Complementary gender stereotypes and system justification: the moderating role of essentialist lay theories for group differences / Estereotipos de género complementarios y justificación del sistema: el papel moderador de las teorías populares esencialistas sobre las diferencias grupales

Past research has established that complementary stereotypes of men and women serve to justify the gendered division of labour as well as the division of labour in society at large. This paper is concerned with the essentialist lay theories for the origin of group differences (i.e. belief in genetic determinism vs. belief in social determinism) which may moderate the justificatory effect of complementary gender stereotypes. We present data from an experimental study conducted in Greece, in which genetic vs. social deterministic lay theories for group differences and complementary vs. non-complementary accounts of gender differences were crossed. In these data, complementary accounts of gender increased participants’ justificatory responses only when a genetic deterministic context was made salient; on the contrary, the social deterministic context appeared to buffer the justificatory function of complementary accounts of gender. The results extend the literatures on the justificatory effects of complementary stereotypes as well as on essentialism, and point to the importance of the historical context in which particular ideas and lay theories for intergroup differences are embedded.     

Intercultural education and practice in Greece: Needs for bilingual intercultural programmes

During the last ten years, intercultural education has gradually emerged in Greece as a new type of education. This paper focuses on several aspects of the implementation of intercultural education in the Greek context. Specifically, it highlights and addresses the following issues: (1) the multicultural situation in Greece and the discourse on intercultural education; (2) Law 2413/96, entitled Greek Education Abroad, Intercultural Education and Other Provisions, as well as the official regulations relating to the establishment and functioning of reception and tutorial classes; (3) the difficulties and obstacles present in the current educational system, as well as teachers' and pupils' needs; (4) the language policies associated with the Greek educational system, as compared with the language policies of England and Australia. Finally, it reflects on matters of social justice and equality of opportunities for the new student population of Greece.     

School adjustment difficulties of immigrant children in Greece 1

This paper presents the methodology and main results of a longitudinal study in Greece that explored the learning and psychosocial difficulties of immigrant pupils, as compared with those of their Greek classmates. The ‘Teacher–Child Rating Scale’ (T‐CRS) and ‘Child Rating Scale’ (CRS) were used as instruments to measure the school adjustment difficulties of the sample, according to their teachers’ ratings. A total number of 3561 scales were selected, and completed in full (by teacher and pupil) for each pupil. The sample of the study consisted of 5th and 6th grade primary school pupils (10–12 years) of Greek‐origin families who came from the former Soviet Union (n ₁=1100). The control group consisted of Greek classmates of the immigrant pupils (n ₂=713). Also, teacher attitudes towards the effectiveness of current educational policies in Greece for immigrant pupils, as well as the difficulties they face during the teaching process, were explored through semi‐structured interviews (n ₃=165). Immigrant pupils were interviewed to gain a better picture of their attitudes towards the Greek school (n ₄=260). This paper presents some of the research findings that focus on learning and psychosocial difficulties. Finally, suggestions are offered for Greek educational policies pertaining to immigrant pupils.