Kostas Dimopoulos

Towards an Analysis of Visual Images in School Science Textbooks and Press Articles about Science and Technology

This paper aims at presenting the application of a grid for the analysis of the pedagogic functions of visual images included in school science textbooks and daily press articles about science and technology. The analysis is made using the dimensions of content specialisation (classification) and social-pedagogic relationships (framing) promoted by the images as well as the elaboration and abstraction of the corresponding visual code (formality), thus combining pedagogical and socio-semiotic perspectives. The grid is applied to the analysis of 2819 visual images collected from school science textbooks and another 1630 visual images additionally collected from the press. The results show that the science textbooks in comparison to the press material: a) use ten times more images, b) use more images so as to familiarise their readers with the specialised techno-scientific content and codes, and c) tend to create a sense of higher empowerment for their readers by using the visual mode. Furthermore, as the educational level of the school science textbooks (i.e., from primary to lower secondary level) rises, the content specialisation projected by the visual images and the elaboration and abstraction of the corresponding visual code also increases. The above results have implications for the terms and conditions for the effective exploitation of visual material as the educational level rises as well as for the effective incorporation of visual images from press material into science classes.

Constructing social representations of science and technology: the role of metaphors in the press and the popular scientific magazines

This paper aims to reveal the social representations about the nature and the evolution of Space-Science & Astronomy, Genetics & Biotechnology, Natural Sciences and Engineering & Informatics, through analyzing active (i.e., original and creative) metaphors found in 2303 technoscientific articles published in four Greek daily newspapers and two popular scientific magazines. The analysis showed that all metaphors concerning the nature of the four disciplinary fields can be clustered into four superordinate categories that juxtapose these fields to: (1) a construct; (2) a supernatural process; (3) an activity extending the frontiers of knowledge; (4) a dipole of promise and/or scare. The most frequently employed category is that representing technoscience as an activity extending the frontiers of knowledge. Furthermore, the evolution of the four disciplines is mainly represented as a violent process. Each discipline though, seems to be characterized by combinations of different categories of metaphors. Therefore each discipline evokes different social representations.

The socio-epistemic constitution of science and technology in the Greek press: an analysis of its presentation

This paper aims to analyze the way in which the Greek press treats the socio-epistemic constitution of science and technology. By “socio-epistemic constitution” we mean the following dimensions: (a) techno-scientific methodology, (b) the social organization of the techno-scientific endeavor, and (c) the interactions of science and technology with other public spheres. Our methodology is based on a content analysis of a sample consisting of 1,867 relevant articles from four national Greek newspapers. The analysis showed that although there is a constant flow of techno-scientific articles, the internal aspects (methodology and internal organization) of science and technology become apparent in only a small minority of these articles. By contrast, external relationships, mainly with politics and economics, are emphasized by focusing on the positive social impact of the techno-scientific endeavor. In general, the Greek press makes a positive contribution to the advancement of the public understanding of science and technology, as the prominent presentation of some of their socio-epistemological components forms a realistic “post-academic” image of these two areas.

Job realities of primary school principals in Greece: similarities and variations in a highly centralized system

This study aims at investigating primary school principals’ work on a daily basis in order to understand the ways in which the centralized educational system affects their practices. Four typical cases of principals were selected and asked to keep daily records for a period of four months. Data from logs were complemented with data collected through semi-structured interviews with the principals as well as through discussions with the teaching staff. Results show that the transactional-bureaucratic model in line with the current legislation and administration tradition shapes principals’ activities to a large extent. School administration, school organization and internal relationships are the most important areas of principals’ activities. Educational-pedagogic issues constitute only a marginal area of their activities. The homogenization of principals’ activities is so high that they do not seem to be affected either by school contextual factors or by the individual principals’ personal traits. However, features pointing towards a more transformative-instructional model of leadership were identified. These features are: (a) the democratic-participative nature of decision-making, (b) the intimate relationships existing in most schools and (c) the motivation that some principals have towards creating a unique identity of their school and communicate it to the hierarchy and the community.

PISA Test Items and School-Based Examinations in Greece: Exploring the relationship between global and local assessment discourses

The paper explores the relationship of the global and the local assessment discourses as expressed by Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test items and school-based examinations, respectively. To this end, the paper compares PISA test items related to living systems and the context of life, health, and environment, with Greek school–based biology examinations test items in terms of the nature of their textual construction. This nature is determined by the interplay of the notions of classification (content specialisation) and formality (code specialisation) modulated by both the linguistic and the visual expressive modes. The results of the analysis reveal disparities between assessment discourses promoted at the global and the local level. In particular, while PISA test items convey their scientific message (specialised content and code) principally through their visual mode, the specialised scientific meaning of school-based examinations test is mainly conveyed through their linguistic mode. On the other hand, the linguistic mode of PISA test items is mainly compatible with textual practices of the public domain (non-specialised content and code). Such a mismatch between assessment discourses at local and global level is expected to place Greek students at different discursive positions, promoting different types of knowledge. The expected shift from the epistemic positioning promoted in Greece to the one promoted by PISA could significantly restrict Greek students ability to infer the PISA discursive context and produce appropriate responses. This factor could provide a meaningful contribution in the discussion of the relatively low achievement of Greek students in PISA scientific literacy assessment.

Young people's relationship to education: the case of Greek youth

The aim of this study is to explore how Greek youth understands their relationship to education, and how this understanding might change as a result of the interplay between participation in different educational/social arrangements and structural factors such as gender, socio‐economic background and area of residence. In total, 800 young people (i.e. four groups—students in upper‐secondary school, tertiary education, vocational education and training and working young people) were surveyed. The results yield an impressive homogeneity of the young people’s views corresponding to a ‘pragmatic’ image of schooling, though they are partially differentiated with respect to attitudes and practices. Moreover, boundaries are discerned between the young people following academic and non‐academic educational trajectories, and between the learning opportunities provided within and outside the formal educational system. Finally, females appear to be more mobilized, but less satisfied by educational services. These findings are contextualized and discussed against a background of relevant trends in other European countries, as well as of wider social, historical and political forces affecting Greek society.

Greek health professionals’ perceptions of the HPV vaccine, state policy recommendations and their own role with regards to communication of relevant health information

BackgroundEvery year in Europe 60,000 women develop cervical cancer and 30,000 die from the disease. HPV vaccines are currently believed to constitute an important element of cervical cancer control strategy. Currently in Greece, the HPV vaccine is given on demand after prescription by a healthcare professional. Health care professionals’ role is key as they are in a position to discuss HPV vaccination with parents, adolescents and young women. This study is aiming to explore health care professionals’ perceptions of the HPV vaccine, state policy recommendations and their own role with regards to communication of relevant health information.MethodsThis was an in-depth, qualitative study, employing a stratified, purposeful sampling. Fifteen face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with health care professionals from a variety of disciplines: pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, infectious diseases, pharmacy, dermatology, general practice. Thematic qualitative analysis was used to analyze participants’ accounts.ResultsFive major themes were identified: health care professionals’ perceptions towards the HPV vaccine (recognition of importance, concerns about safety, effectiveness and impact of long-term use), animosity between medical specialties (territorial disputes among professional bodies, role advocacy, role limitations), health care professionals’ perceptions of the public’s attitudes (effects of cultural beliefs, health professionals’ attitudes, media and family), the role of the state (health policy issues, lack of guidance, unmet expectations) and their own role (provision of health information, sex education).ConclusionsHealth professionals’ concerns, lack of role definition and uniform information provision have led to territorial disputes among professional bodies and distrust among different medical specialties. Positive and negative judgements deriving from a multitude of sources have resulted in the confusion of the general public, as manifested by low vaccination rates. Due to the lack of clear regulation of vaccination prescription, administration and mode of delivery, factors such as lack of knowledge, cultural beliefs and personal attitudes have shaped the vaccination landscape. These factors have neither been explored nor addressed prior to the initiation of this public health effort and as such there is an evident less than efficient use of resources.

Exploring a Black Box: Cross-National Study of Visit Effects on Visitors to Large Physics Research Centers in Europe

Results from a cross-national quantitative study of 3,301 visitors to four large physics research centers in Europe focus on short-term learning and motivational effects. The authors collected data from these visitors before and after visiting the centers as part of a research project funded by the European Union. Overall, visitors knowledge of the research centers increased. However, effects on learning of scientific concepts are not so clear. The visits mostly seem to reaffirm visitors prior attitudes and images related to the centers. The findings imply that these visits offer some learning potential and, for school students, increased motivation to enter a scientific profession, but in terms of altering visitors images they seem rather ineffective. Nevertheless, because of their uniqueness in allowing different publics an authentic glimpse of the production of scientific knowledge, visits to research centers remain an important public communication activity.

Greek Primary School Websites: The Construction of Institutional Identities in a Highly Centralized System

ABSTRACT This study aims at revealing the institutional identities of Greek primary schools through analysis of their websites. The sample consisted of 150 randomly selected websites. The grid of content analysis used focused on (a) information about school life, (b) links with society and (c) presentation style. Results show that schools tend to present a celebratory image of themselves, focusing more on special moments of school life while downplaying their everyday work. This is a clear strategy of schools to buffer their technical core from public control. A second strategy identified is the schools’ effort to present themselves as “ordinary.”

A socio-semiotic framework for the analysis of exhibits in a science museum

Abstract A methodological framework is presented for the analysis of the discursive function of the science exhibit, which is treated as a multimodal “text” with conceptual, structural, and operational features encoding science knowledge. This analytical model is founded on Bernsteins theory of cultural codes (classification and framing) and socio-linguistics (formality). By using this framework, it is hoped that the museum researcher, the science museum practitioner, and the science communicator are empowered to retrieve the science exhibit “message,” to reconstruct the image of the represented science, and the socio-cultural positioning of the model visitor in the communicative context of the science museum.