The aim of the present study is to provide information and suggest ways to improve and evaluate metacognition in early childhood. Metacognition is important to learning and knowledge transfer and preparing students to become lifelong learners is a main aim of schooling. The engagement of young students in metacognitive thinking is considered necessary, as they seem capable of developing fundamental forms of metacognition after the age of three. The development of metacognitive skills helps young children to become thoughtful about their learning process. Specifically, the implementation of interesting activities in an enjoyable manner that develops young children's high-order thinking could help them to enhance metacognitive skills and become effective learners. Physical activities during reciprocal and self-check teaching styles are such activities that could guide young students to reflect on their own learning and realise what they are doing.

Many concerns have been raised about the validity of the existing instruments measuring teachers’ efficacy. Recently, a new instrument to measure teachers’ perceived efficacy has been presented, namely, the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). The purpose of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of the TSES in the Greek educational context. A total of 405 Greek secondary school teachers voluntarily participated in the study. A within-construct and between-construct approach was used to examine the validity and reliability of the Greek version of the TSES (factorial validity, internal consistency, temporal stability, and correlation with external criteria). Results are encouraging and seem to support the suitability of the TSES to assess teachers’ efficacy within the Greek educational context.

The aim of the current study was to examine the assessments of parents of the quality of early childhood education (ECE) in Greece. Five hundred and fifty three preschoolers' parents participated in this study providing quality and importance ratings based on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale Parent Questionnaire (ECERSPQ) for the aspects of ECE. The same aspects were evaluated with Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) by trained observers. Results suggested that parent ratings overestimate the quality of ECE provided to their children, compared to those of trained observers. Yet, both parent and observer ratings appeared to have a constant variance. Moreover, observers' results indicated that the provision of ECE quality in Greece has to be improved in order to reach acceptable standards as in other developed countries.

The purpose of this study was to examine kindergarten teachers' and children's perceptions of their relationships following a person-centred approach, and to describe patterns of relationships between them. 67 Kindergarten teachers and 403 children completed two measures designed to explore their perceptions of their relations. Four patterns of kindergarten teacher–child relationships were identified both from teachers and children reports. Results showed that three of the reported patterns resembled patterns reported by other researchers for teacher–child relationships. An interesting finding was that the notion of dependency and its relation with closeness and conflict had a different interpretation from teachers in the Greek educational context. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

This study examines teachers’ and children’s perceptions of dependency, and their linkages with other relationship dimensions, in a cultural context with a more collectivistic orientation. Additionally, it examines the factorial validity and reliability of the Greek version of the Child Appraisal of Relationship with Teacher Scale (CARTS) and teacher-child perceptions' convergence of relationship quality. Participants were 348 kindergarten students and 35 teachers from Greek kindergarten classrooms. The measures used were the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) and CARTS. Results verified the factorial validity and internal consistency of the Greek CARTS. Results replicated previous findings suggesting a positive association between Closeness and Dependency in both teachers’ and children’s perceptions. The finding about the positive association between closeness and dependency in a cultural context with a more collectivistic orientation, challenges the cultural universality of the construct of dependency and highlights the need for a more in-depth examination of the construct of dependency.