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During the second decade of the 21st century families and schools world-wide have been affected by several critical events, with economic recession, the refugee crisis, and lately the COVID-19 pandemic being the most prominent. Pertaining to the school community (students, educators, administration, parents, school personnel etc.), evidence-based interventions for improving mental health and supporting psychosocial adjustment are necessary. In this paper the development, implementation, and evaluation of the international WeCARE (We Connect, Accept, Respect, Empower) program, an online multilevel intervention for promoting well-being and resilience in the school community during unsettling times, is presented. The Program has a multicultural perspective and provides the opportunity to students from different countries to cooperate and develop multicultural skills. The intervention is based on a conceptual model for enhancing positive development, resilience, social and emotional skills, and competence. The interventions were implemented on individual and system levels over four consecutive years, including web-based teachers' training and supervision, seminars for parents, and classroom implementation. Furthermore, collaboration amongst schools and educational settings was highlighted, in the form of networking at national and international level. Based on the evaluation results, the necessity for further development and implementation of programs for the promotion of resilience and well-being during unsettling times is discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the lives of adults and children worldwide. Schools were among the first settings to be influenced by this crisis. Home confinement and school closure were implemented as necessary preventive measures creating a new way of living based on web-based communication. The aim of the study is to explore school community needs during the COVID-19 outbreak in Greece. The study followed a mixed methods design, consisting of a teacher, a parent and an adolescent survey. The sample entailed 1,157 participants (414 teachers, 487 parents and 256 adolescents). Quantitative data were collected using questionnaires. Qualitative data were collected using open-ended questions to explore participants' adjustment and needs during the pandemic. Parents and teachers showed high propensity for anxiety and high levels of resilient coping. Health and adaptation concerns were evident in all samples. Teachers, parents and adolescents described helpful coping practices, primarily related to social support. The findings highlight the importance of supporting all school community members to cope with feelings of stress and anxiety during the pandemic and to identify and make use of helpful personal and social resources.

This article portrays the ongoing and ever-expanding journey of the Center for Research and Practice of School Psychology (CRPSP) of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Based on an integrative approach to school community well-being that includes positive psychology perspectives and systems interventions, all activities of the Center focus on a social and emotional learning (SEL) framework that emphasizes strengths and contextual protective factors for members of the school community and other educational settings. Special attention is given to the implementation of SEL prevention programs in times of crisis and economic recession. Furthermore, the incorporation of SEL framework into the general education curriculum as well as in the preparation of psychologists and teachers at undergraduate and graduate level is presented. The role of SEL in building evidence-based interventions is discussed under the scope of multicultural and transnational considerations.

During the last decades, a significant increase in empirical studies concerning school violence is observed. Evidence-based interventions that promote positive school climate have been found to improve social competence, resilience, and students' well-being in schools, resulting in team bonding, feelings of acceptance, respect, and a sense of belonging. The present study explores junior high school students' perceptions regarding school climate dimensions referring to safety and relationships (i.e., discipline/order, positive peer relations, bullying prevention, respect of diversity). The sample consisted of 726 students from junior high schools in the broader area of Athens (mean age 14.4 years). Questionnaires regarding school climate dimensions focusing on safety and relationships, subjective well-being, economic crisis difficulties, and demographic data including gender, school grade, and academic performance were completed. Using conditional process analyses, the effect of a three-way interaction between school climate, academic performance, and economic difficulties on junior high school students' subjective well-being is examined. Gender and school grade are also studied. Results suggest that positive peer relations, bullying prevention, and respect for diversity associated with academic performance (but not with gender and school grade) moderate the relationship between economic difficulties and subjective well-being. The development and implementation of several intervention programs in diverse school settings in the Greek educational system are briefly discussed focusing on their effectiveness and usefulness regarding the promotion of school well-being and prevention of bullying and school violence.

This paper presents social justice principles as core concepts in school psychology practice via a conceptual framework that combines theory, research, training, and practical applications. Focusing on the specific needs of Greece (i.e. economic recession, influx of migrant and refugee students, etc.), we discuss the inclusion of multicultural and international components of school psychology practice as well as implications for socially just practice. Specific examples of interventions and activities developed and implemented by the Laboratory of School Psychology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which emphasizes the application of social justice principles to practice, are also presented. Finally, we discuss specific guidelines for developing interventions that embrace social justice principles globally as well as explore transnational implications.

The aim of the study is to explore the way Greek junior high school students perceive school climate as a protective factor against the adversities due to the ongoing economic recession. The randomly selected sample consisted of 746 students from junior high schools (Gymnasia) in the broader area of Athens. The California School Climate Survey (2009), the Questionnaire of Subjective Well-Being/Youth Form (Grob et al., 1991) and the Economic Crisis Difficulties Questionnaire (LSP, 2011) were used for data collection. The findings indicated the existence of statistically significant relations between the effects of economic recession, subjective well-being and school climate. School climate moderated the interaction between economic recession and students' subjective well-being. Results provide a better understanding of adolescents' needs during unsettling times contributing to the development of effective evidence-based intervention programs in school communities.

In this study, an evidence-based program aiming to promote psychological well-being and resilience within the context of Greek schools is presented. It is based upon a multidimensional model that synthesizes different theoretical domains, placing emphasis on different goals depending on the needs of the school community during unsettling times. Culture-specific characteristics of the economic recession are addressed, using a multilevel mixed-model participatory design, including needs assessment, pre-assessment and post-assessment. Overall assessment supported the program's effectiveness on teachers' resilience, students' goal setting, and the promotion of a positive school climate.

Natural disasters have a great impact on children and often lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological impact of a large forest fire on adolescent students. Based on Winnicott's notion of concern, Bion's three basic assumptions, and Hopper's theory of incohesion in groups and group-like social systems, a conceptual framework for responding to trauma was explored. Specifically, this present study examined the role of parental behaviour and social support in adolescents' response to a traumatic event, such as a wildfire and the corresponding level of prosocial behaviour reported by adolescents. Data were used from a study designed by the Department of Child Psychiatry of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and implemented by the Hellenic Association for Analytical Group & Family Psychotherapy. The sample consisted of 393 students (61% girls) from primary and secondary schools (mean age 14.3 years) in East Attica, Greece, where the forest fire occurred. Data were collected using the Greek version of the Parental Behavior Inventory (Parker et al., 1979), the Oslo 3-item Social Support Scale (Dalgard et al., 2006), the Child Revised Impact of Events Scale-8 (Perrin et al., 2005) and the Prosocial Dimension from the Greek version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Giannakopoulos et al., 2009; Goodman, 1997). Goodness-of-fit indices showed that the model was verified. Differences were also found between genders but not between educational levels. The results are discussed in terms of their implementation in group psychotherapy, educational practise and further research, especially with regard to adolescents' reactions after a traumatic event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents social justice principles as core concepts in school psychology practice via a conceptual framework that combines theory, research, training, and practical applications. Focusing on the specific needs of Greece (i.e. economic recession, influx of migrant and refugee students, etc.), we discuss the inclusion of multicultural and international components of school psychology practice as well as implications for socially just practice. Specific examples of interventions and activities developed and implemented by the Laboratory of School Psychology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which emphasizes the application of social justice principles to practice, are also presented. Finally, we discuss specific guidelines for developing interventions that embrace social justice principles globally as well as explore transnational implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]