Eleni Katsarou, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum Theories and Teaching Methods in the Department of Philosophy and Social Studies, University of Crete, Greece. She graduated from the School of Philosophy at Athens University where she also did her postgraduate studies (Ph.D. 1998 and post-doc 2002). She has worked as a teacher in secondary education for more than ten years.

Her current research and publications focus on curriculum studies, teaching theory and pre- and in-service teacher education. She is also interested in the teaching of Modern Greek as Mother Tongue within the framework of New Literacy Studies. She is the co-author of a large number of educational materials, particularly for the secondary education, of three books that refer to action research and democracy in school and of several articles on educational action research and its use in teaching, curriculum development and teachers’ professional development.

• 2016- 2020 Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Social Studies, School of Philosophy, University of Crete
• 2010 - 2016 Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Social Studies, School of Philosophy, University of Crete
• 2006—2010 Lecturer, Department of Philosophy and Social Studies, School of Philosophy, University of Crete
• 2000-2004 Temporary Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology, School of Philosophy, University of Athens, Greece
• 1998-2002 teacher in secondary education working in research projects at the Pedagogical Institute (Athens) and at the Centre of Educational Research (Athens)
• 1987-1998 Teacher in secondary schools

Honors & Fellowships

• Greek Scholarship Foundation (I.K.Y.), Doctoral Scholarship, 1991
• Greek Scholarship Foundation, Post-Doctoral Research Award 2002

educational action research, curriculum studies, literacy and multiliteracies

Current Research Projects

1. Bridging languages and memories to foster multiple identities: "Never leave your backpack behind!” (BACKPACK-ID)
   Scientific Responsible person: Eleni Katsarou 
   Research Team: Despoina Stamatopoulou, Τilemachos Iatridis, Kostis Sipitanos, Maria Kakepi
   Laboratory: Teaching Practicum and Educational Research
   Duration: September 2017 – August 2020
   Website: http://backpackid.eu/el/
   Funding Organization: European Union, Erasmus+ KA2
    
2. From the language repertoires of School Headmaster’s power discourse  to the transformation of the educational community: a participatory action research
   Scientific Responsible person: Eleni Katsarou 
   Research Team: George Polizois, Kostis Sipitanos
   Laboratory: Teaching Practicum and Educational Research
   Duration: February 2020- May 2021
   Funding Organization: ESPA 2014-2020, «Researchers’ support with emphasis on young researchers»
    
3. Children’s life quality: participation, recreation and play (CICADA)
   Scientific Responsible person: Eleni Katsarou 
   Research Team: Elena Vitalaki, Kostis Sipitanos, Maria Kakepi  
   Laboratory: Teaching Practicum and Educational Research
   Duration: September 2019 – August 2021 
   Funding Organization: European Union, Erasmus+ KA2

Books

• Katsarou, E. & Tsafos, V. (2003). From Teaching to Research. The Educational Action Research. [in Greek]. Athens: Savalas.
• Katsarou, E. (2016). Educational Action Research. A multi-paradigmatic approach to the transformation of the educational practice. [in Greek]. Athens: KRITIKI.
• Katsarou, E. (2020). Democracy in School. Prospects created by the use of Action research and Critical Literacy [in Greek]. Athens: KRITIKI.

Papers in Journals and chapters in books (in English)

• Katsarou, E. & Sipitanos, K. (2019). Contemporary school knowledge democracy: possible meanings, promising perspectives and necessary prerequisites, ­Educational Action Research Journal, 27 (1) (special issue on Κnowledge Democracy): 108-124.
• Katsarou, E. & Sipitanos, K. (2019). Producing and disseminating marginalized knowledge through students’ drawings, videos and crafts, Punctum International Journal of Semiotics, 5 (1): 92-113.
• Katsarou, E. & Tsafos, V. (2018). Official Educational Policy and Action Research in the Era of Crisis: The Case of Greece, Journal of Education & Social Policy, 5(1): 221-229.
• Katsarou, Ε. (2017). The multi-paradigmatic character of contemporary educational action research: a promising perspective or an underlying threat?, Educational Action Research, 25(5): 673-686.
• Sfakianaki, A. & Katsarou, E. (2017). Teacher-researchers’ discourse as evidence for their professional development towards a democratic school. Ιn the Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference: Literacy and Contemporary Society: Spaces, Discourses, Practices, (pp. 566-579), 28-29 November, Nicosia, Cyprus.   
• Katsarou, E. & Tsafos, V. (2016). Recognising participants’ professional identities through analysis of narratives in educational Action Research, International Journal of Action Research, 12 (3), pp. 248-271.
• Katsarou, E., Strantzalos, A., Arsenakis, A., Dargenta, D.E., Dimitriadi, K., Drandaki, A., Gourgolitsa, M., Hatzielanidis, P., Kakogianni, K., Panagiotaki, E., Papadopoulou, P. & Renieri, I. (2015). Alternative students’ assessment in a junior high - school in Greece: A teaching and research intervention. In Grollios, G., Liambas, A. & Pavlidis, P. (eds.). Proccedings of the IV International Conference on Critical Education “Critical Education in the Era of Crisis”, pp. 357-389, http://www.eled.auth.gr/
• Katsarou, E. (2014). Critical action research and the challenge of postmodernism. Perspectives and limitations. In Thomas Stern, Franz Rauch, Angela Schuster, & Andrew Townsend (eds.). Action Research, Innovation and Change: International Perspectives across disciplines, pp. 191-201. Taylor & Francis.
• Katsarou, E. & Tsafos, V. (2014). Using action research in curriculum development in a fully-controlled educational context: The case of Greece, European Journal of Curriculum Studies, 1 (2), pp. 141-161.   
• Frydaki, E. & Katsarou, E. (2013). The Crucial Role of Teachers’ Dialogic Practices in an Educational Action Research. Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education 1 (2), 73-87. 
• Katsarou, E. & Tsafos, V. (2013). Action research as a means for reforming curriculum. In Morgado, J.C., Alves, M.P., Vianna, I., Ferreira, C., Seabra, F., Van Hattum-Janssen, N. & Pacheco, J. A. (eds). Proceedings of the European Conference on Curriculum Studies. Future Directions: Uncertainty and Possibility. Bragua: University of Minho, pp. 234-239.
• Katsarou, E. & Tsafos, V. (2013). Student-teachers as researchers: towards a professional development orientation in teacher education. Possibilities and limitations in the Greek university. Educational Action Research 21 (4), pp. 532-548.
• Katsarou, E. & Tsafos, V. (2010). Multimodality in L1 Curriculum: the case of Greek Compulsory Education, Critical Literacy: theories and practices, 4:1, pp. 48-65.
• Chatzidaki, A. & Katsarou, E. (2010). Teachers’ professional development in Intercultural Pedagogy: a case from Greece. In Christos Govaris & Stavroula Kaldi (eds.), The Educational Challenge of Diversity in the International Context, Munster / Westfalen: Waxmann Verlag.
• Katsarou, E. (2009). Literacy in the Greek educational context: the aspects of Literacy promoted by the Language Curriculum of the Junior High School. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 9 (3), pp. 49-70.
• Katsarou, E. & Tsafos, V. (2009). Students’ Subjectivities vs. Dominant discourses in Greek L1 Curriculum.  International Journal of Learning. 16,11, pp. 34 -46. Common Ground Publisher, University of Melbourne, Australia.
• Katsarou, E. (2009). A multiliteracy intervention in a contemporary “mono-literacy” school in Greece, International Journal of Learning. 16,5, pp. 54 -65. Common Ground Publisher, University of Melbourne, Australia.
• Katsarou, E. & Tsafos, V. (2008). Collaborative school innovation project as a pivot for teachers’ professional development: the case of Acharnes’ Second Chance School in Greece, TeacherDevelopment, Volume 12, Issue 2, pp. 125 – 138.
• Katsarou, E. (2008). Students research and modify teaching and their perceptions of a subject: a students as co-researchers approach, Action Research Expeditions, e-journal.