“The school textbooks in Greece and the ‘policies of the extremes’”
Dimitris Charalampous
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Abstract
This article deals with the three policies for school textbooks which have been pursued in the neo hellenic state, ever since its establishment. These are the state monopoly policy, the free competition policy and the regulatory state interventionist policy. The article also presents the theoretical basis for each policy, the targeted objects, the negative incidents accompanying their implementation, and their educational and social consequences. Following this examination over time, one may conclude that the policies which ultimately prevailed in Greece, including the policy implemented from 1937 to date, were extremist. Though today’s “one-and-οnly-book” policy is considered to be outdated, at the same time, the possible adoption of policies which would have involved the market more, gives rise to concern, as the supervisory and control functions of the neo hellenic state continue to be inherent with striking shortcomings.