Leanete Thomas Dotta

Leanete Thomas Dotta is a Researcher at the Center for Educational Research and Intervention (CIIE) within the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Porto, Portugal, and maintains an affiliation with Lusófona University. She is currently pursuing PhD studies in Educational Sciences at the University of Porto under a doctoral scholarship from the Foundation for Science and Technology, researching public education policies during digital transition.

Her academic credentials include:

• 2014: Equivalence of Doctor in Educational Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto
• 2010: Doctorate in Education, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil
• 2003: Master's in Education, Tuiuti University of Paraná, Brazil
• 2000: Degree in Pedagogy, University of Paraná - Unipar, Brazil

Dr. Dotta's research critically examines teacher training, professional identities, and narrative inquiry with emphasis on non-traditional adult learners. She specializes in political discourse analysis of educational policies, investigating how language constructs educational 'truths' during crises like the pandemic and digital transformation, particularly within compulsory schooling frameworks.

Her 2021-2024 publications reveal consistent focus on political discourse in education policy, cybersecurity education development, and citizenship training. Through discourse analysis, she maps how political actors frame educational meaning during digital transition and pandemic responses, while her cybersecurity research evaluates Portugal's higher education landscape against international standards.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Doctoral scholarship from the Foundation for Science and Technology

As a PhD candidate, Dr. Dotta does not supervise students. Her research is funded through her doctoral scholarship and externally sponsored projects including pandemic education discourse analysis and cybersecurity curriculum evaluation. She actively collaborates with the National Cybersecurity Office and Bissaya Barreto Foundation on policy-relevant studies.

Dr. Dotta is embedded in the CIIE research ecosystem and CoPIn network (IDEAFor - Identity, Democracy, School, Administration and Training), contributing to interdisciplinary teams examining educational policy implementation, citizenship education, and digital transition challenges in Portuguese schooling.