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Education and Modernization in Greece. SPONS AGENCY' Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C

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Education and Modernization in Greece. SPONS AGENCY' Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C DOCUMENT RESUME ED 097 251 SO 007 812 AUTHOR Kazasias, Andreas N. TITLE Education and Modernization in Greece. SPONS AGENCY' Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C. Bureau of Research. BUREAU NO BR-7-1111 CONTRACT OEC-1-7-71111-5232 NOT! 254p. !DRS PRICE MP -$0.75 HC-$12.60 PLUS POSTAGE DESCRIPTORS *Comparative Education; Cultural Background; *Educational Development; *Educational History; Greek; *Modern History; Political Influences; Relevance (Education); Social Influences; Traditional Schools IDENTIFIERS *Greece; Modernization ABSTRACT This history of Greek education traces the path of modernization from the emergence of Greece as an independent state in the early 1800's up to the present date. Educational philosophy and content are seen as pawns in the social and political struggles of those years. Detailed coverage of the historical events describes the structure of education as it has evAved and the battles that brought about a popular, practical aspect to curricula. In this struggle the use of demotic or popular Greek is a real aswell as symbolic issue. The slow progress of modernization, impeded most recently by the 1967 military takeover is described as the result of Greek pride in a cultural heritage embodied in traditional, classical education. Reforms achieved in 1964 are seen as indications of what may come with time. Greek terms are used throughout the history and are defined in a glossary at the end. (JH) TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. A NEW STATE IN AN OLD CULTURE: PERSPECTIVES 22 pp. CHAPTER II. INDEPENDENCE, CONSOLIDATION OF THE MEEK 40 pp. STATE, AND EDUCATION CHAPTER III. THE ERA OF THE GRAND IDEA 17 pp. nuArTER IV. ItRUM VENIZETKE TO KARAMANLES 16 pp. CHAPTER V. THE COMMITTEE OU EDUCATION AND THE 39 pp. KARMANCS REFORMS CHAPTER VI. THE PAPANDMOU REFORM AND TIE; GREAT DEBATE 39 pp. CHAPTER VII. THE PRESENT STRUCTURE OF THE EDUCATIONAL 34 pp. SYSTEM CHAPTER VIII. HIGHER EDUCATIOU 32 pp. CHAPTER /K. CONCLUSION: TRADITION AND MODERNITY IN 5 pp. GREEK EDUCATION GLOSSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY CHAPTER I I-1 A NEW STATE IN AN OLD CULTURE: PERSPECTIVES As an independent state contemporary Greece is a relatively modern cre- ation. It was established in the early decades of the nineteenth centuryafter a revolutionary war (1821-1829) against the Ottoman Empireand the timely inter- vention of England, France, and Russia, the then great European powers. Indeed, Greece's present boundaries were not settled until after the Second World War. Born in an era of optimism about human progress and the perfectibilityof man, the new Greek nation-state was inspired and consolidatedby a curious vs.:mixture of ideas, doctrines, socio-economic conditions and cultural strands. There were first the Western European Enlightenment and the French revolutionary ideology with its emphasis on freedom, equality, and national sovereignty. Secondly, there were two major cultural and ideological strands which the re- surgent Greeks perceived to be indigenous to their tradition, namely,ClassIcal Hellenism and Byzantine Orthodox Christianity.- The spirit and languageof ancient Hellas, in particular, animated a neo-Hellenic cultural revivalwhich, in turn, reinforced the doctrines of emancipation from foreign rule,national identity, and independence. And thirdly, there were several external and in- ternal forces and events; an unprecedented economic and educationalawakening on the Greek peninsula and in the various Greekcommunities outside,Apower 1The originel Greek Kingdom (1332) encompassed the Peloponnese, Attica, Bootie, Roumeli, the Island of Euboea, and several other asoller islands, in- cluding the Cyclades. In 1.854 the Ionian Islands (Corfu, Cephalonia, Zakynthos and Ithaca) were ceded by Great Britain. Thessa'. :,, in the middle of the Greek Peninsula, was added in 1881, and after the Balkan Wars (1913) the largerterri- tories of Epirus, Macedonia (including the important city of Salonica), Crete and the Aegean Islands (Lemnos, Chios, Samos, Mytilene, etc.) were annexed. Western Thrace was incorporated in 1923 after the Greco-Turkish War and the so-called Asia Minor Catastrophe. The Dodecanese, with the island of Rhodes, was ceded by Italy in 1947. I -2 struggle among the major European countriesfor influence in Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean, the weakening ofthe Sultan's power over the provinces and the high seas, and the generalpost-Napoleonic European climate. The aforementioned conditions may have providedpowerful weapons and the necessary grounds to rally the Greeks andphilhellenes behind the cause of political independence and to create a sense of nationalconsciousness and identity. But they did not furnish easy and workableguidelines to build a viable polity, asocially and culturally cohesive nation, and adynamic economy. Greek national development has beencharacterized by political instability, economic scarcity, culturalambivalences, and the institution- alization of ideas and patterns that have hinderedmodernization. Political Perspectives. In the political realm, there havebeen frequent disruptive, at times disastrous, conflicts amongthe major institutions of the monarchy, parliament, and the military. The Greek monarchs and the military have often interfered in the political affairs of the country. acting in their assumed capacity of beingthe custodians of nationaltraditions, Greek culture and the social orderin general. In the twentieth century alone, there were five military interventions(1909, 1924, 1925, 1936, 1967), the last two resulting in the dissolutionof parliament, the suspension of the Constitution, and the setting up oftight military dictatorships. There are some interesting parallelsbetween the military coups of August 4, 1936 and April 21, 1967,their pre-conditions,and the t,gimesthey helped set up. A brief comment on them would help clarify oneaspect of recent Greek politicallife. Both events were preceded by street riots,strikes, unrest and a paralysis of parliamentary ;government or whatmight be called political immobilisme. 1-3 This was in part due to another feature of Greek politics, which has created instability, namely, fragmentationor a splinter party system. In .both cases several unsuccessful attempts to form a government were made and apolitical caretaker 7,overnments were appointed. In 1936 such government was headed by General Metaxas who shortly thereafter persuaded the King to dissolve the Chamber of Deputies (theBoule), suspend the Constitution, declare martial law, and with a mere stroke of the pen, proclaim himself dictator. In 1967, the apolitical government appointed just prior to the coup d'etat, was headed by P. Kanellopoulos, the leader of the National Radical Union (ERE), the minority right-wing party. And this time the coup was staged by a groupof junior army officers who Again dissolved the Chamber and declared martial law, suspended key articles of the Constitution, imprisoned politicians and others, and established another military dicta- torial regime. Prior to both military take-overs, mass rallies were scheduled to take place in Salonica (on August 5 in 1936,tand on April 28 in 1967). These rallies were publicized by certain ^roups, chiefly rightist, w4 as airmailing the beginng of a leftist revolution that would ultimately destroy long cherished traditions, e. "., Hellenism and Christianity, esta- blished. institutions such as the Church, the monarchy, the Greek family, and Greek education, and generally would recast Greek society and culture along non-Greek, non-Christian and non-Western lines. In 1967 the parallel of a Maoist-type cultural revolution was often invoked by malcontents, and a downright Communist take-over was said to be imminent. Among the rTounds for justifying both interventions was an alleged communist conspiracy by inside and outside, forces. Therefore the military, always acting in the beat interests of the country, had to step in and '..'save the Nation.' 1-4 The established regimes after the two coups embarked uponcampaigns of intimidation and terror. There was imprisonment of political leaders,of alleged communists or nommunist sympathizers, of peoplewho were friends of undesirables'.' or who were associated with reforms madepreviously (this was particularly true of the 1967 regime, which is still inpower). There was dismantling of many enactments and measures by previous governments(again this was more intense after 1967). University professors and school-teachers were fired or forced to resign, and weretold what to say and write. Censor- ship of the press and other media was strictly enforcedand the regimes vowed to cleanse the Greek Augean stables of moraldecadence and political corruption. In turn Greece was to return to thepurity' of its traditions. Thereby, it would follow logically the historic course whichhad its roots in the ancient and Byzantine periodsand which was charted with the creation of an independent state in the nineteenth century.The institution of monarchy was retained in both instances. Finally, neither the Metaxas nor thePapadrpoulos (the present) coups were followed by anysubstantial 2 organized opposition. Indeed, there was complete disintegrationof any sort of liberal or even communistorganizations or movements. Political instability and the emer7ence ofauthoritarian regimes have been influenced and can partially be accountedfor by the fragmentation, factionalism and splintering that have been soprevalent in Greek political party structure since the early days ofthe state. Suffice to mention that since World War II
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