Teacher Education in Greece: Balancing Theory and Practice

Since the nineteenth century, Greece has been involved in efforts to improve the quality of teacher education. However, the salient characteristic of teacher preparation has been a disposition to disengage theory from practice and to disjoin the university from classroom experience. Taking the best of what is scientifically derived and historically understood, reformers of Greek education must develop a new vision for teacher preparation, one that involves isolation neither from the academy nor from everyday pedagogical and practical experience in the classroom. Teachers are simultaneously scholars and practitioners; thus their preparation should develop within a professional community that respects diverse ways of knowing and doing.