Ampartzaki Maria

Maria Ampartzaki is an Associate Professor at the Department of Early Childhood Education, Open University of Crete. Her academic career includes roles as project coordinator for EU initiatives like NGSS and WITEA-ID, focusing on STEM+Arts integration and teacher professional development. She holds a Doctorate of Education from the University of Sheffield (2004), a Master's in Music Education from the University of Reading (1995), and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Crete (1993).

Research Interests: Early Childhood Education with emphases on action research, multimodality pedagogy, ICT integration, and cultural heritage's role in emotional intelligence. Her work explores innovative teaching methods like blended learning and STEAM approaches, with notable contributions to astronomy education for young children and international teacher mobility programs.

Publications Trends: Recent work (2020–2024) prioritizes digital pedagogy, teacher professional development, and cross-cultural educational strategies. Key themes include collaborative inquiry in teacher education, blended learning efficacy, and STEM+Arts implementation. Earlier research (1999–2016) investigated music's role in childhood development and autism-related educational contexts.

Grants & Projects: Leads multiple EU-funded projects including NGSS (STEM+Arts literacy for primary education) and WITEA-ID (digital competencies for higher education mobility). Active in international collaborations like the ABATAC astronomy education initiative and the CARE project enhancing Palestinian early childhood care systems.

Labs/Teams: Core member of the Early Childhood Education research team at UOC, collaborating with Michail Kalogiannakis on pedagogical innovations. Involved in developing e-learning platforms like HILEMA (Hybrid Learning Environments for Early Childhood Astronomy).