Maria Gelastopoulou

Maria Gelastopoulou

is a PhD candidate in Special Education at the Department of Early Childhood Education of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

She has graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Primary Education. She holds

• a post-graduate degree in Special Education from the Department of Early Childhood Education of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,
• a diploma in Special Education from the Maraslio Didaskaleio of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,
• a certificate in Special Learning Difficulties from the post-graduate programme of the Association for the Psychosocial Health of Children and Adolescents,
• a certificate in the use of Braille language from the Centre of Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind.
• She has participated in training seminars, conferences and meetings relative to the teaching of Modern Greek Language, Mathematics, the Arts and the application of Information and Communications Technology to various educational environments. She has also taken part in seminars concerning parent counselling, theatrical play, educational management and the education of students with disabilities or special needs.

Professional Profile

• She has got long experience in teaching at the general school and in inclusion classes in pre-school education. In addition, she has acquired further teaching experience from teaching at the postgraduate programme organised in Athens by the University of London (UOL). In the past she participated in the undergraduate programme of the Department of Early Childhood Education of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, where she was responsible for supervising the students-trainees in their teaching practice and use of differentiated educational programmes.
• Since 2010 she has been working for the Department of Special education of the Pedagogical Institute, and for the Institute of Educational Policy at the office of International and European Educational Policy, the Unit of Special Education and preschool education as Counselor B’. During that time she was responsible for the evaluation of educational programmes and materials, for the inclusion of students with disabilities or special needs in the general school, and for organising training programmes and counselling on special education. Since 2011 she has been in charge of adapting primary, secondary and Lyceum school books for partially sighted students, as a the scientific advisor for the project: Training and supporting teachers of specialised education to use inclusion practices while teaching students with disabilities or/and with special educational needs.

Publications & Projects

• She has presented papers at many Greek and international conferences on issues concerning the education of students with disabilities or special educational needs. She has published articles either of her own or in collaboration with other colleagues in collected essays.
• She contributed extensively to the writing of guidelines for teachers wishing to apply differentiated educational practices to pre-school education. She is also the co-author of the teaching guidelines used in teaching students with mental disabilities and also of the specifications needed for the development of accessible educational materials for autistic students. She participated in the writing of the necessary practices regarding the role of leadership in Greek education while conducting a case study within the framework of the European programme about leadership in Education, EPNoSL.
• Her research work focuses on the inclusion of students with disabilities or special educational needs in the general school, on educational evaluation, on the implementation of differentiated educational approaches and the development of collaborative practices. Her academic interests concern the sociological approach to disability, inclusive educational and special education.
• Additionally, she has participated in other European research and educational programmes of the Institute of Educational Policy and in research training and other special education programmes co-funded with the European Union.
• She participated in the evaluation of the accessible educational material for deaf, mental or mobile disable students, in the framework of the co-funded with the European Union programme: The design and development of accessible educational material for students with disabilities, Ministry of Education, Research and Religion.
• She participated as a trainer in training teachers as part of a programme organised by the Ministry of Education, Research and Religion aiming at including students with disabilities or special education needs to the general school. She additionally took part in training seminars run by the Institute of Educational Policy, focusing on matters concerning the students access to education, and on training teachers in adapting educational material for partially sighted students. She has also worked for the Ministry of Education, Research and Religion as a trainer of adults with serious disabilities.