JoLIE 18:3/2025

 

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LINGUISTIC STRUCTURES CONVEYING SOCIALIST-COMMUNIST IDEOLOGY (1945–1990) IN SCHOOLBOOKS FOR THE GREEK ETHNIC MINORITY IN ALBANIA

 

 

Donika KoçiTitle: A green circle with white letters

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University Eqrem Çabej Gjirokaster, Albania

Eljana KokalariTitle: A green circle with white letters

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University Eqrem Çabej Gjirokaster, Albania

 

 

 

Abstract

 

This study explores how ideological control in education shaped individuals and examines its long-term impact on identity formation and critical thinking. In Albania, political power from 1945 to 1990 used textbooks and school life as tools to transmit the dominant ideology, ensuring its continued control. The study identifies linguistic features that, beyond their grammatical function, convey implicit or explicit ideological content. Students, teachers, and parents were required to conform to an imposed system of ideas, perceptions, and deceptions. The school functioned as an ideological mechanism, shaping students into compliant citizens who lacked independent thought and creative expression. For 50 years, the primary goal of education was loyalty to the Labour Party and its leader, often at the expense of students’ genuine interests. As a result, generations of students learned to conform, accept exaggeration and flattery, and suppress critical thinking. Furthermore, the Greek ethnic minority faced additional challenges, as their education failed to provide opportunities for self-identification, cultural expression, and a connection to Greek values.

 

Keywords: Greek ethnic minority; Socialist ideology; School textbooks; Second language learning.

 

 

References

 

Secondary literature

 

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Halliday, M. A. K. (1978). Language as social semiotic: The social interpretation of language and meaning. Edward Arnold.

 

Λένιν, Β. Ι. (1988). Για την αγωγή και την παιδεία (Τόμ. 2, σ. 172) [On education and pedagogy (Vol. 2, p. 172)]. Εκδόσεις «Σύγχρονη εποχή».

 

Mayring, P. (2014). Qualitative content analysis: Theoretical foundation, basic procedures and software solution. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-395173

 

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Greek school textbooks (Primary sources)

 

Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού. (1952). Γραμματική της ελληνικής γλώσσας για την τέταρτη τάξη των δημοτικών σχολείων [Grammar of the Greek language for the fourth grade of primary schools]. Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού.

 

Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού. (1955). Αναγνωστικό για τη δεύτερη τάξη των δημοτικών σχολείων [Reader for the second grade of primary schools]. Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού.

 

Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού. (1964). Γραμματική της ελληνικής γλώσσας για την τέταρτη τάξη των δημοτικών σχολείων [Grammar of the Greek language for the fourth grade of primary schools]. Διεύθυνση Σχολικών Εκδόσεων.

 

Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού. (1969). Αναγνωστικό για την τρίτη τάξη των δημοτικών σχολείων [Reader for the third grade of primary schools]. Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού.

 

Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού. (1970a). Γραμματική της ελληνικής γλώσσας για την τρίτη τάξη των δημοτικών σχολείων [Grammar of the Greek language for the third grade of primary schools]. Εκδόσεις Σχολικών Εγχειριδίων.

 

Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού. (1970b). Αναγνωστικό για την τρίτη τάξη των δημοτικών σχολείων [Reader for the third grade of primary schools]. Τυπογραφείο «ΦΙΛΙΑ».

 

Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού. (1972). Αναγνωστικό για την τρίτη τάξη των δημοτικών σχολείων [Reader for the third grade of primary schools]. Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού.

 

 

How to cite this article: Koçi, D., & Kokalari, E. (2025). Linguistic structures conveying socialist communist ideology (1945–1990) in schoolbooks of the Greek ethnic minority in Albania. Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education – JoLIE, 18(3), 69–86. https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2025.18.3.4

 

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