A report on Greek history education

Abstract

On 3 June 2019, the new Greek history curriculum was approved by the Ministry of Education and became statutory. The curriculum was constructed over three years by a group of academic and specialist historians, history education experts and teachers. The aim of the Greek history curriculum project (2016–19) was to synchronize history education in Greece with the Western paradigm, particularly with the AngloSaxon school of history didactics. However, history education in Greece progresses slowly due to the belief that any reformation in accordance with international developments would be unacceptable to a large portion of Greek society, including many members of the political and media establishment. Nevertheless, the recently institutionalized new history curriculum constitutes an attempt to completely reorganize the cognitive and value-centred content of the syllabus, starting from the third grade of primary school (dimotiko), 8–9 year olds, up to the second and final grade of senior high school (lyceum), 16–17 year olds. (There are four grades of primary school (ages 6 to 11), three of junior high (gymnasium, ages 12 to 15) and two of senior high (ages 15 to 17)). In the new history curriculum, the cognitive and value-centred content of history teaching serves the following main goals: