Disability in Greece: Social Perception and Educational Policies

Abstract

This work examines how the Greek state (under multiple types of governmental regimes) dealt with children with disabilities within the framework of educational and political reforms, and how social perceptions of disability have defined – to a lesser or greater degree - the aforementioned policies. This article covers three basic periods: 1) First steps, starting from the turn of the 20th century until the 1940s; 2) Minimal state intervention to deal with the issue (1948 – 1985), and 3)the most recent period, where children with a disability are dealt with in a more comprehensive way within the terms of a social welfare state (1985 – 2004).