Hellenic Open University

Anastasia Gkaintartzi holds a PhD in Sociolinguistics from the School of Early Childhood Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2007-2012), specializing in bilingualism and education. She also holds an MA in Teaching Methodology and Syllabus Development from the Department of Primary Education of University of Thessaly (2003-2005). She graduated from the School of English Language and Literature, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in 2000. Since 2001, she has been working as an English language teacher in state school education. Her academic work involves many research projects in the field of multilingualism in education, in which she has participated as a researcher since 2009. She has also taught as a lecturer at the Department of Primary Education, University of Thessaly (2015-2016) and as a tutor at the Masters Programme 'LRM' (Language Education for Refugees and Migrants) of HOU. Her publications and interests focus on bi/multilingualism, language contact, intercultural education, language teaching and sociolinguistic research.

Christoforos Skamnakis received his doctorate diploma from the Department of Social Policy of Panteion University.
Since 2004 teaches in the Department of Social Administration, he currently is Assistant Professor in Social Policy and Local Development.
He teaches the courses “Social Planning” and “Local Government & Social Policy” in fall semester as also “EU’s Social Policy” and “Social Exclusion, Poverty & Inequality” in Spring semester.
His research work focuses on contemporary issues of social protection with a focus on sub-national level. He investigates the procedures that national and supranational policies emerge in social policy at local level. He also focus his work to implementation of social policy through micro-analysis of social protection agencies.

Chrysanthi Panagiotidou is a Philosophy and Pedagogy graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, specialized in Pedagogy (2007) with post-graduate studies in Psychopedagogy of inclusion and multiculturalism (2014). Currently, she is continuing her studies in the Department of Psychology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her professional experience extends in a range of scientific fields, but mainly she has been working as a language educator in various institutions. She has worked with the Roma community in temporary settlements, where she provided psycho-social empowerment to women (minors or adults), design and implementation of curriculum, teaching of Greek as a second/foreign language, organizing cultural and inclusive activities (ARSIS- Association for the Social Support of Youth). She has also worked as an educator of Greek as second/foreign language for adult immigrant groups, using task-based methodology (University of Thessaly), and for children and teenagers from disadvantaged, low-income families and families of migrant origin in day care center (SOS Children’s Villages). Recently, she has been working with refugees in camps as an educator of Greek as foreign language and also provided design and implementation of inclusive activities for adult groups (SOS Children’s Villages) and groups of children/teenagers (ARSIS- Association for the Social Support of Youth).
Currently she is working as an educator for the Project ”Provision of Refugee Education and Support Scheme” (P.R.E.S.S.) of the Hellenic Open University in adult refugee language education. She has been also a work group member of “Polydromo”: group for bilingualism and multiculturalism in education and society and, a volunteer in the Deaf club “Sport Cultural Association of the Deaf of Macedonia” for almost ten years.

Despina Papageridou is a kindergarten teacher and PhD Candidate in the School of early childhood Education Faculty of Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. She obtained an undergraduate degree in Teaching at Primary School Teachers department from University of Ioannina in 2007 and a postgraduate MSc. in the interdisciplinary degree program psycho-departmental integration studies: a school for all, the direction Psycho-pedagogical Aspects of Multiculturalism from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2014. In 2013 she was a scholar of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Additionally she holds a degree on the blind braille system (2010) and the Greek sign language (2011-1012). Since 2012 she deals with the design and implementation of educational programs in collaboration with companies in museums and other institutions such as the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, The Children's Museum of Thessaloniki and the IBBY. Her research activity is related to issues of museum education, intercultural education bilingual programs and deals with the concept of citizenship in kindergarten. Some of her published articles are: The dimension of multiculturalism in Day School, Citizenship in kindergarten, The Civic Education in Greek Kindergartens, The Views and the Practices of Greek Kindergarten Teachers Concerning Civic Education, National Holidays in Greek Multicultural School: Vies of Pre- Service Teachers, Historical Environment museum education as means for development of citizenship in multicultural school and others. Finally, she has participated as a research associate in research programs.

She has been working as a kindergarten teacher since 1996, in the private and public sector. She is a member of the Laboratory of Pedagogical Research and Educational Practices of the Department of Educational Sciences in the Pre-school Age, Democritus University of Thrace. She has worked in the same Department as practice-tutor for prospective kindergarten teachers and in in-service training courses for kindergarten teachers in the public sector, implementing the Lesson Study model for professional development. She has taught in post-graduate courses, concerning socio-cultural animation, intercultural education and teaching methodology/models. She participated as a researcher in a number of national and international projects (Thalis, CRP, CARE). Her main areas of research interests include social and cultural dimensions of development and education, family-school connection and parental involvement. Among other projects, she has conducted an ethnographic study in two Roma communities in Thrace concerning Roma mothers’ belief systems about their children’s social and cognitive development and their interaction styles while playing with their children.

Evdoxia Kompiadou is a Kindergarten teacher, and a PhD candidate in the School of early childhood Education Faculty of Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. She works as a Kindergarten teacher in a public kindergarten in Thessaloniki, Greece and has 17 years of teaching experience. In 2013, she graduated from the Inter-University – Interdepartmental Postgraduate Course on “Psychology and integration: a school for all” towards “Psychopedagogical components of multiculturalism.” She participated as a researcher in the Module “Intercultural Activities”, at YE02: English for young learners (EYL) (English learning program in early childhood: design and implementation, in e training guide (e-module), on bilingualism and multiculturalism as a method of instruction and second language learning. She participated as a teacher and a trainer in the Intergenerational lifelong learning program “Diadrasis”, Integration of Children (foreigners and repatriates) to School in Primary Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and also in the program ‘MATHEME, Lessons in Greek language, history and culture for immigrants who are unemployed, mothers, with disabilities and illiterate immigrants’, University of Thessaly, Greece, as a teacher. Since 2013 she is responsible for educational activities and events of the workgroup of the group for Bilingualism and Multiculturalism in Education and Society: “Polydromo”.

She has graduated from the Department of Primary School Education of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (2011), and has completed the Pre-master programme “Education and Child Studies” at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands (2014). In 2016 she graduated from the Research Master programme “Educational Sciences: Learning in Interaction” at University of Utrecht, the Netherlands. During her internship, she was student assistant within the CARE project. Moreover, her thesis was based on the same project with title ”Striking a balance between play and academics in early childhood education and care: A comparative study in nine European countries”. Currently, she is a PhD candidate and research assistant at Hellenic Open University within the ISOTIS project.

Country coordinator for the CARE project and currently for ISOTIS Project. His main areas of research interests concern effects of early child care and education experiences (parent-child relationships; attachment behaviour; working mothers role and relationship with young children) and impact upon children's development, children’s behaviour problems and children’s resilience, adolescent transition difficulties (family-school relationships, coping and resiliency), computer use and preschool children’s socio-emotional development, Roma parents' ethnotheories and their children's development and relations to school. He has participated in a number of international research projects. He has also been involved as an external evaluator in Comenius projects regarding a cross-cultural educational training program for primary school teachers. He was team leader in two large scale projects regarding Roma children schooling inclusion and learning. Petrogiannis collaborated extensively with Prof. E.C. Melhuish (University of London and Oxford) in review studies of ECEC.

Kostis Tsioumis holds a PhD in History from Aristotle University, Thessaloniki (1994), specialising in minorities and Educational Policy. He has taught History and Intercultural Education since 1996 in Aristotle University Thessaloniki. Since 1998 he has been teaching at the School of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where he is currently professor of intercultural education and educational policy. His publications and research interests lie mainly in the area of minority policy, intercultural education,educational policy, history of education and citizenship education.

Konstantinos Vasileiadis has 19 years teaching experience as a primary teacher. In September, 2017, he became Principal of 16th Primary School of Evosmos Thessaloniki. He has a Phd in Citizenship Education in the School of Early Childhood Education Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and a Med diploma in Multicultural Education in the School of Early Childhood Education Faculty of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. During the school year 2016-2017 he worked as Coordinator of Education for the Refugees in the Refugee Camp of Diavata Thessaloniki. He had a two year course of professional development in Didaskaleio of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He also taught in schools for five years (2002-2007) in South Australia.

Roula Tsokalidou holds a PhD in Linguistics from Monash University, Australia (1994), specialising in sociolinguistics and language contact. She has taught English at Khon Kaen University, Thailand, linguistics, sociolinguistics, bilingualism and language teaching at Deakin and Monash Universities (1993-1995) and has worked as a researcher at the Centre for the Greek Language (1996-2001). Since 2001 she has been teaching at the Department of Primary School Education of the University of Thessaly and at the School of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where she is currently associate professor of sociolinguistics and the teaching of language. Her publications and research interests lie mainly in the area of language contact, bilingualism, immigrant languages, translanguaging, language and gender and their educational dimensions. Since 2009 she is the editor and scientific head of the group for bilingualism and multiculturalism in education and society, ‘Polydromo’.