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.