Censorship in teacher training: the case of the lending library of the Pedagogical Academy of Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Abstract

This paper examines censorship forms implemented in the pedagogical training received by the students (teacher candidates) of the Pedagogical Academy of Heraklion (Crete, Greece) during the period of the April dictatorship (1967-1974). First, a bibliographical overview of the main term of the paper, namely the censorship, is attempted, and then the historical context of the censorship actions undertaken by the dictators is analysed. The research was based on the archival material of the Academy, specifically the documents relating to its lending library. The historical interpretive methodology of 'history from below' was followed. The aim of the research was to highlight the correlation between the examined documents, which seemingly did not relate to the concept of censorship, and the conceptual and historical context set. The results of the research revealed many acts of censorship, overt or latent, concerning the formation of the institution's lending library. The above results constituted important findings, as they contributed to the scientific methodology of ‘history from below’, as the research object was not associated with a person or a group of people, as is common practice. Instead, the focus of the research was placed on an institution of pedagogical training that has been in the margins in terms of research, and there were no papers in the relevant scientific discourse that base their research on such a research unit. Finally, this research attempted to highlight important findings that sometimes confirm and sometimes contradict the hitherto known literature on the implementation of censorship in the period under review. More specifically, the findings were consistent with the general idea of the intense censorship activity of the dictators in the period 1967-1972, but it also highlights similar results for the period 1972-1974, for which relevant research had shown that the phenomenon of censorship was clearly less visible.