Over the last 20 years special education teachers have emerged as a distinct but heterogeneous occupational group in Greece. This paper looks at how special education teachers perceive their job and their role. I explore how teachers give meaning to their experiences and how these experiences influence their practice. The different discourses and…

This paper reports on research concerning Greek in-service Primary teachers' perceptions about environmental issues and attitudes towards Education for Sustainable Development. A questionnaire with multiple-choice and open-ended questions was used in order to gain more comprehensive understanding of their thoughts. The analysis of data revealed…

Teachers' confidence in their ability to perform the actions that lead to student learning is one of the few individual characteristics that predicts teacher practice and student outcomes. Teachers and especially student teachers need strong efficacy beliefs in order to continue teaching during in-service education. The current study explores the…

This article presents the findings of a research initiative which explored Greek teachers' perceptions and understandings on what constitutes social and emotional competencies and how these competencies can best be enhanced within the classroom. In-depth interviews were conducted with 24 elementary school teachers in two different geographical…

Job satisfaction is an important issue, but remains a complex one as it is difficult to measure. A wide range of factors such as the working environment, its manner of organisation, demography and individual circumstances, etc., can substantially affect the level of job satisfaction attained by individuals. Job satisfaction and the teaching…

Pull-out programmes, resource, and/or support rooms and services have played a vital role in either hindering or promoting the implementation of more inclusive practices in school communities. In Greece there is a strong assumption that support rooms and part-time withdrawal are the most effective ways of promoting the educational and social…

The aim of the study was to record the attitudes and intentions of Greek and Cypriot primary education teachers towards teaching children with special educational needs (SENs) in mainstream schools. The instrument used was based on "Planned Behaviour Theory". The sample of the study included 179 educators, 87 from Greece (34 men, 52…

Surveyed Greek elementary teachers' attitudes toward astrology, investigating whether they could distinguish between astronomy as the science and astrology as the pseudoscience. Teacher surveys indicated that 60 percent of respondents subscribed more or less to the astrological principles, and 59 percent viewed both astronomy and astrology as…

This article examines the objectives, the benefits and the difficulties in the implementation of school partnerships under the optional European educational programme Comenius in the context of a policy promoting the European Dimension in the education systems of Europe and particularly in Greek education. A sample of Greek teachers having run…

The recent dramatic changes in the makeup of the student population in Greek schools pointed to the need for designing and implementing new educational and teacher training programmes that would incorporate the educational needs of newcomers. Such a teacher training programme aiming at developing Greek teachers' cultural awareness and empowerment…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate what active as well as student teachers (i.e. future teachers) think about the provision of school psychological and counselling services within Greek elementary schools. Two hundred and eight active teachers and university students were asked to complete a Likert-type questionnaire rating the…

In Greece, there are significant differences of education, professional training, social status, and earnings between elementary and secondary school teachers. This article describes the differences in education. (MT)

Although sexuality and relationships education is recommended as one of the targets of school health education projects in Greece, implementation seems to be problematic. This article discusses findings from a survey on Greek primary school teachers, particularly their opinion on the suitability of primary schools for sexuality education, whether…

Focuses on two main issues concerning the mathematics education of prospective primary school teachers in Greece: the integration of mathematics and pedagogy, and the relationship of theory to practice. Discusses specific teaching approaches concerning the problem of integration both in mathematics and in mathematics education courses. (Contains…

This volume contains papers submitted to the 10th Annual Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society, held in Kyustendil, Bulgaria, 12-15 June 2012. The overall goal of the 10th BCES conference is to facilitate discussion of different perspectives on international education providing a forum for scientific debate and constructive…