This article’s goal is to analyse some of the dimensions of the social debate on school violence, in that the issues in play bring together social conceptions about childhood, education policies, and the way societies that can be said to represent advanced modernity are evolving. The author seeks to help improve our knowledgeabout the efficacy of child socialisation policies and the diverse and contradictory way in which they are put into practice locally.

This article reflects on the focus group as a research technique used in an analysis of the relationship between learning spaces and pedagogy, developed as part of the assessment of the secondary school modernisation programme in Portugal. The research proposes a methodological innovation in the use of focus group, by developing focus groups before, during and after tours to the schools. The focus groups in this format were particularly important for the research since they facilitated a dynamic of social interaction and the expression of views and opinions among groups of pupils and teachers about the impact of the renovations on education practices. They also highlighted some of the specific aspects of the interaction between the appropriation processes and the object of the intervention, which was in itself object of contradictory interpretations. Further, this technique enables the attainment of a triangulation strategy, central to the study.

Since the mid-1970s, the countries of Southern Europe have been approaching European education patterns. This result can be observed in the positive dynamics and convergence with the rest of Europe. However, despite these visible results, the convergence was more evident up until the outbreak of the crisis, where the overall economic and political conditions also brought changes in policymaking in education to the Southern European countries, both in terms of policy priorities and educational outcomes. Therefore, while economic hardship and austere programs are a common trait in recent years, the changes cannot be directly or simply attributed to economic or financial constraints; these changes are mainly due to different political options endorsed by the governments of Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece. The main empirical sources are the Eurostat and theoecd. Other empirical material relates to national reports produced in the framework of an international project:ecseInternational Report, Educational Challenges in Southern Europe. Equity and efficiency in a time of crisis.

A crescente complexidade no desenvolvimento de políticas públicas traduziu-se pelo aumento significativo no envolvimento de especialistas, muitos deles cientistas. Esse envolvimento é expresso de várias maneiras, seja através de solicitações de estudos preliminares, processos de planeamento ou avaliações da implementação e do impacto de medidas políticas. O desenvolvimento da relação entre os campos científico e político desafia o papel dos cientistas como especialistas e do uso do conhecimento científico, bem como as relações de poder entre políticos e cientistas. A sociologia da educação em Portugal tem uma longa tradição de interação com o campo político, não apenas em estudos relacionados ao desenvolvimento e avaliação de políticas educacionais, mas também em colaboração com escolas e outros provedores de educação em processos de intervenção e inovação socio-educacional. É uma experiência em que a natureza crítica e reflexiva da sociologia se cruza com a intervenção, num debate entre racionalidades e lógicas de ação diversas, colocando muitas vezes os sociólogos na posição de mediadores entre atores do sistema educacional com interesses frequentemente conflituantes e que comunicam mal ou não comunicam mesmo entre si. Com base na produção de um conjunto de estudos ordenados por diferentes entidades públicas portuguesas, foi realizada uma reflexão sobre os desafios teóricos, metodológicos e éticos colocados por esta colaboração, bem como sobre as possibilidades que dela resultam. Palavras chave Sociologia da educação, políticas de educação, expertise, sociologia pública.

Every year, in a variety of countries, current higher education students welcome newcomers with a set of ritualised practices in which the latter submit to the former through tests that entail varying degrees and types of violence, but also an important element of playfulness. In Portugal, these rituals are known as 'praxe académica'. This is a complex and multidimensional social phenomenon whose origins go back centuries, but is constantly reinvented and helps socialise new arrivals in accordance with the norms of the group into which they are to be integrated.Using sociological contributions to understand these rituals and their effects, we analyse the Portuguese case, arguing that these customary ways of greeting new higher education students have a triple effect on student life, contributing to: 1) the initiates' integration into a differentiated group; 2) the demarcation and attachment of symbolic value to the group members, compared to non-students and students who refuse initiation; 3) the structuring of positions and relations of power that mark the student world beyond the ritualised moments.Moreover, these rituals provide meaning and a sense of ontological security to the present, in the face of the biographical uncertainty that characterises contemporary youth.