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Perceptions of teachers working in formal and non-formal educational environments about cooperative education and learning (Master thesis)

Βρίζα, Χρύσα/ Vriza, Chrysa

Students devote several hours of their time besides school to non-formal learning activities in order to enhance their education concerning school lessons, foreign languages computer use, etc. The subject of the present study is the way that teachers, working in formal and non-formal learning environments, think about the effectiveness of group cooperative teaching and learning in relation to the context in which they teach (formal-non-formal). In particular, their views are examined against the advantages and disadvantages mentioned in the bibliography, dealing with the collaborative approach of teaching and the conditions to be applied for its effective implementation. Since research, concerning the teachers’ viewpoint on group cooperative teaching and learning, has been conducted within the framework of the typical educational environment only, this thesis helps to broaden the application of this method in contexts where no research data are available. After data analysis, it can be conducted that there are not only differences but also similarities between the viewpoints of teachers working in these two educational environments (formal and non-formal), as far as the frequency of application of the collaborative teaching method, its effectiveness in learning and the development of social skills of the students, concerns. At the same time, research has shown that teachers working in formal contexts consider that the large number of children in the classroom and the discipline problems among students while applying this method, are some of the reasons why they do not apply it. Moreover, it was observed that teachers working in formal and non-formal learning environments do not apply the cooperative method of teaching and learning because they claim that this method is inappropriate for their teaching subject.