Teacher Education in Greece: the example of teachers volume 5

It is common knowledge that teacher education determines to a large extent the educational, cultural, social, professional and economic level of teachers and through them the members of society in general, as the quality of education provided is (also) related to teacher education. With this realization as its main focus, this book explores theoretically and empirically the timeless, open and multidimensional field of teacher education. The theoretical part presents and analyses positions, opinions and ideas around the subject under discussion, and in particular regarding relevant decisions and actions on the part of political parties, the role of teacher education schools through the constitution of their curricula, as well as of teachers themselves through their individual and collective efforts to improve their training. Various aspects of the issue are discussed, with an emphasis on the conditions that are considered important to be met in order for any changes and reforms to have a greater chance of success in the educational field. The empirical part of the paper presents the questionnaire survey that was conducted, in which two hundred and fifty active teachers from primary schools in Thessaloniki, Alexandroupolis and Xanthi participated. The findings of the survey, which examines teachers’ views on their training at the Pedagogical Academies and Pedagogical Departments of Primary Education, may be useful to all the institutions and actors involved in the issue of teacher education.