Thesis completed<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Ioannidi, Andriani. 2025. New Students: From Enrolment to Integration for a Successful Academic Career. Supervisor: Georgios Stamelos.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Considering the challenges students face during their transition to university, this study aims to explore the needs of first-year students and the extent to which these needs are met by the existing support and orientation services. The findings of this research can serve as a starting point for the development of strategies and institutional structures that facilitate student integration and support their academic progress. On a theoretical level, the dissertation is framed within the broader discussion of the social dimension of the European Higher Education Area. The needs of students, as highlighted in the study, appear to be shaped both by the motivation leading them to enter university and by their prior social representations of what \u201cuniversity\u201d entails. In addition, key aspects of adaptation play a significant role. These concepts are analyzed to provide a deeper understanding of the range of student needs during the transition process.<\/p>\n
A mixed-methods research design was adopted, combining quantitative data from questionnaires and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews, conducted with first-year students at the University of Patras. The results indicate that the transition to university is a complex and transformative experience for new students, affecting their daily lives, academic adjustment, and personal identity. The analysis of the data revealed six main categories of needs. Educational needs, needs related to social integration, economic needs, needs for psychological support, needs for strengthening commitment to studies, and needs concerning career guidance and information. Regarding the satisfaction of these needs through the services provided, it is found that, despite the efforts made, the interventions are often fragmented and insufficient. They are also not well known to students and therefore not used. The study concludes with recommendations, emphasizing the need for a systematic and comprehensive support plan tailored to the particular needs of each student group. Overall, the research highlights, on the one hand, that the needs of first-year students are multifaceted and, on the other, that the transition is not solely the responsibility of the students themselves but requires a university environment that inspires, reinforces, and facilitates their integration and progress.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Makri Panagiota. 2025. “Investigating the satisfaction of TEPEKE students (future teachers) with their education, with an emphasis on their practical training<\/i>“. (supervisor: Georgios Stamelos). <\/p>\n<\/div> The changes that have taken place in recent years in the field of Higher Education have in turn brought about significant changes in the curricula of University Departments. One example is student-centred learning and the reconfiguration of the Curricula on the basis of learning outcomes. On the other hand, research shows that many pre-service teachers find it difficult to respond to the ‘reality’ of educational practice. On the other hand, research shows that initial Teacher Education does not adequately prepare teacher candidates for the demands of teaching and many teacher candidates find it difficult to respond to the ‘reality’ of teaching practice. The purpose of this PhD thesis was to investigate whether, in the context of these changes, students are satisfied with their initial Education and feel ready to enter a classroom. In our case we focused on their satisfaction with their Curriculum and their internship. Our research was a case study of one Department, namely the Direction of Primary Education Teachers (PET), Department of Education and Social Work (DE&SW), University of Patras. In order to conduct the research, the representativeness of the sample was ensured (with reference to all the graduates of the academic year 2022-2023 of the PET Direction of the DE&SW). As a research method, a multi-methodological approach was adopted and the research tools used were the questionnaire and the semi-structured interview. The time period for both quantitative and qualitative research was from October 2023 to July 2024. The results of the survey showed that student satisfaction with the curriculum depends on the students’ perception of how well it is linked to the labour market. Also, although the results showed that the factors that contribute to student satisfaction with the internship are individual, institutional-administrative, educational and social, in the end the only factor that has a statistically significant effect on satisfaction with the implementation\/conditions of the internship is the satisfaction with the teaching profession after the completion of the studies. Regarding the issue of preparation\/teaching readiness for entering the teaching profession, although students agree that the curriculum offers courses of high scientific level, however, they feel that these courses do not absolutely prepare them for entering the classroom. Finally, through this research, issues related to the role of internship actors and the process of acquiring professional identity have emerged.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Epaminondas Panagopoulos. 2024. Exploring the phenomenon of the crisis of confidence as a structural element in the development of teachers’ professional identities (supervisor: Ioannis Kamarianos).<\/p>\n<\/div> This doctoral thesis aims to present and analyse levels of trust in schools, including the existence and quality of trusting relationships, and the degree to which they exist. Particular emphasis is placed on differentiated professional identities and their potential relationship with levels of trust. The ongoing crisis is a particularly important structural condition for the study. The social, economic and political context in Greece in recent years has been characterised by fluidity, which lends significant weight to the study. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect research data. The target population comprises teachers and principals of primary schools in the Region of Western Greece. The research sample was drawn from these populations using random sampling (with reference to the total population), ensuring the representativeness of the sample. The research, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods, was conducted from May 2023 to February 2024 <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Gotsis, Ioannis. 2023. “Mechanisms and processes for promoting European citizenship: The case of Erasmus+ \/ KA2 programs in Greek secondary schools”<\/i>. (supervisor: Georg\u03b9os Stamelos).<\/p>\n<\/div> This thesis studies the \u201cactivation\u201d of citizenship in the European political and social context after the Maastricht Treaty, trying to answer questions such as: What is the role of citizenship in the project of European integration, according to the official documents of the European Union (EU) after 1992, understood as texts that produce official or unofficial policies? Furthermore: Are the meaning and goals set in these texts, as far as European citizenship is concerned, implemented in the field of education? The purpose was to investigate the potential contribution of one of the mechanisms used by the EU to promote European citizenship in education: the Erasmus+ program. The study focused on secondary schools. Based on the three research questions that emerged from the review of the literature and of the EU policy texts related to European citizenship, the qualitative research method was chosen. In particular, the “open-ended interview” (semi-structured interview) method was used to generate the qualitative data. The research sample consisted of 33 teachers, including 11 headteachers, from 11 secondary schools in the prefectures of Achaia, Ilia, and Aitoloakarnania, who had participated in school partnerships involving student learning mobilities within the framework of Key Action 2 of the Erasmus+ program. The sample was selected by purposive sampling, which was carried out at two levels (selection of schools-selection of teachers). The formulation of the research questions was accompanied by the formulation of three Research Guides, based on which the data analysis was planned. A three-axis Interview Guide was used to conduct the interviews. The 22 teachers and 11 headteachers were treated as distinct target groups. The answers of the headteachers were cross-referenced with those of the teachers in order to establish through the comparison whether the experiences of the latter form part of a strategic framework of the school unit regarding the implementation of Erasmus+\/KA2 projects. For the analysis of the qualitative data, content analysis and in particular thematic analysis was applied. A key result of the analysis was the identification of specific processes which potentially enable the development of certain competences by the students, which are related, according to the literature and policy texts, to the promotion of European citizenship. It was also possible to identify factors favoring the development of these competences. On the other hand, the thematic analysis also highlighted factors preventing the development of the competences and hence the promotion of European citizenship in schools through the Erasmus+ program. Among them, the main finding was the lack of a school unit mechanism with the aim of sustaining the intangible results of a KA2 project.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Sigountou Vasiliki. 2022. “The establishment and early years of the School of Natural and Mathematical Sciences of the University of Athens (late 19th century – 1922): Key issues, uncompleted steps”<\/em>. (supervisor Panagiotis Kimourtzis).<\/p>\n<\/div> This thesis argues that two key issues dominated the field of university studies in the natural and mathematical sciences from the end of the 19th century until the beginning of the interwar period. The first was related to the demand that the University of Athens provide a specialised education in the natural sciences, focused on chemical studies and promised the creation of a scientific staff oriented to the productive sector of the economy. The second was linked to the discussion on the University’s missions and, in particular, to the promotion of the aim to strengthen the research dimension of the University’s work, alongside its educational mission. These two issues combined to highlight a major third: finding the resources to ensure development in line with the new priorities for education and research.<\/p>\n In the light of these key issues, the dissertation examines the process towards the establishment of the School of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and the first years of its autonomous existence. The main axes of the study are the formation, on the one hand, of the teaching staff and, on the other hand, of the scientific staff of the laboratories and museums, which, in the period under consideration, had reached a critical size that encouraged changes in the academic profession. In particular, the dissertation analyses the processes for the establishment of the Department of Chemistry. It highlights the deeper temporal roots of the project and interprets the establishment of the chemistry degree within the context set by three interrelated parameters: the influences of the European debate on higher education and its trajectories due to the experience of war; the internal conditions in Greece and the attempt to formulate a narrative with a visionary perspective for the country; and plans for Greece’s role within a wider distribution of power on the geopolitical map.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Verra Marilina. 2022. “University Studies and ICT: the impact of information and communication technologies on the formation of professional identity and educational practices of students of Pedagogical Departments”<\/em>. (supervisor George Stamelos).<\/p>\n<\/div> One of the roles of education is to correspond to the social process. It has to provide students\u2019 degree of familiarity with technology did not differ significantly according to age, Matthaios Dimitriou 2021. The European University, 1960\u20131980: Its Scientific and Literary Reception’. The Example of the British University Novel (supervisor: Panagiotis Kimourtzis).<\/p>\n<\/div> This thesis’s central research question is how British academic fiction reflects significant developments at universities between 1960 and 1980. The dissertation is divided into two main sections, each comprising two chapters. The first part examines the university from a scientific perspective, forming the basis on which the research section of the second part will be built. For the first part of the dissertation, extensive foreign-language bibliography was used. We chose to study the European university, specifically those in Britain, France and Germany. The first chapter of the thesis examines the development of universities in these countries from the early nineteenth century to the late 1950s. The second chapter is the central focus of the thesis and examines important developments in universities in the aforementioned three countries during the post-war period, specifically the twenty years from 1960 to 1980. The second part of the thesis examines the academic novel. Our focus is on the British university novel, a literary phenomenon that remained unique to Britain and did not spread to other European countries. In the third chapter, we provide a historical overview of this literary genre, including categorisation attempts, the settings and time periods of publication, authors who have dealt with the genre, and the disparaging portrayal of educated individuals. The fourth chapter is the research section of the dissertation, in which we attempt to answer the central research question: How does the British academic novel depict important developments at universities between 1960 and 1980? We focus on selected British academic novels that extensively refer to these two decades, studying them on the basis of specific axes that emerged from our study of the twenty-year period (1960\u201380) in the second chapter. To broaden the scope of the research, we added two additional axes: university professors and students. The paper concludes with our findings.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Evangelakou Panagiota. 2021. “The social dimension of higher education: Students’ satisfaction with university student support services”<\/em>. (supervisor George Stamelos)<\/p>\n<\/div> This thesis investigates whether student support services offered by universities should not be overlooked by any university that seeks to improve its services and Dourgounas George. 2019. “European educational policy and lifelong learning policies in Greece: investigating the achievement of employability and social inequality objectives before and during the economic crisis”.<\/em> (supervisor Eleni Prokou).<\/p>\n<\/div> The aim of this doctoral thesis is to investigate the influences of the European Democracy is a political system that requires citizens with democratic principles, values and beliefs, and characteristics such as respect for the rights and freedoms of others, responsibility, acceptance of diversity, participation, dialogue and cooperation. The lack of these features not only weakens democracy, but also can put it at risk. Today, more and more, both in Western democratic societies and in the field of democratic theory and research, the need for strengthening and revitalizing democracy has become conscious. Especially, in a crucial period in which social inequalities and poverty have increased, and in addition, migratory flows have been intensified by urgent issues democratic rights and freedoms. Our country is in no way free of such problems and that is why it is imperative for the Greek State to react. It is admitted that the organization which could, as a matter of priority, contribute to the empowerment of democracy is school. As one of the key institutions of democratic development of a society, school must promote democratic values and principles aiming at the development of a democratic culture to students and prepare them as tomorrows\u2019 democratic citizens. In this perspective, school administration can play a decisive role. Through the development of collaborative, participatory, democratic models of educational leadership, school administration could enhance democratic values and democratic ideals of students and teachers, transforming the school unit in a democratic learning community. The central question raised in this thesis is whether the Greek school promotes democratic values from school administration and teachers and whether or not the democratic educational leadership develops. For this purpose, we have applied both quantitative and qualitative research methods in this thesis. In particular, using as methodological tool the written questionnaire for all the principals of the secondary schools of the Aitoloakarnania Regional Unity and in a representative sample of teachers, we tried to investigate the attitudes of the school administration and the teachers and if, through these attitudes, democratic values, in terms of knowledge and practice, are promoted in school units.<\/i><\/i><\/span>\u0391bstract<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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\nmoral cultivation and knowledge and at the same time to create fertile ground, inside which,
\nskills and competences useful to tomorrow\u2019s citizen as a social being and professional are
\ncultivated. The foundations of education are being established in school and the query that
\nemerges is, who and how teaching in today\u2019s school is. How well qualified are the teachers
\nthat teach in the classroom, what kind of skills and competences have developed themselves
\nthrough their own educational process and how can they or intend to disseminate them to
\ntheir pupils.
\nTaken into consideration that we live in the era of knowledge society and domination
\nof digital media, the need of a more inclusive and innovative educational system, fully
\nintegrated with the digital era, can be easily perceived. The pupils who study in today\u2019s
\nschool must be trained in such a way so that they will be able to come up successfully
\nagainst the challenges that they will face as active citizens in the future. Bearing in mind that
\nfuture is inseparable from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), becomes
\nobvious that school cannot be separated from technology.
\nAim of the present educational research is to contribute, even slightly, to the
\nimprovement of the educational process. The educational research aims to that purpose,
\nthrough systematic evaluation of every aspect of education related to pupils\u2019 learning,
\neducational methods, education of educators and the classroom\u2019s dynamics (Anderson &
\nArsenault, 1998). Specifically, our research intends to determine whether the present
\nstudents of Faculties of Education \u2013 and consequently future teachers \u2013 are familiar with
\ntechnology and whether they intend to implement technology into their instruction and if
\nso, in what ways. We are interested in ascertaining if, through the contribution of their
\nstudies and judging from their usage of ICTs, they embrace a certain learning theory and if
\nso, how this theory shapes their professional identity and practices.
\nOur data originate from two hundred questionnaires, containing questions about
\nspecifically to what extent the responders use technological means and about the way of
\npotential use of technology in the classroom. On one hand, as expected, we found that
\nstudents are well acquainted with technology, as most of them are of young age, born and
\nraised in \u201ctechnological environment\u201d (near the beginning of current millennium). The
\nresponders answered that they have access to technological equipment and take great
\nadvantage of ICTs, either for personal use or for professional development. In fact, the<\/p>\n
\nsex or years of studies.
\nOn the other hand, we tried to explore the exact use of technology. Namely, for which
\ntask specifically, do the students utilize the ICTs during their academic studies and internship
\nand how they intend to embed ICTs into their instruction in future. The way of use of ICTs is
\nassociated with learning theories and therefore we have explored whether students adopt
\nany of the major learning theories (behaviorism, cognitive theories, sociocultural theories)
\nand if their professional identity and practices are shaped by these theories respectively. The
\nresults of the research on this point revealed some \u201cperplexity\u201d or rather a non-conscious
\nimplementation of learning theories. The answers of the responders reveal that they
\ncurrently use and intend to use in future the ICTs in multiple ways, but neither imply an
\nadoption – having as a starting point their studies \u2013 of any particular learning theory, nor
\nthat they intend to teach in the future according to a theory. For instance, this may happen
\nin a teacher-centric way, for the purpose of information presentation and individual practice
\nof the pupils towards to the assimilation of knowledge (behaviorism), but at the same time
\nthey may implement activities which require data analysis on behalf of pupils and facilitate
\nsuperior way of thinking, often in collaborative environments (cognitive and sociocultural
\nlearning theories). In any case, very high percentages of acceptance of ICT usage exist, in the
\ncontext of attracting the interest and attention of pupils, a fact indicating to us that there is
\nscope for further research on the way of utilization of ICTs and scope for a more conscious
\nintegration of ICTs in everyday instruction inside the classroom.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>\u0391bstract<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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\nmeet the needs of their students and achieve their social dimension mission.
\nIn light of the social dimension, universities have developed a number of support
\nservices (catering, accommodation, sports facilities, psychological support services,
\nvocational guidance, health services, etc.) to meet the increasingly diverse needs of
\ntheir students that is driven by widening of access to higher education and increase in
\nthe number of students. This is considered to support students complete their studies
\ntimely and minimize student dropout, which is a serious problem facing higher
\neducation.
\nQuantitative and qualitative research was carried out on over second year students at
\nthe University of Patras to meet the objectives of this thesis as to whether the needs of
\nstudents are met through university support services and, ultimately, whether the
\nsocial dimension of the university is fully promoted.
\nThe results of the research showed that, despite the fact that the University of Patras
\nprovides a set of student support services, the crucial role of social dimension has not
\nbeen fully highlighted. This finding lies, on the one hand, in the non-use of support
\nservices by the vast majority of students (with the exception of catering and sports
\nfacilities), on the other hand, in the inability of the provided services to fully meet the
\nstudent needs.
\nTherefore, the contribution of this thesis is to highlight the need to enhance the
\nsocial dimension of the university, which seems to consist both in the use of support
\nservices by students and in the satisfaction of student needs by them. In turn, the use
\nof support services seems to depend on the constant information to students about
\ntheir existence as well as on the development of trust by students to use them. On the
\nother hand, the satisfaction of student needs seems to be related to the operating
\nconditions of the service (space, hours) and the way it is organized (organization and
\nmanagement of human resources and its projects). Finally, feedback on student
\nsatisfaction with support services seems to be provided by their evaluation, which<\/p>\n
\nincrease their quality.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>\u0391bstract<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
\neducation policy in lifelong learning (LLL) policies in Greece and to evaluate the
\neffectiveness of the policies of Continuing Vocational Training (CVT) in Greece,
\nwith reference to the achievement of the aims of employability and social cohesion,
\nthe emphasis being on the unemployed. The first part of the thesis attempts to review
\nthe theoretical approaches to the concepts of employability and social cohesion,
\nwhich form two complementary objectives of the European Union (EU) LLL policies.
\nThe second part of the thesis critically analyses the EU policies for LLL and their
\nimpact on the policies for lifelong learning in Greece, using the concept of
\neuropeanisation as interpretative tool. The third part of the thesis examines the degree
\nto which the aims of employability and social cohesion are achieved through the
\nparticipation of the unemployed in CVT in Greece, through the data of 2007 and 2012
\nAdult Education Survey. The analysis and interpretation of the reforms in LLL and of
\nthe Greek governments\u2019 policy discourse on their LLL policies, and the statistical
\nprocessing of the Adult Education Survey data on the participation of the unemployed
\nin CVT in Greece, show the strong influences of the European education policy in
\nLLL policies in Greece and the failure of CVT policies to develop the employability
\nof the unemployed and to ensure social cohesion.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>\u0391bstract<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
\nIn addition, we conducted semi \u2013 structured interviews with principals of the surveyed population to investigate the attitudes of the school administration in the face of democratic values and the possible development of democratic leadership in the school, by seeking to combine the written questionnaire and semitructured interviews to enhance the validity and credibility of the research results. According to the research results, we have come to the conclusion that there is a clear problem of understanding the concepts of the democratic educational leadership and its difference from the traditional school administration in the Greek school. For the most part, the principals identify these two concepts, while they perceive the educational leadership as an institutional entity that is exclusively associated with the role of the school principal. We notice that the majority of principals have considerable difficulties in developing the features of a democratic educational leadership in school unit. This means that the school administration is unable to promote democratic values in school units, which significantly prevents the development of democratic education in the Greek school. On the other hand, there is a strong tendency among teachers to adopt conservative attitudes and practices which usually promote socialization in the prevailing traditional values and formal rules of behavior of students, with the consequence of developing an autocracy or even a conformism towards the mode of operation of the school unit, that favors apathy and indifference to democratic pedagogical initiatives and interventions. So, teachers find it difficult to teach the students those democratic values and principles that are necessary for the development of a democratic ethics in the school unit. To conclude with, that the promotion of democratic values in secondary schools, particularly in school administration, is particularly deficient.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>