Attitudes of Teachers Who Implement School Mediation Programmes

School mediation (or peer mediation) is an effective practice for resolving student-centered conflicts in the school context. According to the results of this qualitative research conducted at Secondary Education Schools of Western Attica (Greece), an area with particular social characteristics, school mediation programmes are a dynamic process and can contribute to: teamwork, communication and activation of students, changing attitudes and behaviors as well as inclusion of students with behavioral problems. These results are achieved despite the heterogeneity of the education programme followed and the heterogeneity of the population attending them. Under no circumstances, however, the implementation of a school mediation programme can be considered a panacea. On the contrary, it is proposed to be accompanied by other actions that will promote a different management spirit of the school and will improve the school climate

Work-related Stress and Burnout Factors of Principals in Regional Greece: A Historical Perspective

Work-related stress and burnout is a reality in modern society, because the lack of time and the high work demands seem increasingly intensified. Thus, the study of working conditions and the factors that affect the physical and mental health becomes even more imperative. Professions that are particularly stressful are those where there is daily contact with people, for example, doctors, nurses, social workers, or school leaders. Besides administrative and official duties, modern principals perform additional functions such as the organization and management of schools, the coordination of people who are involved in the teaching and operational process and they intervene to reform and upgrade the work of their schools. In addition, they must have skills like cooperation ability, be knowledgeable in the psychology of individuals and groups, have perceptual and observation ability, administrative imagination and energy, have managerial experience and solid scientific training. Since burnout is the result of chronic work-related stress, the purpose of this study is to record the specific factors that create professional stress to school leaders and their correlation with burnout and other features, like gender or experience. This study has been conducted in a number of primary-education schools of a central region in Greece, where generally there are no monitoring practices followed, concerning the work stress of educators and their relevant support. Thus, it is perceived as a prerequisite for the designing of any supportive services and activities, if necessary

Towards Sustainable Development and Green Economy in European Union

Sustainable development is suggested by environmentalists as the solution for confronting the intense environmental, social and economic problems that emerge globally in the last decades. This study presents the recent features and trends of the associated concepts, like the green economy, green entrepreneurship, green professions and labour-market, with a particular reference to European Union countries. In the course of transforming the current economic model towards a green direction, vocational education appears as a fundamental prerequisite that will prepare the future workforce of green economy. In this respect, a small-scale research is also presented, recording the relevant opinions of senior high-school students in Western Attica (Greece), being an area of acute environmental, social and economic problems

ALTERNATIVE FUNDING OF SCHOOLS IN EUROPE

The present article investigates the alternative means of funding for schools in Europe. Because of the economic restrictions for several European countries in recent years, schools internationally seek alternatives in order to improve the current situation, beyond government funding. These alternatives are broadly classified in European Union and private-sector resources, including the concepts of “Virtual Enterprise” and “Open School”. The relevant policies of several European countries are also presented, as an example indicating that the alternative means for the funding of schools are innovative but realistic proposals.  Article visualizations

Determining the Opinions of Pupils on Space Professions

The purpose of this study was to plan educational interventions for informing the school population of Western Attica (Greece), an area with acute social and environmental problems (unemployment and natural disasters), about Space professions and their career perspectives. Accordingly, a questionnaire for determining the opinions of senior high-school pupils on the related issues had been designed and used for conducting a limited preliminary survey, to evaluate the entire process. This survey indicated that pupils are not aware of the related career prospects. The recording of the opinions about Space professions revealed that they are strongly associated with the profession of astronaut, although there are many more that can contribute to social welfare and environmental protection. Therefore, an educational intervention should be planned around three main points; these of presenting: Space professions, available career options and motives for pursuing them

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT VIA SYSTEMICALLY PLANNED PEER MEDIATION

Conflicts and confrontations between students are a key-feature of school life. Especially in recent years, both the scientific and the educational community are particularly sensitive to bullying issues in the school context. Peer mediation (or school mediation) is an alternative way to manage conflicts at school. A critical evaluation of this practice is attempted, as well as its contribution to the formation of a positive attitude in school and to the decreasing of school-bullying incidents. For this purpose, school extracurricular programmes can be planned. The application of relevant programmes at school can be facilitated by systemic modelling that may provide a useful conceptual tool for organizing similar interventions. The overall approach is exemplified by the implementation of Health Education programmes, as they are conducted at the Greek secondary education in the context of educational counselling psychology interventions

SYSTEMIC METHODOLOGY FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION POLICIES IN AREAS WITH ACUTE SOCIAL PROBLEMS

In this work we attempt to set a framework of proposals for the inclusion of pupils in schools of areas with acute social problems. The necessity to adopt educational policies for inclusion is highlighted in the findings not only of scientific research but also of international organizations, despite their different ideological content every time. These proposals recognize the central role of teachers, the necessity for their training and the achieving of broader cooperation. In this respect, the development of inclusion policies can be facilitated by the application of systemic methodology

THE CONTRIBUTION OF SYSTEMS SCIENCE TO PLANNING IN LOCAL EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

In this paper, we describe the relationship of strategic and operational planning and the need for their implementation to local educational authorities. The relationship of decision-making to the planning process is discussed. The obtained positive results are highlighted, whenever the strategic and operational planning is applied and when the democratic method of decision-making is employed in educational organizations. The aforementioned concepts (operational, strategic planning and decision-making) are studied at the level of local Secondary Education Directorates with reference to school extracurricular activities. The contribution of Systems Science is briefly demonstrated for the management of the planning procedures, by presenting a case-study from the Greek educational system as an example of implementation