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ERIC Number: EJ795415
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 8
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1478-2103
EISSN: N/A
The Cross-Thematic Approach and the "New" Curricula of Greek Compulsory Education: Review of an Incompatible Relationship
Aggelakos, Ostas
Policy Futures in Education, v5 n4 p460-467 2007
Compulsory Greek education has long shown its need for revision. The Greek Pedagogical Institute (GPI) has presented the cross-thematic approach as a panacea, yet further changes are necessary in terms of experiential learning, school subject demarcation, teaching time management, teaching material, and the student/educator role. This article examines whether these changes are incorporated in the recent educational system revision, which resulted in widespread confusion, a national debate, and the publication of "A Crossthematic Curriculum Framework for Compulsory Education (DEPPS)". A speech analysis of GPI leadership indicates the exaggerated, fictionalised, and ideological use of the term "cross-thematic". Futhermore, detailed analysis demonstrates that the new "cross-thematic" curricula reproduce the 1999 curricula, making no major changes to traditional school subject demarcation, or teaching time management. New curriculum elements are also problematic; the fundamental cross-thematic concepts are vague and haphazard, while the recommended cross-thematic activities (projects) are undermined by poor examples or inadequate allotted teaching time. Moreover, the "new" curricula follow the goal-setting model, which leads to a multiplicity of teaching objectives and to increased content quantity, thus impeding schoolbook writing. Most importantly, the suggested integration of the cross-thematic approach in Greek schools is not ideologically neutral. (Contains 4 tables and 1 note.)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Greece
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A