The Intercultural Aspect of Distance Education in Greece: A Case Study of Exploring Educational Leadership’s Representations During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Intercultural education in Greece has recently been brought to the foreground, due to the worldwide migrant/refugee crisis. However, the COVID-19 pandemic outburst in 2020 forced distance education and, hence, technology utilization upon all stakeholders. In this regard, by adopting a qualitative approach and by exploring educational leaders’ representations, this paper aims to investigate whether intercultural and distance education principles can be combined in order for students with a different cultural background to continue attending their lessons, as most native students do. The findings of this study demonstrate that intercultural principles are hard or in some cases impossible to be applied in distance learning and consequently, refugee/migrant students end up falling behind or being entirely excluded from the educational process.

Reflecting Upon Openness Within Greek School Educational Settings in the (Post) Pandemic Era

“…Thus, these students experienced an ongoing exclusion, deriving from the educational leadership. These findings are in line with the conclusions of Sakkoula (2021), who highlights the importance of the school principal in shaping the school culture, particularly about the successful (or not) implementation of distance education.…”

“…However, as already mentioned, openness is difficult to define and, of course, to achieve, as the factors that influence/shape it are constantly changing, depending on the social, political and economic context (Knox, 2013;Peter & Deimann, 2013;Bayne et al, 2015). At the same time, the unprecedented conditions of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic changed the already existing conditions in both education and the aforementioned fields (Sakkoula, 2021).…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Inclusion of Refugee Students in Greek Schools: Pre-Service Teachers’ Views about Distance Learning

“…During this crucial period, the learning outcomes of both native and refugee students depended on technical factors such as access to distance learning and the quality of remote instruction as well as on the degree of engagement, motivation, home support as well as the place of residence [18,19]. The Greek education system was not built to deal with extended shutdowns like those imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the last few years, and as a result, failed to effectively support refugee children and adolescents by applying intercultural principles in distance education [20].…”

Open Assessment for Open Schooling in the (Post) Pandemic World. A Theoretical Approach

“…In a broader perspective, it could be said that open schooling is an educational model that aims to provide quality education to all children, recognizing their fundamental right to this good (United Nations, 1948;Sakkoula, 2021Sakkoula, , 2022. Thus, while openness is modified and influenced by the aforementioned conditions, open schooling makes sure to respond to the needs of all students, without making discriminations in terms of their economic, cultural and social background (Morais, 2002; Abrioux & Fereira as cited in Torres, 2013).…”

“…As already mentioned, openness is influenced and shaped by many factors (Peter & Deimann, 2013). One of these factors was the pandemic, which affected all areas of life and played a key role in the shift of schools towards openness due to the specific circumstances and the mandatory use of technology for the implementation of distance education (Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021;Sakkoula, 2021). Schools, despite their inadequate resources and limitations, turned overnight to distance education (Kounatidou, Mavroeidis, & Marouki, 2022) and adopted open practices, which continue to positively influence face-to-face education in the post-pandemic world (Pokhrel & Chhetri, 2021;Sakkoula, 2021).…”