Greek conceptions of democracy, citizenship, the state role and immigrants

Abstract

The following analysis is twofold: it explores textbook content (1) as the manifestation of the policy about worthwhile knowledge in civic education, and it focuses on students' concepts and attitudes about democracy, the state role, the meaning of citizenship and immigrants' rights. The approach taken does not favor an a priori acceptance of such concepts as they have been formulated in the context of modernity (western societies). Instead it aims to explore textbook content and students conceptualizations as distinct but nevertheless related fields, and even untangle seemingly contradictory concepts in an effort to allow alternative possibilities for viewing the modes of the creation of meaning. So, the effort here, as in previous work (Kontogiannopoulou-Polydorides, 2002), is to look for discontinuities rather than continuities and at the same time treat discontinuities as legitimate ways of creating meaning. It is clear that in such an approach conceptions which deviate from the well formulated western model of democracy and related institutions and practices are not treated as contradictions or limitations, but are integrated in an effort to give the opportunity for alternative possibilities in the creation of meaning.