GEORGIA KATSIRA

Georgia Katsira is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Archival, Library and Information Studies, at the University of Western Attica. She holds a Master’s degree (MSc) in Library’s Administration and Information Science with an emphasis on NewTechnologies from the Department of Archival Studies and Information Science, at Ionian University (2006). She also completed her undergraduate studies at the same department, in 2004. Since 2004, she has worked in plenty libraries, such as Academic and Special, and Organizations with Archives, as well. From 2016 till now, she is a school librarian at the Central Library of Athens College. She is a member of the Association of Greek Librarians and Information Scientists, and her current research interests are related to Information Literacy, Multicultural Education, and Media Literacy.

Indicative Thesis Title for PhD:
Information Literacy and Multicultural Education.

Brief Research Description:

Greece is undeniably a host country for immigrants and refugees, with their children attempting to integrate into Greek society and the Greek educational system. The need for a student to evaluate and use information, as they are bombarded daily with a plethora of information and data, to judge how much they need it to incorporate it into their school assignments (e.g., research) and their daily lives, is more pressing than ever. However, the level of information literacy in Greek secondary education is still low, if not nonexistent. The proposed research, aiming to promote scientific knowledge in this specific field of Information Science and Multiculturalism, in its initial level will encompass the theoretical background of the existence or absence of information literacy programs in Greek secondary education (public and private) and will answer whether they meet the needs of Greek children as well as those of refugees and immigrants. After the literature review, and if necessary, a “new model” will be created, which could be applied in Greek school libraries for multicultural education programs, for enhancing the educational progress of these children and also their social integration. Finally, the research will be completed by assessing the usability of information literacy programs, through questionnaires for a predetermined sample of Greek and foreign students, based on their participation in information literacy programs.