Papers by Dimitrios Stamovlasis

Frontiers in Psychology
The present study investigated conceptual understanding in learning science in relation to four c... more The present study investigated conceptual understanding in learning science in relation to four cognitive variables: logical thinking, field-dependence/field-independence, and divergent and convergent thinking. The participants were fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school pupils involved in different mental tasks, where they had to describe and interpret phenomena related to changes of matter. This brief report presents data from the students’ understanding of evaporation, and the method of analysis, a person-centered approach, is explicated. Latent class analysis (LCA) was applied to reveal distinct clusters of cases sharing similar patterns of responses. The use of LCA aligns with theoretical conjectures related to a stepwise conceptual change process, and the hypothetical steps correspond to the identified discrete latent classes (LCs). Subsequently, the LCs were associated with the four cognitive variables as covariates, thus providing empirical evidence for the role of the abo...

European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education
Burnout (BT) is a vital determinant of work effectiveness and a well-studied psychological constr... more Burnout (BT) is a vital determinant of work effectiveness and a well-studied psychological construct. The dominant theoretical perspectives have defined BT via the proposed dimensional structures and have provided the corresponding instruments for measuring them. The present endeavor adopts the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), as its purpose is to examine the psychometric properties of a short version for the Greek teachers and to find differences across their individual characteristics. The Greek short version of OLBI comprises two dimensions: Disengagement (four items) and Exhaustion (five items), with reliability measures utilizing Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega: Exhaustion (α = 0.810/ω = 0.823) and Disengagement (α = 0.742/ω = 0.756). Confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate fit of the measurement model: χ2 = 320.291, df = 26, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.970; TLI = 0.958; RMSEA = 0.068; 90% CI of RMSEA = [0.062; 0.075]; SRMR = 0.067; NFI = 0.967; GFI = 0.986]. The pro...

Education Sciences
The integration of STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics—education in the curric... more The integration of STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics—education in the curricula has become a priority in contemporary education, where teachers have a decisive role. Thus, research has focused on teachers’ readiness for STEM education, where the prerequisite is to ensure valid measurements. In this study, we present the psychometric properties of the TRi-STEM scale, validated to measure teachers’ readiness in implementing STEM education. The proposed scale was based on questionnaires that appeared in the literature, and the final form was adopted and refined for Greek in-service teachers (N = 494), via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. TRi-STEM comprises four dimensions: affective conditions (AC), cognitive conditions (CC), self-efficacy (SE), and STEM commitment (SC). The reliability measures of the four factors were AC (α = 0.972/ω = 0.972), CC (α = 0.976/ω = 0.976), SE (α = 0.934/ω = 0.935), and SC (α = 0.886/ω = 0.885), and confirmatory factor an...

European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education
Teachers’ innovative work behavior (TIWB) is crucial in the contemporary demanding educational en... more Teachers’ innovative work behavior (TIWB) is crucial in the contemporary demanding educational environments for overcoming any commonplace issues and to ensure sustainability and development. It refers to a process in which the employee tries to create new ideas, adopt them, apply them in the school context, and then communicate them to other members of the organization in order to achieve a communal benefit. Among a plethora of factors that could influence such behavior, self-efficacy, burnout, and irrational beliefs have been proposed as potential covariates. In the present study, the associations of the above constructs with TIWB are concomitantly investigated by employing structural equation modeling (SEM). Data were taken from the participation of in-service teachers (N = 964) in primary education via self-reported questionnaires. The proposed SEM model exhibited a satisfactory goodness-of-fit to the empirical data, highlighting the direct effects of the independent variables o...

Behavioral Sciences
This study explores primary school pupils’ knowledge recall and interpretation skills regarding c... more This study explores primary school pupils’ knowledge recall and interpretation skills regarding chemical and physical phenomena, in relation to three psychometric variables: logical thinking, field dependence/field independence, and divergent thinking. The participants (N = 375) were in the fifth and sixth grades (aged 11–12) taking an introductory course in science, and they were involved in three tasks related to combustion, dissolution, and mixture separation. The pupils had to complete an instrument, in which they were asked to describe and interpret the phenomena involved in the tasks. Two achievement variables were recorded separately, one relating to knowledge recall and the other to the interpretation of the phenomena. In addition, the participants completed the corresponding psychometric tests. Correlational and multiple linear regression analysis showed that the dependent measures were associated with the cognitive variables, while path and mediation analysis showed the di...
Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy Research
Background: achievement goal theory provides an explanatory framework for students’ academic beha... more Background: achievement goal theory provides an explanatory framework for students’ academic behavior. Reports on performance-avoidance goal orientation have not always been consistent and satisfactorily interpreted. Aims: This study aimed to explore the relation between students’ performance-avoidance goal orientation and self-efficacy by fostering the nonlinear perspective. Methods: In the empirical data cusp catastrophe analysis was applied. Results: The nonlinear model was superior to the linear alternatives and the performance -avoidance goal acted as the bifurcation variable. Conclusions: The behavior of peformce-avoidance is explained as bifurcation factor, signifying a nonlinear system and supporting the complex dynamical system theory (CDS).

Entropy
Financial incapacity is one of the cognitive deficits observed in amnestic mild cognitive impairm... more Financial incapacity is one of the cognitive deficits observed in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and dementia, while the combined interference of depression remains unexplored. The objective of this research is to investigate and propose a nonlinear model that explains empirical data better than ordinary linear ones and elucidates the role of depression. Four hundred eighteen (418) participants with a diagnosis of amnestic MCI with varying levels of depression were examined with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), the Functional Rating Scale for Symptoms of Dementia (FRSSD), and the Legal Capacity for Property Law Transactions Assessment Scale (LCPLTAS). Cusp catastrophe analysis was applied to the data, which suggested that the nonlinear model was superior to the linear and logistic alternatives, demonstrating depression contributes to a bifurcation effect. Depressive symptomatology induces nonlinear effects, that is, beyond a threshold value sudden decline in financial ca...

Social Sciences
Innovation refers to the implementation of creative ideas into practice. In that sense, innovativ... more Innovation refers to the implementation of creative ideas into practice. In that sense, innovative work behavior (IWB) is a type of behavior and a multidimensional construct that involves four factors: the generation, promotion, realization, and sustainability of new ideas for the whole organizations’ benefit. Thus, the development of instruments for measuring and singling IWB is an interesting and necessary endeavor. The present study appraises the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the innovative work behavior scale (IWBS-G), a 44-item self-reported instrument, using data collected from two studies with in-service teachers. In the first study dataset (N = 485), exploratory factor analysis was applied, which, by implementing scree plot with parallel analysis, revealed the dimensionality of four factors, namely: Idea Generation (IG), Idea Promotion (IP), Idea Realization (IR), and Idea Sustainability (IS). The corresponding reliability measures using Cronbach’s alpha an...

Education Sciences
This paper presents a software-aided methodology for content analysis by implementing the Leximan... more This paper presents a software-aided methodology for content analysis by implementing the Leximancer software package, which can convert plain texts into conceptual networks that show how the prevalent concepts are linked with each other. The generated concept maps are associative networks of meaning related to the topics elaborated in the analyzed documents and reflect the creators’ core mental representations. The applicability of Leximancer is demonstrated in an education research context, probing university students’ epistemological beliefs, where a qualitative semantic analysis could be applied by inspecting and interpreting the portrayed relationships among concepts. In addition, concept-map-generating matrices, ensuing from the previous step, are introduced to another specialized software, Gephi, and further network analysis is performed using quantitative measures of centrality, such as degree, betweenness and closeness. Besides illustrating the method of this semantic analy...

BMC Psychology
BackgroundThe present study aimed to evaluate the self-regulatory properties of anger on the perf... more BackgroundThe present study aimed to evaluate the self-regulatory properties of anger on the performance of individuals under various motivational dispositions using an experimental design.MethodsThe participants were 99 university students who participated in response to extra credit. The performance of the participants was evaluated using the Tower of Hanoi task. Their anger was measured using a facial expression recognition system and arousal was assessed using a heart-rate monitoring device. Two motivational dispositions were assessed: performance goals with normative evaluative standards and performance goals with a focus on outcomes.ResultsThe results indicated that a nonlinear function explained the relationship between anger, arousal, and achievement under different goal conditions. Specifically, the Cusp Catastrophe Model showed that anger levels beyond a critical point were associated with the unpredictability of performance during the normative goal condition, suggesting ...

The present special issue is yet one more collective endeavor in the area of educational research... more The present special issue is yet one more collective endeavor in the area of educational research that demonstrates how the new science of complex dynamical systems could be applied in this domain. In social sciences, while the linear methodologies are, at the moment still the main stream, the appreciation of the new paradigm has already been growing, and a considerable body of research has been published recently in regular journals, special issues on complexity and edited book volumes. In physiology, behavioral sciences, economics and life sciences, complexity theory and nonlinear dynamics have been proven highly influential advancing the discipline. Education is no longer a late follower to those developments, but a privileged area where complex dynamical system (CDS) is by now an established paradigm. Complexity theory has inspired researchers and scholars working in education and curriculum studies to approach their subject matter from a different angle, and ask different quest...

Welcome to this special issue of NDPLS on Nonlinear Dynamics in Education, which presents an over... more Welcome to this special issue of NDPLS on Nonlinear Dynamics in Education, which presents an overdue attempt to describe the advances in educational research from a Nonlinear Dynamical Systems (NDS) perspective. In other fields such as psychology, economics and the life sciences, NDS has already been highly influential (Koopmans, 2009). Education presents a field of inquiry where the considerable potential of this new paradigm has not yet been fully appreciated. The emergence of NDS thinking constitutes a challenge to the dominant paradigm in educational research. It introduces a new way of thinking, a new epistemology and offers a new perspective on educational reality. Noticeably, in education, NDS, from its earliest times, has been better equipped than other paradigms to describe complex phenomena evolving in time (Lemke & Sabelli, 2008). Besides providing an alternative theory about educational processes, NDS also offers a set of on quantitative nonlinear statistical methods (Gu...

Behavioral Sciences, 2021
Irrationality refers to human thoughts and beliefs that signify lack of rationality and entail er... more Irrationality refers to human thoughts and beliefs that signify lack of rationality and entail erroneous perceptions about situational, personal, or collective idiosyncrasies, while it is independent of one’s intellectual ability. Irrational beliefs are ubiquitous in all social and cultural groups and attract a special interest in behavioral sciences, where the primary concern is the development of instruments for identifying and measuring them. The present study evaluates the psychometric properties of Greek version of Teachers’ Irrational Belief Scale (TIBS-G), a 25-item self-reported instrument using data collected from 835 participants. The exploratory procedure, implementing scree plot with parallel analysis, demonstrated the dimensionality of four factors, namely: Self-downing (SD), Authoritarianism (A), Demands for Justice (DJ), and Low Frustration Tolerance (LT). The corresponding reliability measures using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega were ranged between 0.70 and 0...

Science education international, 2015
In this study, structural equation modeling (SEM) is applied to an instrument assessing students&... more In this study, structural equation modeling (SEM) is applied to an instrument assessing students' understanding of chemical change. The instrument comprised items on understanding the structure of substances, chemical changes and their interpretation. The structural relationships among particular groups of items are investigated and analyzed using confirmatory procedures. In addition, three psychometric cognitive variables, namely logical, convergent and divergent thinking are involved in the SEM analysis and their effects on students' performance estimated. Specifically, three models are tested: a confirmatory factor model, a multiple-indicator multiple-cause (MIMIC) model and path analysis. The SEM analysis showed that the cognitive variables, along with students' achievements in understanding the structure of substances and their changes, sufficiently explained students' ability to interpret chemical phenomena, providing additionally their direct and indirect effe...

Chemistry Teacher International, 2021
A crucial step in problem solving is the retrieval of already learned schemata from long-term mem... more A crucial step in problem solving is the retrieval of already learned schemata from long-term memory, a process which may be facilitated by categorization of the problem. The way knowledge is organized affects its availability, and, at the same time, it constitutes the important difference between experts and novices. The present study employed concept maps in a novel way, as a categorization tool for chemical equilibrium problems. The objective was to determine whether providing specific practice in problem categorization improves student achievement in problem solving and in conceptual understanding. Two groups of eleventh-grade students from two special private seminars in Corfu island, Greece, were used: the treatment group (N = 19) and the control group (N = 21). Results showed that the categorization helped students to improve their achievement, but the improvement was not always statistically significant. Students at lower (Piagetian) developmental level (in our sample, stude...

Behavioral Sciences, 2021
Contemporary mobile technologies offer tablets and smartphones that elicit young children’s activ... more Contemporary mobile technologies offer tablets and smartphones that elicit young children’s active participation in various educational apps, dramatically transforming playing, learning, and communication. Even the most knowledgeable users face difficulties in deciding about the value and appropriateness of the so-called educational apps because of many factors that should be considered. Their importance for children’s attitudes is affected by the perceived positive and negative aspects, which vary across a multiplicity of criteria. Filling the gap in the relevant literature, a new instrument, named PEAU-p (Perceptions about Educational Apps Use–parents), was developed and validated in the present study designed to measure parents’ perception of educational apps for kindergarten pupils. Data (N = 435) were collected via online procedures, and the psychometric properties of PEAU-p were studied via exploratory and confirmatory methods. Principal Components Analysis extracted six facto...

Education Sciences, 2021
The introduction of STEM education, and specifically the implementation of educational robotics (... more The introduction of STEM education, and specifically the implementation of educational robotics (ER), has drawn researchers’ attention and has shown that teachers play a crucial role in leading this innovation. The present study concerns in-service and pre-service early childhood teachers, focusing on their perceptions and attitudes about ER use in daily teaching practice. The data were collected via a questionnaire (N = 201) and explored using latent class analysis, which detected distinct clusters/profiles of participants based on their pattern of responses. Two clusters were identified: Cluster1 was relatively homogeneous, including those who share a positive attitude towards ER, while Cluster2 was heterogeneous, comprising participants with inconsistent responses and expressing negative and skeptical thinking. The cluster memberships were associated with external covariates, such as age, years of teaching experience, and variables measuring their technological competencies. The ...

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems, 2019
Literature on educational reforms is rich of cases where changes have been attempted, without how... more Literature on educational reforms is rich of cases where changes have been attempted, without however to attain success. Likewise the Greek education system had experienced a lot of reforms, most of which have failed to make the intended changes and they attenuated shortly after their implementation or they ceased at the stage of legislative planning. On the other hand, the traditional research have failed to develop a coherent theoretical perspective and provide satisfactory interpretations of the perpetually unsuccessful reforms. This paper is part of wider project which attempts to address the above issue following the Complex Dynamical Systems (CDS) perspective, that is, by fostering the CDS epistemological assumptions and applying nonlinear methodological approaches. This endeavor focuses on teachers' readiness for change and explores the dimensions of the resistance to change related to the values, attitudes, dysfunction beliefs and planed behaviors of teachers. Given that the project is still ongoing, here, only the outline of the research design and the strategy followed are discussed along with some preliminary findings. At a first stage, the investigation implemented focus-group settings to reveal clues of those dimensions. The recorded data were analyzed via orbital decomposition analysis (ODA), a method designed for categorical time series and discourse analysis. Some of the crucial dimensions of resistance-to-change were subsequently measured via a survey instrument and were used to predict teachers' position with linear and nonlinear models. Statistical analysis showed that the cusp catastrophe model was superior to the linear alternatives and revealed discontinuities in teachers' positions, while certain variables proved to be bifurcation factors. The implications of these findings are discussed, while methodological aspects of ODA and catastrophe theory modeling are briefly presented. The present work sets a framework for the application of complexity theory and nonlinear dynamics in organizational theory of educational change.

Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 2017
This paper discusses investigations in science education addressing the nonlinear dynamical hypot... more This paper discusses investigations in science education addressing the nonlinear dynamical hypothesis. Learning science is a suitable field for applying interdisciplinary research and predominately for testing psychological theories. It was demonstrated that in this area the paradigm of complexity and nonlinear dynamics have offered theoretical advances and better interpretations of empirical data. Research showed that besides linear modes of behavior, sudden transitions occur in cognitive performance and this has questioned basic theoretical and epistemological assumptions. The neo-Piagetian framework and motivational theories offering constructs for serving as predictors in various model are the local theories which are embraced by the CDS meta-theory. Sudden transitions are modeled by catastrophe theory (CT) the analyses of which reveal the crucial role of certain variables, namely the bifurcation factors. Beyond a critical value of the bifurcation factor, the state variable spl...

Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 2014
This paper addresses some methodological issues concerning traditional linear approaches and show... more This paper addresses some methodological issues concerning traditional linear approaches and shows the need for a paradigm shift in education research towards the Complexity and Nonlinear Dynamical Systems (NDS) framework. It presents a quantitative piece of research aiming to test the nonlinear dynamical hypothesis in education. It applies catastrophe theory and demonstrates that students’ achievements in science education could be described by a cusp model, where two cognitive variables are implemented as controls - the logical thinking as the asymmetry and the field dependence/independence as the bifurcation respectively. The results support the nonlinear hypothesis by providing the empirical evidence for bifurcation and hysteresis effects in students’ performance. Interpretation of the model is provided and implications and fundamental epistemological issues are discussed.
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Papers by Dimitrios Stamovlasis