Training Greek Teachers in Cultural Awareness

Abstract

The recent dramatic changes in the makeup of the student population in Greek schools pointed to the need for designing and implementing new educational and teacher training programmes that would incorporate the educational needs of newcomers. Such a teacher training programme aiming at developing Greek teachers' cultural awareness and empowerment was designed and implemented as part of a greater research project. The scope of this article is to present the specifics and some of the results from the evaluation of this teacher training programme. The programme consisted of three thematic units, which were based on experiential learning. Five groups of both primary-and secondary-school teachers from three cities of northern Greece participated in it. Teacher training modules were designed to meet the training needs of the programme as well as for future use in other teacher training programmes. Teacher evaluation of the training programme indicated that it was an interesting and pleasant experience for the majority of the participants, which provided them with knowledge and skills necessary to function in a diverse school environment. The implications of this particular training programme for the practice of school psychology are also discussed.

Multicultural Education Professional Development: A Review of the Literature

“…The majority of studies took place in the United States and therefore focused on educational equity for Latinx students (Colombo, 2007), American Indians (Grimberg & Gummer, 2013), or a group often referred to by the vague term, "culturally and linguistically diverse students" (Brown & Crippen, 2016;Psalti, 2007). One program in New Zealand focused on reducing gaps between Māori and White students, while one in Greece focused on teachers' cultural competence in working with immigrant students in general with no specific reference to nationality/ethnicity.…”

A Culturally Responsive Disposition: How Professional Learning and Teachers’ Beliefs About and Self-Efficacy for Culturally Responsive Teaching Relate to Instruction

“…Despite limited causal studies of the impact of PL on teachers’ use of CR teaching (for a review, see Bottiani et al, 2018), correlational and qualitative research suggests that PL that specifically focuses on CR teaching development has positive effects on teacher practices and student outcomes (Aronson & Laughter, 2016; Parkhouse et al, 2019; Savage et al, 2011). Some empirical studies also show that PL that explicitly focuses on tenets of CR teaching influences teachers’ CR beliefs and self-efficacy (Fitchett et al, 2012; Parkhouse et al, 2019; Psalti, 2007; Tucker et al, 2005). This scholarship suggests that a CR disposition, then, is malleable—that is, it can change over time, based on teachers’ experiences.…”

“…Understanding practicing teachers’ CR self-efficacy, especially those in large urban districts, is important for informing the focus of in-service PL, particularly in the policy context of calls for CR instruction. Furthermore, teacher learning interventions can lead to increased CR self-efficacy (e.g., Fitchett et al, 2012; Psalti, 2007; Tucker et al, 2005). Understanding how practicing teachers’ self-efficacy relates to their instruction is important for determining whether building teachers’ CR self-efficacy will ultimately have an influence on their instructional practices.…”