THE IMPACT OF NEIGHBORHOOD ON CHILDREN’S SCHOOL READINESS IN GREECE – THE CASE OF AGIOI ANARGIROI, GREECE

Authors

  • Katerina Koti PhD Candidate, University of Crete, Greece
  • Εfthymia Gourgiotou BA, MA, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Nicosia, Department of Education School of Education, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v9i1.4101

Keywords:

school readiness, preschool education, family – neighborhood characteristics

Abstract

The factors that influence young children’s school readiness, their cognitive skills and socio-emotional development relate to the social context shaped collectively by the individuals and families that live in a specific part of a district, the neighborhood. This study explores, through parents’ views, the direct and indirect roles of the neighborhood environment in the development of preschool age children and examines whether there is a direct impact of the neighborhood’s role on children’s school readiness. More specifically, this paper studies the impact of the neighborhood context of Agioi Anargiroi, and the characteristics – both individual and socioeconomic – of the people of this population, on the school readiness of preschool age children. The data were collected by means of an anonymous written questionnaire, which was distributed to and filled in by the parents of preschool age students attending co-located public kindergartens of the Municipality of Agioi Anargiroi of the prefecture of Attiki.

 

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Author Biographies

  • Katerina Koti, PhD Candidate, University of Crete, Greece
    Koti Katerina has been appointed as a preschool educator since 1996 and has worked as head and supervisor in several childcare centers, as well in the management – leadership of childcare centers of the municipality of Kifissia (Athens). In parallel with her basic job, she is employed, on a regular basis, as an external collaborator and academic fellow of University of West Attika since 2014 until today, but also on academic year 2007-2008. She is also steadily employed, as a certified adult educator in vocational training institutes (I.E.K.: in Greek), concerning the scientist field of preschool education, since 2015 until today and for the academic year 1998-1999. She holds one more undergraduate degree from the Open University of Cyprus (2014). She has two master degrees in Educational Studies (University of Aegean: 2006 / National & Kapodistrian University if Athens – EKPA: 2011). She is about to complete her PhD in Educational Studies (Early Childhood Education Department, University of Crete, Greece). Her research interests focus on Early Childhood Pedagogy and Continuity in Education and has started to publish in refereed Greek and International Journals and Conferences.
  • Εfthymia Gourgiotou, BA, MA, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Nicosia, Department of Education School of Education, Greece
    Efthymia Gourgiotou, Early Childhood Education Department, University of Crete, Greece; Education Department, University of Nicosia, Cyprus, and Educational Management and Leadership Department, European University of Cyprus, Cyprus Efthymia Gourgiotou is holding a BA in Educational Studies (Department of Early Childhood Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR,1982), a DU, in Educational Studies (Diplôme de Psychopédagogie Scolaire, Université de Caen, FR,1992), a LS,  in Educational Studies (Licence de Sciences de l’ Education, Université de Paris VIII, FR, 1993), a MA in Educational Studies, Department of Early Childhood Education, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR, 1996), a MSc in Statistics, Department of Statistics, Athens University of Economics, 2005, GR and a PhD in Educational Studies, Department of Early Childhood Education and Educational Design, School of Humanities, University of the Aegean, GR, 2004). She has served as Lecturer, Assistant and Associate Professor of the University of Crete, Greece and now she works as Adjunct Lecturer in the Education Department of the University of Nicosia, and Educational Management and Leadership Department of European University of Cyprus, Cyprus. She has served, also, as Educational Consultant to the Department of Primary Education at the Pedagogical Institute of Athens and Kindergarten teacher. She is the author of seven books and twenty chapters in books. She has published more than 35 articles in refereed Greek and International Journals and Conferences. Her research interests focus on Early Childhood Pedagogy, Teaching Methodology and Evaluation and Transition and Continuity in Education, as well as on Teacher’s Training and Professional Development.

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Published

2022-01-04

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2022)

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