The much-needed interest in promoting a healthy lifestyle among school-age students has found a context for development: school gardens. There are numerous studies where using gardens as a teaching-learning context also improves students' performance in the experimental sciences. In this study, we proposed another interest that sets it apart and…

In the light of the European Union's interest in creativity and innovation, this paper, drawing on data from the EU project Creative Little Scientists (2011-2014), explores the teaching and learning of science and creativity in Early Years education. The project's conceptual framework, developed from detailed analysis of relevant literatures,…

Nuclear science has uses and applications that are relevant and crucial for world peace and sustainable development, so knowledge of its basic concepts and topics should constitute an integral part of civic scientific literacy. We have used two newspaper articles that deal with uses of nuclear science that are directly relevant to life, society,…

This document reports the results of a cross-cultural study on children's knowledge about the shape, gravity, movement, and location of the Earth and about the day/night cycle. The subjects of the study were elementary school students from Greece (N=90) and the United States (N=60). The results of the study showed that the children in both samples…

Environmental Education since its emergence, through the international conferences of the 1970s, has been described as an interdisciplinary field which means that it requires contributions from a number of other disciplines, science being one of them. Many educators have questioned the possibility of traditional school disciplines to promote the…

Examines the relationship between children's use of metaphors and their mental models concerning the ozone layer and ozone layer depletion. Results indicate that the way children represent the role and depletion of ozone is strongly correlated with the types of metaphors they use while constructing and/or articulating their models. Also discusses…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…

This study examines the effects of computer assisted instruction (CAI) on the inequalities in education among children of less privileged backgrounds. A natural science lesson was taught to 116 children at the fifth level of the Greek primary school. Subjects went to two different public schools, one of which was in a privileged area, and the…

Describes a fifth grade social studies unit on ancient civilizations that includes a comprehensive history of ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece and integrates studio art, art history, library science, social studies, and computer literacy programs. Students utilize the library to do research and develop an oral presentation while also working on…

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…

The present study investigated the effects of text structure in the acquisition of the concept of energy and the overcoming of specific preconceptions associated with it. Cypriot sixth-grade students read either a simple expository text that presented factual information or a refutation text that, in addition to the factual information, it also…

Examines the influence of social origins, characteristics, and qualifications of entrants to primary teaching in Greece and its role in social mobility. Research based on first-year student teachers along with unpublished research from government sources show a greater need for creative and strategic planning in the training of primary teachers.…