lisboa: Relógio D’Água Editores. Bauman, Z. (2005). Identidade. Rio de Janeiro: JZE. Butler, J. (2003). Problemas de gênero: Feminismo e subversão da identidade. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira. sísifo 3 | book reviews 111

Haraway, D. (2006). When species meet: feminism after cyborgs. Conferência proferida no MACBA, Barcelona, a 22 de Maio. Consultado em Julho de 2007, em http://www.macba.es/media/haraway/ Zizek, S. (2004). The reality of the Virtual. A film by Ben Wright. Saint Charles, IL: Olive Films.

Translated by Robert G. Carter

Mónica Raleiras

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Raleiras, Mónica (2007). Book review of “A vida no écrã. A identidade na era da internet”, by Sherry Turkle [1997]. Lisboa: Relógio d’ Água. Sísifo. Educational Sciences Journal, 03, pp. 109‑112.


issn 1646‑6500

Conferences

How virtual communities of practice and learning communities can change our vision of education Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Lisbon, on 31st May, 2007

José L. Rodríguez Illera

Virtual communities emerge as a result of a continuous practice from the eighties onwards, or even before, when communication technologies enabled a great number of users to interconnect and share messages in a common space. Communities such as UseNet, with millions of users, Minitel in France, WELL born in the United States (Reinghold, 1996), are well known and documented examples. Their supporting technologies preceded the development of Internet, beginning with email, then followed by notice boards and then by discussion forums, websites, up to most recent diaries or weblogs, wikis, and other more specialized technologies. Along with this technological development, always further explored by users beyond their original designs, another strand of development emerged, more academic and based on the idea of community: a strand focusing on the social nature of learning and always thinking of it as a result of a communal or societal situation, rather than as an individual or personal matter. This strand derives from Vygotsky and followers (Cole, 1996; Leontiev, 1978) and from other no less important traditions such as J. Dewey’s and G.H. Mead’s North American pragmatism — for a historical overview, refer to Valsiner and van der Veer (2000). More recently, anthropological (Lave, 1988) criticism, and psychological and pedagogical as well, have been criticizing this merely cognitive/cognitivist view of learning, from a perspective that emphasizes the highly conceptualised nature of learning whatsoever. The added result of both traditions is a view (nowadays seen as of high importance) that emphasizes the social and communitarian nature of learning and the relevance of different contexts (of socialization or practice) as learning resources. In this article and considering its limits, our aim is to analyse what’s at stake in this issue, that is, the emergence of a view that ties up (virtual or face-to-face) communi-

ties, practice and learning. Our analysis will not follow a historical viewpoint, it will rather highlight its pros and cons and most of all its impact on the Education field. The concept of community Community is a word in use since the middle of the 15th century and comes from the Latin words commune and communis, meaning together, in common, group of people committed to common and shared duties (Corominas, 1987). In spite of its root and assertion in some important uses such as communism and communication, its theoretical relevance, at least within the scope of this article (Todorov, 1996, for a historical-philosophical review), comes from Tönnies’ classical distinction between Community and Association (1979 [1887]). Tönnies elaborates on this distinction in a context of reflecting on different forms of grouping, particularly those capable of distinguishing between pre-industrial society and society developed after the 18th century and most particularly from 19th century onwards. Community would then be a form of grouping based on proximity, on sharing experience and ways of living or living insights, feelings and experience, institutions like family, more tightly linked to rural or small sized environments; conversely, an Association would be ruled by experiential and physical distance, a type of grouping based on convenience with a time span circumscribed to shared interests. As mentioned before, although Tönnies’s distinction is embodied in the overall issue he shares with other sociologists on how to explain the shift from pre-industrial society to modern society, the way he uses duality can lead to deceit. And this is not only due to the fact that he deals with ideal types, that is, idealised forms that cover far more diversified and therefore nuanceable realities; besides, this is a typical feature of this sort of dualism,

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which enables us to think of a much more complex reality in a schematic way. The problem is, this might lead us to think that those idealised extremes can exist as such and consequently that the so-called Community is something we can encounter as a concrete and true associative form. Something similar occurs in Durkheim’s distinction (1982 [1900]), who tries to look at social cohesion in terms of links produced among the members of a group, somewhere between mechanic solidarity and organic solidarity. At least in the original sociological reflection, the idea of Community has two main features: on the one hand, a methodological feature (Tönnies, Durkheim) emphasizing description and structural mechanisms, and therefore its limits as well; and, on the other hand, a semantic feature, an almost nostalgic connotation with what has been lost in the shift to modernity (as Cohen, 1985; Shumar & Renninger, 2002, pointed out), that is, coherence of a life system based on more tight and interdependent forms of relation, daily proximity and great emotional commitment from all participants. So, in Hunter’s definition (2002, p. 96), a virtual community is defined as “a group of people interacting with each other and learning from others’ work, while simultaneously providing knowledge and information resources to the group, in relation to themes on which there’s agreement on mutual interest. One of the distinctive features of a virtual community in this sense is the fact that any person or institution is supposed to be a contributor to the group’s evolving knowledgebase and not only a receptor or service consumer”. Not only does this definition say nothing about virtual or non virtual characteristics of a community, but it also emphasizes participation and commitment so deeply that ends up covering only peripheral situations like the ones pointed out by Lave and Wenger (1991). In such an idealised vision, all members contribute co-responsibly. There are other definitions also insisting on a concept of extremes. Building upon a previous definition (Barab & Duffy, 2000), Barab, MaKinster and Schekler (2004, p. 54) highlight the following features: “(1) shared knowledge, values and beliefs; (2) overlapping history among members; (3) mutual interdependence; (4) mechanisms of reproduction […] (5) a common practice and/or mutual enterprise; (6) opportunities for interaction and participation; (7) meaningful relationships; and (8) respect for diverse perspectives and minority views”. As Shumar and Renninger (2002) clearly evidenced in their analysis of the concept of community, it can neither be said that the very idea of community is perfectly defined, nor that the mentioned sociological classifications might account for all existing nuances, nor even that the utopian idea of communities as organizational forms is very realistic. Communities, virtual or not, are always 114

time-limited organizations, bound together, though multileveled, both by individual interests and by their institutional and social environment. Anyway, it all depends on whether you consider a community as an entity that can be described, with recognizable features and where its structural shape is decisive, or else as an entity with mainly symbolic value, which sets the limits, and therefore is intentional, and which should be described from inside participants’ experience. If the definition is vague (hence the relevance of the term community), it derives from the number of pertinences with which it can be examined or constructed (which is even truer if we think its existence is mainly symbolic, as stated by Cohen, 1985). Virtual communities Along with virtual communities “in general”, which are built for multiple reasons (from information consumption to particular interests on a concrete topic or the use of stable communication channels), communities of practice are organizations that persist over time, though being defined mainly by practice sharing among members, rather than by a more accurate idea of community than that of occasional and conjunctural virtual communities. Wenger (1998) showed the inter-relations occurring in communities of practice between a new perspective of learning, a new identity stemming from belonging to a community and the meaning attributed to shared practice. According to him, communities of practice have been hidden from our sight in several contexts (a sight that had ignored them until recently) although they can be considered as a key element for the understanding of the processes and mechanisms of educational influence occurring in educational non formal and informal contexts (better merely named as social), inclusively within formal institutions, which pedagogical reflection has traditionally been able to mention but without understanding the way they operate. Contrarily to the concepts of learning that come from cognitive psychology, the approach of communities of practice bounds together several axes in an indissoluble way. Illeris (2002) unveiled analytically different dimensions and axes underlying the concept of learning and which are merged in people’s everyday experience: cognitive, emotional and social features. All of them are merged in experience, as pointed out by Dewey (1997). At stake is a major concept guiding pragmatic and social educational theories, though hardly mentioned nowadays. Illeris’s systematization places Wenger position and communities of practice in the centre of his triangle about learning as a unique balance among all dimensions. Therefore, the theorization of communities of practice also presumes an important change in the concepts of learning. Such as so-called virtual communities of

sísifo 3 | josé l. rodríguez iller a | how virtual communities of pr actice and learning communities…

learning are based on new but relatively widespread learning theories (for example, collaborative learning), though therefore not very well understood, communities of practice change the focus of what is meant by learning. Our purpose is not to consider one approach more important than the other, but rather understand their differences and try to place the concept of learning in a broader context: the educational institution and learners’ lives above all — also beyond their time-limited belonging to an educational institution. In some way, what’s at stake in these views on communities of practice is not only learning, and much less a didactic approach envisaging learning as a mere output of teaching effectiveness, but rather the relationship between learning and the whole social and personal life. Envisaging community as the origin of social life and therefore as any individual’s main reference framework leads to a concept of learning not as a goal in itself (which often happens in pedagogic and psychological approaches) but rather as one more feature of the whole experience1. To know if communities — whether learning communities or communities of practice — entered a new digital era and if they can be “virtual” is no doubt a central aspect. This is indeed the form many of them assume, particularly if they are not assigned such an exhaustive number of attributes and conditions that they can do nothing but fulfil them, that is, if it is possible to see that virtuality presumes some differences linked to the specificity of new forms of mediation and agency, thus creating communities which are different from traditional communities. Some authors (Hung & Nichani, 2002) doubted to consider them as true communities, rather thinking of them as quasi-communities because of their difficulties in classifying them and their deep differences. However, to think of them as quasi-communities does not seem to lead to a particular theoretical gain, but only to a definition by contraposition or a negative definition. However, this virtual nature (in the simple sense of non-presential and telematically mediated) is precisely what leads to the loss of some interactive components considered as very important in interactions in previous theorization of communities of practice: presence and face to face interaction include a great deal of nonverbal features that contribute to settle the meaning of a message and, in fact, the interpretation of a non-verbal channel is considered to be linked to messages’ veracity. That is, in computer-mediated communication (CMC) a quite important communication channel is totally or partly lost, according to the CMC type, which in the case of virtual communities leads to the fact that they have been almost exclusively based on writing, so far. There are some important exceptions, as is the case of Second Life and others to come. However, the fact that they are

based on writing is noting but usual in many a culture order whereas simultaneously showing great potential, either expressively or communicationally. Anyway, virtual communities seem to have adapted very well to such restrictions. Both communities of practice and learning communities felt the need to strengthen the symbolic value of belonging: the symbolic nature of communication has been reinforced for lack of personal links based on forms of direct communication (speech, gesture, kinesics) or, geographic proximity. The fact that communication is always in written form leads to explicitation of a community’s defining boundaries. Writing and permanent recording of interactions voided an eventual double perspective one might have on observing a community, both external and internal, emic and etic, since everything in virtual communities is exteriority and lack of complexity in boundary fixing. Simultaneously and despite difficulties posed by structural approaches, communities can also be characterized in a functional way. Though not exempt of problems, this is the approach used in most traditional and eventually most interesting classifications, since it provides more accurate distinctions than previous attempts to characterize communities on general features. Therefore, Riel and Polin (2004) distinguish between task-based, practice-based, and knowledge-based learning communities. Task-based learning communities are groups of people organized around a task, working together for a specified period of time to produce a product. At stake is a specific sort of collaborative work/learning though different because of its focus on community and relevance attributed to the organizational context. Practice-based learning communities correspond to the idea of communities of practice. That is, larger groups with shared goals, providing members with richly contextualized and supported arenas for learning. Learning produced can be very important and correspond to the characteristics pointed out by Wenger (1998). Finally, Knowledge-based learning communities resemble the practice-based communities but are focused on producing external knowledge about the practice. Each one is analysed according to several dimensions: belonging as a community member, task features, or features of group learning goals, participation structures, and development and reproduction devices. As in Hakkarainen et al. (2004), other characterizations showed different types virtual communities also relying on functional criteria, such as the type of participation and objectives of participants. In this case, they distinguish between communities where participants aim at knowledge acquisition, communities where participants actively participate and, finally, communities where participants create new knowledge together with other participants. Although with some nuances, Hakkarainen and his colleagues follow an approach on knowledge-build-

sísifo 3 | josé l. rodríguez iller a | how virtual communities of pr actice and learning communities… 115

ing communities as used by Scardamaglia, Bereiter and other authors. Tightly linked to an ICT application specially created for the purpose (at first named as CSILE and later as Knowledge Forum), this approach emphasizes the analysis of virtual communities in purposefully educational environments, though in the perspective of knowledge building in a collaborative and reflective way among all participants. Impacts on pedagogy This quick review evidences this concept’s difficulties both in relation to its implementation in formally educational contexts, daily life and work contexts, and because it is subjected to multiple classifications. Each of them eventually expresses some relevant feature while nuances gain sense within the viewpoint adopted. We will now try to draw some comments on some of the issues arisen both at a conceptual level and at the level of practice, highlighting their possible contribution to theorizations on education. a) Firstly, a change in the concept of learning traditionally used in education, which is mainly psychological. Wenger’s focus (1998) on a social theory of learning means a change of perspective, although he gathers several previous contributions, to which he adds new concepts and an interconnection of previously separated concepts: learning, identity, practice, meaning, community, context. A theorization of learning as an element agglutinating all the others mentioned, or even better, as an agglutinated element from social participation might be the key or one of the keys to approach what in pedagogic tradition has been called informal education. In fact, educational theories have also been better at ease when the focus is school or formal education in general, because of the difficulty in using traditional concepts (institution, objectives, subject-matter, teacher, lesson, evaluation, etc.) to analyse organisationally much loser situations if compared to the particular shape adopted by mainstream education. Beyond its methodological features, the most important consequence of such a theory is eventually a repositioning of (traditional) learning as the ultimate educational value. Implicitly, evolutionist approaches, constructivist or not, tend to consider educational relationship as a learner’s intellectual process of development and, though to a lower extent, also emotional and social, of which what is really important is to grasp the latest moment which integrates all the preceding ones. This type of criticism (Walkerdine, 1984) about the teleological fundament of reasoning was particularly produced in the Piagetian case – though it should be noticed that Piaget himself has only focused on learning. However, 116

the learning social theory does not usually think in evolutionist terms (eventually because it is mainly focused on adults), which means learning emerges as entirely linked to the subjects’ personal and social life and not only to cognitive mastery of skills and abilities supposed to be acquired. Such a repositioning presumes that learning might not be considered as the ultimate goal of practice, but rather as an element interconnecting different features which, to subject’s eyes, are as important as mere improvement of performance or acquisition of certain skills. b) Tightly linked to previous issue, interconnection between learning and the world of work. This is not the only theory that emphasizes such a relationship (Engeström, 1987; Engeström, Miettinen & Punamäki 1999; von Cranach & Harré, 1982), however contrarily to views from the theories of agency and activity which gave priority to a dense description of relationships in complex contexts of the labour world, this theory focuses on understanding how to reformulate the concept of practice by linking it to learning, identity, meaningfulness and other concepts and therefore evidencing the transforming nature of daily activity. Applications soon emerged, starting with Wenger himself and sometimes focusing on knowledge management, and soon followed by other authors, such as Saint-Oge and Wallace (2003), Hildreth and Kimble (eds., 2004). This theoretical itinerary brought about several implications. Among them, there’s a clear consequence on the approach aims: Not only describing but also transforming. Whether it is true that this change in pertinence is more of wishful thinking than reality, it is also true that it extends the boundaries of theory, since methodological issues related to the unit of analysis or detail in the description of any activity do not emerge as the foremost features, which means the approach itself is different. It could be objected that this is a step-back in relation to more detailed descriptions, but we believe this is a change in focus and pertinence: as happens in plenty of other cases, a change in pertinence about what is supposed to be explained means highlighting previously neglected features in detriment of other features so far considered as the most relevant. c) Another important issue deals with the place occupied by educational influence On the one hand, the explicit mechanisms teachers use to influence their pupils appear as merged in a more complex interaction with much fewer rules and hierarchies — not because they have been neglected but because they are not the only feature to be taken into account. This is probably one of the most distinguishing differences between communities of practice and learning communities: in the latter, educational influence occupies the first


place, in an explicit and purposeful way, rethought or nuanced by theoretical approaches that include peer influence, democratic consensus on learning objectives or placing learners’ interests at the centre of any educational activity, though always in the context of a situated educational process and preferably within a supporting and supervising educational institution. Yet, in communities of practice influence is not so purposefully educational (though it can obviously be), as it is implicit and tacit: learning occurs through practice, no matter how hard you try to interfere on eventually implied mental mechanisms (Schank, 1995) and of course within the limits imposed by communities’ dynamics. On the other hand, the idea of security (traditionally represented by a teacher or by an educational institution) related to meaning and interpretation of experience or written conceptual representations is relativised by a double feature: the position of someone who knows more is always a position to be won through interaction and dialogue; besides, its maintenance along time is not predefined, on the contrary, it depends on commitment to the community. Wenger, McDermott and Snyder (2002), Levin and Cervantes (2002) started an analysis about the chronological evolution of communities of practice and the different positions held by members, though not target to understanding impacts on learning. d) A different look at the role played by natural or artificial groups in personal development and learning. Of course this is not a new feature but it has probably been neglected. It was not until the advent of collaborative learning theories that groups were rethought though these groups were artificially created for learning purposes; in fact, virtual learning communities mostly belong to this category and they use the idea of collaboration as a core element to understand ongoing learning.

show how difficult it is to think in terms of educational intervention. No doubt there is and there will always be educational re-utilization of such technological progresses, though their value as educational communities is still to be equated. At the other end there are the virtual learning communities. Educators think of them as a concrete way to profit from the social strength of communities for educational purposes, mainly from the perspective of the way collaborative forms enable us to deal with team-based tasks and learn new forms of work and inclusively of thinking. The social character of collaboration appears as having the same importance as cognitive learning, which requires an important reflection on the very objectives of communities and of education. Virtual learning communities and other forms of collaborative learning will expand more and more as implementation, both technological and pedagogical, becomes less and less complex than nowadays. Virtual communities of practice get the most of present attentions and, as mentioned before, they correspond to a re-conceptualization of the core themes of educational theory. However, probably because of their theoretical relevance, they themselves cannot help rousing some questions. Some authors (Henri & Pudelko, 2003) think of them as an improvement to learning communities, since in communities of practice there’s also place for learning production, though, as they themselves state, at stake is a sort of learning that occurs from “appropriation of new practices”, as in Lave and Wenger (1991). Another doubt, as suggested by Hung and Nichani (2002), has to do with recognizing them as true communities or as quasi-communities: as mentioned before, this opposition does not seem very useful, since it could be extended to virtual learning communities and to virtual communities in general, unless features opposed (for example, loose reciprocity of virtual communities) could lead to diversified types of activity2.

Potential and problems As a whole, the issue of virtual communities opens up to reflection and reconceptualization of pedagogy and in general terms to research on new social and communicational forms associated with virtuality. The truth is, not all types of virtual communities have the same status: the most generic ones impelled by the development of so-called social web — such as diaries or blogs with numbers in the order of hundreds of million, macrocommunities like MySpace or YouTube (considering the word community gets any sense for them) or discussion groups around a theme of common interest — are good examples of the extent to which technological progress enhanced global communicational skills but they also

On the other hand, there are some authors who consider that virtual communities of practice constitute the most proper way to acquire true learning (Barab & Duffy, 2000) , that is, learning acquired and validated within a true community and not only as simulations or problems outlined in an educational institution — which they name as fields of practice. Though methodological approaches based on fields of practice (cases, projects, problems, simulations -maybe inclusively many of the virtual learning communities?) cannot reach the same level of “reality” as reached by true communities of practice, the fact is we do not think they can be separated by so sharp a dividing line (Rodríguez Illera & Escofet Roig, 2006). Taking this distinction to its limit, it would


be possible to situate all sorts of learning in relation to a (virtual or non virtual) community, and not only because of operational or organizational problems related to curriculum, time available and rhythm required by global or total learning within a community, but because not all educational knowledge seems to require a community, other than family or school communities. Bereiter (1997) so stated in his criticism to situated learning, in relation to the abstract knowledge produced in research and University contexts, and we believe it could be extendable to communities of practice — not because new knowledge cannot be produced outside a community of practice (or community of communication, in philosophical terms), but fortunately because knowledge occurs not only in relation with it.

central for communities of practice or learning communities, precisely to distinguish themselves from this sort of analysis.

Finally, of course the concept analysed by Wenger does not cover all forms of interaction (for some critical positions, refer to Barton & Tusting, eds., 2005). Although there is significant progress in relation to previous views, including post-vygotskyan theories on activity, which still place individual subject in the centre of activity as its axis and root, precisely because a scheme is provided for the complexity of community interactions (and impacts in terms of learning and identity), there is still place for other sorts of analysis about forms of interaction, virtual or non-virtual and held as common activity. Nardi, Whittaker and Schwarz (2002) analyse what they name as intentional networks: the range of interlocutors a certain person has, his/her accumulated knowledge of personal contacts, which allows him/her to organize a common work or a team (and which therefore constitutes a part of his/her social capital), but whose actors do not necessarily know each other. Intentional networks cannot be mistaken with communities of practice, though they constitute a different way of thinking how relations operate in daily life in multiple contexts. Something similar occurs in knotworking as analysed by Engeström, Engeström and Vähäaho (1999), when they describe situations of collaboration or cooperation, according to the perspective, between teams/groups formed to fulfil a task and which disaggregate immediately afterwards (for example, plane crews, certain chirurgic teams or inclusively an academic trial gathered to judge on a project or thesis); groups of people who hardly knew each other before and who meet to fulfil a task, mostly a highly specialised task, which is their only aim. Such nodes can neither be considered communities nor collaborative teams, but they are surely a sort of common activity of social interest. More examples could be forwarded, such as Zager (2000) configurations, or Scollon’s analysis by nexus of practice (2001), or the analysis of action proposed by Strauss (1993), all of them trying to cover other elements of interaction less

Endnotes

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As can be seen, the issue of communities and of virtual communities, along with other forms of analysis on shared activity in formal educational or social contexts, has just started. Pedagogical discourse and its theoretical elaboration became interested in this matter because they realised how the central concept of learning got richer and ubiquitous in a process of change that will also change the very idea of education – as seems inevitable in this digital society we are living in.

1. The word “experience” is used in Dewey’s sense, retaken by Illeris. “Practice” is used to name both the concrete form of experience and the knowledge/activity field that supports community of practice shared goals. 2. In this case, there would be inclusively the need to evaluate the possibility of generalization of such a theoretical classification. For instance, Stone (1995) tells about the emergence of the first communities based on notice boards and forums, CommuniTree and others, describing the case of an imaginary character who used to participate very actively in one of them; when his creator decided to leave the community he couldn’t do it because of the huge number of messages he got related to his character (treated as real by the other members), which inclusively lead him to forge an operation — and lots of the members of the community immediately offered all sorts of help and manifested their intention to visit him at the hospital. Relation strength not always depends on “physical” presence, as has started to be theorized in virtual education contexts. Bibliographical references Barab, S. & Duffy, T. M. (2000). From Practice Fields to Communities of Practice. In D. H. Jonassen & S. M. Land (eds.), Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 25-55. Barab, S.; MaKinster, J. G. & Scheckler, R. (2004). Designing System Dualities: Characterizing an Online Professional Development Community. In S. A. Barab; R. Kling & J.H. Gray (eds.), Designing Virtual Communities in the Service of Learning. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 53-90.


Barton, D. & Tusting, K. (eds.) (2005). Beyond Communities of Practice. Language, Power and Social Context. New York: Cambridge University Press. Bereiter, C. (1997). Situated Cognition and How to Overcome it. In D. Kirshner & J. A.Whitson (eds.), Situated Cognition. Mahwah (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 281-300. Cohen, A. P. (1985). The Symbolic Construction of Community. London: Routledge. Cole, M. (1996). Cultural Psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Corominas, J. (1987). Breve diccionario etimológico de la Lengua Castellana. Madrid: Gredos. Dewey, J. (1997). Experience and Education. New York: Free Press. Durkheim, E. (1982 [1900]). La división social del trabajo. Madrid: Akal. Engeström, Y. (1987). Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit. Engeström, Y.; Engeström, R. & Vähäaho, T. (1999). When the Center Doesn’t Hold: The Importance of Knotworking. In S. Chaiklin; M. Hedegaard & U. Jensen (eds.), Activity Theory and Social Practice: Cultural-Historical Approaches. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press, pp. 345-374. Engeström, Y.; Miettinen, R. & Punamäki, R.-L. (eds.) (1999). Perspectives on Activity Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hakkarainen, K.; Palonen, T.; Paavola, S. & Lehinen, E. (2004). Communities of Networked Expertise. Oxford: Elsevier. Henri, F. & Pudelko, B. (2003). Understanding and analyzing activity and learning in virtual communities. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 19, 4, pp. 472-487. Hildreth, P. & Kimble, C. (eds.) (2004). Knowledge Networks. Innovation Through Communities of Practice. Hershey: Idea Group. Hung, D. & Nichani, M. (2002). Differentiating between Communities of Practice (CoPs) and QuasiCommunities: Can CoPs Exist Online? International Journal on E-Learning,1,3,July-September,pp.23‑29. Hunter, B. (2002). Learning in the Virtual Community Depends upon Changes in Local Communities. In K. A. Renninger & W. Shumar (eds.), Building Virtual Communities. Learning and Change in Cyberspace. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 96-126. Illeris, K. (2002). The Three Dimensions of Learning. Malabar (Florida): Krieger Publishing Company. Lave, J. (1988). La cognición en la práctica. Barcelona: Paidós. Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Levin, J. & Cervantes, R. (2002). Understanding the Life Cycles of Network-Based Learning Communities. In K. A. Renninger & W. Shumar (eds.), Building Virtual Communities. Learning and Change in Cyberspace. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 269-292. Leontiev, A. N. (1978). Activity, consciousness, and personality. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. Nardi, B.; Whittaker, S. & Schwarz, H. (2002). NetWORKers and their activity in intensional networks. The Journal of Computer-supported Cooperative Work, 11, pp. 205-242. Pallof, R. M. & Pratt, K. (1999). Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace. San Francisco: JosseyBass. Reinghold, H. (1996). La comunidad virtual. Una sociedad sin fronteras. Barcelona: Gedisa. Riel, M. & Polin, L. (2004). Online Learning Communities: Common Ground and Critical Differences in Designing Technical Environments. In S. A. Barab; R. Kling & J. H. Gray (eds.), Designing Virtual Communities in the Service of Learning. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 16-50. Rodríguez Illera, J. L. & Escofet Roig, A. (2006). Aproximación centrada en el estudiante como productor de contenidos digitales en cursos híbridos. Revista de Universidad y Sociedad del Conocimiento (RUSC), 3, 2, pp. 20-28. Retrieved July 2007 from http://www.uoc.edu/rusc/3/2/dt/esp/rodriguez_escofet.pdf Saint-Onge, H. & Wallace, D. (2003). Leveraging Communities of Practice for Strategic Advantage. New York: Elsevier. Schank, R. (1995). What we learn when we learn by doing. Technical Report 60. Evanston, IL. : Institute for Learning Sciences - Northwestern University. Scollon, R. (2001 ). Mediated Discourse.The nexus of practice. London: Routledge. Shumar, W. & Renninger, K. A. (2002). Introduction: On Conceptualizaing Community. In K. A. Renninger & W. Shumar (eds.), Building Virtual Communities. Learning and Change in Cyberspace. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-17. Stone, A. R. (1995). The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age. Cambridge (Mass.): MIT Press. Strauss, A. L. (1993). Continual Permutations of Action. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Todorov, T. (1996). La vie commune. Paris: Seuil. Tönnies, F. (1979 [1887]). Comunidad y Asociación. Barcelona: Península. Valsiner, J. & van der Veer, R. (2000). The Social Mind. Construction of the Idea. New York: Cambridge University Press.


Von Cranach, M. & Harré, R. (eds.) (1982). The analysis of action. London: Cambridge University Press. Walkerdine, V. (1984). Development psychology and child-centered pedagogy: the insertion of Piaget into early education. In J. Henriques et al. (eds.), Changing the Subject: Psychology, Social Regulation and Subjectivity. London: Routledge, pp. 151-202. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice. Learning, Meaning and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [see cast. Comunidades de Práctica. Barcelona: Paidós]. Wenger, E.; McDermott, R. & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

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Zager, D. (2000). Collaboration as an Activity. Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 11, 1-2, pp. 181-204.

Lisbon, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Lisbon, on 31st May, 2007. José L. Rodríguez Illera University of Barcelona

Translated by Filomena Matos Rodríguez Illera, J. L. (2007). How virtual communities of practice and learning communities can change our vision of education. Conference given at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Lisbon, on 31st May, 2007. Sísifo. Educational Sciences Journal, 03, pp. 113‑120. Retrieved [month, year] from http://sisifo.fpce.ul.pt



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Other articles

The Professional Culture of the primary school teacher in Portugal: A line of research undergoing development Telmo H. Caria [email protected] Universidade de Trás‑os‑Montes e Alto Douro

Abstract: This article intends to summarise the main conclusions of the ethnographical research that I carried out with primary school teachers in the 1990s in Portugal. This summary is based on the research undertaken in Portugal on education, work and knowledge in professional groups. In this background, the concept of professional culture and the ethnographical method it serves is explained. The culture and professionalism of teachers is characterised through reference to the relations of power that are developed by this group in relation to the educational policies of democratisation of teaching that have been implemented in Portugal since the end of the 80s. The study highlights the duality of meaning existing between the context of professional teaching in practice and the context of political action in education. Keywords: Professional culture, Ethnographical method, Peripheral power of the teachers, Professional use of knowledge.

Caria, Telmo H. (2007). The Professional Culture of the primary school teacher in Portugal: A line of research undergoing development. Sísifo. Educational Sciences Journal, 03, pp. 121‑134. Retrieved [month, year] from http://sisifo.fpce.ul.pt

121

I intend through this article to return to the conclusions of the ethnographical research that I carried out with primary school teachers in the 1990s in Portugal (Caria, 1995a, 1995b, 1996, 1997, 2000). I shall summarise and produce an up-to-date reading of these conclusions in view of the work meanwhile undertaken by a research group (seminar on social analysis of technical-intellectual professions (ASPTI)) (Caria, 1999b, 2001a, 2002, 2005a, 2006a, 2007c) which I have led since 1998. This group of researchers has dedicated itself to study the work and knowledge of several professions from the perspective of what I have called the ethnosociology of the professional groups1 (Caria, 2001b, 2003a, 2005b; Filipe, 2003; Granja, 2005; Loureiro, 2006; Pereira, 2003, 2004). This text is organised around the following topics: (1) I start by summarising the main aspects of the theory of professional culture; (2) I will then discuss its dependence on a certain epistemological conception of the ethnographical method and how the “culture object” is conceived in Social Sciences; (3) in a third phase I return to the same problem to tackle the main conclusions that I obtained regarding the professional culture of the teacher in Portugal. In all these topics the research on the teachers will be situated in the widest background of the ethnosociological analysis of the professional cultures and I shall also seek to respond indirectly to some colleagues who have levelled constructive criticism at our analysis perspective. Therefore I will clarify that our interactionist and conjunctural perspective of culture does not exclude the problem of power and is not reduced to concise analysis when dealing with the culture of the teacher in the singular and when giving special emphasis to the microsociological processes. The best way to start describing our analysis perspective is to outline the use we have attributed to the concept of Professional Culture (Caria, 2002, 122

2005d, 2006b, 2007a, 2007b; Caria & Vale, 1997). It is part of a theoretical problem of sociological and anthropological inspiration that aims to describe three kinds of social phenomena concerning how people view organisations and social institutions in post-industrial capitalist societies (Beck, 1998; Bell, 2004; Boltansky & Chiapello, 1999). These three phenomena are: the institutional role and the social position occupied, the professional identity, and the socio-cognitive activity in the employment background. Role, position and social identity in Professional Culture With regard to the institutional role, the starting point of this concept is the introduction of a demarcation: institutions are set up for professions whose role and employment has gained high status and prestige, based on the possession of a title and a higher education academic qualification that enables the use and application of abstract and scientific knowledge in actions that are considered the exclusive domain of professionals and not amateurs. Hence, it corresponds to a social demand for professionalism as a consequence of a collective awareness in society regarding the need for a certain set of work activities that can only be performed by professionals with higher education certificates. This approach was inspired by the Sociology of the Professional Groups contributions, and in part by the Sociology of the Social Classes. It is based on the AngloSaxon meaning of profession and not the common meaning we attribute to the notion of a profession in Portugal, which refers to any paid employment. Therefore we should point out some specifications to better understand how we read these two traditions of research. First, as we made clear above, we are referring to social

sísifo 3 | telmo h. caria | the profe ssiona l cultur e of the primary school teacher in portugal

groups who respond to a demand for professionalism and do not derive from a supply of professionalism. Indeed, the Anglo-Saxon tradition of Sociology of the Professions always tended to focus analysis on professional groups whose professionalism confers high social status and as such boasts a rich historical past that began to be organised into a liberal profession and institute itself as a scientific university area. As a result, this sociological tradition ended up considering other professional groups, such as teachers, as semiprofessionals, in comparison for example with doctors and lawyers who had a historical past of institutionalised professionalism and non-paid intellectual work (Dubar & Tripier, 1998; Rodrigues, 1997; Sánchez Martínez et al., 2003). The analytical limitation whereby we define the professional role from the demand perspective and not the supply perspective is to be avoided. Hence, the social value of a professional group is more clearly understood as a plural and heterogeneous construction, and as such is not confused with the legitimacy of the professional ideology of a given social group (Caria, 2005c). But it is also worth remembering that analysis of this paid intellectual work presupposes organisational dimensions of technical, symbolic and political autonomy in the work process (Caria, 2000, pp. 117-221; Terssac, 1992) which leads it to occupy intermediate social positions (technical-intellectual work or knowledge workers) which are not confused with the organisational strategic decision positions (political-intellectual work), or places of practical execution of organisational tasks (technical-practical work or proletariat work) and which do not entirely match the organisational intermediate command/management positions (Caria, 2005c, 2006b; Dieuaide, 2004; Freidson, 1994, 2001; Rodrigues, 1999). In second place, the meaning given to the institutional role does not derive only from an ideal reciprocity, but it is common to make a functionalist interpretation of the social phenomenology (Pharo, 1993; cf. Lukman and Berger, 1973). It is indeed a sociological description that supposes an instituted reciprocity of meaning, grounded on subjectivity and social norms, but which goes further because, as Pierre Bourdieu states, any institutional role is grounded on a social field of practices that is historically marked by the appropriation of resources (capital) and by the building of discourses that map out inequalities of power and conflicts of legitimacy. Therefore, it is understood that any professional group has an objective location of social class in relation to the structure of capital that it possesses in different social fields (Bourdieu, 1987). For the case of primary school teachers it is worth referring to the empirical studies carried out in Portugal, inspired by Eric Olin Wright, in which this professional group is categorised as non-management technicians and supervisory technicians (Estanque & Mendes, 1998).

This situating of social class derives from the fact that we are dealing with a paid social group who do not own or determine the means of economic production/symbolic production of truth about the world (dominant position in the economic capital and scientific-technological capital), with high educational capital (dominant position in the instituted legitimate culture) and which occupies, as we saw earlier, intermediate social positions. Therefore, through the concept of Professional Culture a vision of the institutional role is developed which acknowledges the importance of the processes of reciprocity of meaning in the social construction, but which does not limit the professions merely to an ideal or idealisation of the social relations, unconnected from the organisational conditions and the unequal positions of power regarding resources/social capital. As for the identification phenomenon, another constraint is introduced: there is an identification of the social actor with a working activity that is chiefly determined through social interaction (in person or in a network) among peers of the same profession and as such not limited only to the interpretation and personal interiorisation of the role in the background of the institution in which s/he works, or the resistance and opposition to the technical-bureaucratic reasoning processes. The professional group identifies itself with the activity, chiefly determined by the collective subjectivity of the professionals in question, based, as mentioned above, on the autonomy they have in defining the process of their work (Falzon & Teigner, 2001; Jobert, 2001; Sainsaulieu, 1988). This approach is inspired by Sociology of the Workplace and Theory of Organisations which deal with the social processes of subjectivation, informalisation and joint learning in socio-economic organisations (Crozier & Friedberg, 1977; Probst & Buchet, 1997; Senge, 2002). In this background it is important not only to consider individual autonomy within the context of the organisational constraints but also the important role that the informal structures play in opening up the organisations to the surrounding environment (Bagla, 2003; Gadrey & Zarifian, 2002). It is not a question just of personal or collective interiorisation of a role and the corresponding identification and/or distancing of the “I” with what is expected institutionally. It is mainly a matter of recognising that in modern and capitalist societies there is today a crisis of legitimacy of the social institutions (and especially the school institution), which brings into question the utility of continuing to think in professional socialisation processes (of teachers or other groups) only as a simple interiorisation of the external social and cultural conditions (Caria, 2005d; Dubet, 1994, 2002). The problem centred on the sociological concept of qualification, relative to the social use of school and professional titles and the processes to settle

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conflicts of classification that they contain, exemplifies the limitations with which professional socialisation is still sociologically thought out today (Ramos, 2002). Along this line of thought we should remember, especially, Claude Dubar’s approach to the identification forms and implications in the history of social relations, when distinguishing a reflexive and collective identification in post-modern societies, clearly different from the narrative-individualist reflection and that of collective groups in traditional societies (Caria, 2006c; Dubar, 2000). Hence, through the concept of Professional Culture a social and theoretical space is created, the object of which is to analyse the sharing of meaning in the work context through the inter-subjectivity found in professional collectives (Wenger, 2001). Professional Culture as a socio-cognitive activity The socio-cognitive activity is played out in the background of the problem of establishing a theoretical link between the concepts of the professional role and identity. Hence, we have stated that it is the association between the use of science and abstract knowledge, deriving from the delimitation mentioned of the institutional role with the autonomy in the work context that is present in the collective identification process in the organisations and social networks, which enables us to say that professional culture is a phenomenon that results from the socio-cognitive mobilisation of knowledge, which brings together the application of science and the practical sense of the collectively accumulated and learned activity in the work context experience. As such, the socio-cognitive phenomenon is overvalued in the concept of Professional Culture in two aspects: (1) the relations with the institutional role mobilise the collective meanings of professional knowledge which allow the recontextualisation of the scientific and abstract knowledge, obtained in formal higher education, in the contexts of action and work; (2) the relations with the professional identity mobilise the collective meanings of professional knowledge that enable the transfer of resources and routines of action between the different contexts and work activities (Frenay, 1996; Meirieu et al., 1996). Within this scope there is a degree of inspiration in the Cognitive Sciences and Educational Sciences, particularly the contributions that aim to understand the learning processes in two directions: those that go from the formal to the practical action and those that go the practical action to the formal (Caria, 2007b; Correia, 1997; Schön, 1983, 1998; Tersac, 1998; Touchon, 1998). One should, however, remember in detail two facts that we just described in order not to fall into relativist or positivist simplifications. On the one hand, it should 124

be outlined, against a degree of positivist epistemology, that when we go from formal and abstract knowledge to the professional action, recontextualisation processes take place that allow the application of general principles of knowledge and new situations, although one cannot fall into the typically naïve dogmatic reasoning that the theoretical domain of these principles automatically allows one to know how to apply this knowledge in all situations, or that competent professional intervention in a single case/situation is only the undertaking of already known regularities. On the other hand, it should be outlined, against a degree of relativist epistemology, that when we go from practical-professional knowledge to the formal/abstract, knowledge transfer processes take place, which allow the comparison of wide-ranging experiences, detection of analogies between singular situations and cases and the segmenting/formalising or routines and resources used in different contexts, although one cannot fall into the typically romantic constructivist reasoning that the practical domain of a context of action spontaneously leads to the possibility of transposing to another context, or that competent analysis of a complex professional situation is dependent only on an accumulated local experience. More specifically, the sociological contributions of Basil Bernstein (1993, 1998) and Pierre Bourdieu (1979; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1978) must be taken into account, albeit in a critical perspective with regard to the problem of symbolic control of the social practice. Recontextualisation is a concept used by Bernstein to describe the mediations and instances that enable explanation of how production of discursive meaning about action translates into application of this meaning in social interaction. As Bernstein shows, these mediation processes are complex and heterogeneous and therefore we think they have to presuppose that the possible use of knowledge in the practical field can have a potential effect of transforming the “original” meaning given by the abstract structures of knowledge, albeit in a regime that is not one of government of the truth or symbolic domination (cf. Foucault, 1966, pp. 327-446, 2002), but rather of action (Dodier, 1993; cf. Boltansky & Thevenot, 1991) or mutual critical understanding (cf. Gadamer, 2002, pp. 400-558) and therefore the eclectic, oral and circumstantial sharing of meanings: the construction of a cultural mind (Iturra, 1990a, 1990b, 1994). The idea in relation to a practical meaning supposes a structuring of the social practice that has a twofold social determination (Bourdieu, 1972; Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992): externalisation and interiorisation of the material conditions of existence relative to the social position/ trajectory occupied in the structure of capital; an internalisation and exteriorisation of the social position/ trajectory occupied, measured/regulated in the social actor through an incorporated mind (a habitus), which


expresses an updating of the interiorised structure of perceptions, appreciations and improvised anticipations, in a unconscious way in social fields of practice. As he himself always admitted, the regulation undertaken by the habitus of this twofold social determination is not mechanical, because it is open to social improvisation. Therefore it is possible there will be lags, discrepancies and faults (hysteresis of the social practice) between the internal and symbolic processes and the external and objective ones (Bourdieu, 1998, pp. 113-144). This phenomenon, in our point of view, to be properly regulated will have to be complementary to the habitus, i.e. it is not merely pre-reflexive, but now invites the practical conscience and inter-subjectivity of the social actors and a logic that would shift from an incorporated mind to a cultural mind (Caria, 2006c, 2007b). This reconceptualisation of the practical meaning of the practice is similar to the contributions of Anthony Giddens (1989), with regard to the duality of the structure (social structure as the determining factor and opportunity for action) although one cannot assume (in contrast to this author) that it is the same for all societies and social groups. Indeed, these processes encompass aspects of legitimacy of the production of truth, symbolic control and multiculturality that require specific study (cf. Foucault, 2002; Grignon & Passeron, 1989; Lahire, 2003). To conclude, the concept of Professional Culture, at the socio-cognitive level, is associated with the hypothesis of considering that it is only possible to have some awareness of the transfer of practical meanings when the lag between the symbolic and social structures of the habitus can be carefully pondered by the social actors in the processes of social integration, and therefore can be recognised by ethnographical research as potential for action. To know a Professional Culture is to question and suggest hypotheses regarding the conditions, institutions, activities and social interactions that either help or hinder the processes of recontextualisation and transfer of professional knowledge, given that neither are triggered automatically and spontaneously, nor are they necessarily complementary and implicated. Indeed, these two processes are often parallel, contradictory and competing, without ever meeting to articulate and integrate.2 But to know a Professional Culture cannot be separated from an appropriate methodology of building the “culture” object. And it is this understanding about the ethnographical research that I will move on to. A guideline for the ethnographical method The epistemological guideline we followed in the ethnographical research on professions is demarcated by criticism, as mentioned earlier, of the dogmatic

reasoning and romantic constructivism. Therefore the ongoing and long-term presence of the researcher in the professional field alongside those who are involved in the work activities, in an action of observation and joint participation/reflection, is understood within the followed guidelines (Caria, 1999c): (1) the symbolic constructions of the social actors are not understood as the results of a structure or cultural norm that would be independent of them and which could be discovered, as if it was something hidden behind the appearance of the socio-cultural phenomena (Caria, 2006c); (2) the symbolic constructions of the social actors are not understood as arbitrary interpretations of the observer (cf. Hekman, 1990), whereby no suitable judgement can be made concerning the reality. This understanding derives from the fact that there is an interpretation of the phenomenological-hermeneutic vision of the ethnographical method that sets off from three starting points: (1) the symbolic constructions of the social actors have a experiential present, of simultaneousness and inter-subjective coexistence (a relation in us), which can be explained partially and in segments through social interaction (Schtuz, 1993); (2) the symbolic constructions of the social actors have a possible horizon of enlarging meaning, provided that they develop a critical vision concerning the limits of each particularity (Gadamer, 2002), both in the reflexivity of the researcher and the reflexivity of the group members in relation to the mutual ethnocentrism (Caria, 2003b); (3) The group members (understood in the particular case of any science object) are not passive bystanders as regards the way the acts of construction/interpretation are developed by the researcher (as part of a benchmark scientific community), as they influence the way the researcher acts (thus giving him retroaction about the suitability of his interpretations for the observed contexts) and the way that, as a consequence, the interception of common horizons are constructed (an interculturality) that enable the inequalities of symbolic power between the parties to be put into relation (Caria, 1995c). The qualitative methodologies, whether ethnographical or not, that deal with the socio-cultural phenomenon only at the discursive level and out of context of the action, and therefore only contextualised through the relation of (arbitrary) interpretation centred on the text (including the interview text), certainty also have virtues to contribute in the identification and/or cognitive processes, but are not able to simultaneously allow analysis of the mind and the practice of professional culture: the cultural mind of the profession. I emphasise mind and practice simultaneously: it is important that it remains crystal clear that we do not consider ethnographical research as a task that views social action as a text to interpret (cf. Hekman, 1990). As we saw earlier, through the concepts of the habitus and the cultural


mind, we do not advocate a congnitivist or subjectivist conception of the relation in thinking and action: there is not the mind on the one hand, with its representations, and practice on the other, with its constraints and structural conditions (Borzeix et al., 2003). This refusal also supposes that by searching for critical interceptions about the cultural minds in presence, one may gain the opportunity to reflect on the way the relations of symbolic power have limited and empowered the processes of ethnographical understanding, and therefore arrive at a judgement about the suitability of the subject for the object of social science (cf. Bourdieu, 2001; Caria, 2008). This specific formulation for the ethnographical research has significant consequences for the way the relation between discourse and practices in social life are viewed, with special relevance on the discourses focusing on the policies that frame the professional practice. Hence one has to counteract and fight against a very common tendency in educational research, in particular in Portugal, in the analysis of the relations between teachers and the public education policies, when the opposition or unsuitability between the policies and school practices is brought to the fore. In this formulation an epistemology of deficit is drawn up, which gives special emphasis describing teachers (making them both victims and perpetrators at the same time) in terms of what they do not possess, do not understand, do not know, etc, taking it for granted that the local schools and teachers have a “deaf ear” when it comes to the central politicaleducational guidelines. Against this epistemology I have stated that the meaning of everyday school is not deficient or in opposition to the political-institutional discourse on the School. It has rather its logic and a direction in action that is not completely subordinated to the symbolic violence of the political-central discourses. This phenomenon seems to escape the education scientists, because in criticising to a greater or lesser degree, they are accomplices of the epistemology of deficit and are therefore not sufficiently able to design the direction of action that depends on the everyday experience and practice of the teachers: they see the practical meaning only as the result of processes of recontextualisation of knowledge or see it only as a local sense of experience, without considering the processes of transfer of knowledge regulated by the practical conscience. If we take it as certain, as we mentioned earlier, that the recontextualisations and transfers of knowledge are not automatic and spontaneous among the different spaces and times of social life, I ask the following: how can we guarantee that the efficacy of the discursive meaning of any given policy, including education policy, can depend only on a greater or lesser degree of resources to interpret the policy texts or lack of systematised coherence of the texts to suitably implement the discursive meaning of the policies produced? 126

From deficit to the filter: the practice of ethnography To better explain the difficulties of implementing a given policy, including education policy, it is more appropriate I believe to begin with an epistemology of filter. This formulation is a metaphor to explain how we conceive the functioning of a professional culture in relation to any abstract discourse (e.g. political or scientific). It should be noted that when we focus on the idea of deficit between discourses and practices we are thinking about the knowledge based on whom centrally in the institution produces meaning and then we will see, either critically or legitimising, to what extent this meaning is disseminated and reinterpreted by the people to whom it is addressed (even if we understand the people to whom it is addressed as victims of some symbolic power). On the contrary, when we start with the metaphor of filtering we start by placing ourselves at the point of view of those who use the knowledge every day and who, therefore, in an initial moment are not legitimate producers of the knowledge. They are, however, active in the use of the information that is available because they select, choose and reorganise it, but at the same time undermine and ignore the intentions, meanings and contents that, for whom is looking from the point of view of the centre of the institution, are seen as errors or faults of the users and not as identification and cognitive options when the users show a certain form of power peripheral to a given institutional system. It is here that an ethnographical approach of the professional cultures, in the epistemological orientation I referred to above, is essential. It should be noticed that in the tradition of social anthropology the study of cultures is marked by the need of the ethnographer to place himself in the critical interception of the horizons common to the different cultural minds, discarding two incorrect formulations about the ethnographical method: (1) the naïve and empiricist idea that the researcher can completely take into account his symbolic power and the ethnocentrism of western academics, and therefore fully accept the point of view of the native (Clifford, 2002; Geertz, 1996); (2) the relativist formulation that nobody can manage to think/interpret outside the context of action in which a given cultural mind is built (Hekman, 1990; Reynoso, 2003, pp. 11-61). As such, the culture of any native in relation to a given context of action contains a native point of view of the world, including the relation of the self/us with the wider world: a horizon of meaning that can be interpreted by the social ethnographer, as the critical interception between different cultural worlds. As a consequence, being at the periphery of a given social system is at the same time not being able to be aware, through a practical-contextual knowledge, of a condition of objective existence, filtered by the inter-


subjective sharing with others. This practical-contextual knowledge operates in a partial way, segmented and spontaneous, like common practical conscience, therefore not being an unconscious social operator like the habitus. It would rather be a reflective and shared explanation (an interactive reflexivity) of shifting from a natural attitude to a reflexive attitude in relation to the social world (see Cefaï, 1998). This shift, further below, we call know-how to be. Applying this guideline in the 90s to the study of teachers, I had to make it clear for myself that my object of research could not start from the legislation of educational reform, nor from what teachers were expected to do, based on the official definition of the school institution. My object of study had to start from the inter-subjectivity of the group, of doing and thinking collectively that was transmitted to the younger teachers and that was being updated (in a consensual and interactive way) as the new political situation unfolded. The conclusion I arrived at was a question of tradition that contained the three aspects of a professional culture that I outlined above: a collective interpretation of the institutional role, a certain identification with the everyday activity of work and a certain mobilisation of knowledge, part of which was abstract and another part of which was practical, that produced in the workplace what was taken as a competent professional (Caria, 2000, pp. 240-276 and 307-408). It was around these aspects of professional culture that the content of educational policy, and its legislative and administrative tools, was then reinterpreted and appropriated by the teachers, and was immediately ignored and undermined in some cases or supported and advocated in other cases. The texts and devices of the political-educational discourse were available and hence could be used (there was access to the information), but they had to be also ignored or advocated by myself as the ethnographer, just as the teachers did, or I would risk not understanding this culture as I would not be able to “remove myself from the logic” of the discursive meaning of the policy. I had to understand the filtering of knowledge that the teachers undertook, because only as such would my ethnographical text, as the discursive meaning of translation between cultures, be guaranteed to operate as a suitable reasoning of the culture of the teacher. It is pointed out that in this understanding of the ethnography, the study of a professional culture corresponds to the analysis of the way a given social group is seen and sees others in the institution/field in which it participates. As such, the borders that the group creates for itself are demarcated to define the social world that surrounds it, within the limits of the power it believes it has. As a consequence, the object of the study contains analysis of the professional ethnocentrism itself

and the way this, in certain social conditions, manages to be viewed to a greater or lesser extent, through the interception of horizons with the other. In the light of these conclusions I can say that I did not see the teachers as individualists, conservative, or dominated by the institution, as much of the scientific literature on the teaching profession proffers. The teachers seemed to me like a collective group that wielded huge power in the everyday life of the school institution and an appreciable capacity to experiment the new and create innovation. The peripheral power of the culture-conjuncture of the teacher But conceiving and describing this type of collective power, implemented in a given professional culture, is not a question of seeing the professional group as a community, nor seeing it as an active participant in the political debates that affect its activity. The mode of power which we are referring to is what we have already called peripheral power, in opposition to the centralised power in the social field that institutes legitimate social practices. The power in the periphery of the institution/field is essentially informal, oral and interactive. It is not organised in order to constrain individual action or to establish conduct within a model of action. As such, the intention is not to be proactive or promote any given project of community action of origin or destination. The peripheral power is one of resistance, sabotage, silent opposition; which however does not have its own discursive identity that enables it to dispute a place within the power and the legitimate conflicts of a given social field, but which at the same time, every day, can constrain or enhance the practical power of instituting. Therefore, the collective interpretation that the teachers make of their role and professional identity cultivates a momentary know-how to be and not a permanent knowhow to be. The teachers do not manifest a permanent know-how to be because they do not want to confirm a specific and collective knowledge that is part of the educational political and symbolic struggles. This is why they cannot, nor wish to take a stance in the political debate on education. But the teachers have momentary know-how to be with regard to the educational policy, because this guarantees them the unity of action needed so that at each moment they know how to position themselves in relation to the institution to preserve their peripheral power: what to undermine or advocate, in each situation, in the social interaction (Caria, 2000, pp. 542-570). The know-how to be peripheral power, because it knows what collectively it does not want, knows what


does not belong to it, knows what it cannot have, knows what is not expected to happen. The know-how to be comes to the fore, therefore, through an ethos of negation and avoiding proactive action. This is why, as I said earlier, it is not a community of origin, nor of project: any and every more proactive attitude generates and highlights the separations and divisions of the ideologies and professional projects that coexist at the heart of the teachers. To sum up, the peripheral power does not want to run risks: the risk of losing effectiveness in its ability to constrain and undertake silent sabotage of the institutional power which guides the fortunes and debates the School, as it has no guarantee that it can earn a significant share of political power over the school system through the fact that it is a participant in the educational debate. But faced with this risk it is not enough to cultivate an ethos of defensive or passive opposition; it is necessary that this principle of practice goes further, because as the teachers are not, as I said, a community of origin or project, it is important to know how to act and deal with the huge social and cultural heterogeneity that its own professional group contains. Indeed, we see that each time the group risks adopting a position and opts for an alternative path among several, that is not merely the confirmation of a “no” in relation to institutional decisions given, it immediately divides itself into a multiplicity of aspirations, directions and guidelines for action. This is why it is decisive for any professional group to create a local tradition of doing and thinking, that socialises the younger members and teaches the know-how to be to the peers, knowing how to live with the differences in professional projects and social trajectories at its heart. Failure to do so will lead to the risk that the evident differences turn into hierarchies and are viewed as deficits in relation to a standard or model, in the case of a professional teaching standard, which is foreign and external to them, because it is designed by social groups that hold more economic and social power (Caria, 2000, pp. 525-541). As Bourdieu wrote, only the social groups that have greater social and economic power in society can afford to collectively show or cultivate differences and enable these differences to have connotations of social distinction on lifestyle (Bourdieu, 1979). In the everyday language of the teachers it is said that the group does not look favourably upon those who stand out, who excessively affirm themselves, who think and do for themselves, i.e. those who create distinction and for this reason reveal the heterogeneity of the group to the exterior. On the contrary, the group looks favourably upon those who innovate, propose, experiment but who do and think so without mapping out and radicalising the divergences, preferring instead to share the innovation with the rest of the group. This sharing is not borne out of altruism, but because it is known that the group will not appropriate 128

that which has an author, because to preserve the collective peripheral power educational innovation that distinguishes what each person experiments will never be formalised (Caria, 2000). As a consequence, the professional culture of the teachers developed in the practical-cultural knowledge has to have the capacity to silence the divergences of positions in the group and know how to deal with the differences in interpreting how the surrounding world is viewed. The group has become skilled in the art of developing a culture that knows how to create consensus among the heterogeneity of positions and professional trajectories. And it knows how to enable educational innovation, informal and interactive, to coexist in the same place, without explicit opposition and splits against the formal and institutional conservatism, resisting the central power of the institution. The culture of the teacher carries out a symbolic work on the self, inasmuch as becoming and seeming equal to what is socially and culturally heterogeneous (Caria, 2000, pp. 309-341). Therefore we return to the idea that the “culture object” is not a norm for us, or a symbolic structure. It is an apparent social construction that becomes real through the localized social reproduction of a given social group, through a tradition. The possibility of thinking the culture in these terms supposes, we believe, looking upon it as a situational determination of the practice, linked to the aforementioned interactive reflexivity, and not as a structural-symbolic determination, as is the case of the habitus (Caria, 2004; cf. Miranda, 2002). If the teachers do not have the option of social distinction, the solution to enable power to be wielded, albeit peripheral, is to undertake a symbolic game which I have called social levelling (the opposite of social distinction): the group cultivates the similarities through silences of some practices and through consensus of meaning of others. This makes the divergences and conflicts between the professional ideologies of different teachers pale into insignificance in the public field and informal social interaction within the group. But this symbolic game has to be taken seriously by the participants (it is not “make-believe”) so that they can believe that they are a community, when at the same time they do not have objective conditions to be one. Meanwhile, the game observed was so serious that they also convinced the ethnographer, myself at the time, to recognise the symbolic existence of a professional culture in the singular, not that of professional cultures (in the plural) as is traditionally concluded in the analysis about the teaching profession3 if the professional group adopted a stance in relation to the educational policies and therefore entered into the game of revealing in the debates about the school institution the different professional ideologies existing and their articulations with the various positions under discussion.


The use of knowledge As I believe has been left explicit, this description of the situational culture of peripheral power clearly stresses the way the teachers use this knowledge. Note that we are not highlighting the fact that the teachers may or may not agree with the content of the educational policies4. What we are referring to is that any content is subordinated to a certain way of using the knowledge: there is no content without a way of conceiving it. And as the very word suggests, the content of any educational policy is formulated, as in the case of the teachers, by a use that serves the expression of a peripheral power and not by a use that serves the affirmation or participation in the political power of the School. There is therefore, for the culture of the teacher, a crucial qualitative difference between the contexts of action and the position adopted in the educational policy and the contexts of pedagogical-didactic action of teaching that constitute the culture of the teacher. In both contexts the use of the knowledge (content and form) is determined by the position cultivated and occupied in the school field: the central position or a peripheral position. This is the big difference in cultures of power that explains, as we said earlier, the apparent “deaf ear” of the teachers in Portugal to the central political-educational guidelines. Hence, the recontextualisation of the meaning of the texts proposed by the political-educational culture (located at the centre of the institution/school field) have to be filtered by the practical meaning of the knowledge of the culture of peripheral power of the teacher. This filtering has, indeed, to be mutual so that the apparent opaqueness between the discourse and practice is continually and mutually reproduced. Any professional culture, in drawing up an interpretation of its institutional role and developing an identification with the content of its own institutional activity, does so through a socio-cognitive activity that is expressed not only in the contextual content of meaning

(the text of the discourse or the knowledge of practice), but mainly a way of using the knowledge that expresses and implements the power that it has or deems to have on the practices of institutionalisation of the knowledge. In the case of teachers, the content of the educational knowledge is subordinated to the format of a use that implements a peripheral power in the school field. But such power must be seen as a social relation: this professional peripheralisation is in a relation of formal subordination to the central discursive power and the dogmatic use of the knowledge in the politicaleducational guidelines in Portugal. We say dogmatic use, because the evidence found seems to indicate that the way the abstract knowledge which is produced by the central-political power is used shows, simultaneously, an inability to dialogue with the knowledge of the practitioners (the discourse has no contextual-practical value) and inability to impose itself effectively on the practitioners (the discourse has no technical-instrumental value). There is a reproduction of an apparent separation between the cultural-discursive mind (the rationalpositive mind, according to Raúl Iturra), that implements a central political-educational practice in a political text (specific to the school field), and the cultural-practical mind, that implements knowledge in a peripheral political-educational practice (specific to an everyday professional). To conclude, both the social minds implement contents and ways of using the knowledge without, however, intercepting each other in a common reflexivity: the social actors understand that the practice of the practitioners and the texts of the politicians do not have contextual value for the other party. Not having contextual value, as we have seen, does not mean that the texts are not used by the practitioners, nor that the practices are not known by the politicians. It means only that the reflexivity of one side does not serve the reflexivity of the other: there is no critical interception of cultural horizons.


Endnotes 1. For more detailed information visit the website: http://home.utad.pt/aspti/. 2. The different ways of (un)articulating these two processes of mobilising knowledge have been conceptualised by us as usage styles of the knowledge. This problem can be found in the work previously referred to, written by myself after 2002. 3. Note that in the original ethnographical work the existence of several curricular cultures among the teachers is recognised, collected through reports of action in the classroom. But these are not the object of the collective attention of the group, of their social interaction and the interactive reflexivity. In this case, the cultural diversity shows itself only on an individual and private level of the classroom, because the organisational culture cultivates teaching individualism, resulting from the effect of segmentation of the school activity into disciplinary spaces and times (Cf. Caria, 2000, pp. 409-523). 4. This actually appeared to happen in many cases of teachers questioned by me individually and in private. Bibliographical references Bagla, Lusin (2003). Sociologie des Organisations. Paris: La Découverte. Beck, Ulrich (1998). La Sociedad del Riesgo: havia una nueva modernidad. Barcelona: Paidós. Bell, Daniel (2004). Las Contradicciones Culturales del Capitalismo. Madrid: Alianza Editorial. Bernstein, B. (1993). La estructura del discurso pedagógico. Madrid: Morata. Bernstein, B. (1998). Pedagogía, control simbólico e identidad – teoría, investigación y crítica. Madrid: Morata. Boltanski, Luc & Chiapello, Ève (1999). Le Nouvel Esprit du Capitalisme. Paris: Gallimard. Boltanski, Luc & Thevenot, Laurent (1991). De la justification: les économies de la grandeur. Paris: Gallimard. Borzeix, Anni; Bouvier, Alban & Pharo, Patrick (orgs.) (2003). Sociologie et Connaissance: nouvelles approaches cognitives. Paris: CNRS Éditions. Bourdieu, Pierre (1972). Esquisse d’une Theorie de la Pratique. Paris: Dunod. Bourdieu, Pierre (1979). La distintion — critique social du jugement. Paris: Minuit. Bourdieu, Pierre (1987). Economia das trocas simbólicas. São Paulo: Perspectivas. Bourdieu, Pierre (1998). Meditações pascalianas. Oeiras: Celta Editora. Bourdieu, Pierre (2001). Science de la science et réflexivité. Paris: Éditions Raisons d’agir. 130

Bourdieu, Pierre & Wacquant, Loic (1992). Réponses: pour une anthropologie réflexive. Paris: Seuil. Bourdieu, Pierre & Passeron, Jean-Claude (1978). A reprodução – elementos para uma teoria do sistema de ensino. Lisboa: Vega. Caria, Telmo H. (1995a). A interpretação da reforma educativa como processo de subordinação formal dos professores. Inovação, VIII, 3, pp. 333-344. Caria, Telmo H. (1995b). Qual o sentido e a organização da área-escola? - uma abordagem sociológica. Educação, Sociedade e Culturas, 3, pp. 57-71. Caria, Telmo H. (1995c). Prática e aprendizagem da investigação sociológica no estudo etnográfico duma escola básica 2.3. Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, 41, pp. 35-62. Caria, Telmo H. (1996). As políticas educativas e a mente cultural dos professores. Economia e Sociologia, 62, pp. 81-92. Caria, Telmo H. (1997). As culturas curriculares dos professores de matemática - uma contribuição etnosociológica no quadro do 2º ciclo do ensino básico. Educação, Sociedade & Culturas, 7, pp. 55-74. Caria, Telmo H. (1999a). A racionalização da cultura profissional dos professores — uma abordagem etnosociológica no contexto do 2º ciclo do ensino básico. Revista Portuguesa de Educação, XII, 1, pp. 205-242. Caria, Telmo H. (1999b). Investigar os intermediários do conhecimento. Comunicação ao Colóquio Comemorativo dos 20 anos da Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais. Coimbra: Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra (mimeo). Caria, Telmo H. (1999c). A reflexividade e a objectivação do olhar sociológico na investigação etnográfica. Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, 55, pp. 5-36. Caria, Telmo H. (2000). A cultura profissional dos professores - o uso do conhecimento em contexto de trabalho na conjuntura da reforma educativa dos anos 90. Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian/ Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. Caria, Telmo H. (2001a). A Universidade e a recontextualização profissional do conhecimento abstracto: hipótese de investigação e acção política. Cadernos de Ciências Sociais, 21-22, pp. 71-85. Caria, Telmo H. (2001b). Notas sobre a relação profissões e uso da ciência: os casos dos médicos veterinários e dos animador-técnicos do desenvolvimento. Texto apresentado no IV Seminário sobre Análise Social das profissões em trabalho técnico-intelectual. Vila Real, documento de trabalho ASPTI, nº15 (mimeo). Caria, Telmo H. (2002). O uso do conhecimento: os professores e os outros.Análise Social,164,pp.805-831. Caria, Telmo H. (2003a). As classificações “indígenas” sobre o trabalho técnico-intelectual: o caso de jovens engenheiros florestais no contexto de trabalho de Associações Florestais do Norte de Portugal.


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Telmo H. Caria Sociologist, Associate Professor of Social Sciences at the Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro and Full-time Researcher at the Centre of Educational Research and Intervention (CIIE) of the Psychology and Educational Sciences Faculty at Porto University. For further information on his professional activity see his personal website: http://home.utad.pt/~tcaria/index.html

Translated by Thomas Kundert


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Sísifo, educational sciences journal: Instructions to Authors

1. Sísifo is a university journal on Educational Sciences and in electronic format, published by the Educational Sciences R&D Unit of the University of Lisbon;

2. Sísifo is a free access journal, available at http://sisifo.fpce.ul.pt 3. Sísifo journal is published in two languages (Portuguese and English), translations being due to the Journal; 4. Each issue will have an editor who is entitled to get an expert review to ensure articles’ quality and scientific integrity, together with the Editorial Committee; 5. The core of each issue is devoted to a thematic dossier. Sísifo journal accepts academic works in the form of articles, notes and book reviews on Educational Sciences. Eventually articles previously published in foreign languages will be accepted provided they are unedited in Portuguese; 6. Submissions should be sent by e-mail to [email protected]; 7. Articles cannot exceed 60.000 characters, including spaces, footnotes and bibliography (except tables and charts); research papers, notes and review articles cannot exceed 30.000 characters; and individual reviews 10.000 characters. 8. Articles should include an abstract of 1.200 words, 4 key-words and a short biographical sketch of the author(s) (affiliations, primary research interests, most recent publications and contacts – telephone and e-mail); 9. Norms for in-text citations and references: (author, date) or (author, date: page/s); if there is reference to more than one item by a specific author they should be listed chronologically and by letter (Bastos, 2002a), (Bastos, 2002b) if more than one item has been published during a specific year. If there is more than one author, quote the first name and use et al. in the text and the reference list: (Bastos, et al., 2002); 10. Footnotes should be used sparingly and only to add text that you feel is important to the argument but would break up the flow of the argument if included as text; A bibliography should be placed at the end of the text containing only the sources cited in the text in alphabetical and ascending chronological order when there is more than one item by a specific author; 11. Bibliographical criteria:

a. Books: Bastos, C. (2002). Ciência, poder, acção. Lisboa: Imprensa de Ciências Sociais. b. Collected works: Bastos, C.; Almeida, M. & Feldman-Blanco (orgs.) (2002). Trânsitos coloniais: diálogos críticos luso-brasileiros. Lisboa: Imprensa de Ciências Sociais. c. Classics, namely translations, mention date of 1st edition and name of translator: Espinosa, B. (1988 [1670]). Tratado teológico-político. Translation by D. P. Aurélio. Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda. d. An article in a journal: Cabral, M. V. (2003). O exercício da cidadania política em perspectiva histórica (Portugal e Brasil). Revista Brasileira de Ciências Sociais, 18 [volume number], 51 [issue number], pp. 31-60.

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e. An article in a collected work: Bastos, C. (2002). Um centro subalterno? A Escola Médica de Goa e o Império. In C. Bastos; M. V. Almeida & B. Feldman-Blanco (orgs.), Trânsitos Coloniais: diálogos críticos luso-brasileiros. Lisboa: Imprensa de Ciências Sociais, pp. 133-149. f. An article in an online journal: Hidi, S. (2006). Interest: A unique motivational variable. Educational Research Review, 1 [volume number], 2 [issue number], pp. 69-82. Retrieved [month, year], from http://www. sciencedirect.com/science/article/B7XNV-4M21TB1-2/2/ccf7573a154cffb09d7b1c057eff198d [source]. g. An online document: Wedgeworth, R. (2005). State of Adult Literacy. Retrieved [month, year], from http:// www.proliteracy.org/downloads/stateoflitpdf.pdf [source].

sísifo 3 | instructions to authors