Partner Organizations for Practicum Training
The Practicum within the framework of the Interdepartmental Postgraduate Program is a structured cycle of short-term action aiming at the interaction of the student population with carefully selected educational, pedagogical, and social Institutions. The research activity in general and special education schools, Higher Education Institutions, Museums, and Institutions of Education, Arts & Culture — distinguished for their modern inclusive programs and innovative practices — seeks to stimulate new reflections among student trainees and to bring substantial reflective knowledge in key areas of Contemporary Pedagogy, in connection with New Technologies, Sociology of Education, and Educational Psychology.
Company for the Protection of Spastics – Open Door
The Company for the Protection of Spastics / Open Door, a specially recognized charitable association, was founded in 1972 to fill a gap and address a pressing need regarding care for people with cerebral palsy in Greece.
Its mission has always been the development of diverse activities for the promotion of the interests of these individuals, such as education, the provision of medical, therapeutic, social, and psychological services, professional and social rehabilitation, residential care, public awareness, staff specialization, research, and prevention.
The Company for the Protection of Spastics / Open Door has never closed in on itself nor isolated people with disabilities. On the contrary, it seeks to remove the barriers created by disabilities and to ensure the smooth integration of people with disabilities into the normal social life of their fellow citizens.
This spirit continues to characterize all the work of the Company for the Protection of Spastics / Open Door, which aims at:
- the systematic provision of services to children and adults with cerebral palsy and continuous support for their families,
- the training and further education of specialized staff,
- the continuous awareness of public opinion,
- the encouragement of scientific research, with particular emphasis on prevention,
- the serious study and promotion of the necessary legislative and governmental measures for people with disabilities.
More than 4,000 families have been served over the years, and 240 people of all ages participate daily and free of charge in the programs of the Company for the Protection of Spastics / Open Door.
The organization has been twice honored by the Academy of Athens for its “multi-faceted social and welfare work,” as well as by the President of the Hellenic Republic with the Gold Cross of the Order of Beneficence. It has also received numerous Greek and international distinctions for its 47 years of contribution to the field of disability.
It is the Organizational Member for Greece of the International Cerebral Palsy Society (ICPS), a member of the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD), of the Greek Service Providers Network for Persons with Disabilities (ΔΙΚΤΥΟ), and of the Association “Together for the Child.”
The Open Door Model Centre, inaugurated by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, on 12 December 2001, and operating as a licensed Day Care and Daily Living Centre, is a modern, aesthetically pleasing and functional educational and rehabilitation facility, which serves 240 individuals with cerebral palsy of all ages on a daily basis.
Additionally, the Company operates two Supported Living Homes: the “Fotini” Home in Kato Patissia, housing 8 residents, and the “Ariadni” Home in Agios Dimitrios, housing 9 residents.
Hatzikyriakio Child Protection Foundation
The Hatzikyriakio Child Protection Foundation is a historic child welfare institution in Greece. It was founded by Ioannis Hatzikyriakos and his wife Marigo in 1889, inaugurated in 1904, and since then the Foundation has provided more than 100 years of continuous operation with comprehensive and systematic care and support to girls from the age of 6. These girls come from families facing social and economic difficulties and from diverse cultural backgrounds.
The Foundation offers housing, medical care, education, moral guidance, counseling, and emotional support with the help of specialized staff, as well as training and extracurricular activities. It also provides financial support to its pupils who pursue studies in Higher Education Institutions, while also assisting graduates facing chronic health issues who are unable to work.
ERMIS Association
ERMIS is a non-profit private legal entity, recognized as a Special Charitable Association. It is a member of the Panhellenic Federation of Parents & Guardians Associations of People with Disabilities (P.O.S.G.K.A.me.A.) and through it, of the National Confederation of Persons with Disabilities (E.S.A.me.A.). It was founded in September 1988 by parents, guardians, and friends of people with disabilities (Intellectual Disability, Down Syndrome, Autism, Motor and Multiple Disabilities).
The idea of its creation arose from the great need for an appropriate framework and the responsibility of parents for their children with disabilities. It quickly became one of the largest structures for people with disabilities in Greece. Today it provides quality services to 100 adults with disabilities and their families.
ERMIS carries out numerous activities and programs – pioneering and innovative – as well as collaborations with similar centers abroad. More than 1,600 people, mainly with intellectual disabilities and Down Syndrome, have been trained over the years and achieved socio-economic integration.
The ERMIS Day Care and Daily Living Centre for People with Disabilities is certified by the competent authorities. It provides daily school bus transportation, meals, creative activities, recreation, indoor and outdoor programs, and training in managing personal hygiene and self-care needs.
SOS Children’s Villages
SOS Children’s Villages is an international organization founded in 1949 in Tyrol, Austria, by Hermann Gmeiner.
With the generous support of donors, sponsors, and friends, Hermann Gmeiner’s vision to provide every child with a loving family environment and to help families remain united despite difficulties, steadily grew over the years.
Today, SOS Children’s Villages operates in 136 countries, supporting thousands of children through alternative care and prevention programs, schools, health centers, and other community services.
In Greece, SOS Children’s Villages began its operations in 1975. Today, there are 4 SOS Children’s Villages, 2 Youth Homes, 2 SOS Infant Hostels, 10 Child & Family Support Centers, and 6 Learning and Pedagogical Support Centers.
Environmental Education Center (EEC) of Elefsina
The institution of Environmental Education Centers (EECs) has been active for 30 years, starting with the EEC of Kleitoria, Achaia, in 1993. Today, the EEC network includes 53 centers throughout Greece.
The Environmental Education Centers form a decentralized sustainable network of public educational structures under the Ministry of Education, focusing on environmental education and its support at local, national, and international levels. The ultimate goal of environmental education is the cultivation of environmental awareness and the sensitization of students so that they perceive the environment holistically and approach it in an interdisciplinary way. Through the work of the EECs, model educational methods are developed, promoted, and implemented, guided by environmental protection and sustainable development.
The Youth and Lifelong Learning Foundation (INEDIVIM), a private legal entity supervised by the Ministry of Education, is the responsible body for implementing the project “Environmental Education Centers (EEC) – Environmental Education – Phase B,” co-financed by the European Social Fund and National Resources.
National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum
In 1896, the lawyer and art lover Alexandros Soutsos bequeathed his collection and fortune to the state for the creation of a “Museum of Fine Arts.” The National Gallery officially began its operation with the law of April 10, 1900, and the appointment of the painter Georgios Iakovidis from Munich as its first curator on July 28, 1900. At its foundation, the Gallery received 258 works of art from the collections of the Polytechnic and the University, to which 107 works from Alexandros Soutsos’s donation were added in 1901.
The National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum is a Legal Entity under Public Law and is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors. Its institutional role is the collection, preservation, maintenance, study, and exhibition of works of art, aiming at the aesthetic cultivation of the public, lifelong education through art, the enjoyment it provides, and the self-awareness of Greeks through the history of art, which symbolically reflects the national life.
War Museum
The War Museum was inaugurated in July 1975 and continues to operate today. Its mission is the collection, preservation, and exhibition of war relics, as well as the study, documentation, and promotion of the struggles of the Greek Nation from antiquity to the present day. Its aim is to strengthen national memory and highlight the historical continuity and unity of Hellenism.
The Museum serves as a space for conservation and preservation of relics and memorabilia, the organization of temporary exhibitions, and research and study. It also seeks to systematize and expand its educational mission by supporting different categories of visitors, through the implementation of numerous experiential programs. Its goal is to bring students and teachers of all levels into creative contact with the exhibits of its collections as well as its temporary exhibitions.
Tactual Museum at the Lighthouse for the Blind
Vision loss is a complex disability with many conditions and different needs. Through our sight, we perceive nearly 80% of the world around us.
Tactile interaction is vital for people with visual disabilities in order to interact with the world, where daily and direct contact with other people and surfaces is required.
The Tactual Museum is one of only five such museums worldwide. It allows its visitors to approach cultural heritage through a different perspective, opening new horizons of knowledge and understanding of reality, both for the sighted and the non-sighted alike.
Museum of Modern Greek Culture
The Museum of Modern Greek Culture was founded in Athens in 1918 under the name “Museum of Greek Handicrafts.” From 1959 until recently, it was called the “Museum of Greek Folk Art.” Its collections include objects of daily life and customary events, household and work-related, both functional and decorative, dating from the 18th to the 20th century.
Today, a hundred years after its founding, the Museum of Modern Greek Culture is preparing its new home. Hidden in the heart of the city, in Monastiraki, lies an entire neighborhood of old Athens, like a well-kept secret. Here, the centuries-long history of the city unfolds in a mosaic of architectural remains: the late Roman wall, a 5th-century early Christian basilica, the gate and fountain of the renowned 17th-century mansion of Chomatianos-Logothetis, a 17th-century chapel, and the Dragoumis residence, interwoven with 19th- and early 20th-century houses.
In this neighborhood, the Museum organizes its new permanent exhibition. Each house hosts a thematic unit presenting an aspect of modern Greek culture, thus creating a unique “cultural landscape” that extends across the broader urban fabric of historic Athens.
Industrial Gas Museum – Technopolis, City of Athens
The Industrial Gas Museum was founded in 2013 in Technopolis, City of Athens, to highlight the history of the old gasworks that supplied Athens with energy and light for nearly 130 years.
It is a modern museum, open and accessible to all, which researches, collects, preserves, interprets, and exhibits tangible and intangible evidence of the old gas plant, a rare industrial monument by European standards.
Its collection includes a significant number of devices related to gas production, tools, machinery and equipment, records from the plant itself, and a rich photographic archive. New technologies, 3D projections, and interactive applications combined with historical evidence and unique audiovisual material enrich the museum experience.
Ralleia Experimental Primary Schools of Piraeus, Department of Primary Education, University of Athens
The Experimental School of the Department of Primary Education, University of Athens, is large and diverse, comprising three different school formations (a 12-class, a 3-class, and a single-class school). It organizes Creative Activity Clubs during the mid-day schedule (e.g., Visual Arts Club, Educational Robotics Club, Ancient Theatre Club, etc.), and implements numerous innovative actions and pioneering programs, in collaboration with official national and European institutions in education, arts, and culture. Its mission is the holistic development of children and the strengthening of their family and social integration.
28th Primary School of Acharnes
The 28th Primary School of Acharnes was founded in 2000 to serve the needs of residents who were relocated to the Kapota camp area after the earthquake that struck Athens in 1999.
The school operates with eight classes in the morning program, an integration class, a reception class, and two classes in the All-Day School. Since the school year 2011–12, it has had a computer lab funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. In 2014–15, a school library was established, and additional infrastructure was added to improve the school yard, including turf, a football field, and a volleyball court.
The school implements numerous educational programs with targeted actions.
4th Primary School of Agioi Anargyroi “Adamantios Korais”
The school was founded in 1965 (Government Gazette 123/29-06-1965). In 1974, due to the sharp increase in students (many coming from the neighboring Municipality of Ilion), a building was rented at 6 Byronos Street, where it functioned as a 12-class school. In 1994, it moved to a new privately-owned building at 4 Koronaiou Street. In 1999, the school was named “Adamantios Korais.”
It was included in the pilot program of 28 All-Day Experimental Schools under the auspices of the Pedagogical Institute and by ministerial decision in 2003, it was designated as an Experimental All-Day School. In 2020, it was selected (Government Gazette 2847/2020) for the pilot program “Skills Workshops” in Primary and Secondary Education, aiming to strengthen the cultivation of soft skills, life skills, and technology/science skills in students.
10th Special Primary School of Athens
The “Aristotelis” building, at the corner of Marasli and Sweden streets, next to the Marasleio Teaching School, was built in 1929 by architect Nikolaos Mitsakis (1899–1941). Within the Marasleio school complex (including older and newer buildings of the 1970s), four schools coexist: the 10th Special Primary School of Athens, a 12-class, a 3-class, and a single-class Experimental Primary School. This creates an inclusive environment where children of special and general education socialize, make friends, and participate together in school events.
At the 10th Special Primary School of Marasleio, which mainly serves children with intellectual disabilities and autism, co-education programs are developed, along with experiential activities for students with low functionality, such as theatre, music games, creative workshops, and social awareness projects on disability.
1st Special Primary School of Kallithea
The 1st Special Primary School of Kallithea started operating in 1982 as a single-class school with four students. The following year it became a 2-class school, co-located with the 5th and 21st Primary Schools in a small ground-floor room of the school complex. In its early years, the school hosted students with functional abilities, while more difficult cases were referred to neighboring schools.
In September 2014, the school was temporarily relocated to the school complex at 12 Mantzagriotaki Street. It implements numerous pioneering and innovative activities, participates in co-education programs, as well as national and European school competitions.
The 1st Special Primary School is co-located with the 1st Special Kindergarten of Kallithea. The two schools enjoy excellent collaboration and solidarity, contributing to smooth operation and a strong reputation within the educational community.
Special Vocational Education and Training Laboratory (SEETL) of Agios Dimitrios
In 1983, by Presidential Decree 137, the School of Vocational Education (SEETL) was established in Athens. Its purpose was to provide general elementary theoretical and especially practical vocational education to intellectually disabled adolescents, with attendance lasting up to four years, in specialty classes. In September 2007, the SEETL of Kallithea moved to its new building on 65 Argostoliou Street in Agios Dimitrios and was renamed SEETL Agios Dimitrios–Kallithea.
The school provides general and especially practical vocational education tailored to the abilities of its students. It seeks to achieve holistic and effective development, integration into the productive process, social acceptance, and equal social advancement. At the same time, it aims to raise awareness about changing society’s attitudes toward people with disabilities, to fully recognize their human value and dignity.
The SEETL is staffed by Primary Education Special Education Teachers, Secondary Education Teachers, and Special Educational Staff.
Reception and Education Structures for Refugees at the Malakasa Refugee Camp
The Reception and Education Structures for Refugees implemented a weekly program of twenty (20) teaching hours (four hours daily), covering Greek language, mathematics, English, and ICT, as well as artistic and sports activities. These structures operate either inside the refugee camps or in school buildings in the afternoon (14:00–16:00), so as not to disrupt regular school operations. The curriculum is organized on an open framework to meet the specific educational needs of refugee children, preparing them for future success either in the Greek or another educational system.
The Reception and Education Structures at Malakasa Refugee Camp operate at Malakasa Primary School, the 1st Primary School of Avlonas, and the 1st Primary School of Skala Oropou & Nea Palatia.
https://migration.gov.gr/ris/perifereiakes-monades/domes/kyt-malakasa/
1st Second Chance School of Eleonas of Thebes & 2nd Primary School of Eleonas of Thebes – Women’s Prison of Eleonas of Thebes
“Education in prisons is a means of rehabilitation and redirection. If an inmate leaves prison with the same qualifications and skills as when they entered, it is most likely they will continue the same activities as before.” This is the view of Nikos Armenis, former Head of the 2nd Primary School of Avlonas and current Education Coordinator at the Women’s Prison of Eleonas of Thebes, a strong supporter of the concept of an “open prison towards society.”
The Women’s Prison of Eleonas of Thebes, the only women’s prison in Greece with more than 400 inmates, is a facility different from others. It provides many activities to help inmates make better use of their incarceration time, a clinic with all basic specialties and external doctors, as well as infrastructure to host children up to three years old who stay with their mothers in prison.
Beyond medical care, the prison offers opportunities for education and broader training. The 2nd Primary School of Eleonas and the 1st Second Chance School of Eleonas operate within the prison, formally integrated into the national education system. There are also dance and fitness groups, a theatre group, as well as classes in IT, visual arts (sculpture, painting), etc.
Primary, Secondary and Vocational Training Schools – Special Juvenile Detention Center of Avlona
The Special Juvenile Detention Center of Avlona (E.K.K.N.A.) hosts young inmates aged 18–21, although older prisoners may also remain for work or study purposes. Most inmates are foreigners, facing serious social problems and lacking family support.
The new Education Coordinator of the E.K.K.N.A. is Petros Damianós, former Director of the Gymnasium–Lyceum of the E.K.K.N.A., where along with the Primary School and Vocational Training Institute (IEK), schools operate under the national education system to support inmates. Many health, environmental, and cultural projects are implemented, including Erasmus projects and numerous artistic events.
Workshops and creative groups are active, such as a theatre workshop, the music group “Homo Cratumenus,” and the school newspaper of the Gymnasium–Lyceum “PROSPATHONATAS.”
Athens Psychiatric Hospital Dromokaiteio – Rehabilitation Unit, Metamorfosi Hostel “To Oneiro”
The history of the Athens Psychiatric Hospital “Dromokaiteio” begins on October 1, 1887, when it first opened under the name “Zorzis & Tarsis Dromokaitos Lunatic Asylum” with a capacity of 110 beds.
Today, after 137 years of uninterrupted operation and social contribution, it has 304 inpatient psychiatric beds and 205 outpatient beds in Psychosocial Rehabilitation Units and programs (Hostels, Boarding Houses, Protected Apartments). With 550 highly trained staff, it serves approximately 15,000 patients per year, rightfully considered one of the most complete and important specialized hospitals in Greece.
The hospital’s outpatient structures operate as the second step in the psychosocial rehabilitation of patients, following their stay mainly in inpatient hostels. These structures aim to provide housing and vocational rehabilitation for patients.