Improving Learning Outcomes in Greece

Executive summary

Greece has undertaken significant efforts in recent years to strengthen its education system, enhance the quality of teaching and learning, and support schools in addressing equity challenges. These efforts are taking place in a context marked by a historically centralised governance structure, persistent resource constraints, and the need to reinforce the implementation of reforms across levels of the system. Drawing on evidence from international data sources, national policy documents, and interviews with a wide range of stakeholders, this Education Policy Review provides an assessment of the Greek school system and identifies concrete policy priorities to support system-wide improvement.

The report covers early childhood education and care, primary and secondary education, with focussed analysis on five key areas: school autonomy, the teaching profession, early childhood education and care (ECEC), and digital education. Over the past decade, Greece has taken important steps to decentralise selected responsibilities to schools, introduce new teacher appraisal and professional development frameworks, and expand access to ECEC. A national digital strategy and related efforts have also enabled broader access to digital tools. Despite these advances, the country still faces challenges related to institutional local capacity, fragmented governance, limited purposeful integration of digital technologies in pedagogical practices, and the implementation of reforms in practice.

To address these challenges, the report identifies the following policy priorities:

Strengthening school autonomy, leadership and local capacity

Over the past decade, Greece has introduced important elements of school autonomy through internal school evaluation (re-introduction of this measure), school improvement planning and new school leadership roles. These reforms signal a gradual shift toward a more participatory model of school governance. At the same time, Greece remains one of the most centralised systems in the OECD in areas such as staff management, budgeting and curriculum implementation. Schools have limited discretion to adapt resources to local needs, and governance responsibilities across central agencies, regional structures and support services are often fragmented. School leaders play a central role in driving pedagogical improvement, yet many face heavy administrative workloads, uneven preparation for leadership responsibilities and restricted access to tailored professional development. The capacity of local support structures, including Education Advisers, counsellors and regional directorates, remains variable across the country.

Policy priority: Strengthen school leadership and build local capacity for improvement. This requires clarifying roles and responsibilities across agencies, progressively expanding schools’ decision-making authority, and reinforcing leadership preparation and ongoing training. Stronger professional standards for school leaders, clearer expectations for pedagogical leadership, and more coherent support structures will be essential to support schools in using autonomy effectively.

Supporting the teaching profession and aligning appraisal mechanisms with professional growth

Teachers are the cornerstone of Greece’s reform agenda. The creation of new roles (such as mentors and co-ordinators), increased numbers of permanent appointments and the recently introduced teacher appraisal system represent significant steps towards elevating the teaching profession. However, given demographic pressures, the system relies heavily on substitute teachers, and teachers’ participation in high-quality professional learning remains limited. The new teacher appraisal system provides a promising foundation but is resource-intensive and not yet systematically linked to teachers’ professional learning or to school improvement processes. Greece does not currently have a widely recognised framework defining high-quality teaching, which limits coherence across teacher education, appraisal, professional learning and career development.

Policy priority: Align teacher appraisal with professional learning and career development. A national competence framework for teachers and school leaders would clarify expectations at different career stages and guide improvements across professional development, appraisal and school leadership. Strengthening school-based professional learning, enhancing the role of mentors and co-ordinators and ensuring that appraisal supports continuous improvement will be central to building a more coherent, sustainable and effective teaching profession.

Improving access, quality and coherence in Early Childhood Education and Care

The expansion of compulsory pre-primary education for children aged four and above marks an important achievement for Greece. A new curriculum offers clearer pedagogical direction and opportunities to strengthen early learning. However, the ECEC sector remains fragmented: services for children under age four fall under multiple governance structures, access varies considerably across municipalities and quality assurance mechanisms are uneven. Structural quality, such as group sizes, staff-child ratios and staff working conditions, also varies widely.

Policy priority: Expand access and quality in early childhood education and care. Greece should strengthen pedagogical quality in pre-primary settings; improve structural conditions to support high-quality interaction and learning; and develop a coherent strategy to integrate services for children under four. Better system-wide data on participation, workforce and quality will be essential to monitor progress and ensure equitable access for all children.

Advancing the meaningful use of digital technologies in education

Greece has invested substantially in digital infrastructure, platforms and educational resources. The national digital strategy and the forthcoming Strategic Plan place a strong emphasis on digital competences, artificial intelligence readiness and the role of external partners in supporting innovation. Nonetheless, the use of digital tools in everyday classroom practice seems to remain limited and uneven. Teachers report varied levels of confidence in digital pedagogy, and evaluation of digital initiatives is not yet systematic.

Policy priority: Advance the meaningful use of digital tools in teaching and learning. Greece should strengthen teachers’ digital competences, improve equitable access to digital infrastructure, and ensure that digital tools align with curricular goals. Clearer governance, stronger evaluation mechanisms and enhanced leadership capacity at school level will support the responsible, purposeful and equitable use of digital technologies.

Final consideration: A commitment to evidence-informed and coherent reform

The review highlights Greece’s strong engagement with evidence-informed policymaking and its commitment to improving the quality and equity of education. Recent reforms demonstrate determination to modernise the system and support schools in addressing persistent challenges. To realise their full potential, reforms will need to be sequenced, prioritised and supported by robust implementation strategies.

A coherent framework that aligns teacher development, school evaluation, ECEC expansion and digital transformation will be essential (also considering the curriculum). Stronger data systems, targeted support for disadvantaged schools and sustained investment in school leadership and teacher professionalism will help ensure that reforms translate into improved learning outcomes and greater equity. The most recent strategy for primary and secondary education contains promising elements in this direction.