Social class and access to higher education in Greece: supportive preparation lessons and success in national exams

Participation in the national exams is a very difficult task for Greek lyceum students as their access to higher education is highly dependent on their performance in them. This paper focuses on the students' preparation for the national exams and especially their resort to out-of-school supportive lessons in relation to their socio-economic background. The study examines whether the widening of participation reduces social inequalities or not. It also examines the possibility of their resort to different forms of out-of-school support and the cost of it in relation to their families' socio-economic background and their performance. The findings give evidence that there is a close relationship between parents' socio-economic state and the form of out-of-school support as well as the students' performance in the national exams. High social class parents increase the possibilities of their children's turn to the out-of-school support and especially to the most expensive and effective forms of it, as it can ensure high performance and access to high academic status departments. It has become a means for high social class parents to help their children face competition and ensure the reproduction of their social privileges. All this leads to the conclusion that in spite of the fact that the vast majority of the Greek students attend public lyceums,the out-of-school support has led to the commercialization of education and the public character of education tends to be dismissed.