Education and Technologies in Distance Teaching and Learning Systems – Educational Sciences (ΕΤΑ)

Description of the Programme

The development of a Postgraduate Programme on distance education systems is an important and structural element of an open university, as it promotes studies in a field, which characterizes the philosophy and physiognomy of the Hellenic Open University (HOU) itself.

The field of Open and Distance Education is currently taught as a module (EKP65) within the framework of the Postgraduate Programme “Education Sciences”. Its upgrading to a postgraduate programme of study is required and justified by the fact that:

• The HOU is the only University in Greece providing distance education as an exclusive method of studies and many years of experience, therefore it is the appropriate University to establish a Postgraduate Programme in distance education.
• It is the educational pillar and the core of the HOU.
• It has experienced tremendous growth in all forms and levels of education, both in Greece and abroad.
• It is adopted as an essential methodology and philosophy of education by the Ministry of Education and hundreds of private and public sector institutions, educational institutions of all types, levels, and forms.
• It uses and develops all modern technologies and applies them to education.
• For the first time in Greece, open and distance education and its connection with technologies is activated in a curriculum (a long-standing demand of the Ministry of Education, universities, public and private sector educational institutions, researchers, teachers, and students).
• It absorbs and uses funds from the European Union and Greece.
• It is linked to the solution of many educational problems that arise in Greek education, due to the socio-economic crisis, the distance, the difficulty of access for a large part of the population.
• It provides an outlet for postgraduate studies in the fields of pedagogy and methodology of distance education and Information and Communication Technologies, attracting a large number of students.
• It aims at collaborations with other open or traditional Universities in Greece and abroad, at the level of postgraduate studies, dissertations, doctoral theses, research programmes, conferences, seminars, interdisciplinary approaches, development of educational material, scientific bodies or associations, etc.

Aim

The Postgraduate Programme “Education and Technologies in Distance Teaching and Learning Systems –Educational Sciences” has as its subject and refers to the expertise of open universities, distance universities, traditional universities offering distance education and training in primary education, secondary and higher education, lifelong learning and adult education, in-service training (municipalities, enterprises, banks, companies), Institutes of Vocational Training and Vocational Training Centres as well as private business training.

The aim of the Postgraduate Programme “Education and Technologies in Distance Teaching and Learning Systems – Education Sciences” is to provide knowledge and develop skills in the interdisciplinary subject of open and distance education and educational technology, with emphasis on the use of digital and traditional distance education, modern teaching and learning processes, the design and development of educational material, research and all modern forms of technology.

The main objectives of the Postgraduate Programme are the expertise of students in the development of open and distance learning systems, the systems’ design, development, management, implementation, and evaluation.

Other general objectives of the Postgraduate Programme are:

• The development and elaboration of theories covering all the disciplines of the suggested programme and the interactions between them.
• The connection and elaboration of all fields of knowledge of the programme with the theories / sciences, which are the foundations of its structure (pedagogy, critical pedagogy, sociology of education, learning theories, didactics, communication, adult education, information and communication technologies, digital media and their use in education, evaluation, history of distance education and open institutions, digital management of educational structures [e-learning and online learning], open educational resources, design and development of educational and training systems, open educational resources, design and development of educational and training systems, and the use of digital media in education.
• Expertise in the organisation and management of open, alternative and distance education institutions of all levels and grades.
• The use of all alternative forms of communication and technology in education.
• The expertise and use of digital information and communication technologies in education [e-learning and online learning].
• Analysis, development and expertise in teaching and learning.
• Expertise in research methodology issues in the subjects that form the basis of this postgraduate programme.
• Linking theory to practice across the whole range and disciplines of the programme.
• The adoption and application of innovative and pioneering practices in the design and development of the programme and educational material that have not been implemented at the HOU up to now.

The HOU, as a statutory public university for open and distance education, does not yet have a Postgraduate Programme in the subject that all its programmes and the education it offers use.

The Postgraduate Programme ” Education and Technologies in Distance Teaching and Learning Systems –Educational Sciences” will strengthen its prestige and its dynamics, because it will be able to offer integrated studies in its own philosophy, methodology, strategy, education, and research, in order to transmit in modern terms its own identity in a constantly developing scientific field.

ECTS Credits

The total number of credits (ECTS) required for the award of the Postgraduate Diploma of Specialisation (M.Sc.) is 90 ECTS.

Characterization of the Postgraduate Program

Master of Education (M.Ed.)

Classification according to the UNESCO ISCED-2011 code

• by level of study: 7

Classification according to the UNESCOCode ISCED-2013

• based on the field of education: 0188 Inter-disciplinary programs and qualifications involving education / 0188 – Interdisciplinary program in the fields:

0111 Education science

0114 Teacher training with subject specialisation

Duration of study

The minimum duration of the programme  is one and a half (1 1/2) academic years, i.e. three (3) semesters.

QUALITY POLICY *
QUALITY INDICATORS 2025  *

*The above files are currently available in Greek.