Integrated member

Sérgio Gaitas

Assistant Professor

Biographical Note

Sérgio Gaitas holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and Educational Sciences from ISPA – Instituto Universitário and Université Toulouse II, with a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in Educational Psychology. He has served as an Educational Psychologist in various contexts and was the Pedagogical Director of a Private Institution of Social Solidarity for several years. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at ISPA-Instituto Universitário and a member of its Interdisciplinary Research Center in Education (EDUNOVA*ISPA). He has published articles in national and international journals, focusing on inclusion and differentiated pedagogy. He is currently coordinating the Portuguese team in the Erasmus+ project “Beating the Odds: Alternatives for Grade Retention” and is a member of the team with the project Navigating Educational Landscapes: Predictors and Effects of Grade Retention of the EARLI – Centre for Excellence in Research Group (E-CER).

Research Interests

Currently, his main research interests include topics such as inclusion and differentiated pedagogy, special educational needs, the role of psychologists in the context of inclusive education, students’ sense of belonging, and their well-being at school.

Relevant Publications

Gaitas, S., & Carêto, C. (2022). Educação inclusiva e as (insuperáveis?) fronteiras da organização escolar. Currículo Sem Fronteiras, 22(e1816), 1–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.35786/1645-1384.v22.1816

Gaitas, S., Sarabando, T., Alves, C., Alves Martins, M., Leite, G., & Laranjeira, R. (2024). Teacher instructional arrangements for supporting social and academic needs of students with special educational needs in regular classrooms. European Journal of Special Needs Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2024.2380593

Gaitas, S., Castro Silva, J., & Poças, A. (2024). A latent class analysis on students’ beliefs about teachers’ practices enhancing their well-being. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1252222. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1252222

Gaitas, S., Carêto, C., Peixoto, F., & Castro Silva, J. (2022). Differentiated instruction: ‘To be, or not to be, that is the question.’ International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28(11), 2607–2623. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2022.2119290

Leite, G., Alves Martins, M., Gaitas, S., Laranjeira, R., Alves, C., & Sarabando, T. (2024). Can peer mediation foster migrant students’ inclusion in mainstream classrooms? An exploratory case study. International Journal of Inclusive Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2024.2356209

Current PhD students

Dulce Guerreiro
Teaching practices in education of youth and adults deprived of their freedom

Hanna Kuchuryanu
Teachers’ beliefs and practices of differentiated instruction in compulsory Education

External collaborations

  • Katja Scharenberg (Ludwig Maximilian University, Germany)
  • Marcela Pozas (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany)
  • Paul Fabian (Ludwig Maximilian University, Germany)
  • Mieke Goos (UCLL & KULeuven, Belgium)

Alumni

Amália Cândido (2022)