Current Educational Practices in Greece Infringe Upon Students’ and White Color Workers’ Rights to leisure Time
Evaggelia Kalerante *
University of Western Macedonia, Greece.
Simeon Nikolidakis
Enosi Educational Institute, Greece.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Initially, the interdependent trends between economic imperatives and intentions in a capitalist system, and educational approaches are analyzed. Concentration is placed on indirectly controlled education within a routinized daily existence via the constant quest for “educational packages” necessary for job placement. A worker’s life is dominated by work insecurity- imposed educational choices. Focus is shifted from following one’s interests to facing practical demands. Leisure time shrinks in favor of utility time. Gradually, unequal wealth distribution brings on unequal leisure time availability co-relating free time activities with profit making pursuits. Also, we look into formal and informal educational methods within an evolving life-long education environment. Mechanics and strategies of entrapment of individuals are reinforced by an economically motivated system of measuring success and progress at the expense of individually determined terms of happiness, self- satisfaction, and cultural exchange, enjoyment. Aspects of individual humanistic value deprivation leading into society’s humanistic denudation are exposed. The individuals’ interconnection with society is emphasized, so as to reveal that a loss of free time constructively used in an individual’s pursuits, progressively leads to the degradation of the social and political experience. That is to say, beyond the surrender of the humanistic educational capital lies the enfeeblement of the political determinants of democracy. As ideas and issues under question partaking declines, along with the social co-existence and acceptance of others, through solitary trails in theoretic convictions in life long education, as an investment in oneself, each one becomes an economic operative toward a rising social inequality destination.
Keywords: Leisure time, life-long education, educational packages, economic crisis, democracy