Supervisors info:
Βασίλειος Πανταζής, Αν. Καθηγητής ,ΠΤΠΕ/ Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλίας
Ιωάννης Βρεττός, Ομότιμος καθηγητής, ΠΤΔΕ/ΕΚΠΑ
Θωμάς Μπαμπάλης, Καθηγητής ΠΤΔΕ/ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Modern curricula set the general aim of education in Greece to ensure conditions that allow the student to develop a responsible, democratic and free personality. Despite existing theoretical approaches around the subject, little research has actually been conducted in this field. The degree of cultivation of these characteristics and the ways in which education aimed at a democratic citizen is achieved are parameters that are regulated not only by the educational system, but also by the people who, by authority, have the ability to form a democratic atmosphere in the school unit: therefore, the role of directors and deputy directors is highlighted. This one is a qualitative research, aimed at detecting the perceptions of executives who run a primary school unit about the ways in which students learn the concept of democracy in the Greek educational system. The survey was conducted during January-May 2017 with semi-structured interviews of forty directors / deputy directors of public and private elementary schools and kindergartens in various suburbs of cities - such as Athens and Volos - as well as island regions such as Kea, Karpathos and Mytilene. The transcribed material was systematically analyzed according to the principles of the content analysis method. It outlines the perceptions of the directors / sub-managers about the content and meaning of the political studies in primary education, the need for student councils or other forms of representation, the desired degree of participation of students in decision-making on their daily routines, the relationship of moral education to democratic education, but also about efforts to create conditions for equal opportunities in education. Finally, the managers’ / deputy directors' understanding of how a democratic school unit operates and of the personality of the Director / Deputy Director contributes to the creation of a democratic atmosphere in it. The research results are expected to contribute to raising the awareness of the scholars of education about the adequacy of existing human and cognitive resources and the ways and means of education provided to achieve the goal of shaping future democratic citizens.
