Department of Pre-School Education

Secretary: Xrisoula Anagnostou

Secretary's Office:
Tel.: +30 26510 07189, +30 26510 07334
Fax: +30 26510 07020
Website: http://www.uoi.gr/schools/early-childhood/

General - Aim of the Department

The aims of the Department, can be summed in the following:

• Fostering and promoting Educational Sciences and Arts through academic, theoretical and applied teaching and research.
• Providing graduates of the Department with all the necessary qualifications to ensure their scientific and professional career.
• Creating conditions for research and experimentation in connection with organising research fields at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.
• Covering the increasing demands of Education with regard to issues concerning pre-school children.
• Helping to deal with and solve educational problems in general.

Structure of the Department - Sections

The Department is developing quickly and aspires to be subdivided into Sections in the immediate future.

Seminar Rooms and Laboratories

Laboratories

• Therapy and Special Education.
• Developmental Psychology.
• Pedagogy.
• New Technologies and Distance Learning.
• History of Modern Greece and Modern Greek Culture.

Seminar Rooms

• Department of Pre-School Education Reading Room
• Experimental Nursery School:

An experimental nursery school was established following a careful consideration of the Department's needs for research, as well as for the practical training of students, and in conjunction with the more general educational needs in the wider region. The experimental nursery school first opened in the academic year 1992-93 and is housed on campus.

Subject Areas

The subject areas of the Department of Pre-School Education are divided into the following modules:

1. Pedagogy Module: Introduction to Pedagogy, Pedagogic theories of the 20th century, Pre-School Pedagogy, Didactics of Mathematics, Teaching - Applications, History of Modern Greek Education, Issues in Teaching Mathematics in Pre-School, Didactics of Physics, Counselling and Guidance in Education, Education and Politics, Pedagogy of the Mass Media, Economy and Organisation of Education, Environmental Education, Didactics of Language, Comparative Pedagogics, Contemporary Trends in Pre-School Education, Present Concerns and Problems in Pre-School Education, Sociology of Education.

2. Psychology Module: General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Psychophysiology, Educational Psychology, Social Psychology, Psychology of Deviant Children, Psychophysiology, Introduction to Sociology, Behavioural and Learning Disorders, Family Psychosociology, Clinical Psychology, Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication.

3. Mathematics - Statistics - Computer Science Module: Computer Science and Education, Introduction to Computational Statistics, fundamental Pre-Mathematical Concepts, Social Science Statistics, Educational Programmes using PCs, Scientific Research Methodology, Design, Development and Running of Distance Learning Management Systems.

4. General Education Module: Introduction to Literature, Introduction to Philosophy, Ethology - Biology, History of Modern Greece and Modern Greek Culture, Modern Greek Literature, Theory of Narration, Environmental Pollution, Philosophy of Education, Children's Literature, Elements of Paediatrics, History of Philosophy, Speech Training, Mythology, Health Education, Cross-Cultural Education.

5. Art Education Module: Art History, Musical Theatre Education, Dance Education, Aesthetics, Visual Arts (Experimental Analysis and Image Composition)

Members of Academic Staff

Maria Kaldrymidou, Professor, Didactics of Mathematics.
Polyxeni Pagge, Professor, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics.
Spyridon Pantazis, Professor, General Pedagogy.
Apostolos Papaioannou, Professor, History of Modern Greece, History of Modern Greek Culture.
Haralambos Apostolopoulos, Associate Professor, Philosophical and Educational Anthropology.
Vassilios Koutras, Associate Professor, Health Education.
Dimitrios Ratsikas, Associate Professor, Visual Arts.
Artemis Giotsa, Assistant Professor, Social Psychology and Family Psychosociology.
Ekaterini Plakitsi, Assistant Professor, Didactics of Science Concepts in Nursery School.
Marigoula Sakellariou, Assistant Professor, Pre-School Pedagogy with emphasis on the Didactics of Ethics, Religion and Social Education.
Marianna Spanaki, Assistant Professor, Children's Literature.
Leda (Amaryllis) Stergiou, Assistant Professor, Cross-Cultural Education.
Ifigenia Triantou, Assistant Professor, Modern Greek Literature with emphasis on the interpretation of texts and methods of analysis.
Ekaterini Karamitrou, Lecturer, Theatrical Education (theory and practice) and Dance Education.
Thomas Mpakas, Lecturer, Educational Politics and Administration of Education
Georgia Papantoniou, Lecturer, Cognitive Psychology.
Dimitrios Raptis, Lecturer, Mythology
Dimitrios Sarris, Lecturer, Special Education.

The Department's teaching duties are supplemented by temporary teaching staff.

Career prospects - New fields of specialisation

Graduates of the Department mainly find employment in public and private pre-school education.

Postgraduate studies

The Department has recently introduced a new regulation which states that assignment of doctoral theses to university graduates will take place only following examinations. An organized postgraduate study programme is the future aim of the Department; an aim closely related to the rise in the number of members of academic staff.

Teacher Training College

The Department runs a two-year Teacher Training College, which was founded in the academic year 1996-97 and aims to further educate active nursery school teachers, as well as provide further training in new scientific and pedagogic methods.

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