Books by Domna-Mika Kakana
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The paper presents a comparison of different approaches for teaching magnetic attraction to presc... more The paper presents a comparison of different approaches for teaching magnetic attraction to preschool children. Three nursery school classes were involved in the study, two of which served as experimental groups (Experimental Group 1, N1=24 and Experimental Group 2, N2=25) and one as control group (N3=24). In Experimental Group 1 a socio-cognitive perspective was promoted, putting an emphasis on children’s alternative conceptions about magnets and magnetic forces as well as on their collaborative experimentation and their interactions within the groups and with their
teacher. The intervention implemented in Experimental Group 2 also took into consideration children’s conceptions and combined specifically designed activities using storytelling, hands-on experiments, and drama. A traditional approach was adopted in the Control Group. The three approaches were evaluated on the basis of pre- and post-tests in order to estimate the evolution of children’s conceptions about magnetic forces. The results indicate that the traditional approach used in the Control Group had no significant impact on children’s understanding of magnetic attraction. On the other hand, the two experimental interventions lead to substantial improvements in preschoolers’ thinking. Moreover, interesting conclusions can be drawn from the comparison of the two experimental settings.
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Papers by Domna-Mika Kakana
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European Journal of Education Studies, 2021
Research findings suggest that teachers’ education and training is a key factor in improving the ... more Research findings suggest that teachers’ education and training is a key factor in improving the preschool quality. Teachers’ qualifications can lead to high-quality preschool education and positive developmental outcomes for the children. This study examines the effectiveness of the teachers’ professional development program “Upgrading the Quality of the Preschool Environment” on improving the quality of the Kindergartens. The research followed a quasi-experimental design and included 26 kindergarten teachers from 23 public Greek kindergartens, who were divided into an Experimental and a Control Group. The quality of the kindergartens was initially assessed using the ECERS-R scale and a five-month professional development program, based on this initial evaluation and on collaborative practices, was designed and implemented to the Experimental Group. Our results show that although the mean scores of quality before the implementation of the program did not differ significantly (t = 6...
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American Journal of Educational Research, 2017
The purpose of this work is to develop, implement and evaluate e-portfolio as an alternative meth... more The purpose of this work is to develop, implement and evaluate e-portfolio as an alternative method of assessment in a kindergarten classroom. This research follows the methodology of qualitative research and specifically action research. Particularly, the e-portfolio was designed by the teacher-researcher as a website using state-of-the-art technology in order to present to the parents the best works of their children in the classroom. The participants of this survey were students of a small kindergarten classroom in a private school in Trikala, Greece, during the school year 2014-2015. Initially, a portfolio tool was implemented within the classroom in a paper format at the start of the school year and after three months, a fully functional implementation of an e-portfolio was used throughout the rest of the school year. The evaluation of the utility of the e-portfolio was conducted by the teacher-researcher in several layers, including participant observation on a daily basis (ca...
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New Issues on Teacher Education, 2017
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Σύμφωνα με τη Eurostat (2014) περισσότερο από το ένα τρίτο (1/3) του ελληνικού πληθυσμού βρίσκετα... more Σύμφωνα με τη Eurostat (2014) περισσότερο από το ένα τρίτο (1/3) του ελληνικού πληθυσμού βρίσκεται κάτω από το όριο της φτώχειας. Η παρούσα έρευνα υλοποιήθηκε στο πλαίσιο των δράσεων του προγράμματος TOCSIN (βλ. www.tocsin.uth.gr) με την υποστήριξη του Χρηματοδοτικού Μηχανισμού του ΕΟΧ (ΓΓΕΤ – ΧΜ ΕΟΧ), με στόχο τη μελέτη των απόψεων και των αναπαραστάσεων των εκπαιδευτικών σχετικά με τις συνέπειες της ολοένα αυξανόμενης οικονομικής κρίσης σε ευάλωτους πληθυσμούς της πρώιμης σχολικής και προσχολικής ηλικίας. Στην έρευνα συμμετείχαν 316 διευθυντές και προϊστάμενοι δημοτικών και νηπιαγωγείων, κυρίως από τους Νομούς Αττικής, Θεσσαλονίκης και Μαγνησίας, οι οποίοι συμπλήρωσαν ηλεκτρονικά ένα ερωτηματολόγιο ειδικά κατασκευασμένο για τους σκοπούς της έρευνας. Τα στοιχεία της έρευνας αφορούν συνολικά σε 20.155 μαθητές, 5.688 της προσχολικής εκπαίδευσης και 15.070 των τριών πρώτων τάξεων του δημοτικού. Η έρευνα έδειξε ότι αυτό που επλήγη περισσότερο είναι η συμμετοχή των παιδιών σε σχολικές δ...
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In this article, we present the evaluation of a kindergarten teachers' professional devel... more In this article, we present the evaluation of a kindergarten teachers' professional development programme, 'Upgrading the quality of the preschool environment' conducted by the participating teacher-thee programme is aimed at the improvement of the quality of Early Childhood Education and Care. The evaluation, which followed a mixed-method design, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, was based on Guskey's (2002) five levels model. Τhe Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (Clarke, D., & Hollingsworth, H., 2002) was used to study participants' professional growth.Fourteen teachers serving in public Kindergartens in Greece participated in this study (n=14). Findings showed that the overall programme, the acquisition of knowledge and competences and the possibility of their application in the teaching practice were assessed as positive. The significance of a supportive context in the application of new knowledge and practices was also outlined. Moreover, the main correlations between domains of the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth are presented, which depict the sequences through which the changes in the teachers occurred. Therefore the present research provides valuable information regarding the design of future professional development programs aiming to improve the quality of the preschool environment.
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In this article, we present the evaluation of a kindergarten teachers' professional devel... more In this article, we present the evaluation of a kindergarten teachers' professional development programme, 'Upgrading the quality of the preschool environment' conducted by the participating teacher-thee programme is aimed at the improvement of the quality of Early Childhood Education and Care. The evaluation, which followed a mixed-method design, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, was based on Guskey's (2002) five levels model. Τhe Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (Clarke, D., & Hollingsworth, H., 2002) was used to study participants' professional growth.Fourteen teachers serving in public Kindergartens in Greece participated in this study (n=14). Findings showed that the overall programme, the acquisition of knowledge and competences and the possibility of their application in the teaching practice were assessed as positive. The significance of a supportive context in the application of new knowledge and practices was also outlined. Moreover, the main correlations between domains of the Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth are presented, which depict the sequences through which the changes in the teachers occurred. Therefore the present research provides valuable information regarding the design of future professional development programs aiming to improve the quality of the preschool environment.
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Σύμφωνα με τη Eurostat (2014) περισσότερο από το ένα τρίτο (1/3) του ελληνικού πληθυσμού βρίσκετα... more Σύμφωνα με τη Eurostat (2014) περισσότερο από το ένα τρίτο (1/3) του ελληνικού πληθυσμού βρίσκεται κάτω από το όριο της φτώχειας. Η παρούσα έρευνα υλοποιήθηκε στο πλαίσιο των δράσεων του προγράμματος TOCSIN (βλ. www.tocsin.uth.gr) με την υποστήριξη του Χρηματοδοτικού Μηχανισμού του ΕΟΧ (ΓΓΕΤ – ΧΜ ΕΟΧ), με στόχο τη μελέτη των απόψεων και των αναπαραστάσεων των εκπαιδευτικών σχετικά με τις συνέπειες της ολοένα αυξανόμενης οικονομικής κρίσης σε ευάλωτους πληθυσμούς της πρώιμης σχολικής και προσχολικής ηλικίας. Στην έρευνα συμμετείχαν 316 διευθυντές και προϊστάμενοι δημοτικών και νηπιαγωγείων, κυρίως από τους Νομούς Αττικής, Θεσσαλονίκης και Μαγνησίας, οι οποίοι συμπλήρωσαν ηλεκτρονικά ένα ερωτηματολόγιο ειδικά κατασκευασμένο για τους σκοπούς της έρευνας. Τα στοιχεία της έρευνας αφορούν συνολικά σε 20.155 μαθητές, 5.688 της προσχολικής εκπαίδευσης και 15.070 των τριών πρώτων τάξεων του δημοτικού. Η έρευνα έδειξε ότι αυτό που επλήγη περισσότερο είναι η συμμετοχή των παιδιών σε σχολικές δ...
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The present study, which is part of the research project entitled “Teacher Support Confronting So... more The present study, which is part of the research project entitled “Teacher Support Confronting Social Inequalities” (TOCSIN), aims at investigating the consequences of the economic crisis on the vulnerable population at early childhood education schools (children aged from four to nine years old). In particular, the study explores the effects of economic crisis on children and school units in Greek public schools as well as the practices that educators may implement to cope with the problems arisen in the school environment because of the economic crisis. The data were collected through a researcher-designed questionnaire administered to the school principals. Three hundred sixteen (316) school principals of Greek kindergartens and primary schools participated in the research. The results of the study indicated that children have difficulties in feeding, clothing/footwear, in participating in school activities (e.g., excursions, museum visits) and extra-curricular activities (e.g., ...
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Creative Education, 2019
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Books by Domna-Mika Kakana
teacher. The intervention implemented in Experimental Group 2 also took into consideration children’s conceptions and combined specifically designed activities using storytelling, hands-on experiments, and drama. A traditional approach was adopted in the Control Group. The three approaches were evaluated on the basis of pre- and post-tests in order to estimate the evolution of children’s conceptions about magnetic forces. The results indicate that the traditional approach used in the Control Group had no significant impact on children’s understanding of magnetic attraction. On the other hand, the two experimental interventions lead to substantial improvements in preschoolers’ thinking. Moreover, interesting conclusions can be drawn from the comparison of the two experimental settings.
Papers by Domna-Mika Kakana
teacher. The intervention implemented in Experimental Group 2 also took into consideration children’s conceptions and combined specifically designed activities using storytelling, hands-on experiments, and drama. A traditional approach was adopted in the Control Group. The three approaches were evaluated on the basis of pre- and post-tests in order to estimate the evolution of children’s conceptions about magnetic forces. The results indicate that the traditional approach used in the Control Group had no significant impact on children’s understanding of magnetic attraction. On the other hand, the two experimental interventions lead to substantial improvements in preschoolers’ thinking. Moreover, interesting conclusions can be drawn from the comparison of the two experimental settings.