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- Ελληνικά
Towards a modern education system
I envision a modern school, inclusive and democratic, in which our students can acquire the necessary knowledge, but also cultivate necessary abilities and skills, such as critical thinking, evaluation, creativity, innovation, etc. My vision for education in our country, which stems from my professional career and my academic knowledge, but above all from constant communication with all those involved, is not very different from the vision of every citizen, every parent, student and teacher: I envision a school in which students and teachers are satisfied, act with dignity and equality, with the aim of achieving the best learning outcomes for children.
To make this possible, it is generally acknowledged that chronic distortions and pathologies that have become entrenched in our system over the years must be addressed, such as the issue of excessive syllabus content, curriculum content, and student and teacher evaluation, the issue of modern pedagogical teaching approaches, the unified and continuous nature of education rather than a piecemeal approach to issues by grade level, various other administrative rigidities and many other issues which have locked the system into anachronistic situations.
For this very reason, for about six months now, we have been attempting to change, to modernise the education system to what our children really deserve, so that their education makes them capable and active citizens in a modern society. Fully aware that the field of education is conservative and needs patience and perseverance, but also time to see real results, we have already started with planning and concrete action plans to achieve the desired result. The programming and actions we are promoting are not moving in a vacuum, but on the contrary, they are based on research data, the theoretical basis of pedagogical science and, above all, the President's Governance Programme. In addition, they stem from and are guided by the occasional evaluations of the educational system by external and internal bodies, as well as the findings of the stakeholders.
We are working simultaneously at several levels, on the basis of specific priorities, some of which are as follows. [*]We are working on changes to student assessment from pre-school to be consistent with the system recently introduced in secondary education. Student assessment, curricula, curriculum reduction must be adopted in a meaningful and scientific way. [*] Introduce new technologies dynamically into the system from a very early age. Artificial intelligence, robotics and new technologies in general are our priority in order to achieve the technological transformation of education at the same time. Technology, as a key pedagogical and administrative tool, is our main concern in order to equip children with the necessary skills and, more generally, to introduce changes in the education system to make it more effective and efficient. [*]We implement prevention and early diagnosis programmes from pre-school age, the basis of the education system, shifting the "weight" of effort to where it really should be: in pre-school education and even earlier, in order to prevent situations of illiteracy, language deficiency, violence and delinquency and generally to empower children early on, so that they acquire the competences and skills that will help them later on to focus more on their learning outcomes. [*]We recognise and reinforce the need to involve children in programmes and activities that offer them life skills and competences, such as European programmes, research projects, programmes that bring them closer to the environment and nature, closer to the labour market, but also closer to human suffering and real life situations. In this way, we help children from an early age to cultivate those skills that will make them well-rounded individuals and active, democratic citizens in society. [*]We recognise and empower in practice the programmes that help students and teachers in their "well-being". The need for healthy children, and especially for mental balance and resilience in a healthy school environment, is now urgent and is being promoted across Europe as a key priority in education systems. [*]We are upgrading and modernising support services and structures that are necessary in today's schools, based on the specificities faced by our teachers and the complexity of the classroom situation: the Educational Psychology Service, special education, all-day and summer school. It is our key priority to empower students and teachers in the psychosocial area as well. [*]We cultivate those skills/abilities of empathy and mutual respect, so that the particularities of each student are accepted. [*]We empower our teachers of all positions and levels, through modern training programmes, making use of new technologies and especially on the basis of their own needs, investing substantially in their continuous professional development. An informed teacher is at the heart of any change. [*] We highlight and make pedagogical use of the good examples of our education system. There are many of these, which are lost in the daily life of the school, but also in highlighting only and especially bad practices. I know first-hand teachers, principals and schools that achieve small miracles in their daily lives, worthy of promotion beyond the context of just our own education system. These examples are valuable for us to take from individual and group initiatives and turn them into central policies. [*]We use as key tools for self-evaluation of the system our participation in international and local surveys, which help us to focus on our weaknesses and improve them, but also on our strengths, in order to support and further promote them. In general, through research data we make a systematic effort to inform policy decisions. [*]We promote, through targeted measures, stronger and more efficient administration within the Ministry, through staff training and full use of technology. [*]We promote and seek synergies and collaborations with other Ministries/ Deputy Ministries, universities, private organisations and other NGOs, provided that these make our work more effective. [/LIST]
The way we work has already been evident from these first months of work: collectively, methodically and above all on the basis of pedagogical criteria. The cooperation and exchange of views with students, parents, educational organisations, academics, as well as individuals and bodies interested in education is necessary and will continue, because I believe that it is on the basis of objective information that the fruitful dialogue we seek can be achieved. We must win and gain the trust of those involved in education, to trust the Ministry, which has proven that it has both the will and the ability to make changes to improve the quality of our education system. We are long overdue and any further delay is unfair to our children. In this direction, therefore, I invite everyone to work together to achieve what our children really deserve: a promising perspective for a better tomorrow.
(AF)
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