Education Sciences (PhD) / Επιστήμες της Αγωγής (PhD)

This study aims to tackle to some extent the gap between the instruction of STEM-related disciplines in Lower Secondary Education and the 21st century skills required by students, to face real life situations in their future STEM related studies and careers. Following the necessity towards “smart education”, an emerging technology namely Augmented Reality, has been integrated in Lower Secondary Education by teachers of STEM-related courses in the context of a case study with two cases, one public school in Cyprus and one private school in Greece, to explore the impact on the teachers involved as well as their students. The specificresearch purpose of this study rises through the literature review, focusing on the investigation of “if” (under which circumstances) and “how” (in which ways) the technology of Augmented Reality could be integrated into STEM-related courses in Lower Secondary Education, leading to a positive impact on students’ twenty-first century skills and motivation towards the educational process. The current Ph.D. dissertation provides the context of an empirical investigation through the case study described, yielding a theoretical understanding of the discussed fields that can constitute the basis for future work. The research purpose is investigated in-depth through a case study with multiple units of analysis defined as “The Case Study of Secondary Education Teachers’ Experience from Cyprus and Greece having attended a Teacher Professional Development (TPD) program on Augmented Reality in STEM education”. This case study consists of a systemic approach, including a small number (two) of cases (schools in Cyprus and Greece) set in their real-world contexts, providing understanding to some extent of the impact of applying Augmented Reality in Lower Secondary Education on teachers of STEM-related courses and their students. Both quantitative and qualitative data (with emphasis on qualitative) are collected, analysed and triangulated through questionnaires/ self-reports, interviews, informal and open-ended discussions, observations, video recordings (where/ when possible), and teachers’-students’ additional data (i.e., lesson plans, worksheets, achievements). A detailed description of both phases of the current study is provided, including the EL-STEM TPD program as the intersection point of the two cases, as well as the cases in Cyprus and Greece themselves. Twenty seven (27) teachers have been trained, from whom five (5) have accepted to be observed while implementing AR supported interventions in their classrooms and one hundred and seventy nine (179) students, have attended the AR supported interventions. Through the discussion and interpretation of the cases described, the involved teachers are investigated towards: (i) the level of technology acceptance (AR) and (ii) their instructional approaches adapted to integrate AR in STEM-related courses. Concurrently, the effect of the teachers’ instructional approaches supported by AR in their STEM-related courses is investigated on their students’ 21st century skills and motivation towards the educational process. The conclusions of this dissertation indicate that the implementation of AR applications in STEM fields by both teachers and students seems to be currently feasible under specific conditions, specifically in Lower Secondary Education in Cyprus and Greece. Moreover, there is a need for continuous and structured teacher training on emerging technologies, such as AR, accompanied by innovative instructional approaches. Based on results of existing studies, contributing to the literature review, this research suggests: (a) factors that influence to some extent the level of technology acceptance (AR) by teachers in their instructional approaches within a STEM-related course and (b) ways that AR technology could be integrated by Secondary Education teachers in their STEM-related courses. Referring to students’ 21st century skills, this study indicates effects of AR on foundational knowledge, while effects of metacognitive and humanistic knowledge are described as expected effects, since they still need to be investigated in future studies. The results of the current research could be transferable to some extent and applied by other researchers in educational research (generalized at a level of theory), but they are not intended to be generalized at a population level. Limitations and future extensions in the context of the current research consist of the end point of the Ph.D. dissertation.