Lifelong Learning is a key concept in modern ‘knowledge-based’ society and it is viewed as a commodity, a personal drive or a social necessity. This thesis aims to unravel its many dimensions and the values that are ascribed to it by the teachers of Greek Model Experimental High Schools. A Model Experimental High School is a relatively new type of state school in Greece, which is highly differentiated from other schools in terms of curriculum, inter-school activities, staff and students and emerged in the Greek education system in 2011. For this reason, research on the effects of this differentiation in the aspects of Lifelong Learning is scarce. The mixed methods strategy was used in order to form a complete picture of the Lifelong Learning dimensions and the research was conducted in two parts. The first part was quantitative and aimed to categorize the elements that constitute Lifelong Learning for the teachers, the factors that encourage or discourage it and its positive and negative dimensions on a macro level as, through a questionnaire, and as a result responses were collected from the thirty-six Model Experimental High Schools in urban and semi-urban areas of Greece. The second part was qualitative and through semi-structured interviews, it explored more in-depth the issue of Lifelong Learning and the concept of vocational vitality which is related both to Lifelong Learning and a teacher’s professional life. Following the propositions of the Theory of Work Adjustment, the research revealed that through the various non-formal and informal activities that the demanding context of Model Experimental High Schools promotes, Lifelong Learning acts as a reinforcer and a means of sustaining the balance between the school and the teachers by increasing their satisfaction. Moreover, both the quantitative and the qualitative methods revealed that teachers consider Lifelong Learning firstly as a means of personal development and secondly as continuous professional development. Lifelong Learning as investment in the human capital was not found as important as the previous two. Furthermore, the vocational vitality of teachers was found to be thriving due to the importance that Lifelong Learning plays in their life a and despite the difficulties which arise from the work demands or the difficult socioeconomic context in Greece due to the economic crisis of the recent years.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:liu-113294 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Rigaki, Anastasia |
| Publisher | Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för beteendevetenskap och lärande, Linköpings universitet, Filosofiska fakulteten |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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