Recent developments in Education reveal a shift from teaching to learning, supported by international organizations (European Commission, s.d.) and experienced researchers (Hernandez, 2008; Laevers, 2008; Moss, 2008). This emerging paradigm was previously announced by “thinkers” in Education, such as Carl Rogers (with the movement “Freedom to learn”), Paulo Freire (the promoter of alphabetization in Brazil, whose ideas inspired educational movements elsewhere), Knowles (in his principles of adult education) and Holec (the promoter of learner autonomy in foreign language learning). This shift fosters a teaching/learning process concerning the development of traditional competences (such as Communication in the mother tongue, Communication in foreign languages, Mathematical literacy, Science and Technology and ICT), now placed in a new framework, dealing with the building of a knowledge-based society. In such a society, individuals must also show mastery of other competences not specifically related to a disciplinary field and generally ill-treated by the usual educational context, such as: Learning to learn, Interpersonal, intercultural, social competences, Civic competencies, Entrepreneurship and Cultural awareness (cf. European Commission, s.d.). This learner-centered approach implies new educational roles: more active and engaged students, capable of generating personal learning situations, assisted by teachers in these processes. It is aimed not only that they develop competences, but also that they use former knowledge while creating new knowledge. In general, it is sought that they learn how to deal with real, changing contexts. In this paper we intend to find out whether Portuguese research is following this trend or yet keeping in line with more traditional perspectives. We will analyse both the themes and pedagogical implications in 177 PhD and Master Thesis presented between 1996 and 2006, using a categorical instrument and a relational database called MAECC_BD specifically developed for that purpose. This data was collected within a major project thought to meta-analyse the scientific production in the field of Language Didactics in Portugal, from primary school to university contexts. This ongoing project is focused on identifying the main characteristics of scientific production in this field and the underlying epysthemological assumptions, analyzing its relations with society and drawing guidelines to promote new perspectives, both in research on Education and in educational policies. Besides determining whether this educational shift is showing evidence in Portuguese research, we expect to provide a tool for similar studies in the European framework, in order that our conclusions may be compared to similar ones in other contexts, allowing us to draw a closer picture of this issue. Financed by the Portuguese Foundation for the Science and the Technology (EMIP – POCI/CED/59777/2004 – Didáctica de Línguas: um estudo meta-analítico da investigação em Portugal).

Analysis of both the themes and pedagogical implications in 177 PhD and Master Thesis presented between 1996 and 2006, using a categorical instrument and a relational database called MAECC® specifically developed for that purpose.

Determining whether this educational shift is showing evidence in Portuguese research. Providing a tool for similar studies in the European framework. Comparing our conclusions to those of other research teams in different European countries.