Contemporary educational systems in Western societies are being redefined within the context of technological and scientific evolution in relation to socio-economic globalisation. Therefore, it is important for educational authorities to design staff development programmes with a view to helping professionals adjust their ideology and practice effectively in order to contribute to the implementation of a learning culture and the formation of the “knowledge-based society”. The aim of the present paper is to review the field of teaching professionals’ professional growth, identifying weaknesses, highlighting trends and practices, and providing suggestions, most important for professionals and educational authorities in Greece where staff development programmes fail to reach standards met by other European countries. It focuses on staff development models that enable facilitation of teachers' efficacy, cognitive development, and career development, as well as teacher collegiality and the improvement of school culture, reconceptualising schools as “learning organisations”.

The present study examines the state of youth in contemporary Greece to better understand how Greek young people organize their lives in various important life domains, such as living conditions, education and career, employment, relationships and use of leisure time. It also examines their values, social priorities and worries, while assessing their participation in social life and the wider political scene. The empirical findings demonstrate that young people in Greece develop their social capital and their socialization process in the framework of the nuclear family. In contrast, outside the boundaries of the Greek family,young people demonstrate an alienation from community and public institutions.

The Information and Communication Technologies exercise a great impact on the ways people work, communicate and interact, and contribute considerably to the development of learners’ skills. However, the use of Information and Communication Technologies cannot lead to the development of high-order skills and of critical thinking, if not combined with the appropriate teaching methods.

In the light of the above, the aim of the present research is to identify and record Primary School teachers’ beliefs about the impact of Information and Communication Technologies on the enhancement of critical thinking. An analysis of the skills taught within the Greek educational context and considered to be necessary for the development of critical thinking, is also provided. The data elicitation tool is a questionnaire devised for the needs of the specific research and the sample is comprised by 118 Primary School teachers working on the Greek island of Lesvos.

Nowadays, the expansion of the Internet is, undoubtedly, widespread and has developed a new socio-economic environment, where information, innovation and knowledge play a primary role. Through its multiplicity the Internet constitutes probably the best way for accessing entertainment, learning and information, as well as for establishing socialization processes and communication among people. This paper examines issues related to the learning process, the learning environments developed by the new virtual reality and the relationship between learning and the Internet, with a particular focus on the impact of the Internet on informal learning processes. The survey mainly aims at investigating university students' beliefs about the impact of the Internet on the learning process. The sample is comprised by 390 students from various Greek university departments, 160 (41%) males and 230 (59%) females.The majority of the students believe that the Internet can significantly contribute into the learning process. More specifically, they state that the Internet use can improve learners' academic performance, promote research skills and critical thinking, encourage independent or collaborative learning, enhance motivation, strengthen self-confidence and improve the teaching methods. It facilitates the access to information that the educational system fails to provide, and offers knowledge, frequently more useful than that provided by the courses, complementing, thus, "formal" learning. The research findings also show a differentiation in Internet use, which is associated with the educational level of students' parents.

No abstract