Sara Tavares dos Santos

Sara Tavares dos Santos serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Viseu's School of Education and teaches at Colégio de Albergaria. She is concurrently pursuing her PhD in Education (Didactics and Curricular Development) at the University of Aveiro while working as a non-PhD integrated researcher at CIDTFF (Center for Didactic Research and Technology in Trainer Training).

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Education (Didactics and Curricular Development) at University of Aveiro (2020-2025, in progress)
• Master's in Teaching English and Spanish at University of Aveiro (2019, grade 18/20)
• Degree in Languages, Literatures and Cultures from University of Aveiro (2017, grade 18/20)

Sara's research centers on social representations of languages and cultures, plurilingualism, and linguistic landscapes as pedagogical tools. Her work examines how linguistic diversity manifests in educational settings through frameworks like awakening to languages and interculturality, with emphasis on school communities' perceptions of language and cultural identity. She investigates practical applications for curriculum development in multilingual contexts using qualitative methodologies.

Her publication record demonstrates consistent focus on language representation in educational ecosystems, particularly analyzing linguistic landscapes as bridges between urban spaces and cultural understanding. Recent work explores critical thinking integration in language education, social representations of the 'Other' in schools, and sustainability in interdisciplinary knowledge gardens.

She received doctoral funding from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (2020-2024) and participates in the Dice.Lang project (2020-DE01-KA203-005712) focused on digital citizenship education.

Sara actively contributes to LabELing at CIDTFF, co-organizing initiatives like 'Hello, my friend!' and European Day of Languages workshops. Her community engagement includes designing linguistic diversity awareness activities for schools through projects like In(Fluência) and LoCALL, creating practical connections between academic research and classroom implementation.