English Teachers Under Threat

Hellenic Pedagogical Cosmos, Vol. 5, No. 1, May 2008

VOLUME 5, NUMBER 1, MAY 2008

A Periodic Kaleidoscope on Education and Pedagogy in Hellas

‘FOLOI’

Hellenic Pedagogical Cosmos

A Periodic Kaleidoscope on Education and Pedagogy in Hellas

Editor

Dr Leonidas C. Bombas

Contributors

Bombas Victoria

Alexandropoulos, Dionyssios

Levaki Katerina

Kolonia Irene

Koraki, Anna

Kritikou, Anna

Pitterou Efie

Skiadopoulou Teresa

Vodena Mary

Assistant to the Editor

Kleoniki Bombas

Hellenic Pedagogical Cosmos ( HPC ) is an informative, rather unusual, periodical on educational and pedagogical issues and developments in contemporary Hellas. It is not an academic review in the traditional sense by which such reviews have become known throughout the international academic community. The format is different, the contents as a whole are presented differently. Notwithstanding this, HPC seeks, primarily, to serve the needs of all those Anglophones whose access to the esoteric educational atmosphere of Greece is limited due to the Greek language barrier. Throughout the contents of the periodical, the non-Greek speaking reader may find a number of highly synoptic presentations of a variety of educational and pedagogical themes from a wide spectrum of ‘originators’ (e.g. academics, researchers, teachers, parents, students, journalists, politicians, etc) that rarely cross Greek borders via the medium of a ‘foreign’ language. In that sense, the heterogeneous panorama of the synchronous Hellenic pedagogy analyzed in this ‘Cosmos’ may always be of both theoretical interest and practical use to all those involved in the field of education.

Editorial correspondence should be addressed to: Dr Leonidas C. Bombas , 24 Efthimiou Papa Street, 17342 Agios Dimitrios, Greece.

Tel: 697-4433234

Fax: 210-9927659

e-mail:

www.hpcosmos.gr

HPC will be published two times a year, in May and November. These two issues constitute one volume.

Athens, Greece: ‘Foloi’ Publications

ISSN 1790-1049

HELLENIC PEDAGOGICAL COSMOS

Volume 5 Number 1, May 2008

Editor’s lexis

…and

School homework under ‘scrutiny’……………………………..21

The “Socrates” day school in Montreal……………………… 19

Teaching English in Greece today…………………………….. 31

Panorama of higher education and …protests……………. 15

Educational/pedagogical Conferences……………………….. 47

The ‘others’ in our cultural mosaic……………………………..41

Here comes the “Flexible Zone” program………………….. 35

Indicative Abstracts of published papers/articles………… 57

Meet D. Mattheou as an educationalist……………………… 43

Our anthology from the press tells the story…………………5

Recently published books………………………………………… 13

Historical notes have always been of value…………………. 9

Centre of Comparative Education ‘a la Grec’………………..61

European dimension dialogue …………………………………..11

Our teachers need epimorphosis, as all teachers……….. 45

The valuable assistance of “Nea Ekpaideftiria-G.Malliara” in realizing this HPC project is greatly appreciated

Editor’s Lexis

Once more, over the last six months or so, the central educational scene in Greece has been, mainly, occupied by heated discussions and, at times, by intense conflict and various protests within the tertiary education sector. The latest legislation on tertiary education that passed trough the Greek parliament almost a year ago by the Conservative Government of “New Democracy” and which, among other issues, attempts to change the way of state funding to universities and TEI (Higher Technological Institutes) and to impose an evaluation (internal and external) system/process to those educational institutions, has created an explosive atmosphere within most of those institutions. Although there seems to be some support for these new measures by specific professors and students (expectedly, the ones that at a political party level vote for the present Government), the truth is that the vast majority of the academic community at large either oppose to such changes or –at best- are very sceptical and reluctant to accept them in praxis. Numerous protests and intra-university fighting have already been recorded in most institutions to the point that professors and rectors/deans have been held hostages or even physically attacked by students and their ‘associates’ who often take part in such violent protests. In a word, the Minister of Education E. Stylianidis insists and declares in all tone that the new legislation, is the Law of the country, and as such it will be implemented and obeyed by everyone, despite opposing quarters and whatever protest by academics and university students. Nonetheless, one thing is certain: This ‘battle’ is not over yet!...

With regard to other developments, the legislation of compulsory pre-school education for all Greek children that comes into force by this school year, remains to be seen upon its actual implementation phase. The apparent lack of public infrastructure to accommodate all those youngsters at the pre- and the kindergarten level raises serious questions and doubts about the ‘next day’. We shall see.

The shortage of primary school teachers –especially for private schools, most of which ‘improvise’ in order to have their teaching needs met at a satisfactory level- continues to exist as an interesting professional and socio-educational phenomenon.

Dr Leonidas C. Bombas

Athens, May 2008

Anthology of educational/pedagogical issues as presented via the press

School’s grades are called into question

The reliability of a private vocational school in Arta, northwestern Greece, was called into question yesterday after it was revealed that it awarded diplomas with top marks to so many students that it accounted for a fifth of the perfect grades in all of Greece.The Federation of Private School Teachers of Greece (OIELE) said that the Evropi School awarded just over 1,000 diplomas in three years. During this period, it issued 22 percent of all the top grades given by vocational schools. Students who graduate with top grades have a head start when applying for jobs in the public sector.

OIELE charged that the only qualification some of the teachers had was a diploma from the school. “The problem is not just in Arta… it has taken on nationwide proportions,” OIELE president Michalis Kourotos said .“Regulation of the sector is nonexistent.”

Honorary Distinction for a Greek Gymnasium

One of the gymnasia (junior high school) of the municipality of Viron (neighboring Athens) won the third place in the ‘Karlomagnos’ European Youth Competition organized jointly by the European Parliament and the Charlemagne Institute of Achen. In justifying this decision the organizers note the program of European teaching of the specific school constitutes ‘a prototype’ and a model of its kind not only for Greece but also for other country member of the Union, given the fact that the program offers to its students further education as well as prospects for professional careers in the future. The program of the Vyron 1st Gymnasium includes actions which promote and strengthen mutual understanding, the European identity while develops concrete examples for the co-existence of all European as a community.

(‘in.gr”, 1/5/2008)

The “intelligent” school is OK, but what about the intelligent students?

The Education Minister announced this week the “intelligent school”. A school which will save energy and will incorporate

alternative forms of energy and ecological technologies in existing school buildings. This is a very good idea and very useful in the framework of the

globalized sensitivity for the environment. The question, however, is why there is no legislation in Greece concerning the education of intelligent, talented and gifted children? Since the year 2000 we do have specific legislation for special education for children with special educational needs and clear-cut directives for differentiating teaching and examination of such children -and very rightly so. The intelligent, the gifted children do not deserve special treatment within our educational system? The answer is definitely, yes. It is time that both the educational community ate large and the official state take a good and systematic look at this important issue, so that the appropriate legislation -long overdue- and the ensuing school praxis become a reality. (“alfavita.gr”, 25/1/2008)

At last, compulsory education for individuals with handicaps

Responding and satisfying demands dating back more than 20 years, the Greek Ministry of Education is putting forward legislation (draft) concerning all persons with handicaps on the basis of which their education become compulsory by law. At the same time, this legislation makes particular provisions for a number of other basic rights for persons with handicaps, provisions –of course- that in most other European countries have been adopted and actually practiced for many years now. According the Education Minister Evripidis Stylianidis, the philosophy of this draft legislation is the promotion of the ‘humane Greece’ which approaches with sensitivity and humane attitude the problems. Anna Diamantopoulou from the PASOK official opposition party was critical about this draft legislation because it came too late and it does not solve the problem in question.

“in.gr”, 1/5/2008)

The ‘open wound’ of our education system

‘Big words’ and declarations from the Minister of Education for 1,233 new school buildings by 2012 in the framework of the so-called “intelligent school” with “bioclimatic installations and present-day infrastructure” were made public a little after the beginning of the current school year. Yet, the Parliament had already voted/approved the new budget of the Government for 2008 on the basis of which only

3.09% of the G.N.P. is allocated to the public education sector compared to 3,41% for 2004. Thus, Greece stands in the 25th position among the 27 member states of the European Community with regard to funding their corresponding public education systems. Furthermore, Greece is among the

OECD countries with the lowest financial support for each tertiary education student and with the lowest number of computers per student. The problem of appropriate school buildings in Greece continues to be very acute even today, since, as estimated, approximately 40% of all Greek schools are housed in ‘ancient’ buildings.

(“Ethnos”, 23/1/2008)

Broadband Internet in Greece

According to pertinent data provided by the specialized Committee of the European Union, a percentage of 62% of the Greek population continues not to use internet, compared to 40% of the corresponding European average. Greece is found in the 24th place among the 27 member states of the European Union in using Internet, while ‘broadband penetration’ in Greece is well under the 10% mark compared with the percentage of 20% that represents the European average.

(‘To Vima’, 4/5/2008)

The extended (‘all-day’) school in crisis

Although the so-called all day or extended school in Greece has been received with enthusiasm and very positively by both parents and the educational community at large from the very beginning of its establishment in the early 1990’s, unfortunately, this innovative development in the public educational sector -despite the many promises and the rhetoric by the state officials- seems to be fading away. If nothing else, the declining number of school units and the continuously shrinking number of pupils attending the extended schools today are more than indicative of this trend. Over the lat two years, experts have recorded a decrease of more than 25% in the number of pupils attending such educational arrangements. Education Professor Ch. Konstantinou (Univ. of Ioannina) puts the blame on the government and the Ministry of education for having left this whole project of extended schools without even the basic support in both human capital and other infrastructure for the daily functioning. According to the Presisdent of DOE (Federation of Greek Primary Teachers) D. Bratis the major problem has to do with the lack of teaching personnel in those schools, or their late appointment.

(‘in.gr’, 25/05/2008)

Senior high school students to return school textbooks

According to a recent circular of the Education Minister to the Directors

of high schools across the country, starting this coming school year, all senior high (Lyceum) students will be obliged to give back to their school the textbooks they are given free of charge at the beginning each school year. As explained in this directive of the Ministry these used textbooks are to be recycled so that some money may be saved and be allocated to School Committees for improving the necessary infrastructure of each school. As a matter of fact, those used textbooks which may be in good condition are going to be used again by other students. Obviously, specific textbooks that are to be used for more than one year usage/teaching, are exempted from this new development in the Greek educational scene.

(‘Newsroom DOL’, 28/05/2008)

A primary school building…hovel

In the area of Ancient Corinthos –approximately 75 kilometers from downtown Athens- a total of 159 primary school children are packed in a very small building of 1932, in two ‘portable classrooms’ made of walls containing asbestos, and three containers. This small stone-made building was build near the archaeological cite of Corinthos in 1932 and has been damaged by the disastrous earthquake of 1981. Having undergone though some minor repairs, the school building has been in operation all along up to the present. The school yard has been becoming smaller and smaller due to the placement of the ‘portable classrooms’ and the containers to house the children. On the whole, the daily conditions for both the teachers and the pupils in this particular school, are way out of the expected for a descent and safe school environment in the year 2008.

(‘Ethnos tis Kyriakis’, 13/04/2008)

From the history of the neo-Hellenic education system: a didactic nostalgia

Educational reform: A …recurring theme!

As the historical analysis of the Greek educational system has shown, one of the principal themes in each electoral campaign in modern Greece has been undoubtedly the ‘slogan’ of educational reform. In one form or another each political party –be that rightist, centrist, or leftist- has included in its governmental program major changes in the educational system of the country and has made promises of carrying out these changes upon winning the elections. This recurring phenomenon can be seen in all election fights. Even the various dictatorial and repressive governments which ruled Greece several times in recent decades have given all their efforts to persuade the Greek people everywhere about upcoming educational reforms. Needles to point out again that the known issues of democratization, modernization, equal opportunity for all, and education of a higher quality have always been the central preoccupations of educational reformers. How these issues have been interpreted and tried in educational practice by the various governments has varied. On the whole, however, the general characteristics of the Greek educational system have outlived both conservative and liberal governments.