Intercultural education in Greece: the case of thirteen primary schools

Abstract

The present study deals with headteachers’ and teachers’ perceptions of the nature of intercultural education and the necessity of its implementation in intercultural primary schools in Greece. It also seeks to explore teachers’ and headteachers’ views on the teaching methods adopted and the events and activities organised in the classrooms and in the school to implement intercultural education, and why.The research methodology adopted is a mixed-method approach. It has been employed in order to add breadth and depth to the analysis and to achieve a better and more complete understanding of the social phenomenon examined. The research methods used include questionnaires administered and interviews undertaken with teachers and headteachers.Teachers and headteachers seem to have a clear idea of the meaning of intercultural education and of its principles. In addition, they support the implementation of intercultural education for a number of reasons. The results indicate that great importance is attributed to the use of cooperative learning, group work and the interdisciplinary approach to implementing intercultural education. Teachers and headteachers also seem more confident to implement intercultural education in language studies and social studies as well as in art studies. Data analysis reveals that teachers organise a variety of events and activities in order to implement intercultural education.The findings provide suggestions for the creation of a school environment in which the intercultural dimension in education will be promoted in the school, so as to meet the educational needs of native, foreign, and repatriate pupils attending both intercultural and mainstream primary schools. The contribution of the present study to the topic examined is significant, since there has been no previous research conducted in all 13 intercultural primary schools in Greece.