Adult Education/Lifelong Learning Policies in Greece in the Early 2010s

This article argues that adult education/lifelong learning policies in Greece, as these are expressed by law 3879/2010 "Development of Lifelong Learning and Other Provisions," have the characteristics of the "statist" model of lifelong learning in Europe, namely strong governmental control and centralization. However, there are also characteristics of the "social partnership" model: regulations through a legal framework and stronger involvement of social partners and local government. Finally, under the influences of European education policy, a special emphasis in Greek policies is placed on the issues of accreditation/quality assurance and the formation of a qualifications framework. These issues are dominant in the market-driven systems of lifelong learning, are consistent with the model of "voluntary partnership," and stress the individualization of the responsibility for learning.     

Breaking the Policy Log-jam: Comparative perspectives on policy formulation and development for pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties

Many education systems continue to express concerns about an apparently inexorable increase in the number of pupils displaying difficult behaviour in schools and classrooms. Within the English context the government has tried to address and respond to these concerns by undertaking a variety of initiatives and offering guidance and training to schools on the management of behaviour problems. However, we argue that there is a significant danger that by focusing too narrowly on the needs of those pupils with the most obvious and pressing behavioural difficulties the needs of those with emotional problems are overlooked. We highlight the existence of a 'gap' in much of the policy and guidance in England regarding pupils with emotional problems and offer explanations of why this situation has occurred. In support of this we draw from the extensive literature that already exists and also from a recent large-scale survey undertaken in Greece. This survey of teachers' attitudes provides an important comparative dimension in understanding the dangers that exist for policy makers, professionals and teachers in both 'developing' and developed contexts in the face of increasing disruption in schools. The paper concludes with suggestions for policy makers on how this gap might be avoided.     

Examining number sense and algebraic reasoning through cognitive styles

Recently, a new cognitive style approach was introduced, which refers to two types of visualizers. This approach is based on neuropsychological evidence and neuroimaging results, which suggest the existence of two distinct imagery subsystems, the object and the spatial imagery subsystems. The goal of the study was twofold: first to examine a possible relationship between this new cognitive style approach and achievement in number sense and algebraic reasoning tasks, and second to explore a possible relationship between the strategies used in solving the aforementioned tasks and cognitive styles. A mathematical test on number sense and algebraic reasoning and the self-report Object–Spatial Imagery and Verbal cognitive style questionnaire were administrated to 83 prospective school teachers (PSTs). The results indicated that spatial imagery, in contrast to the object imagery and verbal cognitive styles, is related to achievement in number sense and algebraic reasoning. In addition to this, the results revealed that the higher the PSTs’ tendency towards spatial imagery cognitive style, the more conceptual and flexible strategies they employ in algebraic reasoning and number sense tasks.     

Ethnic Attitudes of Hungarian Students in Romania

Participants in this study were ethnic Hungarian secondary students attending high schools in Romania in which Hungarian was the primary language of instruction. Attitudes of participants toward ethnic and cultural groups were measured using a variation of the Bogardus (1933 Bogardus, Emory S. 1933. A Social Distance Scale. Sociology &; Social Research, 17: 265–271.  [Google Scholar]) Scale of Social Distance. Results were consistent with predictions based on Allport's intergroup contact theory. Students reported a wide range of tolerance levels for majority and minority ethnic groups with which they were likely to have contact in Romania. However, the students reported little difference in tolerance levels for groups that are not a recognized part of the Romanian cultural landscape, such as people of Hispanic origin, and Native Americans.     

Is physicality an important aspect of learning through science experimentation among kindergarten students?

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether physicality (actual and active touch of concrete material), as such, is a necessity for science experimentation learning at the kindergarten level. We compared the effects of student experimentation with Physical Manipulatives (PM) and Virtual Manipulatives (VM) on kindergarten students’ understanding of concepts related to the use of a beam balance as a means to compare and differentiate materials according to their mass. A pre-post comparison study design was used that involved four conditions, with 20 kindergarten students in each condition. The first and second conditions included students who had correct prior knowledge of what a balance beam does and who were given PM and VM, respectively, to use for the study's purposes. The third and fourth conditions included students who had an incorrect prior knowledge of what a balance beam does and who were also given PM and VM, respectively, to use. All conditions followed the same learning tasks, which was a series of experiments. The learning process occurred in the context of a clinical interview, which was used as a means to collect data before, during, and after the learning process. Findings revealed that kindergarteners learned more from experimentation in both PM conditions and the VM condition whose participants had correct prior knowledge of what a balance beam does than in the VM condition whose participants had an incorrect knowledge of what a balance beam does. Physicality appears to be a prerequisite for students’ understanding of concepts concerning the use of a beam balance, as a means to compare and differentiate materials according to their mass, only when the students have incorrect prior knowledge of what a beam balance does.     

Secondary School Teachers’ Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Renewable Energy Sources

Investigating knowledge, perceptions as well as attitudes of public that concern various aspects of environmental issues is of high importance for Environmental Education. An integrated understanding of these parameters can properly support the planning of Environmental Education curriculum and relevant educational materials. In this survey we investigated knowledge and attitudes of secondary school teachers in Greece towards renewable energy sources, particularly wind and solar energy systems. A questionnaire with both open and close questions was used as the main methodological instrument. Findings revealed that although teachers were informed about renewable energy sources and well disposed towards these sources, they hardly expressed clear positions regarding several issues about wind and solar energy technologies and farms. Moreover such themes are limited integrated in teaching either as extra curricular educational programs or through the curriculum. These findings cannot confirm that teachers could influence students’ opinion towards renewable energy systems. Thus, authorities should invest more in Environmental Education and relevant Teachers' Education.     

The multilayered character of newcomers’ academic identities: Somali female high‐school students in a US school

Drawing from the findings of a qualitative study with female refugee high school students from Somalia in the US, this paper attempts to provide a window to understanding the multilayered character of newcomer students’ academic identity construction. The students’ micro‐level processes of creating spaces for belonging at school are linked to their macro‐level extra‐educational connections at the societal and global levels. The framework presented attempts to sensitise educators to increase their attention to the global‐socio‐cultural contexts of education and strive to create spaces within schools for the recognition and facilitation of students’ complex identities.     

Olympic medals and demo-economic factors: Novel predictors,the ex-host effect,the exact role of team size,and the “population-GDP” model revisited

The present study revisited the problem of estimating Olympic success by critical demo-economic indicators. The sample consisted of the 75 winner countries at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games (not previously analyzed). Medal totals were log-linearly regressed on land, population, GDP, urban population, inflation, growth rate, unemployment, labor force, health expenditures, ex-host, and team size. Multiple regression assumptions were tested with proper diagnostics including collinearity. Olympic team size was the best single predictors of Olympic medals (R² = 0.690, p < 0.001), and as an alternative criterion variable was significantly regressed on population, growth rate, health expenditure, and unemployment (R² = 0.563, p < 0.001). Medal totals were significantly regressed on population, ex-host, health expenditure, growth rate, and unemployment (R² = 0.541, p < 0.001). The classical population-GDP model extracted only 28% of the variance in total medals (R² = 0.277, p < 0.001), and this was slightly improved when combined with unemployment (R² = 0.365, p < 0.001). It appears that the size of the Olympic team plays the role of transmitting the composite impact of a country's size and economy to the end-phase of Olympic success. Winning Olympic medals depends on the combined potential of population, wealth, growth rate, unemployment, ex-host, and social-sport expenditures. Larger and wealthier countries win more medals by “producing” larger Olympic teams as a result of possessing more athletic talents and better support for social and sport related activities.     

The effect of longer-term creatine supplementation on elite swimming performance after an acute creatine loading

We investigated the effect of an acute creatine loading (25 g per day for 4 days) and longer-term creatine supplementation (5 g of creatine or 5 g of placebo per day for 2 months) on the performance of 22 elite swimmers during maximal interval sessions. After the acute creatine loading, the mean of the average interval swim times for all swimmers (n = 22) improved (44.3+/-16.5 s before vs. 43.7+/-16.3 s after supplementation; P<0.01). Three of the 22 swimmers did not respond positively to supplementation. After 2 months of longer-term creatine supplementation or placebo, neither group showed a significant change in swimming performance (38.7+/-13.5 s before vs. 38.7+/-14.1 s after for the creatine group; 48.7+/-18.0 s before vs. 48.7+/-18.1 s after for the placebo group). We conclude that, in elite swimmers, 4 days of acute creatine loading improves swimming performance significantly when assessed by maximal interval sessions. However, longer-term supplementation for 2 months (5 g of creatine per day) did not benefit significantly the creatine group compared with the placebo group.