CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Tarazis, Christos |
|---|---|
| Title | Debating the Greek Educational Reform of 1964: The Press and the Politics of Change |
| Summary | This work aspires to demonstrate the close correlation of educational conceptions with ideological positions and political attitudes. Even more, it aims to reveal how education is used as a means of national identity building, and as a mechanism of political legitimacy for ruling groups who seek to perpetuate through it their dominant position in the society. In this context, my thesis focuses on the educational reform of 1964 and the loaded public debate that accompanied its introduction. I will explore how its radical measures challenged dominant notions and established interests of Greek society, and thus they were perceived as a severe threat by the political and institutional status quo. The public field where all these factors dynamically interplayed was the Athenian press. The latter is used as my main ‘methodological instrument’ given that it did not only constitute the arena where this intense debate refolded, but also escalated to a crucial agent who reinforced the pressure to the newly elected government. My conclusion will depict that the reform of 1964 was “doomed” to be abolished as it could not transcend the suffocating political climate and deep rooted nationalistic ideology that permeated Greek society. However, as it will be shown, its liberal principles not only survived, but when the broader context of the Greek public sphere was redefined, they managed to become integral part of education. |
| Supervisor | Siefert Marsha |
| Department | History MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/tarazis_christos.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University