Manifestations of Greek-Cypriot teachers' discomfort toward a peace education initiative: Engaging with discomfort pedagogically

This study sought to understand how teachers' discomforting emotions were manifest in a teacher education setting and how teacher educators might engage with discomfort pedagogically. A qualitative perspective was used with a group of teachers who participated in a series of peace education workshops in Cyprus. All of the workshops were audio- and video-recorded; in-depth interviews were also conducted with seven focal participants before and after the workshops. The findings show the manifestations of discomfort, the sources of discomfort, and the ways of handling teachers' discomfort pedagogically. The paper discusses how this study may inform teacher education.     

The development of inclusive practices as a result of the process of integrating deaf/hard of hearing students

In recent years there has been a significant debate regarding the ways in which different educational systems throughout the world could develop more inclusive practices in their schools. Based on the notion that the education of children considered as having special needs should be considered as part of a wider process of school development, in this study, we investigated the implications of the integration of deaf and hard of hearing students (D/HH) in relation to the practices used by teachers. Using qualitative data from a secondary school in Cyprus, we formed two assertions which are supported by examples that embraced inclusive practices: (a) the presence of D/HH students obliged teachers to differentiate their teaching and what innovations were used in the class with D/HH pupils were also used afterwards in the classes with all students with success; and (b) the presence of D/HH students in the school led teachers to develop collaborations between themselves, a fact that facilitated the learning not only of the D/HH students, but also of all the children. The integration of D/HH students led teachers to the development of more inclusive practices, which in turn had an impact on all students of the school.     

The unexpected journey: renewing our commitment to students through educational action research

This article presents four cases of journeys of discovery and renewal, and the unexpected learning that results from exploring our practice with others. The authors are three classroom teachers – Steve, Stephanie and Bennyce – all of whom took part in a year-long action research sequence and the two professors – Helen and Mary – who co-taught these courses. Taking part in this process, whether as teachers or students, we gained new insights into important relationships that are too frequently taken for granted in busy teaching days, and discovered, in doing so, a renewed commitment to both our students and to the power of action research to bring about change     

Let the context become your ally: school principalship in two cases from low performing schools in Cyprus

Context has a considerable effect on the role and responsibilities of school principals. The aim of this paper is to provide a holistic perspective of the effects of school principals’ involvement in two low performing schools with different contexts. A qualitative research approach was employed, with individual and focus groups interviews under a multi-actor perspective. Our results suggest that school leaders differ in the way they relate to the inner and outer environment of the school. We suggest that they have to acquire new skills that address entrepreneurial as well as pedagogical tasks, thus exercising edupreneurial leadership.     

… I ever loved thee,lady mine,and yet my love increases: Rhodian Portrait Ceramics and Cultural Dialogue in the Mediterranean

The medieval city of Rhodes kept a secure position as artistic and commercial crossroads, where pottery was the most intensely traded commodity. Here, I focus on a group of fifteenth-century ceramics decorated with profile busts of men and women excavated there, near the Orthodox Church of St. Spyridon. Used in a culturally complex urban centre, these vessels borrowed elements of design, and the concept of portrait-ceramics and love pots from Italy, where spouses and lovers exchanged such objects as ritual gifts. I explore the patronage, production, and function of these ceramics within the specifics of Rhodes, to see how they were suited to serve this cosmopolitan society governed by the Hospitaller Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, while displaying comparable feelings of power and (romantic) character common in Italian portraiture.     

Collaborative art-making for reducing marginalisation and promoting intercultural education and inclusion

The main goal of this study is to examine how teachers and students experienced the implementation of educational activities, materials and related pedagogical strategies of collaborative art-making. The activities were designed to strengthen intercultural education and inclusion practices, reduce social and academic marginalisation and increase the participation of marginalised children in the curricula, cultures and societies of schools. The current study examines only the implementation of activities in Cyprus. The findings of this study suggest that collaborative art-making allowed the voices of culturally diverse students to be heard, promoting the exchange of ideas and stories regarding diversity. Additionally, the implementation of the activities led to the development of students’ civic efficacy and democratic agency, while it contributed to friendship development.     

The Hare and the Tortoise: a comparative review of the drive towards inclusive education policies in England and Cyprus

This paper explores the process of policy formulation and implementation in relation to children commonly described as having ‘special educational needs’ and disability (SEND), in Cyprus and in England. Drawing on qualitative research evidence from key primary documentary sources including legislation, statutory and non-statutory guidance and reports, it provides a comparative analysis of the content and the spirit of policy in both countries over the cycle of a century. The findings indicate that Cypriot policymakers have engaged in a process of ‘policy snatching’ from England, following four phases: charitable segregation and categorisation; enlightened legitimisation and categorisation; integration, ‘special educational needs’ and categorisation; inclusion, SEND and categorisation. Using the analogy of Aesop’s well-known fable ‘The Hare and the Tortoise’, the paper concludes that England, symbolically characterised as the hare, appears, overtly at least, to have moved ahead; while Cyprus, characterised as the tortoise, has been following slowly behind. However, progress has been slow in both countries, and the hare may well have fallen asleep. It is argued that whilst some common ground exists between the two countries, there is an inherent danger in transplanting selected elements of policy texts from one socio-cultural historical context to another.     

Curriculum making as professionalism-in-context: the cases of two elementary school teachers amidst curriculum change in Cyprus

ABSTRACT

In this paper, two case studies of elementary school teachers in the Republic of Cyprus are constructed to discuss how curriculum making relates to teacher biographies and sense of professionalism, as those are shaped at the intersection of their professional history and projections for the future, informed by and informing their constitution as professionals in local institutional and broader social contexts. Drawing on the ecological model of teacher agency, the two cases are utilised to examine how teachers’ narrated professional experiences in past and current schools were at interplay with their general sense of professional role and purpose as teachers. This complex interplay is simultaneously connected to the ways they perceived and constituted their pupils as well as to the ways they themselves were constituted by others as professionals. The examination of the two cases foregrounds the notions of teacher agency and of curriculum making as contingent, negotiated and negotiable, and opens up the space to consider the politics of both as those are permeated by micro-processes of subjection and subjectivation.     

Identity negotiations in conflict-ridden societies: historical and anthropological perspectives

Abstract

The present paper deals with epistemological and methodological issues as these touch upon the products of educational practices related to the teaching of historical narratives in settings purposely created to facilitate dialogue, inclusion and recognition among children thought to be belonging in clearly differentiated and antagonistic groups in a conflict-ridden area – i.e. Israeli Jews and Palestinians, and Greek and Turkish Cypriots. It offers an overview of the sociopolitical and educational contexts the authors have studied and vignettes of some of the events that captured their attention and led them to critically approach present theorising on peace and multicultural education. It finalises with reflections on the epistemological and methodological issues the authors encountered in their studies.     

Reflections on policy and practice of inclusive education in pre‐primary schools in Cyprus

In July 1999 the House of Parliament in Cyprus passed the Education Act for Children with Special Needs, according to which all children have the right to be educated in their neighbouring regular school together with their age‐mates. An important component of this law is that it introduces, for the first time, inclusive education into pre‐primary education. A child can be considered as having special needs only when he/she has attained the age of 3 years or older. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the policy of inclusive education is implemented in pre‐primary schools in ­Cyprus, to investigate whether some children are still marginalized (after the implementation of the new law) and, if they are, to identify factors influencing marginalization or acting as a barrier to inclusion. We also briefly present the results from a study we conducted that supports the discussion of the issues raised in this paper.