Maria Papazafiri

Maria Papazafeiri holds a postdoctorate in visual impairment and multiple disabilities or deafblindness. She completed her Bachelor at the Department of Special Education at the University of Thessaly. From the same Department, she also received her doctoral degree in 2018. For her doctoral thesis entitled "Investigation and mapping of tactile strategies used by students with multiple disabilities and severe visual impairments" and supervising professor, Mr. Vasilios Argyropoulos, received a scholarship from the State Scholarship Foundation (I.KY.) of the project "Scholarship grant program for postgraduate studies of the second cycle of studies" in the context of the Act with OPS code 5003404 of the EP. "Human Resource Development, Education and Lifelong Learning" of NSRF (2014-2020). Third (3rd) in ranking order with a score of 88.57. She is a scientific staff member at the Accessibility Center for Individuals with Disabilities at the University of Thessaly.
Her research interests and related published work concern special education, early educational intervention programs, educational programs, the valid assessment of all children with disabilities with a particular emphasis on children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment, in children with deafblindness, and in children with only visual impairment. She has taught a wide range of courses across both undergraduate and graduate programs, focusing on early educational intervention, specialized topics in differentiated instruction, assessment methodologies, Braille reading and writing code, special education, inclusive pedagogy, and more.
She has been invited to lecture in undergraduate and graduate programs on topics such as valid assessment, designing individualized educational programs for children with disabilities, differentiating instruction, producing appropriate supervision materials for children with disabilities, and quality data management. She has collaborated with various Education and Culture agencies to train professionals and teachers in differentiated teaching, the creation of personalized educational programs, and the promotion of accessibility and inclusion.
She has participated in a variety of research programs focused on early educational intervention, assessment, communication skills, and issues of accessibility in non-formal education settings. She has authored a book on educational intervention and assessment issues for children with visual impairments and multiple disabilities or blindness. Additionally, she has contributed chapters to various books published by both Greek and international publishers, and has presented at numerous international and Greek conferences. She also serves as a reviewer for papers in international scientific journals.
Address: Greece