TEACHING GREEK AS L2 IN NON-FORMAL EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS: INVESTIGATING TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

For immigrants/refugees, it is important to learn the language of their host country and to familiarize themselves with its culture. This is closely related to the intercultural competence not only of the immigrant/refugee students but also of their instructors. The present study attempts to examine the attitudes of instructors who teach Greek in non-formal educational settings regarding the importance of intercultural competence and the approaches they use. The findings show that, although the instructors have very positive attitudes toward intercultural competence, multiculturalism and multilingualism, in practice they do not really adopt intercultural practices.  Article visualizations

Drama in Education and Its Influence on Adolescents’ Empathy

Drama in education can trigger feelings and provoke thoughts in the school classroom. Children are invited to use their minds and senses and get in touch with their emotions. The participants, who get engaged in such an endeavour, undergo a transformation by impersonating different characters, fictional or real-life and come up with a variety of solutions to problems in a fictional framework. Through this process the students’ empathy could be developed. The present case study using qualitative research techniques analyzes the outcome of a practical implementation through drama in a Greek Secondary School. The main research question was whether and to what extent educational drama can influence in a positive way middle adolescents’ empathy. The research findings showed that the use of drama supported the participants to realize the importance of a specific social situation, and helped them grasp the difference between cognitive and emotional empathy

Refugee Experience and Transformative Learning

This paper uses the biographical method to investigate the contribution of the refugee experience in the process of transformation in young Afghan asylum seekers in Greece. It examines the participants’ extremely adverse socio-political background in their country of origin; the marginalization that existed in the long-term intermediate refugee station, Iran; the arduous and perilous journey to the West and their experiences in their new host country Greece. What emerges is that the participants’ initial frame of reference is problematic, in the sense that they can no longer function effectively in the new social environment (the host country). Thus, they learn a new frame of reference and there is a transformation of their wider mental habits. By means of a comparative reflective approach of old and new frames of reference and mentalities, the participants re-evaluate among other things, religion, gender and intergenerational relations, and generally the adoption of human rights as a prerequisite sine qua non, for the restoration of respect for human existence

L2 Teaching in the post-communicative era: Developing intercultural consciousness, critical awareness and consistent attitudes for social inclusion

Introduction to themed issue on "Modern Didactic Approaches and Methods for Second Language Teaching to Students with Migrant or Refugee Background.

Diversity in Early Childhood Education Through Parents’ Perceptions

The management of diversity in preschool framework are today one of the main goals of early childhood education. Ιn addition to the school environment, the family also plays a key role in promoting, or not, the acceptance of diversity. The positions and attitudes of parents employed by their children affect, directly or indirectly, the pedagogical practices that teachers usually develop. The purpose of this research was to investigate the perceptions of parents with preschool children about issues of managing diversity in the context of preschool education. Also, this research aimed to determine whether and to what extent the family environment makes efforts to raise young children’s awareness across cultural diversity. The research emerged that about half of the parents, although they initially invoked a neutral attitude towards the cultural diversity encountered in the kindergarten classes, in their deepest views seem to accept the otherness only if it does not make its appearance clearly visible in the classroom

The Refugee Trees: Treescapes as Intercultural Bridges

Forests, groves, parks as well as any area with fewer or more trees can be a suitable field for students\u27 environmental awareness. Even a single tree as a subject of thoughtful observation can give children opportunities for discussion around many issues such as those of environmental protection, endangered species, human\u27s relationship with nature and many more. Ιn addition to environmental awareness, trees can also contribute to the intercultural awareness of students. In all cultures without exception, trees and plants have a particularly important place and there are many myths, stories and traditions associated with them. Also, the great variety of trees that exist in the world, the variety of trunks, leaves, fruits, the variety of colors and sizes, are a constant stimulus for approaching the beauty that is created in diversity and the richness that emerges through the synthesis of differences.This article describes a day trip to a forest where participated a group of student teachers and peer refugees and sheds light on the intercultural interactions created on occasion of the trip in the forest

Teaching L2 for students with a refugee/migrant background in Greece: Teachers’ perceptions about reception, integration and multicultural identities

Refugee education has been an important challenge for the Greek educational system and for the teaching community. New supporting structures (i.e., Reception Facilities for Refugee Education [RFRE]), operating after the end of the regular school day, have been created to enable newcomers living in Refugee Accommodation Centers to learn (mainly) Greek as a second language before accessing the mainstream school program. On the other hand, refugee students living in urban locations are enrolled in mainstream classes with or without the support of parallel Reception Classes (RC). Most of the educators teaching refugee children, and particularly these working on RFREs, did not have any relevant previous experience or specialization and, at the same time, they received minimum support in training or professional development.  This paper is based on a qualitative research focusing on perceptions, attitudes and practices of primary and secondary school teachers in relation to refugee students’ second language learning and integration into Greek public schools. Interviews were conducted with 60 teachers in RFREs, RCs, and mainstream classes, including Intercultural Schools. Despite the difficulties they faced, many teachers seemed to move towards a positive understanding of their students’ multiple identities, focusing not only on L2 acquisition and competency building, but also on empowerment and the development of a mutual intercultural understanding. Students’ resilience and efforts helped their teachers deal with stereotypes about identity and otherness and reformulate their assumptions about effective teaching practices. These experiences seemed to lead some of the educators to a deeper critical reflection; they also lead to the development of teachers’ intercultural competence and facilitated a “crossing borders” transformative process.

CHILDREN’S CONCEPTUALIZATION OF CHILDHOOD IN RELATION TO PLAY ACTIVITIES

Children’s play articulates the social ideologies and discourses of childhood and play. This study combined espousals from childhood studies, and play theories to analyze children’s conceptualization of childhood play, and trace social influences of their conceptions. The research consisting of 112 fifth-grade students who live in an urban environment indicated that their conceptualization of childhood referred to many types of play. In contrast to the discourse of the competent child, they almost exclusively appropriated the romantic discourse of the innocent child who plays outdoors with other children or alone, unsupervised by adults, far from institutionalized learning, intellectual games, urban activities, and new technology toys. Their conceptualizations reflected gender stereotypes of play and the influence of a competitive social structure.  Article visualizations

The Importance of Educating Refugees

The Syrian war, the overall increase in refugee flows over the last few years, and the participation of student refugees at all levels of education, has brought the important, ongoing issue of refugee education into the spotlight. Although education is a sovereign right of the refugee population, underpinned by relevant international law (UNHCR, 2000), many matters concerning the education of refugees continue to remain open. These include the search for better policies and strategies for the effective education of refugee students, ways of creating equal opportunities and social justice, and reducing the educational and social exclusion of people with refugee identity

The Importance of Educating Refugees

The Syrian war, the overall increase in refugee flows over the last few years, and the participation of student refugees at all levels of education, has brought the important, ongoing issue of refugee education into the spotlight. Although education is a sovereign right of the refugee population, underpinned by relevant international law (UNHCR, 2000), many matters concerning the education of refugees continue to remain open. These include the search for better policies and strategies for the effective education of refugee students, ways of creating equal opportunities and social justice, and reducing the educational and social exclusion of people with refugee identity