BEYOND “TOLERANCE”: BELONGING, POWER, AND INTERCULTURAL SAFETY IN GREEK LOWER SECONDARY CLASSROOMS

Authors

  • Dionysios Anastasopoulos PhD in Cultural Institutions Management and Administration, MSc in History of Philosophy, MSc in Cultural Policy, Management and Communication, Lecturer, School of Education Sciences, University of Nicosia, Cyprus Regional Director of Primary and Secondary Education of Attica, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v13i10.7046

Keywords:

intercultural education, multiculturalism, interculturalism, school belonging, intercultural safety

Abstract

This critical and theoretical essay discusses the weakness of the concept of toleration as a normative horizon for addressing cultural and linguistic diversity in Greek lower secondary school and suggests the redefinition of belonging, power and intercultural safety. Based on these debates of contemporary times concerning the relationship between multiculturalism and interculturalism, and on the scholarship that promulgates equity literacy and culturally relevant pedagogy, intercultural education is understood as the project of democratic change as opposed to a collection of technical interventions. The importance of belonging is demonstrated by means of empirical research in the field of school belonging and diversity climate that enables the proposing of belonging as the key factor that connects school structures and classroom practices to the motivational, social-emotional and academic performance of students, especially immigrant, refugee and minoritised learners. The concept of intercultural safety is designed as a relational and institutional state, which is based on affective hospitality and critical consciousness, and opposed to forms of understanding the narrow concept of safety as comfort of one. On a micro level, the classroom practices, teacher identity, as well as the language policy are presented in the essay as frontiers through which the symbolic power is exercised and challenged. Such insights are then applied to the Greek lower secondary situation, including the inclusionary policy, intercultural teacher training, citizenship curriculums and the psychosocial requirements of migrant and refugee young people. It is stated that to go beyond tolerance into intercultural safety and belonging, teacher education, curriculum and school governance should be coordinated and that Greek lower secondary schools ought to be structured in a way that all students are made to feel they can be recognised and legitimate members of a democratic community.

Author Biography

  • Dionysios Anastasopoulos, PhD in Cultural Institutions Management and Administration, MSc in History of Philosophy, MSc in Cultural Policy, Management and Communication, Lecturer, School of Education Sciences, University of Nicosia, Cyprus Regional Director of Primary and Secondary Education of Attica, Greece
    Dionysios Anastasopoulos is a lecturer and scholar specializing in cultural communication, ethno-cultural identities, and intercultural education. He teaches at the University of Nicosia’s School of Education and is a visiting professor in the postgraduate program “Politics, Communication & Language” at the Ionian University. He has held academic posts at Panteion University and has lectured at the National Security and Defense Schools. He holds undergraduate and two postgraduate degrees from National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and Panteion University, along with a PhD on “Ethno-cultural Identities – Cultural Policy & Intercultural Education.” A graduate of the National Defense School in Strategic Studies, he has also coordinated educational and cultural projects for migrants and refugees, and collaborated with institutions including the European Cultural Centre of Delphi. Anastasopoulos has published seven books and numerous articles, serves on several educational councils, and currently holds the role of Regional Director of Primary and Secondary Education of Attica. His research interests include cultural practices of communication and educational administration, with a particular focus on identity formation, cultural policy, and intercultural education.

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Published

2026-10-02

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 10 (2026)

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Articles

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