CONSTRUCTIVE THINKING AND TEACHING SELF-EFFICACY OF GREEK SPECIAL EDUCATORS: PARALLEL OR CROSSOVER TOPICS?

Authors

  • Pinelopi Chousou Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, Greece
  • Thomas Simos Department of Biological Applications and Technologies, University of Ioannina, Greece
  • Evdoxia Sakellaropoulou Epirus Regional Educational Planning Center, Ministry of Education, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejse.v7i3.3870

Keywords:

constructive thinking, special educator’s self-efficacy, teachers’ sense of efficacy

Abstract

In the present study we investigated the relationship between Epstein’s components of constructive thinking and Teaching Self-Efficacy of Greek special educators. For that purpose, a web questionnaire was sent to special and general education teachers and a research causal model was designed to define relations between variables. The research sample consisted of 214 special educators and general education teachers from the public education system in Greece. Data gathered by utilizing Constructive Thinking Inventory [CTI] and The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale [TSES] research tools. Data analysis revealed a statistically significant correlation of various components of constructive thinking with Teaching Self-Efficacy. In addition, it has been found that a high degree of constructive thinking increases the Teaching Self-Efficacy of special educators. Finally, we compared the teaching self-efficacy between special and general educators.

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Author Biographies

  • Pinelopi Chousou, Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, Greece
    Pinelopi Chousou was born in Arta, Greece, in 1980. She received the B.E. degree in Physics and the M.Tech. degree in New Technologies and the Research in Physics Education from the Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, Greece, in 2009 and 2011, respectively. In 2019, she received her second M.Tech. degree in Special Education from the Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, Greece. Since 2019 she is studying at the Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, Greece for her second B.E. degree. At the school year 2020-2021 worked as special educator on a program of students’ parallel support in public high schools.
  • Thomas Simos, Department of Biological Applications and Technologies, University of Ioannina, Greece
    Thomas Simos was born in Arta, Greece, in 1982. He received the B.E. degree in floriculture and landscape designing from the Technological Educational Institute of Epirus, Arta, Greece, in 2005, and the M.Tech. degree in biological cultivation from the Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, Greece, in 2009. In 2009, he joined the Department of Biological Applications and Technology, University of Ioannina, as a Ph.D. candidate in Bioinformatics. He has participated in research programs of the University of Ioannina and has publications in foreign scientific journals and conferences.
  • Evdoxia Sakellaropoulou, Epirus Regional Educational Planning Center, Ministry of Education, Greece
    Dr. Evdoxia Sakellaropoulou is Coordinator of Education at the Epirus Regional Educational Planning Center of the Ministry of Education and a member of the Upper Regional Education Council of Epirus, as well as Regional Council of Choosing School Managers. She has obtained her Β.Α. in Pedagogy and Theology at the University of Athens. After that she obtained her Doctorate in Education at the University of Ioannina. She has participated in the Ministry of Education research programs and other educational training programs and conferences as a trained, rapporteur or member of the Organizational and Scientific Committee. She participated as a workshop coordinator of the Institute of Educational Policy in relation to the creation of educational material for refugee pupils. She has publications in Greek and foreign scientific journals and has written out scientific textbooks. Her research interests include the following fields: Intercultural Education Pedagogy and Didactic as well as Special Education Pedagogy and Didactic, inclusion of people with cultural and linguistic diversity and people with disabilities, training of education teachers and parents.

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Published

2021-07-30

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 3 (2021)

Section

Articles

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