The MSc program “Research and Practice in Changing Learning Environments” of the Department of Early Childhood Education and Care (SECEd, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) continues to produce high-level research, with its students playing a leading role on the international scientific stage.

At the core of the Program is the systematic encouragement of students to publish the results of their Master’s Theses. Our goal is not limited to conducting research; we aim to equip young researchers with the essential skills for writing and publishing high-quality scientific articles that meet the strictest international criteria. This strategy is inextricably linked to our ambition to shape the next generation of educational researchers, and it is already yielding significant results.

Despite the Program’s recent launch (established in 2023), the quality of its research activity is already impressive. This is reflected in numerous presentations at both Greek and international conferences, as well as two recent publications in top-tier international journals by renowned publishers Routledge, Springer and Wiley.

Orfanidou, M., Theodosiadou, S., & Koliouli, F. (2025). Screens and Preschool Children: A Qualitative Exploration of Parental Experiences. Children and Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12994

The first relates to the master’s thesis of postgraduate student Martha Orfanidou, which was published in the international peer-reviewed journal Children & Society (Wiley), with the academic support of faculty members of the department, Assistant Professors Flora Kolouli and Sofia Theodosiadou.

This qualitative study, entitled “Screens in Early Childhood: A Qualitative Study of Parental Experiences”, examines parents’ experiences of screen use among preschool-aged children. Thirteen Greek parents participated in narrative interviews, and thematic analysis identified two overarching themes: perceived benefits and challenges associated with screen use. The findings indicate that parents recognize the potential of screens to support children’s emotional development, provide access to educational content, and assist in managing everyday routines. At the same time, the study underscores the complexity of screen use in early childhood, as parents express concerns regarding behavioral difficulties linked to excessive exposure, including challenges in setting and regulating boundaries around device use and possible implications for children’s socialization.

Christidou, V., Birbili, M., Fragkiadaki, G., & Spyridonos, G. (2025). Back to basics: Pre-service early childhood teachers’ challenges in questioning to elicit children’s ideas in science. Education Inquiry, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2025.2518777 

The second paper resulted from the research conducted in the context of the thesis of Georgia Spyridonos, a graduate of the Postgraduate Program supervised by the SECEd faculty members Vasilia Christidou, Maria Birbili and Glykeria Fragkiadaki, and was published in the international journal Education Inquiry (Routledge).

The study focuses on the challenges pre-service early childhood teachers face when formulating questions to elicit children’s ideas in science, thus going “back to basics” of science education, namely using children’s pre-existing ideas to enhance the construction of new knowledge. However, formulating questions that encourage children to express the meanings they attribute to concepts and phenomena in the natural world, compare their ideas with those of other children, and develop higher order thinking, seems to be a challenge for both pre- and in-service teachers. The study analyzed 2,000 questions developed by 277 future early childhood teachers and showed that there is a need for more systematic training, focused on asking questions that give children a more active role in their own learning, and that are open-ended and productive. The study thus sheds new light on a much-discussed topic in science education, indicating that formulating ‘good’ questions requires teachers to understand the mental operations that each of their questions stimulates and the relevant learning outcomes that could be expected.

Koliouli, F., & Papachristou, A. (2025). Seeing gender, feeling gender: preschool children’s constructions of masculinity, femininity, and emotion through Photovoice. Early Childhood Education Journal   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-025-02078-4 

The third Publication concerns the thesis of the postgraduate student Papachristou Katerina, which was published in the international scientific journal Early Childhood Education Journal (Springer Publications) with the support of the faculty member of the department, Assιstant Professor, Flora Koliouli.

This study explores the ways in which preschool children perceive, reproduce, and emotionally experience gender, using the method of photovoice and semi-structured interviews. Adopting a phenomenological framework, enriched by postmodern feminist theory, the research focuses on children’s voices and meaning-making processes as they negotiate social codes of masculinity and femininity. Eleven children, aged 4 to 6 years, participated by recording and discussing photographs that captured their understanding of gender in everyday life. According to the findings, children internalize dominant gender norms, such as color coding, toy preferences, and emotional expression, while simultaneously exhibiting moments of questioning and resistance. Gender meanings emerged as deeply embedded and emotionally charged: boys showed more restrictions in expressing emotions, while girls negotiated space within normative boundaries. The findings highlight the interplay of cultural symbols, emotional investments, and social relationships in shaping young children’s gender identity. The research highlights the need for preschool environments to support more fluid and inclusive understandings of gender, while enhancing children’s agency and practice in expressing their identities.