Abstract:

Teacher education is considered to be one of the key parameters that contributes to the upgrading of the quality and effectiveness of educational systems. Since the formulation of a specific educational policy emerges as a necessity, it seems that a further exploration and investigation of the ways, forms and methods that can be employed to effectively organize teacher education is of utmost importance. Towards this end, we focus on the application of online distance education as a form of open and flexible learning that can adequately address the needs of massive teacher education through the recent developments in the area of information and communications technology (ICT). Given that the rapid development in the field of e-learning distance education can usefully implemented as a method to meet the educational and professional needs of adult employees, there is clearly a need to further investigate the potential of such efforts in the context of Greek educational system through an examination of the views and attitudes of teachers working in secondary education in one of the most remote geographically parts of the country.

In this sense, the empirical study that follows seeks to identify teachers’ views and attitudes with respect to the contribution of distance learning in-service teacher training programs to quality enhancement of the provided educational product and, more generally, to their further professional development. It also aims at pinpointing the characteristics that, according to teachers’ views, would facilitate the effective organization and implementation of distance learning in-service teacher training programs in Evros. Overall, 101 secondary teachers participated in the study who served in 8 junior high schools and 2 senior high schools in both rural and urban areas in the prefecture.

According to the results, while secondary teachers who work in the prefecture of Evros generally express a positive attitude towards the incorporation of New Technologies into in-service training programs, they nevertheless prefer a blended form of instruction that combines both course attendance by physical presence in a pre-determined place and use of distance learning method with the aid of new technologies of communication. They consider the implementation of distance learning teacher training programs to be useful when it primarily aims at educating them in issues related to teaching methodology, class management, educational novelties and new educational programs, students’ motivation to learning and school failure as well as to the use of educational technology as part of their teaching practice. With respect to the parameters that ensure the effective implementation of distance learning in-service training programs, secondary teachers believe that is should be primarily based on frequent communication between trainees-trainer on issues concerning the flow of the course as well as on the use of appropriate methodology that are compatible with the principles of adult education. Finally, secondary teachers also state that they wish to be involved in lifelong learning activities that promote their continuous professional development advocating that employing a set of motivational strategies to induce teaching staff to participate in in-service training programs should be one of the first priorities for principals in secondary education.

Keywords:

Teacher education, e-learning, distance education, ICT technology.