The aim of this research was to investigate and analyse the policies of the Greek Ministry of Education, Life-long Learning and Religious Affairs (MoE) regarding Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration in Secondary Education, and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' cognitions and practices about the implementation of these policies, CALL and learner autonomy in Greek Secondary Schools. Sociocultural Theory (SCT) was the conceptual framework in the present study and a mixed-method research approach was employed. For the first part which focused on the ICT policies, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used to analyse the major ICT policy documents, starting from the setting up of infrastructure at the beginning of the 1990s until the present. The major ICT policies of the European Union (EU) were also discussed as they directly affected the ICT policies in Greece. Overall, it was found that the nodal discourse in these policies is 'the knowledge-based economy' and that ICTs are embedded in education to gradually transform it in order to answer the new needs and challenges of the information society. For the second part which investigated EFL teachers' cognitions and practices, a survey was conducted through questionnaires sent to Secondary Schools throughout Greece. The quantitative data of the questionnaires were analysed with descriptive statistics and the qualitative data were analysed with thematic analysis. The findings show that EFL teachers have positive cognitions about CALL and learner autonomy, however these cognitions are not realized on a regular basis due to mainly the unavailability or inaccessibility of computer facilities and the lack of sufficient teacher training. This study suggests that one way the MoE can further support ICT integration in education so that its investments in ICT have a substantial impact is by developing ICT facilities further, making changes in the curriculum, training all teachers in ICT integration, and also by enabling both teacher and learner autonomy in order to promote more ICT-enhanced, student-centred learning environments.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:559273 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Antonakoudi, Susana |
| Publisher | University of Bristol |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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