Van tweeën een: Bicultureel-tweetalige socialisatie van Griekse leerlingen in Nederland

If we assume that culture is not a static phenomenon, but one which develops in line with concrete political, social, economic and cultural circumstances, then we must assume that that the Greeks in the Netherlands, who live and work in circumstances which are different to those of the Greek inhabitants of Greece, also develop different cultural models. Furthermore, if we assume that someone’s identity is not fixed and is not inherited, but is formed and developed in successive concrete circumstances, then one can expect that the individual develops an identity (or in general a personality) which suits their social environment. In the case of allochtonous children, their environment for socialisation is generally biculturalbilingual. Greek children in The Netherlands come into contact with different worlds: one - on the streets or at school for example - where the Dutch element is dominant, another – family life - where another sort of culture has developed, and life in Greece during the summer. What parents and teachers of the mother tongue call “ours” cannot be the same for children born in a foreign country. The question then naturally arises: “Who am I? What is my relation to this here and that there? Since the environment of these Greek children is bicultural and bilingual (or even multicultural and multilingual), then their ego synthesis will also have a certain bicultural character. In theory a synthesis of the two cultures will take place in the mental world of the children. This thesis reports on an investigation into the bicultural-bilingual socialisation of Greek pupils in the Netherlands against the background of the migration of families and their social-cultural and economic position in the Netherlands. The research carried out is sociological in nature, with a strong educational bent. This means that the relation which the Greek pupils have with Greek language teaching is examined at the same time. Which problems have an influence on Greek language teaching, and how can these be dealt with? The reason for conducting this research lies in the issues raised by the position of Greek migrants in the neo-European structure and in the role which education can play in forming the ethnic-cultural identity of Greek children in the Netherlands. The changing perception of the Greek government with regard to education policy for Greek pupils in the diaspora, and the resulting changes in objectives, are an important reason for making these pupils the target of the research. The social goal of the research is to survey the socialisation of Greek pupils in multicultural Dutch society. The aim is to gain insight into the set of factors involved in socialisation. The scientific goal is to contribute to the theory development in the area of the socialisation of allochtonous(Greek) children. Acquiring a bicultural identity is of great importance to allochtonous children when it comes to social success. The encouragement of a joint radical (education) policy by both countries (country of origin and country of residence) will be advantageous to both sides, not only for the individual but also for the society as a whole. The results presented in this research report could form a frame of reference for delineating a policy in this area – by means of bilateral agreements – between Greece and the Netherlands. The policy-makers could take the opportunity to make a concrete formulation of the problem against the background of the dream of the new Europe. A comparison of the results with other allochtonous groups in the Netherlands is also of social relevance: an analysis of the socialisation of Greek pupils can throw light on the position of other groups of allochtonous pupils. Apart from this, a theoretical need is also being served. Research into the cultural conditions in both societies is important from both a sociological and educational viewpoint.