Teacher: Sabrina Vieira Fialho
Meet the teacherLinks
Sabrina Vieira Fialho
Sabrina worked in the information technology sector for more than 15 years taking on roles in sales, program management, training and coaching. In May 2023 she took on a new role as a pedagogical Tutor and Coach at Teach for Portugal, this work complements her PhD in Climate Change and Sustainable Development Policies which she has been carrying out since 2022 at ICS, University of Lisbon. Sabrina has also taken part in multiple volunteering activities over the years as a DARTE ambassador, empowering young people from deprived areas through arts in Portugal; and as a SATRO mentor, mentoring high school students for two years in the United Kingdom. In her spare time, Sabrina enjoys practicing yoga and producing music.
Usefull links related to the Solution
ics.ulisboa.pt
Overview
This project is part of Sabrina’s PhD research in Climate Change and Sustainable Development Policies at ICS, University of Lisbon; combined with an experiment which is taking place in Portugal, leveraging the presence of Teach for Portugal fellows across multiple public schools from the north to the south of the country. This research combines Climate Education, Science Education, Environmental Ethics and Political Science.
Theory of Change
The main objective of the project is to create space to give more voice to young people in the climate change debate, and by actively listening to them, find ways to increase their contribution to policy-making and decision-making at local, regional and national levels.
Approach and Actions
The first phase of the project involves finding out what young people aged between 10 to 18 think about the future, what they worry about and what they would do if they had limitless powers. Sabrina wanted to find out ‘If we were to dream, dare and envision the future, what would we prioritize?’, ‘What matters to young Portuguese people?’ as well as young people’s thoughts on how they would tackle global warming.
Sabrina is currently collecting quantitative and qualitative data related to these questions. This data collection will take three to four years in total and includes listening to young people, teachers, educators, climate activists, system leaders and policymakers in Portugal; through live interviews, questionnaires, workshops and young participatory action research. Sabrina aims to collect relevant evidence to produce new theories and come up with a set of recommendations for policymakers interested in the role of youth in building a sustainable future. At this stage, it is hard to tell how many young people will be accounted for but the outcome should target as many students as possible for a truly representative outcome.
Impact
Sabrina believes that ultimately, young people from all socioeconomic backgrounds should become co-leaders in the transition to a net zero society. This research and project should inform system leaders and provide a meaningful contribution to policy-making related to youth and environmental issues.
This research project is at a very initial stage and is estimated to take place between 2023 and 2026. Sabrina plans to share more outcomes as more data is collected and knowledge built up – using a grounded theory approach.