Anxiety, self-efficacy, strengths and difficulties among fifth- and sixth-grade pupils in urban and semi-urban areas

Η παρούσα έρευνα αποσκοπούσε στη μελέτη της σχέσης μεταξύ του άγχους (ιδιοσυγκρασιακού και κατάστασης), των πεποιθήσεων αυτοαποτελεσματικότητας, καθώς και των δυνατοτήτων και των δυσκολιών μαθητών που φοιτούν στις δύο τελευταίες τάξεις του δημοτικού. Η έρευνα διεξήχθη σε δέκα τυχαία επιλεγμένα σχολεία από αστικές και ημιαστικές περιοχές του νομού Αχαΐας, πέντε από κάθε περιοχή. Οι συμμετέχοντες, συγκεκριμένα 561 μαθητές, συμπλήρωσαν την Κλίμακα Άγχους Κατάστασης – Ιδιοσυγκρασιακού Άγχους για Παιδιά, τη Νέα Κλίμακα Γενικής Αυτοαποτελεσματικότητας και το Ερωτηματολόγιο Δυνατοτήτων και Δυσκολιών. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν μικρές διαφορές ως προς την τάξη φοίτησης στον παράγοντα των δυνατοτήτων και δυσκολιών, με τους μαθητές της Ε΄ τάξης να εμφανίζουν περισσότερα προβλήματα. Επίσης, τα παιδιά ημιαστικών περιοχών φάνηκε να παρουσιάζουν σχετικά μεγαλύτερα επίπεδα άγχους κατάστασης από αυτά των παιδιών αστικών περιοχών. Συνάφεια παρουσιάστηκε μεταξύ του ιδιοσυγκρασιακού άγχους και του άγχους κατάστασης, καθώς και μεταξύ των δυνατοτήτων και δυσκολιών και του άγχους και πιο συγκεκριμένα του ιδιοσυγκρασιακού άγχους. Αρνητική ήταν η συσχέτιση ανάμεσα στην αυτοαποτελεσματικότητα και το άγχος. Τέλος, ιδιαίτερα σημαντικά ήταν τα αποτελέσματα της ιεραρχικής παλινδρόμησης που έδειξαν ότι το ιδιοσυγκρασιακό άγχος μπορεί να προβλεφθεί σε μεγάλο βαθμό από τη μεταβλητή των δυνατοτήτων και δυσκολιών. Τα αποτελέσματα αυτά θα μπορούσαν να οδηγήσουν στο συμπέρασμα ότι μεγαλύτερα επίπεδα αυτοαποτελεσματικότητας βοηθούν στη μείωση του άγχους, κυρίως όταν έχει προηγηθεί μείωση των δυσκολιών που αντιμετωπίζουν οι μαθητές στις ψυχοκοινωνικές τους δεξιότητες, συνεισφέροντας έτσι στη βελτίωση της ψυχικής τους υγείας και διευκολύνοντας τη μαθησιακή διαδικασία.The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between state and trait anxiety, self-efficacy beliefs, and strengths and difficulties among fifth and sixth graders in Greek primary schools. The survey took place at ten randomly selected schools in Western Greece, five urban schools and five semi-urban schools. Five hundred and sixty-one students completed the State-Trait Inventory for Children, the New Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Hel). The results revealed few differences between fifth and sixth graders in the domain of strengths and difficulties, with the former students having greater difficulties. Also, as regards state anxiety, the study found residence-related discrepancies, with semi-urban children experiencing greater state anxiety than urban children. As was expected, trait anxiety correlated with state anxiety. Moreover, strengths and difficulties correlated with anxiety, especially with trait anxiety. Negative correlations were revealed between self-efficacy and anxiety. Finally, the results confirmed that strengths and difficulties predict trait anxiety. These results could lead to the conclusion that higher levels of self-efficacy can reduce anxiety, especially when difficulties related to children’s behavior have already been diminished, thus contributing to the improvement of students’ well-being as well as facilitating the learning process

The Current Status of Social Risks on Educational Systems. An Analysis Through Social Media

Este trabajo ha sido publicado en las actas del citado congreso, y revisados los documentos donde ha sido publicado, no se muestran impedimentos legales para que pueda ser publicado el documento.Social Risk in education such as bullying, are usually invisible to teachers and parents, at all educational levels. However, these risks remain a reality everywhere in the world, turning into a problem that is rapidly globalizing due to the widespread access to the Internet. The Internet has permeated our entire society and is now present in almost every activity. The education and most aspects associated with it, such as Social Risks, are not exempt of this new form of communication within our society. This has led to a significant increase in damage Social Risks can exhort on the victims, due to several causes such as their capacity for dissemination, repetition and virality; greater anonymity of aggressors and the chance for more people joining them; continuity over time even when after school hours; display of intimacy before an endless crowd of people; ease of permanent control through geolocation, control of online statuses and connections; and even the risk of easily impersonating a victim. The first step to prevent these issues is to carry out a study on the current state of Social Risks. An updated snapshot would allow to draw up action plans based on reliable data and develop countermeasures to minimize the damage caused by current Social Risks to minors. The objective of this work is to conduct a study on unsolicited data obtained from Social Media on three of the most prominent Social Risks of our society, namely Bullying, Addictions and Xenophobia within the field of education, with the aim of obtaining an updated snapshot of their current status. The study was carried out during the second semester of 2017 and the first semester of 2018, quantifying the presence and emotion of said risks in Social Media, determining the most relevant terms, as well as the most used communication channels

Teacher assessment of students\u27 writing skills

The purpose of this study was to examine an alternative approach to the assessment and monitoring of students\u27 writing skills using teachers\u27 expert opinions and ratings. A sample of 107 teachers rated three separate student essays from a database. The students were equivalent in age, grade level, IQ, and gender (male). One student was designated as learning disabled in writing. The other two students were achieving within low average and average expectations, respectively. Teachers rated all three student essays using the Writing Rating Index for Teacher Evaluation (W scRITE), a ten-item Likert-type scale based on current theory and research findings. Teachers also indicated if the student authors should be designated as learning disabled in writing, and selected appropriate intervention strategies for all three students. Results suggested that teachers\u27 ratings were internally consistent but not stable over time. Although teachers rated certain mechanistic aspects of an essay (such as handwriting quality, punctuation and capitalization rules, use of grammatical and syntactical rules) with a certain degree of reliability, they were less reliable in their ratings of the more spontaneous aspects of writing (theme development, creativity, and text cohesion). Additional results suggested that teachers were able to accurately identify the essay author already designated with a Learning Disability in writing and differentiated him from his average and low achieving peers. Teachers were also able to identify a variety of W scRITE items as writing components in need of remediation from the essay authored by the learning disabled student. Furthermore, teachers selected several interventions aimed at improving the writing skills of all three students. The implications due to the limited test-retest reliability of teachers\u27 ratings and the use of the W scRITE as an assessment and monitoring instrument are considered

Stochastic analysis and simulation of the wind at multitime scale in Greece

214 σ.Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο--Μεταπτυχιακή Εργασία. Διεπιστημονικό-Διατμηματικό Πρόγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακών Σπουδών (Δ.Π.Μ.Σ.) “Επιστήμη και Τεχνολογία Υδατικών Πόρων”Στην παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία πραγματοποιήθηκε η στατιστική - στοχαστική επεξεργασία της μεταβλητής της ταχύτητας του ανέμου, σε μηνιαία, ημερήσια και μικρότερη κλίμακα. Εξετάστηκε η χωρική και χρονική κατανομή της ταχύτητας του ανέμου και πραγματοποιήθηκε προσπάθεια για τη μοντελοποίηση της μεταβλητής αυτής, με την εξαγωγή ενιαίων στατιστικών χαρακτηριστικών, που αφορούσαν όλη την περιοχή εξέτασης, που ήταν η Ελλάδα. Εξετάστηκε η ύπαρξη μακροπρόθεσμης εμμονής, στην αντίστοιχη χρονική κλίμακα, με τον υπολογισμό του συντελεστή Hurst και την εξαγωγή κλιμακογραμμάτων. Επιπρόσθετα, εξετάστηκαν η ριπή και η διεύθυνση του ανέμου, για μια πληρέστερη εικόνα της μεταβλητής της ταχύτητας, από συγκεκριμένο αριθμό σταθμών, που διέθεταν δεδομένα μετρήσεων. Εξετάστηκαν επίσης και δεδομένα reanalysis, για την εκτίμηση της αξιοπιστίας ενός τέτοιου είδους μετρήσεων και τη σημασία χρησιμοποίησής τους σε περιπτώσεις ελλείψεων μετρήσεων. Ακόμα, εξετάστηκαν και οι τάσεις της ταχύτητας του ανέμου για ενιαία περίοδο αναφοράς, με σκοπό να προσδιοριστεί η συμπεριφορά του ανέμου για την περίοδο εξέτασης και να καταγραφούν σταθμοί με θετικές και αντίστοιχα αρνητικές τάσεις. Επίσης, πραγματοποιήθηκε και η αποτίμηση του θεωρητικού ενεργειακού αιολικού δυναμικού από τα δεδομένα μετρήσεων και προέκυψαν συμπεράσματα σχετικά με το ποιες περιοχές έχουν ικανοποιητικό αιολικό δυναμικό. Προσαρμόστηκαν κατάλληλες κατανομές, τόσο στα δεδομένα της ταχύτητας του ανέμου, όσο και σε αυτά της ριπής. Επιπρόσθετα, πραγματοποιήθηκε η παραγωγή συνθετικών χρονοσειρών με συγκεκριμένο μοντέλο και με συγκεκριμένα χαρακτηριστικά για την ταχύτητα του ανέμου, που προέκυψαν από την εν λόγω εργασία. Τέλος, από την εξέταση της μεταβλητής της ταχύτητας του ανέμου, προέκυψε ότι ο άνεμος είναι ισχυρότερος σε περιοχές του κεντρικού κυρίως Αιγαίου και λιγότερο ισχυρός στη βορειότερη Ελλάδα. Παρόμοια ήταν και η χωρική κατανομή του θεωρητικού αιολικού ενεργειακού δυναμικού της χώρας. Από την εξέταση των κλιμακογραμμάτων προέκυψε ενιαία τιμή για το συντελεστή Hurst για όλη την Ελλάδα (H=0.75), γεγονός που αποτέλεσε σημαντικό παράγοντα για τη μοντελοποίηση της ευρύτερης περιοχής ενδιαφέροντος, από την εξέταση κάθε μεμονωμένου σταθμού, ξεχωριστά.In this thesis it was examined the statistic - stochastic processing of wind speed, at monthly, daily and smaller time scale. Also, it was examined the spatial and temporal distribution of wind speed and it was made an effort of modelling this variable, by exporting the basic statistical characteristics, involving the entire examined area that was Greece. Furthermore, it was examined the existence of long-term persistence at the same time scale, calculation of Hurst coefficient and exportation of climacograms. Additionally, it was examined gust and wind direction, at a certain number of stations that data measurements were available, in order to depict a more complete frame of wind speed variable. Also, it was examined reanalysis data, to assess the reliability of such measurements and the importance of their use in the absence of measurements. Still, trends of wind speed were tested, for a single reporting period, in order to determine the behavior of wind for the examination period and stations with positive and negative trends were recorded, respectively. Also, it was held the estimation of the theoretical wind energy potential of data stations and resulting conclusions about which areas compose sufficient wind resources. Specific distributions were adjusted for gust and wind speed, in order to be found which one best fits to the empirical data. Additionally, synthetic time series were generated, by the above mentioned model and by specific characteristics of wind speed, which were resulted from this work. Finally, examination of wind speed revealed that wind is strongest in areas of the central Aegean and especially less potential in northern Greece. Similar was the spatial distribution of the theoretical wind energy potential of the country. Examination of climacograms was single price for the Hurst coefficient, for the entire Greece (H = 0.75), which was an important factor for a more general modelling, of the wider region of interest, by examining each individual station separately.Ιωάννης Α. Δημάκο

Teacher practices for teaching writing in Greek primary schools

Developing writing skills is a central part of the education curriculum in many countries, yet numerous children have difficulties in producing written texts. To our knowledge there is no systematic study examining the ways in which Greek teachers adapt their writing instruction strategies to accommodate the children’s needs. The aim of the present study was to identify the approaches teachers employ while teaching writing in Greek primary schools and to examine the nature and frequency of these different aspects of teaching writing. We replicated and extended the Dockrell et al. (Read Writ Interdiscip J 29(3):409–434, 2016) study, using the Not so Simple View of Writing framework. One hundred and three teachers responded to an online questionnaire, which consisted of questions regarding their academic qualifications and their specific teaching practices. The majority of the sample felt prepared and enjoyed teaching writing. However, almost all of the teachers found teaching writing challenging and half of them reported that supporting struggling writers was difficult for them. Overall, teachers reported more work at word level, occurring almost weekly, than at text level. Differences between Grade levels they taught were also evident for specific domains of writing. Recommendations for future research and implications for educational practice are discussed

Epidemiological Study of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Greece for 2021: Nationwide Prevalence in 2–17-Year-Old Children and Regional Disparities

This study estimated the crude prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Greece in 2021. A retrospective study was conducted for 2021 using data provided for research purposes for the first time by the Greek National Health Service Organization for Healthcare Services Provision (EOPYY) related to the ICD-10 diagnosis codes F84.0–F84.9 (ASD). Treatments were categorized by gender, age, and location. Statistical analysis was performed using the open-source software R. In total, 15,706 children aged 2–17 years were registered with ASD: 12,380 boys and 3326 girls. In total, 6,117,910 therapies were prescribed: 4,844,173 for boys and 1,273,737 for girls. Boys are estimated to be diagnosed 3.5 times more often than girls. On average, approximately 390 treatments are prescribed per person per year for both sexes. The annual prevalence is estimated at 0.94%, ranging from 0.42% to 1.44% depending on geographic region. Our findings provide evidence-based data for the planning of policies regarding health, education, and employment for people with ASD. The number of children and treatments makes ASD a public health concern to support children and their families and ensure equal participation in all aspects of society