Gulbenkian XXI School Learning Communities: a case study of an innovative experience

Abstract

The research project "Promoting Change in Learning: Gulbenkian XXI School Learning Communities" searches the improvement of student learning through the acquisition of basic knowledge within the formal curriculum and the development of analytical and practical reasoning skills, resilience and responsibility, emotional, social, and creative skills. The project is based on the “Learning for Well-Being” paradigm, this approach favours paradigm shift, moving from curricula designed fundamentally for cognitive development, to approaches that support the development of children and young people with the skills they need for life. The project is implemented in three schools from the Alentejo region, in the third, fourth grades (primary school), fifth and sixth grades (middle school), and staters with cohorts of third grade students. Seven classes from three groups of public schools in the Alentejo region participated in it. This article seeks to analyse the impact of the project through the analysis of educational efficiency and effectiveness, comparing the school results and the completion time of the students involved in the project with students from the Alentejo region and from Continental Portugal. The results indicate that the students who participate in the project register higher scores in the analysis of the different indicators.