Konstantina is a Lecturer in Teacher Education and Professional Learning at the School of Education and Social Policy and teaches both in the BA (Hons) Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), and in the PGCE Primary programme. She is also a University tutor for PGCE Primary school placements. Prior to this Konstantina was an English and EAL teacher, and a Deputy Head at the Sixth Form of Cathays High School. She has gained a varied experience across the education sector working as an English Teacher in Greece, England and most recently in Wales.
Konstantina holds a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR. She completed her MA in Applied Theatre: Drama in Educational, Community & Social Contexts at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She received her PhD in Pedagogy from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2018.
Konstantina's research interests are on Interactive Pedagogy and Second Language Acquisition, particularly on the use of Drama in Education in teaching and learning. She currently studies the different applications of expressive arts and cultural heritage in educational contexts. She has published on Drama in Education, Second Language Acquisition, and Cultural Heritage applications in Education.
She has led several research projects, funded among others by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Greek State Scholarships Foundation (IKY), and the EU Erasmus+ framework.
Her current research projects include:
- 2018-2020: A Town of Many: Recording Butetown's Religious Landscapes for Social Inclusion. In collaboration with University of Bristol, Cardiff Metropolitan University, and Cathays High School. The project aims at providing heritage-based teaching resources to newly arrived migrants and refugees.
- 2018- 2021: VIA Culture: European Cultural Heritage for Vocabulary In Action. In collaboration with the University of Bristol, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, International School of Belgrade, University of Padova, and Cathays High School. Via Culture aims at the creation of cultural heritage based teaching resources that can be used through Drama for the promotion of European values and second language acquisition (see VIA Culture project).
- 2020- 2023: Finds Stories: Addressing mobility through object and people biographies. In collaboration with the University of Bristol, Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, International School of Belgrade, Basketball Museum of Thessaloniki, and the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens. Finds Stories aims at the investigation of the diachronic impact of inter-and intra-Balkan mobility to minority groups and the creation of cross curricula resources that promote language learning and social inclusion.
Kalogirou, K., Stamenković, D., Fernée, C. L. and Trimmis, K. P. (2020) 'A Town of Many': Drama and Urban Heritage Landscapes as Mediums for Second Language Acquisition and Social Inclusion. The Global Education Review. 7(4), 9–28. Available at:
https://ger.mercy.edu/index.php/ger/article/view/558
Trimmis, K.P., Fernee, C.L. and Kalogirou, K. (2020). Evidence on the impact of COVID-19 to English as Additional Language (EAL) students in UK public schools. Mitigation approached through digital heritage. UK Parliament, Education Committee, The impact of COVID-19 on education and children's services. Available at:
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/5685/pdf/
Kalogirou, K. and Trimmis, K.P. (2020). Via Culture: Drama based, heritage infused teaching resources for language learning and social inclusion. Drama Magazine, 26(2), 19 –23. London: National Drama
Trimmis, K.P. and Kalogirou, K. (2018) Performative Archaeology: Exploring the Use of Drama in Archaeology Teaching and Practice. Scenario Journal. 12(2), 30–45. Available at:
https://journals.ucc.ie/index.php/scenario/article/view/scenario-12-2-3/pdf-en
Kalogirou, K., Beauchamp, G., and Whyte, S. (2017) Vocabulary Acquisition via Drama: Welsh as a second language in the primary school setting. The Language Learning Journal. 45(3), 332–343. London: Taylor & Francis. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2017.1283351.
Kalogirou, K., (2016). Step in Drama. Reach English Language Acquisition. Scenario Journal. 10(1), 33–48. Available at:
https://journals.ucc.ie/index.php/scenario/article/view/scenario-10-1-3
Kalogirou,K., Sarwar, S., and Trimmis, P.K. (2016) Let's meet the Red Lady of the Paviland: Delivering the Prehistoric Narratives in Museum Education. Drama Magazine. 22(2), 9–15. London: National Drama.
