Training of Secondary Education Teachers

School Years 2011-12 and 2012-13

In the school years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 the training actions for secondary education teachers have concentrated on the ones who teach the classes of the Project’s Compensatory Teaching (CT) program. In addition, but to a lesser degree, some training has also been offered to secondary education teachers of the morning program of those schools where Compensatory Teaching is conducted. The intention of these parallel training programs has been to establish consistency and cooperation in the teaching of Muslim pupils, between the morning program and the afternoon program of CT, and thus to produce better results with respect to these pupils’ progress in their competence of the Greek language. The training for all courses, or subjects, has been organized in the following format: Two general training seminars on topics pertaining to the teaching of each subject and, moreover, intraschool training through visits to schools or – on some occasions – meetings of small groups of teachers at the KESPEMs.

2010-11 School Year

Teacher Population to which the Training was Offered

The training organized by the Project during the 2010-11 school year was for all secondary education teachers of Thrace, and especially for all who taught at schools with Muslim pupils. Participation in the training was optional for the teachers of the regular program, while it was a necessary prerequisite for those teachers who worked in the Project’s Compensatory Teaching program at secondary or high schools – in other words, they had to undergo this training before being accepted as teachers for this program.

Content and Goals

• Imparting knowledge on bilingualism, on the methods of teaching Greek as a foreign/second language and on teaching techniques appropriate for a bilingual pupil population.
• Familiarizing the teachers with the use of the new, innovative educational materials for the subjects of Greek Language, Literature, History, Mathematics, and Natural Sciences.
• Familiarizing the teachers with the special logic of each material for each course.
• Observing the use of these materials by the teachers and receiving feedback from them.
• Successfully tackling the difficulties that teachers face when teaching in a mixed classroom, composed of pupils with different mother tongues and identities.

The initial general training was followed by specialized per subject training, with a focus on the educational materials produced by the Project for each of these subjects/courses. The new materials are based both on the method of teaching Greek as a second language and on innovative educational methods that are not congruent with the traditional teaching logic, which teachers know all too well. The training promotes an intercultural approach that relies on the principle that minority pupils can integrate into the educational system and perform well, only if – as a basic precondition -- their own distinct cultural identity and their language is respected and accepted.
(See the detailed 2010-11 TRAINING PROGRAM)

General Training of Secondary Education Teachers
A two-day training meeting with secondary education teachers of the Xanthi, Rhodope, and Evros prefectures took place on January 13, 2011 (in Xanthi) and on January 14, 2011 (in Komotini) (Detailed info).