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Vasilia Christidou
  • School of Early Childhood Education
    Faculty of Education
    Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
    54124 Thessaoloniki
    Greece
  • +30 2310 991287
This paper explores 4- to 9-year-old children's views of the COVID-19 pandemic preventive practices. The sample consisted of 189 children from different parts of Greece, who expressed their views verbally and through drawings. Content... more
This paper explores 4- to 9-year-old children's views of the COVID-19 pandemic preventive practices. The sample consisted of 189 children from different parts of Greece, who expressed their views verbally and through drawings. Content data analysis yielded different categories of preventive practices falling within two main themes: Hygienic (e.g., handwashing), and Social (e.g., staying at home). Overall, children proposed appropriate practices, in line with official guidelines and previous research findings. Moreover, they seem to focus on social preventive practices more than hygienic ones. Age-related differences as well as differences between the two modes of expression were also recorded.
The present study aimed to examine children’s conceptions of coronavirus as denoted in their verbal descriptions and drawings and whether these vary as a function of children’s age and the mode of expression. Data were collected in Greece... more
The present study aimed to examine children’s conceptions of coronavirus as denoted in their verbal descriptions and drawings and whether these vary as a function of children’s age and the mode of expression. Data were collected in Greece during spring 2020 and 344 children aged 4 to 10 years were first asked to verbally describe coronavirus and then to produce a drawing of it. Content analysis of data revealed the following main themes: (a) Coronavirus, (b) Medical, (c) Psychological, and (d) Social. Results showed that children from an early age present a remarkable level of understanding of coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease as a multidimensional construct, which can be designated not only through characteristics of the Sars-Cov-2 but also through its medical, social, and psychological consequences on people’s lives. Moreover, children were found to emphasize different aspects of this construct depending on their age and the mode of expression.
Despite the growing body of research on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s wellbeing, few studies so far have explored children’s points of view, while the majority were based on data collected during the first year... more
Despite the growing body of research on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s wellbeing, few studies so far have explored children’s points of view, while the majority were based on data collected during the first year of the pandemic. The present study attempted to capture children’s views 1 year after the beginning of the pandemic, and to this end, data were collected during Spring 2021 in Greece. Specifically, by combining verbal and visual data, the study attempted to explore children’s views of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 preventive practices. Participants involved 320 children, ranging in age from 4 to 12 years, who were asked to verbally describe and draw (a) Coronavirus and (b) the preventive measures adopted to mitigate the pandemic. Data analysis indicated that overall, children’s views involve elements of scientifically appropriate information since from an early age they are able to describe and depict SARS-CoV-2 in ways that reflect the abundance of availa...
COVID-19 e-books have emerged as means for communicating information about coronavirus and the resulting disease to children during the pandemic. This material is multimodal, with images forming the most prevalent and crucial semiotic... more
COVID-19 e-books have emerged as means for communicating information about coronavirus and the resulting disease to children during the pandemic. This material is multimodal, with images forming the most prevalent and crucial semiotic mode. Except for representational and compositional meaning, an image realises interpersonal meanings. The degree to which the reader is activated (address) and prompted to become engaged with what is represented (involvement) constitute interpersonal meaning dimensions that reflect crucial pedagogical perceptions about children's learning. This study explored how address and involvement are visually realized in young children's e-books about COVID-19. The sample consisted of 100 randomly selected images of living or anthropomorphic entities included in 18 COVID-19 e-books for young children. The framework of analysis was based on the Grammar of Visual Design. Results indicate that the analysed images mostly assign children both roles of information receivers and active learners, while encouraging their engagement with what is represented. These interpersonal meanings largely align with the socio-cognitive perspective on young children's learning. The study could support teachers in the selection, design, and use of multimodal learning materials to promote children's visual literacy, especially in emergency conditions as those imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This paper explores 4- to 9-year-old children's views of the COVID-19 pandemic preventive practices. The sample consisted of 189 children from different parts of Greece, who expressed their views verbally and through drawings. Content... more
This paper explores 4- to 9-year-old children's views of the COVID-19 pandemic preventive practices. The sample consisted of 189 children from different parts of Greece, who expressed their views verbally and through drawings. Content data analysis yielded different categories of preventive practices falling within two main themes: Hygienic (e.g., handwashing), and Social (e.g., staying at home). Overall, children proposed appropriate practices, in line with official guidelines and previous research findings. Moreover, they seem to focus on social preventive practices more than hygienic ones. Age-related differences as well as differences between the two modes of expression were also recorded.
A framework for classifying children's explanations about dissolution, floating, magnetic forces, plant nutrition and the water cycle is presented. Explanations are classified as naturalistic,... more
A framework for classifying children's explanations about dissolution, floating, magnetic forces, plant nutrition and the water cycle is presented. Explanations are classified as naturalistic, non-naturalisic, or synthetic.
The aim of the present study is to compare the science competencies that students need to demonstrate during school examinations on the one hand and when they participate in PISA on the other. Through their comparison similarities and... more
The aim of the present study is to compare the science competencies that students need to demonstrate during school examinations on the one hand and when they participate in PISA on the other. Through their comparison similarities and differences will be detected. To this end, 1.357 test item sets relative to the subject of Biology used in the Gymnasium examinations (lower secondary education) and 50 PISA science items from the category “living systems” and the context life, health, environment were analyzed. The results of the comparative analysis indicate a clear differentiation between the competencies that students need to demonstrate during the school examinations of Biology in Gymnasium and the competencies that students need to demonstrate in order to answer the PISA items correctly. The fact that students have to demonstrate unfamiliar competencies during their participation in PISA could be a factor –among others– that explains the low performance of Greek students in the P...
Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education relies heavily on visual images. Images constitute a system of meaning making, parallel with language or symbolic representations. Understanding, creating and communicating... more
Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education relies heavily on visual images. Images constitute a system of meaning making, parallel with language or symbolic representations. Understanding, creating and communicating with visual images in STEM requires competence in using the specialized visual codes pertinent to the STEM disciplines. Therefore, STEM Visual Literacy (STEM-VL) is considered as a fundamental aspect of STEM literacy, hence a crucial instructional objective for all education levels. The development of students’ STEM-VL presupposes that they are continually, systematically, and purposefully engaged in active ‘reading’ and construction of visual representations during instruction. The paper reviews recent research in the field of STEM-VL and proposes a taxonomy of commonly used categories of STEM visual images. Research-based instructional practices to ‘scaffold’ the development of students’ STEM-VL are discussed. Lastly, implications for teaching and ...
Page 1. 1 Multimodal Text Comprehension and Production by Preschool Children: An Interdisciplinary Approach of Water Conservation 1 Main Description The paper presents a program on water conservation, designed and implemented in two... more
Page 1. 1 Multimodal Text Comprehension and Production by Preschool Children: An Interdisciplinary Approach of Water Conservation 1 Main Description The paper presents a program on water conservation, designed and implemented in two nursery schools in a Greek ...
Within the research community in science education, there has been a tendency to show limited interest in examining PISA results with reference to the national context of participating countries although this approach can give valuable... more
Within the research community in science education, there has been a tendency to show limited interest in examining PISA results with reference to the national context of participating countries although this approach can give valuable insight into a country’s students’ achievement. Since the interpretations of PISA results could be based on a thorough analysis of the actual items used in international and national contexts, the main issue addressed in this study is to compare PISA test items with assessment tasks used in the Greek school context. 281 PISA science test items as well as 947 assessment tasks included in science school textbooks and 4,248 science examination test items in Greece, were analysed in regard to the frequency of inclusion, the type and the functional role of visual representations within this assessment tasks. The results demonstrate that while PISA test items use visual material in order to communicate scientific information in everyday life contexts by mea...
Background: There is a long research tradition on students' images of scientists based on their drawings. However, the dimension of scientists' emotions, as a critical aspect of these images has not been thoroughly... more
Background: There is a long research tradition on students' images of scientists based on their drawings. However, the dimension of scientists' emotions, as a critical aspect of these images has not been thoroughly investigated. Purpose: The present study aims to investigate scientists' emotions as depicted in children's drawings to shed light on less explored aspects of the complex construct of the image of scientists. Sample: 245 boys and girls divided into three age groups with a mean age of 5, 8, and 11 years, participated in the study. Design and Methods: In this cross-sectional design, participants were first asked to draw a scientist experiencing an emotion and to produce a control drawing (a person feeling nothing) and then to describe their drawing of the scientist, to label and to justify the depicted emotion. The drawings of the scientists were rated against their controls to identify the graphic cues employed to denote the depicted emotions. Results: Data analysis showed that children in all age groups mainly attributed positive emotions to scientists, which they primarily associated with scientists' self-efficacy. The vast majority of children altered the scientist's facial expression to denote the intended emotion, while other types of cues were less frequently used. Justifications of the emotions attributed to scientists varied as a function of age, indicating that as they get older children seem to acquire a broader and more sophisticated image of scientists' emotions. Conclusion: By shifting the focus on drawing the emotions prompted by scientific work, this study provides a novel, complementary perspective to the kaleidoscopic construct of students' image of scientists.
Verbal text and images constitute the principal semiotic modes interacting to produce interpersonal meanings in multimodal science texts for young children. These meanings relate to pedagogical perceptions about children’s learning. This... more
Verbal text and images constitute the principal semiotic modes interacting to produce interpersonal meanings in multimodal science texts for young children. These meanings relate to pedagogical perceptions about children’s learning. This study examined verbal text–image relations regarding the interpersonal meaning dimensions of address (the way the reader is addressed), social distance (the kind of the relationship between the reader and represented participants), and involvement (the extent to which the reader is engaged with what is represented) in multimodal text excerpts from science-related books for preschool children. The sample consisted of 300 randomly selected units of analysis. For each unit, the verbal and the visual content was analyzed along each dimension, and the relevant verbal text–image relation was determined. Results indicated that regarding address and involvement, relations of convergence appeared significantly more frequently than relations of complementarit...
While little is known about how young children understand noise and its environmental aspects, this topic is suggested to be included in science curricula from early years on. To investigate if and to what extent preschool children’s... more
While little is known about how young children understand noise and its environmental aspects, this topic is suggested to be included in science curricula from early years on. To investigate if and to what extent preschool children’s level of noise awareness could be improved the ‘Young Noise Researchers’ educational scenario was designed, implemented and evaluated. Research design involved a pretest-posttest procedure. Participants were 52 Greek preschool children, who attended public kindergarten classes. The scenario involved 9 activities following the principles of context-based, socio-cognitive and multimodal teaching and learning, which were implemented by the teachers of the classes in a 4-week period. Prior to and after the intervention participants engaged in individual, semi-structured interviews. The results indicated improvement in children’s noise awareness in regard to acknowledging everyday noises, understanding annoyance and subjectivity of noise, adopting negative a...
This study examined the effect of explanatory captions of a multimedia summary on understanding the explanation of ozone depletion by primary school pupils. Participants were 54 eleven-year-old pupils of two share-sheltered primary... more
This study examined the effect of explanatory captions of a multimedia summary on understanding the explanation of ozone depletion by primary school pupils. Participants were 54 eleven-year-old pupils of two share-sheltered primary schools in a medium-sized city in central Greece, who lacked adequate prior knowledge of ozone depletion, as they had not been systematically instructed about this phenomenon. Participants were randomly given one of the two versions of a printed material which concerned ozone depletion and were individually interviewed in an empty classroom. The first version of the printed material consisted of a main verbal text and a multimedia summary –namely a concise, coherent and coordinated presentation of ozone depletion explanation using words and images- with explanatory captions. The second version was identical to the first, except that it did not include explanatory captions. Each student was invited to answer to 8 questions aiming at assessing their under...
Public images of scientific researchers –as reflected in the popular visual culture as well as in the conceptions of the public- combine traditional stereotypic characteristics and ambivalent attitudes towards science and its people. This... more
Public images of scientific researchers –as reflected in the popular visual culture as well as in the conceptions of the public- combine traditional stereotypic characteristics and ambivalent attitudes towards science and its people. This paper explores central aspects of the public image of the researcher in Greek students’ drawings. The students participated in a drawing competition held in the context of the ‘Researcher’s Night 2007’ realized by three research institutions at different regions of Greece. The students’ drawings reveal that young people hold stereotypic and fairly traditional and outdated views of scientists and scientific activity. Research institutions are faced with the challenge of establishing a sincere and fertile dialogue with society to refute obsolete and deceiving notions and to promote the role of researchers in society.
Water shortage is an environmental problem that requires changes in terms of thinking and everyday practice. Education for a sustainable development should therefore aim at arousing pupils’ awareness on this issue and inducing rational... more
Water shortage is an environmental problem that requires changes in terms of thinking and everyday practice. Education for a sustainable development should therefore aim at arousing pupils’ awareness on this issue and inducing rational use of water in future citizens. The present study explores the effectiveness of a program designed for preschool children in promoting their awareness of water shortage and the importance of water conservation. A class of seventeen 5-6 year-old children participated in the study. Initially the relevant pre-existing views of the participants were recorded (pre-test). Subsequently, the program was implemented. It consisted of twelve interdisciplinary activities aiming at enhancing children’s awareness of water conservation both at the level of understanding and at the level of values and attitudes. Finally, the development of children’s awareness was tested (post-test). The results of the study indicate that preschool children are capable of tackling w...
ABSTRACT The aim of this paper was to study qualitatively and quantitatively the thermal perception and corresponding heat stress conditions that prevail in two schoolyards in a coastal city in central Greece. For this purpose,... more
ABSTRACT The aim of this paper was to study qualitatively and quantitatively the thermal perception and corresponding heat stress conditions that prevail in two schoolyards in a coastal city in central Greece. For this purpose, meteorological parameters (i.e., wind speed, temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation) were recorded at 70 and 55 measuring points in the schoolyards, from 14:00 to 15:30 local time, during May and June of 2011. The measuring points were distributed so as to get measurements at points (a) directly exposed to the sun, (b) under the shadow of trees and building structures, and (c) near building structures. Cluster analysis was applied to group observations and revealed places that are microclimatically homogeneous. Thermal perception and heat stress conditions were assessed by means of the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET, °C), and the results are presented in relevant charts. The impact of material's albedo, radiation's reflection by structures and obstacles, and different tree species on thermal perception and heat stress conditions was also assessed. The analysis showed that trees triggered a reduction of incident solar radiation that ranged between 79 and 94 % depending on tree's species, crown dimension, tree height, and leaf area. PET values were mainly affected by solar radiation and wind speed. Trees caused a reduction of up to 37 % in PET values, while a 1-m s(-1) increase in wind speed triggered a reduction of 3.7-5.0 °C in PET value. The effective shading area in the two schoolyards was small, being 27.5 and 11 %. The results of this study could be exploited by urban planning managers when designing or improving the outdoor environment of a school complex.
L’étude comparée de la langue et de l’illustration d’unités de l’enquête PISA et des manuels scolaires grecs montre qu’elles peuvent constituer une base opérationnelle pour interpréter les difficultés qu’ont les élèves à identifier les... more
L’étude comparée de la langue et de l’illustration d’unités de l’enquête PISA et des manuels scolaires grecs montre qu’elles peuvent constituer une base opérationnelle pour interpréter les difficultés qu’ont les élèves à identifier les unités du PISA comme tâche en Sciences Physiques. The comparative study of the language and illustration of the PISA test units and the Greek science textbooks indicate that they can constitute a functional interpretative tool in regards to the difficulties faced by the students in order to identify the PISA units as science tasks.
One of the keystones of science education is teaching the communication of science: written, oral, or visual. This study aims at comparing visual material included in PISA science test items related to the field of biological systems and... more
One of the keystones of science education is teaching the communication of science: written, oral, or visual. This study aims at comparing visual material included in PISA science test items related to the field of biological systems and in Biology test items set at the end-of-year school-based advancement and discharge examinations, intended for 7th and 9th grade Greek students of the Greek ‘Gymnasium’. More particularly, visual material is investigated along the following dimensions: (a) The frequency of its inclusion in evaluation test items; (b) Its type (photographs, drawings, flowcharts, cutaway exhibitions, maps, graphs, tables); (c) Its functional role within test items, ranging from visual images functioning as simple and concrete representations of verbal descriptions and displaying redundant information to the relevant questions, to graphics providing partial information that is necessary, but not sufficient, for answering the questions, to images containing all informati...
The study explores if and to what extent Greek scientists’ historical and contemporary self-images comprise elements of the public image of science and scientists dominating in the popular culture and in non-experts’ drawings. The sample... more
The study explores if and to what extent Greek scientists’ historical and contemporary self-images comprise elements of the public image of science and scientists dominating in the popular culture and in non-experts’ drawings. The sample consisted of historical and contemporary photos of Greek scientific researchers. Photos were analyzed according to a) the self-image of scientists, and b) self-image of science they promote. Greek scientists’ self-images incorporate stereotypic elements. Lab-coats and research symbols are prevalent in historical images, while knowledge symbols and technology products are more frequently incorporated in contemporary photos. The visual self-image of science is male-dominated, and this tendency is intensified in contemporary images. Male and female participants coexist quite frequently in historical photos. Historical self-images mainly represent science as experimental, while in contemporary representations the theoretical aspect of science prevails. ...
Research Interests:
This paper presents results of the most salient and important students' models concerning the greenhouse effect and certain teaching implications that these results bring out. Students' conceptions of important environmental... more
This paper presents results of the most salient and important students' models concerning the greenhouse effect and certain teaching implications that these results bring out. Students' conceptions of important environmental issues, such as the ozone depletion, or global warming due to ...
ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a socio-cognitive teaching strategy on young children’s understanding of light. It explores their understanding of the concept of light as an entity that is transmitted... more
ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a socio-cognitive teaching strategy on young children’s understanding of light. It explores their understanding of the concept of light as an entity that is transmitted independently of the light source and the final receiver. The study was conducted in three phases: pre-test, teaching intervention, and post-tests. The sample consisted of 170 preschool children who were assigned to two groups. The children in the first group participated in activities which adopted a socio-cognitive approach. In the context of this approach a familiar metaphor was introduced in order to facilitate children to construct a “precursor model” about light. The children in the second group participated in activities with the same teaching objectives, but adopting an empiricist perspective. Statistical analysis using the Mann-Whitney U-test indicated that the cognitive progress of the socio-cognitive group was more significant than the progress of the empiricist group. This provides evidence for the effect of the socio-cognitive strategy on enhancing children in constructing a “precursor model” for the concept of light.
The image prevailing among the public of scientific research and researchers constitutes a contradictory and complex combination of traditional stereotypes. We explore central facets of the image of scientific research and researchers as... more
The image prevailing among the public of scientific research and researchers constitutes a contradictory and complex combination of traditional stereotypes. We explore central facets of the image of scientific research and researchers as reflected in Greek adolescent students’ drawings. Drawings were produced by 171 students participating in a drawing competition launched in the context of the “Researchers’ Night 2007” implemented by three research institutions in Greece. Analysis of students’ drawings involved dimensions related to the image of scientific researchers and of scientific research. Outcomes indicate that the students hold fairly outdated views of scientific researchers and their activity, involving stereotypic views of scientists and science, as well as gender stereotypes. Therefore there is an urgent need to promote a more relevant image of scientific researchers and their activity to young people and especially students.
This paper aims to reveal the social representations about the nature and the evolution of Space-Science & Astronomy, Genetics & Biotechnology, Natural Sciences and Engineering & Informatics, through analyzing active (i.e., original and... more
This paper aims to reveal the social representations about the nature and the evolution of Space-Science & Astronomy, Genetics & Biotechnology, Natural Sciences and Engineering & Informatics, through analyzing active (i.e., original and creative) metaphors found in 2303 technoscientific articles published in four Greek daily newspapers and two popular scientific magazines. The analysis showed that all metaphors concerning the nature of the four disciplinary fields can be clustered into four superordinate categories that juxtapose these fields to: (1) a construct; (2) a supernatural process; (3) an activity extending the frontiers of knowledge; (4) a dipole of promise and/or scare. The most frequently employed category is that representing technoscience as an activity extending the frontiers of knowledge. Furthermore, the evolution of the four disciplines is mainly represented as a violent process. Each discipline though, seems to be characterized by combinations of different categor...
A popular and well-established image of scientists and science dominates in the public field, signifying a contradictory and multifaceted combination of stereotypes. This paper investigates crucial aspects of the visual self-image of... more
A popular and well-established image of scientists and science dominates in the public field, signifying a contradictory and multifaceted combination of stereotypes. This paper investigates crucial aspects of the visual self-image of Greek scientists and science as exposed in photographic material retrieved from relevant institutions’ websites. In total 971 photos were analysed along dimensions corresponding to the image of scientists and science. Analysis demonstrates ambivalence in Greek scientists’ self-images between traditional stereotypic characteristics and an intention to overcome them. Differences between the self-images of physics, chemistry and biology are determined, as well as between the “masculine” and “feminine” face of science. Implications concerning improvements in science and scientists’ self-images and further research are presented.
Background: There is a long research tradition on students' images of scientists based on their drawings. However, the dimension of scientists' emotions, as a critical aspect of these images has not been thoroughly investigated. Purpose:... more
Background: There is a long research tradition on students' images of scientists based on their drawings. However, the dimension of scientists' emotions, as a critical aspect of these images has not been thoroughly investigated. Purpose: The present study aims to investigate scientists' emotions as depicted in children's drawings to shed light on less explored aspects of the complex construct of the image of scientists. Sample: 245 boys and girls divided into three age groups with a mean age of 5, 8, and 11 years, participated in the study. Design and Methods: In this cross-sectional design, participants were first asked to draw a scientist experiencing an emotion and to produce a control drawing (a person feeling nothing) and then to describe their drawing of the scientist, to label and to justify the depicted emotion. The drawings of the scientists were rated against their controls to identify the graphic cues employed to denote the depicted emotions. Results: Data analysis showed that children in all age groups mainly attributed positive emotions to scientists, which they primarily associated with scientists' self-efficacy. The vast majority of children altered the scientist's facial expression to denote the intended emotion, while other types of cues were less frequently used. Justifications of the emotions attributed to scientists varied as a function of age, indicating that as they get older children seem to acquire a broader and more sophisticated image of scientists' emotions. Conclusion: By shifting the focus on drawing the emotions prompted by scientific work, this study provides a novel, complementary perspective to the kaleidoscopic construct of students' image of scientists.
The present study aimed to examine children’s conceptions of coronavirus as denoted in their verbal descriptions and drawings and whether these vary as a function of children’s age and the mode of expression. Data were collected in Greece... more
The present study aimed to examine children’s conceptions of coronavirus as denoted in their verbal descriptions and drawings and whether these vary as a function of children’s age and the mode of expression. Data were collected in Greece during spring 2020 and 344 children aged 4 to 10 years were first asked to verbally describe coronavirus and then to produce a drawing of it. Content analysis of data revealed the following main themes: (a) Coronavirus, (b) Medical, (c) Psychological, and (d) Social. Results showed that children from an early age present a remarkable level of understanding of coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease as a multidimensional construct, which can be designated not only through characteristics of the Sars-Cov-2 but also through its medical, social, and psychological consequences on people’s lives. Moreover, children were found to emphasize different aspects of this construct depending on their age and the mode of expression.
Objective: The study aimed to investigate whether children use specific types of graphic cues (facial, postural, contextual) in their drawings of healthy and ill persons and whether these cues differ as a function of age. Design:... more
Objective: The study aimed to investigate whether children use specific types of graphic cues (facial, postural, contextual) in their drawings of healthy and ill persons and whether these cues differ as a function of age. Design: Cross-sectional design. Setting: A public primary school in a medium-sized city in Greece. Method: A total of 200 children in the age group of 5, 7, 9 and 11 years were first asked to define the terms under investigation, and then to draw a healthy and an ill person, as well as a baseline drawing (of a person neither healthy nor ill). Human figure drawings of health and illness were compared with their baseline drawing in an attempt to detect possible alterations in the (1) face, (2) body and (3) overall context of the drawing. Results: From the age of 5 years onwards, children were able to use a combination of graphic cues to convey health and illness in their drawings. Moreover, children in all age groups more often (1) employed facial cues to depict illn...

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