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The use of Open Educational Resources (OER) for training in public administration has yet to see a wide adoption globally, mostly due to challenges related to the discovery and reuse of high-quality OER for training purposes. These challenges, combined with the general lack of openness in the public sector, have greatly impacted the penetration of OER in public administration. This paper presents a case study on the use of OER for expanding and enhancing curricular and resource sharing in public administration in Greece. Within this case study, an OER authoring and sharing platform was introduced to the Greek public sector, employing crowdsourcing methods for supporting trainers and trainees in authoring, sharing, reusing and remixing OER. The paper presents the deployment of this platform and the use of OER in the context of training programmes in the Greek public sector and reports on the lessons learned and the impact on public administration. The results of the case study showed that the use of OER was very positively received by civil servants, with a remarkable response, through active participation and engagement that led to the enhancement of existing OER and the co-creation of new ones for public administration.

Curriculum policy and enactment in early childhood education is a political phenomenon that plays out in particular cultural contexts. Comparative lenses to curriculum articulate locally constructed and implicit knowledge to external audiences. In doing so, global commonalities and tensions may become explicit. This paper interrogates curricular documents in Greece and New Zealand using selected questions from Joseph's (2011a) heuristic of 'curriculum as culture'. We do this through writing letters to each other that share our local knowledge and experiences and raise further questions. Although New Zealand and Greece are geographically and culturally two worlds apart, their curricular practices share certain discourses and have both been influenced by international trends. We argue that both countries' documents relate to first-order change where the policy document may not, in itself, update or change prior practices.

This study aims to understand the difficulties and the problems which are shown up in usage of evaluation in persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We focused on the Pedagogical Evaluation of all sectors of Kindergarten's Curriculum by preschool early intervention programmes. The method used and the data collected are referred to a case study. The data were classified by multifactorial analysis. In results, we found that the pupil has presented significant progress in coexistence level with his classmates by setting more limits in his behaviour. He has been able to form sentences and to transfer information. In conclusion, we confirmed the usage of different basis for evaluation and intervention. We also combined the content of the Curriculum with the Check Lists of Basic Skills (CLBS) because CLBS help us to plan and apply a Targeted Personal Integrated Programme of Special Education in the Kindergarten. [Paper presented at the Inclusive and Supportive Education IV Conference Congresso Internacional da Pró-Inclusão (8th, Lisbon, Portugal, July 26-29, 2016).]

Purpose: This paper explores the context, development and outcomes of a cross-European in-service training programme, developing mobile learning practices in school classrooms--MLEARN--in The Netherlands, England, Greece and Italy. This paper focuses on: contextual backgrounds; a training needs analysis; and initial, mid-term and final outcomes from teachers and learners. Design/Methodology/Approach: Evidence was gathered about: contextual backgrounds through literature reviews and key informant responses; a training needs analysis through online survey responses from teachers and trainers; and outcomes of uses from five surveys, largely completed online by teachers and learners, after some 2, 3, 5, 9 and 13 months of use. Findings: Findings from survey periods were compared to identify shifts and gaps. The training programme led to successful outcomes; there was rapid uptake and use of the mobile devices, as well as shifts in emphasis across the period of the pilot, dependent on contextual factors. But long-term integration requires focus on specific learning activities, as well as on integration beyond a one-year period. Social Implications: Uses of mobile devices are increasing, across countries and age ranges. How devices can be used to support learning and teaching in contemporary contexts is not temporally independent. Country curricula, legislation, training programme access, and teacher and learner awareness and perceptions, all influence practice. Originality/Value: Teachers have limited access to training programmes in this field. This study investigated a key pilot in this under-developed research area. Key factors need to be considered when programmes are developed and run.

This paper presents a case study of a private preschool in Thessaloniki, Greece. The school, located at the unique setting of an educational farm, has a curriculum focus on environmental education. An analysis of teacher interviews and lesson plans in the span of three years presents insights into the barriers teachers faced in implementing their environmental education curriculum, and the developments that occurred within this timeframe. Environmental education was found to not just be "a walk in the park," but a personal growth journey for the teachers and the school as a whole. Teachers' experiences implementing environmental education did not only improve their teaching methodology overall, but created a community of practice within the school.

This paper reports on the findings of a study that sought to examine firstly, the themes expressed in the art of disabled people in Greece and Cyprus and in interviews with these artists, and secondly, the ways that such art can serve the school curriculum. To this end, an electronic archive of the life stories and art of interest was analysed. The findings suggest that both the art and the interviews cover issues that are directly related to disability, and issues of general interest. A detailed analysis of two cases seeks to provide an in-depth understanding of the relevance of disabled artists and their work within the curriculum. The discussion focuses on issues emerging from the analysis, such as the potential of this art to enrich the school curriculum and promote inclusive education, and identifies the study's contribution to the international literature about disability, the arts and the curriculum.

The paper presents a notional account of the challenges facing the introduction of English as an international lingua franca (ELF) curriculum in the state schools of the expanding circle, taking Greece as a case in point. It broadly delineates an ELF curriculum as one focusing on the skills necessary for carrying out successful communication involving non-native speakers and then highlights a set of challenges linked to both teaching context and teachers' perceptions of professional identity. It focuses on challenges related to three facets of the professional identity of academically trained Greek state school EFL teachers, namely, their roles as users, specialists, and, ultimately, custodians of English for their learners and wider community. These facets are discussed with reference to a description of the country's current sociolinguistic and educational profile. The paper concludes with an overview of the strengths of an ELF curriculum for Greek state schools and discusses implications for ELF teacher education.

This paper aims at presenting disability issues in library and information science education in general and in Greece in particular. It also examines whether issues such as people with disabilities, accessibility, alternative format material and assistive technologies are incorporated in the library schools' curricula. Furthermore, the results of this study depict that library education still focuses on services for non-disabled users and the level of awareness of the needs of disabled library users' is lower than necessary. This paper is useful for all stakeholders in the LIS field (faculty and students) so as to help them understand the importance of library services for people with disabilities, review their curricula and finally, incorporate disabled patrons in them. (Contains 2 tables.)

Pedagogical beliefs and attitudes significantly determine the professional skills and practice of teachers. Many professional development programs for teachers aim to the elaboration of the pedagogical knowledge in order to improve teaching quality. This paper presents the study of pedagogical beliefs of computer science teachers in Greece. The research data reveal that computer science teachers usually hold mixed traditional and constructivist theories which are generally irrelevant to either demographic factors or their pedagogical training. In some cases statistically significant correlations to the educational level or the total teaching service are detected. The results of the study set out suggestions concerning the design of pedagogical training programs.

The inclusion of the natural environment in the theory, education and practice of social work has increasingly become a matter of interest amongst scholars and social work educators. There is a large and increasing amount of literature on this topic. However, the inclusion of environmental issues in the curricula seems to be evolving very slowly to date. This paper examines 94 social work curricula in four European countries, and notes the presence of environmental issues in their content, by using term categories. Findings show that the natural environment is extremely under-represented in the education of social workers. The paper argues that social work curiccula need to undergo immediate reform on an international level. The discussion section includes suggestions on how the natural environment could be integrated into social work curricula. The first suggestion is to create new subjects with a direct reference to environmental issues and green social work. The second one is to include in existing subjects topics that will draw on environmental sociology and focus on the interconnections between social and environmental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper examines Greek secondary education teachers' views on and attitudes towards in-classroom students' misbehaviour. Eight hundred and sixty-nine participants provided information, firstly, on the frequency and the forms of in-class misbehaviour incidents, secondly, on their beliefs about the origins of students' misbehaviour, and, thirdly, on the feelings they experience whenever they face behavioural problems in their classroom. Finally, they put forward their suggestions regarding ways of successfully addressing misbehaviour. The research showed that Greek teachers attribute misbehaviour mainly to students while they themselves, due to strict and inflexible curricula which underrate social and affective orientations of learning, are neither given specialized training on classroom management nor a free hand to establish relationships of trust and respect with their students. (Contains 7 tables and 1 figure.)

This paper examines the perceptions of Greek secondary education teachers on effectiveness in teaching. Through a structured questionnaire, 340 teachers reported their views on the tactics which are considered to contribute to effective teaching and on the behaviour and personal traits attributed to effective teachers. Descriptive and factor analysis showed that teacher flexibility in knowledge dissemination and sociability in communication, the display of friendliness, open-mindedness, tactfulness, supportiveness, respect and humour, are considered, among others, to be outstanding attributes of an effective teacher. However, the inflexibility of Greek curricula and their obsession with academic performance objectives discourage teachers from implementing effective instructional strategies, from establishing real human relationships with their students and from displaying behaviour and developing personal traits attributed to effective teachers. (Contains 4 tables.)

This is a viewpoint that discusses the criteria applied for an objective, academic assessment of dance education and comments upon the status of dance education both in secondary education schools and professional dance schools in Greece today. The viewpoint concludes by proposing the need for an independent undergraduate dance degree to be established by the Greek Ministry of Education within the School of Fine Arts, University of Athens. If this materializes, it may allow further development and establish the subject of dance, both as a performing art and as an academic discipline in its own right. Furthermore, it may lead to a review of the current dance curricula in secondary education schools. (Contains 1 note.)

This paper presents the rationale, development and application of "Unplugged', a new school programme for the prevention of substance abuse, which is based on the comprehensive social influence approach (CSI). The programme was developed, implemented and evaluated by a cross-disciplinary group of experts in the frame of a multi-centre study in seven European countries. The basic curriculum consists of 12 units, which are delivered by class teachers to a target population of 12-14 year-old students. Additional programme components were workshops for the students' parents and debriefing sessions led by class peers. The programme's application was monitored by means of structured report forms. This process monitoring allowed for the analysis of problems in implementation, as well as of participatory aspects. "Unplugged" is the first comprehensive social influence school curriculum in Europe of which the efficacy has been evaluated in a field trial, and it also constitutes an example of a theory- and evidence-based programme against youths' substance use. This report can provide public health and school decision makers with tools to make an informed choice on these kinds of programmes and to survey their application. (Contains 2 figures, 4 tables and 1 note.)

This research provides policy-makers, researchers, and educators at all levels with a glimpse of the contextual influence on effective school improvement (ESI) in 8 European countries. What are the factors at the contextual level, particularly at the national level, which influence ESI? Are there any similarities or differences between the influences they exert on ESI in different countries? Can common traits be identified? These are the core questions this paper tries to explore. It has drawn on insights from 5 areas of research: school effectiveness; school improvement; curriculum; public choice (marketization); organization, organizational learning, and learning organization. This yields a "goal-pressure-support" conceptual framework accompanied by 10 contextual factors and 48 indicators. Given the original conceptual framework and the empirical support of 31 case studies contributed by 8 European countries, the findings of this study may have significant implications for policy, practice, school effectiveness, and school improvement. (Contain 1 figure and 2 tables.)

Curriculum policy and enactment in early childhood education is a political phenomenon that plays out in particular cultural contexts. Comparative lenses to curriculum articulate locally constructed and implicit knowledge to external audiences. In doing so, global commonalities and tensions may become explicit. This paper interrogates curricular documents in Greece and New Zealand using selected questions from Joseph's (2011a) heuristic of 'curriculum as culture'. We do this through writing letters to each other that share our local knowledge and experiences and raise further questions. Although New Zealand and Greece are geographically and culturally two worlds apart, their curricular practices share certain discourses and have both been influenced by international trends. We argue that both countries' documents relate to first-order change where the policy document may not, in itself, update or change prior practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis conducted in this paper provides useful insights about training of vocational and technical teachers, both in terms of the theoretical framework surrounding the concept and how it's applied in Europe in general and Greece in specific. Taking the analysis of technical teachers' training into account, as well as its basic concepts and characteristics, it is clear that the central aim of the concept is to combine the need for teachers to acquire the necessary professional skills to practice their profession and be consistent with labour market and industrial standards at the same time. In order for these objectives to be achieved, vocational and technical teachers need to be subject to professionalization, which shall accompany throughout the whole duration of their professional career. These needs are summarized in that teachers must be characterized by discipline, acquisition of certain academic knowledge, and their combination with pedagogical studies. The case study of ASPETE's training program for vocational and technical teachers was very indicative of what these teachers actually need, in order to effectively practice their profession. Essentially, training programs must focus on the changing roles and tasks for vocational and technical teachers in modern years, as well as combine academic courses with real-life practice, so that prospective teachers are exposed to real teaching activities, long before they officially start building their professional career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of intercultural and citizenship learning has concerned scholars for a long time while subjects such as history, geography, civic and citizenship have been shaping young peoples' identity. Under migration pressures and the European Union's integration these subjects have been often challenged and transformed. In the case of Greece, subject's textbook topics on immigration and diversity have been promoting more ethnocentrism and eurocentrism. This paper presents those findings, and in so doing it explores the ways in which the Greek state's and the EU's intercultural education policy have impacted the specific school subject. It focuses on the Greek nation's identity formation, while discussing the country's response to the EU's calls for common policies in the area of intercultural and citizenship education. The last section of this essay provides new insights into the educators' tools to implement less ethnocentric and more inclusive curriculums and programs by exploring an extracurricular, online peer mentoring program that was initiated and implemented in Australia to foster intercultural awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is a comparative examination of three European Commission (EC) countries' primary and elementary education curricula with the European Commission's Communication and its consequences for curriculum skills relating to children's lives as adults and workers. It is a documentary analysis of secondary sources of the texts of the curricula. It emphasizes on the aims and objectives concerning skills required to be cultivated in students through the education curricula of European countries of Greece, Finland, and Denmark, as economically developed countries according to the World Bank (2019). According to the European Commission's Communication "Rethinking Education: investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes" (2012a), the European Commission's Communication "New Skills Agenda for Europe: Working together to strengthen human capital, employability and competitiveness" (2016) and the European Commission's Communication "Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 Resetting education and training for the digital age" (2020), they are compared with the curricula in terms of skills required for the labor market. The method that was used was the qualitative content analysis in the texts of the curricula based on the required skills. The results show that the texts of the curricula from Greece, Finland, and Denmark have common references with the aforementioned above European Commission's Communications. Regarding the content of the curricula, it is observed that the goals and aspirations are linked to the development of the personality and the cultivation of skills related to employability. The goal of the curricula is to cultivate skills in students that will be necessary for the children's lives as adults and workers. In the conclusions, it is stated that there is the intention and purpose of developing and cultivating skills based on the requirements of the labor market and the instrumentalization of these skills for the benefit of the economic framework not only for the researched countries but also on a wider scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present paper is to investigate educators‟ perceptions regarding the evaluation of the institution of Second Chance Schools in Greece (SCS) that also operate inside correctional centers (SCSCC). Second chance education is a European programme within the framework of fighting against social exclusion that aims at early school leavers and adult prisoners, who have not completed the compulsory secondary education. A cross-national survey was carried out using a self-reported questionnaire with 367 participants that work in SCS and SCSCC. The outcomes of the study reveal that SCS and SCSCC educators can recognize the „curriculum‟, the „infrastructure‟ and the „opportunities of socioeconomic integration‟ as major factors of SCS evaluation. The educators are generally satisfied with the curriculum and the opportunities of socioeconomic integration provided and have a neutral opinion about infrastructure. According to the findings, infrastructure is evaluated better in SCS located in continental Greece compared to insular located SCS and curriculum is better evaluated by principals and teachers who had completed postgraduate studies. However, teachers working in SCSCC were less satisfied with the opportunities of socioeconomic integration compared to teachers working in SCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Erasmus Intensive Programme (IP) is a short term programme of study lasting from 10 continuous days to a maximum of six weeks of subject related work by bringing together students and staff from higher education institutions of at least three EU countries. Aim: The purpose of this paper is to describe the content of a sequence of three IPs on older people’s care and describe their relevance in contemporary nursing education. Method: This discussion paper uses reflective analysis via presentation of the key features of the three IPs i.e.: Aims, Objectives, Target groups, Main activities, Learning Outcomes and Outputs followed by a short reflective commentary on each IP by the lead participant. Results: Students and staff involved have demonstrated enthusiasm for the three EIPs ability to foster new curricula approaches and innovative educational skills such as open exchanges of views, cross cultural exchange of ideas, in a truly multinational classroom environment. Conclusions: IPs benefited students and staff involved by broadening their horizons concerning health care for the elderly. Also, students learned from cross-cultural stimulation and non-conventional ways of problem solving and subsequently gained new perspectives on their chosen professions. Similarly, tutors benefited from unique insights into different ways of teaching and motivation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe empirical research on the recording of primary school and preschool student teacher conceptions of the concept of distant force interactions in different contexts related to the school curriculum for this subject. For this objective to be achieved, we undertook ten semi-structured interviews with student teachers. Based on the findings from these interviews, we developed a written ten-item questionnaire that was distributed to 264 first-year student teachers at three Greek universities. The main findings of our research are that a significant number of students: (i) experience difficulty in recognizing the interactions in different contexts, and even in different cases within the same context; (ii) place the arrow representing the force on the body that exerts it and not on that which accepts it; and (iii) hold the alternative view that the larger the body interacting, the greater the force it exerts. Based on the above results, as well as in the ways in which they seem to be related, we developed hypotheses, potentially able to lead to the construction of a teaching–learning sequence, which focuses on the comprehension of force as the measure of a unified concept of interaction between two entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In which ways was Medieval and Byzantine History embedded in the Greek national narrative in the first life steps of the Greek state during the 19th century? In which ways has it been related to the emerging nationalism in the Balkans, and to relationships with the West and the countries of south-eastern Europe during the Balkan Wars, the First and Second World Wars, and especially the Cold War, until today? In which ways does Byzantium correlate with the notion of Greekness, and what place does it occupy in Neo-Hellenic identity and culture? Moreover, which role does it play in history teaching, and what kind of reactions does any endeavour of revision or reformation provoke? To answer the above questions I performed a comparative analysis on the following categories of sources: (a) Greek national and European historiography, (b) School history curricula and textbooks, (c) Public history sources, (d) The new History Curriculum for primary and secondary school classes, and (e) The principles and guidelines of international organizations such as the Council of Europe. In the first three sections of this paper, I provide an overview of the conformation and integration of the Byzantine period in Greek national historiography, in association with the dominant European philosophical and historical perspectives during the era of modernity, as well as the evolving national politics, foreign affairs, prevailing ideological schemas and the role of history teaching in shaping the common identity of the Neo-Hellenic society throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The fourth section briefly deals with the current situation in history teaching in Greek schools, while the fifth section critically presents the innovative elements and features of the new History Curriculum, which, to some degree, aspires to be considered a paradigm shift in the teaching of Medieval History in school education. Finally, I summarize and draw several conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Language Policy is the property of Liverpool University Press / Journals and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The current paper examines teaching practices in three first-grade primary classrooms (age range from five years and nine months old to six years and nine months old) in Greek Cypriot public schools, exploring whether the wider changes in critical literacy education declared on a policy level are influencing classroom literacy practices. Greek Cypriot public education has followed the language policies developed in Greece since the island gained independence in 1960. However, from 2010, there has been a full-scale educational reform in Cyprus at all levels of education, and for the first time, a critical literacy model has been implemented. Drawing data from research conducted into classroom practices and discourse, the current paper analyses literacy teaching in three Greek Cypriot classrooms, focusing on the materials used, the idea of textuality, the role of metalanguage and the notion of language legitimacy produced in the classroom. The overall aim is to document how the model of critical literacy is applied (or not) in these classrooms, and to explore the limitations and difficulties encountered, especially in the first grade of primary school where students need to move from emerging to developing literacy, i.e. they need to acquire the mechanisms of reading and writing. The methodology adopted follows the methods used in micro-ethnography, focusing in this case on participant observation of literacy classes and interviews with teachers in three classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present paper contextualizes the recent process of development of the New National Curriculum (NNC) for use in Greek-Cypriot public schools. Using content analysis, it pays particular attention to the degree to which the language, performance expectations, and suggested materials described in the NNC take account of disabled children. Notwithstanding the human rights and anti-discrimination rhetoric that surrounds the process of creating an inclusive NNC, the findings presented herein suggest that the curriculum falls short of addressing the rights of disabled children in inclusive education. On the basis of this finding, the paper discusses the dangers inherent in implementing the proposed NNC in its current form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In compliance with national legislation, Greek tertiary education institutions assess educational quality often using a standardized anonymous questionnaire completed by students. This questionnaire aims to independently evaluate various course components, including content organization, instructor quality, facilities, infrastructure, and grading methods. Despite widespread use across universities, the questionnaire's validity remains unexamined. This study addresses this gap by analyzing 48,000+ questionnaire responses from the University of the Peloponnese (2014–2022), encompassing 68 undergraduate and graduate programs. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the quality of the questionnaire, while exploratory factor analyses were used to assess the dimensions of the tool based on the data. Both analyses reveal shortcomings: confirmatory analysis detects strong correlations between supposedly different factors, and exploratory analysis identifies dimensions inconsistent with the expected structure. These findings question the questionnaire's quality and the validity of drawn conclusions, while additionally identifying opportunities for reducing the number of questions, which can contribute to increased questionnaire submission rates. Given its common use across Greek universities and its influence on shaping courses, urgent redesigning of the questionnaire for tertiary education evaluation is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a notional account of the challenges facing the introduction of English as an international lingua franca (ELF) curriculum in the state schools of the expanding circle, taking Greece as a case in point. It broadly delineates an ELF curriculum as one focusing on the skills necessary for carrying out successful communication involving non-native speakers and then highlights a set of challenges linked to both teaching context and teachers' perceptions of professional identity. It focuses on challenges related to three facets of the professional identity of academically trained Greek state school EFL teachers, namely, their roles as users, specialists, and, ultimately, custodians of English for their learners and wider community. These facets are discussed with reference to a description of the country's current sociolinguistic and educational profile. The paper concludes with an overview of the strengths of an ELF curriculum for Greek state schools and discusses implications for ELF teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study organized and applied an instructional strategy for preschool children, in a real-life classroom situation, with the aim of teaching them how to produce secondary from primary colours using different art materials. The research sample included forty children, mean age 4–5 years, in two kindergarten classes in Greece. The first group was a control and the second was an experimental group. This paper presents, analyses and compares the results of this educational intervention. A finding was that, unlike those in the control group, children in the experimental group worked indefatigably with great enthusiasm, learned to produce the three secondary colours and were able to employ this new knowledge in a variety of art activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While entrepreneurship has emerged as an important mechanism for the generation of social returns in terms of economic growth and job creation, entrepreneurship education is still something new in Europe and the debate about the need and the way of introduction of specific entrepreneurship courses in higher education is on going. This paper deals with the introduction of entrepreneurship education in engineering curricula. More specific it presents the experience of the National Technical University in Greece, as a case in point for discussing the need of an interdisciplinary approach in designing engineering curricula. The main argument is that the introduction of entrepreneurship education in University curricula should not result as an application of policy initiatives only related to economic imperatives. It should be part of a more general discussion related to educational priorities and of a strategic design of University curricula in order to provide engineers with entrepreneurial and management skills that will enhance their profile in accordance with the new requirements of the knowledge-based economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a proposed curriculum structure and system of European Credit Transfer (ECTS) for undergraduate dental schools throughout Europe. It is the result of the work of a Taskforce (‘Taskforce II’), appointed by DentEd, a thematic network of European dental schools and the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE). There has been pan-European discussion of the document in draft stages (it was distributed to 200 dental schools) and following amendment, it was agreed formally at the National Assembly of ADEE in Athens, Greece, in September 2005. The main elements of the paper relate to: (i) a description of the framework proposed with relevance to the Bologna recommendations and common directive on recognition for professional qualifications as they apply to Dentistry; (ii) the structure of an undergraduate dental curriculum; (iii) student exchange and ECTS. In addition, the paper presents a series of requirements, guidelines and recommendations for action. ADEE expects that the ‘requirements’ proposed will be followed by dental schools in Europe, whilst the ‘guidelines’ and ‘recommendations’ also provided are open to local interpretation. The paper is also published on the ADEE website. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum (ÖRF) is the property of Osterreichisches Religionspadagogisches Forum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The children's fairytale is a playful educational tool that can be modified in such a way to enhance motor proficiency. This study investigated the effect of an online exercise program with modified fairytales on children's motor proficiency during the kindergarten curriculum. Forty preschool children (20 girls and 20 boys; 5.13 ± 0.24 years old) were divided into two equal groups: an intervention (IG) group and a control group (CG). The IG followed a 3-month (3 times/week) online exercise intervention program (supervised by the class's kindergarten teacher) with modified children's fairytales, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an aim to improve their motor proficiency. The CG did not attend any exercise intervention program. The Democritos Movement Screening Tool for Preschool Children (DEMOST-PRE), consisting of ten tests, was used to assess the children's motor proficiency. Τhe IG, after the end of the intervention program, significantly improved in the DEMOST-PRE total score (p < 0.001; mean change: 40.7%), while the CG did not significantly improve in the total score (p > 0.05). Furthermore, in the IG, a significant negative correlation between the pre-training DEMOST-PRE total score and the percentage change following the intervention (r = −0.64; p = 0.002) was observed. A modified exercise program using children's fairytales may be incorporated into the kindergarten curriculum as an effective educational tool for the improvement of motor proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing education and formation is still heterogenous in spite of The Bologna Declaration in 1999. Apart from the existence of basic curriculum standards, universities have flexibility regarding its design. The objective of this study is to provide an overview of contemporary nursing education and contrast it with the legal frameworks in place in four Southern European countries: Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece. A scoping review was conducted in order to revise and obtain an up-to-date review of current nursing education and quality. Then, a content evaluation of the legal public framework was conducted. A total of nine articles were included in the review. Data analysis evoked three main themes from the results: nursing education heterogeneity owing to ECTS increased from 180 to 240 for the diversity of clinical practice hours; the nursing framework lacked a definition; and the evolution of nursing education, alongside quality improvement and more accurate guidelines were required. Regarding their legal framework, the main directives and legislation standards were assessed and compared with the current curriculum. To conclude, nursing heterogeneity education evokes competence inequality among students and future professionals as larger curricular programs (240 ECTS) offer more clinical practice. Nursing education uniformity could enhance international mobility and promote knowledge exchange and nursing competence framework definitions. These are facts that certainly bring nursing empowerment. This study was not registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the accounting curriculum fits business demand. More specifically, it determines competencies that Greek companies demand from higher education[1] graduates and addresses any mismatches between the market's needs and the academic accounting/business curriculum through a survey in Greece. Design/methodology/approach -- Using a survey to reveal their perceptions' differences, the sample included 166 students, 25 lecturers/professors from a department of Accounting and Finance (Higher Education) and 155 companies. Findings -- The results provide evidence that all these groups have different perceptions of the curriculum. Practical implications -- The study suggests ways to improve the academic accounting curriculum. Originality/value -- To the best of the authors knowledge, there is not any previous study that examines these parameters in Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of health promotion is typically viewed as a reaction against both the excessive responsibility placed on individuals concerning their health-related choices and the absence of recognition of environmental factors associated with personal decision making. What though does sexuality education mean from the perspective of health promotion? According to one approach, it implies the existence of a curriculum that recognises the environmental factors affecting sexuality and sexual behaviour. It also suggests a curriculum that aims to empower students to engage with risky sexual behaviour, not just as a personal issue but also as a social matter. The emphasis is placed not merely on developing personal knowledge and skills associated with sexuality and sexual behaviour but on enabling active citizens to protect themselves and their co-citizens from sexual risks and to promote healthy sexuality. This paper discusses such a health promotion perspective in relation to the sexuality education curriculum as recently developed in Cyprus. It demonstrates how a health promotion perspective in relation to sex education can be translated into the establishment of learning objectives, appropriate pedagogic methods and the development of school materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rostrum of Asclepius / Vima tou Asklipiou is the property of Technological Educational Institute of Athens and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Napredak is the property of Croatian Pedagogical-Literary Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Between the years 1950 and 1974 there was a conservative view regarding physical education (PE) and the perception of the body in Greek PE curricula. PE was seen as an ideological means of legitimising political dominance. Before the Athens Olympic games of 2004, educational authorities were assigned the duty of promoting the Olympic spirit in education, and a new PE and sports curriculum was developed. The main question of this paper is why PE was not perceived as an autonomous subject, but had to be related to the State’s major political and ideological agendas, in the context of both dictatorship and democracy. A Foucauldian perspective is adopted concerning perceptions of the body as an agent of power, and Bernstein’s framework will be used to analyse PE curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Two of the great ancient civilizations were those of the Greeks and the Chinese. Many great works of art, architecture, philosophy and literature have been produced by both of these civilizations. When it comes to mathematics in the Western World, the Greeks have also been credited with many contributions to the field, especially geometry. Anyone who has completed a standard high school mathematical curriculum has been introduced to the names of Pythagoras, Euclid and Archimedes and their methods. Not as widely credited in the Western world are the mathematical contributions of the ancient Chinese civilization. An examination into Chinese mathematics reveals their deep understanding of mathematics, in some areas at a level greater than that of the Greeks. The Chinese civilization had their own mathematical greats, Liu Hui and Zu Chongzhi who were every bit as genius as their Greek counterparts. The purpose for mathematics and the techniques utilized by the two civilizations may differ, but the knowledge of the two civilizations is remarkably similar. This paper provides the reader a summary of the two civilizations works and mathematical philosophies and a comparison of the techniques used to determine π, proof of the right triangle theory, and the famous works of each civilization and the application of the civilizations mathematical knowledge in the science of land surveying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic aim of this paper is to specify in what extent the current L1 curricula of compulsory education in Greece incorporate students' subjectivities (their lived experiences, views, beliefs, their interpretation of the world) fostering agency or opt for the reproduction of the socially dominant discourses (national culture and language). Adopting the theoretical framework of multiliteracies (The New London Group 1996, Cope & Kalantzis 2000) that proposes a pedagogy that opts for processes providing students with access to knowledge without them having to erase or abandon their different subjectivities, we define curriculum's properties that promote a dialogue of dominant ways of knowing and other marginal discourses and form a curriculum culturally open yet socially purposeful (Cope & Kalantzis 1993). After conducting qualitative content analysis (Mayring 2000; 2003) of the current L1 curricula, we reached interesting conclusions: while in lower grades (pre-school education and primary school) the curriculum seems to allow students to express both personal experiences and their views (although this orientation is somehow undermined by the same curriculum) promoting variety and diversity - up to a certain extent, in secondary education, where the framework becomes more restrictive due to specific reasons that are analysed, pluralistic practices have no place not even as intentions and the dominant discourses have to be learned and reproduced. Of course, by reproducing socially acceptable patterns, the student effectively reproduces world views reflected and social relationships embodied therein (Luke 1996). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-determination in reference to individuals with intellectual disabilities has only recently been taken up as a research domain in Greece. The consequence is a lack of research data and educational approaches in the Greek Special Education System on this issue. The study described in this paper is based on the theory of self-determination as supported from the Normalization Principle and the Empowerment Act. The diagnostic and final evaluation of the essential characteristics of self-determination for individuals with intellectual disability was conducted through the Arc's Self Determination Scale (Wehmeyer, 1995) as it was adapted for the Greek population. A main aim of the study was the enhancement of self-determination in a group of young adults with intellectual disability, who attended a Center for Individuals with Intellectual Disability in Greece. The results of the study show that a) with the necessary adaptations the Arc's Self Determination Scale can serve as an assessment and intervention basis and b) the introduced educational design and implementation can serve as a curricular basis for the instruction of self-determination of individuals with intellectual disability. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the organization of respective programs in the Greek and other similar educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a project on the use of maps in the kindergarten. Twenty-four children (5 to 6 years old) from three nursery schools in a rural area in central Greece participated in the program, which aimed at initiating them into the cartographic knowledge through the understanding and production of maps. Furthermore, the project aimed to promote the children's decoding skills in order for them to develop visual literacy which appears to be a necessity in today's pictorial world. Data about the preschoolers' cartographic knowledge prior to the program was gathered through personal interviews based on a semi-structured questionnaire. The same method was used for the final assessment of the program. Discourse analysis was conducted using electronic data gathered from the questionnaire in order to explore the children's comprehension of maps prior to and after the completion of the program. Additionally, the entire procedure was evaluated by appropriately designed observation sheets. A variety of activities with electronic and printed maps was designed to help the children reorganize their beliefs and expand their ideas and representations about maps as a means of communication. They were trained in the proper use of maps, meaning that they were familiarized with reading and interpreting visual information presented in symbolic form on maps. The project was integrated into the weekly program of the kindergartens for a three month period and was implemented by cross-thematic, collaborative activities of a constructivist approach. The results indicate that maps should be incorporated into the early childhood curriculum as a source of visual information and that preschool children are capable of reading and producing maps provided that they have been adequately trained in their use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the differences and similarities of the three library schools educating librarians and information professionals in Greece. The structure of higher education in Greece has recently undergone major changes (2002) integrating technological institutions and universities under one umbrella that of higher education. As a result, technological institutions today are still struggling to find their identity, whilst universities are trying hard to assert their differentiation. Library schools, existing within both types of institution, provide a very good example of how these changes are affecting education processes, field work, professionals, and jobs for graduates. Although Library Schools are all categorized as higher education institutions, they enjoy different status. Library schools spread across two similar, but yet of different types of organisation within the higher education system of Greece also face the challenge of establishing the professional image of their graduates, of modernizing the curricula and of keeping up with the rapid changes demanded by their European and international counterparts. At the same time affiliations of the schools have shaped the corresponding curricula and have marked the image of the profession within the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the politics and values of the secondary school curriculum in Greece and attempts to find out the influences of cultural tradition and centralized control on curriculum development. In particular, it studies the decision-making process and the politics of educational control, employing some theoretical elements from centralist and corporatist literature, and presents the valued knowledge of the curriculum through a historical perspective. Additionally, it investigates the politics of curriculum change taking into account the tradition of curriculum content and the power of central control on education. In conclusion, it is pointed out that in the current context of social flexibility Greek secondary school curriculum must aim at the development of a culture of learning and reflect on values and visions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of engaging students in discussions of teaching and learning has not had as much attention in Greece as in some other countries. As a new high school teacher confronting the problem of motivating reluctant learners I drew on the research I had undertaken on pupil voice for my M.Phil. The research was concerned with features of pedagogy that capture and sustain students' interest in history—a subject that is not always popular among young people. The analysis of data from interviews with 12 to 14 year old students from secondary schools in different parts of Greece highlighted three things: the importance of content that connected with students' everyday lives; opportunities in lessons for active involvement; and giving greater responsibility for learning to the students. This paper summarizes my research and indicates how the guidance of the students has helped me improve my own practice as a teacher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the activities of the Athens Design Centre (ADC), a largely ignored aspect of Greek design history. The ADC was founded in the early 1960s by a group of industrialists, architects, economists and other professionals, in conjunction with a scientific body, the Greek Society of Industrial Morphology (GSIM). Although the ADC was a purely private initiative, it was modelled on public institutions which were operating abroad as national agencies for the promotion of industrial design, especially the British Council of Industrial Design. The ADC was basically a commercial undertaking, whose aim was to educate producers is well as consumers on what constitutes 'good design'. The people who conceived of this body had hoped that its operation could boost product sales and empower Greek firms in the new environment of the European Common Market. Despite high expectations, the ADC was unsuccessful and short-lived. Its private nature and the commercial stigma it bore prevented it from attracting a wider range of supporters, especially from the public sector and academia. In general, it was an over-ambitious and in a sense heroic venture, which tried to imitate too closely its international counterparts and finally played a marginal role in the Greek design scene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Teacher Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

University–Business partnership for collaborative curriculum design, development, and delivery is an important dimension of University–Business Collaboration (UBC), but scarce information exists on how to enhance partnership for the design, development, and implementation of new curricula. With these questions in focus, this article intends to present and discuss the perceived experience during a three-year European funded project, namely, Think4Jobs. This project exemplifies the significance and benefits of UBC in the design, development, and delivery of curricula that meet the evolving demands of the labour market while promoting Critical Thinking (CT) as a foundational 21st century skill to contribute to graduates' employability. Think4Jobs project brought together a multidisciplinary team of researchers and business organisations from five European countries (Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Portugal, and Romania) with interests in promoting and developing CT and mitigating eventual competence gaps. The project's success was attributed to key practices, including defining a common conceptualization of CT, employing Participatory Co-Design, and providing common training for university and business partners. Clear objectives, explicit roles, effective communication, and ongoing evaluation further enhanced the collaboration. Experiential learning, real-work problems, and case studies reinforced the curricula, bridging the gap between academia and the labour market. By embracing these insights, future UBC initiatives can empower graduates with the necessary skills to stand out in an ever-changing labour market, contributing to enhanced education and successful careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]