NEOLIBERAL EDUCATIONAL POLICY IN GREECE: PURSUIT OF ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS BY SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS AND TEACHING WORK

Nikos Nikolakakos, Dimitris Vergidis

Abstract


The purpose of our research is to examine the impact of the pursuit of academic qualifications, imposed by neoliberal policy, by substitute primary school teachers in Greece on their daily teaching work within school classrooms. Our research was based on data derived from the content of 12 semi-structured interviews with an equal number of substitute primary school teachers working in schools in Greece. A qualitative analysis was carried out on the content of the interviews. The results showed that the participating substitute primary school teachers pursue participation in lifelong learning processes that will lead to the acquisition of academic qualifications, in order to meet the requirements of the recruitment system, which rewards the possession of such qualifications. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis of the data suggests that their participation in lifelong learning programmes for the acquisition certified of academic qualifications has negative consequences on their teaching work.

Keywords


academic qualifications, lifelong learning, teaching work, neoliberalism, neoliberal educational policy, teachers’ precarity

Full Text:

PDF

References


Andreou A, Koutouzis M, 2002. The institution of substitute teachers in public education. Enimerosi 87. Retrieved from https://www.inegsee.gr/sitefiles/files/87-SEPTEMBRIOS_2002.pdf

Baranska B, Zambrowska M, 2021. Teachers’ perspective on the advantages and disadvantages of postgraduate studies allowing to teach mathematics as a second subject. Proceedings of the conference Contemporary Mathematics in Kielce 2020, February 24-27 2021, pp 21-36. https://doi.org/10.2478/9788366675360-003

Cohen L, Manion L, Morrison K, 2000. Research Methods in Education, 5th edn. London, UK. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/44824604_Research_Methods_in_Education

Commission of the European Communities, 1995. White Paper on education and training: Teaching and learning. Towards the learning society. Brussels, 29.11.1995 COM(95) 590 final. https://op.europa.eu/s/pjLT. Accessed 15 February 2026

Commission of the European Communities, 2001. Communication from the Commission: Making a european area of lifelong learning a reality. Brussels, 21.11.2001 COM (2001) 678 final. Retrieved from https://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2001:0678:FIN:EN:PDF . Accessed 15 February 2026

Creagh S, Thompson G, Mockler N, Stacey M, Hogan A, 2023. Workload, work intensification and time poverty for teachers and school leaders: a systematic research synthesis. Educational Review 77(2): 661–680. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2023.2196607

Creswell J, 2012. Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research, 4th edn. Boston, USA. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324451568_Educational_Research_Planning_Conducting_and_Evaluating_Quantitative_and_Qualitative_Research_6th_Edition

Easthope C, Easthope G, 2000. Intensification, Extension and Complexity of Teachers' Workload. British Journal of Sociology of Education 21(1): 43-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01425690095153

European Commission, 2025. May infringements package: Key decisions. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_25_982. Accessed 15 February 2026

Gerring J, 2007. Case study research: Principles and practices. Cambridge, UK. Retrieved from https://ocw.upj.ac.id/files/Slide-PSG301-Case-study-Research.pdf

Harvey D, 2005. A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford, UK. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/A_Brief_History_of_Neoliberalism.html?id=CKUiKpWUv0YC&redir_esc=y

Karalis T, 2013. Motivations and barriers to adult participation in lifelong learning. Athens, Greece. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/246546970_Karalis_T_2013_Motivation_and_Barriers_to_the_Participation_of_Adults_in_Lifelong_Education_Athens_Labour_Institute_of_Trade_Union_Confederation_and_the_Small_Enterprises_Institute_of_General_Confeder

Karalis T, 2026. Is there any place for Adult Education in the era of Lifelong Learning?. Adult Education Critical Issues 5(2): 8–23. https://doi.org/10.12681/haea.43722

King N, Horrocks C, 2010. Interviews in qualitative research. London, UK. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Interviews_in_Qualitative_Research.html?id=Cj1dBAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Lawrence D F, Loi N M, Gudex B W, 2018. Understanding the relationship between work intensification and burnout in secondary teachers. Teachers and Teaching 25(2): 189–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2018.1544551

Lionarakis A, 2009. The development of a methodological approach (didactics) for lifelong distance learning programs. Athens: Greece

Lorenzini D, 2018. Governmentality, subjectivity, and the neoliberal form of life. Journal for Cultural Research 22(2): 154-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/14797585.2018.1461357

Madigan D J, Kim L, 2021. Does teacher burnout affect students? A systematic review of its association with academic achievement and student-reported outcomes. International Journal of Educational Research 105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101714

Mikelatou A, Arvanitis E, 2018. Social inclusion and active citizenship under the prism of neoliberalism: A critical analysis of the European Union’s discourse of lifelong learning, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 50(5): 499-509. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2017.1382348

Nikolakakos N, 2024. The contribution of lifelong learning to the subjectification of public Primary School substitute teachers. PhD Thesis, University of Patras

Nikolakakos N, Vergidis D, 2022. The role of lifelong learning in the context of neoliberal governmentality, a first approach. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on the Promotion of Educational Innovation, Larissa, 15 – 17 October 2021, Vol. B. Larissa, Greece, pp 597-605. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359095106_O_rolos_tes_dia_biou_matheses_sto_plaisio_tes_neophileleutheres_kybernetikotetas_mia_prote_prosengise

Nikolakakos N, Vergidis D, 2024a. Substitute teachers in Greece: The pursuit for academic qualifications and its consequences in everyday life. European Journal of Education Studies 11(8): 22-33. https://oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejes/article/view/5436

Nikolakakos N, Vergidis D, 2024b. The criteria for selecting lifelong learning programs by substitute teachers. Theory and Research in Educational Sciences 91: 32-51. Retrieved from https://ipode.gr/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/issue91_%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%BC%CE%BF-.pdf

Official Government Gazette, 2019. Law No. 4589. 13/Α΄/29-1-2019. Retrieved from https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/kat-ekpaideuse/nomos-4589-2019-fek-13a-29-1-2019.html. Accessed 14 October 2024

Pacaol N, 2021. Teacher’s workload intensification: A qualitative case study of its implications on teaching quality. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching 8(1): 43-60. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1286549

Robson C, 2002. Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and Practitioner-Researchers, 2nd edn. Oxford, UK. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Real_World_Research.html?id=DkplMcAysFQC&redir_esc=y

Simons M, 2006. Learning as Investment: Notes on governmentality and biopolitics, Educational Philosophy and Theory 38(4): 523-540. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2006.00209.x

Standing G, 2011. The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. London, UK

UNESCO, 1976. Recommendation on the development of adult education adopted by the General Conference at its nineteenth session Nairobi, 26 November 1976. Retrieved from https://uil.unesco.org/fileadmin/keydocuments/AdultEducation/Confintea/en/Nairobi%20Recommendation_Eng.pdf. Accessed 10 February 2026

Vergidis D, 2001. Lifelong learning and education policy. In K Harris, N Petroulakis, S Nikodimos (Eds.), Continuing education and lifelong learning: International experience and Greek perspective. Proceedings of the 9th International Pedagogical Conference; Volos, Greece, November 11-13, 1999. Athens, Greece, pp 127-144.

Vergidis D, 2005. Social and economic dimensions of adult education. In D Vergidis, E Prokou (Eds.), Elements of socio-economic functioning and institutional framework. Patras, Greece, pp 13-128

Vergidis D, 2014. Lifelong learning and educational inequalities. In A Kyridis (Ed.), Vulnerable social groups and lifelong learning. Athens, Greece, pp 121-150

Vergidis D, 2016. Lifelong learning and adult education policies. In E. Hontolidou, R Tsokalidou, F Tentolouris, A Kyridis, K Vakalopoulos (Eds), Memory of Sophrony Hatzisavvides: Linguistic and pedagogical approaches. Athens, Greece, pp 381-398.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v13i5.6632

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2026 Nikos Nikolakakos, Dimitris Vergidis

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2015-2026. European Journal of Education Studies (ISSN 2501 - 1111) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All authors who send their manuscripts to this journal and whose articles are published on this journal retain full copyright of their articles. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).