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Greek Ethnic Schools in Australia in the Late 1990s: Selected Case Studies by Eugenia Arvanitis is now available from The Learner imprint.
This book is a detailed illustration of the broader socio-historical and educational milieu of the Greek ethnic schools in Australia in the late 1990s. It presents ethnic schools’ efforts to maintain and develop the Greek language and cultural heritage as well as to support Greek-Australian identity amongst second and third generation Greek-Australians. The detailed school profiles (case studies) presented in this book constitute part of a Ph.D. thesis (Arvanitis 2000) and provide a pedagogical framework of practice in dealing with diverse learning environments and diverse learner populations.
The need to refocus on the profile of ethnic schools has become apparent due to the profound impact of globalisation on education and, in particular, on ethnic schooling, which has forced educational agencies to reposition themselves. The new complexities of knowledge economy demand new thinking and contemporary skills and attributes as well as the capacity to deal with cultural diversity. Greek part-time ethnic schools, a remarkable marker of ethnicity in themselves, have played a pivotal role in the transmission and promotion of Greek culture and language. They have, at the same time, enhanced learners’ global/diasporic consciousness and sense of identity by urging them to reflect on bicultural learning communities of meaning, memory and belonging. Finally, they have recognised the diversity of voices, narratives and aspirations both within their own cultural group as well as that of their host community and Greece thus engaging in a powerful context of triangular relationships.
Overall Greek ethnic schools have promoted multicultural community building by strengthening different senses of belonging and consciousness in the context of Australian multicultural society. They act as dynamic learning organisations and agents of socio-cultural change, thus helping us reflect upon the complexities of contemporary societies and offering new conceptual frameworks to interpret culture and identity.
By exploring the case of Greek ethnic schools in Australia in the late 1990s, this book focuses on the interaction between education, ethnicity and community building in today’s globalised world. The book provides useful examples and a thorough and insightful analysis of issues facing many individuals and educational systems at present, due to the current multi-ethnic and multicultural composition of most countries.
The Greek diaspora is one of the oldest diasporas in world history and education and schooling have been key factors in its building and maintenance. Eugenia Arvanitis’ book shows us how this was achieved in the case of the Greek-Australian diaspora: Greek-Australians combined values and practices deriving from their ancestral heritage with those deriving from their surrounding society and culture, to create new, hybrid identities and communities and a distinct sense of belonging which they endeavoured to transmit to the younger generations.
The book reflects on the history of Greek ethnic schooling, which is shown to have existed before globalisation. It explores the complexities of ethnicity and diaspora, which are concepts applying to diversified and multifaceted identities and groups. To understand the ways in which Greek part-time ethnic schools functioned, we need to take into account the triangular relationship between Australia, Greece and the Greek-Australian community. The latter should be understood as a socio-economically and regionally diversified entity. The book illustrates the impact of ethnic education on the creation of flexible, multi-levelled perceptions of the world and attitudes to thinking and learning. The rich research material contained in the book, combined with insightful analysis, deriving from the author’s long and in-depth fieldwork and work experience in the area of ethnic schools in Australia, is valuable for teachers and for students and researchers in the fields of education, the humanities and the social sciences. The book is particulary useful for policy makers working in multi-ethnic educational environments. It is certainly worth publishing in Greek: it is of great academic interest for the Greek community in general and makes a fine contribution to Greek diaspora studies. Furthermore, it is bound to prove useful to the formation of educational policies in Greece, which now faces the challenges of immigration and of a multi-ethnic student population in its schools.
I had the opportunity to read the book and enjoy the narrative of Mr Vogiatzopoulos! This migration story elaborates all the memories I had as a young boy about migrating to Australia.