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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
This text examines early childhood education in Portugal, which is divided into two categories: Day
Care for children aged 0-3 years and Preschool Education in Kindergartens for children aged 3-6
years. The study focuses on Preschool Education, which is part of the Portuguese educational sys-
tem and emphasizes educational preparation for children. The Framework Law for Preschool Edu-
cation sets goals for socio-emotional and intellectual development, education for citizenship, cor-
recting social asymmetries, and equalizing opportunities. The study aims to understand kindergar-
ten teacher knowledge beliefs and practices regarding children's assessment and pedagogical doc-
umentation. Data were collected using an online questionnaire, distributed through social net-
works, and made available on the website of the APEI. The data were processed and analyzed with
the aid of the Pandas tool, revealing that most kindergarten teachers engage in weekly reflections
with children regarding the collected learning evidence and believe that a digital application could
facilitate the documentation process. The most common use of digital applications is to share pho-
tos and/or videos and exchange messages with families. Kindergarten teachers use various meth-
ods to collect data on children's activities, such as direct observation and conversation with chil-
dren, photographic records, and analysis of children's work. Overall, the study sheds light on how
kindergarten teachers perceive pedagogical documentation, its importance, and the challenges as-
sociated with assessing children. It also highlights how digital applications can facilitate the docu-
mentation process, making it easier to share learning evidence with parents and track children's
development.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Mesquita, Cristina; Azevedo, Maria; Castanheira, Luis; Pinto, Ana Lúcia; Lopes, Rui Pedro (2023). Portuguese national report on early years teachers conceptions and practices to assess and document childrens learning. EYdigiFoLio.