Dr Maria Karamanidou

Assistant Professor
Vice Chair of the Department of Education

About Dr Maria Karamanidou

Assistant Professor
Co-Director for the MSc in Education, Leadership, and Management

EXPERTISE

I am an experienced educator and academic, specialising in primary school teacher training and educational leadership and management. My research focuses on school leadership and management, as well as teacher training in primary schools in Cyprus and the United Kingdom.

SHORT BIO

I hold a BA in Primary Education from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2010), an MA in Educational Leadership and Management from the University of Warwick (2011), and a PhD in Education from the University of Nottingham (2017), focusing on women principals in Cyprus primary schools. Currently, I serve as Co-Director and Assistant Professor for the MSc in Education, Leadership, and Management at the University of Limassol. I held the role of the Programme Leader for the BA Primary Teaching degree at Middlesex University – London and have also held the role of the Scientific Collaborator at the European University Cyprus and UCLan Cyprus, contributing to their MA programs in Educational Leadership. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an active member of various professional bodies, including BELMAS. I am currently an active reviewer for ISEA and EMAL, which are two academic journals that cover the field of leadership and management in education.

Personal Information

Name Maria Karamanidou
Address Limassol Campus 1: 92, Agias Fylaxeos, 3025 Limassol, Cyprus
Email m.karamanidou@uol.ac.cy
Phone +357 22266787

Publications

Karamanidou, M. (2026). Leading for a Sustainable Future: Sustainable Leadership in Cyprus Primary Schools. Education Sciences, 16(2), 177. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16020177
Karamanidou, M. (2025). The challenges of primary school teachers in Cyprus: A systematic review, Educational Futures, 16(2):55-108. Available at: https://educationstudies.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/EF-16-2-06-Karamanidou.pdf
Thorpe, A., and Karamanidou, M. (2024) The governance, leadership and management of complementary schools: the case of Greek Cypriot schools in England, Cambridge Journal of Education, 54:3, 317-335, DOI: 10.1080/0305764X.2024.2353049
Karamanidou, M. and Bush, T. (2017) Women Primary School Principals in Cyprus: Barriers and Facilitators to Progression, International Studies in Educational Administration, 45(1):70-86 London.
Karamanidou, M. (2017) Women Principals in Cyprus Primary Schools: Barriers to Accession, Thesis submitted for the Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham, Available at: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk, University of Nottingham.
M. (2011) Male and female leadership styles in Cyprus primary schools, Thesis submitted for the Master Degree at the University of Warwick, Available at: https://eprints.warwick.ac.uk, University of Warwick.

CONFERENCE CONTRIBUTIONS

M., (2020) Leadership in large primary schools, Paper presented at the Annual BELMAS Conference, De Vere Horwood Estate, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.
Karamanidou, M. (2017) Women Primary School Principals in Cyprus: Barriers and Facilitators to Progression, BELMAS, United Kingdom, Retrieved : http://www.belmas.org.uk/CoreCode/Admin/ContentManagement/MediaHub/Assets/FileDownload.ashx?fid=293532&pid=62182&lo c=en-GB&fd=False
M. (2016) Women Principals in Cyprus Primary Schools: Barriers to Accession, Paper (poster presentation) presented at the Annual BELMAS Conference, Cheshire, United Kingdom.
M. (2016) Women principals in Cyprus primary schools: accession and enactment to principalship, Paper presented at the Gender, Leadership and Education Conference, University of Leicester, United Kingdom.
M. (2015) Women Principals in Cyprus Primary Schools: Barriers to Accession, BELMAS, United Kingdom, (Retrieved from: http://www.belmasannualconference.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Maria-Karamanidou.pdf)
M., (2014) Women principals in Cyprus primary schools: barriers and facilitators to accession, Paper presented at the Annual BELMAS Conference, Ettington Chase, Stratford-Upon-Avon, United Kingdom.

Blog and newspaper published articles:

• Διεθνής Ημέρα Μητρικής Γλώσσας: Η ομορφιά της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας – Μια Διαχρονική Κληρονομιά. Available at:
https://limassoltoday.com.cy/stiles/filoksenoumena/diethnis-imera-mitrikis-glossas-i-omor/

• 1η Ιουνίου: Ημέρα Παιδιού, μια υπενθύμιση για το μέλλον μας – Available at: https://www.uol.ac.cy/en/1i-iouniou-imera-paidiou-mia-ypenthymisi-gia-to-mellon-mas/

Book chapters:

Karamanidou, M., Sergidou, N. M., & Kosmas, P. (2026). Συμπερίληψη και διαπολιτισμική εκπαίδευση: Ο ρόλος των ψηφιακών εργαλείων στην υποστήριξη μαθητών/τριών με προσφυγικό ή μεταναστευτικό υπόβαθρο. Στο P. Kosmas & S. Nikolidakis (Επιμ.), Νέες τεχνολογίες στην ειδική και συμπεριληπτική εκπαίδευση: Θεωρία, έρευνα και διδακτικές πρακτικές. Εκδόσεις Γρηγόρη.

UoL