Image

History - Location of the Department

The Department of Social and Education Policy at the University of the Peloponnese is part of the School of Social and Political Sciences, is located in Corinth and has been operating since the academic year 2003-2004 with 18 Teaching and Research Staff members (DEP). Its mission is to develop and promote social sciences in the fi elds of Social and Education Policy through academic teaching and applied research.

Undergraduate and Postgraduate studies

During the fi rst two years of the studies, the Undergraduate Curriculum is the same for all students and widely known for its interdisciplinary character. There are compulsory core courses off ered on scientific areas, such as Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Law, History and the introductory courses of Social and Education Policy. In the fi rst two years of the Undergraduate Curriculum, the aim is that students understand how the two fi elds treated by the Department are connected with and complement one another, develop basic knowledge in both fi elds and acquire analysis and concept synthesis skills. Students are introduced in the logic of research through courses of qualitative and quantitative methodology, statistical analysis and use of new technologies. During the third year of studies, the Undergraduate Curriculum is divided into two specialisations (Social Policy and Education Policy). The graduation degrees of students with enrolment year 2016-2017 or later include the Specialisation chosen, thus reinforcing not only the distinctness of the Department and the degree, but also the future professional opportunities of its graduates. Specialisation courses aim to provide students with deep and developed specialised scientific knowledge, as well as research and professional skills in a specific Specialisation. In the specialisation of Social Policy, the undergraduate Curriculum includes compulsory elective courses on a wide range of thematic areas, such as: theoretical, historical, institutional and economic analysis of the welfare state, planning, management and evaluation of civil services, employment policy, employment relationships, health policy, social imbalances, poverty, social exclusion, migration policy, crime prevention policy, social economy etc.

In the specialisation of Education Policy, the Undergraduate Curriculum respectively includes courses which analyse Education Policy in all aspects of conventional education and all new kinds of education (lifelong learning, adult education, distance learning, non-formal learning, informal learning), its connection with the institutional framework and public policies in other fields, the development, application and evaluation of educational programmes and material, the historical and social framework of educational theories, as well as the contemporary movements in educational theory and education sciences. The Undergraduate Curriculum includes a compulsory Internship and provides for the writing of a thesis as well as the acquisition of a Certifi cate of Pedagogical and Didactic Competence.  In order to gain the degree, the academic obligation of students is to accumulate a total of two hundred forty (240) ECTS-credits, i.e. 30 credits per semester. The Department has off ered Postgraduate Curricula since 2007 and today the following Postgraduate Curricula operate:

A. Educational Policy: Planning, Development and Administration, with the following specializations:
     ▶ (a) Education Policy and Management
     ▶ (b) Educational Programmes and Materials (Conventional and e-Learning Forms): Policies and Practical Applications

 B. Social Policy with the following specializations:
     ▶ (a) Policies for Immigration, Social Discrimination and Civic Identity
     ▶ (b) Health Economics, Management and Policy
     ▶ (c) European Social Policy

C. Higher Education Policy: Theory and Practice
Inter-University Joint Postgraduate Studies Programme operating since the academic year 2016-17 in cooperation with the Department of Primary Education of the University of Patras and the Department of Primary Education of the University of the Aegean.

D. Social Innovation and Strategic Policies
Inter-University Postgraduate Studies Programme (JPPS) operating since 2021 in cooperation with the National Centre for Social Research (EKKE). During the academic year 2018-19, the Undergraduate Curriculum of the Department was certifi ed by the relevant Accreditation Committee of the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency, aſt er it was established that the Programme fully complies to the principles of the Quality Standards of the Hellenic Quality Assurance and Accreditation Agency as well as to the respective principles of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

Carrer Prospects

The Department of Social and Education Policy prepares scientists who promote social sciences, by off ering specialised work in interdisciplinary areas of Social and Education Policy. The graduates of the Department work in a wide range of institutions related with the public, private or third sector as scientifi c staff members and/or executive offi cers, designers and appliers of social policies, designers of training programmes for teaching staff , teaching staff trainers, designers and appliers of additional and alternative educational or informative material, scientifi c researchers and Teaching and Research Staff members (DEP) in higher education. The Undergraduate Curriculum of the Department provides in any possible way for the career perspectives of its graduates by off ering knowledge and skills, which prepare them appropriately, so that they are fully-trained in their fi elds and issues of study, as well as competitive, when they apply for a position they are interested in the labour market. In parallel, through its interdisciplinary character and the systematic cultivation of broader knowledge and skills, it creates graduates who will be able to face successfully the complex challenges of the 21st century.

Research

The Department has developed research cooperations with other Departments at the University of the Peloponnese and other Greek universities (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, University of Thessaly, University of Patras, University of Crete, University of the Aegean, Hellenic Open University et al.), as well as with research centres and institutions (National Centre for Social Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Union for the Use of Computer Technologies in Education et al.). Teaching and Research Staff members (DEP) of the Department are heads of research or participate in important research programmes funded by the European Union (HORIΖON 2020, ERASMUS+, Comenius, Tempus etc.), the Ministry of Education (NSRF - Thales, Aristeia, Heraclitus), as well as other institutions in Greece and abroad.

Since 2009, there has been a Studies Laboratory of Social and Education Policy operating in the Department. The Department has structured research groups within which cooperate Teaching and Research Staff members (DEP), Special Teaching Staff members (EEP), Laboratory Teaching Staff members (EDIP), post-doctoral researchers, doctoral candidates, postgraduate and undergraduate students.

Access