Zoi Apostolou

Education for active citizenship constitutes a central pillar of contemporary educational policies at both international and national levels. In Greece, recent legislative initiatives and the new curriculum “Actions of an Active Citizen” (Government Gazette 6048/B'/1-11-2024) introduce 17 thematic areas aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), implemented from preschool to upper secondary education. The main objective is to establish active citizenship as a concept and pedagogical practice, promoting democracy, cooperation, and social responsibility. This study focuses on early childhood education and explores how preschool teachers in the Cyclades (North Aegean, Greece) design and implement active citizenship projects within this curriculum framework, as well as how they evaluate their effectiveness. The research aims to capture pedagogical practices that foster democratic learning and sustainable development through participation, collaboration, and the engagement of both the school and the local community. Specifically, it examines how they conceptualize the notion and pedagogical role of active citizenship in early childhood education, what forms of pedagogical practices and activities they implement, and what challenges or needs they identify for the effective integration of active citizenship into their educational practice. The study was conducted during the 2024–2025 school year and targeted all preschools across the Cyclades islands. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and were analyzed using SPSS v.29. The results indicated that preschools can serve as living laboratories of democracy and social transformation. Through intentional, reflective pedagogy, active citizenship becomes a way of life within the educational experience. Early childhood emerges as a fertile ground for nurturing values such as empathy, solidarity, and responsibility. The case of the Cyclades illustrates how small school communities can function as micro-democracies, where children learn to listen, collaborate, and care for their shared world.

The accelerating integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into contemporary education has generated both opportunities and challenges across all educational levels, including early childhood education. This study investigates the perceptions, attitudes, and practices of kindergarten teachers in the Cyclades regarding the incorporation of AI into their pedagogical work. It aims to identify the perceived benefits and limitations of AI applications in early learning environments, as well as the extent to which prior professional training influences teachers’ readiness to adopt such technologies. An anonymous structured online questionnaire (five-point Likert scale) was employed to collect data on teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and classroom practices related to AI. The findings reveal that participants generally acknowledge the pedagogical potential of AI to support creativity, individualized learning, and instructional efficiency. Nonetheless, significant concerns persist regarding data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the possible erosion of the interpersonal dimension that characterizes early childhood education. Statistical analysis (SPSS v.29) further indicates that teachers who have participated in AI-related training programs exhibit more favorable attitudes and a higher level of self-efficacy in implementing innovative digital tools. Overall, the results suggest that kindergarten educators in the Cyclades possess a basic conceptual understanding of AI and already apply its elements in practice, albeit cautiously and selectively. The study underscores the need for systematic and ethically informed teacher training programs that emphasize the critical use of AI as a supportive—not substitutive—agent in early education. Such an approach aligns with a pedagogical vision where technological innovation remains firmly grounded in human values and educational purpose.

This paper attempts a critical analysis of literacy acquisition by preschool children through a balanced literacy approach, a mixed method which brings together elements from methods with an emphasis on code and from methods with an emphasis on meaning. In particular, visuals of a balanced literacy approach, as it takes place (or not) in Greek preschool education classes, are presented. Individual issues, challenges and perspectives which are introduced by this method are explored in comparison and in correspondence with the traditional and outdated understanding of literacy, which links it to learning to read and write. Emphasis is made on the strengths and weaknesses of a balanced literacy approach in order to highlight the prospects for its application in early childhood education on a larger scale. Questions and concerns are raised regarding the expansion and application of the method and its acceptance by Greek kindergarten teachers. However, the need for the application of a balanced literacy approach in early childhood education classes is reflected, as the only method that combines, adopts and utilizes elements of many methods, able to offer young students sufficient resources in the course of mastering literacy.

The Covid-19 world health crisis has profound implications and its consequences throughout the world have social, cultural, economic and educational ramifications. Worldwide, preschool teachers were forced to develop the students' learning experience in a new online environment. This research aims to investigate preschool teachers' views about literacy and literacy practices during face-to-face and remote teaching. As a result, the effectiveness of these practices during remote teaching to support the transition from kindergarten to primary school is investigated. Views and practices from 18 Greek preschool teachers were collected with semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results showed that although, during remote teaching several literacy activities took place, teachers expressed their frustration with literacy and transition practices implemented in this educational setting. Teachers seem to be really disappointed with this experience, especially for written language activities, as they considered that the problems they faced and the transformations that were made to their literacy practices did not offer the appropriate framework to meet the requirements of the primary school and the transition from early literacy to school language. Furthermore, they expressed their desire to create a framework for collaboration by primary school teachers via a continuous and systematic training program, especially in case that 'remote teaching comes back'. In conclusion, preschool teachers' reactions and attitudes could be the pillars for establishing a framework for collaboration to ensure continuity through a balanced literacy program and the transition from kindergarten to primary school. Covid-19 带来的世界健康危机具有深远的影响，其后果在全世界产生了社会、文化、经济和教育方面的影响。在全球范围内，学前教师被迫在新的在线环境中培养学生的学习体验。本研究旨在调查学前教师在面对面和远程教学中对识字和读写实践的看法。因此，调查了这些实践在支持从幼儿园到小学过渡的远程教学过程中的有效性。通过半结构化访谈收集了18名希腊学前教师的观点和做法，并使用主题分析进行了分析。结果表明，尽管在远程教学期间进行了几次读写活动，但教师对在这种教育环境中实施的读写和过渡实践表示失望。教师们似乎对这种经历感到非常失望，尤其是对于书面语言活动，因为他们认为他们面临的问题和对他们的识字实践所做的转变没有提供适当的框架来满足小学的要求以及从早期识字到学校语言的过渡。此外，他们表示希望通过持续和系统的培训计划，建立一个小学教师合作的框架，特别是在“远程教学”回归的情况下。总之，学前教师的反应和态度可以成为建立合作框架的支柱，通过平衡的读写教育计划实现从幼儿园到小学的过渡并确保连续性。

Introduction. This paper reports the results of a study concerning the views and the expectations of primary teachers for the transition from kindergarten to primary school. Goal. In a recently new educational environment, in which all educators “forced” to continue their educational practices as to ensure for their students a smooth transition from one level to another, two transitions processes implemented. The first one concerns the move from in-person to virtual delivery of the language classroom and the second one concern the preschoolers’ transition from kindergarten to primary school. Methods of the Research. In this context, 16 Greek first grade primary school teachers' views about their (previous preschoolers) students' literacy development and elements of literacy knowledge after remote teaching (in a preschool setting) were collected with semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The Results. The results showed that support for the transition of young children from preschool to primary school settings and literacy development was inevitably affected into this new educational environment. Therefore, teachers propose the continuity between early childhood and primary school literacy programmes as the key for a smoother transition. Based on evaluations of experiences, a smooth transition and continuity from one level to another could be also facilitated and intermediated by collaboration of preschool and primary school teachers and other stakeholders. Furthermore, discontinuities in early childhood literacy education and development could be disappeared if policy makers try to bridge and sculpt “distances” via effective transition programmes. Conclusions. The knowledge of current practice, priorities, challenges, and opportunities will help language educators to adjust their education offer, their syllabi, expectations, or pedagogical approaches to facilitate a more positive and smooth transition process for each and every learner.

Although web survey has been a popular method of data collection in the academic community, it presents meagre response rates, which primarily affect the validity of the results as well as the reliability of the outcomes. Surveys worldwide that study the response rate only of teachers have not been found in the relevant literature. In this survey, with a sample of 263 Greek teachers, we investigate possible factors that explain teachers’ intention to participate in web surveys that are conducted by online questionnaires indicating, therefore, the factors that probably influence the response rate of web surveys. Our findings support those factors such as (a) authority, (b) incentives, (c) survey structure/form, (d) ethical issues, (e) reminders and pre-notifications, and (f) survey time received, which seem to explain the teachers’ intention to participate in web surveys with questionnaires. Based on the findings, methodology implications and limitations for researchers are discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented crisis. Worldwide, preschool teachers were invited to develop the students’ learning experience in a new digital environment for mathematics. This research investigates preschool teachers’ mathematics practices during remote teaching and the use of digital tools in teaching mathematics after their return to actual classes. Views from sixteen Greek preschool teachers were collected with semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The results showed that mathematical activities such as Numbers and Operations, Geometry, and Measurement occurred during distance learning in digital preschool classrooms. They made little reference to activities related to Algebra, while they did not refer to Data Analysis and Probability. They also seemed to prefer mathematical activities based on Connections and Representation processes in their digital classrooms. Preschool teachers reported that parents supported this process by their presence, and digital learning communities supported learning activities by providing guidelines and innovative approaches to them in digital times. However, after returning to face-to-face schooling, preschool teachers seemed to use digital tools to a lesser degree. They also mention that in face-to-face schooling, they prefer to utilize the authentic communication frameworks emphasizing problem-solving activities to enhance all mathematical processes. Implications for preschool teacher professional development are discussed.

The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the perceptions of kindergarten teachers and first-grade primary school teachers on the integration of kindergarten and first-grade of primary school language curricula. This research is part of a broader study of the relation between natural/early and conventional/school literacy, the teachers' perceptions of the possibility of integration of language curricula, as well as practices resulting from the study of curricula. The data were collected through a questionnaire sample of 326 kindergarten teachers and 306 teachers who were teaching at the time of this study the first-grade of primary school in two Greek prefectures. Research data has shown that first-grade teachers appear to be more positive than kindergarten teachers towards integrating the two curricula. Both kindergarten teachers and first-grade teachers seem to partially agree with the creation of a curriculum with common goals and objectives. Nevertheless kindergarten teachers appear more hesitant, expressing their concerns and fears of a potential “schoolarization” of the kindergarten.