Transcending Socio-cultural Barriers

doi:10.1017/9781108655101.012

Chapter 11 - Transcending Socio-cultural Barriers

Access to Tertiary Education of Muslim Minority Youth in Greece

from Part II - Deconstructing Marginalisation

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 September 2020

Nelly Askouni and

Edited by

Wenona Giles and

Jacqueline Bhabha: Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Wenona Giles: Affiliation:
York University, Toronto
Faraaz Mahomed: Affiliation:
FXB Center for Health and Human Rights

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Summary

Muslim minority youths in Greece were up to twenty years ago de facto excluded from tertiary education owing to a nexus of historical and political reasons. In 1996 an important affirmative action measure was taken as regards admission policy aiming at compensating for the years-long exclusion. This chapter is based on the testimonies of forty-four minority youths who made use of this affirmative measure and concerns their educational trajectories and their experiences as students. Their stories are framed within the educational system addressing minority learners, the existing socio-cultural context and the debate on affirmative action. The youths express a desire to break away from the constraints of minority life while they acknowledge that affirmative action provides a redress for social injustice and cannot alone provide an opportunity for upward mobility for all. Student life represents a huge social leap that demands the transcendence of multiple social and cultural barriers related to discrimination, geographical seclusion and past isolation. The student narratives oscillate between fear of distancing themselves from the familiarity of their community, but also a desire to break away from tradition and family constraints and make a life of their own.

Keywords

Muslim minority Greece affirmative action tertiary education student narratives

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: A Better Future
The Role of Higher Education for Displaced and Marginalised People
, pp. 245 - 267

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108655101.012 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2020

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