Students’ Admission to Greek Tertiary Education without Private Coaching Schools (“Frontistiria”): A Research Study

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify the necessity of attendance of a private coaching school (frontistirio), by thet hird and last grade students in Greece, for their successful participation in the admission exams for tertiary education. The family spending for this attendance is also summarily presented, as well as the development of the coaching schools over the last 50 years and the percentage of third-grade pupils attending these coaching schools. The findings of a survey involving 1276 third-grade pupils who assess on the possibility of their accession to higher education without attending the frontistirio, the change in the time of the examinations and the creation of additional teaching support programs within the school, are also shown. According to the findings of the survey, private coaching is considered by the students as a necessity for their access to tertiary institution, since they believe that school preparation is inadequate and incomplete.