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This paper presents ten teaching scenarios based on Astronomy subjects, focusing on middle formal and informal education in the framework of European STEM4you(th) Project (Horizon 2020). Each scenario follows the STEM approach and has been formulated by combining the inquiry - based learning method with constructivism. The teaching material contains hands on activities, constructions, simulations, storytelling and creates a link between science and the labor market related to Astronomy and Space Science. Through these courses students learn astronomical subjects and through astronomy the processes of science. This course aims to motivate 14-16 year-old students to STEM disciplines, and enhance their scientific skills and their creativity. The final outcome of the project is an interactive platform where the produced educational material may be adopted by teachers throughout Europe.

The ‘holoimero’ school is a special school type in Greece that functions until late in the evening. ‘Holoimero’ constitutes one of the most important components of the latest educational reform. During its operation, at the end of the morning shift, the ‘holoimero’ or ‘all day’ school seeks for the creative occupation of the students who decide to participate in its programme, which includes activities not offered in the morning shift. The present research investigates the factors of the effectiveness of ‘holoimero’ that, according to some of its teachers, are of great importance. The main argument of the present study is that certain variables are related to the effectiveness of the ‘holoimero’ school. Some of these variables are school financing and autonomy, school climate, openness to the community, flexibility, pedagogical innovation, and active involvement of those concerned with the organisation and implementation of the curriculum., peer-reviewed

This paper examines the relation between the academic achievement of Greek ‘eniaio lykeio’ students and their teachers’ views of school climate. It has been found that this relation, important as it may be, is being obscured by other factors found in the organisational and social domain. ‘Eniaio lykeio’ (EL) is the Greek comprehensive higher secondary school which was established in 1998 by the latest educational law. Initially the authors discuss the main characteristics of the Greek school system, emphasizing on special issues like the shadow educational system of ‘parapaideia’. The issue of ‘school climate’ is then approached in its historical development both from an organizational and a psychological perspective. In terms of research design 223 teachers from 38 Athenian ‘eniaia lykeia’ participated and completed the Confidential Teacher Questionnaire. Exploratory Factor Analysis (GLS, oblimin) yielded the following five factors: (a) director’s effectiveness, (b) self-regulation, (c) collegiality, (d) job satisfaction, and (e) keenness. These factors have had small impact on students’ achievement (normalised mean grade in the EL leaving certificate) as the impact of parents’ socioeconomic status is much larger. Finally the hierarchical linear analysis yielded a very small value for the intra-school correlation coefficient (ρ =0.025)., peer-reviewed

This paper presents ten teaching scenarios based on Astronomy subjects, focusing on middle formal and informal education in the framework of European STEM4you(th) Project (Horizon 2020). Each scenario follows the STEM approach and has been formulated by combining the inquiry - based learning method with constructivism. The teaching material contains hands on activities, constructions, simulations, storytelling and creates a link between science and the labor market related to Astronomy and Space Science. Through these courses students learn astronomical subjects and through astronomy the processes of science. This course aims to motivate 14-16 year-old students to STEM disciplines, and enhance their scientific skills and their creativity. The final outcome of the project is an interactive platform where the produced educational material may be adopted by teachers throughout Europe.

Includes bibliographical references. Number of sources in the bibliography: 210 Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Cyprus, Faculty of Social Sciences and Education, Department of Education, 2015. The University of Cyprus Library holds the printed form of the thesis. One of the key findings of Educational Effectiveness Research (EER) is the importance of the classroom level as a predictor of pupil outcomes. Research from developed countries has therefore centered on the classroom, and classroom processes as an important determinant of students' learning outcomes. Unfortunately, little of this strand of research has been conducted in sub-Saharan African countries, particularly in Ghana. This study is the first of its kind in Ghana, if not the entire sub-Saharan African region. The conceptual framework of the dynamic model of educational effectiveness was used in studying the impact of teaching factors on student learning gains in mathematics. The aim was to determine the degree to which teaching processes identified as effective in developed countries are equally effective in developing countries. The dynamic model refers to factors operating at four levels: student, teacher, school, and educational system. At the classroom level, the model refers to eight factors relating to teacher behavior in the classroom: orientation, structuring, questioning, teaching-modeling, application, management of time, classroom learning environment, and assessment. The model assumes that each of the factors can be defined and measured using five dimensions: frequency, focus, stage, quality, and differentiation. Seven longitudinal studies in Europe provided empirical support to the validity of this measurement framework and also revealed that teacher and school factors are associated with student learning outcomes. However, none of these studies has been conducted in developing countries where class sizes can be large. In this context, the study sought to determine whether the teacher factors of the dynamic model can be observed in primary classrooms in Ghana, and/or whether they are associated with student achievement. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to generate data. Specifically, a representative sample of 73 primary schools in Ghana was selected and all grade six classes/teachers (N=99) and students (N=4386) participated in the study. Written tests in mathematics were administered to all the students both at the beginning and end of the school year 2013–2014. Data on student background factors (i.e., SES, home learning environment) was also collected. One high-inference and one low-inference observation instruments, and a student questionnaire were used in collecting data on quality of teaching. Confirmatory factor analyses provided support to the construct validity of each instrument. The questionnaire and the high-inference instrument produced valid data about each factor whereas the low-inference instrument generated data about each dimension and factor. Multilevel analyses were conducted investigating the extent to which teacher scores generated by each instrument were associated with student achievement. Data from the questionnaire could not identify any effect of teacher factors. However, data about each teacher factor from the instruments were found to be associated with student achievement. Moreover, data from the low-inference instrument revealed the importance of using different dimensions to measure each teacher factor. The instrument enabled the determination that the teachers emphasized more on the quantitative aspect of teaching which is basic to instruction. This revealed the importance of providing the teachers with training on the qualitative characteristics of teaching. The importance of using multiple instruments for measuring quality teaching was also revealed. With only the student questionnaire, wrongful conclusions would have been drawn about the effects of the teacher factors. Based on the impact of the factors on achievement, it can be claimed the factors are probably more important in the developing school context. All teacher factors and their dimensions were found to have much bigger effect sizes on student achievement (i.e., above 0.30) than the effect sizes reported by studies conducted in developed countries (i.e., smaller than 0.20). The importance of using observation instruments to measure the impact of teaching on student achievement in developing countries, especially African countries is also discussed. Policy on teacher professional development in Ghana, and implications for theory and research on educational effectiveness are finally drawn.