Prodromos Skenderidis

In the context of increasingly complex and demanding educational environments, school leadership must evolve through sustained, reflective, and context-responsive professional development. This paper examines the integral role of mentoring and coaching as dual modalities for cultivating adaptive, inclusive, and strategic educational leaders. Drawing on recent literature in leadership development, organizational learning, and adult education, we delineate the conceptual boundaries and synergies between mentoring—grounded in relational trust, identity formation, and professional socialization—and coaching, which emphasizes structured reflection, feedback, and performance-oriented goal setting. We explore theoretical models such as the GROW framework, reflective practice theory, and identity-centered leadership to frame how these practices operate within formal and informal developmental structures. Emphasis is placed on the necessity of embedding these approaches into leadership pipelines, school improvement plans, and peer collaboration systems. Through an integrative review of contemporary empirical findings, we argue that mentoring and coaching are not peripheral but foundational to leadership capacity building in Gymnasia (lower secondary schools), General Lyceums (upper secondary general schools), and EPAL (vocational upper secondary schools) institutions. The paper further advocates for equity-responsive, context-specific, and longitudinally evaluated mentoring and coaching systems as a means to foster resilient, emotionally intelligent, and socially responsive school leaders. Article visualizations:

School dropout remains a persistent and complex global challenge with profound implications for individuals, communities, and national economies. Despite significant progress in expanding educational access, recent studies (2023–2025) indicate that dropout rates continue to be strongly correlated with poverty, familial instability, and limited access to educational resources. Students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds are disproportionately affected by food insecurity, transportation challenges, and insufficient academic support—factors that significantly heighten their risk of prematurely exiting the educational system. Beyond these socioeconomic determinants, institutional factors such as disengaging curricula, overcrowded classrooms, strained teacher-student relationships, and bullying further erode student motivation and engagement. Psychological challenges—including depression, low self-esteem, learning difficulties, and substance abuse—are also critical predictors of dropout, particularly among secondary and tertiary-level students. Additionally, cultural and contextual elements, such as migration status, minority group membership, and environmental instability, exacerbate dropout risks in specific populations. The repercussions of school dropout are extensive. At the individual level, it often results in reduced employment opportunities, diminished lifetime earnings, and adverse mental and physical health outcomes. Societally, it contributes to heightened unemployment rates, deepened social inequality, and increased susceptibility to criminal behavior and civic disengagement. Addressing this multifaceted issue requires comprehensive, multi-tiered interventions that incorporate early warning systems, the cultivation of supportive school environments, and strong collaboration among families, schools, and communities. Emerging solutions such as the application of artificial intelligence and predictive analytics for early detection, behavioral “nudging” techniques, and second-chance educational initiatives underscore the necessity of framing dropout prevention as a social imperative intimately connected to equity, inclusive development, and long-term societal wellbeing. Article visualizations:

Functional foods enriched with bioactive compounds—including vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, probiotics, fatty acids, and amino acids—have gained growing attention due to their ability to modulate immune responses. This review aims to summarize and critically evaluate evidence from both preclinical and clinical studies on the immunomodulatory effects of these compounds. A structured literature search was performed across major scientific databases in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Seventy studies met the predefined eligibility criteria and were included. Evidence indicates that functional ingredients support immune function via antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and microbiome-mediated pathways. Clinical trials further report benefits including a reduced risk of respiratory infections and enhanced vaccine responses. Nonetheless, important challenges remain regarding bioavailability, inter-individual variability, and the long-term safety of supplementation. Emerging research on precision nutrition and innovative delivery systems may further enhance the efficacy of these bioactive compounds. Overall, functional foods and nutraceuticals show strong potential as adjunct strategies for maintaining immune health; however, further well-designed clinical studies are required to confirm their translational applicability.

The School Life Advisors (SLA) in education are primarily tasked with resolving situations and behaviors that affect students in the school environment. The purpose of this work is to present the personal characteristics that a (SLA) must possess to deal with various cases of counseling approaches in education. This paper first describes the environment that prevails in schools and the usefulness of the teacher and the (SLA), while then reference is made to systematic consultation and the interaction between (SLA) and student. Then follows the main text of the work in which the individual personal characteristics of the (SLA) are described. Article visualizations:

The use of technology has entered in vocational education and training (VET), and there is a fundamental link between digital technologies and educational and pedagogical processes. The modern teacher must change his/her mentality and redefine his/her role from a simple provider of knowledge to a fellow traveller in the learning process, changing their pedagogical practices and promoting and successfully implementing digital technologies. The use of technology contributes to the activeness of students in the learning process and encourages individual learning and collaboration. Teachers can take advantage of students' interests and integrate technology into their classrooms, making learning effective and keeping them engaged in the lesson. This creates new opportunities for VET schools, teachers, and learners. Article visualizations:

Teaching at any stage becomes effective when the student operates under the influence of learning motivation. However, in some cases, there are students who either appear learning difficulties or request special interests on their own and can be characterized as “charismatic”. In Greece, “charismatic” students are usually not separated from the rest of the students and often study and receive the same education as the rest of the students. As a result, their potential is not exploited and their motivation and school grades are reduced.The purpose of this work is to record the actions and means that should be used to teach students who have learning difficulties but also students who can be characterized as “charismatic”. In conclusion, teaching with the use of computers and other digital media can be integrated and significantly helps the teaching and learning of all subjects of the curriculum at all levels of education. Article visualizations:

In Greece, as in most European countries, the heterogeneity of students leads to conflicts resulting in a general inability of the educational process to function. This review study is focused on modern issues affecting youth and school education procedures such as internet addiction, student behavior expressed as bullying, and adolescent sexuality development. All sides agree that the most essential purposes of education are to emphasize the cultivation of interpersonal relationships, the development of sociability, and self-esteem, and the prevention. Teachers wanting to respond to the spirit of the times to rationalize the pedagogical process introduced the pedagogical contract as a school practice as a valuable tool in taking control of the class and gaining students' attendance. The teacher's positive attitude will create added value to their knowledge and experiences while helping them to integrate into society.

In Greece, as in most European countries, the heterogeneity of students leads to conflicts resulting in a general inability of the educational process to function. This review study is focused on modern issues affecting youth and school education procedures such as internet addiction, student behaviour expressed as bullying, and adolescent sexuality development. All sides agree that the most essential purposes of education are to emphasize the cultivation of interpersonal relationships, the development of sociability, and self-esteem, and the prevention. Teachers wanting to respond to the spirit of the times to rationalize the pedagogical process introduced the pedagogical contract as a school practice as a valuable tool in taking control of the class and gaining students' attendance. The teacher's positive attitude will create added value to their knowledge and experiences while helping them to integrate into society.

Potential synergistic action of aqueous extracts of pomegranate peel (PP), avocado peel (AP), and avocado seed (AS) wastes isolated by microwave-assisted extraction were assessed in in vitro and in vivo assays as biocontrol agents against several plant pathogenic fungi. The study findings contribute to the utilization of a value-added industrial byproduct and provide significant value in advancing the development of new plant protecting compositions that benefit from the synergistic effects between two important plant species that contain several natural bioactive compounds. More specifically, the in vitro results proved that the use of 100%-pure (PP) extracted waste affected the mycelium growth of Penicillium expansum. Furthermore, mycelium growth of Aspergillus niger was decreased by 10.21% compared to control after 7 days of growth in medium agar containing 100% AP and extracted waste. Moreover, mycelium growth of Botrytis cinerea was affected by equal volume of avocado extraction wastes (50% peel and 50% seed) only at the first 3 days of the inoculation, while at the seventh day of the inoculation there was no effect on the mycelium growth. Equal volumes of the examined wastes showed decreased mycelium growth of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici by 6%, while Rhizoctonia solani mycelium growth was found to be the most sensitive in PP application. In addition, the in vivo assay shown that PP extract suppresses damage of tomato plants caused by R. solani followed by extracted wastes from AP. Based on the research findings, it can be argued that PP and AP extracts can be used as natural antifungals instead of dangerous synthetic antifungals to effectively treat phytopathogens that cause fruit and vegetable losses during cultivation.