Qualitative System Dynamics models to assess the effect of MOOCs on the system of tertiary education

Vasiliki Tsaple, International Hellenic University, Greece
Panayiotis Tzionas, International Hellenic University, Greece
Published online: 19 April 2019, JCETR, 3(1), pp. 3-8.

URN: urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-190868, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3598665

Abstract: Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are an innovation in higher education that cause disruptions in the traditional operation of universities. For this reason it is important to understand what their effect may be in the tertiary level of education. The purpose of this paper is to study this effect under a Systems Thinking perspective. For that reason, several Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) were developed with the variables derived from a literature review and interviews with students and teachers. These CLDs showed that communication and collaboration among students and with teachers, cost and language are elements that determine the behavior of the system of tertiary education and the MOOCs integration. Furthermore, they can be seen as an important tool for academic advancement and a means for participation in innovative research. However, higher education is a complex system and there is the need for more advanced and/or quantitative research to fully comprehend the effect of MOOCs on it.

Keywords: Massive Online Open Courses; Systems Thinking; System Dynamics, Causal Loop Diagrams; tertiary education

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Evaluation as instrument for improvement of teachers to provide qualitative training: Views of teachers

Boza Georgia, International Hellenic University, Greece
Published online: 19 April 2019, JCETR, 3(1), pp. 9-14.

URN: urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-188797, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3598674

Abstract: In the context of the developments of recent years, the purpose of this paper is to investigate both at theoretical and empirical level, how the educational evaluation contributes to improving the quality of education provided, but the opinions and attitudes of Greek teachers of primary and secondary education towards process and in different evaluation systems, as well as to the extent to which the training evaluation helps improving the quality of educational work (Papadopoulos, 2013. In the context of human resources management in education, the evaluation of teachers, is not only a process that provides professional development opportunities for teachers and enhances accountability in the education system, but a process that contributes to improving the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the education project, the schools and the educational system in General (Matsopoulos et al, 2018). However, the latest developments in Greece on the implementation of educational reforms for the evaluation of education, was a process which created strong reactions from teachers who have developed negative attitudes and feelings on how the evaluation was applied, compounding the school climate and eventually leading to the Elimination of the system of assessment (Anastasiou, 2014). In the context of the developments of recent years, the purpose of this paper is to investigate both at theoretical and empirical level, how the educational evaluation contributes to improving the quality of education provided, but the opinions and attitudes of Greek teachers of primary and secondary education towards process and in different evaluation systems, as well as to the extent to which the training evaluation helps improving the quality of educational work (Anastasiou, 2014).

Keywords: Evaluation, educators, quality, training, human resources management

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Language change and grammar teaching books in EFL

Anastasia Balla, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Published online: 19 April 2019, JCETR, 3(1), pp. 15-20.

URN: urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-189665, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3598688

Abstract: The present study investigates the changes that English Grammar has undergone throughout the last four decades and how these alterations are depicted in Grammar Teaching Books. The conduct of the current study based not only on the analysis of printed material and electronic sources that examine language change and variation in contemporary English but also on the employment of actual Grammar Teaching Books, used for the acquisition of English as a second or foreign language. A vast number of valuable and reliable articles and books functioned as the theoretical background of the research Through the comparison and contrast between the presented theory and the grammatical exercises, it was found out that the English we speak now is not the same language with what speakers used some years ago. The fact that a language undergoes changes is an unavoidable process, which is marked by the emergence of some forms and the disappearance of the weaker and less common ones. Thus, the inevitable and continuous nature of such changes render their investigation as an effective and useful pedagogical tool that has to be taken into consideration in the learning and teaching process of English as a second or foreign language.

Keywords: Language Change, Grammar Teaching Books, EFL

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Comparative approach of educational policy of Greece to intercultural education with other European countries

Alexandros J. Mokias, International Hellenic University, Greece
Published online: 19 April 2019, JCETR, 3(1), pp. 21-24.

URN: urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-188804, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3598695

Abstract: Today, due to the cultural diversity of societies, the development of an educational policy that will meet the needs of all students is at the forefront. Intercultural theory is based on equality, justice, recognition of diversity and social cohesion. The existence of immigrants terminates the period of homogeneity. Acceptance of this new reality plays an important role in the education provided to society (Govaris, 2001). Intercultural Education is the response of the educational system in Greece to the changes that take place within the socio-cultural context. Multiculturalism is an enriching factor for society and the educational system and forms the preconditions for a mutual interaction between different cultural traditions. In most European countries, Intercultural Education is the subject of Inclusive Education, and teaching in informal learning environments, outside the traditional classroom, is considered part of inclusive philosophy, where diversity is projected as a learning source (Booth & Ainscow, 2002).

Keywords: Education policy, education, intercultural education, multiculturalism, inclusive education

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European and international organizations in educational policy: The OECD and policy by numbers

Phaedra Mantzou, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Published online: 19 April 2019, JCETR, 3(1), pp. 25-30.

URN: urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-190872, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3598713

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to study the role of European and international organizations in educational policy and the governance of the European education space. It is argued that the influence of transnational and supranational organizations on the discourses and practices of education systems in the European Union contributes to the creation of a “Globally Structured Educational Agenda” whose main purpose is the linking of education systems to the services of the global economy. The educational policy of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) especially plays a crucial role in shaping the European education space by exploiting policy by numbers as a tool and way of governance. Special attention is given to the class of experts / technocrats who as policy actors that shape educational policy transform the European education space. It is also claimed that the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a key policy tool with strong international influence, is considered to be an extremely important hub for the governance of European education by numbers, aiming to improve the quality of education systems. Additionally, it is argued that governing by data establishes the idea of Europe as a Knowledge Economy, an idea expressed in the strategic goal set out in 2000 by the European Council of Lisbon, “making the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world”. On the other hand, this paper examines skepticism expressed by researchers over the increasing use of numbers for evaluating education systems, for they lead to the establishment of an audit culture and the creation of a global Panopticon in a “measurable” Europe of Knowledge, governed by numbers. Prospects for further research in the field of comparative education are examined, aiming to create different schemes for measuring the quality of education systems, where humanitarian values will be at the forefront.

Keywords: OECD, European education space, policy by numbers

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Educational robotics: The pleasure of participation

Apostolos Tsagaris, International Hellenic University, Greece
Maria Chatzikyrkou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Ioanna Simeli, University of the Aegean, Greece
Published online: 19 April 2019, JCETR, 3(1), pp. 31-35.

URN: urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-190882, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3598726

Abstract: The paper attempts to identify the pleasure and satisfaction of participating in educational robotic through an educational robotic program that takes place for children ages 9 to 15. The aim is also to identify, with the use of statistical comparisons, any signs of the relationship between pleasure and satisfaction with participation with characteristics such as the gender of learners, the age of learners and the level of parenting.The survey showed that the participants were satisfied with their participation in the program and did not feel tired or bored. Also from the research is obvious that through educational robotics children can learn to cooperate more effectively with each other, and the teaching of basic principles of computer science, mathematics, geometry, physics, engineering, and in general mechatronics can be more effective when it does not have the conventional form of education but it has the form of play.

Keywords: Educational Robotics

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