Aims
The aim of the project was to establish a network of researchers and a constructive dialogue on educational systems between European and predominantly Muslim states in the MENA region in order to promote reforms in the educational system with regard to the development of open identities and worldviews among students. Images of self and other and the promotion of independent thinking were the central focus of the analysis of curricula and textbooks.
Methodology
Overall, it was found that all four states studied have carried out reforms to their education systems. For example, the subject of social studies has been introduced or modified, and the subjects of history and geography have been revised for school instruction. As far as the representation of the "own" is concerned, the studies show that the aim is to create a uniform identity that levels out differences and instead trains children and young people to be loyal citizens. The "others" - in this case European and Western states - tend to appear positively in the current generation of textbooks and are portrayed as initiators and carriers of modernity and technological progress.
It is emphasized that Arab Muslims have made an indispensable contribution to the development of European sciences. The conflicts between Israel and Palestine and Arab states are addressed rather cautiously. Classic topics such as the Crusades or colonialism are touched upon only fleetingly.
Thus, although changes have taken place in curricula and textbooks, new kinds of gaps are also apparent. The dialogue with representatives of educational policy and science and research on educational reform has also shown that local and national elites may resist Western interference, but they are primarily concerned with the potential for change in their societies against a background of integrity and fit.
Results
The project's collaborators conclude that educational reforms are strongly debated in contemporary Arab societies, and that the diversity of the range of opinions and proposed solutions demonstrates a critical self-understanding that forms an important part of post-colonial dialogue on an equal footing with the West but also within the region itself.
Abschließende Publikation
- Alayan, Samira, Achim Rohde & Sarhan Dhouib (2012), The Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East: Self and Other in Textbooks and Curricula. New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books
- Alayan, Samira, Sarhan Dhouib & Achim Rohde (2009), Education Reforms and Textbooks in the Middle East: Changing Perceptions of Self and Other. Amman: Dar al-Shourouq [auf Arabisch]
Online-Veröffentlichung auf Edumeres.net
