Sandra Fernandes
Biographic Data
| ID | 3827342 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sandra Fernandes |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sandra |
| FAMILY NAME | Fernandes |
| SIGNATURE | FERNANDES S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Minho |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3994-6915 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 9 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 21 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Reading Anxiety and Reading Performance in 3rd Grade Children: Predictive Role of Reading Anxiety Beyond Cognitive Predictors
This study examined the role of reading anxiety (RA) in 3rd grade children's reading performance, alongside recognized cognitive predictors, such as phonological awareness (PA), naming speed (RAN), and verbal working memory (VWM). To enable this investigation, the 20-item version of the Reading Anxiety Scale (RAS-20) was first adapted for European Portuguese, as no validated instrument was previously available. Participants included 109 Portugues…
Teacher induction as an ecosystem of practices: Developing a new lens to understand the interrelated work of stakeholders
This study explores the concept of teacher induction, defined as a structured approach to supporting early career teachers (ECTs) in their first year. We understand induction as an ecosystem of actors and practices and offer a new lens to better understand the interdependence amongst stakeholders and their supportive roles. Our thematic analysis of stakeholder interviews is guided by an ‘ecologies of practice’ framework that we adapted to explore…
The Use of AI by Undergraduate Students of Social Education in Spain and Portugal: A Case Study
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently transforming many areas of society, including education. AI offers innovative tools and methods that personalise learning, automate processes and improve the educational experience. Social education seeks to foster integral human development and collective well-being, and AI can be a powerful tool to achieve these goals. For this reason, the main objective of this study is to learn about the use of AI by …
Executive Function Correlates of Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Intimate partner violence (IPV) significantly affects victims’ physical and mental health. Neurocognitive impairments, particularly in executive functioning, are crucial for daily functionality. However, no reviews or meta-analyses have focused on executive function (EF) alterations or the associated mechanisms contributing to a better understanding. This study aimed to synthesize and analyze differences in EF performance between women victims of…
Foreign Policy Specialisation in EU Small States: Conceptualising and Analysing an Underexplored Practice
This paper defines and categorises the concept of ‘foreign policy specialisation,’ emphasizing its significance in small EU member states’ practices and its role as a source of power in international negotiations. It distinguishes specialisation proper from other forms of foreign policy prioritisation. Drawing on insights from various disciplines, small states’ strategic documents, and interviews with diplomats, we build our definition of foreign…
Determinants of HIV late presentation among men who have sex with men in Portugal (2014–2019): Who’s being left behind
Introduction: HIV late presentation (LP) remains excessive in Europe. We aimed to analyze the factors associated with late presentation in the MSM population newly diagnosed with HIV in Portugal between 2014 and 2019. Methods: We included 391 newly HIV-1 diagnosed Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), from the BESTHOPE project, in 17 countrywide Portuguese hospitals. The data included clinical and socio-behavioral questionnaires and the viral genomic …
The logic of distinction: Nationalism and status seeking in Germany
This article proposes a framework that captures the logic of status seeking and reassesses the influence of one of its key drivers: nationalism. Inspired by Bourdieu’s logic of distinction, the article conceptualises status as a form of social distinction and argues that nationalism influences status seeking based on variations in its external dimension. By examining the case of German nationalism, we illustrate how status-seeking practices such …
Teacher Professional Development in Higher Education: The Impact of Pedagogical Training Perceived by Teachers
This paper aims to analyze the impact of a pedagogical training program aimed to promote teacher professional development in a higher education institution in Portugal. Based on a mixed-methods approach, the study evaluates the satisfaction of 36 higher education teachers with the pedagogical training program offered and discusses its impact on teachers’ perceptions of teaching practices, conceptions, and professional development. The results fro…
Lessons learned from Covid-19 pandemic to improve project/service-based learning approaches: Findings from Engineering students
This paper describes a case study based on the implementation of a project/service-based learning approach in the context of a curricular unit of an Engineering Education programme. It discusses the challenges and pedagogic responses found to adapt the teaching and learning process to the pandemic period, reflecting on the lessons learned to improve project/service-based learning approaches. For data collection, an online questionnaire was applie…
Portugal in the nuclear realm: A case of broad ‘multilateralization’
Nuclear proliferation and nuclear disarmament have regained centrality in the global security agenda. The weakening of existing regimes and the search by a growing number of states to acquire or extend their nuclear capacities have contributed to shape recent developments. This paper analyses how Portugal’s foreign policy orientations, grounded on its Euro-Atlantic identity with a global vocation and a colonial past, matter in defining its nuclea…
Institutional Inertia and Change: Explaining the Czech and Portuguese Engagement in European Defence Market Integration
The Permanent Structured Cooperation in Defence (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund (EDF) constitute another attempt to consolidate the European defence market. In this article, we explain the different engagements of Czechia and Portugal in the two initiatives until 2021 through the evolution and reform of the domestic institutions governing their defence industrial policies. We trace how the institutions were established, how they contributed…
What Do Preschool Teachers and Parents Think about the Influence of Screen-Time Exposure on Children’s Development? Challenges and Opportunities
Children’s exposure to screens has been increasing in recent years and so has the concern about its impact on children’s development. This study aims to analyze preschool teachers’ and parents’ views on the influence of screen-time exposure on children’s development. Semi-structured interviews with preschool teachers (n = 9), as well as data from a previous quantitative study, based on an online questionnaire applied to parents of children in pre…
Improving the Performance of Student Teams in Project-Based Learning with Scrum
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of Scrum for project and team management in PBL teams in higher education. To attain this goal, a study was carried out to analyze students’ perceptions about Scrum as an effective method for PBL teams. Based on two different editions of PBL that used the Scrum method with different characteristics in each approach, this paper aims to identify the best practices for effective team and proj…
Are perceptions of grandparenthood related to family and life satisfaction? A study with emerging adults
Given the crucial role that grandparents play in the upbringing and well-being of their grandchildren, research regarding the perceived importance of grandparents for their emerging adult grandchildren is of particular relevance. This study examined the relations between perceived grandparents' roles and family and life satisfaction in Portuguese emerging adults. Participants (N = 387), aged 18-25, completed a structured self-report questionnaire…
Estonia and Portugal in Europe: Escaping peripherality, capitalizing on marginality
Estonia and Portugal are small states located at opposite geographical fringes of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This article analyses how their NATO and EU memberships matter in escaping the anathema of periphery. We argue that the two countries can be comparable with each other because they share an experience of post-authoritarian democratization, a liminal geographic location with the ensuing geopol…
Studying European margins in the illiberal turn: A spacio-normative approach
The aim of this special issue is to look at challenges to the EU and NATO and their relations and policies with both member states and neighboring countries, in particular, how recent developments contribute to the new dynamics of center–periphery relations in a wider Europe and the space of Euro-Atlantic institutions. We stem from a need to understand in what sense weaker countries today might be central to European governance, security and iden…
Visa liberalization processes in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood: Understanding policy outcomes
Focusing on EU visa liberalization policy with Russia and Eastern Partnership countries as a case study, this article seeks to investigate the drivers of EU external migration policy in regards to its neighbourhood. In doing so, the article seeks to understand whether policy objectives and instruments employed by the EU emphasize security or normative considerations, or both. It also scrutinizes the factors behind this emphasis. In particular, it…
Russia and Transforming Security Relations in Europe: A Mix of Strategic and Normative Rationales
Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has retained special attention as a Eurasian country with a defining role in the evolution of the former-soviet space. We argue here that the issue of Russian evolution under Putin’s leadership has raised specific questions in the security realm, potentially affecting the entire post-soviet space and the European security architecture. This paper aims at, firstly, exploring geopolitics as a contributing persp…
Students’ views of assessment in project-led engineering education: Findings from a case study in Portugal
According to the demands of the Bologna process, new educational methods and strategies are needed in order to enhance student-centred learning. Project work is one of those approaches. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of project-led education (PLE) on students’ learning processes and outcomes, within the context of a first-year engineering programme. It explores students’ perceptions about assessment procedures and processes. Data collecti…
European Security through EU-Russian Relations: Towards a New Multilateral Order
Since the end of the Cold War, the EU and Russia have managed to create an original framework for institutionalised cooperation despite asymmetric characteristics. Yet, the way these two main security actors interact has an impact on the (non)-resolution of security issues in Europe, ranging from ‘‘frozen conflicts’’ to the discussion of the security architecture. Since the second mandate of President Putin, the relation has been characterised by…
Is Phonological Encoding in Naming Influenced by Literacy
Visa liberalization processes in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood: Understanding policy outcomes
Focusing on EU visa liberalization policy with Russia and Eastern Partnership countries as a case study, this article seeks to investigate the drivers of EU external migration policy in regards to its neighbourhood. In doing so, the article seeks to understand whether policy objectives and instruments employed by the EU emphasize security or normative considerations, or both. It also scrutinizes the factors behind this emphasis. In particular, it…
Are perceptions of grandparenthood related to family and life satisfaction? A study with emerging adults
Given the crucial role that grandparents play in the upbringing and well-being of their grandchildren, research regarding the perceived importance of grandparents for their emerging adult grandchildren is of particular relevance. This study examined the relations between perceived grandparents' roles and family and life satisfaction in Portuguese emerging adults. Participants (N = 387), aged 18-25, completed a structured self-report questionnaire…
Studying European margins in the illiberal turn: A spacio-normative approach
The aim of this special issue is to look at challenges to the EU and NATO and their relations and policies with both member states and neighboring countries, in particular, how recent developments contribute to the new dynamics of center–periphery relations in a wider Europe and the space of Euro-Atlantic institutions. We stem from a need to understand in what sense weaker countries today might be central to European governance, security and iden…
Is Phonological Encoding in Naming Influenced by Literacy
European Security through EU-Russian Relations: Towards a New Multilateral Order
Since the end of the Cold War, the EU and Russia have managed to create an original framework for institutionalised cooperation despite asymmetric characteristics. Yet, the way these two main security actors interact has an impact on the (non)-resolution of security issues in Europe, ranging from ‘‘frozen conflicts’’ to the discussion of the security architecture. Since the second mandate of President Putin, the relation has been characterised by…
Students’ views of assessment in project-led engineering education: Findings from a case study in Portugal
According to the demands of the Bologna process, new educational methods and strategies are needed in order to enhance student-centred learning. Project work is one of those approaches. This paper aims to evaluate the impact of project-led education (PLE) on students’ learning processes and outcomes, within the context of a first-year engineering programme. It explores students’ perceptions about assessment procedures and processes. Data collecti…
Russia and Transforming Security Relations in Europe: A Mix of Strategic and Normative Rationales
Since the end of the Cold War, Russia has retained special attention as a Eurasian country with a defining role in the evolution of the former-soviet space. We argue here that the issue of Russian evolution under Putin’s leadership has raised specific questions in the security realm, potentially affecting the entire post-soviet space and the European security architecture. This paper aims at, firstly, exploring geopolitics as a contributing persp…
Visa liberalization processes in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood: Understanding policy outcomes
Focusing on EU visa liberalization policy with Russia and Eastern Partnership countries as a case study, this article seeks to investigate the drivers of EU external migration policy in regards to its neighbourhood. In doing so, the article seeks to understand whether policy objectives and instruments employed by the EU emphasize security or normative considerations, or both. It also scrutinizes the factors behind this emphasis. In particular, it…
Estonia and Portugal in Europe: Escaping peripherality, capitalizing on marginality
Estonia and Portugal are small states located at opposite geographical fringes of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This article analyses how their NATO and EU memberships matter in escaping the anathema of periphery. We argue that the two countries can be comparable with each other because they share an experience of post-authoritarian democratization, a liminal geographic location with the ensuing geopol…
Studying European margins in the illiberal turn: A spacio-normative approach
The aim of this special issue is to look at challenges to the EU and NATO and their relations and policies with both member states and neighboring countries, in particular, how recent developments contribute to the new dynamics of center–periphery relations in a wider Europe and the space of Euro-Atlantic institutions. We stem from a need to understand in what sense weaker countries today might be central to European governance, security and iden…
Improving the Performance of Student Teams in Project-Based Learning with Scrum
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of Scrum for project and team management in PBL teams in higher education. To attain this goal, a study was carried out to analyze students’ perceptions about Scrum as an effective method for PBL teams. Based on two different editions of PBL that used the Scrum method with different characteristics in each approach, this paper aims to identify the best practices for effective team and proj…
Are perceptions of grandparenthood related to family and life satisfaction? A study with emerging adults
Given the crucial role that grandparents play in the upbringing and well-being of their grandchildren, research regarding the perceived importance of grandparents for their emerging adult grandchildren is of particular relevance. This study examined the relations between perceived grandparents' roles and family and life satisfaction in Portuguese emerging adults. Participants (N = 387), aged 18-25, completed a structured self-report questionnaire…
What Do Preschool Teachers and Parents Think about the Influence of Screen-Time Exposure on Children’s Development? Challenges and Opportunities
Children’s exposure to screens has been increasing in recent years and so has the concern about its impact on children’s development. This study aims to analyze preschool teachers’ and parents’ views on the influence of screen-time exposure on children’s development. Semi-structured interviews with preschool teachers (n = 9), as well as data from a previous quantitative study, based on an online questionnaire applied to parents of children in pre…
Teacher Professional Development in Higher Education: The Impact of Pedagogical Training Perceived by Teachers
This paper aims to analyze the impact of a pedagogical training program aimed to promote teacher professional development in a higher education institution in Portugal. Based on a mixed-methods approach, the study evaluates the satisfaction of 36 higher education teachers with the pedagogical training program offered and discusses its impact on teachers’ perceptions of teaching practices, conceptions, and professional development. The results fro…
Lessons learned from Covid-19 pandemic to improve project/service-based learning approaches: Findings from Engineering students
This paper describes a case study based on the implementation of a project/service-based learning approach in the context of a curricular unit of an Engineering Education programme. It discusses the challenges and pedagogic responses found to adapt the teaching and learning process to the pandemic period, reflecting on the lessons learned to improve project/service-based learning approaches. For data collection, an online questionnaire was applie…
Portugal in the nuclear realm: A case of broad ‘multilateralization’
Nuclear proliferation and nuclear disarmament have regained centrality in the global security agenda. The weakening of existing regimes and the search by a growing number of states to acquire or extend their nuclear capacities have contributed to shape recent developments. This paper analyses how Portugal’s foreign policy orientations, grounded on its Euro-Atlantic identity with a global vocation and a colonial past, matter in defining its nuclea…
Institutional Inertia and Change: Explaining the Czech and Portuguese Engagement in European Defence Market Integration
The Permanent Structured Cooperation in Defence (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund (EDF) constitute another attempt to consolidate the European defence market. In this article, we explain the different engagements of Czechia and Portugal in the two initiatives until 2021 through the evolution and reform of the domestic institutions governing their defence industrial policies. We trace how the institutions were established, how they contributed…
Determinants of HIV late presentation among men who have sex with men in Portugal (2014–2019): Who’s being left behind
Introduction: HIV late presentation (LP) remains excessive in Europe. We aimed to analyze the factors associated with late presentation in the MSM population newly diagnosed with HIV in Portugal between 2014 and 2019. Methods: We included 391 newly HIV-1 diagnosed Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), from the BESTHOPE project, in 17 countrywide Portuguese hospitals. The data included clinical and socio-behavioral questionnaires and the viral genomic …
The logic of distinction: Nationalism and status seeking in Germany
This article proposes a framework that captures the logic of status seeking and reassesses the influence of one of its key drivers: nationalism. Inspired by Bourdieu’s logic of distinction, the article conceptualises status as a form of social distinction and argues that nationalism influences status seeking based on variations in its external dimension. By examining the case of German nationalism, we illustrate how status-seeking practices such …
The Use of AI by Undergraduate Students of Social Education in Spain and Portugal: A Case Study
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently transforming many areas of society, including education. AI offers innovative tools and methods that personalise learning, automate processes and improve the educational experience. Social education seeks to foster integral human development and collective well-being, and AI can be a powerful tool to achieve these goals. For this reason, the main objective of this study is to learn about the use of AI by …
Executive Function Correlates of Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Intimate partner violence (IPV) significantly affects victims’ physical and mental health. Neurocognitive impairments, particularly in executive functioning, are crucial for daily functionality. However, no reviews or meta-analyses have focused on executive function (EF) alterations or the associated mechanisms contributing to a better understanding. This study aimed to synthesize and analyze differences in EF performance between women victims of…
Foreign Policy Specialisation in EU Small States: Conceptualising and Analysing an Underexplored Practice
This paper defines and categorises the concept of ‘foreign policy specialisation,’ emphasizing its significance in small EU member states’ practices and its role as a source of power in international negotiations. It distinguishes specialisation proper from other forms of foreign policy prioritisation. Drawing on insights from various disciplines, small states’ strategic documents, and interviews with diplomats, we build our definition of foreign…
Reading Anxiety and Reading Performance in 3rd Grade Children: Predictive Role of Reading Anxiety Beyond Cognitive Predictors
This study examined the role of reading anxiety (RA) in 3rd grade children's reading performance, alongside recognized cognitive predictors, such as phonological awareness (PA), naming speed (RAN), and verbal working memory (VWM). To enable this investigation, the 20-item version of the Reading Anxiety Scale (RAS-20) was first adapted for European Portuguese, as no validated instrument was previously available. Participants included 109 Portugues…
Teacher induction as an ecosystem of practices: Developing a new lens to understand the interrelated work of stakeholders
This study explores the concept of teacher induction, defined as a structured approach to supporting early career teachers (ECTs) in their first year. We understand induction as an ecosystem of actors and practices and offer a new lens to better understand the interdependence amongst stakeholders and their supportive roles. Our thematic analysis of stakeholder interviews is guided by an ‘ecologies of practice’ framework that we adapted to explore…
Political science (10 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Sociology (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Economics (7 works) · European Union Policy and Governance (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Political economy (6 works) · Politics (6 works) · Mathematics education (5 works)