Contribution to the History of Pre-Primary, Primary and Secondary Education of the Greek Community Schools in Great Britain (20th century). A Case-Study: The Greek-Orthodox School of Ayios Demetrios

Abstract

The history of Pre-primary, Primary and Secondary Education of the Hellenic Diaspora in Great Britain, in the 20th century, presents a special interest for research. The Hellenic Diaspora in the United Kingdom – calculated by many to amount to three hundred thousand – constitutes a major national asset for Greece and Cyprus. However, the number of children, who attend expatriate Greek community schools, shows a dangerously declining trend, as these children, at the early 21st century, do not seem to exceed over five and a half thousand pupils. There is a strong belief that abstinence from Greek culture, is leading gradually to the de-Hellenization of expatriates. Therefore, the survival of Diaspora Hellenism in the United Kingdom and the possibility of preventing assimilation in the host country seem to be issues of vital importance, for the Hellenic Diaspora.The aim of this thesis is to focus on the development of the history of Greek community education in the 20th century, especially in the second half, when the community gets increasingly populated. The main focuses of the research investigate whether the problems encountered, in the field of education, by the first immigrants of the 19th and of the first half of the 20th century, and the solutions they were trying to give to their problems, substantially differ from the problems faced by modern expatriates, and the methods chosen to resolve them. Analysing and reconstructing information are the backbone of the methodology hereby followed. An attempt is made, through a historico-hermeneutical approach in its social components, to indicate whether the results of the first efforts demonstrate, to some extent, the outcome of current efforts.In an external "reading" of the history of the Diaspora in the UK, the social, political, and economic conditions differ, and certainly change, over time. A deeper "reading" of the history of the expatriate community education can reveal a stable and recurring relations’ pattern of Greeks abroad, both within the Diaspora itself, as well as between the Greek Diaspora and the national/metropolitan center. A comparative study of community education in the context of its historical periods is attempted in this thesis for the first time.Another objective of this thesis is to contribute to the further study of the history of Pre-primary, Primary and Secondary Education of the Hellenic Diaspora in Britain in the 20th century, assessing the situation, reflecting on the action, focusing on the essence of the problems and proposing two solutions at the educational level: a solution that was successfully implemented in the community school of St. Demetrios and refers to the upgrading of the supplementary/community education, and a second solution which is resulting from the study of the issue and introduces an alternative perspective for strengthening the community education, on the basis of a daily school.Throughout this thesis, the achievements are demonstrated but also the failure is revealed of organized expatriates and the national/metropolitan center; failure to play a catalytic role for the effective improvement of Greek expatriate’s education and the preservation of a Hellenic identity.