This study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 disruption on university students, namely pre-service teachers from an Early Years Learning and Care Department in Greece. The study was conducted by the end of the third month of higher education lockdown and online shift, a period which coincides with the completion of the online courses for the spring semester and students’ preparation for the long-distance exams. It was based on probing students’ reflections on the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on their perceptions and behavior. Α questionnaire with open-ended and closed-ended questions was designed and was filled in by 127 students of the specific Department online. The questions explored: (a) the degree to which the pandemic disruption experience affected students’ perceptions and actions regarding their social roles, the organization of social life, and the management of personal time; (b) the skills they consider as most important in order for someone to respond more effectively to the new reality, including their learning practice and expertise; (c) the benefits and concerns they attached to the new learning and teaching conditions. The results show that the students were urged to have an immediate and quick response to the implications of the current situation due to its novel and intense character. There had been some shifts concerning students’ way of thinking and acting but none of the students who participated in the study was led to perspective transformation. Findings imply the need for cultivating a learning environment that supports the practicing of strategies and the development of skills that can help learner’s transformation when necessary and reinforce resilience. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0629/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Emergencies like Covid-19 brought distance education to the fore, as countries were forced to close the campuses and initiate online teaching. Many universities in the country supported a distance education program aimed at students who had experienced an unprecedented experience. Thus, 155 students from the Greek department of Early Years Learning & Care participated in the present study, which aimed to investigate the factors that influence learners’ perceptions and attitudes during distance learning. The survey was conducted through online distribution of questionnaires and investigated hypotheses about obstacles and changes in students’ perceptions of distance learning. The results of the descriptive statistical analysis showed that the role of the educator in this process, combined with the technical support of the courses, is extremely important. Also, educators’ presence is related to students’ anxiety. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0770/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

This paper presents a study aimed at investigating 3- to 4-year old children’s perceptions of friendship and difference and the effects of the systematic use of art on these issues. There is a considerable number of scholars suggesting that art-based experience, as a form of expressive way of knowing, can contribute to the development of creative and critical thinking. The Project Zero research program from Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Philosophy for Children (P4C) pedagogical movement highlight the importance of promoting from the preschool age a critical way of thinking which exceeds mere argumentation and identifies with critical re-evaluation of the way we conceive reality and act. Our intervention was applied to 83 children from five preschool settings. Children were supported to systematically explore artworks of aesthetic value according to Τransformative Learning Through Aesthetic Experience (TLTAE) method aiming to raise participants’ creativity and critical reflection upon stereotypical assumptions. The principles of Philosophy for Children (P4C) movement were further exploited in order to enhance reflective dialogue based on emerging meanings from narrative artworks and creative activities. A questionnaire with images was applied to all children before and after the intervention. The findings suggest that post-intervention children had a more enhanced understanding of friendship and difference, an increased level of mutual acceptance, a better appreciation of socializing positively with peers. Further integration of art and art-related methods in the learning process is needed in order to examine long term results.

Early childhood is a basic stage for the child's later life. During this period the brain development and the foundations for cognitive development and social-emotional skills, is laid. Nutrition plays a key role in optimal brain function. When a child is adequately fed, the basis for smooth brain function is created. Nutritional deficiencies may affect the child's cognitive skills and behavior. Since rapid brain development occurs during the early years, this period may be particularly sensitive to deficiencies in the diet. Modern data shows that diet seems to be one of the most important growth and maturation factors in the brain both in infancy and childhood. In particular, fatty acids play a central role in brain tissue, iron deficiency causes disturbances in attention, memory and behavior, and is closely linked to lower cognitive indices. Long-term studies have shown that children with iron deficiency have lower school performance. In addition, zinc, as well as iodine and vitamins D and B12 deficiencies are likely to adversely affect brain function and memory. An inadequate diet usually causes multiple deficiencies of micronutrients with short-term and long-term effects on the functioning of the child's brain.