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We are delighted to announce SpringerBriefs in Education, an innovative product type that combines elements of both journals and books. Briefs present concise summaries of cutting-edge research and practical applications in education. Featuring compact volumes of 50 to 125 pages, the SpringerBriefs in Education allow authors to present their ideas and readers to absorb them with a minimal time investment. Briefs are published as part of Springer's eBook Collection. In addition, Briefs are available for individual print and electronic purchase.SpringerBriefs in Education cover a broad range of educational fields such as:

Comparative analyses of the Programme for International Student Assessment between immigrant and native students place immigrant students in an unfavourable position in schools, with disadvantageous indicators regarding socioeconomic and professional paths. However, the Programme for International Student Assessment assesses a series of dimensions that involve constructs that have been little studied in the school immigrant population and that relate to self-concept and school adjustment. Based on the Programme for International Student Assessment’s most recent edition, Portugal’s database of 7,325 15-year-old students was analysed. We selected 438 immigrant cases with two objectives: (1) to evaluate the impact of the length of exposure in the host country on three dependent variables of school adjustment: sense of belonging, perceived loneliness and attitudes towards school (expectations of educational and professional opportunities); (2) to evaluate the differences in results for the same dependent variables, but considering the first and second generation of immigrants in Portugal. For the data analysis, sampling weights and plausible values were analysed with the International Database Analyzer. The results show that students who have been in the country for a year or less have greater difficulties and increased significant differences compared to other migrant groups in the referred indices of self-concept and inclusion. However, other groups, especially those with periods of long-term residence between four and five years, also face substantial levels of school maladjustment.

O reconhecimento da influência da liderança no desempenho docente e discente conduz à necessidade de compreender este tipo de práticas nos diversos sistemas educativos e retirar daí informação pertinente para melhorar as respostas educacionais. A eficácia é um dos conceitos emergentes neste domínio de investigação e surge associado à definição de quadros de referência do desempenho dos líderes escolares. Com base numa incursão por documentos institucionais, bem como por dados de relatórios da OCDE, apresentamos uma síntese de quadros de referência para a liderança nas escolas em vários países. Os sistemas educativos selecionados apresentam práticas de liderança escolar tidas como positivas, que organizámos em seis dimensões: orientação estratégica, visão e missão; processo de ensino e aprendizagem (liderança instrucional/pedagógica); relações interpessoais e desenvolvimento; organização e gestão de recursos; prestação de contas e responsabilização; relações com comunidade e contextos.

(1) Background: Research in second language (L2) writing in the European context is an emerging tendency in L2 studies. European countries have become new hosts to immigrants in very recent years and new applied research is needed to aid schools in their inclusion process. (2) Method: This study examined differences in writing performance by comparing 99 immigrant students in Portugal between 7 and 17 years of age. They were assessed in six distinct aspects by means of a written essay in order to perceive how maturity and language groups impact competencies such as lexicon, grammar, sociolinguistics and use of strategies. (3) Results: The results were examined according to the competition model of MacWhinney and Bates (1989; MacWhinney 2005) and concluded that older students wrote more proficient essays. First language (L1) and parallel instruction in L1 were examined as covariates against their effects. (4) Discussion: Students who received parallel instruction in their L1 had better results in L2 writing, but only age-produced significant differences will be discussed.