The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture conveyed today his satisfaction with the results achieved by Azorean 1st form students in Math.
Avelino Meneses spoke during the training course on "Re...think the Teaching of Math: Dynamics in the Promotion of School Success." He stressed that the results achieved in the first year of the implementation of the "Prof DA" project, teachers specialised in learning disabilities, "are very encouraging."
According to Avelino Meneses, "there have been clear improvements in learning in this short period of time, which is evidenced in thru decrease from 17 to 10% and from 26 to 21% in the marks 'insufficient' and 'sufficient', respectively, and an increase from 30 to 33% and from 28 to 36% in the marks 'good' and 'very good', respectively."
"We were very pleased when we saw the good results of our work," said the Secretary for Education, who expressed his belief that "the solution" for the problem of school failure in the Azores "involves the improvement of support systems for students."
The "earlier" the support is provided, the better it will "prevent the transformation of early difficulties into irreversible difficulties and, in this context, the success of students' school path necessarily requires the progress of learning."
The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture spoke to a hundred and fifty participants, who focused their work on the subject of Math throughout the school year 2015/2016, recalled that students "are at the core of the educational system."
Thus, if students "are at the core of the system," it is necessary to "mount a vigorous opposition to the obstacles that hinder their regular progression" and, in this regard, school failure "is the major setback."
According to the Regional Secretary for Education and Culture, the Government built ProSucesso - Azores for Education, integrated programme for the promotion of school success, under the guidance of the so-called Agenda 2020, whose goals for the reduction of school failure are "very demanding." It is based on a "truly noble" purpose: "the academic success of all students."
This plan is "necessarily for the long-term," Avelino Meneses said, stressing that it is "one of the most important challenges" for the future of the Azores that involves the whole community and not "just the Government."
The training course on "Re...think the Teaching of Math: Dynamics in the Promotion of School Success" takes place in Vila Franca do Campo in partnership with the Town Hall. It brings together teachers and technicians from all the islands of the Azores, with the exception of Corvo, under the technical advisory of professors of the Universities of Lisbon and the Azores.