Department of Early Childhood Education

The School of Education Sciences of the University of Western Macedonia was founded in Florina, under the Presidential Decree 99/1993 and comprised the Departments of Primary Education and Early Childhood Education. In 2019, when, under Law 4610/2019 (art. 13, par. 4) the School of Social Sciences and Humanities of the University of Western Macedonia was established, the School of Education Sciences was renamed to School of Social Sciences and Humanities. The School comprises the following Departments:

1. Department of Primary Education, formerly founded in 1989 as a department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and replacement of the former Pedagogical Academy of Florina (two-year course).
2. Department of Early Childhood Education founded in 1993.
3. Department of Communication and Digital Media in Kastoria, formerly founded in 1999 as a TEI (Technological Educational Institute) department of Western Macedonia, which belongs to the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, under Law 4610/2019.
4. Department of Psychology, founded in Florina as part of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, under Law 4610/2019.

The Department (in accordance with article 2 of Presidential Decree 544/1989, article 5 of Presidential Decree 99/1993 and in the context of the mission of the University (article 1 of Law 1268/1982), aims to:

• foster and promote the Sciences of Education with academic and applied teaching and research.
• provide graduates with theoretical and practical training for their scientific and professional career and development.
• contribute to enhancing delivered education and meeting the relevant needs in education-related issues.
• facilitate addressing and solving overarching educational problems.
• promoting lifelong education and training.
• awarding a degree which enables holders to be appointed in early education positions.

The Department of Early Childhood Education of the University of Western Macedonia engages in discipline-related research in major contemporary fields of Education and Creative Writing. It makes a significant contribution to Creative Writing research in Greece and its application in education. It also holds a central position in domestic literary production, with its graduates receiving important distinctions. Additionally, it plays a key role in promoting Creative Writing educators.

It is the only department in Greece that offers a ‘Creative Writing’ programme, organising international Creative Writing conferences every two years and makes a substantial contribution to teacher training across all levels of education. Furthermore, it engages in designing secondary education curricula in literature, language, and other academic subjects (Professor Kotopoulos H. Triantafyllos, Head of “Creative Writing, Arts and Humanities”, and Mrs. Kalogirou, are supervisors of the New Curricula for Literature in Senior High Schools) in in educational programmes delivered in correctional facilities, etc.

Department of Organization and Business Administration

The Department of Business Administration of the University of Western Macedonia (former Department of Business Administration of the TEI of Western Macedonia) was established in Grevena in 2019 under Law 4610/2019 (Government Gazette 70, issue A’ 07/05/2019), following the merging of the two Institutions, i.e., UoWM and TEI of Western Macedonia.

It caters for cutting-edge education in organization- and administration-related issues aimed for businesses and organizations, thus, qualifying students for an outstanding career in Business Administration, both in the public and the private sector.

More specifically, the department has created an academic environment to provide students with a theoretical and practical background, familiarise them with the real world of business, and enable them to cope with hard modern business contexts and pursue noble ideals; in addition, it promotes building up well-balanced personalities. The department is focused on fostering research and new knowledge and contributes to local and national economic growth by enhancing partnerships and delivery of expert service and education.

Business Administration curricula (curriculum code 04 – Business Administration and Law; 041 – Business Administration), which includes all disciplinary subjects of Business Administration, are regularly updated in compliance with the contemporary rapid economic and technological advances.

The Department places a strong emphasis on research and the generation of new knowledge, with its primary objective being to bolster the local and national economy through collaborations and the delivery of services and education.