Kostouli, T.
Description:
This article outlines and critically examines the assumptions underlying the basic approaches to the teaching of Greek as mother tongue that have been designed and implemented within the past 20 years (1982–2000) at the elementary level of the Greek educational system. Evidence is drawn from two main sources of data. These consist, first, of the curricula (the old and the new) that have been designed for teaching Greek as L1 at the elementary level of schooling and, second, of the actual language textbooks that have been in use from 1982 in elementary Greek classrooms. The information drawn from this culture-specific set of data is expected to contribute to the discussion conducted worldwide on the nature of L1 teaching, the relation between orality, literacy, and schooling, and the role that textbooks play in fostering specific approaches to literacy learning. Interestingly, the Greek data reveal an inconsistency between general aims, on the one hand (as these are outlined in the curriculum), and the way these aims are translated into actual practice, on the other. As shown below, while in the Greek educational context, the curricula designed tend to reaffirm certain widely acknowledged premises – which basically suggest that literacy pedagogy should be concerned with developing children’s ability to produce and interpret various, contextually appropriate text types – the material actually included in the textbooks and the way in which this material is organized tend to negate this set of assumptions. This inconsistency is discussed in detail and alternative suggestions to eliminate the gap between theory and practice are brought forward.