Conflicts are an inevitable phenomenon within organizations. The organization of interest in this study is the elementary school and the conflicts that may emerge into its context. There are many types of conflicts and their consequences vary; there are positive consequences, but also negatives ones. When teachers are to express their opinions on conflicts, they think that conflicts happen often enough, and they recognize both their negative and positive effects. The present study examined teachers' perceptions on the frequency of certain types of school conflicts and their consequences. The researchers asked teachers working in public elementary schools in Achaia Prefecture, Greece. Personal characteristics of the study's participants such as age, gender, years in service and teaching specialization were also taken into consideration. It was found that a small percentage of teachers believed that conflicts happen very often. In general, teachers thought that negative consequences are more frequent than positive ones, even though, they recognized the beneficial aspect of conflicts. Lastly, the teachers' groups that were formed based on participants' characteristics showed significant differences. Study's limitations along with suggestions for future research are also discussed.

In Greece, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the schools' closure during the 2019-2020 school year. The Ministry of Education tried to develop online platforms so that the students could have access to education. The use of distance learning came to the fore. The teachers used the online teaching tools available as a response to this challenging situation. Nevertheless, most of them had not received any relevant training and had at their disposal minimal resources, mainly of their own and not public ones. A nationwide survey was designed investigating teachers' views on distance learning benefits. 515 teachers working in Greek primary education sector - both at kindergartens and primary schools- participated in the research. Their answers show three main benefits from the distance learning implementation at school education: (a), it enabled some students to access school education. Those students could not otherwise attend school education (b) it contributed to the communication among students as well as between students and teachers, and (c) it increased the ICT use by teachers. Despite these benefits mentioned, teachers stated that distance learning is not a substitute for ordinary classes and face-to-face learning.

In Greece, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the schools' closure during the 2019-2020 school year. The Ministry of Education tried to develop online platforms so that the students could have access to education. The use of distance learning came to the fore. The teachers used the online teaching tools available as a response to this challenging situation. Nevertheless, most of them had not received any relevant training and had at their disposal minimal resources, mainly of their own and not public ones. A nationwide survey was designed investigating teachers' views on distance learning benefits. 515 teachers working in Greek primary education sector - both at kindergartens and primary schools- participated in the research. Their answers show three main benefits from the distance learning implementation at school education: (a), it enabled some students to access school education. Those students could not otherwise attend school education (b) it contributed to the communication among students as well as between students and teachers, and (c) it increased the ICT use by teachers. Despite these benefits mentioned, teachers stated that distance learning is not a substitute for ordinary classes and face-to-face learning.

No abstract

In Greece, as in several countries all over the world, schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the 2019-2020 school year. The Greek Ministry of Education tried to operate online platforms so that students could have access to education. The teachers managed to respond to this challenge using mainly their own resources while most of them had not received any relevant training. A nationwide survey was designed investigating teachers' views on distance learning disadvantages. 515 teachers working in Greek primary education sector - both at kindergartens and primary schools- participated in the research. Their answers show five main disadvantages from the distance learning implementation at school education: (a) deficit in the interaction and communication among students and among the teacher and his/her students, (b) the teaching methods used were mainly teacher-centered despite the prescripts of the National Curriculum, (c) inequalities that arose for specific social groups of students, (d) schools’ deficits in infrastructure and insubstantial teachers’ in-service training regarding I.C.T. use, and (e) teachers’ concern about the protection and the maintenance of students’ personal data. Despite these disadvantages mentioned, teachers do not overlook the fact that the distance education implementation during the Covid-19 pandemic was principally an attempt to psychologically empower students learning.