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In the last 30 years, 4 distinct theoretical approaches have been described for early childhood science education. The approaches are, empiricist, Piagetian, socio-cognitive and socio-cultural. Drawing on the differences among these approaches regarding the theoretical framework adopted in teaching, the role that is assigned to the teacher during the activity and the actions that are expected from the children, we aimed to serve 2 purposes with this research. Firstly, to elicit the in-service pre-school teachers' beliefs about teaching practices for natural sciences and to record the approaches that these beliefs match. To fulfil this purpose, a new instrument was developed. Secondly, to examine the instrument's validity and reliability. The participants in the study were 94 pre-school teachers who served in public schools in 2 prefectures in Greece. Research findings suggest that pre-school teachers tend to state that they mainly adopt practices that fit the empiricist approach while practices that fit the socio-cognitive approach are not used so often. Finally, they seem to rarely follow practices that fit the socio-cultural and Piagetian approaches.

Background/purpose: Investigation into the misconceptions of preschool students in mathematics and their differences between the ages of 4-5 and 5-6 years old helps form appropriate developmental mathematics teaching programs. However, although several studies have been conducted examining preschoolers' previous knowledge and misconceptions about mathematics, no corresponding research has been found in Greece. This study aims to investigate preschoolers' misconceptions about numbers and operations and to reveal differences between preschoolers aged 4-5 and 5-6 years old. Materials/methods: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed according to content analysis methodology. Results: The study's results showed that 5-6-year-old preschoolers perform better than those aged 4-5 years old. Most misconceptions of the latter group appeared to be related to reverse counting, identifying arithmetic symbols and their matching quantities, adding and removing numbers without using auxiliary objects and multiplication. On the contrary, some preschoolers aged 5-6 years old needed help adding or subtracting two-digit numbers without the use of auxiliary objects. There were also a few cases where cardinality, division, and multiplication were observed. Conclusion: The misconceptions identified in the two groups of students regarding numbers and operations and their distinct needs that emerged through the research will allow teachers to offer differentiated instruction and personalize teaching support.

Background/purpose: This study investigates how the teaching intervention and familiarity with the search topic enhance Greek students' behaviour while solving information problems. Materials/methods: Seven university students solved three information problems on the same search topic during an academic semester. After the first and before the last two information problems, a didactic intervention was implemented to familiarize the undergraduate students with the information problem-solving process based on the Big6 model of Eisenberg & Berkowitz (1990) and the use of essential online search tools. Qualitative data was collected via observation as well with the think-aloud protocol. Results: The results indicated that after the didactic intervention and familiarity with the search topic, the participants could realize a greater variety of actions to locate the required information. Conclusion: The findings deepen the comprehension of how the students' information behaviours evolve and indicate suitable interventions that could support students in performing effective internet searches.

The purpose of this study was to adapt the Statistics Anxiety Rating Scale (STARS) for a Greek student population. The STARS was administered to 890 Tertiary Education students in two Greek universities. It was performed a cross-validation study to examine the factorial structure and the psychometric properties with a series of confirmatory factor analyses. Results revealed a correlated six first-order factor model which provided the best fit to the data compared to a six-factor model with one superordinate factor. All six factors of the Greek version of the STARS presented convergent and discriminant validity and were internally consistent. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Nowadays there is a growing research interest in the developments in the domain of Educational Robotics. The present paper is a systematic review of recently published Greek research pertaining to teaching interventions using robotic devices in order to present: a) a synthesis of the available results and the benefits from the utilization of educational robotics and b) a synthesis of research prospects for the educational utilization of robots. After a systematic online search, 54 relevant articles on Greek research approaches and published in conference proceedings were found and their content was analyzed by level of education (i.e., early childhood, primary, secondary). According to the findings of the published research, Educational Robotics appears to support the development of 21st century skills and can be utilized in teaching various subjects at the three levels of education. The conclusions of the present review could be used as reference for future research.

The aim of the current paper is to investigate the traces of socio-cognitive influences in kindergarten teachers' representations about the practices they tend to follow when they develop Natural Sciences activities in kindergarten. A quantitative approach was used, with the research tool being an electronic questionnaire that was completed online by 94 kindergarten teachers served in public Kindergartens. The questionnaire was firstly used in a pilot survey where receiving feedback it was further developed for the main research. Research analysis showed that kindergarten teachers' representations concerning their teaching choices and actions of their students are characterized by practices that are influenced by the socio-cognitive teaching strategy. These practices are followed from both teachers and their students from moderate to large extent.

Teachers' Professional Development Massive Open Online Courses (TPD-MOOCs) are a new form of MOOCs and have influenced an intense research interest. This study reports on the design and implementation of a TPD-MOOC which utilizes digital educational content and Open Educational Recourses (OER) and supports in-service elementary school teachers to enhance their self-efficacy beliefs. In the design framework we take into consideration the findings of previous research and the educational needs of the participants. We conducted an experimental design research and compared the teachers' self-efficacy beliefs before and after their participation in a TPD-MOOC. A total of 251 teachers enrolled in this course and 142 of them completed it. We used quantitative data to measure the enhancement of teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and the effectiveness of the course. The results provide evidence that our TPD-MOOC improved in service elementary school teachers' self-efficacy beliefs in teaching biological concepts. Recommendations are made for future research.

Despite the significant growth and capabilities of mobile technologies, there is limited empirical evidence on teachers' perceived mobile technology-learning barriers. This study investigated Greek teachers' perceptions of barriers to using mobile technology in school classrooms. A 28-item questionnaire was administered to 557 teachers and six barrier-factors were extracted: 'lack of resources', 'lack of support', 'lack of time', 'lack of teacher confidence', 'class conditions' and 'concerns about students'. The questionnaire was a valid and reliable tool for the investigation of various dimensions of teachers' perceived barriers. Gender, school level, age and ICT training had significant but small effects on specific barrier-factors. The order of importance of barrier-factors was similar for users and non-users ('lack of resources', 'support' and 'class conditions') independently of the type of mobile device used in class. 'Concerns about students' was identified as a major barrier only by non-users. Implications for educational policy and professional training are discussed.

Only a limited number of research has examined preservice preschool teachers' attitudes toward and beliefs about teaching mathematics, likely because there are no instruments aimed at preschool settings that have appropriately established psychometric properties. In the current study, we addressed this deficit and aimed to adapt the Preschool Teacher Attitudes and Beliefs toward Science (P-TABS) instrument in a sample of 164 Greek preservice preschool teachers and test its validity and reliability. Using a version of the P-TABS that had been adapted to mathematics, we investigated participants' beliefs about and attitudes toward teaching mathematics and the impact of their previous experiences with mathematics, as well as their math anxiety, on their beliefs about and attitudes toward mathematics teaching. The results showed that this adapted version of the P-TABS was valid and reliable, and therefore it can be useful in the assessment of preservice preschool teachers' beliefs about and attitudes toward teaching mathematics. The results also showed that teachers' math anxiety and their previous experience with mathematics explained their beliefs about and attitudes toward teaching mathematics. This suggests that introducing courses on mathematics into teacher education programs could have a positive effect on preservice teachers' beliefs about teaching mathematics.

Mobile devices have become a learning tool with great potential in both formal and informal learning; however, mobile learning readiness research in school education is relatively limited. This study investigated teachers' readiness to adopt mobile learning in K-12 classrooms. A questionnaire was administered to 920 teachers in Greece and four factors were extracted, "Possibilities," "Benefits," "Preferences" and "External influences." Teachers, in general, expressed positive perceptions on mobile learning readiness. The highest percentage of agreement regarded the possibilities of mobile learning (over 60%). ICT training and attendance of ICT conferences, both affected positively teachers' perceptions on mobile learning benefits and preferences. Teachers who use mobile devices in class reported significantly more positive perceptions on all factors, while gender or age had no impact on perceptions. There was a higher probability of mobile devices' usage in class among teachers working in elementary schools (in comparison with those working in high schools or general/vocational lyceums). Stronger perceptions on mobile learning benefits, preferences and external influences were associated with an increased likelihood of using mobile devices in the classroom. Teachers' readiness perceptions can be explored from a multi-dimensional perspective, and also be associated with mobile technology use in classrooms. Implications for teacher professional development, methodology and pedagogical practice are discussed.

In the present study, we investigated the grouping of Greek parents of preschool children according to their beliefs about literacy by using a mixed-method approach. The sample included 147 parents of preschool children attending the 13 public kindergartens in the town of Pyrgos, in Greece. The participants completed a paper survey and 20 of them participated in semi-structured interviews, as well. The results revealed that parents could be categorized into two groups according to their beliefs about literacy: "Facilitative" and "Conventional." Facilitative parents have a more holistic orientation, concerning literacy acquisition, while Conventional parents have a more skills-based orientation. The findings give an insight into parents' beliefs about literacy and emphasize the importance of the congruence between home and school literacy. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Mobile phone is increasingly widespread among University students, while different factors can affect students' behavior towards the use and acceptance of mobile technology. One of the methods to measure these factors is the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Behavioral Intention of University students for acceptance and use of mobile phone in their studies. The study employed the extended UTAUT2 model (Venkatesh et al. 2012) which was adapted to the Greek context. The participants were 540 students of different Universities across Greece, who completed an online questionnaire. The most important predictors for students' Behavioral Intention to use mobile phones in their studies were Habit (the strongest one), Performance Expectancy and Hedonic Motivation. The most important predictor for actual mobile phone use was Behavioral Intention. Gender, age and experience did not have any moderating effect. The findings of this study enhance the evidence on mobile phone acceptance among University students, and have implications for students' training.

Teaching empirical educational research in higher education involves implementing a very useful web tool for bibliography/scientific literature research, a search engine specifically employed for scientific papers, such as "Google Scholar". The aim of this study is to examine undergraduate students' acceptance of technology, through their intention to adopt and use a specific search engine for research purposes. To accomplish this goal, a questionnaire was administered to 225 students from two Universities in Greece. The study was based on TAM (Technology Acceptance Model), reinforced by four external determinants (perceived self-efficacy, subjective norms, facilitating conditions and technological complexity), that contributed to the indirect prediction of the behavioral intention to use the particular search engine. The results of the survey confirm that the main factors of TAM, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are significant determinants of students' behavioral intention to use Google Scholar. Moreover, perceived self-efficacy, subjective norms, facilitating conditions and technological complexity have an indirect significant effect on behavioral intention. All these factors explain almost 60% of students' behavioral intention to use this search engine. The results of this survey could be beneficial to the enrichment of good educational practices for the additional training of teachers, as well as to the improvement of the students' skills in the implementation of this specific research tool. Besides, more stakeholders, such as librarians, or even human resources of big companies that construct and support similar systems, such as search engines, could also benefit from the present research.

Low enrolment in undergraduate level physics programmes has drawn the attention of the relevant disciplines, education policy-makers, and researchers worldwide. Many reports released during the previous decades attempt to identify the factors that attract young people to study science, but only few of them focus explicitly on physics. In Greece, in contrast to many other countries, physics departments are overflowing with young students. However, there are two categories of students: those for whom physics was the optimal choice of a programme ("choosers") and those for whom physics was an alternative choice that they had to settle for. We suggest that the latter category be called "nearly-choosers," in order to be differentiated from choosers as well as from "non-choosers," namely those candidates that did not apply to a physics programme at all. We are interested in the factors that attract high school students to study physics and the differences (if any) between choosers and nearly-choosers. A newly formed questionnaire was distributed within a Greek physics department (University of Patras), and the students' responses (n = 105) were analysed with exploratory factor analysis and specifically principal component analysis so as to extract broad factors. Three broad factors have arisen: school-based, career, and informal learning. The first two factors proved to be motivating for pursuing a degree in physics, while the third factor appeared to have a rather indifferent association. "t" tests and Pearson correlations indicated mild differentiations between choosers and nearly-choosers that pertain to school-based influences and informal learning.

Research in the field of statistics teaching has gained momentum, with numerous studies reporting that attitudes towards statistics are related to student performance in a statistics course. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of students' attitudes toward statistics, students' perceived competence at mathematics, and students' engagement in the learning process on their overall performance in a tertiary statistics course. The Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (SATS-28) was administered to 170 tertiary Early Childhood Education students in a large university in Greece. A Structural Equation Model was generated, and a confirmatory factor analysis was performed resulting in a three-component structure being accepted. Path analysis revealed direct links between perceived competence at mathematics and the three attitudes components, as well as a direct effect of perceived competence at mathematics on students' performance in the statistics course. Engagement in the learning process also had a direct impact on students' performance.

This study examined the relationship between different views of teaching and dimensions that differentiate academic disciplines. A total of 114 academics within Greece and 127 academics from similar disciplines but other countries were compared using the Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI). Distinctions among disciplines for both groups were based on Biglan's 3-dimensional classification (Pure/Applied; Hard/Soft; Life/non-Life). The objective of this study was to examine to what extent the teaching perspectives of the academics differ from one classification category to another. Greek academics represented participants in 15 departments across 9 universities throughout Greece, while the international sample was drawn from the TPI database. Statistical analysis indicated better differentiation of Biglan's classification for its Life/non-Life dimension than for Pure/Applied or Hard/Soft between the combined samples for four Teaching Perspectives: Transmission, Developmental, Nurturing and Social Reform. No perspectives differences existed for Biglan's Hard/Soft categorisation, although Greek professors were significantly higher in Soft rather than Hard disciplines in the Developmental, Nurturing and Social Reform perspectives compared to their global counterparts. They also demonstrated overall higher 'Transmission' scores. The authors conclude that disciplinary differences are real, but that they are small compared to the interpersonal ones or even to the international ones. The relationships between the teaching perspectives and Biglan's classifications are further discussed.

According to numerous researchers, a clear and direct correlation exists between Computational Thinking (CT) and courses falling under the purview of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), thereby advocating for the integration of CT into the curricula of STEM courses. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that only a few studies have scrutinized this correlation in-depth. Most such studies connect the correlation tacitly and predominantly concentrate on the empirical assessment of CT within the curriculum of one STEM discipline. This research seeks to evaluate the Computational Thinking abilities of 80 high school students in Greece and discern the extent of correlation with their academic performance in STEM and Greek language courses. A longitudinal survey was executed to accomplish this objective, commencing with administering a test designed to gauge the fundamental components of Computational Thinking. It is worth noting that this test draws its inspiration from internationally recognized computer competitions and serves as a credible assessment tool. Subsequently, an assessment was carried out to ascertain the degree of correlation between students' Computational Thinking aptitude and their written performance in the subjects encompassed by the STEM category and the Greek language courses. The outcomes of this investigation revealed the presence of a statistically significant correlation between students' Computational Thinking proficiency and their performance in these academic subjects, further extending to the academic direction of study chosen by the students. Based on the findings of this research, implications and pedagogical recommendations are delineated while concurrently acknowledging the limitations encountered during this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study focuses on the psychological consequences of the pandemic on Greek teachers on anxiety, post-traumatic stress and personal skills. The research was conducted by a Greek university, a few months after the beginning of lockdown and changing the teaching process to distance education. An electronic questionnaire was used as a research tool, which was completed by 213 primary and secondary school teachers in Western Greece. The questionnaire included demographics as well as questions from three questionnaires: State Trait Anxiety Inventory, revised Impact of Event Scale, as well as selected questions from the Personal Skills Inventory. The elaboration of the findings revealed the existence of medium anxiety and low selfesteem for the teachers, as well as an estimation of the factors that increase them. Nevertheless, a discussion on the opportunities emerged for the teachers' development and the contribution of Adult Education to this direction is ready to start. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning through the use of mobile or portable devices (Mobile Learning or mlearning), is the type of learning that takes place at any time and geographical location and is supported by a device that simulates computer-like functions. Researches about the use of smartphones and tablets in higher education have studied the effectiveness of mobile devices in learning. Other researches have focused on the percentage of students owning and using smartphones and tablets for academic purposes, as well as on problems or barriers recognized by them in the use of mobile devices, during their studies. Although mobile devices play an active role in both daily life and learning process, research data on higher education in Greece, so far, is limited. Through this research we look forward to enhancing the debate on the use of mobile devices as learning tool and during the educational process in higher education. The present study investigates views of students from the University of Patras on the educational utilization of mobile devices. For this purpose, a questionnaire was created through the GoogleForms online application and was administrated from April to May 2018. This study involved 98 students from various schools, Humanities and Social Sciences (49%), Engineering (19.4%), Economics & Business (15.6%), Natural Sciences (9.2%) and Health Sciences (6.8%). Regarding the use and availability of mobile devices (smartphones/ tablets), we deduced that almost all students possess a smartphone. It is a fact that we have passed from the era of tablets and laptops to the era of smartphones, bearing in mind that the capabilities of the latter are at least similar to those of tablets and many computers. Regarding the applications most frequently used on their smartphone or tablet to support their studies, students stated that they mainly use PDF reader, email, Facebook, learning management systems such as eclass and google. The above applications are used for communication purposes, to exchange academic notes and for course information (syllabus, exam topics, notes). Concerning the problems faced by students in the educational utilization of their mobile devices, the majority of them stated that the most important problem is that in many classes there is no wi-fi coverage and even if wi-fi is provided, the speed is very slow, followed by the lack of suitable applications to support learning and teaching. Most students recognize that mobile devices enhance their flexibility about learning, providing more degrees of freedom to them. They mentioned that mobile devices contribute to the way they learn as well as provide liberty about the place and the time they choose to spend on learning. However, almost half of them admit that using mobile devices could cause problems in the educational process, both for tutors as well as for themselves. The main problem in the use of mobile devices for educational purposes for students are their distraction by aimlessly surfing the internet, and for the university tutors, the fact that some of them are unfamiliar with technology, so that they cannot take advantage of it. Given students' views on how mobile devices contribute to the way they learn, we believe that mobile devices can support distance learning as well. We also consider that mobile applications designers could create environments that mediate the learning process, permitting the mobile usage in class for learning purposes. These environments could restrict the use of various applications (access to specific websites, social media, games, etc.) that seem to distract the student and generally create problems in the educational process. Furthermore, academic staff needs to comprehensively understand the contribution of mobile devices as an innovative tool in the educational process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]