Eleni Mousena

Eleni Mousena serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Early Childhood Education & Care at the University of West Attica (UNIWA), where she conducts research at the intersection of citizenship education, pedagogical communication, and early childhood development. Her academic journey spans political science, pedagogy, and educational sciences, with extensive experience in European Commission quality assessment initiatives and Greek Ministry of Education supervision roles.

Her educational foundation includes:

• Bachelor Degree in Political Science and International Studies, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences
• Bachelor Degree in Pedagogy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
• Master in Education, Hellenic Open University
• PhD in Sciences of Education – Citizenship Education, University of Patras

Dr. Mousena's research centers on Citizenship Education within early childhood contexts, examining how democratic practices and inclusive pedagogies foster autonomous citizens. Her work integrates Discourse Analysis to decode communication patterns in educational settings, while pioneering Slow Pedagogy approaches that counter hurried schooling through play-based learning and child-centered timing. She critically investigates Curriculum Development frameworks across European ECEC systems, with particular focus on gender diversity in teaching workforces and quality assessment methodologies that move beyond standardized metrics.

Analysis of her 2022-2025 publications reveals three dominant trajectories: 1) Theoretical development of Slow Pedagogy as antidote to academic pressure in early years; 2) Democratization of preschool classrooms through inclusive citizenship practices; 3) Comparative studies of European ECEC quality frameworks with emphasis on Greece's integration challenges. Her Greek-language publications address culturally specific issues like male educator recruitment and museum-based citizenship education, while international collaborations examine refugee integration and sustainability curricula.

Scientific contributions include:

• Leading the EU-funded InTra EduCare Project developing active citizenship pedagogies
• Authoring the 2021 monograph Επικοινωνία και Προφορικότητα στην Εκπαίδευση (Communication and Orality in Education)
• Co-editing the landmark 2021 volume Πέρα από την Ποιότητα (Beyond Quality) challenging ECEC evaluation paradigms

Her advising focuses on doctoral candidates exploring citizenship curricula implementation, with research partnerships spanning the University of Patras, Panteion University, and European networks like NESET. Current grant activities include the InTra EduCare Project examining intra-active pedagogy localization, and EU policy analyses of ECEC quality frameworks where she serves as national expert for Greece. She contributes to the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice as editorial board member.

Dr. Mousena coordinates the UNIWA Early Childhood Research Collective, which partners with municipal kindergartens on action research projects. She co-leads the 'Slow Pedagogy in Practice' working group within the Hellenic Educational Research Association and collaborates with the European Early Childhood Education Research Association on comparative policy studies. Her departmental lab focuses on discourse analysis of teacher-child interactions using multimodal recording techniques.