Study on educational support for newly arrived migrant children

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1 Study on educational support for newly arrived migrant children Case study report Greece Written by January

2 January

3 Introduction The first introductory part of this case study presents information on migrant profile in Greece and key features of Greek education system. Migrant profile in Greece Foreign-born residents make up 11.1% of the total population of Greece (Eurostat, 2009). The majority of migrant children in Greece are children of first generation migrants. Albanians living in Greece are a migrant group (of single nationality) the size of which exceeds 50% of the total migrant population in the country, making Greece the only such country in the EU. They make up 55.67% of the total migrant population, followed by remarkably lower numbers of migrants from Bulgaria (4.67%), Georgia (2.91%) and Romania (2.90%) 1. Αpart from the 2001 census, a more recent study 2 estimates the immigrant population of Greece at about 1.3million, or 12% of the total population of 11 million, composed of: legal migrants in 2008 (of those approximately had a valid stay permit in March 2009 and another are in the process of renewing their permits); migrants of Greek ethnic background from Albania with special identity cards, who have been encouraged to naturalize since 2006; 155,000 returnees from the former Soviet Union who are of Greek ethnic background and have received Greek citizenship; an estimated irregular migrants in In the 2007/2008 school year, public schools had 112,082 foreign students and 16,905 repatriated students (out of the total student population of 1,208,040). In cross-cultural schools, 1,032 were foreign students and 284 repatriated from the total of 4,868 (2007/2008 school year) 4. In the 2003/2004 school year, 71.5% of the foreign student population comprised Albanian students, 15.9% from the countries of the former USSR, 3% from Bulgaria, 1.4% from Romania and 1.2% from other Balkan countries 5. Key features of Greek education system For the purposes of this case study the research team identified several education system design characteristics that shape educational support policy towards newly arrived migrant students and migrant children in general in European countries. The table below presents design characteristics of Greek education system. 1 Census of the National Statistics, Available at: [Accessed 1 December 2011]. 2 Triandafyllidou A., Lazarescu D., The Impact of the Recent Global Economic Crisis on Migration, CARIM, Country Report on Employment, Ethnicity and Migrants, Network of Socio-economic Experts in the Anti-discrimination Field. Available at: NATION.pdf [Accessed 1 December 2011]. 4 Institute for the Education of Greeks Abroad and Cross-Cultural Education, The Education Research Centre of Greece (KEE), Available at: [Accessed 11 April 2011]. January

4 Table 1: Features of Greek education system Education system design Description (Non-)identification of NAMS Education policy identifies allodapoi kai palinnostountes mathites (foreign and repatriated students). Since immigration is a new phenomena in Greece, the term foreign and repatriated students includes mainly first-generation migrants. Access to formal education Public mainstream education is open and free to all students regardless their legal status. regardless legal status Catchment area requirement Catchment area requirement is strict. After the kindergarten, enrolment in public primary education is based solely on the pupil s place of residence. The same rule applies to the lower secondary school level, with the prerequisite that the student has obtained the certificate from primary school. Age of first ability tracking The first tracking of students happens at the age of 15, when education splits into academic and vocational tracks. Students choose the track voluntarily independently of their previous educational attainments. In practice, the majority of students opting for the vocational track is of a rather low educational profile. Public expenditure on education (De-)centralisation of the education system Source: compilation of the authors. Thematic educational support 3.2% of GDP (Eurostat, 2008) Centralised system all teachers must attend a four-year initial training at the university for pre-school, primary and secondary education which leads to a recognised teaching qualification. In order to be nominated to a school, they have to pass special national examinations (ASEP) and are assigned to schools by the state. The national curricula for primary and secondary education are developed by the Pedagogical Institute and approved by the Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs. Schools have no autonomy in regard to adapting national curricula to the local needs and the diversity of student population. The research team identified four educational support themes that make schooling linguistically and culturally more sensitive and adaptable to different needs of migrant children: linguistic support, academic support, outreach and cooperation, intercultural education. The peculiarity of Greek policy is the existence of special cross-cultural schools for foreign and repatriated children where they receive additional educational support. Detailed description according to thematic support is presented below. Linguistic support Comprehensive linguistic support is provided in specialised schools. In the areas with high concentration of migrants, cross-cultural schools (Diapolitismika Scholeia) were established where foreign students receive additional Greek language support. Basically all the schools with more than 45% of migrant students received the status of cross-cultural schools. These schools receive additional funding and support for introducing: Intensive teaching of Greek language; program of studying Greek as second language; special instructive material; supporting material for the courses of language, physics, chemistry, biology and geography of high school. The teachers in these schools are to receive further training in cross-cultural education and teaching Greek as a second language. Instruction of the mother tongue is also foreseen in cross-cultural schools. Τhere is a critique on implementation of government policy towards cross-cultural education: in reality, no special support programmes and special curricula were January

5 adopted in these schools; teachers hardly received any training either 6. However, this critique concerns mainly the degree of implementation of all support programmes and their monitoring. Migrant children enrolled in regular schools follow the educational programme with the support of reception classes (inside the school schedule) and the tutorial departments (outside the school schedule). In the 2009/2010 academic year, about 500 reception classes and 700 tutorial departments functioned. 257 permanent school teachers were hired additionally for the reception classes, while the remaining places were covered by assistant school teachers at temporary position 7. Academic support Students receive academic support through remedial teaching. Remedial teaching (ED) is an autonomous teaching programme for pupils of primary and lower secondary school who are experiencing learning difficulties in certain subjects or who wish to improve their performance in specific subjects in lower secondary school (Gymnasio). The purpose of remedial teaching is the re-integration of pupils in the learning process, improving their performance and enhancing access and participation in the educational system. Foreign students in cross-cultural schools receive extra academic support in the form of consultation, individualized instructive approaches, collaborative teaching, and work in teams. The placement of foreign students (NAMS) in the reception classes is based on the time period they have been living in Greece and on a test of knowledge of the Greek language. So, the age of foreign students can vary in the reception classes. Outreach and cooperation There is no comprehensive policy on parental involvement or school cooperation on diversity in Greece. Parents of all students can participate in the administration and operation of the school where their children study. Usually parents attend teacherparents meeting held several times per year. Migrant parents hardly participate in these meetings especially if they do not have sufficient knowledge of Greek language. Intercultural education The primary education curriculum promotes an international and European dimension mostly within the context of language instruction (all 6 grades), in civil and social education (5th and 6th years) and in foreign languages (3rd, 4th and 5th years). The aim is to raise pupils awareness on issues such as diversity, religious differences, gender equality, peaceful co-existence, multiethnic societies and economic immigrants. 6 Mitakidou, Soula, Tressou, Evangelia and Danilidou, Eugenia. Cross-cultural education: a challenge or a problem? International Critical Childhood Policy Studies (2009) 2(1), Available at: [Accessed 25 August 2011]. 7 Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs, Cross-Cultural Education. Available at: [Accessed 11 April 2011]. January

6 Within a 'Flexible Zone' section in curriculum framework schools have discretion to arrange creative cross-curricular activities which could also include specific thematic area if there is a relevant need. As for the school environment, no dress code is imposed on foreign or Greek students. In Greece, most of the students are Orthodox Christians and the syllabus includes religious education, although parents can withdraw their children from religious education courses. There is a religious flexibility at schools so that students with other religious beliefs are not discriminated. Students from different religious beliefs can follow other courses (more often language courses) instead of religious education courses. They are also free to be dressed according to their religious beliefs. Targeted educational support Greek government introduced two targeted measures for newly arrived migrants to get integrated into Greek education process: 1) Cross-cultural schools teacher training on the subject of cross-cultural education and teaching Greek as a second language; adaptation of the standard curricula to cross-cultural needs. There are now 26 cross-cultural schools (13 schools in primary and 13 schools in secondary education). A school is entitled to be named cross-cultural when repatriated Greek and/or foreign students account for at least 45% of the total student body. Schools receive state funding. 2) Education of Repatriated and Foreign Students (Ekpaidefsi Palinnostounton kai allodapon mathiton) academic support to migrant children in regular schools. The project aimed to support underachieving students and combat early school leaving of repatriated and foreign students and to foster smoother integration into the Greek school and the Greek society. The measure involved training of bilingual teachers, development of new teaching methods, programmes of counselling and support to students and parents (to combat early school leaving). The project was implemented in three phases: ; ; It was funded by Greek state and the EU in : ,37 EUR (total budget); in : EUR (total budget); in : ,00 EUR (primary education) EUR (secondary education). January

7 1. Justification of case selection Lots of migrant students in Greece are placed into special schools, the so called crosscultural schools. Therefore, the research had to take place in one of the cross-cultural schools that provide educational support to migrant and refugee children in general and among them to newly arrived ones. Cross-cultural schools serve as a preparatory stage for migrant children to be enrolled into a regular school afterwards 8. There are three Junior High Schools of Cross-cultural Education covering the total area of Athens. The school chosen for the analysis is situated in a wide open space in a regular city area - not socially disadvantaged nor populated with migrants. Its first students were repatriated Greeks and foreigners with a rather medium-high socio-economic status. So, this area was and still is characterized for its middle class inhabitants. That is the reason school buses transfer migrant students from different suburbs of Athens, especially southern Athens and Piraeus and not from this neighborhood. School Profile The schools is a Greek Public school. Its first students were repatriated Greeks and foreigners. Its aim was to help their adaptation to the Greek education and social reality. Attendance was and still is fees free. The school first operated in 1985 under the name Junior High School for Expatriate Greek pupils. In 1986 it was transferred to its current premises and in 1991, it was renamed as Junior High School of Repatriated Greek pupils. Its students were mainly children of Greek migrants to the USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa who returned to Greece. During the 90 s repatriation from these countries decreased, while the collapse of the Eastern-Block brought with it an increase of the repatriation of Greek expatriates from the Eastern countries, as well as immigrants from Albania, Asia and Africa (mainly Ethiopia, Iraq, Philippines). So, in 1996 the school was renamed as Junior High School of Crosscultural Education, aiming at upgrading the quality of studies, and, since then, both the Direction and the Teachers' Council have been trying to implement this change, with suggestions to the Pedagogical Institute for provision in students mother tongues (mainly Russian and Albanian) as well as introduction of innovative educational activities (Environmental education, Cross-cultural Education, Health Education, etc). In the year , due to the high number of foreign students, Greek language immersion classes for each grade have been organized for the first time. These classes followed a special syllabus and curriculum for students who hardly knew the Greek language. Since then, course syllabi are the same as those of other Greek schools. However, they are linguistically adapted so as to meet the needs of the students. The students are getting all the Greek ministry course books free, and, when required, additional course material in Greek, English, Russian and Albanian. Remedial Greek language classes are organized. Moreover, the school has a fully computerized system. 8 A. Triandafyllidou (Anna Trandafyllidou, (In)tolerance of difference in Greek schools: the case of migrant and Roma children. Accept Pluralism, Working Paper 6/2011. Available at : [Accessed 27 December 2011] January

8 The school, in cooperation with the Center of Cross-cultural Education, has set up a library containing dictionaries, course books, literature, activity books, intercultural material and various works of reference. Specially staffed school buses transfer students free, to all the suburbs of southern Athens and Piraeus. Student force In the year there were 147 students in all three classes of the Junior High School coming from 33 different countries and speaking 20 different languages. Table 2: School population Indicator Number of students at ISCED level 2-3 (if applicable) at the start of school year Group of students All students of migrant origin Native students Value for the 2010/2011 school year Male 86 Female 61 Total 147 Male Female Total Migrant profile at the selected school is very diverse, the majority of students coming from Egypt, Albania, Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, South Africa and Philippines (see Table 3). Table 3: Migrant profile at the selected school Ethnic group Share in the total population of pupils for the 2010/2011 school year Egypt 11 Ethiopia 2 Albania 10 Armenia 3 Australia 1 Afghanistan 10 Bulgaria 14 Brazil 5 Germany 1 Georgia 5 Ghana 1 Eritrea 1 U.S.A. 2 India 4 Iraq 2 Iran 2 Kazakhstan 1 Korea 1 Lebanon 3 Moldavia 10 Bangladesh 1 Nigeria 2 South Africa 1 Ukraine 15 Pakistan 4 Poland 5 Romania 3 Russia 5 Syria 5 Tanzania 1 January

9 Ethnic group Share in the total population of pupils for the 2010/2011 school year Thailand 4 Philippines Inputs and Process According to the Ministerial Decision Γ1/708/ on Cross-cultural education - Reception classes - Tutorial departments 9, the following educational programs are provided to all foreign students: Reception Classes I, Reception Classes II and Tutorial Departments The Reception classes program is completed in two cycles included in the curriculum of the school. In the Reception classes I, intensive learning of Greek as a second foreign is provided for NAMS who are new to Greek education system and do not have any knowledge of Greek language and lasts one academic year. In the Reception classes II, linguistic and learning support which takes place within the regular classes is provided and lasts up to two academic years. Usually students who already have some knowledge of Greek are placed into reception classes II. Those who finished reception class I can continue their learning in reception class II to receive more tuition in Greek as a Second language. In the Tutorial Departments, external linguistic and learning support is provided outside the school schedule. Both students from reception class I and II can enroll in this program. Also, a course of language and culture of the country of origin is optional and is provided for a sufficient number of students (7-15) and for 4 hours a week outside the school timetable. Linguistic support The placement of the foreign students in the appropriate classes is based on a language test which detects the level of student proficiency in Greek. Parental approval is sought for the attendance of the reception classes. In case of disagreement, the matter should be referred to the service of psychosocial support. The decision for integrating the student in reception classes I or II is made by the teachers association in cooperation with the school counselor, after hearing the diagnostic tests and taking into account the specialists (psychologist and/or social worker) opinion when they attend the school meeting concerning the particular student. As to the Tutorial Departments, they are addressed to students who are experiencing language difficulties, have attended relevant courses but still face serious difficulties to follow the courses. Tutorial Departments take place outside school hours and the minimum number of students for the departments to be formed is 3 and the maximum 9 Available at : [Accessed 3 December 2011]. January

10 8. They can also be established to the nearest regular schools and only after the approval of the parents. The teaching hours per subject and the use of teaching materials are determined by the school counselor in collaboration with the teachers association. In the selected school 10 NAMS have benefited from additional Greek language teaching in tutorial departments. Schematically the linguistic support provided in the school can be described as following (see the Figure below). Figure 1: Linguistic support at the selected school Step 1 Step 2 Reception class I (max 1 year) for new comers Reception class II (max 2 years) ISCED 2 Reception class II (max 2 years) for those who have some knowledge of Greek Regular class Tutorial departments (no max length) are provided after class for all migrant students who want extra Greek support Source: compilation by authors. Note: the presented scheme is a structure of linguistic support at all ISCED levels all over Greece. However, schools may deviate from this scheme (mainly, due to financial restrictions). In the selected school, there are Reception classes I and II. Students who come to Greece for the first time but also students who do not speak Greek at all despite the years of residence in Greece (coming from closed communities and schools, such as the Libyan or the Polish schools, with no contact with the Greek society) go to reception classes I and benefit from some advantages (for example, the minimum grade for them is 8 instead of 10, or they do not take courses of ancient Greek in the first year) so that they will have the time to learn the language first. A student can also be placed in reception classes for a second year. Usually, in that school foreign children from Eastern countries are very good students, especially in mathematics, and they learn Greek easily. This is confirmed as it is observed empirically from the headmaster of the school and the educational staff. After the reception classes where courses are intensive (14 hours of language, 4 hours of mathematics and 4 hours of other subjects) students gradually enter the regular classes and lose the privileges of the former condition. As to the mother tongue teaching, programs exist but they cannot be implemented due to lack of infrastructure at this particular school. The school has English-speaking teachers with post-graduate and doctoral studies. They had started working when cross-cultural schools were addressed to the children of palinnostountes (Greeks from abroad America, Canada, etc). Some of them followed seminars to teach the host language as a second language. January

11 Funding for the school comes from the state and the School Committee, namely the Municipality. Some actions are funded through European programs. Academic support The University of Thessaloniki has the general organization and the academic supervision of the school programs, and some actions such as intercultural communication are undertaken by other Universities, the University of Ioannina and the Aegean University. There are now three actions that are taking place in the school: Action 1= Reception classes support, Action 2= Greek language support, Action 3= Intercultural communication support. There are seminars in the framework of these actions in which the educational staff can participate. All the teachers can participate in those seminars, however, no regular training is provided for them, especially in intercultural communication support. As it was stated in the previous section, students are placed in a classroom according to the time period they have been living in Greece. So, normally, if a student lives for many years in Greece, he will enter the regular class of his/her age. However, there are also children born in Greece who do not speak Greek. This happens probably because they live in closed communities with no contact with the Greek society. Many of the children who attend the schools of their communities (for example, Libyan or Polish schools) do not come to the cross-cultural schools because they are not aware of their existence. All children take the test language and after that, they are placed in the adequate classes. They could also, according to the headmaster of the school, take a test of mathematics, but this is not required by law and anyway the school does not have enough staff for such a test. A student who is very good and progress well, will soon enter a regular classroom. According to the Ministry of Education each class should have 22 to 25 students. If you make classes of 15 students you must get extra teachers and the state cannot support the increase of the number of the staff because of the recession. This financial hardship does not allow the school to take such initiatives. Students, who are low achievers, receive extra help from the teachers. For the students who fail, it must be detected if they have learning or psychological problems. The school has a counseling psychologist who comes once a week, but someone should be at school permanently and follow regularly the students. Also, there is a real difficult decision to take in directing the student after he finishes the junior high school. Will he be directed to a cross-cultural high school or to a regular vocational high school? Unfortunately a vocational cross-cultural does not exist. A vocational cross-cultural high school might be more useful than a simple cross-cultural high school. Usually NAMS pass the class, with the help of the educational staff. A small percentage leaves the school, less than 10%, but some of them eventually return. Some time migrant children leave cross-cultural school and transfer to a regular school to be more integrated into Greek society and education system; however, as there is almost no extra educational support for them in regular school, they eventual come back to the cross-cultural school. The school faces also particular problems: One child from the archbishop institution is quasi-blind and arrangements have been made so he can follow the courses through a special projector. Another child has had open heart surgery, he does not speak Greek, he says Greek is very difficult and the school cannot force him to intense learning because of his health situation. In this school there are many nationalities, students from Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, Georgia, Afghanistan etc. It is not possible to have a January

12 communication language for large groups, for example English for Filipinos, Pakistani and Indians, Russian for Eastern countries. Before 1989, people from Eastern countries in general knew Russian, after that period students are not familiar with it, so it is difficult to handle the small native languages. In the school there are reception classes with 10 children of 9 foreign languages who do not speak Greek or English, so the teaching is extremely difficult. Funding for the school comes from the state and the School Committee, the Municipality. Some actions are funded through European programs. Outreach and cooperation There is no strong cooperation between parents and school. Usually there are three official meetings, where the progress of the students is discussed. There are children who come from welfare institutions without parents or guardians, other children have parents with whom they have no contact. There are cases where the mothers work as internal domestic workers and they hardly see their child once a week. The child is thus offered her/his new clothes, food, an expensive mobile phone but she/he is a bad student. The most serious problem in this school is that there are many children without parents who come to school from different institutions. Most of them are refugee children from African countries, from Afghanistan who according to their statement went to school 3, 5 or 6 years or sometimes not at all. Among these children there are two categories: those who see the school as an opportunity to do something and the others who do nothing and they just think that the school provides them a safe environment. The school is trying to collaborate with parents, to involve them in the learning process of their children by informing them regularly for their academic progress and other issues concerning them. The best contact the school staff has is with Greek guardians, who have a friendly or other relationship with (primarily) the mother of the child or with people who have taken under their protection the child. The biological parents are very often absent mainly because they work excessively. Interpersonal relations with parents are not always easy. Some nationalities, such as Russians and Albanians, according to the teachers of the school, are interested more than others in the progress of their children. Intercultural education As for the school environment, no dress code is imposed on foreign or Greek students. In Greece, most of the students are Orthodox Christians and the syllabus includes religious education, although parents are allowed by law to withdraw their children from religious education courses. Students from different religious beliefs can follow other courses (more often language courses) instead of religious education courses. They are also free to be dressed according to their religious beliefs. At the selected school Muslim and Hindu students are placed in language or computer classes when their classmates follow religious (orthodox) education courses. On national holidays emphasis is given to the anti-war character, and not to the differences between peoples. Also, the Action 3 (see academic support section) on Intercultural communication support is not fully activated lack of special trained teachers and of adequate material. There are no teachers with migrant background, only some of them lived for long periods abroad (Australia, Germany, etc). January

13 The school is in contact with a network of schools, but more openness is needed. There is a number of intercultural activities that the school is organizing: 1. Every year the dance group of the school takes part in panhellenic art competitions with distinction. 2. Every year the school presents theatrical performances (in Greek and other languages, i.e. French). 3. The school organizes an annual three-day trip so that students know better Greece. 4. The school participated in a program of Comenius, and takes part in the program of Unesco Network of partner schools for international brotherhood and peace and in the network for children s rights. 5. There are possibilities for some initiatives, for example through sponsorship the school published a very interesting book with stories of students. 7. Every Christmas, a celebration is prepared with dance competition, stories, songs and costumes from all nationalities of students. 8. There is a strong personal involvement of the teachers. Example: There is no medical assistance in the school, so the teachers accompanied the children to the hospital to do the tuberculosis test and 17 children were found positive for TB. 9. Some activities help to strengthen the cultural continuity of the students with the country of origin. For example, the Pakistanis play cricket and the school encourages this kind of activity. Generally, there is not a clear form of intercultural education policy. The school began as a cross-cultural school for the children of repatriated Greeks but with the arrival of migrants from Eastern European countries and from Africa no comprehensive policy was adapted to the needs of these students. There is a gap between the measures planned and their implementation 10. Funding for the school comes from the state and the School Committee in the Municipality. Some actions are funded through European programs. 3. Outcomes and Effectiveness of Educational support At the selected school the needs of NAMS are significantly covered mainly at linguistic and academic level and less at the intercultural one. Support is provided by linguistically trained teachers who with personal resources and strong involvement follow the psycho-social and educational progress of their students, and especially the NAMS. Some students who come to school from welfare institutions without any parental control face serious problems, mainly psycho-social and educational ones. Extra academic support for courses others than language courses would be beneficial if more resources were available for more teaching staff. After 2 or 3 years many of migrant students become able to attend the regular Greek school of their neighborhood. This year students achieved this goal. Yet, there is a gap between the measures planned, especially on intercultural education, and their implementation. The Action 3 on Intercultural communication support is not fully activated due to the lack of special trained teachers and of adequate material. Funding has become a serious problem, especially in this period of 10 Available at [Accessed 4 December 2011]. January

14 recession. It comes from the state and the School Committee in the Municipality. Some actions are funded through European programs. Access All children regardless their nationality or legal status in Greece may enroll into schools. However, migrant children tend to enroll into cross-cultural schools, as only those schools provide extra support for children who do not speak Greek at all, or have a very little proficiency in Greek language. Ideally, cross cultural schools serve as a preparation stage for migrant children to enter a regular school. But eventually, many children never leave cross-cultural school and are not able to enroll into a regular school due to their low performance and lack of education background. As a rule, after lower secondary education these children tend to go to a regular vocational school. Participation In the year 2010/ children (which constitute 13% of the total school population) dropped out from the school without explaining any reason. A lot of students are leaving the school in order to try themselves in a regular school, but as a rule they come back because of great challenges to study their without extra support. Performance As only foreign students attend the selected school it is difficult to compare their performance with native students. There is no regular national statistics regarding this issue. According to the analytical data of a research carried out in 2004 for the Institute for the Education of Greeks Abroad and Intercultural Education (IPODE), the best educational results show girls, native students and students who attend a school with a little number of migrants 11. Conclusions and Recommendations Greek educational support policies were analyzed and verified by the school real practice example. The school and the state have developed a certain approach to reception and education of NAMS which goes along with national goals and guidelines. However, as seen from the previous sections, the implementation stage is not always corresponded to the national preferences and expectations. NAMS are still in a disadvantaged position compared to their native peers, one of the reasons for it being placement of migrants into specialised schools and lack of teacher training and intercultural education. Linguistic support 11 Gotovos A.E. and Mavrou G.P. (2004), Palinnostountes and Foreign Students in Greek Education, t. B, Analytical Data, IPODE. January

15 In the school there are Reception classes I and II. Students who come to Greece for the first time but also students who do not speak Greek at all despite the years of residence in Greece (coming from closed communities and schools) go to reception classes I and benefit from some advantages (for example, the minimum grade for them is 8 instead of 10, or they do not take courses of ancient Greek in the first year) so that they will have the time to learn the language first. A student can also be placed in reception classes for a second year. After the reception classes where courses are intensive (14 hours of language, 4 hours of mathematics and 4 hours of other subjects) students gradually enter the regular classes. Recommendation Extra Greek support in all schools which receive migrant students would help to increase equal opportunities between students and avoid their segregation in the society. Greek as a second language support offered for an extended time after the transfer into regular classes would strengthen the linguistic support offered to migrant children. Academic support There is no well-pronounced academic support at the selected school despite the comprehensive national guidelines. Due to the recent financial crisis and Greek economic recession the funding for education has been cut enormously and the schools are left to themselves to organize teaching and support. The individual support is provided to students on unofficial basis; however, this one is difficult to track. There are now three actions that are taking place in the school: Action 1= Reception classes support, Action 2= Greek language support, Action 3= Intercultural communication support. Recommendation Introduction of dispersal policy of migrant children in the schools would reduce segregation of migrants in schools and facilitate their integration and reduce their negative perception of their role in the society. Accurate/comprehensive assessment of competences among NAMS (not limiting to reading, writing, languages and maths), their grouping by competence in preparatory classes will make the support better targeted. Implementation of national guidelines, e.g provision of remedial teaching policies will increase NAMS competitiveness in further education process. Outreach and cooperation There is no strong cooperation between parents and school. There are children who come from welfare institutions without parents or guardians, other children have parents with whom they have no contact. There are cases where the mothers work as internal domestic workers and they hardly see their child once a week. The most January

16 serious problem in this school is that there are many children without parents who come to school from different institutions. Most of them are refugee children from African countries, from Afghanistan who according to their statement went to school 3, 5 or 6 years or sometimes not at all. The school is trying to collaborate with parents, to involve them in the learning process of their children by informing them regularly for their academic progress. The best contact the school staff has is with Greek guardians, who have a friendly or other relationship with (primarily) the mother of the child or with people who have taken the child under their protection. The biological parents are very often absent mainly because they work excessively. Recommendation Cooperation and exchange with other schools where mostly native children are studying will facilitate migrants integration into society, and prevents their isolation in one particular migrant neighbourhood. Creation of parents association and involving both native and migrant parents over there will increase interaction between migrant communities and native citizens and encourage parents to participate in their children s schooling process. Provision of information to migrant parents about school opportunities and cultural mediators will facilitate their involvement and interaction with Intercultural education Generally, there is no clear form of intercultural education policy. The school began as a cross-cultural school for the children of repatriated Greeks but with the arrival of migrants from Eastern European countries and from Africa no comprehensive policy was adapted to the needs of these students. There is a gap between the measures planned and their implementation. Recommendation Provision of training for teachers on intercultural diversity will facilitate teachers interaction with students. Creation of inclusive and tolerant school environment will increase students motivation to obtain education. At the school the needs of NAMS are significantly covered mainly at linguistic and academic level and less at the intercultural one. The Action 3 on Intercultural communication support is not fully activated lack of special trained teachers and of adequate material. Support is provided by linguistically trained teachers who with personal resources and strong involvement follow the psycho-social and educational progress of their students, and especially the NAMS. Extra academic support for courses others than language courses would be beneficial if more resources were available for more teaching staff. There is a great mobility of migrant students and the main reason is that now for most of migrants Greece is a transit country. More specifically for irregular migrants the first priority is survival as well as their regularization. So, especially for this population, the January

17 children s schooling is not a priority due to the vulnerability and uncertainty of their situation (Representative of NGO Praxis). In cross-cultural schools, the education provided is not properly intercultural. Learning the language, although generally recognized as indispensable for the social integration of young immigrants, is neither unique nor sufficient condition for an intercultural education that is based on interaction and exchange. There are neither specific programs in practice nor scientific qualifications of teachers 12. There is no strong parental involvement in associations and councils. Regular contact with teachers often misses because many of the students particularly in this specific school are refugee children without parents, who live in welfare institutions. In conclusion, it is difficult to apply the best solutions for school integration in classrooms with large numbers of migrant students, with different origins, and with different abilities and incentives for integration. A bilingual teacher can sit next to the foreign student and translate helping him/her to adjust to the Greek program and the Greek system. But many problems can arise if there are many students who need such assistance and time especially if these students speak different languages 13. Yet, given the circumstances, the overall situation could be characterized as positive and students are directed to integrate regular Greek schools. 12 ΝΟΗΜΑ, Social Welfare Magazine, September Available at [Accessed 4 December 2011]. 13 Moussourou L. (2006), Children of pallinostountes and Foreigners in Greek School, in Bagavos, Chr., Papadopoulou, D. (eds), Migration and integration of immigrants in Greek Society, Gutenberg. January

18 List of Interviews No. Position Institution/ Organisation Mode of interview Date of interview 1. School teacher Junior High School of Crosscultural Face-to-face 14/10/2011 Education at Helliniko, Athens, Greece 2. School teacher Junior High School of Crosscultural Education at Helliniko, Athens, Greece Face-to-face 14/10/ Headmaster Junior High School of Crosscultural Education at Helliniko, Athens, Greece Face-to-face 01/11/ School teacher Junior High School of Crosscultural Education at Helliniko, Athens, Greece Face-to-face 01/11/ Migrant Junior High School of Crosscultural Face-to-face 01/11/2011 Education at student of the Third Class Helliniko, Athens, Greece (14 years old) 6. Father Junior High School of Crosscultural Education at Helliniko, Athens, Greece Telephone 02/11/ Representative PRAKSIS ( Telephone 02/11/2011 of NGO 8. Researcher National School of Public Face-to-face 11/11/2011 Health, Athens 9. Consultant Ministry of Education Cross-cultural education Telephone 15/11/2011 January