The Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), in partnership with Universidade de Lisboa and Instituto Politécnio de Setúbal, will launch this Saturday, March 4, the pilot project for the Arts and Cultures in Education Course, a free course aimed at future teachers of primary and secondary education. Guest speakers will include Martim Sousa Tavares, Afonso Cruz, Dino D’Santiago, Sandra Vieira Jürgens, and Zia Soares.

The goal is to bring future primary and secondary school teachers closer to artistic and cultural activities, to give them references and knowledge to develop new pedagogical approaches that are more diverse and inclusive.

This course will work in a hybrid model: theoretical classes with Professors and guest speakers; and visits to shows, concerts, exhibitions.

“Arts and cultures have a transformative power and are capable of building unexpected bridges. Bringing together Art and Education is something that has enormous potential and that FLAD wanted to test through this pilot project. It would be great to see this model extended to more areas of the country.”
Rita Faden, President of FLAD.

“We want to offer future teachers a solid scientific and human formation, capable of equipping them to successfully meet the multiple challenges that await them in the future. This training must include both strictly scientific knowledge and the arts and humanities.”
Luís Ferreira, Rector of the University of Lisbon

“I would like to reinforce the importance of this initiative as a pilot project for a wider implementation to future professionals in education, congratulating the involvement of the ESE/IPS teaching team in yet another innovative and transformative project for education in Portugal.”
Ângela Lemos, President of Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal.

The presentation session and class zero is scheduled for Saturday, March 4, at 10 a.m., at FLAD’s Auditorium in Lisbon, and will be attended by João Peixoto, Vice-Rector of Universidade de Lisboa, Ângela Lemos, President of Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, and Rodrigo Lourenço, Vice-President of Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal. Also present at the session will be the students of the course, the coordinators of the two classes, and Martim Sousa Tavares, representing the guest speakers.

Who the course is aimed at:
This course is aimed at future Primary and Secondary School teachers, current students at Universidade de Lisboa (Instituto de Educação de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, Instituto de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana) and at Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal (Escola Superior de Educação).
As this is a pioneering pilot project, at the beginning and end there will be an evaluation of the results of the course and the change brought about in the students, and contact with the students after the course to assess any initiatives that may result from the course. The extension to other parts of the country will be evaluated after the course.

How classes run:
Classes run from March 4 to May 13, with two classes of 18 students each. One of the classes will be made up of students from Universidade de Lisboa and another with students from Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal.
Visits to shows and exhibitions take place with both classes together, as well as part of the lessons. The others will run in parallel at Universidade de Lisboa and at Instituto Politécnio de Setúbal.

What areas of arts and cultures will be covered?
Classes and activities in the areas of Classical Music, Literature, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and Art and Inclusion are planned. Every class will have a coordinating teacher and a guest speaker.
The students will also be accompanied by their teacher in the activities – shows, exhibitions, concerts.

Why visit Quarteira’s D. Dinis Elementary School?
A trip to Escola Básica D. Dinis, in Quarteira, is also planned, due to its innovative approach to combating school drop-outs and the fact that it welcomes students of various nationalities using Art and Culture as tools for communication, inclusion and development. This visit will be guided by Dino D’Santiago.