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This paper presents the proposed methodology for an empirical research that relates the professional stress of secondary education teachers to the factor of school performance, as well as practical procedures for recording this phenomenon. The applicability of qualitative research as the proper relevant methodology is documented. The sampling, tools and reliability criteria of the proposed survey are also specified. Although this survey has been designed focusing on the stress factors that affect the teachers of secondary education in Greece, the authors believe that the proposed methodology can be generally applicable for conducting relevant surveys.

Article History KeywordsProfessional stress Teachers' stress Secondary education Stressors Students' school performance Qualitative research. This paper presents a small-scale empirical qualitative research on school performance, which is a professional stressor for teachers of Western Attica's (Greece), serving in schools of senior Secondary Education, as well as on effective ways of limiting this phenomenon. The sampling, the sample, the tool, and the credibility criteria of this particular survey are determined. The outcomes and the relevant conclusions, resulting from the processing and analysis of primary data, are presented along with a proposal for further research. According to these conclusions, the teachers' stress is increased in the 3rd and last grade of senior secondary education, because of the national admission examinations to tertiary education that their pupils participate in. The stress-levels are exacerbated by parents and their expectations of their children's success. For reducing professional stress, different strategies are applied by individual teachers, headmasters and Teachers' Associations.Contribution/Originality: This study contributes in the existing literature about teachers' professional stress, by presenting the strategies for reducing the stress of teachers in senior secondary education of Greece, applied by headmasters and Teachers' Associations, along with a few general policy proposals for dealing with this issue.

In this paper, a project of the local sustainability network of schools in the area of Western Attica (Greece) is described. The subject of this project is “Road Safety”, and it was addressed to third grade pupils of junior high-schools. It has been planned as the result of collaboration between the local Secondary Education Directorate, a few voluntary organizations, some private Vehicle Technical Inspection Centers and the local traffic-police department. This educational activity had been mainly implemented through the teaching and learning method of “experiential learning”. The pupils were divided into groups and attended six workshops that were designed accordingly. The entire process aims at establishing educational activities that in long-term will deal effectively with the acute problem of road safety.

This paper presents a small-scale survey that records the opinions of the educational community (pupils, parents and teachers) of Western Attica (Greece), an area with acute social problems and conditions, about the importance of Cultural Education, with the purpose of incorporating it into the daily activities of high-schools. This survey has been conducted within the framework of the European Programmes “Erasmus+” that support educational initiatives, regarding the mobility of students and teachers in the European Union’s member states and other associated countries, with the purpose of training in issues of common interest. The relevant activities of the overall methodology that is presented herein include the training of high-school teachers in Cultural Education issues. This training aims at achieving the strategic goal of the local educational administration, which considers Cultural Education as a prime tool for confronting social problems in school communities, worldwide.