Case Study: Escola Secundária de Francisco Rodrigues Lobo

Case one: copied homework

The following paragraphs describe a situation that sometimes happens in school life.
Read about it please!

Joao never does the homework the Portuguese teacher asks for.
Mariana always does her homework.
Both take the same bus that leaves them at school before the bell rings. Joćo uses that time to ask Mariana to copy her homework. Mariana allows it. Joćo makes some changes so that the teacher cannot notice that both pieces of homework are similar.
The teacher evaluates the work and generally both are generally marked as "Good".
Filipe always does his homework alone. His work has never been marked as "Good".
Filipe knows about Joćo. One day Filipe was expecting a good mark, which he didn't get, Joćo's work was marked as "Good". Filipe doesn't stand it any longer and tells the teacher everything he had kept secret for a long time.

A. Discuss the following questions:
1. Why does Joćo act the way he does?
2. Why does Mariana allow Joćo to copy her work?
3. Why does Filipe decide to tell the teacher everything he knows?
4. How is the teacher going to react?
After discussing these questions, write down your group's conclusions

B. From the list below, refer to the "basic values" that the types of behaviour described.
put at stake. You may add any other "values which you think are appropriate. Consider the following questions:
1. Which "basic values does Joćo's behaviour put at stake? Account for your choices.
2. Which "basic values" does Mariana's behaviour illustrate? Account for your choices
After discussing these questions, write down your group's conclusions

Case Two: new at school

The following paragraphs describe a situation that sometimes happen in school life.
Read about it please!

Rosa is at a certain school for the first time. As she doesn't know anybody, during breaks she tries to get close to a group. The elements of the group seem to be rather cool: they listen to the same music, they dress in the same way she does. She notices that all of them smoke but she doesn't care about that.
One day Mário offers her a cigarette. Rosa doesn't accept it, tells them she has never smoked and she doesn't intend to start. The others laugh at her. Rosa tells them that she practises sports and is a member of an environmental organization which campaigns against smoking. The others bully her as they defend that smoking helps people to socialize, to relax and to be at ease.
Time and again Mário tries to persuade Rosa to smoke a cigarette with them, but Rosa keeps on refusing.
Rosa realises that she is being excluded from their talks and that the group didn't invite her for their weekend meeting. She feels sad and starts thinking that she'd better leave the group.
A. Discuss the following questions:
1. Why does Mário insist on offering Rosa a cigarette?
2. Why doesn't Rosa give in?
3. Why does the group start excluding her?
After discussing these questions, write down your group's conclusions

B. From the list below, refer to the "basic values" that the types of behaviour described.
put at stake. You may add any other "values which you think are appropriate. Consider the following questions:
1. Which "basic values does Rosa's behaviour illustrate? Account for your choices.
2. Which "basic values" do her friends' behaviour put at stake? Account for your choices
After discussing these questions, write down your group's conclusions

Case Three: making hard choices

The following paragraphs describe a situation some Portuguese families go through.
Read about it please!

Simone's father is a doctor and would very much like her daughter to study medicine. She would like to please him, but at the same time she feels no vocation for medicine.
Although she has always been a good student, now she feels demotivated and, as a result, she doesn't do her best at school.
Simone and her parents start arguing a lot as her parents realize she is not making an effort to get good marks
Simone is aware that her performance at school is being affected because of her parents' pressure. She feels very anguished and lost. She is thinking of leaving school and starting looking for a job.

A. Discuss the following questions:
1. Why do Simone's parents put so much pressure on her?
2. How do you account for Simone's attitude?
After discussing these questions, write down your group's conclusions

B. From the list below, refer to the "basic values" that the types of behaviour described.
put at stake. You may add any other "values which you think are appropriate. Consider the following questions:
1. Which "basic values" do Simone's parents put at stake with the way they behave? Account for your choices.
2. Which "basic values" does Simone put at stake with the way she behaves? Account for your choices
After discussing these questions, write down your group's conclusions

Case Four. Young people and Politics / Democracy

Lead in:
It is assumed that youngsters do not care about political affairs. Why?

Vocabulary: politics, political party, party politics; thinking of going into politics; poll - the polls (i.e. process of voting at an election; the counting of votes);
going to the polls=voting in a political election

Activity: role-play

A.
You are fed up with politics. You do not believe in politicians. They keep on promising things they know they will never accomplish. They just want you to vote to accede to the power and they are not concerned with people's welfare.
You refuse to cooperate in the coming elections, because you think that it won't change anything.

B.
You recognize that it has been very difficult for politicians to govern. The world economy influences national economy. So if the country is not in a good situation the politicians are not to blame.
You still believe that something can be done.
You'll vote in the coming elections

C.
You do not believe in Democracy - nobody obeys to rules, rich people do not pay taxes, civil servants are lazy people livng from our money, there's no order, there's lack of security, immigrants are coming to get our jobs, there are too many political parties, too many opinions...
What the country needs is a great, and efficient leader that could be appointed by the President of the Republic and would chose his own team to make a long-lasting and strong government.

D.
You believe in Democracy. You consider that elections are very important because only through elections you can choose your representatives in Parliament - persons elected to speak and act on your behalf.
If you don't vote you are letting others decide for you.
You'll participate in the action of choosing by vote your candidates. You consider it not only a right but also a duty.


The cases were worked in: two English classes (50 pupils); one Portuguese (Drama) class (20 pupils) and during a meeting in the European Club (25 pupils) Total: 95 pupils

Evaluation of the activity:
The "situations" provided a lot of discussion in the group and in plenum.
The conclusions they have arrived at show:
- that these pupils are aware of the presence or absence of values in the type of behaviours described
- they have no problems in evaluating a behaviour as right or wrong, although they hesitate when confronted by the opinions given by elements of another culture that live at school a 'different' experience (difficulties of integration, school success, etc.)
- they consider the presence of values like :perseverance, persistence in behaviours like "insisting with someone to smoke" and , altruism when a pupil allows a school-fellow to copy the homework, instead of trying to do it by himself.
- this leads again to a lot of discussion in the group guided by the teachers

Evaluation of the instrument:
• Pupils enjoyed very much working with the cases.
• They feel very familiar with the situations so they all want to participate.
• To have to think about the meaning of the words referring to as "basic values" lead pupils to "fruitful agreement or disagreement, to a fruitful consensus or dissensus"


After having put into practice the role-play, ask pupils to do the following:
A.
1. to ask and count how many pupils in the classroom identify themselves with A, B, C or D
2. to write down their conclusions after discussing the subject.
3. to come to 'one' class conclusion, which one or two pupils write down and give to the teacher.

Note: (if possible ask them to see if the types of behaviour described put at stake any of the "basic values" from the list below. They may add any other "values" which they think are appropriate.)

The list of basic values applies to the four cases

Comments on these cases

The cases were worked in :two English classes (50pupils); one Portuguese (Drama) class (20pupils) and during a meeting in the European Club (25) Total: 95 pupils

Evaluation of the activity:
The "situations" provided a lot of discussion in the group and in plenum.
The conclusions they have arrived at show:
1. that these pupils are aware of the presence or absence of values in the type of behaviours described
2. they have no problems in evaluating a behaviour as right or wrong, although they hesitate when confronted by the opinions given by elements of another culture that live at school a 'different' experience (difficulties of integration, school success, etc.)
3. they consider the presence of values like :perseverance, persistence in behaviours like "insisting with someone to smoke" and , altruism when a pupil allows a school-fellow to copy the homework, instead of trying to do it by himself.
4. this leads again to a lot of discussion in the group guided by the teachers

Evaluation of the instrument:
o Pupils enjoyed very much working with the cases.
o They feel very familiar with the situations so they all want to participate.
o To have to think about the meaning of the words referring to as "basic values" lead pupils to "fruitful agreement or disagreement, to a fruitful consensus or dissensus".