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Educational practices at undergraduate level in Greece
Anja Timm, Lancaster University
Why are we interested in undergraduate studies in the largest sending countries?
Research focus
• University visits: classroom observation, interviews and focus groups with teaching staff, students and administrators
• Library visits
• Conversations with British Council staff, agents, alumni and others
• Education fairs, notice boards, student papers, ‘hanging out‘, etc.
Greek HE overview
• Language of instruction: Greek
• All HEIs are self-governing, but supervised by the Ministry of National Education
• Greek HE is provided by 22 universities & 15 institutions of technological education
• Current HE participation rate: 58%
• Greek universities are as yet unable to meet the demand for PG programmes
Entrance into HE
• To qualify for university applicants must pass the Panhellenic exams
• University entrance is restricted by grades
• A grade of below 17 (out of 20) will make it unlikely that applicants can enrol on a popular programme
• Whilst all education in Greece is free, payment for afternoon tuition – frontistiria – has become widespread
Greek HE: emerging themes
• Role of textbooks and libraries
• Student progression
• Student-staff relationship
• ‘Drinking coffee’
• Politics
• Academic writing
• Misconduct policies
Role of textbooks & libraries
• Two free textbooks (provided by the state)• Tailor-written for specific courses• Self-publishing (often without editorial
input)• Normally authored by one’s own lecturer• Or compiled / translated / copied• Libraries often remain unknown quantities
and / or very peripheral to student life• Implications for information literacy
Student progression
• Study as an entitlement (can’t be expelled)• The right to unlimited retakes• ‘Voluntary fail’ option• Perception of fairness• Ever increasing workload • The myth of regular purges (slipping
through eventually)• Frontistiria ‘solution’ re-emerges
Student-staff relationships
• Distant and apparently independent operators (no double marking, no external examiners), frequent use of assistants
• Ever increasing student numbers limit engagement with teaching
• Formative opportunities & feedback are rare• The privileged 10% and the masses• Support system & skills training – largely absent
‘Drinking coffee’
• Recovery from Panhellenic exams
• Making friends, networking (importance of peer group in Greek social structure)
• Supporting one another, getting advice on requirements, study skills, etc. in the absence of official sources
• Diversion
• Postponement (draft / unemployment)
Politics
• Strikes (recurrent feature)
• Highly participatory HE system
• Students as ‘full partners in HE governance’
• Student party power
• Staff involvement (politics & business)
• Politics getting in the way?
Academic Writing
• Assessment is up to individual lecturers but exams play a crucial role in the vast majority of courses
• Opportunity to exercise memorisation skills• Limited confidence in accuracy exam results• Academic writing skills are mainly self-taught • Final year thesis or project • Citation practice (staff & students)
Academic misconduct
• Plagiarism is not an offence in terms of Greek university regulations, students cannot be expelled for it; only failed
• Lecturers and students acknowledged that copy-paste is quite widespread and tolerated
• ‘Poor or bad academic practices in terms of reading, note taking, paraphrase, citation, etc.
Prospects and tactics
• High graduate unemployment
• Graduate study as a desperate measure
• Postponement strategy (army draft)
• Desirability of public sector employment
On coming to the UK
Two distinct groups of students who will come to the UK for their studies…
Background considerations for students:
• European mobility
• The British destination
• Leaving home / growing up / rite of passage