From attitudes to self-efficacy: Understanding inclusive practices in physical education teachers

Physical Education (PE) teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy toward the inclusion of students with disabilities are key determinants of effective inclusive education. However, research has been limited by the scarcity of culturally adapted and psychometrically robust instruments and by an incomplete understanding of how sociodemographic factors shape these constructs and their interaction. A quantitative research design was employed with large national samples of in-service (n = 1073; Mage =...

Cardiac Manifestations of Systemic Sclerosis: Unraveling the Role of Exercise Tests in Diagnosis and Staging

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a autoimmune connective tissue disease characterized by immune-mediated vascular injury and progressive fibrosis affecting multiple organs, including the lungs and heart. Cardiopulmonary complications, particularly pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and primary cardiac involvement, represent leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Early detection remains challenging due to the subclinical onset and overlapping symptomatology of these entities. Fu...

Learning to teach physical education through student-centered approaches: An incursion into physical literacy

The aim of this thesis was to understand how preservice teachers (PSTs) learn to implement student-centered approaches (SCAs) within school-based physical education (PE), and how such pedagogical practices create conditions for the pedagogical development of physical literacy (PL) among students. Particular attention was given to the role of teacher education contexts organized as communities of practice (CoPs), and to how these collaborative environments support PSTs' professional learning a...

Da Educação Física para a Vida - Aprender a ensinar a Responsabilidade Pessoal e Social através da hibridização de modelos pedagógicos.

The present research aimed to examine the role of Physical Education and sport participation in the development of personal and social responsibility and in the prevention of bullying in socially vulnerable school contexts, while also exploring the underlying psychosocial processes and the effectiveness of pedagogical approaches based on model hybridization. Specifically, the dissertation integrates contributions from Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Self-Determination Theory (SDT), the T...