Ricardo Pocinho

This article understands Early Childhood Education Centers as spaces for intergenerational education, considering the theoretical foundations that connect Early Childhood Education, Educational Gerontology, and the University of Maturity as a proposal for lifelong learning. It is a qualitative study with an interpretative and phenomenological approach, developed through a case study involving educational practices carried out by the University of Maturity in partnership with a Municipal Early Childhood Education Center. The methodological approach is based on bibliographic research, documentary analysis, and participant observation of intergenerational activities, using the phenomenological understanding of lived experiences and the meanings attributed by participants to their educational practices as a reference. The results demonstrate that the interaction between children and older adults constitutes a formative process based on dialogue, reciprocity, and the appreciation of knowledge built throughout life. The shared experiences reveal that participants simultaneously assume the roles of learners and educators, strengthening affective bonds, promoting social participation, and contributing to the re-signification of aging. It is concluded that intergenerational practices developed in Early Childhood Education environments have the potential to expand pedagogical possibilities, strengthen a culture of respect for older adults, and contribute to the construction of inclusive, supportive educational spaces committed to lifelong learning.

This study analyzes the challenges related to the provision of mental health services for older adults in the state of Tocantins, considering structural, territorial, social, and organizational aspects that influence the effectiveness of care provided to this population. This is a bibliographic and documentary study with a qualitative approach, descriptive-exploratory nature, and based on the hypothetical-deductive method. The research was developed through the analysis of institutional documents, legislation, public reports, and scientific publications related to aging, mental health, public policies, and the promotion of quality of life among older adults. The study identifies that, despite the advances achieved through the consolidation of public health policies and the organization of the Psychosocial Care Network, significant challenges remain in the Tocantins context, particularly regarding territorial inequalities, the concentration of specialized services, transportation difficulties, shortage of qualified professionals, and weaknesses in the coordination between different levels of care. The results also demonstrate that complementary strategies, such as continuing education, social participation, leisure activities, and the use of technologies, have the potential to strengthen autonomy, social inclusion, and mental health promotion among older adults. It is concluded that strengthening mental health care in Tocantins depends on expanding and improving existing services, integrating health, education, social assistance, and community sectors, as well as implementing territorially appropriate actions according to the needs of the older population. This research contributes to expanding the academic debate and supporting reflections on public policies aimed at promoting healthy aging.

Inclusive education in non-formal socio-educational spaces constitutes a relevant dimension for the guarantee of rights, social participation, and the comprehensive development of children and adolescents in contexts of diversity and social vulnerability. This study analyzes the presence of inclusive education principles in the institutional documents of the Don Bosco Salesian Youth Center, considering guidelines related to welcoming, diversity, specific educational needs, and comprehensive education. This is a qualitative, applied research with an exploratory and descriptive character, developed through documentary research and a case study. The document analysis was carried out by organizing information into thematic categories related to inclusive education, the welcoming and monitoring of students, neurodiversity, family participation, articulation with the protection network, the guarantee of rights, and the strengthening of family and community bonds. The results show that the institutional documents incorporate principles convergent with the perspective of inclusive education, highlighting actions of welcoming, systematic monitoring, attention to specific needs, and articulation with the areas of education, health, and social assistance. It is also identified that the socio-educational proposal values comprehensive education and the strengthening of family and community bonds as important dimensions of inclusion. It is concluded that the Don Bosco Salesian Youth Center presents potential to contribute to the construction of inclusive practices in non-formal education spaces, although the challenge remains to strengthen professional training, institutional planning, and intersectoral articulation to ensure the realization of inclusive principles in daily socio-educational life.

O envelhecimento demográfico, o aumento da prevalência de demência e de outras doenças crónicas incapacitantes e a fragilidade das redes formais e informais de apoio têm intensificado, em Portugal, a permanência de pessoas idosas em hospitais após alta clínica por razões predominantemente sociais. O fenómeno dos internamentos inapropriados — também referido, consoante o contexto institucional, como internamentos sociais ou permanências hospitalares proteladas por motivos sociais — evidencia insuficiências persistentes na articulação entre saúde, segurança social, justiça e estruturas comunitárias de cuidado. O presente artigo analisa esse problema numa perspetiva jurídico-social, sustentando que a permanência indevida de pessoas idosas com demência em leitos hospitalares não representa apenas ineficiência organizacional, mas também risco concreto para a dignidade, a autonomia e a efetividade do direito à saúde. Com base em revisão teórica, normativa e documental, discutem-se o idadismo institucional, a relação entre declínio cognitivo e capacidade de decisão, o papel do serviço social hospitalar e a articulação entre a Rede Nacional de Cuidados Continuados Integrados, o regime do maior acompanhado, o Estatuto do Cuidador Informal e os mecanismos de acolhimento transitório previstos no ordenamento português. Conclui-se que Portugal dispõe de instrumentos juridicamente relevantes, mas continua a operacionalizá-los de modo fragmentado, tardio e reativo, dificultando uma continuidade assistencial adequada e socialmente justa.

O envelhecimento populacional tem ampliado a necessidade de estratégias comunitárias orientadas para a promoção da autonomia, da participação social e da qualidade de vida da população idosa. Nesse contexto, o presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar a fragilidade de participantes da Rede de Universidades Seniores do Concelho da Chamusca (RUSCha), considerando as dimensões física, psicológica e social. Trata-se de uma investigação quantitativa, descritiva e transversal, realizada com 63 participantes inscritos na RUSCha. A recolha de dados foi efetuada através de um questionário sociodemográfico e aplicação do Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI). Os resultados indicaram média global de fragilidade inferior ao ponto de corte estabelecido pelo instrumento, embora a dimensão física tenha apresentado valores mais elevados. Também foram observadas diferenças segundo género, estado civil, composição do agregado familiar e tempo de frequência na universidade sénior. Conclui-se que a participação em universidades seniores pode contribuir para fortalecimento das redes sociais, promoção do envelhecimento ativo e redução de vulnerabilidades sociais na velhice.

O envelhecimento populacional tem ampliado as discussões sobre solidão, participação social e qualidade de vida na velhice, especialmente entre pessoas idosas inseridas em contextos comunitários. Este artigo teve como objetivo analisar a relação entre a frequência da Universidade Sénior da Figueira da Foz e os sentimentos de solidão em alunos séniores. Trata-se de um estudo quantitativo, realizado com 86 participantes, através da aplicação de questionário sociodemográfico e da Escala UCLA de Solidão, na adaptação portuguesa de Neto. Os dados foram analisados com recurso ao IBM SPSS Statistics, utilizando estatística descritiva e testes não paramétricos. Os resultados indicaram média geral de 34,36 pontos na Escala UCLA, sugerindo baixos níveis de solidão percebida entre os participantes. Também foram identificadas diferenças estatisticamente significativas segundo género, faixa etária, tempo de frequência e motivo de ingresso na Universidade Sénior. Conclui-se que a USFF pode contribuir para a convivência, participação e manutenção de vínculos sociais, embora a solidão permaneça associada a fatores múltiplos e subjetivos.

Population aging requires innovative solutions that promote social inclusion and active aging. In this context, the University of Maturity (UMA), which is part of the Federal University of Tocantins, stands out as a pioneering social technology in the education of older adults. Based on the principles of gerontological education, UMA values accumulated knowledge, promotes well-being, and strengthens intergenerational bonds. The discussion addresses inclusive educational technologies, a curriculum open to Indigenous worldviews, education with older adults, and aging as an ancestral connection, including the concept of forest citizenship (florestania). With an interdisciplinary curriculum encompassing education, culture, health, and leisure, UMA reaches traditional communities, such as the Akwẽ-Xerente Indigenous people in the state of Tocantins (Brazil), and expands to Soure (Portugal). Its intergenerational approach promotes the exchange of knowledge between generations, empowering older adults and highlighting their transformative role in society. This initiative combats prejudice and strengthens the construction of an inclusive society prepared for the challenges of aging. Between 2023 and 2024, an exploratory study analyzed the social and cultural impacts of UMA in Amazonian and Portuguese contexts. Through observations and interviews, practices promoting active aging and intergenerational integration were identified. The study reinforces UMA as a replicable model that can be adapted to different cultures, contributing to the development of inclusive public policies and consolidating gerontological education as a tool for social transformation.

The traditional diet of the Akwē-Xerente people represents a central axis of social organization, cultural continuity, and collective health production, historically grounded in direct interaction with the territory, communal food preparation, and intergenerational transmission of dietary knowledge. In recent decades, however, territorial transformations, economic pressures, and the growing incorporation of industrialized foods have reshaped Indigenous food systems, reducing natural dietary diversity and introducing consumption patterns associated with chronic diseases and metabolic imbalances. This study aims to analyze traditional Akwē-Xerente dietary practices, with emphasis on the Berarubu ritual, and to discuss contemporary transformations in Indigenous food systems and their implications for health and longevity. A qualitative approach was adopted, grounded in the interpretative framework of social health research proposed by Minayo, allowing food to be understood as a socially meaningful practice. The findings reveal an unequal coexistence between traditional practices and industrialized foods, the weakening of collective commensality, and the expansion of dietary patterns linked to increasing health vulnerabilities. The study concludes that traditional food systems function as historical strategies for promoting well-being, social cohesion, and longevity, while their erosion contributes to emerging health risks, highlighting the importance of strengthening ancestral dietary knowledge within public health and food sovereignty policies.

Population ageing imposes significant challenges on educational systems, demanding approaches capable of engaging with territorial and generational diversity. Intergenerational education responds to part of this challenge — but remains, to a large extent, fragmented and lacking structured methodological frameworks. This article examines TRAMA VIVA as a Social Technology of intergenerational education, created by Neila Barbosa Osório at the University of Maturity (UMA/UFT) in 2006 and certified by the Fundação Banco do Brasil in 2011. The objective is to demonstrate that doing science with old people is a legitimate pathway for producing knowledge about creative longevity — a concept that names what market euphemisms conceal. The UMA operates 22 poles across diverse Brazilian territories — urban, rural, indigenous, and quilombola — but this article focuses on a case study conducted in March 2026 in the Brazilian Amazon: a session that brought together, for the first time documented in Brazilian literature, graduate students in education, elderly UMA academics, and reserve military personnel in the same pedagogical experience. Findings reveal that the invisibility of old age operates in simultaneous layers of race, sexuality, military rank, and territory, and that the central pedagogical device of TRAMA VIVA — the educator's self-disclosure as subject before any theoretical statement — is the condition of possibility for participants to present themselves whole. The methodology produces not only reflection: it produces project, belonging, and self-awareness. Grounded in the essay Velho É Nome [Old Is a Name] (Osório & Silva Neto, 2026a) and empirical research with Amazonian populations, TRAMA VIVA contributes to the international debate by naming what samples from the Global North have not yet gone looking for.

How do the Big Five personality traits translate into psychological well-being? A community sample of 268 Portuguese students and teachers, aged 14 to 75, completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI-44), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and the Psychological Well-Being Manifestation Measure Scale (EMMBEP). We used Spearman correlations with Holm correction, parallel mediation models with 5,000-sample bootstrap confidence intervals, and cross-validated machine learning. Every trait was associated with global well-being in the expected direction; the strongest correlates were Neuroticism (ρ = −.55) and Extraversion (ρ = .48). For Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness, positive affect partly carried the association. Neuroticism worked through both channels, lowering positive affect and raising negative affect, yet a significant direct effect survived for every trait. Machine learning predicted well-being out of sample at R2 = .45 from the Big Five alone and .47 with affect, and tree-based models did not beat linear regression, indicating additive rather than interactive effects. Results held after adjusting for age, gender, and role, and in an adults-only subsample. Affect is thus a central route from personality to well-being, but not the only one, which matters for trait-informed interventions in education.