Students' Attitudes in Greece toward the Turkish Language and Culture

This research has been conducted in order to comprehend the ways that attitudes towards the Turkish language changed after a scrutinizing and educational intervention which aimed to approach the culture between the two countries, Greece and Turkey. Taking into consideration the conflicts which have frequently emerged between the two peoples as well as the strained atmosphere in some fields there is even today remains of past historic events, it is considered that a study of young children's attitudes is absolutely essential. Our aim is to prove that school can play a substantial role through this process. Hence, at this study the accomplishment of a pedagogical intervention is pursued. The purpose of the intervention is the acquaintance with the modern Turkish culture and its relation with the respective Greek culture. The study intends to provide the students' self-evaluation so that they will be able to obtain a critical view to their already shaped attitudes. The most appropriate method that could serve both the main purpose and the sub-purposes of this investigation was considered to be action research.

Autorentext

O meu nome é Paraskevi (Vicky) Panagou. A minha origem é de uma pequena cidade da Grécia, Farsala. Sou licenciada pelo Departamento de Pedagogia da Universidade de Tessália. Durante os meus estudos, participei no Laboratório de Língua Grega da Universidade de Tessália, o que estimulou o meu interesse pela língua em geral. Atualmente, sou professora.