Jannis Garefalakis

Läroboken som traditionsbärare

Om hemspråksundervisning i grekiska
ett läroplansteoretiskt och didaktiskt perspektiv


Abstract

Title: The Textbook as a Vehicle of Tradition: On Greek Home Language Instruction from the Perspective of Curriculum and Didactic Theory.

Language: Swedish

Keywords: Curriculum Theory, frame factor theory, didactics material, teacher strategies, mother tongue instruction, Greek curriculum traditions.

This dissertation illuminates the social and historical conditions for the transmission of knowledge in home language instruction, in this case Greek instruction, in Swedish compulsory schools (grades 1-6). To achieve this task, three studies have been carried out. The first study concerns the development of home language instruction in Sweden. The second is based on observations that were made of classroom instruction and brings to tight the content which is communicated to the pupils in Greek home language classes and the strategies used by the teachers for this transmission. The third study presents the historical foundations of pedagogy in Greece. It is this study which explains why the home country's curriculum and traditional instructional materials are determining factors in instruction in Greek home language classes.
The frame factor theory as developed by Ulf P. Lundgren and his method of enquiry in educational history have provided theoretical points of departure.
The results of these studies reveal a wide gap between the pupils´ experiences and the form and content of home language instruction, a divergence so great that the pupils benefit little from the lessons. The studies also indicate that the textbooks, with their ties to Greek pedagogical tradition, are largely responsible. The character of the Greek pedagogical tradition and its dissimilarity from Swedish curriculum traditions, may be explained in part by the fact that Herbartianism has long remained a part of the Greek educational system far into modern times.
This finding, which emphasizes both importance of textbooks and the historical heritage of the teacher, serves as a complement to the frame factor theory, which concentrates on other prerequisites for instruction, that is, the state regulated framework regarding the form of class size, curricula, composition of the group of pupils, etc. Even though home language instruction has a distinctive character, the studies presented here should have some relevance for understanding school instruction in general. The role of instructional materials and the teacher's pedagogical heritage are important factors which should be taken into consideration in research on the conditions for instruction.

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