Supervisor: Tzartzas Georgios

Title: Education and modernity: The influence of the European Union on primary education. The Greek example

Three-member advisory comitee:

1) Tzartzas Georgios
2) Andreas Andreou3) Ka
lerante Evaggelia

Abstract

In our time, globalization and rapid technological advances create, for the member states, challenges such as political and economical instability, social cohesion, demographic change and employability. Europe faces all these – among other similar- challenges in order to prove its competitiveness and remain one “of the best places to live in”.Education plays a critical role for the achievement of these purposes/meeting of the objectives, raised by E.U.. EU member-states are often been pressured to cooperate more intensively and to exchange ideas and good practices aiming at making the necessary reforms. Reforms that – in the name of lifelong learning, education and training – have an impact on all three levels of Education, starting with primary education. The focus of this research will be mainly on primary education, because primary education is a decisive factor in providing qualitative education and developing competences and skills (sustainable development, promoting European identity and social cohesion). How and up to what extent EU policies have effected and penetrated Greek Primary Education? To which extent have reforms of the past decades influenced and/or changed Greek educational culture? And, finally, up to what extent have these forementioned reforms succeeded in making our schools more democratic and providing an educational environment of equal opportunities having the students as its focus?