Helen Phtiaka graduated in 1982 from the School of Philosophy, University of Athens, Greece. Supported by National Scholarships, she earned an M.Sc. in Psychology from the University of Stirling, Scotland and a Doctorate in Sociology of Education from the University of Cambridge, England. Her thesis concerned a comparison between deviance patterns within and without mainstream educational settings, which was a new approach for the UK, bridging for the first time Special and Mainstream Educational settings and combining traditional psychological with sociological research methodology. In 1989 she became a Research Fellow at the Centre for Educational Development and Research, University of Warwick, England.

She moved to Cyprus in 1992 to take up a lectureship at the Department of Education, University of Cyprus and is one of the founding academic members of the University. In 2003 she became an Associate Professor in Education and in April 2008 was elected Associate Dean for the School of Social and Educational Sciences.

Her research and teaching in School Diversity and Inclusive Education has broken new ground in the area and has set the relevant educational policy and research agenda in Cyprus for the last 18 years.