Curriculum reforms in upper secondary education in Greece: Towards internationalization under financial pressure. Author: Petroula Siminou

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1 Curriculum reforms in upper secondary education in Greece: Towards internationalization under financial pressure. Abstract Author: Petroula Siminou The paper examines the recent curriculum reforms in upper secondary education in Greece since the financial crisis transition changes. The fiscal crisis of the Euro zone area in 2009 had multiple effects on education systems in South European countries, striking mostly the case of Greece. The national budget for education revisited all costs and after stressing evaluation planned by the EU and the IMF urgent restructures were imposed initially by reducing teachers wages, merging schools, increasing teachers mobility and redundancies. In an effort to balance spending and competitiveness under the pressure of following the processes of Europeanization and globalization effects, the curriculum changes towards a more open upper secondary general education with harder examinations for university entrance and an increase of apprenticeship in vocational schools. The paper explores the way of decision making for the implementation of the curriculum reforms and discusses the teachers reactions and discontent. Keywords: Austerity, curriculum reform, Greece, examination system, teachers evaluation. Introduction Curriculum reforms in Greece take place almost every four years after every national election. All education reforms since the 80s were initiated after following EU directives since Greece became a member of the European Union. Education reforms were also part of the structural adjustment programs in line with European policy objectives such as to increase participation, improve the quality of education towards the European integration framework. Directions were given by comparative European reports and international benchmarking results (such as the PISA studies y the OECD) as well as national evaluations. The aim of this paper is to examine the way of decision making and the scope for the implementation of recent curriculum reforms under the pressure of the financial crisis in Greece seeking to answer the following questions: Why curriculum reforms in upper secondary education? How globalization and the fiscal crisis affect the curriculum reforms? What are the teachers reactions to the implementation of curriculum reforms? The paper explores the main upper secondary education curriculum as linked to the higher education entrance examinations and analyses the reasons for reforms in the framework of external-internal financial austerity measures. The paper also discusses the teachers reactions as they are demanded to implement the reforms under financial pressure. Aspects of the education system in Greece Compulsory education lasts for nine years in Greece. The upper secondary school (lyceum) in belongs to the category of non-compulsory education. There are two different types of lyceum: General and technical-vocational. There are both day and evening schools. The former have a three-year program and the latter a four years. There are five directions, or 1

2 streams of studies: humanities and law, science and technology; health sciences; economic and social sciences; educational sciences. The general lyceum has a three- year program and after the second year of study, there are specializations. The third year of lyceum is divided into five cycles of study which prepares students for higher education. The technical-vocational lyceum includes also day schools with a program of three-years and evening schools with a program of four-years. Students who, after the lyceum wish to continue their studies at a university or technical higher institution are obliged to select one of four streams at the beginning in their last year of lyceum. Attending the classes of these streams gives them the right to sit for the general examinations and thus to take part in the selection process for higher education. In general lyceum students take general knowledge subjects and preparatory courses in whichever one of the four streams they have selected. In the general knowledge subjects are taught in all three grades. In the third year, students select one out of five cycles of study and in their third year, they select one out of 20 branches of study. These cycles of study constitute the foundation and the starting point for a group of related occupations and prepare students for higher education, as well as: a) to continue their studies in universities or after they have selected one of the four streams; b) to practice a trade; c) to acquire a skill after attending specialization departments for one year and vocational training after six months of study in Institutes of vocational training. Initial vocational education and training in Greece is provided in upper secondary technical vocational lyceum for those who have completed compulsory education (gymnasium leaving certificate). It is also provided in the Institutes of vocational training for further training of four terms for trainees with a leaving certificate of the general lyceum or the technical-vocational lyceum. The education of children with special needs is also provided as special education at the primary and secondary level of education. After upper secondary education, a university degree is generally considered in Greece as giving working possibilities. The entrance examinations are of special meaning to parents and taking examinations is a struggle which students feel pressed to go through in order to achieve success in the wider community and pursue their dreams for further career. Entrance in higher education institutions is also associated with attending parallel cram schools or home education for preparation to pass the admissions written examinations. The majority of teachers (80 percent) in public upper secondary education admit that this parallel preparative education is necessary for the students due to the high competition for studying certain subjects leading to professions of social and scientific status (e.g. medicine and law), but 67 percent of the teachers assume that the examinations system needs to be improved (Liatsou, 2004). Parallel private education leads families to financial difficulties and many claim that the examination system broadens social inequalities. In 2004 most of the students preferences of study-subjects were ICT, military faculties, police academies, commercial marine studies, cosmetics and aeronautics. The reason for that was the low unemployment in these professions (Lakasas, 2004). Since 2004, curriculum reforms efforts were aiming to decrease the high number of students in secondary education who attend private courses in cram schools (e.g. 83 percent of students attending English classes, 10 percent German and 5 percent French, 40 percent of these are pupils of primary education there was an increase of foreign languages at public schools level in order to reduce the cost for the family which was high and the parallel existence of tutoring in private languages attributed to the fact that foreign languages should have more hours in the curriculum. In upper secondary education there is only one foreign language, optional (English, French or German) for three hours per week in the first form of the Lyceum and for two hours in the next two forms. Towards the certification of foreign languages knowledge, the Ministry of Education (MoE) established a new office to organize examinations and provide certificates for English and French languages. 2

3 Most of education reforms in Greece were initiated towards the reduction of parallel private education and the improvement of employability. Upper secondary education curriculum before the Euro zone fiscal crisis Curricula are formed within systems of ideas showing styles of reasoning, standards and conceptual distinctions in school subjects goals and practices. The main issue for the educational context in curriculum changes is often that of unemployment and therefore curriculum is critical for every education system. In many educational policies, (e.g. in OECD countries), it is considered vital to have alignment between goals and content, professional development, organization and evaluation of education curriculum (Popkewitz, 1997: 33-38). According to OECD (1994: 39) there are four components to standards in curricula: 1) selection of content, 2) theory and structure of content, 3) theory of human learning and development, 4) theory of pedagogy. Centralization and uniformity are the main characteristics of curriculum practice in Greece. Nevertheless, for all primary and secondary schools there is a nationwide uniform curriculum, the scope and detailed content of which were planned by the Pedagogical Institute and officially decided by the Ministry of Education (MoE). For every subject of the school curriculum, in every grade, there is a specific textbook matched with the curriculum syllabus. Along with the textbooks there are also centrally developed teachers' guides with suggesting teaching methods. This is aimed at coping with the disparity or lack of teaching training, particularly among secondary school teachers. Syllabuses, textbooks, teachers' guides, and other printed educational material are published by a central agency run by the Ministry of education. Textbooks are disseminated to students and teachers in all public schools and are free of charge. The subjects taught in general education are common and compulsory for all students in most of secondary education, including a wide range of subjects of language and humanities, mathematics, chemistry, science, social science, and religion, as well as art and physical education. Only in the final year of secondary schooling students have to select among the five groups of subjects or 'courses' in addition to the core subjects. Several OECD studies in the area of curriculum reforms locate the changing efforts in a broad social and economic context. The goals which are crucial to the nature of curriculum reform must relate to shifts in political alliances, economic restructuring, as well as the importance of high technology and information systems. The curriculum reform suggested a re-orientation of the aims of upper secondary education with the objectives to help students in promoting their skills and developing critical thought for continuing their studies in higher education, as well as in training for access to the labor market. Furthermore, the reform aimed to offer students a general education and knowledge of their socio-economic environment so that their integration in it would be facilitated. Students are also expected to learn about the specific social, political and cultural characteristics of Greece (OECD, 2013). In practice, the traditional teacher-centered, subject and textbook-based teaching, with very few opportunities, if any, for classroom discussion, group work, or library or laboratory work still seems to constitute the main form of instructional practice at all levels 1 The focal issues in the curriculum development and teaching methodology concern ways of keeping syllabuses and textbooks apace with developments in science and society, and how to train teachers at all levels in education sciences. However, the reform concerns incompatibility between the supply and the social demand for education on the one hand, and of pedagogic and technical deficiencies in educational provision and practice on the 1 English or French are taught in secondary schools for the majority of the enrolled pupils. In addition, French (as first or optional second foreign language) and German (as optional) are also available. 3

4 other. Yet, the continuous change of the occupational structure, the changes in the patterns of production and consumption, the introduction of new technologies, the competitiveness in international labor, particularly after joining the European Union, have created new needs for social and vocational education and training. The centralized curriculum, with its state-endorsed, compulsory textbooks, followed values which are also espoused by a largely traditionalist teaching force, (e.g. in the teaching of history). In addition to existing deficiencies, it was anticipated that curriculum reform was necessary, otherwise Greece would be facing problems in modernizing upper secondary and vocational education (Psacharopoulos, 2000). Since 2001, the MoE established the information society office in its central administration service under the direct auspice of the education minister. Its tasks include the preparation of ICT infrastructure for school networking, establishment of ICT laboratories in secondary education schools, assisting with ICT services the educational administration and coordinating teachers training in ICT in collaboration with university departments and other institutions. For those seeking to obtain the 'national baccalaureate' (leaving certificate of upper secondary education), and continue further into tertiary education, there are eight main compulsory subjects in the new school curriculum and three choices of streams: the theoretical, the scientific and the technological with two subdivisions of technology and informatics. However, practically, the grading examinations in upper secondary schools constitute a decisive factor for the students' access to higher education. Information Technology developments and changes in the labour market and the process of integration in the European Union Member States created in Greece the need for reforms in education and training systems in order to become competitive and flexible and to increase the quality of education outcomes. The lack of competitiveness and low results in international achievements tests studies (such as PISA and European benchmarking ranks, etc) created demands made by the process of globalisation and technological to initiate reforms in the curricular at all levels of education towards participation, mobility and occupational flexibility as well as to introduce emphasis on lifelong learning. OECD observations and suggestions as well as European Commission directives supported the government to plan the curriculum reforms in the scope of general restructuring of the whole education system towards more school autonomy and choice, and subjects which lead to skills for applied knowledge and employability. In Greece the system of administering education includes directorates and education offices at the prefecture level of government which supervise and coordinate the administration of educational work of the schools in their region of responsibility. Subject assistance and pedagogical guidance are provided to teachers by the school counselors. The school counselors cooperate with teachers in their field of responsibility whom they support in terms of their subject field and pedagogical work. They also write reports on the scientific and teaching proficiency of the teachers in their field of responsibility. One of the main targets of upper secondary education is the preparation for work. Therefore, in many countries, including Greece, the restructuring of employment gives a special emphasis in the minds of young people and of society on restructuring education, often through changes in curricular and preparation for the development of vocational and flexible skills. Social and political expectations also generate curriculum changes such as social competencies, responsibilities of citizenship, taking an interest in political issues, understanding and supporting the legal system and taking responsibility within the community. Respect for the rights of others and awareness of major world issues, such as environmental conservations, understanding of the role of the media, etc. Yet, there is an individual emphasis concerning the expectations of society, i.e. the possibilities through technology. 4

5 Ssocioeconomic and political expectations are similarly expressed as educational imperatives, in the context of the aims of the reform and the objectives of the curriculum of upper secondary education in Greece. Furthermore, there is an effort towards applying various forms and techniques of assessment in order to safeguard valid, reliable, objective and impartial assessment of pupils' knowledge, critical capacity and skills and contribute to self-knowledge and objective information on the level of knowledge and skills thereof. It also informs teachers on the outcome of their work, giving feedback to the teaching practice. In the beginning of the school year, compulsory diagnostic tests are conducted in grade A' in ancient Greek language and literature, modern Greek language, modern Greek literature, algebra, geometry, physics, chemistry and foreign languages. In the following grades, diagnostic tests are optional and are conducted on the teachers' judgment in the subjects they consider necessary. Student assessment is an integral part of the teaching process and aims at determining the degree of having attained its teaching objectives, as defined in the curricula for the subjects in question. The final assessment includes two parameters: a) Assessment of the students during the terms co-estimating: Their active participation in the entire teaching-learning process, Their diligence and interest in the subject in question. Their performance in the one hour written tests on a certain amount of taught material. An hourly written test is performed for every subject during the first term, or if not possible during the second term. Besides the hourly written tests, pupils are assessed by short written tests lasting from 5 to 15 minutes, without prior notice in the form of short and variable questions. Their work at school or homework. Their creative projects which are co-estimated for assessment of the respective subject, for the term they are submitted. b) Written tests either for moving up to the next grade (from A' to B' or from B' to C') or for acquiring the school leaving certificate (grade C'). The subjects are examined at a school unit level; the tests are drawn up with the cooperation of the teachers who teach the same subject in the same grade, they are common for all classes of the same grade and are approved by the school headmaster. In graduation exams regarding grade C', the subjects are divided in two categories: a) In subjects tested at school unit level; the tests are drawn up with the cooperation of the teachers instructing the same subject in the same grade, are common for all classes of the same grade and are approved by the school headmaster; b) In subjects tested at national level examinations the tests are drawn up by the Central Examinations Committee set up for that purpose and they are common for all upper secondary school graduates throughout the country. The exams in the subjects in question take place at the same time in all upper secondary schools of the country. According to Law nr 3966/2011 the rating scale for the calculation of pupil performance is 0-20 bearing also verbal characterizations. The marking of written tests follows a scale of with integral numbers and the final mark is reduced to a 0-20 scale written as a decimal number, when required, to an accuracy of one decimal place. If attendance is characterized inadequate, pupils are bound to repeat the class. General upper secondary school graduates are awarded a leaving certificate called Apolytirio Lykeiou. This is issued once by the school attended by the student and does not change. The upper secondary school leaving certificate gives the following possibilities to its holders: To pursue studies in higher education if they manage to get the marks required for the faculty of their preference; this results from the performance at school level and the marks they obtain in the exams at national level. To enroll in vocational training institutes to obtain specialization. 5

6 To participate in competitions for recruitment in the public or private sector. To join the labor market without specialization. Those who receive an upper secondary school leaving certificate without having participated in the national exams, have the right to access higher education only if they take the required written exams of the last year lessons conducted on a national level, any other year after the year of their graduation (Eurydice, 2013). Analysis of the decision making for the implementation of the curriculum reform 2013 in upper secondary and vocational education The Euro zone monetary and banking crisis in 2008 stroke Greece right after national elections in 2009 as debt and turbulent fiscal crisis leading the newly elected government to request for an urgent loan from IMF and the European Central Bank which decided, after a series of relevant Eurogroup meetings of EU ministers of finance, a strict memorandumagreement signed in Its implementations are supervised in each ministry by the Troika (representatives of the European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank) formulating and observing austerity measures at all levels of the national budget and at year level after tentative evaluations. The memorandum is followed by Law 4093/2012 on 'Approved Medium Term Fiscal Strategy Emergency Measures of Implementation of Law 4046/2012 and the Medium Term Fiscal Strategy '. Ten pages contain provisions relating to Education. Under the above mentioned memorandum the austerity measures included immediate income cuts of 25% for all public sector staff, teachers and pensioners, and 30% reduction of all public expenses. The measures also included the merging of small schools at district level, increasing teachers mobility at primary, secondary and upper secondary education and redundancies of specialized teachers in vocational education. In mid-summer 2013 around 52 vocational specializations were abolished from vocational schools and vocational teachers lost their permanent position though many of them were transferred to other vocation institutes as contract teachers for the current school year (MoE, 2013). In September 2013 the new curriculum reform was decided as Law 4186/13 towards a more open upper secondary general education following the Council of the European Union adopted Conclusions since 2009, setting up a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training, ET2020. Four long term strategic objectives for EU education and training policies were adopted for 2020 which are the following: Making lifelong learning and mobility a reality, Improving the quality and efficiency of education and training Promoting equity, social cohesion and active citizenship Enhancing creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship. Furthermore, after OECD consulting reports in 2011, Greece was advised to align educational standards and students assessments. Part of the strategy should consist of developing large scale standardized tests with a high degree of: Validity, Reliability, Usefulness, Internal and external school evaluation, Quantitative and qualitative measures, Indicators and benchmarking, Integrated system of evaluation (OECD, 2011: 48-52). Furthermore, the need for a new strategy regarding both primary and secondary education, where the digital dimension will modernize the current educational process and 6

7 administration of education, becomes an urgent issue. The Digital school strategy is based on three main pillars: 1) The creation of a single digital environment that will ensure better educational results. 2) A better allocation of resources, by incorporating ICT as a tool for efficient administration and management of the educational system at both regional and central level. 3) Ensuring social justice by providing equal access for all participants to the educational system with use of all digital resources. For the support of the aforementioned main pillars, the following actions are already being implemented or scheduled to be implemented: Educational platform and digital content, Interactive media and classroom equipment, High-speed connection to the internet for all school units, Support of digital actions and infrastructure, Training of the educators in the utilization of digital media (Eurydice, 2012). In the university entrance examination system the marks of the leaving certificate are disconnected from the examinations result and the total number of subjects was decreased to nine. Furthermore, after the expansion of technical vocational schools 24 new specializations were added gradually since Seven hundred teachers of vocational education have been appointed and the technical vocational schools leaving certificate was declared equal with leaving certificate of the lyceum (Psacharopoulos, 2003). Although the examination system changed in 2007 and became active from 2009 with fewer subjects examined the Pedagogical Institute suggested selected subjects to be excluded from examinations. The candidate students for higher education were examined in six subjects (two general and four specific). From the two general subjects, one was obligatory (composition) and one is optional from the general subjects (Lakasas, 2004). However, the issue of further improvements in the entrance examinations system was the main topic for discussion between the minister of education, the national education council and the Rectors association at the national debate since The suggestion was that the leaving certificate of the lyceum should be disconnected from the entrance examinations in the future. This was possible after the 2007 education reforms activated in 2009 examination (Mastoras, 2005). Currently, until the second form of upper secondary general education, the curriculum priorities include general education and only in the last form students will have to follow specialization subjects. Access to higher education includes two general entrance examinations one after the second form and the next after the third form. A national examinations organization is established to organize the exams at national and district level. The subjects are selected from a data bank of subject issues with questions of different levels of difficulty. The same law increases apprenticeship in vocational schools in cooperation with the organization for national labor for one year of optional entrepreneurship in the private sector (Oikonomides, 2013). The curriculum reform with Law 4186/2013 transforms the area of secondary education in what regards vocational upper secondary schools provides two distinct cycles offered: i.e. a) the secondary cycle and b) the post-secondary cycle, "apprenticeship class". Moreover, the law establishes a new independent administrative structure the "National examinations organization", which is responsible for all matters related to grade progress examinations in general and vocational upper secondary schools, graduation examinations, as well as examinations for admission to higher education. Furthermore, in the framework of nonformal education, the following providers operate: a) Vocational training schools, b) Vocational training institutes (public or private), c) Lifelong learning centers (public or private) and d) Private Colleges. Under the same law different vocational education and training certificates are introduced, as well as professional rights for graduates of formal and non-formal education structures. 7

8 Discussion The application and effectiveness of the changes in the curriculum depends also on the response and collaboration of all the actors involved in education (e.g. the government, teachers, students, etc). The public dialogue concerning curriculum reforms in Greece was done via an electronic platform by the Ministry of education in mid-august while schools were closed for summer vacations, and the relevant law was passed and voted in the parliament within three weeks. The short time for teachers responses and the urgent legislation increased criticism for lack of preparation in general and lack of a democratic debate. The school year started in September 2013 with the majority of teachers on strike for two weeks expressing their dissatisfaction for the law of curriculum reforms did not include any of their requests for securing their working positions and avoiding obligatory transfers. Teacher unions expressed their critical views that the reforms will widen the students learning inequalities as technical and vocational education curriculum is shrinking and this will have negative effects on their future level of education quality especially for the weakest ones (Haramis, 2013). Decentralizing efforts of previous years were also decreased and the merging of schools is implemented in order to diminish transport expenses for students in remote areas. Evaluation of schools and teaching work is becoming more tentative and teachers working hours are increased by additional subjects for those teachers who have a secondary subject degree or by additional school classes. Furthermore, the administrative and evaluative role of school heads is giving more controlling responsibilities and the teachers expressed their discontent with massive demonstrations especially in Athens and other big cities (Siminou, 2007). Conclusion The recent curriculum reforms (2013) in upper secondary education in Greece were decided in the framework of austerity measures due to the financial crisis. The national budget for education since 2010 is reducing all costs after stressing evaluation planned by the EU and the IMF. Teachers salaries were cut by one third, many schools were merged, and teachers mobility and redundancies are expected to continue. The way of decision making for the implementation of the curriculum reforms during summer was much criticized by the teachers unions expressing their discontent with strikes and demonstrations. The fact that the curriculum changes towards a more open upper secondary general education with harder entrance examinations to access higher education, and an increase of apprenticeship in vocational schools, in an effort to balance spending and competitiveness under the pressure of the processes of Europeanization, shows that at the same time national characteristics of education policy are rapidly put aside following the international trends of digital schools. 8

9 References Daun, H. (Ed.), (2007). School decentralization in the context of globalizating governance: International comparison of grassroots responses. Dordrecht: Springer. Eurydice (2013). European Encyclopaedia on national systems: Greece. Retrieved on 19 th September Haramis, P. (2013). Incompetence and inefficiency [In Greek] Athens: Sunday Paper, Koutsogeorgopoulou, V. (2009), Raising education outcomes in Greece, OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 723, Paris: OECD Publishing. Retrieved Lakasas, A. (2004). Greek education needs a change of direction. [In Greek] Athens: Kathimerini, Liatsou, O. (2004). Admissions in higher institutions. [In Greek] Athens: Eleftherotypia, December 8, Mastoras, N. (2005). Entrance examinations after the Lyceum. [In Greek] Athens: Ta Nea, MoE (2011). Ministry of Education Law 3966/2011: Legislative framework of Experimental Schools, establishment of the education policy institute and organization of the ICT and publications institute. Government Gazette 118/issue A / [In Greek] Athens: MoE. MoE (2012). Law 4093/2012: Approved Medium Term Fiscal Strategy Emergency Measures of Implementation of Law 4046/2012 and the Medium Term Fiscal Strategy Government Gazette 222/issue A / [In Greek] Athens: MoE. MoE (2013). Law 4186/2013: Restructuring of Secondary Education and other provisions. Government Gazette 193/ issue A / [In Greek] Athens: MoE. OECD. (1994). The Curriculum redefined: Schooling for the 21 st Century. Paris: Author. OECD (2011). Strong performers and successful reformers in education: Education policy advice for Greece. Paris: OECD publishing. Oikonomides Elp. (2013). Marching for the new lyceum. Athens: Typos-Sunday Paper, , (In Greek), p. 21. Popkewitz, T. S., (1997). The production of reason and power: curriculum history and intellectual traditions. Journal of Curriculum Studies, Vol. 29, No 2, Psacharopoulos, G. (2003). Greek education: A contemporary tragedy. [In Greek] Athens: Sideris. Siminou, P. (2007). Steps of educatinal decentralization in Greece: Between delegation and Deconcentration. In Daun, H. (2007). (Ed.), School decentralization in the context 9

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