The Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East: Self and Other in Textbooks and Curricula 9780857454614

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THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION REFORM IN THE MIDDLE EAST

THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION REFORM IN THE MIDDLE EAST Self and Other in Textbooks and Curricula

Q Edited by

Samira Alayan, Achim Rohde & Sarhan Dhouib

Berghahn Books New York • Oxford

Published in 2012 by Berghahn Books www.berghahnbooks.com © 2012 Samira Alayan, Achim Rohde and Sarhan Dhouib All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The politics of education reform in the Middle East : self and other in    textbooks and curricula / edited by Samira Alayan, Achim Rohde, and  Sarhan Dhouib.     p. cm.   Includes bibliographical references and index.   ISBN 978-0-85745-460-7 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-85745-461-4 (ebook)  1. Textbooks—Arab countries. 2. Textbook bias—Arab countries. 3. Curriculum change—Arab countries. 4. Educational change—Government policy—Arab countries. I. Alayan, Samira. II. Rohde, Achim, 1969–   LB3048.A65P65 2012   371.3’20917’4927 2011046560 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book came about as part of the editors’ work at the Georg-Eckert-Institute for International Textbook Research (www.gei.de). It also received financial support from the German Foreign Office.

Printed in the United States on acid-free paper ISBN 978-0-85745-460-7 (hardback) ISBN 978-0-85745-461-4 (ebook)

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ONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES INTRODUCTION Achim Rohde and Samira Alayan 1. Educational Reform in the Arab World: Directives, Mechanisms and Challenges in Lebanon, Syria and Oman Nemer Mansur Frayha

VII VIII

1

15

2. EDUCATION REFORM IN OMAN: EVOLUTION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL CURRICULA Salha Abdullah Issan

40

3. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN JORDAN FROM THE 1950S UNTIL TODAY: STAGES AND CHARACTERISTICS Mohammad Khalil Abbas

61

4. MAJOR TRENDS OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN EGYPT Iman Farag 5. ON THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF TEACHING HISTORY IN LEBANON: NOTES ON A TEXTBOOK CONTROVERSY Massoud Daher 6. RECONFIGURING THE PAST: HISTORY, MEMORY AND IDEOLOGY IN EGYPTIAN HISTORY TEXTBOOKS BETWEEN 1932 AND 2009 Atef Botros 7. DIFFERENT LAYERS OF IDENTITY IN LEBANESE TEXTBOOKS Jonathan Kriener 8. THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION AND THE RANGE OF ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CONTENT OF CIVIC EDUCATION TEXTBOOKS IN JORDAN Mustafa Abu al-Sheikh and Yasser al-Khalailah 9. GENDER IMAGES IN JORDANIAN SOCIAL EDUCATION TEXTBOOKS Naseema al-Khalidi

80

97

112 131

154 174

vi | Contents

10. IMAGES OF EUROPEANS IN JORDANIAN TEXTBOOKS Qasem al-Newashi

194

11. HISTORY CURRICULA AND TEXTBOOKS IN PALESTINE: BETWEEN NATION BUILDING AND QUALITY EDUCATION Samira Alayan

209

12. BRIDGING CONFLICTS THROUGH HISTORY EDUCATION? A CASE STUDY FROM ISRAEL/PALESTINE Achim Rohde

237

NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

261

INDEX

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IGURES

Figure 11.1. ‘Map of Natural Palestine.’

225

Source: The Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, part I, 11th grade, p. 4. Courtesy of Ministry of Education, Palestinian National Authority.

Figure 11.2. ‘The territories of the Arab state proposed by partition resolution 181 that came under Israeli control as a result of the 1948 war.’

226

Source: The Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, part II, 11th grade, p. 36. Courtesy of Ministry of Education, Palestinian National Authority.

Figure 11.3. Map showing the UN partition plan of 1947, i.e. resolution 181.

227

Source: The Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, part II, 11th grade, p. 29. Courtesy of Ministry of Education, Palestinian National Authority.

Figure 11.4. Map entitled ‘The Green Line’, dividing ‘the part of Palestine occupied by Israel in 1948 and the area it occupied in 1967’.

228

Source: The Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, part II, 11th grade, p. 57. Courtesy of Ministry of Education, Palestinian National Authority.

Figure 11.5. Map showing the so-called ‘Sharon Plan’ of 1982. Source: The Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, part II, 11th grade, p. 58. Courtesy of Ministry of Education, Palestinian National Authority.

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ABLES

Table 2.1. Study Plan for Grades 1–10 from the Stage of General Education

48

Table 2.2. Group I Academic Subjects: For Students Enrolled in Grade 11, Coming from Grade 10 Basic General Education (Academic Year: 2007–2008)

51

Table 2.3. Group I Academic Subjects: For Students Enrolled in Grade 11, Coming from Grade 10 Basic General Education (Academic Year: 2007–2008)

53

Table 2.4. Group I Academic Subjects: For Grade 12, Post-Basic General Education (Academic Year: 2008–2009)

54

Table 2.5. Elective Subjects for Grades 11 and 12

55

Table 7.1. Frequency of key terms referring to the Arab-Islamic expansion into Syria-Lebanon 140 Table 7.2. Teaching the Arab-Islamic conquest

143

Table 7.3. Teaching the independence of the Lebanese Republic

148

Table 8.1. References to the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan in Civics textbooks

163

Table 8.2. References to the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan in selected Civics textbooks, grades 8–10

166

Table 8.3. Frequency of the indicators of the philosophical foundations of educations in selected Civics textbooks, grades 8–10

167

Table 8.4. Differences between selected Civics textbooks, grades 8–10, regarding references to philosophical foundations of education

168

Table 8.5. Statistical significance of differences between textbooks regarding references to philosophical foundations of education

169

Tables | ix

Table 8.6. Statistical significance of differences between the frequencies of the five categories of philosophical foundations of education in selected Civics textbooks, grades 9–10

169

Table 9.1. Frequency distribution and percentage of analysis categories in social and civic studies textbooks

181

Table 9.2. Frequency distribution and percentage of analysis groups in history textbooks taught to grades 8–10 in Jordan

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Table 9.3. Frequency distribution and percentage of analysis groups in social-education textbooks taught in Jordan

185

Table 10.1. Geography textbooks

196

Table 10.2. History textbooks

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Table 10.3. Civic Education and General Culture textbooks

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Table 11.1. Teaching Contents, grades 7–9

214

Table 11.2. Teaching Contents, grades 10–12

215

QI

NTRODUCTION

Achim Rohde and Samira Alayan

Mapping Education Reforms in the Middle East A growing number of studies focusing on education systems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) were published in Western academia during recent years, reflecting international agendas for educational development, or debates triggered by political developments since 9/11 concerning the values taught in schools in Muslim majority countries in the Middle East and elsewhere. By assembling a collection of case studies scrutinising recent education reforms and textbooks in selected Middle Eastern countries, specifically with regard to history and social sciences, the present book thus contributes to a body of research that is located in a highly politicised context. Much debate and widespread criticism about education systems of MENA countries have followed the publication of the Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) series between 2002 and 2006 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank’s MENA development report of 2008 entitled The Road Not Travelled: Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa. These reports have pointed to low and unequal standards of and limited access to education in Arab countries as main reasons for their relative poverty. Of course, differences are noted between the rapidly developing and well-off oil economies of the Gulf and those countries of the MENA region which are not as blessed by a wealth of natural resources, and where high fertility rates create pressure on the national labour markets. In these reports, the line of argumentation has generally favoured economic indicators and quantifiable levels of socio-political ‘modernisation’ as measuring sticks for the effectiveness of a country’s education system. Wideranging reforms in three interrelated areas are suggested as a remedy against the perceived educational underdevelopment prevalent in the region: Securing access to education by physically expanding the existing education systems and by opening them to hitherto disenfranchised social groups like girls and children with special needs, is seen as the first important area or reform. Secondly, improvements in the quality of

2 | Introduction

education are promoted through curriculum reforms, the introduction of state-of-the-art didactic approaches to teacher-training schemes and textbooks, and the introduction of information technology at schools. The third aspect refers to education system management. Instead of clinging to what is perceived as static and overly centralised public education systems, as has long been the rule in most MENA countries, the reports favour decentralising education system management as a means to improve the accountability of the system, combined with calls to introduce market elements like public-private partnerships and incentives for excellence for both teachers and students. Seen through the lens of human capital theory, the pre-dominant paradigm among educationalists in the era of neo-liberal globalisation, education constitutes a crucial resource contributing to the development of a country. Building a ‘knowledge society’ through education therefore becomes a top priority of policy planners in any country. In this vein, an important line of educational research thus focusses on the modernisation and development of education systems in various world regions in the era of globalisation, including the Middle East, reflecting the agendas of international agencies concerning quality education and human resource development. Some of these works offer a bird’s eye perspective, rather than in-depth case studies presented within a regional Middle Eastern context (The Emirates Center 1999; Vavrus and Bartlet 2009). Other edited volumes in this context are more eclectic and focus on a variety of topics related to education, from Islamic education to post-conflict reconstruction to the empowerment of women through education (Griffin 2006; Brock and Levers 2007). At the same time, education is also viewed as an important socialising factor that influences the formation of individuals as enlightened state citizens who are capable of independent and critical thinking. In this sense, quality education is understood in much of Western scholarship as a potential antidote against authoritarian governmentality, religious extremism as well as enmity towards ‘Others’, and as a precondition for the emergence of democracy or ‘good governance’. In MENA countries, the existing education systems are generally seen as part of the problem, rather than the solution, of these issues that are identified as continuities prevailing in the region. Partly as an effect of 9/11, increasingly polarised discourses that situate a so-called ‘Western civilisation’ against the ‘Muslim world’ have become influential. Numerous calls have been made in the West to reform not only the didactics but also the contents of curricula and textbooks used in MENA countries, particularly in the humanities and social science disciplines as well as in religious education, as narratives transmi ed to students

Introduction | 3

in such materials were said to promote mythical transfigurations of the national/religious ‘Self’ and intolerance towards (Western, non-Muslim) ‘Others’. Indeed, numerous recent studies with a specific focus on education in the Middle East published in Western academia mainly scrutinise the ways in which Islamic institutions influence modern schooling or on the ways in which religion is being taught in the public school systems of Muslim majority countries. They discuss the evolution of modern secularised school systems in various such countries and the ways in which they superseded traditional Islamic schools, but also portray the perseverance and in some cases re-appearance of religious institutions in schooling (Doumato and Starret 2007; Hefner and Zaman 2007; Kadi and Billeh 2007). Despite the high quality of the studies assembled in these volumes, there is a certain tendency discernible in such works to limit the study of education in this particular region to the issue of religious education or the influence of religion on education. Addressing the education systems of MENA countries mainly by focusing on their perceived deficiencies as compared to global standards or what is presented as such, as is visible in the globalised discourse on education reform dominated by international agencies, or over-emphasising the role of religion in Middle Eastern education systems risks being criticised for following the trodden path of Saidian Orientalism. As far as the editors of this volume are concerned, education in MENA countries should be addressed as a field of numerous struggles between different actors located in specific institutional and political-economic power matrices. The internal dynamics of educational and curricular policies pursued by state elites in the region differ widely and should not be subsumed under homogenising labels. Plus, the reform pressures exerted by international agencies and donors as well as their impact on the ground should be conceptualised as integral parts of the overall equation (Mazawi and Sultana 2010). While there is a general consensus among experts from within the region as well as among outside observers regarding the deficiencies of most education systems in the MENA region in terms of their accessibility and quality, opinions differ widely on which measures need to be taken to ameliorate the situation. Thus, improving access to education by expanding the school infrastructure in countries of the region is seen as a necessity by all relevant actors. But whether this should be achieved through investments in public school systems or by fostering the expansion of private school sectors remains a debated issue. Some argue that seeking to re-mould education systems in Arab countries along a neo-liberal agenda of privatisation and deregulation principally

4 | Introduction

serves the interests of transnational capital in Middle Eastern markets and thus infringes on the sovereignty of states in the region. Yet, already since the 1980s even the formerly ‘socialist’ Arab states have opted for a policy of economic and social disengagement, reflecting their integration into a capitalist world system, and private educational sectors have existed in most MENA countries throughout the twentieth century, o en under the tutorship of European institutions like churches. The colonialist context, in which modern school systems were introduced in MENA countries and the economic dependence of many contemporary MENA countries from loans extended by international donor institutions, form important backdrops of contemporary debates regarding foreign interventions in the educational systems of these countries. Particularly sensible in this context are curriculum reforms and textbook revisions promoted by international donor institutions. Reforms that support active learning and problem solving skills among pupils are regarded as crucial factors for influencing the quality of education in MENA countries, widely criticised for clinging to an outdated tradition of rote learning methods and teacher oriented didactics that prevent the emergence of pupils who are capable of independent and critical thinking. To some extent, the la er approach reflects the authoritarian governmentality still prevalent in countries of the MENA region. Post-colonial state elites of the region have invested large amounts of energy and resources in disseminating normative discourses of cultural authenticity, national identity and loyalty to the state among the populations residing in their territories. Public education systems have served as an important tool in this context. Therefore, promoting active learning and problem solving skills through education contains an implicit political dimension that is not always popular with Middle Eastern state elites, particularly in disciplines like History and Civic Education when it comes to the interpretation of continuities and still prevailing lines of conflict both inside the perceived national collective and concerning external ‘Others’. Both secular nationalists and Islamists in MENA countries highlight what they perceive as dangers to the cultural identity of Arabs and of Muslims through the proposed curriculum reforms and alterations of textbook narratives. Some critical voices have stressed the necessity to nurture local, national and regional approaches to learning rooted in indigenous traditions of knowledge and its generational transmission to preserve the relevance of the education systems for domestic constituencies. While secular nationalists accept the universality of Western development models and merely reject what they see as the economic, political and cultural subjugation of the MENA region under European

Introduction | 5

and American interests, Islamists reject the whole epistemic model of Western secularism and call for an Islamisation of all knowledge to regain what they perceive as the authenticity of Arab-Islamic civilisation (Starret 1998; Herrera and Torres 2006; Mazawi 2009). While curricula and textbooks used in countries of the region have been continuously altered by the governments in power, reflecting various and changing political agendas and domestic balances of power, external interventions on the level of contents of curricula and textbooks are quite easily rejected as illegitimate across the whole political spectrum. Actors in this highly contested terrain are the post-colonial state elites who tend to value education not least of all for its socialising function of producing loyal state citizens willing to submit to centralised and o en authoritarian government control. Such approaches were prevalent in countries like Ba‘thist Iraq and Nasserist Egypt, both of which played a crucial role in the expansion of education in the region, and are still visible today in these and other countries including Syria, Saudi-Arabia and Jordan. The Palestinian education system that has been set up in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) since the mid 1990s displays all the characteristics of a centralised education system serving a state and nation building agenda, but at the same time it operates under the constraints of the ongoing Israeli occupation (Hovsepian 2008). It is thus not altogether surprising that calls for the decentralisation of education system management, are viewed with a degree of scepticism by most state elites in MENA countries. Even the Gulf Emirates with their wide ranging education reform projects that in many aspects conform with neo-liberal international agendas, still cling to a centralised education system management (Brewer and Goldman 2009; Bashshur 2009). It remains to be seen, whether and to what extent the ‘Arab Spring’ revolutions and uprisings against authoritarian rulers that sweep the region since 2011 will impact on developments in the educational sector. Israel, too, has long followed a strongly normative approach to education in order to mould a diverse immigrant society into an Israeli nation, and despite important liberalisations and a drive towards decentralisation and privatisation of education system management since the 1990s, many aspects of this educational agenda of its formative years are still visible today. A notable exception in this context is Lebanon, which is characterised by weak state structures and a tradition of communal autonomy that does not exist in most other MENA countries. Lebanon serves as an example of a parliamentary democracy of a special type – consociationalism – in which high public offices are proportionally reserved for representatives of the different religious

6 | Introduction

communities in the country. In post–civil war Lebanon of the 1990s, the government reinstated a centralised national curriculum, but schooling practices are widely decentralised, as the school system consists of numerous and semi-autonomous sectors. Similar developments seem to unfold in post-2003 Iraq, where the formerly strong and centralised state has been greatly weakened, and numerous regional and communal actors have emerged whose agendas preclude the effective rebuilding of Iraq’s still formally centralised education system (Tikriti 2010). Remarkably, the Israeli education system displays some similarities to the Lebanese one; it is divided into several sectors that enjoy varying degrees of autonomy, reflecting the consociational approach Israeli state elites have adopted in the educational sector in order to minimise tensions between the various social milieus that constitute Israeli society.

Composition of the Book This book aims to build on and expand the existing body of research and contribute to the political and scholarly debates sketched out above by offering a broad perspective on the evolution of education systems and textbooks in selected countries of the Middle East. The book takes stock of major trends in the area of school education and textbook development in various countries of the region. It assesses the scope and the limits of educational reform initiatives undertaken in recent years in some of these countries, with an eye towards the dynamics of identity politics reflected through representations of ‘Self’ and ‘Other’ in curricula and teaching materials in use, especially in the humanities and social studies disciplines (History, Geography, Civics) that are considered crucial for the development of pupils’ identities and worldviews. Focus also fell on the degree of independent critical thinking fostered among pupils through the curriculum of these disciplines. We regard understanding the content and functions of textbook narratives as well as the dynamics of educational reforms implemented in various MENA countries in recent years as a pre-condition for engaging in a constructive and informed debate about whether and to what extent, not only educational policies, but also textbook narratives could or should be changed. Most authors assembled in this volume are local scholars and educational experts working in various functions in the region itself and are thus able to write from an insider’s perspective on the issues at stake. Some are scholars of Arab origin who are currently residing in Europe and address their respective case studies from within Western

Introduction | 7

academia. Two contributions have been authored by outside observers specialising on different aspects of the subject ma er. The articles assembled in this book were all wri en before the start of the ‘Arab Spring’ and consequently do not relate to these developments. They are products of high level research and case studies into specific countries of the region. Some of them are summarising the scholarly and practical work of a lifetime dedicated to the study and the shaping of educational policies and teaching materials. By building on a network of scholars working in various functions and countries in the region, this book aims to contribute to the evolution of a field of comparative education studies in the Middle East that draws on local perspectives and expertise. The volume is based on a research project that was conducted by the Georg-Eckert-Institute for International Textbook Research (www.gei.de) between 2006 and 2009, with financial support from the German Foreign Office. An Arabic version of this book was published prior to the present English one (Alayan, Dhouib and Rohde 2010), and most contributions to this book were originally wri en in Arabic. The volume thereby offers to Western audiences a glimpse on the ways in which education reforms and textbook revisions are discussed in the region itself. Readers will notice that some of the contributions assembled here focus on rather specific aspects of their respective topics and only reluctantly engage in discussions of the broader context. At times, the critical outlook of the various case studies seems somehow hidden behind quantitative methodology. Indeed, the academic culture in most MENA countries differs from Western academia, not least of all due to the varying levels of political repression and infringements on the freedom of speech that until now have been prevalent in the region. Still, the studies assembled in this volume contain original research and offer a range of critical perspectives on the education reform policies and textbook revisions pursued in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Syria and Israel/Palestine. The volume thus does not cover the whole MENA region, and important countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Algeria and others are not addressed. The composition of the book reflects the range of working relations with scholars and educational experts from the region, which the editors were able to establish as part of their work at the Georg-Eckert-Institute. By translating these studies into English, we aim to broaden the dissemination of this research and thus contribute to an informed dialogue between Western and Arab scholars and experts. The book is organised along two major themes. Several articles focus on educational development and reform policies undertaken by various countries in the region during recent decades (chapters 1–5). In addition, the book presents a number of case studies analysing textbooks and

8 | Introduction

curriculum reform initiatives, including comparative studies regarding representations of ‘Self’ and ‘Other’, in various countries of the region (chapters 6–12). In the opening chapter of this volume, Nemer Frayha provides a panorama view of the education reform policies undertaken in recent years in Lebanon, Syria and Oman. A Lebanese educationalist who has worked in elevated positions in all three countries, Frayha is in a unique position to reflect on and compare the various education reform policies implemented in three widely different countries of the region that to some degree delineate the social and political parameters that shape educational systems in the region: Lebanon, with its high degree of internal diversity and a history of communal and religious strife, displays many of the features that characterise the social composition of other countries in the region, albeit in a unique and rather accentuated way. Syria is until now a survivor of the authoritarian single party Arab nationalist systems that sprung up in the wake of decolonisation. While it has successfully guarded an important degree of political autonomy and set out on a path of cautious domestic reforms, its educational infrastructure is outdated and ineffective and in need of reform. For this purpose the country depends on external funding by international donors, raising questions as to how the interests of the regime and those of external donors will meet in order to improve the educational system. Oman represents an example for the wide ranging educational development schemes implemented in the Gulf emirates. Oman has been a latecomer to a rapid process of modernisation that began in countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the 1960s. Only a er 1971 were educational reforms initiated to build a knowledge society which includes all Omani nationals. However, the political system did not change in its basis. Until today it is an absolute monarchy that does not allow the establishment of political parties. The enlightened monarch holds final decision-making control in all sectors of society. How this state of affairs impacts on educational development, is among the questions discussed by Frayha. Further elaborating on this issue, Salha Abdullah Issan, in chapter 2, deals with the latest phase of curriculum development in the secondary level (grades 11 and 12) of the public education sector of the Sultanate of Oman, its fundamental principles, goals and specific features. The study examines if and to what extent it meets the needs of learners and of the local, regional and global communities. The study thus aims to evaluate the education reforms implemented in Oman, particularly in the area of curriculum development, to show how this experiment was carried out and the extent to which it is similar to and conforms to state policies and directives in the field of education.

Introduction | 9

Similar to the Gulf emirates, Jordan is considered by many experts as a success story in terms of its educational development. Unlike Oman, Jordan is a country without important natural resources, and it has therefore relied heavily on external funding by international donors for building its education system. Accordingly, its policies have conformed to international agendas for educational development, but Jordan has until today resisted calls for a decentralisation of education system management, reflecting the authoritarianism of the ruling monarchy. In his article, Mohammad Khalil Abbas portrays the main stages and developments regarding elementary and secondary education that have occurred in Jordan from the 1950s until today, examining them from quantitative and qualitative perspectives and listing a number of challenges waiting to be addressed by future reforms. Like Jordan, Egypt is also among the countries which have been implementing wide-ranging educational reforms in recent years, with considerable support by international donor institutions. Like Syria, Egypt has long been a standard bearer of Arab nationalism and anticolonialism and has invested considerable energies in building its education system to serve its state- and nation-building agenda. Its recent reform policies included the introduction of market elements to the education system, but education system management remains largely centralised under the authority of the Ministry of Education. In her chapter, Iman Farag critically reflects on the underlying rationale and the implications for the educational system of the neo-liberal policies pursued by the Egyptian state in recent years, which in combination with its continuous authoritarianism lead to rather mixed results regarding the distribution of educational opportunities and the quality of the education system. The chapter was finalised before the start of the revolution that ended the rule of President Mubarak in February 2011 and thus does not discuss the impact these developments might have on Egyptian education. However, it seems that many issues raised in Farag’s chapter were among the factors that contributed to this uprising (see also Cochran 2008). The following chapter by Massoud Daher further elaborates on the case of Lebanon and the post-conflict reconstruction efforts of the Lebanese government, which in the arena of education included efforts at re-establishing a centralised history curriculum to be taught at school in all sectors. Having participated in an expert commission set up by the government that developed a standardised history textbook series for use in all Lebanese schools, Daher recounts the failure of this initiative and reflects on the reasons that have until today prevented the introduction of a reformed and unified history curriculum in Lebanon.

10 | Introduction

He presents various shades of the debate on this issue, and although for political reasons Daher appears to favour a unified history curriculum for all Lebanese schools, he is acutely aware of the problematic consequences of imposing a unified narrative on a highly diverse society like the Lebanese. The ambivalence visible in Daher’s account aptly reflects the vicissitudes and contradictions that education reform initiatives in post-colonial and post-conflict se ings are likely to encounter, not only in Lebanon. Turning to history and civics textbooks and textbook reforms in selected countries of the region, the book delves into recent debates concerning the politics of identity reflected in teaching materials of these countries as well as the values transmi ed to students through such venues. Of particular interest in this regard is the degree to which the internal diversity of each society is reflected in textbooks, and how they relate to external Others. School textbooks are counted among those mass media that have a formative influence on the development of pupils’ sense of identity and perceptions of themselves. Didactically speaking, textbooks might present multi-perspective accounts of a given issue and thus foster critical and independent thinking among students, or they might aim at instilling in them a normative image of the truth as perceived by the powers that be. Against this background, the following chapters offer case studies that address relevant aspects of the subject ma er by using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. Atef Botros seeks to provide a methodological model to analyse Egyptian history textbooks through relying on theoretical concepts related to ‘Memory Studies’ and ‘Intertextuality’. For this purpose, Botros analyses Egyptian history textbooks from three different periods throughout the twentieth century and up to 2008. His study thus portrays the evolution of Egyptian history textbook narratives and the status quo prior to the toppling of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. It will be le to future research to address the changes that are likely to be introduced to Egyptian history textbooks as a result of the revolution. Botros does not examine the credibility of the presentation from the historical point of view, but rather observes the intertextual relationships and the differences in various reflections of the same historical event in the different historical periods in which the various textbooks were produced. The aim of this analysis is to understand the mechanisms behind the construction of the collective memory in order to establish a particular identity for a certain group. Jonathan Kriener again takes up the intriguing case of Lebanon by analysing three different series of history textbooks used in different

Introduction | 11

sectors of the compartmentalised Lebanese education system. Although the three analysed publications differ in some respects, they converge to a large degree in that they offer particularistic normative accounts that cater to specific communal groups within Lebanese society. Relating to the failed introduction of a unified history curriculum discussed by Frayha and Daher in this volume, Kriener argues that given the diversity of Lebanese society, a unified history textbook for all Lebanese schools makes sense only if it applies a comparative approach that provides different perspectives and trains students to understand them and distinguish them from one another. The following three chapters of this volume focus on Jordanian history and civics textbooks from different angles. Given that Jordan is generally presented in the West as a successful example of educational development in the MENA region, these studies examine to what degree policy directives and strategic plans are actually implemented on the level of textbooks. Mustafa H. Abu-al-Shaikh and Yaser al-Khalayleh aim to discover the degree to which the philosophical foundations of education are reflected in national and civic education textbooks designed for higher elementary education in Jordan. A single theme was defined for the process of analysis. The collected data were then analysed statistically using SPSS computer so ware. Their analysis reveals that there is a divergence between the actual content of these books and what is required for the implementation of the foundations of Jordan’s officially sanctioned educational philosophy. Nassema al-Khalidi explores gender images regarding both women and men in contemporary Jordanian textbooks on the subjects of history, social education, national education and civil education. Her study shows that despite official declarations to the contrary, most history textbooks are characterised by the predominance and variety of male roles, in contrast to a minority of – stereotypical – female roles, thus indicating a strong bias towards males and a concentration on their roles specifically in the creation of history. Qasem al-Newashi portrays the ambivalent images of Europe transmi ed in Jordanian history, geography and civics textbooks, which alternate between positive references to Europe as a source of rational thought and technological innovation on the one hand, and negative representations of Europe’s imperialist domination and exploitation of the Arab nation, and Jordan in particular, on the other hand. According to al-Newashi, Jordanian textbook narratives paint a somewhat mystified and homogenising picture of Europe that does not encourage pupils to actually engage with and learn about this particular external Other, but rather turns Europe into a mere function of Jordan’s pro-

12 | Introduction

jected self-image. Displaying his own political inclination, al-Newashi ultimately calls for a regional Arab initiative on curricular reform with the aim of consolidating a secular and modernist Arab identity that is self-confidently engaging Europe on an equal footing. The two closing chapters of this volume deal with education and textbooks in Israel/Palestine. This part of the MENA region has witnessed a particularly comprehensive development, with a Palestinian education system and curriculum being systematically devised from scratch by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) since the mid 1990s. In fact, this achievement remains one of the few more or less sovereign acts the PNA was able to push through under the constraints of the Oslo accords. Unsurprisingly, the Palestinian curriculum has been the focus of intense scrutiny by international donors wary of mismanagement of funds they had provided, while pro-Israel pundits habitually criticised the PNA’s Ministry of Education for fostering aggressive a itudes and hate against Israel among Palestinian pupils. The pro-Palestinian counter-argument in turn accuses Israel of systematically mis-representing or omi ing Arabs and Palestinians and their historical connections to the land that both sides claim as their national territory. In an a empt to return to a more sober and analytic mode in this heated context, Samira Alayan examines history curricula and textbooks for the preparatory and secondary levels of education and evaluates whether they succeed in developing a Palestinian national identity through their content and at the same time in maintaining the quality of the education. According to Alayan, the textbooks devised under the PNA’s auspices convey Palestinian history from a clear and distinctive national perspective, and focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict in a way that is opposed to Zionist thought, but not to Judaism as a religion. The study reveals that school history textbooks offer high-quality academic content to Palestinian students, but its teacher-oriented didactics remain ill suited for a student populace that is exposed to rather exceptional circumstances, which o en require far more student-oriented approaches to teaching in order to be effective. In the volume’s final contribution, Achim Rohde further develops this topic by examining also the Israeli education system and textbooks. Based on an analysis of the structural differences and similarities between Israeli and Palestinian history textbook narratives, his study discusses possibilities of using history education as part of a solution to the conflict, rather than as a means to prolong it. The chapter initially offers a comparative survey of the Palestinian and Israeli education systems and their development from the early twentieth century onwards, with a special emphasis on the evolution of history and civics curricula on

Introduction | 13

both sides. The second part of this chapter discusses the potential and the limitations of a joint Palestinian-Israeli textbook project initiated by a bi-national NGO called PRIME (Peace Research Institute in the Middle East) that seeks to transcend the curricular limitations prescribed by the two Ministries of Education by developing a textbook which covers the history of the conflict from both an Israeli and a Palestinian perspective. While acknowledging the potential of this ‘dual narrative approach’ in the Israeli-Palestinian context, Rohde concludes by calling for a truly multi-perspective approach to the teaching of history that would more aptly reflect the diversity and interwoven character of the Israeli and Palestinian societies. In conclusion, the collection of articles assembled in this volume offer in-depth investigations of the contested terrain of educational reforms and identity discourses transmi ed through textbooks in selected MENA countries, namely Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Oman and Israel/Palestine. We thereby hope to contribute to an informed debate among scholars and experts regarding the issues at stake, and to inspire researchers to continue and expand our inquiry to additional aspects and other countries of the region.

References Alayan, Samira, Sarhan Dhouib and Achim Rohde, eds. 2010. Al-Islah at-Tarbawi fi-sh-Sharq al-Awsat. Al-Dhat wa-l-Akher fi-l-Manahij al-Madrassiya [Education Reform in the Middle East: ‘Self’ and ‘Other’ in the School Curriculum]. Amman/Ramallah: Dar al-Shurouq. Al-Tikriti, Nabil. 2010. ‘War, State Collapse, and the Predicament of Education in Iraq’, in Education and the Arab ‘World’: Political Projects, Struggles, and Geometries of Power. World Yearbook of Education 2010. Eds. André E. Mazawi and Ronald G. Sultana. London/New York: Routledge, 350–360. Bashshur, Munir. 2009. ‘Observations from the edge of the deluge: are we going too far, too fast in our educational transformation in the Arab Gulf?’ in Trajectories of Education in the Arab World: Legacies and Challenges. Ed. Osama Abi-Mershed. London/New York: Routledge, 247–272. Brewer, Dominic J., and Charles A. Goldman. 2009. ‘An introduction to Qatar’s primary and secondary education reform’, in Trajectories of Education in the Arab World. Ed. Abi-Mershed. London/New York: Routledge, 226–246. Brock, Colin, and Lila Zia Levers, eds. 2007. Aspects of Education in the Middle East and North Africa. Oxford: Symposium Books Cochran, Judith. 2008. Educational Roots of Political Crisis in Egypt. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Doumato, Eleanor Abdella, and Gregory Starre , eds. 2007. Teaching Islam: Textbooks and Religion in the Middle East. Boulder, CO/London: Lynne Rienner.

14 | Introduction

The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. 1999. Education and the Arab World: Challenges for the Next Millennium, first edition. Reading, Ithaca Press. Griffin, Rosarii, ed. 2006. Education in the Muslim World: Different Perspectives. Oxford: Symposium Books. Hefner, Robert W., and Muhammad Qasim Zaman, eds. 2007. Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education. Princeton, NJ/Oxfordshire: Princeton University Press. Herrera, Linda, and C. A. Torres, eds. 2006. Cultures of Arab Schooling: Critical Ethnographies from Egypt. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Hovsepian, Nubar. 2008. Palestinian State Formation: Education and the Construction of National Identity. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Kadi, Wadad, and Victor Billeh, eds. 2007. Islam and Education: Myths and Truths. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press. Mazawi, André Elias. 2009. ‘Naming the Imaginary: “Building an Arab Knowledge Society” and the Contested Terrain of Educational Reforms for Development’, in Trajectories of Education in the Arab World. Ed. Abi-Mershed. London/New York: Routledge, 201–225. Mazawi, André Elias, and Ronald G. Sultana, eds. 2010. Education and the Arab ‘World’: Political Projects, Struggles, and Geometries of Power. World Yearbook of Education 2010. London/New York: Routledge. Starre , Gregory. 1998. Pu ing Islam to Work: Education, Politics, and Religious Transformation in Egypt. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. United Nations Development Programme [UNDP]. 2003. The Arab Human Development Report: Building a Knowledge Society. New York: UNDP. Vavrus, Frances, and Lesley Bartle , eds. 2009. New Approaches to Comparative Education: Vertical Studies from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Q1 EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN THE ARAB WORLD Directives, Mechanisms and Challenges in Lebanon, Syria and Oman Nemer Mansur Frayha

Since the 1980s, educational reform has become a top priority at state and community levels all over the world, including the Arab countries. This chapter analyses the aims, scope and impact of educational reforms undertaken in three selected Arab countries: Lebanon, Syria and Oman. The study identifies a number of similarities and differences between the educational policies pursued in each of these countries. All of them have stuck to a centralised education system in terms of educational policy and administration. Educational reforms in these three cases were motivated by similar objectives, and all of them developed only short-term time frames for implementing reforms. While only minor variations are visible on the structural level, major differences between the three countries exist regarding school locations and resources as well as regarding specific educational policies. This comparative and qualitative study aims to highlight the links between economic reforms and outcomes on the one hand and educational reforms on the other. It further aims to establish the mechanisms which enable these reforms. It will do so by examining the ways in which the three countries studied have employed such mechanisms and the actual measures of success of the reforms. The study is based on official documents and publications, existing research, personal experience and interviews conducted by the author with decision makers in Lebanon, Syria and Oman. A comparison of the components of the educational reform processes that began in these countries during the 1990s will inevitably reveal certain pa erns in the educational reform effort at the state level. By examining some of the noticeable differences, the study will shed light on weaknesses and strengths in each of these systems. The focus of this study is on the reform process in the general public education system at the pre-university stages. It a empts to answer the following questions: What are the motivations standing behind edu-

16 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

cational reforms in Lebanon, Syria and Oman? Which mechanisms for implementation have been adopted in each of these countries? What kinds of obstacles were faced on the way? To what degree did education reforms achieve their goals? What are the similarities and differences among these countries with regard to these questions and the components of their educational systems? Conclusions will be drawn from the data analysis and the information relating to all aspects of the educational reform process, its progress and its outputs in the three countries. The study is based on personal experiences of the author, who was directly involved in review processes and educational reforms in the three countries mentioned. In the 1990s he served as director of the Educational Centre for Research and Development in Lebanon. He was later contracted by UNICEF to evaluate the comprehensive education and health education programs existing in Syria. Based on extensive field research and interviews with officials carried out as part of a general review of the curriculum, he then supervised training courses for the Syrian Ministry of Education’s Central Unit for Comprehensive Education. The author also spent four years in Oman, working as curriculum advisor in the Ministry of Education.

The Beginnings and Catalysts of Education Reform in Arab Countries While there is a long and rich history of education in the Arab region, education in its modern form is an institutionalised process that started over hundreds of years ago. Its evolution is tied to decision makers who see education as a vital factor in the development of any society, and one of the most important components of development, progress and growth. This study aims to examine specific developments in recent reform processes regarding pre-university public education, initiated a er the Jomtien Conference held in Thailand in 1990 and the Dakar Conference held in Senegal in 2000. The study focuses on the directives and mechanisms of these reforms, and it a empts to evaluate to what extent these processes have been successful. The Jomtien Conference was held in response to the UN World Declaration on Education for All in 1990, which aimed to demonstrate the role of education in development at individual, social and national levels, and it formed a launching point and catalyst for reform in many countries around the world. Regional and global conferences soon followed, all focusing on the necessity of reviewing education systems

Educational Reform in the Arab World | 17

with an eye towards establishing gender equality in educational opportunities as one aspect of social justice, reducing the level of illiteracy, improving the standard of human resources for the sake of growth and development and a empting to combat poverty by means of education. The Dakar Conference, which took place ten years later, was convened to identify reform achievements and to establish a follow-up plan for expanding these reforms. According to the text adopted by the assembly, the Dakar Framework for Action, much less had been achieved during the previous decade than originally expected: There remained 113 million children deprived of elementary education, 880 million illiterate adults and continuing gender discrimination between male and female enrolment in school (Institute for International Cooperation 2000: 20). Among the most important results of this conference was that the governments of the participating countries commi ed themselves to implementing the goals of the agenda of Education for All for every citizen and every society. Thus each country became responsible for taking the initiative and realising these ambitious and necessary goals in its education system, such as working to enable all children to obtain free, high-quality, compulsory education by 2015, and reducing adult illiteracy by 50 per cent by the same date. A number of educational conferences were held in the Arab World, some of them touched on what had first been agreed upon at Jomtien, and then subsequently at Dakar. The most important of these was the Cairo Conference, designed as a regional conference on the agenda of Education for All. It took place with the cooperation of the UNESCO regional office in Beirut in January 2000. All Arab nations took part in order to study and evaluate what had been achieved since the Jomtien conference and to prepare for participation in the Dakar conference to be held three months later.1 The delegates considered that education was the key to sustainable human development and providing for the needs of basic education was among the top priorities. They also reaffirmed the vision of the Jomtien Conference. They conceded that early childhood care was still not receiving sufficient a ention in the Arab World, that illiteracy was still widespread, that the access to and the quality of education was still limited, that the administration of the education system was o en ineffective, and they vowed to overcome these difficulties (UNESCO, Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States 2002: 149–151). This was at a general Arab level. Yet, what impact did the recommendations issued by the Cairo Conference have on educational policies of individual countries? To what extent were education reform processes initiated in the three countries sampled in this study triggered by the

18 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

Jomtien and other such conferences? Since 1990, there were some notable developments in the educational sectors of Arab countries, but the majority were not so much a result of the Jomtien or Dakar conferences as a response to local and national needs for political reform and economic development. The following sections will elaborate on the specific motives behind education reforms carried out in Lebanon, Syria and Oman, and summarise their results. Education Reforms in Lebanon The formal starting point for the education reform process in Lebanon was the adoption by the members of Parliament of the Document of National Accord (the Taif Agreement) in 1989, which put to an end the civil war that had lasted for fi een years. It included the following goals regarding the educational sector: (1) providing access to education for all, and making it compulsory at least at the elementary level; (2) securing the freedom of education in accordance with the law and general statutes; (3) reforming the state run public, vocational and technical education sectors; (4) reviewing the curricula and their development in order to reinforce the sense of national unity among citizens, to foster spiritual and cultural openness and to standardize textbooks on history and national education (Republic of Lebanon 1989: 14–15).

A er the Taif Agreement and the election of the president of Lebanon’s ‘second republic’, the government adopted an economic plan to advance the country’s financial situation, which had almost collapsed in the course of the civil war. It was proposed that the economic plan should be in tune with a parallel educational plan. Thus, economic considerations hastened the implementation of what the Taif Agreement had stipulated regarding the process of education reform. The plan was completed in 1994 under the title ‘The Plan for Educational Revival’, and the following stand out among its objectives: (1) strengthening the sense of national pride and unity among citizens, to foster spiritual and cultural openness, by reviewing the curriculum and its development; (2) equipping the next generation with the necessary knowledge, experience and skills; (3) achieving a balance between general academic education and vocational education, and cementing their relationship to higher education;

Educational Reform in the Arab World | 19

(4) appropriate implementation and integration of education with the needs of the Lebanese and Arab labor markets; (5) keeping pace with scientific progress and technological development, and reinforcing interaction with global cultures (Republic of Lebanon 1994: 4).

As it appears from these aims, the primary concern was reinforcing national identity, which had become weak and faded during the war in which school and university students and graduates participated with fervour. Citizenship education was therefore one of the fundamental goals of the proposed reform process. Curriculum reform was considered a main vehicle for achieving these goals. In addition, the structure and outputs of the educational sector were reorganised, the educational ladder was set in order and the names of the educational stages and of the secondary school certificate were changed (Republic of Lebanon 1995). The development of new curricula was completed in 1997. Their implementation began in the 1997–1998 academic year and was completed within three years. The mechanism for curriculum development and its implementation in Lebanon is extremely complicated, which generally speaking is just the opposite of how curricula should be. Indeed, changing the content of academic subject ma er, or part of the subject ma er, requires a study covering many stages and many educational and non-educational institutions (i.e. lobby groups) before being submi ed to parliament which can eventually issue legislation on the ma er. On average, the curricula are modified only once every thirty years, whereas educationalists generally agree that curriculum reform should be a continuous process. The old curricula and teaching materials were issued between 1968 and 1971, and they have been widely criticised for being incongruent and devoid of any national direction; in short, they were lacking substance. A er the beginning of the civil war in 1975, a empts by educators and even ministers of education (e.g. Boutrous Harb) at reforming the education system and reviewing the existing curricula were futile due to their lack of political support. The curriculum reform finally established in 1997 brought a modernisation of the content of academic subjects, introducing new subjects such as computer studies, technology, social studies, economics, a second foreign language and translation. It declared that teaching from now on should be focused on making the learner the center of the educational process and emphasised cooperative living and the Lebanese-Arab identity. However, due to a number of factors, implementing the new curriculum proved to be only partly successful. Thus, the curriculum contained inflated specific and overall objectives; the number of subjects was increased in an

20 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

illogical and unjustifiable manner, particularly at the secondary stage (more than double the previous number); and no efforts were made in advance to introduce teacher-training schemes, in order to make sure teachers would not teach the content of the new curricula using traditional (teacher-centered) methods. Similarly, no suitable new evaluation system was put in place. In an a empt to remedy these deficiencies in the structure of the curriculum and its means of implementation, in 1999 this author, at the time working as director of the Educational Centre for Research and Development, proposed a plan to develop the assessment system which would be appropriate to the curriculum goals and teaching strategies in order to fully integrate the components of the curriculum. The research was presented to the World Bank in an effort to obtain a loan that would make it a reality. Among the proposed projects was the establishment of a national training team, a project which was implemented in 2000 with World Bank funding. The training team was composed of prominent Lebanese educators who would be responsible for the ongoing teacher training. Similarly, modern educational projects were introduced that aimed to produce high quality in education that was tangible and not merely words, particularly given that the curricula put in place were curricula consisting of the same traditional academic subject material. A more comprehensive educational curriculum was put in place with material support from UNICEF for the first course in basic education. It was based on an educational/philosophical principle which stems from the fact that a child views issues and treats them as a single, comprehensive unit, and therefore the best and most successful educational approach is to teach her/him in a comprehensive way as well, and similarly to combine all of the information she/he is expected to learn into one book centered on the mother tongue, the Arabic language (Frayha 2003a). The Conflict Resolution project (1999), in which the Canadian Bureau for International Education participated, was aimed at the higher classes of basic education. Lebanese society had been experiencing successive internal conflicts; therefore this project was to enable the pupils as its future citizens to deal with problems and conflicts through non-violent means. The teacher would describe a conflict to the class for the pupils to discuss, and the two sides involved were given the opportunity to present their version of the background to the conflict or to respond (Frayha 2003b). This was one of the most successful educational projects which simulated the situation in Lebanon, but unfortunately it was brought to a halt by the Ministry of Education and the Educational Centre for Research and Development for reasons that seemed personal rather than professional.

Educational Reform in the Arab World | 21

Education Reform in Syria Reform activities in Syria began in the 1990s, but became more accentuated a er 2000. They consisted of amending the curriculum from the first to the twel h grade of basic education, at an average of one grade every year, while more or less maintaining the same general objectives as in 1975, due to the inflexibility of the Syrian political system. Beginning in 1997, new subjects were introduced into the curriculum, such as foreign languages and information sciences. The curriculum overhaul began in 2001 and was completed in 2005, with a cautious review of the overall objectives – the same objectives which had been in place and undergoing modification since 1975. Reform did not take place all at once but rather in stages. The official education reform plan was in line with the Five Year Plans which the Syrian state had adopted long before, but in reality the Syrian government reacted in the face of a crisis of the educational system: Its review had shown that enrolment was outpacing output by a large margin, just as the rate of illiteracy had been increasing and the level of students’ academic achievement had been weakening at all stages. Officially, improving the quality of education and its output had always been among the main concerns of the government, but reality was quite different. Since 1981 education has been compulsory in Syria from the ages of six to twelve. In 2001 this principle was extended to include all basic education through the age of sixteen. This stage now ends with official examinations to obtain the certificate of basic preparatory education. Students subsequently join the secondary or vocational education track, according to their average achievement. The reforms of 2001 effectively replaced the former educational ladder and introduced a new structure comprising three stages: primary, preparatory and secondary. A particular focus was placed on vocational education, the intake of which has at times been half of the total number of students at the post-basic stage. There have also been some quality-oriented projects introduced into the curricula, such as the comprehensive educational curriculum, the health culture program, and others, with the support of international organisations. The Syrian government had undertaken a step similar to ‘the nationalisation’ of education in 1957 when it took complete control over the private schools whereby it appointed the principal and director and determined the tuition paid by the pupils. As a result, the owners of these schools lost control over the destiny of their schools and were forced to accept any teacher or administrator sent by the government, regardless of her/his administrative or educational abilities to steer the

22 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

schools. As a result, several of them resigned from their involvement in schools. The ma er continued thus until 1997, when the government decided to consolidate private and public education as part of its comprehensive development strategy, which included a quest to reduce state expenditures, by making the private sector bear some of the costs of education. With regard to foreign languages – particularly French, and to some degree English – which had been an important part of the curricula in the 1950s, feelings of animosity towards the West in response to its pro-Israel position and the socialist policies of the Syrian Ba‘th regime led to a decrease in foreign-language courses at schools. Similarly, the quality of education was a ma er of li le concern to the government, particularly during the time of unity with Egypt and the ‘fever’ of Arab nationalism. Since the 1960s pupils had begun studying a foreign language in the seventh grade, and the limited number of classes reflected negatively in the level of proficiency achieved. However, during the reform process which began in 2001, Syrians discovered the importance of foreign languages for coping with the technology revolution. Consequently, a empts to establish an information society in Syria resulted in the idea of introducing foreign languages (French or English) into the curricula from the first grade of basic education. As of the fi h grade, the curriculum now includes both French and English. Highest priority is still placed on Arabic as the mother tongue, but French is taught as the first foreign language, with English as the second (some schools choose English as the first foreign language). Thus, pupils in Syria study three languages. French and British experts were employed to help establish the curricula for the two languages. The educational system until 2001 was strongly centralised, bureaucratic and subject to direct governmental supervision. As private schools weren’t allowed to operate independently as had been the case prior to 1957, the diversity in the system decreased. But in 2004 the government passed a law regulating the establishment of private schools under certain conditions, although they remained subject to the control of government supervisors, and they used the same textbooks as those adopted by public schools. This policy touches on a sensitive nerve in Syria, as ‘despite the inclination of State policy towards promoting the establishment of schools in the private sector, some feared that this action would cause a deepening of the divide between the poor and the affluent … thus affecting the principle of equal opportunities for all individuals in society’ (Abu Rajili 2006: 30). However, the government made sure private schools would not be capable of competing with the public school sector. Neither could they develop specific profiles, nor

Educational Reform in the Arab World | 23

were they allowed to operate freely in a way that might cause them to surpass schools in the public sector, in spite of the desire of a considerable number of citizens to send their children to private schools. In a notable departure from past policies, the Ministry of Education has recently adopted a bold and constructive plan decentralising the administration of basic-education public schools, such that the educational departments and school administrations would take on the majority, if not all, of the decisions related to directing school affairs. Still, many experts and outside observers have perceived the weakness of the Syrian educational system, to the point that the UNDP undertook a two-year study (2002–2004) with the cooperation of the Syrian State Planning Commission, the results of which could be described as negative. The report concluded that Syrian investments in achieving ‘education for all’ were countered by a high level of waste, resulting in a low quality of educational output (UNDP and State Planning Commission 2005: 42, 48). Regarding the curriculum, Abu Rajili critically states: ‘If the goal were the modernisation of the curriculum, as the curriculum directorate asserted, making it more suited to the needs of the nation – and in particular to the needs of the knowledge economy – then it would be necessary that this curriculum help students to acquire many necessary skills to develop their individual personalities and thus enable them to become active members of society’ (Abu Rajili 2006: 17). Education Reforms in Oman The history of modern education in the Sultanate of Oman begins with the accession of Sultan Qaboos in 1970, when the rate of illiteracy had reached 95 per cent, with only three formalised schools responsible for educating around a thousand male pupils through the sixth grade. When he assumed power, the Sultan put a particular emphasis on improving the educational levels of the population. The pace of education took off in a spectacular way, to the point that initially many learners were actually studying beneath trees, or in modest rooms under roofs made of palm leaves. The process of building schools was sped up, and the number of learners and teachers increased rapidly. With the adoption of the Five-Year Development Plans, education was given priority and allo ed a large share of the general budget. In the 1976–1980 FiveYear Plan, for example, focus was placed on building schools and opening vocational institutes; in the 1981–1986 plan, it was on increasing the number of schools; and in the 1986–1990 plan, it was on the importance of higher education and on reforming the curriculum. The Sultan also appealed to the people to send their daughters to school, convincing

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them that girls, like boys, had the right to free education and to obtain employment. A er seven years in power, the Sultan called for providing ‘all boys and girls in the Sultanate the opportunity to receive a minimum of nine years of education’. This means that semi-compulsory education has been in place in Oman for more than thirty years. The process of building schools was also expanded to gradually include every region, town and district in the country, and schools were equipped with laboratories and computer rooms and rooms for various other school activities, in addition to vocational schools and institutes and literacy centers. Indeed the illiteracy rate fell dramatically to just around 15 per cent. In 1995 a national conference was held entitled ‘A Future Vision for the Omani Economy - Oman 2020’, which set forth a comprehensive development strategy to develop the steering of the economic, education and social services sectors. Those in charge of public affairs considered human resources to be the cornerstone of the development process, and at the same time declared their dissatisfaction with the output of mainstream education, as they believed that it made the Omani less able to cope with scientific and technological development (Sultanate of Oman, Ministry of Finance 2007: 65). In 1995 a team of consultants put out an evaluation report showing the weakness of the output of accredited public education and calling for reform in various areas of the educational system. The majority of this group’s recommendations were implemented when the Ministry of Education presented its plan in line with the economic strategy for the year 2020. The focus was on the development of human resources, and the plan included the following aims: (1) providing high-quality basic education, free to all citizens; (2) allocation of additional classes for science, mathematics, English and computers; (3) providing technical and specialized education to meet the requirements of the labor market (Ministry of Education 2007: 49).

The Ministry of Education wanted to raise the level of basic education, and to review the curriculum so that the focus would be on scientific disciplines such as mathematics, the sciences and computer studies, teaching the English language from the first grade of basic education and reforming school administration. Thus began the work on the development of state education, which was divided into elementary, middle and secondary education so that ‘basic education’ was from the first to tenth grade, while the eleventh and twel h grades constituted ‘postbasic education’. This was accompanied by dramatic amendments in some areas of the educational system, with the implementation of a new

Educational Reform in the Arab World | 25

curriculum with aims which were in keeping with the aforementioned policy and the developmental strategy. It demanded the introduction of new subjects such as computer studies and life skills, and studying a foreign language from the first grade of basic education. This curriculum has been applied since 1997 up to 2008, and some amendments have been added, just as some legislations in basic education have been adopted which enable its sphere of application to be extended with time. The demands of this curriculum have been closely associated to its application from the beginning, and continue to be so today (see the chapter of Salha Abdullah Issan in this volume). Short-term and long-term plans with the aim of training teachers for their positions have been devised, while administrators have received preparation to help them follow the work of the teachers in the field. Learning-resources centers combining traditional and digital libraries have been established in every school, as well as computer centers, science laboratories and other teaching aids for almost every subject.

Comparing Education Reforms in Lebanon, Syria and Oman Having shown the particular circumstances of and means applied in the educational reform processes in Lebanon, Syria and Oman, what were the directives and the difficulties which accompanied the reform in these countries? These points will be examined in the following sections by comparing elements of each to show the similarities and differences between them. Implementation The earnestness of the governments and their real commitment to reform was clear. Factors which should be given particular mention are those connected with economic development and the Five-Year plans. The timing of the reform process coincided with the periods during which Syria and Oman were reviewing the state of their education systems (approximately every ten or twelve years), while in Lebanon the reform came extremely late (a er around thirty years), due to the fact that the country’s development had been stalled during many years of war. Preparatory evaluation and needs assessment was carried out in Oman and partly in Syria, but not in Lebanon. However, any curriculum reform carried out without first studying the needs of the students and of the market is mere improvisation and will result in more disadvantages than advantages.

26 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

In all three countries a vital interest in education reforms was expressed by various social actors, especially in Lebanon, where research institutes and unions organised conferences and continually issued statements demanding education reforms. Remarkably, in Oman both the public and private sectors were allowed to participate in the educational development process, and meetings were held among responsible officials from the Ministry of Education, various production sectors and parents. In contrast, Lebanon failed to involve larger sections of society in the reform process. Initiatives in this context were limited to one or two commi ees which formulated plans to be submi ed to the government for approval. In Syria only religious figures were consulted on the subject of religious education, while other sectors of society were neglected, except for the University of Damascus, which participated in the curriculum revision. The Syrian and Lebanese systems proved similar in this respect: both marginalised civil society in the education reform process. New subjects were introduced to the curriculum – particularly computer studies – and there was a greater focus on mathematics and science, reflecting the need to acknowledge new branches of learning and the needs of the labour market. The three countries tried to prepare a generation of students that would be able to keep up with the age of the technological revolution. The revised new curriculum was put in place as a whole in Lebanon, and in two stages in Oman. In Syria this happened gradually, but in a shorter period of time than expected. While reforms in Oman were implemented in a systematic process, in Lebanon there was a lot of improvisation, due to the absence of an educational strategy and a clear educational policy, o en with negative effects. Thus, from among the fi een subjects students are obliged to take in the eleventh grade, there is no subject, even exploratory, from either the vocational or technical field which is fundamental to economic development. The curriculum was implemented without ensuring that there were teachers for some subjects, such as computer studies, economics, social studies and technology, and there was no provision for the subjects which required laboratories or other teaching aids. In Lebanon there are laws and regulations organising administrative work which have been ignored by some ministers for the sake of ‘the public interest’, although it is clear to all that it is rather in a private interest. It remains unclear to this day why the Ministry of Education did not develop an educational policy according to its own regulations. Is this non-making of policies a type of policy itself – one which helps the ministers and other officials to avoid having to commit to any principal or any overall, recognised framework? In comparison, the education re-

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form process in Syria did not suffer from improvised decisions because there the educational decision makers cannot act on a whim or without being held accountable as they can in Lebanon. The decision to reform education was made in the three countries for developmental aims at the first stage, and in Oman and Syria the educational development plans accompanied the overall Five-Year development plans. However, the plan for economic revival which was behind educational reform in Lebanon came to a halt three years after it was launched, while the educational work continued until all of the steps designed for that purpose were implemented. The fact that the economic and educational plans begin together does not mean that they must end together if one of them is experiencing difficulties. The education reforms in all three countries were aimed at reinforcing a sense of citizenship and national belonging. The academic subjects associated with such an education – such as social studies – were developed, and the objectives were clearly dra ed to reflect the role of schools in the process of forming the citizens of tomorrow. Obstacles The difficulties faced in the reform process o en differed from country to country, while in a few cases they shared the same problems. Obstacles were faced on the material, human, social and political levels. Regarding funding, this issue caused no serious problem in Oman due to its good economic situation, unlike in Syria or Lebanon, both of which had to rely on external funding by the World Bank and other institutions as well as on donations from a number of Arab and foreign countries. There is a notable problem of financial waste on the way. In Lebanon, the disbursement of loans and financial aid lacks transparency, and there is no real control over how the money is spent. As a consequence, much needed funds are o en wasted by inflating staff members, by reimbursing highly salaried officials for meetings, cars and other services. This happens at a time when most schools in Lebanon complain about the scarcity of computers, laboratories and the necessary equipment for educational activities. If the equivalent of the money ‘wasted’ was spent for the benefit of learners, it would be possible to secure the necessary teaching materials. Here one must question the role of the World Bank as the biggest donor, which sets clear, fixed conditions on the terms which must be met on the part of officials for the way that the loan money is being spent. Did the bank renege on its conditions and resign itself before the ‘reality’? Or is it like a rubber band, which can

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be stretched and bent when some officials want to operate in the grey areas for personal gain? Most importantly, are we as tax paying citizens entitled to question this international establishment which puts itself above our national interests regarding the provision and spending of loans? Likewise, the new management of the Educational Center for Research and Development which took over in early 2002 destroyed over 160,000 textbooks on the pretext that there was a new, revised edition, even though it was in fact the same edition that had been used the previous year. The real, hidden reason behind this was to obliterate the name of the former president of the Educational Center for Research and Development from the introduction of the books, the contents of which he had personally supervised, so that the new president could substitute his own name instead. When the pursuit of individual interests becomes the norm for education officials, success cannot be expected at any step in development or reform, however convincing the wording. Meanwhile some officials ‘dupe’ education by means of reports inflated with imaginary achievements which are presented to international institutions and even to senior political officials in the country. One piece of evidence for this is the refusal of officials in the Educational Center for Research and Development to acknowledge a study evaluating the implementation of the new curriculum, which was compiled by over fi y university professors and educational researchers with a mandate from the UNESCO office in Beirut, because the study illustrated the weakness of the structure and the output of the curriculum. One frequently faced obstacle is the lack of suitable school buildings, which allow the access of natural light, have electricity, adequate space to facilitate group work, clean water, toilets, a playground, etc. Schools must be equipped with scientific laboratories, computer rooms, libraries, and rooms for other activities required by the curriculum. In Lebanon, the problem of providing school buildings was manifest at the beginning of the reform process, but has visibly lessened now that many have been built. Still, schools are not sufficiently equipped with school libraries and rooms for arts activities, and there is a scarcity of laboratories and computers, especially as these lessons were integrated into the program of daily lessons. In Syria, there is still a lack of school buildings due to the steady population growth and due to the difficulty in securing the necessary equipment such as laboratories and other specialised areas for educational purposes as previously described (Abu Rajili 2006: 21). The availability of suitable buildings is an important factor in the success of the education process, as they provide the facilities needed by students in their daily lives at school or required by the educational activities that they perform. In contrast, the problem of

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providing sufficient numbers of suitably equipped school buildings is not felt in Oman. Regarding human resources, on the job teacher-training schemes are a crucial prerequisite for successfully implementing the new curriculum. Officials in the three countries are aware of the importance of ensuring that the teacher is capable of playing the leading role in the success of the educational development process. In all three countries teacher-training programs exist, but the extent to which their aims are realised, which should be reflected in the output of the school, needs to be studied. The same applies to the administrative staff in schools; they need to be enabled to keep pace with the reform process. However, this group has long been overlooked in terms of training. In addition, educational supervisors and inspectors should play a less authoritarian role and should principally aim at supporting the teachers. In sum, the three countries have faced difficulties in providing the necessary quality human resources for the modern curricula which they have adopted. This is not to disparage all the human elements which have been mentioned, but is rather because the new curriculum is based on ambitious objectives which exceeded the scientific and technical potential of the available human resources, even if the extent of the disparity differed from one country to another. As for education-system management, the centralised systems in the three countries imply that they are subject to direct political control. This situation has its advantages, but only if the government cooperates with the educational sector. Political pressuring, lobbying or the pursuit of political interests is not acceptable. The education system should be run by professionals. However, when the appointment of experts becomes dependent on their political affiliations and interests shared with one official or another, then it becomes detrimental. Anyone who observes education reforms in Oman directly will conclude that ability is the most important criterion by which education officials are chosen, but it is a different ma er in Syria and Lebanon. In Syria there is a ruling party, and the choice of any person for any position must be approved by the party. Here politics mixes with education, and the result cannot be positive. As for Lebanon, the politicians use education to promote party members and supporters as part of the ‘patron-client’ relationship which prevails at all government levels. This policy is adopted even in councils responsible for national functions. For example, one minister of education formed an education council consisting of an extremely large number of members, but this was not for educational capability but rather to satisfy a very large number of people from whom he would later benefit politically. Nobody, includ-

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ing those in power, objected to what he did. In reality, this council was incapable of accomplishing anything because of the difficulty in reaching consensus – even on the occasion of the members’ meeting.

Education Systems Compared Education systems in any country follow a certain philosophy, which is laid down by the government. Oman has defined its educational philosophy since the late 1970s, although at that time educational reform there was still in its infancy. In Syria the philosophy springs primarily from the principles of the ruling Ba‘th party, since education is one of the ways to build a new generation of citizens loyal to the party’s principles. In Lebanon, in spite of its rich history of organised education, there is no philosophy which could act as a guide for curriculum authors. On the part of the Lebanese officials, this deficiency can only be explained by apathy or a refusal to acknowledge the importance of a comprehensive educational philosophy. Based on their educational philosophy, countries would then develop an educational strategy that is in tune with their wider developmental goals. This is widespread in Oman, even if only in dra form so far, so that educational work is kept in line with economic strategy. However, there is no official strategy in Lebanon. Although there were calls for a change of a itude in this respect, like a research paper published in 2000 entitled ‘Strategic Planning for Education in Lebanon for the Year 2015’, the decision makers remain persistent in their ignorance. They have merely formed commi ees to devise an educational strategy which meet, discuss and write strategic dra s, and then convene workshops and conferences to discuss the ‘carefully guarded’ dra , and ultimately the ma er concludes without any results. This is one aspect of the educational farce that has been ravaging Lebanon for years, and is only one facet of the political games which everyone practices or becomes accustomed to in Lebanon. In Syria, the general guidelines of an educational strategy exist, and they see education as a means to form a qualified labour force and thus foster economic development. Therefore, basic education is compulsory, and the Syrian state guarantees free education to everyone in all fields. A focus is being put on reforming teaching methods and didactics, in order to reach the level of education in advanced countries. Such clear guidelines make it easy for curriculum and textbook authors to set targets, choose content and build suitable education strategies. In Oman and Syria educational decisions are made without difficulties such as those found in Lebanon,

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and educational policies are more coherent. There is a clear policy in Oman linked with the sectors of education, the results of post-basic education, vocational education and its connection with basic education and the method of selecting teachers. In this the situation is the same in Syria. The educational policy within which officials work may have been partly developed by them as well. In Lebanon, however, the country with the highest proportion of educated people and of universities proportional to number of citizens in the Arab world, there is nothing which could be called ‘educational policy’. This might be partly due to the fact that lobby groups are a strong factor in Lebanon, but not in Syria and Oman. The effect of religious and civil groups on educational ma ers, the curricula in particular, and on the reform process in Lebanon has been tangible and apparent. These groups formed special-interest groups to put pressure on educational decision makers, whereby they were able to introduce subjects into the curricula which had been omi ed, such as religious education, and could prevent the teaching of sexual education in the intermediary stage, when most children enter puberty. When they were unable entirely to abolish it, they ensured that it was taught in the eleventh grade instead, as most secondary schools have separate classes for boys and girls. Some groups with known political and ideological identities have played a role in banning the use of history books which were compiled for basic education in 2001 on the pretext that ‘they are full of mistakes’. The real objection, however, is that they are not wri en from an ideological standpoint which reflects the opinion of these groups. The result is a negative effect on the identity, efficacy, output and future of the Lebanese educational system, particularly as an inter-denominational agreement stipulated the composition of a standardised history book for all Lebanese students (see the chapters by Mas’oud Daher and Jonathan Kriener in this volume). Lebanon’s education system is also the most privatised such system in the region: the proportion of students in the private sector in Lebanon is at least 60 per cent, whereas in Oman it is less than 5 per cent and less than 4 per cent in Syria, even though some growth of the privateschool sector is visible in both countries. Lebanon is considered one of the very few countries in the world in which such a high proportion of students enrolled in private schools. Indeed, educational standards in private schools are higher than those in public schools, and many Lebanese choose private schools affiliated with particular religious communities or those of a commercial nature, which find it easier to obtain a government license. A further sign of the absence of an active educational policy in Lebanon is the lacking enforcement of compulsory

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education. Despite adopting the principle of compulsory education in the Document of National Accord of 1989, effectively the decision makers still have not implemented this call. This might partly be due to the financial costs involved in enforcing compulsory education which must be borne by the treasury. Moreover, the government seems to feel it can afford to ignore the issue because the Lebanese people are very conscious regarding the value of education, as can be derived from the high number of pupils enrolled in – expensive – private schools. In comparison, Syria officially adopted a policy of compulsory education in 1981, and Oman followed this trend, albeit without legislation making it mandatory. Enforcing compulsory education is an important means to combat illiteracy in developing countries. Indeed, Oman undertook important steps in this direction, and 97.1 percent of children now a end the first grade of basic education, while the illiteracy rate is constantly falling due to the opening of many literacy centers for adults and old people on one hand, and on the other hand increasing the proportion of those enrolling in school among the new generation. Thus the illiteracy rate, which was expected to reach 13 per cent in 2010, has gone down. In Lebanon the proportion of those in basic education has reached around 97.8 per cent, while the illiteracy rate has remained around 13 per cent for a long period of time. Although this rate is comparatively low, it should have been decreasing since the end of the civil war, but in fact it has remained unchanged, indicating a lack of progress – if quantitative – in the field of knowledge a ainment at a basic education level. If a sizable proportion of those who belong to the illiterate group are supposed to have a ended school in the last twenty years, this indicates the presence of a problem of a national and social nature from which the educational system and society as a whole is suffering. In Syria, the state-run education system is weak beyond primary levels. While the average school entrance rate has reached 97.4 per cent for males and 95.5 per cent for females at primary stage, the prevailing averages fell at secondary level to 54.4 per cent for males and 52.2 per cent for females (UNDP 2005: 152). Among the female students, 61 per cent stem from an urban background. This reality leads to a rising illiteracy rate especially among rural women, as figures show, in a country where education has been compulsory for twenty-seven years. The proportion of those dropping out of education in the year 2000 was 8 per cent in primary education, and 23 per cent in secondary education. In the countryside the proportion of those enrolled at school was 25 per cent (UNDP 2005: 32). Dropout rates are higher among females than among males, and statistics show a clear link between dropout rates

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and poverty (ibid., 34). Conservative social traditions in rural areas prohibit girls from continuing education, and a large number of them drop out at the beginning of secondary school. The proportion of illiteracy among females has reached 26 per cent (ibid., 40), because pupils who drop out of school at a young age return quickly to a state of illiteracy.

Comparing Curricula: Gender and Citizenship Education One of the notable weaknesses of the education reform processes in all three countries is the persistence of gender discrimination in textbooks and curricula. Thus, masculine roles predominate in all school books in Syria, and they disseminate gender images that are in keeping with the traditional role models, assigning qualities such as uprightness, generosity, wisdom, justice and respect to men, and those of shyness, kindness, gentleness and loyalty to the roles of women. Syrian textbooks in fact do not reflect the real situation of Syrian women and their actual roles in society (Alwan 2003). The reason for the conservatism visible in Syrian textbooks regarding gender might be the government’s wish to satisfy those who use religion as a way to force women into the shadows. It has indeed been noted that ‘the negative effect of traditions and cultural customs exceeds the positive effect of education in view of female social, political, and economic empowerment’ (UNDP 2005: 146). In a country like Syria, where secularism outweighs other ideologies, this seems inappropriate. Similarly, studies which focused on the presence of women in Omani textbooks have shown the stereotyping of gender roles. Textbooks represent women less frequently than men and mainly in traditional roles. Males are portrayed as possessing the characteristics which society values, reflecting the male dominance in Omani society including the labour market (Al-Harithi 2005). Studies on this subject regarding the Lebanese situation similarly found that girls were still portrayed in traditional roles, and that they were less important in their roles than boys (Ayoub 2001; Lebanese Association for Education Sciences 2002). Among the important goals for education reforms implemented in the three countries is the fostering of a sense of citizenship and national belonging. All three countries are working hard towards this goal, but with mixed results. Studies carried out in Lebanon during the past ten years were not encouraging; students there still identify first and foremost with their family and their denomination (Frayha 2002). In Ba‘thist Syria, the education system unsurprisingly aims at producing loyal citizens commi ed to Syrian and Arab nationalism. Questions

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thus remain regarding the individual rights of citizens: Was the educational reform process undertaken with careful consideration of this issue? The answer seems to be negative, as indicated by the national report on human development, which stated ‘that the curriculum ignores concepts of political, social and economic human rights and basic individual political freedoms as set down in the international charter of human rights and respect for the opinion of others’ (Abu Rajili 2006: 16). By contrast, in Oman the development of citizenship education is proceeding in a well-studied and steady manner. An assessment of Omani civics textbooks, supervised by this author, showed that they contained most elements of citizenship education, although there is room for improvements regarding the adaptation of contents to the age levels of pupils in the various classes. Thus the ministry launched a project to train students on involvement at work and research on their local environments during ‘the students in citizenship projects’. The response was good on the part of the students and the local community, and this project will be developed and spread to include other schools in Oman. Similarly there was training on how to teach the concept of human rights. The Ministry of Education published a book on the topic of peace education entitled ‘Oman and Peace Education, 2008’, which documented the efforts which the Omani Ministry of Education had undertaken in spreading the culture of peace in Omani schools. All three countries are thus concerned with citizenship education, but they conceptualised it differently, reflecting the differences in the political systems and the social structure. What was realised in Lebanon, which has a republican and democratic system (at least on paper), is far from the aspirations laid down in the Document of National Accord and from the goals defined in the curricula, because the sectarian groups dominating the educational process are negatively affecting the education of students with respect to national duties rather than sectarian ones. This is due to the excessive freedom enjoyed by the Lebanese and special educational institutions. Lebanon’s education system is chaotic, and everyone with an agenda can fearlessly pursue it, even at the expense of the country. In Syria, there is an ideology which puts the interests of the State above the interests of the individual and personal freedoms, and therefore the curricula did not comply with what was called for by international conferences and organisations regarding the teaching of human rights – especially individual, women’s and children’s rights – into the school curricula. In Oman, the monarchy is more aware of the importance of the upbringing of generations of students – citizens enjoy many individual rights and are able to obtain many benefits not available to citizens of some of the established de-

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mocracies. The regime’s desire that the curriculum encompass human, women’s and children’s rights is tangible proof, and not merely words, of the role assigned to education in overcoming gender discrimination – and any other type of discrimination – as well as bringing up students in a manner that teaches equality between citizens and gives them a positive role to play in their environment and their country. This process is moving forward in a quiet but steady way.

Assessing the Quality of Education With regard to educational quality, Oman has been investing considerable energies in offering quality education to students, particularly in basic education. New subjects were added to the curriculum, such as life skills, accounting and English language beginning in first grade. Practical content was added to the teaching of sciences and mathematics, numerous teacher-training courses were held and student-oriented teaching methods are gradually being introduced to schools. In addition, integrated curricula were implemented in the first stages of basic education on an experimental basis, in cooperation with UNESCO. Similarly, work is underway to change the curricula for the eleventh and twel h grades with respect to educational content and teaching requirements, with a special emphasis on research orientation. In Lebanon, the UNESCO office in Beirut requested the assessment of curricula from the Lebanese Association for Education Sciences in 2000. The results were o en not encouraging with regard to the theoretical aims of the curricula, the content of books, teaching methods on which educators depend and their professional abilities. Many educational specialists participated in the study, which was completed in 2003, but not the Educational Center for Research and Development. To this author’s understanding, their absence was due to the fact that the findings did not shed a positive light on Lebanese education reform policies. Indeed, the government showed no interest in the findings of the study, as if the subject were no concern of theirs. Three years a er the implementation of the new curricula, 83 per cent of school directors recognised the existence of difficulties in their dealings with the teachers, many of which did not implement the new curriculum, and apathy and frequent absence are wide-spread phenomena (Qafarani and Jumaa 2001: 2). However, the more positive result is that 89.7 per cent of students showed an interest in continuing their studies in spite of the difficulties which they face because of the implementation of the new curricula (ibid. 54). Al-Hashim found that ‘the internal efficiency of the

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elementary stage is not satisfactory, and the proportions of failures, dropping out, and trailing behind show a relative increase’ (2001: 138). This might explain why more than 60 per cent of Lebanese students are enrolled in private schools, which are generally of higher quality than public ones. Much work and effort is put into strengthening the quality of education. Unfortunately, the lack of future vision in those who should be leading the educational work has resulted in the process simply spinning in neutral, despite claims to the contrary. In Syria complaints are voiced about the low educational quality of schools. Indeed, the curriculum is packed with quantity, and education focuses on memorisation and test taking. Science curricula are a long way from dealing with local environmental problems, and there is no coordination of their content with the rest of the subjects. Additionally, there are shortages in the laboratories. Technical education which was a racting a large proportion of students is becoming less popular, because of the weak connection with the labor market and of widely spread views in society which do not encourage this kind of education. Students increasingly rely on private tutoring lessons in all three countries, as is the case in most Arab countries. This is clearly a negative indicator of the quality of classroom education, but it has not been given the necessary importance by the decision makers.

Conclusion: Reform of the Reform? Despite some positive developments, particularly in Oman, education reform must remain a concern in all three countries analysed in this study. The Syrian Ministry of Education has alerted people to the difficult situation at which the reform process has arrived, and for about three years has set out to correct curricula, especially in sciences, mathematics and social studies. Of particular concern are two issues: the weakness of the teaching material used and the outdated teaching methods applied by most teachers. Regarding social studies, for instance, the Syrian curriculum declares that lessons should focus on intellectual skills and national values so that the student can actively participate in social life, be capable of dealing with local, Arab and international ma ers, and be capable of making decisions in a way that serves the general good. It remains to combine this step with teacher training and to find incentives so that their implementation has a clear effect on the quality of education and its results in Syria. In Lebanon there is no interest in re-thinking the curricula, in spite of regular announcements that ‘this year will be the beginning of a revision of curricula’.

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In its report on the status of education systems in Middle Eastern countries, the World Bank aptly states that improving the quality of education is ‘the greatest challenge for all education officials, whether decision makers or those working in the field’. The report adds that ‘the output of the education system in Middle Eastern countries and North Africa is minimal in comparison with other rival systems . . . and there are obstacles in the way of educational achievements such as dropping out, low levels in international examinations, the high illiteracy rate, and a higher number of graduates in the arts fields than in the sciences’ (World Bank 2008: 1–3). Pointing to ways to overcome this situation, Muhammad Jawad Reda presents a roadmap for educational reform which can be applied to all Arab countries. He calls for a general evaluation of the educational reforms conducted in the Arab world in recent years, and then to set out a plan for the re-establishment – or let us say the review – of the reform (2006: 26). However, in order to foster real improvements, such an evaluation also needs to include the whole process of planning, as ‘for basic education to comply with the needs of individuals and society, planning for it must be according to the social, cultural and economic context, as it must begin with fixing the political framework of learning’ (Khadar 2008: 45). He is echoed by Reda, according to whom ‘the most decisive factor which obstructs contemporary Arab education from being strong in pushing for progress in Arab society is the politicisation which has afflicted education’ (2006: 28). Education which costs much and yields li le is a factor which constrains growth and development, rather than playing a positive role in human, economic and social development. Are Arab societies able to insist on separating education from political exploitation and to demand that those who waste and steal the money allocated to education be held accountable, instead of collecting rewards and medals? If this does not happen in numerous Arab countries, particularly Lebanon, then there is li le hope that the educational plans will translate into an actual contributing factor in the development of the nation. Translated from Arabic by Namir Henrikson

Notes 1. The researcher participated in both the Cairo and Dakar conferences as deputy for the president of the Lebanese delegation which was headed by then–minister of education, Muhammad Yusuf Baydoun, who le the Ministry at the end of 2000 and was replaced by ‘Abd al-Rahim Murad until 2003.

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References Arabic Sources Abu Rajili, Khalil. 2006. Strategic Objectives of Education in Syria. Beirut: Lebanese Association for Education Sciences. Ayoub, Fawzi. 2001. Analysis of the Image of Women in the Books of the First Cycle of Basic Education. Unpublished research paper. UNDP and Syrian Arab Republic, State Planning Commission. 2005. National Report on Human Development. Damascus. Al-Basam, Ibtisam, and Salah Abdel-Ati. 2004. Education for All in the Arab World. Riyadh: Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States. Al-Harithy, Nazira. 2005. The Image of Women in the Social Studies Curriculum in the Sultanate of Oman. Unpublished research paper. Alwan, Kamel et al. 2003. Gender in the Books and the School Environment in the Syrian Arab Republic. Damascus: UNICEF. Frayha, Nemer. 2002. The Effectiveness of the School in Citizenship Education. Beirut: Publishing and Distribution Company. ———. 2003a. Comprehensive Education and the Lebanese Experience. Beirut: Dar al-Ibda’a. ———. 2003b. The Educational Center in 1017 Days. Beirut: Dar al-Ibda’a. Hashim, Tariz. 2001. Educational Indicators in Lebanon. Unpublished study. Beirut: Center for Education. Khadar, Mohsen. 2008. The Future of the Arab Education: Between Disaster and Hope. Cairo: Dar al-Misri al-Lubnani. Lebanese Association for Education Sciences. 2002. Gender Differences in School Textbooks. Unpublished research paper. Beirut. Qafarani, Solomon, and Hassan Jumaa. 2001. The Educational Difficulties of Students the Second Cycle of Basic Education. Unpublished study. Beirut: Center for Education. Reda, Muhammad Jawad. 2006. Arab Educational Reform: A Roadmap. Beirut: Center for Arab Unity Studies. Republic of Lebanon. 1989. Document of National Accord. Beirut. Republic of Lebanon, Ministry of Education and Higher Education. 2000. Strategic Directions for Education in Lebanon for the Year 2015. Beirut: Center for Education. Republic of Lebanon, Ministry of National Education. 1994. Plan for Educational Revival in Lebanon. Beirut: Center for Education. Republic of Lebanon, Ministry of National Education. 1995. New Framework for Education in Lebanon. Beirut: Center for Education. Sultanate of Oman, Ministry of Education. 2007. Basic Education: Objectives, Implementation, Evaluation. Muscat: Ministry of Education. Sultanate of Oman, Ministry of Finance. 2007. Long-term Development Strategy (1996–2020): A Future Vision for the Omani Economy – Oman 2020. Muscat: Oman Press. UNESCO and the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States. 2002. Education for All: Planning Guide for the Preparation of the National Plan. Riyadh: Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States.

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Wahba, Nakhla. 2005. The Quality of Quality in Education. Rabat: Publications of the Journal of the Science of Education. English Sources Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association. 2000. Dakar: Education for All. Vol. 55. Bonn: Thenee Druck. World Bank. 2008. The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustaining Growth and Inclusive Development. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Q2 EDUCATION REFORM IN OMAN Evolution of Secondary School Curricula Salha Abdullah Issan

The current globalised world order necessitates adequate educational systems. In order to be able to answer to new challenges and needs arising in this context, the educational system needs to be considered an integral part – if not the essence – of the social system, and it requires active participation and cooperation among different societal groups and government and civil institutions in order to stimulate the leadership of the educational development process and its beneficiaries to develop the content of education and to renovate it to address those variables. States have differed in determining the function of education according to ideological, cultural and economic trends. In the Sultanate of Oman, education is primarily meant to serve the economy and that has crystallised in the overall strategy through 2020 – a strategy which combines tradition with modernisation. The trend towards introducing market elements into the work of educational institutions means that Oman is heading towards privatisation and the emergence of private schools and universities with newly revised curricula. We also find that the trends in modern education which encourage focus on the learner’s self-motivation to meet various needs continue to exist on an international level, especially in the primary stages of education. These trends focus on helping the learner to develop an individual personality which interacts with his or her community and with other diverse communities on the local, national and global levels and becomes a refined person and a good and productive citizen. Since the 1970s the Sultanate of Oman has witnessed a leap in the quality and quantity of education and its institutions. Oman’s educational policy seeks to combine tradition and modernisation and economic progress, and indeed many of these goals have been achieved. The Ministry of Education has continuously worked to strengthen community partnership in the development of education since 1973. At that point, there were only three schools, 909 students and 30 teachers in

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all of Oman. In the academic year 1972–1973 classes were first opened in the preparatory level, and secondary level classes began for the first time in 1973–1974. By 1985–1986, the number of schools had increased to 606, with a total of 221,694 students. The proportion of primary school students at that time amounted to 79.14 per cent, at the preparatory level 15.16 per cent and at the secondary level 5.63 per cent. Female students represented 42 per cent of the total, and the total number of teachers reached 1,013. This expansive boom in education was preceded by long ebb periods when the Arab world began to head towards modernising education in the twentieth century and formal, institutionalised schools, colleges and universities emerged. Education in Oman remained until 1970 confined to the Qur’anic schools and mosques, which have been credited in the graduation of many scholars and writers who enriched the heritage of Oman in the sciences of jurisprudence, monotheism, literature, languages, poetry and history. The 2007–2008 academic year saw the second year of the Seventh Five-Year Plan (2006–2010), which witnessed the development of education beyond the basic into the post-basic stage, or grades 11 and 12, along with the expansion of basic education, and the continued development and improvement of educational services realised by the Sixth Five-Year Plan for the period 1996–2005 (Ministry of Development 1996: 1). This study portrays and discusses the educational reform and its stages, focusing on the curriculum for these grades and expectations of change that will have an impact on the student and on society as a whole. The study focuses on answering the following questions: What are the stages of reform in Omani education, its justifications and its evolution? How can the basic curriculum development be accomplished as well as linked to the curricula of grades 11–12, and at the same time designed to meet the demands of the job market? Did the reform realise its desired objectives? What are the kinds of shortcomings encountered, and how can they be overcome?

Phases of the Educational Reform A strategy for educational reform was launched in the Sultanate of Oman on basic premises including: education as one of the inalienable rights for building a knowledge society, and education as an investment for realising development. The system of educational development in the Sultanate of Oman is comprised of three phases.

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These focused on the rapid spread of schools and education, in all regions of the Sultanate, without compromising quality, a er which the carefully planned, formalised five-year plans began, and the reform was successfully implemented. The Ministry of Education has been able to achieve the goals of the short-term strategy represented in the five-year plans that were carried out between 1976 and 1995. The educational ladder consists of 12 grades, divided among three stages: the primary stage (grades 1–6), the preparatory stage (grades 7–9) and the secondary stage (grades 10–12). Over the years 1995–2000, the Ministry took a new direction towards the development of education, such as to align it with the demands of the times, the expectations for the future and the development needs of the country. Then came the concern with quality and the preparation of all the five-year educational plans, as well as the provision of resources required in order to achieve the declared goals. The educational development process began through programs including the following (Ministry of Education 1996): • Abolition of primary schools which run during the evening periods, accomplished through building new schools or building extensions onto existing schools. • Reduction in classroom density, whereby the number of learners does not exceed thirty in classrooms in first-stage grades 1–4, and thirty-five in classrooms in second-stage grades 5–10. • Teaching English from the first primary school class, and pu ing computers in the schools. • Development of curricula covering all subjects and the corresponding teacher training. • Implementation of the ‘first teacher’ or main teacher system for each subject, if there are at least three teachers per subject in a given school. • Increasing the efficiency of school employees through training and qualification, as well as vocational training for those responsible for the operation of the learning-resources centers in the schools.

In the early 1990s, the Ministry of Education began planning the implementation of the basic education system for students in grades 1–10. The amended program was implemented in a group of selected schools in 1998, and 2007 saw the first graduates from basic education. Over the years 2001–2008, the Ministry took a new policy of reform to guarantee development in all areas affected by or interacting with the educational process. One field of educational reform that stood out was implemented through the following stages (Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science 2000):

Education Reform in Oman | 43

• Restructuring the educational system, specifically the basic stage from years nine–ten and followed by the two years of secondary education. • Reformulation of the curricula of public education and its practice, i.e. textbook revision and an assessment of the educational environment, and also allocating learning-resources centers to all schools. • Creation of new subjects (information technology, practical life skills) and supporting the subjects of math and science and English language in all grades. • Doing away with the two-period system and fixing the school day and the academic year. • Modernisation of the examination system and calendar. • Review of the structure of the Ministry of Education itself, concentrating on mapping out educational policies and on the effective implementation of the decisions at the levels of the Ministry and the regional education departments.

The organisational structure of the Ministry of Education was reformed for the purposes of the educational development (Hawsani 2002). As part of these reforms, a general directorate for curricula was created, consisting of a number of departments that watch over the ma ers of the curricula, whereby each subject has its own specific department. In addition there is a department for life-skills curricula, as well as a number of supporting departments including: training and qualification, school textbook production, information technology and beginners’ education. Furthermore, a technical/vocational bureau for studies and development was formed which undertakes studying the problems and obstacles faced by educational development processes and which proposes appropriate solutions. A special department for education needs (responsible for the special needs in areas such as human resources, buildings and others) and a department of systems and evaluation for overseeing the schools’ performance were created. Numerous training courses were conducted for the staff of the Ministry of Education as well as the leadership, administrators and technical personnel, including directors, school principals, teachers, administrative staff and others. In addition, a system for developing school performance and its various components of learning, teaching and administration was created. This systems aims at fostering school performance to the point that a culture of self-evaluation takes root in which educators take ownership in a spirit of teamwork and cooperation, and diagnostics of school performance levels are put in place in order to further its development (directory of the Project for Evaluating and Developing School Performance 2004).

44 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

Quantitative and Qualitative Development of Education In 1973, formal education was limited to Muscat and Salalah and numbered no more than three schools, containing a total of 909 students, and at that time female students did not have the opportunity to enroll in these schools. In the first ten years, however, in a period of boom, the number of male and female students increased to 55,752. This was followed, between the mid seventies and eighties, by a phase of diversity, proliferation and advancement of education, and it also witnessed the appearances of models of vocational education and specialised institutes in fields such as Islamic studies, commercial agriculture, teacher training and secondary and industrial education. In general, these periods witnessed an improvement in the quality of school buildings and additional equipment such as libraries, laboratories and other necessary institutions. Quantitative development of the schools continues, and expansion increases year upon year. The data of the December 2003 census shows that the rate of enrolment in different age groups continues to increase and has reached the proportions of enrolment found in the Human Development Report – Oman (2003), as follows: • proportion of children six years of age: 89.7 per cent males, 88.4 per cent females • proportion of children in age group six–twelve: 93.6 per cent males, 91.9 per cent females • proportion of children in age group thirteen–fi een: 91.2 per cent males, 89.1 per cent females • proportion of children in age group sixteen–eighteen: 82.7 per cent males, 81.8 per cent females

The statistics of the Ministry of Education show that the number of students enrolled in public schools reached 560,000 in the academic year 2006–2007, studying in a total of 1,053 schools. Students in private schools numbered 20,000. Teachers numbered 29,993, and administrators numbered 4,521 (Ministry of Education 2007). The percentage of females in schools reached 48.6 per cent, and the percentage of enrolment amounted to 99.83 per cent in grades 1–6, 96.72 per cent in grades 7–9 and 78.83 per cent in grades 10–12 (Ministry of Education 2007). The continual increase in the enrolment figures brings a ention back to the issue of providing education for all and making it free, and the Sultanate has assigned special a ention to education as an investment whose returns benefit the individual and society, rather than merely as a social service provided by the State. The qualitative and quantitative

Education Reform in Oman | 45

expansion of education is based on an educational philosophy derived from the characteristics of its society, and the next section deals with that topic in detail.

Principles of Educational Philosophy in the Sultanate of Oman The emergence of educational philosophy in the Sultanate came from among trends in the Omani society and its particular characteristics and basic values, according to which Omanis form a specific part of the Arab-Islamic nation, the heritage of Oman rose over successive eras through which the people gained their distinctive historical and cultural character. The educational philosophy places a strong emphasis on faith, science and work as the foundational pillars for advancing Omani society and its development, which is seen as the basic goal of the State. Education is seen as a human investment and an important means to self-development, which ultimately serves national goals. Omani society is centered around the family, and the State works towards its integration and towards safeguarding it from factors which cause weakness and disintegration, especially focussing on the younger generation. The common Arab identity is expressed in the firmly rooted belief in the fights against colonialism, the ambitions of Zionism and organised corruption, as well as in the protection of all Arab rights. At the same time, the Sultanate works towards cooperation in the development of world civilisation and in enriching human legacy (Farhan 1985; Aissan 1993). The Omani philosophy of education, despite its short history, represents a comprehensive launch in the history of education in Oman – one which is assured by its breadth, comprehensiveness and integration. It is translated through the content of the educational curriculum according to the conditions and potentials available at different periods during the reform, and through the prioritisation of certain elements according to contemporary variables. The document of the educational philosophy and its goals in the Sultanate of Oman (2004) adds also the following: awareness of global trends, fostering a multiplicity of ways of thinking and the ability to solve problems, creating positive a itudes towards work, the effective use of self-teaching skills and continuing education and the search for knowledge, creating positive a itudes towards the environment and its protection, the ability to interact with others and shared community activism and the formation of positive a itudes towards the environment and protection. The overall objectives of education for the period 1997–2020 were derived from the Vision for the Future 2020, as specified in the Fi h Five-

46 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

Year Plan of the Sultanate of Oman (1996–2000). Following this plan, initiatives related to human resources that have a particular impact on the educational objectives for grades 11 and 12 were undertaken, aimed at securing free basic education to Omani citizens and at improving its quality, allocating additional teaching hours for modern sciences and teaching the English language from the first grade. Schools should offer technical and engineering education and encourage it at all levels of public education to meet the needs of the job market. The State aims at offering university-level education and programs for advanced studies which meet the needs of the market in the general and private sectors. Furthermore, the State aims at offering job opportunities to Omanis looking to enter the private sector, offering education and retraining according to their needs, and it works towards increasing the percentage/proportion of women’s participation in the job market. The Ministerial Decree No. 2004/5 abolished the titles of the educational stages previously known as higher education and now under the name of public education, which begins with the first grade and ends with the twel h grade, at the end of which is held the General Certificate Examination. The development of education in grades 11 and 12 was completed as of the academic year 2004–2005, whereby the bifurcation into the vocational and intellectual tracks was revoked and a ention was turned towards the development of curriculum content and towards introducing core and elective subjects. It is worth mentioning that the development of curricula and textbooks on Islamic education, Arabic language, social studies and English was accomplished for a number of grades. To initiate the role of technology education and learning at the school level, a project is currently being implemented to provide a computer for each teacher and to introduce computers in grades 10–12 of public education. In addition, the Omani curriculum developed for the kindergarten stage in private schools was completed. The next section deals with this curriculum development, its construction and mechanisms of renovation.

Curriculum Development In the early stages of the educational boom in Oman, formalised curricula did not exist. They therefore used the curricula and textbooks from Qatar in public education and Saudi books in adult education. Then came the stage of formulating the curricula of Oman to achieve the teaching educational policy in the Sultanate, followed by a phase of preparing these curricula and of evaluation and examination by Omani

Education Reform in Oman | 47

intellectuals familiar with the student’s environment, personality and culture. This development has not and will not stop at this point; since the process of building the curricula is ongoing. By the early 1980s, the Omanisation of the educational curriculum was completed. The implementation of the curricula and school textbooks at all stages was completed as well, and then the curricula of the primary stage underwent evaluation in 1987–1988, followed by those of the preparatory stage in 1988–1989, and finally the curricula of the secondary stage in 1989–1990. Since 1994, the initial preparations for the development of public education starting from the stage of basic education and access to grades 11 and 12 have been completed (Ministry of Information 2001). Teaching material became responsive to learners’ needs and interests; learners are exposed to different educational situations through various activities that give freedom of dialogue and discussion, and thus become active participants in the educational process. Specialised commi ees formed by the General Directorate for the curriculum development evaluate teaching materials and textbooks. These committees include as well some specialists in the specific subject materials who are from the Ministry of Education and other members with the same specialisations from the Ministry of Higher Education and the Sultan Qaboos University and some teachers and mentors working in the field. Each commi ee researches the goals, curricula, decisions, books and teacher guides for each subject and carries out agreed upon revisions, authoring and modifications to the textbooks. Curriculum development is based on an educational philosophy and a strategic plan adopted by the Sultanate through 2020. What distinguishes Oman’s approach from those of the other Arab states is the work towards translating the strategic plan into action and implementing it realistically, as well as making efforts to overcome difficulties as they move forward. According to the contemporary educational guidelines, the Omani curricula and teaching materials should address all the experiences of the learner in the educational institutions, and the experiences of the community acquired outside of the formal educational system. These experiences were tied to the procedural elements of the applied educational process in order to closely integrate these aspects and ensure the activation of the various processes of learning and teaching. Also taken into account is the suitability of the curriculum for the learners in the specified age groups and school stages – based on educational, philosophical, social and economic considerations which are imposed by advancements in society, science, technology and the global economy.

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From this point all of the elements of the curricula and study plans were reviewed with the aim of developing them to suit new trends in content organisation, of balancing the different aspects of the educational and learning processes and of expanding the implementation of programs for learning difficulties in the schools of basic education from thirty schools in the academic year 2003–2004 to eighty-two schools in 2005–2006; an additional six hundred students with special needs were taught in three special education schools. The study plan developed for grades 1–10 in general education contains a set of materials developed (table 2.1). Table 2.1 | Study Plan for Grades 1–10 from the Stage of General Education Grades Number

Academic Subject

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Number of Enrollees (full academic year)

1

Islamic Education

6

6

6

5

5

5

4

4

4

4

1764

2

Arabic Language

12

12

10

7

7

7

7

7

7

7

2988

3

English Language

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

1800

4

Mathematics

7

7

7

7

8

8

8

8

8

8

2664

5

Science

3

3

3

5

5

5

5

6

6

6

1800

6

Social Education

0

0

2

3

4

4

4

4

4

4

1044

7

Sports Education

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

1

1

1

576

8

Arts Education

2

2

2

2

1

1

1

1

1

1

504

9

Music Education

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

324

10

Life Skills Education

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

180

11

Information Technology

1

1

1

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

360

12

Computers

Total:

396 40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

40

14400

Education Reform in Oman | 49

Table 2.1 illustrates the interest in introducing new materials which were not previously part of the curriculum (life skills, computers, information technology, music education). The number of study hours for all academic subjects was increased. The life-skills curricula stood out for being easier and for being tied to the learner’s local environment and it added to a major acceleration in the textbook industry. The new English-language curriculum and the new science curriculum are characterised by a learner-centered approach; they focus on active learning, using the methods of research and investigation and of problem solving. For educational and psychological considerations related to the learner in the first stage (grades 1–4), materials related to Islamic education, Arabic language and social studies were classified as one field, and science and mathematics as a second. At this stage pa erns of education tend towards integration and merging, and this trend is based on providing general, balanced culture to all learners. Indeed, the orientation towards the systematic application of the main curriculum contributes to gradually equipping the learner with the culture necessary to her/his life and work.

Curriculum Development for Grades 11–12 The secondary stage of schooling in Oman was defined by the Ministry of Education (2007) as a two-year system following the basic stage of education. It aims to continue the development of basic skills, work skills and career planning to students. Classes began in the academic year 2007–2008. The curriculum for theses grades was developed in accordance with Omani economic development goals. It is meant to deepen the relationship and continuity between basic and further education on the one side, and between secondary and higher education on the other, in order to guarantee the success of all components of the educational network. As part of this process, training schemes were initiated for administrators, school directors, teachers and psychologists. Teachers’ performance is comprehensively and continuously evaluated. Instead of holding the annual final exam as the only source of grading, which has the effect of disregarding the efforts of the teacher throughout the entire academic year, students’ performance over the whole academic year is graded. According to the Ministry of Education (2007), the main objectives of education in grades 11 and 12 are strengthening loyalty of the learner to the nation and to His Majesty the Sultan and fostering a sense of belonging to the Gulf, Arab, Islamic and world communities. The curriculum emphasises faith in the principles of the

50 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

Islamic religion, and firmly roots religion and spirituality in the minds of learners, who are meant to make them a standard of conduct in their daily lives. The curriculum places great emphasis on fostering pride in the Arabic language and the mastery of its art with adequate skills for a language of international communication. In addition, the curriculum strives to develop independent thinking and problem-solving skills among students, in order to enable them to participate in a knowledgebased economy and keep up with rapid global developments. Omani students are expected to interact with others in peace and to recognise their social rights and responsibilities; they are furthermore expected to develop awareness of health and environmental issues, and to recognise the value of arts and aesthetics. In the secondary stage, the curriculum provides different options for students, offering them upon graduation from this stage opportunities for follow-up university- and higher-level studies, or technical or professional instruction, or entering the labor market knowing they are equipped with basic job skills. Therefore, next to offering options to develop individual desires, the curriculum ensures that graduates have been well prepared in math, science, and information technology, in the Arabic and English languages. While at school, students are offered advice in exploring the variety of careers and employment options available for them in the Omani ecomomy a er graduation. Compared to the basic level, secondary education places stronger emphasis on active learning and life skills, including the use and programming of ICT. Students during this stage study a diversity of subjects relevant to their own lives, including how science impacts their daily lives and their roles in protecting the environment and its resources. Students gain experience with visual theory and the impact of digital technology on the field. They also become acquainted with the career opportunities involving computer-aided design. They work on developing artistic sensibilities and gaining familiarity with various art aesthetics and their relevance in daily life. The student within the plan of study for grades 11 and 12 gains the freedom to choose from among the list of available subjects appropriate to his/her abilities, aptitudes and inclinations. The following tables (2.2, 2.3, 2.4) outline the plan of study for these two grades in detail, taking into account those who graduated from basic education and from traditional education. Each student is required to study eight subjects per year. The student also chooses one elective subject from among those listed in table 2.2 offered at different levels or branches. In schools whose students are the output of general education and basic education, those who

Islamic Culture

2

28

Academic Subject

Number of Lessons

Total: (weekly)

1

6

Arabic Language

2

6

- English Language (b)

- English Language (a)

English Language

3

5

- Chemistry

4

- Science and Technology

- Physics

- Biology

- Applied

Science

5

- Research

Mathematics

4

2

Social Studies

6

2

Life Skills

7

1

Research Methodology / Career Guidance

8

Table 2.2 | Group I Academic Subjects: For Students Enrolled in Grade 11, Coming from Grade 10 Basic General Education (Academic Year: 2007/2008)

Education Reform in Oman | 51

52 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

are outstanding achievers and who came from the general 10th-grade class may study the subject of English Language (a), and students who achieve weaker results in 10th-grade studies may likewise study the subject of English Language (b). These are based on the level of performance in the 10th grade. Students in grade 12 are required to study academic subjects (subjects like science, mathematics and the English language) which are electives in grade 11. As for mathematics, students chose to study one of the two topics. With regard to the sciences, the student chooses one of four topics, and if he or she wishes to take another topic from the sciences list according to his or her ability, the topic is chosen from group II (according to the student’s future aspirations in terms of specialisation). The student also studies one subject (theory) in research methodology, alternating with career guidance on a weekly basis throughout the academic year. Regarding English Language (a), this subject is offered to students who are the output of basic education, while English language (b) is for students who are the output of general education. The student who chooses to study science and technology in grade 11 must study environmental science in grade 12. As for studies in Islamic culture, Arabic language, social education and life skills, these are basic subjects taken by all students. Those students in grade 11 who graduated from basic education and already studied computer skills since the first grade, study nine academic subjects, including advanced information technology (table 2.3). In this track, too, there are English Language courses for the stronger (a) and the weaker students (b) alike, based on their level of performance in the 10th grade. Students in grade 12 are required to study academic subjects (e.g., science, mathematics and English language) which were electives in grade 11. They study eight academic subjects from group I, for which are allo ed 28 lessons per week out of a total of 40 required lessons per week (Table 2.4). As for the remaining share of the forty (twelve lessons for those students enrolled in grade 11 post-basic education who are the output of grade 10 basic education, eight lessons for those students who are the output of grade 10 general education, and twelve lessons for those students in grade 12), they will be earmarked for the group II academic subjects, each being allo ed four lessons/sessions per week. It is the students’ responsibility to choose those subjects which will bring their total set of lessons to forty per week and which cover material from both groups I and II. Each lesson lasts forty minutes, with five-minute breaks between lessons. Table 2.5 shows the list of subjects provided to the students.

Islamic Culture

2

32

Academic Subject

Number of Lessons

Total: (weekly)

1

6

Arabic Language

2

6

- English Language (b)

- English Language (a)

English Language

3

5

- Chemistry

4

- Science and Technology

- Physics

- Biology

- Applied

Science

5

- Research

Mathematics

4

2

Social Studies

6

2

Life Skills

7

9

1

4

Research Introduction Methodology / to Information Career Guidance Technology

8

Table 2.3 | Group I Academic Subjects: For Students Enrolled in Grade 11, Coming from Grade 10 Basic General Education (Academic Year: 2007/2008)

Education Reform in Oman | 53

Islamic Culture

2

28

Academic Subject

Number of Lessons

Total: (weekly)

1

6

Arabic Language

2

6

5

4

- Science and Technology

- Physics

- Chemistry

- Applied

- English Language (b)

- Biology

- Research

- English Language (a)

Science

5

Mathematics

4

English Language

3

2

Social Studies

6

2

Life Skills

7

8

1

Research Methodology / Career Guidance

Table 2.4 | Group I Academic Subjects: For Grade 12, Post-Basic General Education (Academic Year: 2008/2009)

54 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

Education Reform in Oman | 55

Table 2.5 | Elective Subjects for Grades 11 and 12 Academic Subject 11 (general education) curriculum 2

11 (basic education) curriculum 2

12 (general education) curriculum 2

12 (basic education) curriculum 2

English Language Skills

English Language Skills

English Language Skills

English Language Skills

Biology

Biology

Biology

Biology

Chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry

Physics

Physics

Physics

Physics

Computers in Communications and Business

Options

Computers in Communications and Business

Economic Geography

Economic Geography

Economic Geography

Geography and Modern Technologies

History

History

History

History

(Islamic Civilization)

(Islamic Civilization)

(Islamic Civilization)

(The World around Me) Graphic Design

Number of Lessons:

Fine Arts

Fine Arts

Fine Arts

Fine Arts

Music Skills

Music Skills

Music Skills

Music Skills

School Sports

School Sports

School Sports

School Sports

8

12

8

12

At this point comes the important role of the career guidance specialist; where he/she helps students in discovering their career interests and abilities and in learning how to orient them with their professional goals and ambitions. The specialist also plays a key role in informing the students about the educational opportunities offered at the university stage and the prerequisites of these programs. The Ministry of Education has put in place an integrated plan for the National Center for Career Guidance, arranged with the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University to offer a Diploma in Career Guidance program for those working in the field, and additionally to implement short training programs which enable the instructors who are responsible for guiding performance to perform the tasks required of them. The National

56 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

Center for Career Guidance aims to equip students with information to discover their abilities, aptitudes and interests through self-assessment tests using professional standards. It also provides a database of jobs and occupations and their relationship to the academic levels, as well as what is appropriate to each student in terms of preparations and abilities. In order to identify employment needs of the various sectors of the labour market and related professions, the Center works in coordination with the Ministry of Labor and Civil Services and the Ministry of the National Economy. The Center helps students to acquire the research skills and steps for finding work in government and private institutions or for se ing up their own businesses, and it provides the data needed by schools and their career-guidance counselors so that they can perform their roles effectively in each school. The Ministry adopted a system of working teams in the development of the school textbooks. Represented in these commi ees are teachers, mentors, curriculum experts and university specialists. The general directorate for development may make use of the curricula for the group of consultants with experience in a designated field from outside of the Sultanate. Despite the efforts made and the positive steps taken by the Ministry and its various directorates, however, a number of the textbooks have not yet been analysed completely by the Omani researchers, but the analysis of textbooks of all grades to search for educational components upon citizenship through the Citizenship Project has been completed. Most efforts have been focused on the Englishlanguage curriculum in order to position a curriculum whose content and themes are drawn from the Omani and Arabic environment. The social studies textbooks have been developed to suit the learners and their abilities, but that development overlooks many topics which are relevant to the lives of the learners and which express the historical development of the Sultanate through the eras in an orderly fashion. The development in teaching science and mathematics has focused on self-abilities in the fields of substantive, technical, engineering, health and educational fields, and in the formation and development of skills for problem-solving, reasoning and interrelationships. This is in addition to the development of educational learning resources within the school, opening learning resource centers and science rooms in the basiceducation schools and teaching computer-related subjects according to plans for that stage. The development included pu ing in place a new system, alongside the examinations, for evaluating student performance. Emphasis is placed on independent projects and research to develop their scientific research skills, and the evaluation became a continuously evolving

Education Reform in Oman | 57

process taking into account the individual differences of learners and their levels of achievement, so that each learner carries out the implementation of projects according to his or her abilities and potentials. In general, some curriculum material acquires available elements of renovation in the Arab and foreign arenas – especially the curricula of science, mathematics, social studies and environmental education. Efforts to develop the course content are ongoing in order that they conform to the objectives adopted for each level of education. In view of the newness of the curriculum reform in grades 11 and 12, its output cannot be easily measured at this time in order to determine the extent of its conformity and the needs of learners heading for the job market or who wish to enter institutions of higher education or to realise development goals and cope with global trends. Among the most prominent programs that have been implemented within the project of education development is also a program evaluation and development of school performance. There is also creative competition between Omani workers in the field of education, as in projects addressing reading difficulties, the development of school laboratories, the professional development of teachers and the bank of educational and other activities. In addition, a ention to the teachers, their training and their involvement in the development of education comes through the annual conferences held for teachers since 2002–2003, accompanied by the development of educational supervision.

Outlook Curriculum reform coincides with the process of the ‘Omanisation’ of teaching faculty in general education. The Omanisation of all teaching, administrative and specialised position in grades 1–6 has been completed, and in grades 7–12 it has exceeded 76 per cent. The Omanisation of most administrative positions in Sultanate schools has been completed as well. The Sultanate of Oman adopted the knowledge economy in the curriculum philosophy. The renovation in the subject material of some curricula proceeded to go out a er one or more components of the curriculum – meaning that development is not comprehensive of all elements of the curriculum in one go (objectives, content, teaching, technology education, activities and calendar). Development passes through different stages. Teaching and learning strategies are positioned around the teacher and not the learner despite being shown theoretically in the curriculum documentation and being emphasised in

58 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

training programs for teachers, for the practices of many teachers tend towards the implementation of conventional strategies to which they are accustomed. This is confirmed by the same theoretical literature related to changes in organisational culture and renovation, for teachers are more resistant to change and innovation because it demands more of their time and effort for preparation and implementation. In spite of the great efforts made in the development of the Omani curricula in the general education, there are some weak points that still need to be addressed: Communication with community members and institutions is wanting, to the point that curriculum reforms sometimes collide with public opinion. Reconciling the opposing factions towards the methodology of curriculum development has at times proved difficult. Next to educational experts, other groups are hardly represented in the preparation of curricula, especially the productive service institutions, which a ract graduates. Furthermore, there are no unified and clear mechanisms to evaluate the curricula that are applied and developed, for the commissions and departments involved in assessment follow a multitude of different paths and methods in their work. The objectives and general policies for the curricula are not adequately translated to the lesson applicable to a particular grade level. Plus, no standards or a clear mechanism for selecting authors and publishers exist, and there is a lack of qualified national staff capable of authoring textbooks. Many authors are not sufficiently familiar with the personal characteristics and pa erns of learners in the preparation of the books and illustrations. There is also a shortage of material and technical resources for the implementation of the curriculum as planned. There is therefore a need for dialogue under the heading of education and employment in order to identify the specifications required for the occupation of tomorrow and with it the appropriate curriculum, because it is no longer appropriate to relate the issue of education to classroom capacity, or to the renovation, development and creation of the subject materials for curricula, or to the availability of places in universities. Instead it should be linked, from the start, to the needs of the job market – whether within the State or from job markets in other countries. In order for the curriculum for grades 11 and 12 to achieve its goals, it is critical to focus on independent- and critical-thinking skills, and on communication among teachers and learners that had been missing, and thereby to build education upon the principle of empowerment. The Sultanate of Oman needs to support training, university and higher-education programs which seek to build the national capacities required for the planning and implementation of curricula activities and to realise the aim of ‘education for all’. Indeed, providing qualified human resources to administer the development, potentials

Education Reform in Oman | 59

and material resources is a fundamental requirement for realising the desired reform. Translated from Arabic by Namir Henrikson

Notes 1. Basic education has been defined as: a unified education provided by the State for all children of school age for a duration of ten years, based on the provision of basic educational needs of information, knowledge and skills, and developing the a itudes and values which enable students to continue their education and training according to their desire and ability (Ministry of Education 2004). Post-basic education is provided for students a er the 10th grade of basic education. It provides continuing education in accordance to students’ needs and abilities. It aims to continue to develop basic work skills and career planning for students, training and work a er their formal education (Ministry of Education 2007).

References (all in Arabic) Al-Ansi, Saoud bin Salim. 1995. Population and Development Management and its Components in Oman. Muscat: Oman Establishment for Press, News, Publication and Advertising. Bahwan, Abdullah Juma Ali. 1994. Development of the Teacher Preparation System for Primary Stage in the Sultanate of Oman, in Light of Experiences in England and Egypt. PhD thesis, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University. Development Council, General Secretariat. 1991. Fourth Five-Year Development Plan (1991–1995). Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. Farhan, Ishaq Ahmad, et al. 1985. Curriculum Planning and Development. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. Issan, Salha Abdullah. 1990. ‘Social Changes and Their Impact on Educational Planning in the Sultanate of Oman’, Journal of Education 93, 13: 160–167. State of Qatar: Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture, and Science. ———. 1992. Unique Features of Omani Society and Their Implications for the Philosophy and Objectives of Education in Oman, and the Impact on the Structure of the Educational System and the Work of its Direction. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman, Ministry of Education, Directorate General of Educational Development, Division of Teacher Preparation and Guidance. ———. 1993. Educational Goals and Their Behavioral Applications. Muscat: Sultan Qaboos University Press. ———. 1997. ‘The Role of Education in Dealing with the Social and Cultural Effects of Migrant Workers on Contemporary Omani Society’, Journal of the College of Education and Psychology 21, 4: 209–264. Cairo: Ain Shams University. ———. 2006a. ‘Training the Family for Life in the Information Age’. Paper presented to the cultural seminar on families and children at the Information

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Society 24-26/07/2006. Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, Culture Sector. ———. 2006b. ‘Agreement between the Outputs of Higher Education and the Requirements of Development in the Sultanate of Oman’. Paper presented at the Regional Workshop on the Educational Response to the Demands of Social Development, Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Muscat 17-18/12/2006. Issan, Salha Abdullah, Youssef Qatami and Muhammad Shihab Habib. 1995. General Report on the Project for Monitoring and Assessing Student Achievement in Basic Education in the Sultanate of Oman. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. Ministry of Communications. 2001. Annual Report. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. Ministry of Development. 1996. Basic Components and Main Indicators of the FiĞh Five-Year Development Plan (1996–2000). Sha’aban 1416 AH / January 1996 CE. ———. 1997. FiĞh Five-Year Development Plan (1996–2000). Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. Ministry of Education. 1977. Development of Education in the Sultanate of Oman during the Academic Years 1974/75–1975/76. Report submi ed to the 36th Session of the International Conference on Education, September 1977, Geneva. ———. 2002. The Renaissance of Education in the Sultanate of Oman: The Fulfillment of a Promise. Vol. 1. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. ———. 2004. Guide to the School Performance and Development Assessment Project. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. ———. 2004. Philosophy and Objectives of Education in the Sultanate of Oman. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. ———. 2006. From Access to Success - Education for All in the Sultanate of Oman. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. ———. 2007. Educational Statistical Year Book 2006/2007. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. ———. 2007. The Programme of Post-Basic Education – Grades 11 and 12, adopted in accordance with Ministerial Decree No. 160/2007, issued 1/7/1428 AH, 16/7/2007 CE. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. ———. No date. Basic Education in the Sultanate of Oman – a Theoretical Framework. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. ———. No date. Guide to Basic Education Schools – the First Cycle (Grades 1–4). Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. ———. No date. Profiles of Past Education in Oman. Ruwi: Oman Printing Press and Bookstore. Ministry of Education and Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science. 1996. The Sultanate of Oman in cooperation with international and regional organizations concerned with education, culture, and sciences (UNESCO – ALECSO – ISESCO) during the period 1993–1996. Unpublished report. Ministry of Education and UNICEF Regional Office, Muscat. 2000. Assessment Report on Education for All: Year 2000. Ruwi: International Printing Press, Sultanate of Oman. Ministry of National Economy. 2003. Oman – Human Development Report. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman. Razik, Taher A. 1987. The Case of Oman: Primary Level. Evaluation of Curriculum. Muscat: Sultanate of Oman.

Q3 EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN JORDAN FROM THE 1950S UNTIL TODAY Stages and Characteristics Mohammad Khalil Abbas

Education in Jordan has witnessed remarkable development, with reform initiatives involving all elements of educational activity, both in terms of quality and quantity (Al-Tal 1978: 95). The history of education in Jordan bears witness to the political leadership’s special interest in education and in its aim to modernise Jordanian society and encourage economic growth. As a result, this stable administration has put Jordan in a position where it has made great leaps forward in a ma er of decades, in terms of increased levels of credit and improvements in the quality of educational achievements. There are three prominent mileposts that mark out the path of educational development in Jordan: From the 1950s until the early 1970s, the government focussed on providing and enforcing compulsory education. These efforts were supported by legislation that established elementary education. For this, the Ministry of Education commi ed to the provision of education in any place which had a minimum number of children of schooling age. This minimum number was ten children between ages six and sixteen. From the early 1970s until the mid 1980s, these efforts to increase the availability of elementary education were combined with efforts to diversify secondary education. All this required a high level of investment to improve facilities, utilisation of resources and support systems. Since the early 1990s, the focus is on improving the quality of teaching and on linking the education reforms to the kingdom’s plans for economic and social advancement. They have been pursued through a large, two-stage program of reforms that was started in 1990 under the umbrella of projects of investment loans in the sector of developing human resources. These reforms aimed at improving students’ levels of achievement and the quality of educational results, at improving the capabilities of the education system and increasing access to schools for all chil-

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dren of schooling age in Jordan. As part of the reforms, an institutional structure capable of meeting the qualitative and quantitative demands of the system in the long term was developed. The provision of elementary, secondary and vocational education was to be commensurate with the current and future social and economic needs of the country. In sum, the reforms aimed at transforming the education system in Jordan from a traditional system based on memorisation to a system that encourages effective teaching, focusing on critical thinking and problem solving. This study therefore aims to trace the most important educational developments in Jordan from the 1950s until today, from a quantitative perspective (number of students, number of schools, education budget, levels of illiteracy, levels of enrolment, etc.) and from a qualitative perspective (school curricula and textbooks, teacher training, teaching methods, educational planning, educational legislation and educational supervision) by reviewing a collection of relevant official documents and reform plans. It discusses the stages of the development of education in Jordan, the motives that have driven it, the challenges it has faced and the current state of affairs in terms of strategic planning and policies relating to all aspects of the educational process (students, teachers, curricula and textbooks, school infrastructure, supervision of education, teacher training, etc.). The study focuses mainly on public school education (elementary, preparatory and secondary), and does not deal with vocational and higher education.

Education in Jordan between 1950 and 1977 Laws and legislation In the period between 1950 and 1977 a series of laws and regulations that dealt with Jordan’s educational philosophy were issued: In 1952 the government passed the Education Reform Law whose most important clauses stipulated that education was now a right of every citizen without discrimination, as far as the government could provide it, and that primary education for a period of seven years was now compulsory (an adjustment was made to the education infrastructure in the academic year 1954–1955 whereby the period of primary education was reduced to six years). The Education Law no. 20 of 1955 stipulates granting the opportunity for all Jordan’s people to be educated, including a focus on value oriented and health education in order to form a younger generation that is aware of its duties towards God and the nation and at the

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same time is open towards the Arab world and global thought (Al-Tal 1978). It should be pointed out here that from the start of state education in Jordan until 1964, there was no sign of what might be called an ‘educational philosophy’. There are two reasons why this was the case: firstly, the absence of any clear shared philosophy in Jordan’s society from which an educational philosophy could emanate; secondly, the state of dependency le behind by British colonialism, and the fact that the state was in the process of being formed, something which made the creation of a clear general and educational philosophy extremely difficult. For this reason education continued to lack a philosophy that could guide its progress (‘Omayrah 1977). Education Law no. 16 of 1964 established a clear educational philosophy in Jordan for the first time. This philosophy drew its principles from the Jordanian constitution and the social, political, economic and intellectual state of the country. This law set down the objectives of education in Jordan to be focused on by the school curricula (Ministry of Culture and Media 1969). The law aimed to make nine years of education compulsory, reducing the number of people who don’t a end school. It also aimed to link secondary education in the long term to the needs of Jordanian society, and to improve the quality of education by dealing with all the issues that impact on the effectiveness of the educational process, including headmasters, students, teachers, curricula, textbooks, furniture and equipment, to expand adult education programs and to eradicate illiteracy. In order to put this education policy into practice, the Ministry of Education adopted an education strategy whose most important points included: the continued opening of primary schools; the expansion of preparatory schools; the expansion of secondary education; greater preparation and qualification of head-teachers and teachers; the continuous development of primary-, preparatory- and secondary-level curricula so that they focus on academic fields; the continuous development of textbooks; the application of modern teaching methods that enable students to think in an academic way. Jordanian textbooks lacked many of the fundamental characteristics required of good textbooks. Some of the most important reasons for this were a lack of the technical personnel required for the production of textbooks, and the failure to use modern, technological, academic methods in the production process. As a result of this, textbooks were sometimes characterised by a lack of links between them and curricula. Their content focused mainly on knowledge and methods of assess-

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ment and their printing and production did not stimulate the interest of students (‘Omayrah 1977). Quantitative indicators of the development of education The 1950–1977 period witnessed expansion and increased demand for the different levels of education in Jordan. One of the significant developments in this stage was an increase in the number of students in all levels. There was an increase of 569,599 students, 266,019 of whom were female, a proportion that demonstrates an increased female demand for the different levels of education. This led to the Ministry of Education providing more primary, preparatory and secondary schools, and appointing new teachers, and to a reduction of the rate of illiteracy and an extension of education in all of Jordan’s regions (Ministry of Culture and Information 1969). The reason for this notable expansion was the Education Law no. 13 of 1964 that made education compulsory, and also the displacement of nearly 300,000 people from the West Bank to the East Bank of the Jordan in 1967 as the result of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. Jordan’s yearly budget for 1950–1951 stood at JD 2,060,949, with 3.9 per cent of that sum spent on education; in 1977– 1978, Jordan’s budget was JD 222,600,000 with 6.7 per cent. The education budget increased in the period 1950–1977 but the sums allocated to education were not sufficient to meet the urgent needs of the Ministry of Education. The reasons for this include the enormous increase in the number of preparatory schools opened, and the fact that education was made public. Educational management and supervision Centralised school administration was the distinguishing characteristic of the 1950s. At this time, all authorities were under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Education and, to a lesser extent, his deputy. The administrative system underwent an important development when the Education Law no. 16 was issued in 1964. This heralded the formation of the Education Council and the Education Commi ee, which had a strong decentralising impact on Jordan’s educational administration. Possibly the most significant problem relating to Jordan’s administration in this period lay in deficiencies in the educational legislation concerning the embedding of concepts of decentralised administration in education, as well as a lack of specific job descriptions for those working in the Ministry of Education, limited concern for specialisations when appointing officials to posts in educational administration, and the absence of

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representation of different sectors, such as employers and teachers, on educational commi ees (Al-‘Amri 1978). The concepts, goals and methods of the regulation of education also developed in this period in order to improve the quality of education and to keep pace with the rapid development of knowledge and technology, and its implications. Initially, the emphasis was on inspections of schools that aimed to correct teachers by making them observe the inspectors’ instructions, based on information they collected. From 1962 onwards, inspectors focussed more on issues concerning knowledge and direction. Their job descriptions developed from being purely administrational to incorporating basic technical and administrational elements. The period between 1962 and 1975 witnessed a re-orientation of education: the methods of those working in this field improved and the template of the re-orientation was modified several times so that it focused on more precise aspects of teachers’ teaching methods and plans. The core concepts of the re-orientation plan developed, becoming more concerned with goals, methods, assessment, and time than they had been previously. From 1975 onwards, the number of inspectors increased and their technical and official tasks were expanded. The percentage of inspectors who were university graduates with bachelor’s degrees or more rose to 88 per cent. A collection of templates came into being for use by the inspectors for different regulatory purposes, as did a department specifically for the regulation of the education system (Al-‘Amri 1978).

Education in Jordan between 1978 and 1988 Laws and legislation When the Education Law no. 16 of 1964 was passed, education in Jordan witnessed an enormous quantitative expansion. Soon many shortcomings and problems became apparent, and calls for educational reforms multiplied. The most important of these voices was that of His Majesty King Hussein, who addressed the opening ceremony of a conference on education in Jordan held in 1980 by calling for renewed efforts to develop the Jordanian education system in terms of both content and objectives (The Educational Process Conference 1980). The Provisional Education Law no. 27 of 1988 linked Jordan’s educational philosophy and its constitution, it outlined the general objectives of education in Jordan, with an emphasis on critical thinking and the use of academic methods and it defined the specific objectives of each level of education. This law gave rise to what is known as the Educational Development

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Plan (1989–1998), which dealt with all aspects of the educational process in Jordan. The Education Law also divided the Jordanian education system into three stages, the nursery stage (two years), the elementary stage (ten years, free and compulsory) and the secondary stage with its two paths: comprehensive secondary education and applied secondary education (two years). Development in the different stages of education in the 1978–1988 period In 1979, Jordan’s national budget stood at JD 513,683,000, with JD 35,066,000 for education. By 1988, Jordan’s budget had reached JD 1,575,447,000, of which JD 82,902,000 were spent on education. Despite the obvious increase in both the national and education budget, the sums allocated to education stood at only 7.17 per cent of the national budget in the academic year 1987–1988, whilst the figure for Morocco was 22 per cent, and 21.1 per cent for Thailand (Badr 1988). This demonstrates that the sums allocated to education were smaller than they should have been, and that the priorities of the Jordanian treasury lay elsewhere, focusing particularly on the military. This period witnessed an increase of 141,046 in the number of primary level students of both sexes, but the number of schools increased by only 293, and the number of teachers went up by 5,936 (Ministry of Education 1990–1991). At this stage, the education system suffered from various problems: Schools operated in double shi s; the curricula did not meet the needs of the students; some of the school buildings were inadequate, others had to be rented; classrooms were overcrowded; the curricula overemphasised factual knowledge; and the drop-out rate increased (Obeidat 1993). The reason for the increase in the number of students during this period lies in the increase in the number of years of free elementary education from nine to ten years, whilst the insignificant increase in the number of schools shows that school buildings were used in double shi s. The Ministry of Education proved unable to build the appropriate number of new school buildings to meet the needs of the increasing number of students. The preparatory level was characterised in this period by a 3.7 per cent yearly increase of male students and a 5.4 per cent yearly increase of female students, an insignificant increase in the number of schools, and a 3,276 increase in the number of teachers. Preparatory education suffered from the same problems as primary education. Secondary education in this period witnessed an increase in the number of students in all of its divisions, including the vocational one (The Educational Process Conference 1980). It also witnessed an

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increase of 247 in the number of schools and a 2,857 increase in the number of teachers. Secondary education shared the same problems as primary and preparatory education, except that the number of students in each classroom and the number of students taught by each teacher went down (Ministry of Education 1991–1992). This period also witnessed the development of new curricula for a number of subjects taught in the compulsory stage of education. Eight new divisions responsible for educational aids were also formed in the education departments. Educational television broadcasting was extended; an admission examination was set up for entrance into secondary education, as were tests to establish the level of students in the third and sixth years of primary school. Despite this, some curricula and textbooks remained outdated, as they failed to draw connections between principles, theories and laws and practical applications and approaches. In addition to this, teaching methods remained weak, as did the capacity of education inspectors, as well as that of teachers and the local community, to participate in the development of plans, curricula and textbooks (‘Omayrah 1997).

Education in Jordan between 1989 and 1997 Laws and legislation The Permanent Education Law no. 3 of 1994 re-orientated the education system to be er meet the needs of the individual and society and to maintain a balance between the two. It led to improved opportunities for continuing education, consolidated an academic approach to the planning, application and assessment of the education system; and it introduced special programs to schools to cater for both exceptionally talented students and those with special needs. Educational development For most of this period (1989–1995), educational development plans focused on education policy; educational infrastructure; curricula and textbooks; educational techniques; school buildings and facilities; teacher training; education planning, research and development; cooperation with universities; pre-school education; eradicating illiteracy and adult education; educational assessment; teaching with computers; education management. During a second stage (1996–2000), the Ministry of Education planned to invest US $186.6 million to improve in-service training programs for the new curricula, enhancing teachers’ capabilities and improving their classroom performance. It also aimed

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to improve the efficiency of educational leadership, to encourage individual initiatives in schools, to make learning resource centres more efficient, to improve the efficiency with which textbooks and teaching guides were printed and distributed, to develop the overall administration of examinations and to improve the quality of school buildings. A general plan for school buildings for the years 1988–1998 was prepared, as was the national school map project. A list of statistical information was prepared, and the general plan for educational development between 1988 and 1998 was established (Jaradat 1996). This period in fact saw an increase of 122 in the number of schools; a 2.3 per cent increase in the percentage of people enrolled – the percentage of girls enrolled exceeded that of boys so that in the academic year 1995–1996 the percentage of girls enrolled reached 91.40 per cent and that of boys stood at 90.81 per cent. This was because of the spread of girls’ schools in rural areas and the breaking down of social barriers to the education of girls (Amayrah 1997). Regarding secondary education, there was an increase of 262 in the number of schools, of 63,759 in the number of students of both sexes, and of 5,955 in the number of teachers in the 1989–1995 period. There was also an increase in the number of ‘pilot schools’ to take the total to 138 schools in the academic year 1996–1997. ‘Pilot schools’ are schools which a empt to bring about comprehensive and integrated development of all aspects of the educational process, making use of all available educational expertise and aids to carry out different educational experiments. The idea of the ‘developing school’ was invented in 1996–1997 and first applied to 142 schools. A ‘developing school’ is a school which has been given a new structure, whereby two headmaster’s assistants are appointed – a technical one and an administrational one – with the aim of regulating practice, facilitating communication and decentralising management. The number of UNESCO affiliated schools rose to 79 in 1996–1997. These schools are under the control of the Ministry but they strive to implement UNESCO’s ideas and programs in the framework of their daily and yearly activities. The concept of cooperation between twenty-five government schools and private schools was implemented in 1996–1997, with the aim of strengthening links between them and enabling mutual assistance and the exchange of educational expertise. The teaching of French was also extended to include fi een schools (Jaradat 1996). The increase in the number of students, teachers and schools in this period came about as a result of the return of many Jordanians working in the Gulf, and specifically Kuwait, because of Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait in 1990 and the Gulf War of 1991.

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In 1989–1990, Jordan’s budget stood at JD 1,035,386,000, of which JD 92,230,000 was spent on education; by 1995–1996, the budget had reached JD 1,674,000,000, with JD 180,430,000 spent on education, a percentage of 10.78 per cent. This percentage put Jordan into the higher bracket of countries in terms of spending on education. The reason for this increase was the fact that the Ministry of Education carried out school building and reconstruction projects, stopped using rented schools and equipped schools with modern technologies. The Ministry of Education also set up new curricula that were then transformed into textbooks by specialist commi ees made up of teachers, inspectors, qualified experts from the Ministry of Education and experts from Jordan’s universities. The National Party then had to inspect the books one by one. The transformation of curricula and textbooks took place over a period of four years (Jaradat 1996). As well as this, a number of educational studies and publications relating to foreign languages were completed. Lists were drawn up of the concepts relating to the environment and the Highway Code, and those relating to the Red Crescent and the Red Cross, found in the curricula and textbooks and those not yet included were put in. Seven workshops relating to the development of a number of mathematics, science and sociology textbooks were held. 1996 witnessed a series of important achievements: a development plan to activate a process of educational guidance in schools was set up; studies into violence in schools were carried out; sixty tutors of both sexes were appointed and sent out to schools to provide educational guidance; a pamphlet about educational and vocational guidance activities was issued to the tutors. Moreover, the services offered for students with special needs were expanded, as were the programs for outstanding students. Forty-two rooms for students with special needs were furnished and new departments were opened for this category of students. Work was also done to integrate blind students into the Kingdom’s schools in the seventh and eighth years of elementary education. The a ention paid to outstanding students increased in terms of quantity and quality. The number of centres increased, supplementary curricula were produced for these students and those working in the centres were trained in how to deal with them. Work on the pilot centres for high achievers happened immediately in several provinces. There, students not only took part in extra-curricular activities, but were also taught different material. The teaching and administrative bodies of the pilot centres were also trained in methods of care and education of outstanding students. In the area of adult education, illiteracy levels for persons over age 15 were reduced from 13 per cent in 1995 to

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12 per cent in 1996. Six hundred and thirty-five centres for eradicating illiteracy were opened, benefiting 11,475 pupils of both sexes in 1996 (Jaradat 1996).

Education in Jordan between 1998 and 2008 This period witnessed both qualitative and quantitative growth of the education system. By the academic year 2007–2008 the number of (public) elementary and secondary schools reached 3,270, an increase of 368 schools since 1996. In the same year, the number of students increased to 1,684,870, of whom 576,153 were female, an increase of 722,306 students of both sexes. The number of teachers also increased to 62,684 in 2007–2008, an increase of 16,032 teachers since 1996 (Ministry of Education 2007–2008). The level of illiteracy among those older than 15 was reduced to 8.9 per cent in 2006 through efforts made in non-formal education and the eradication of illiteracy (Mu’taman 2007). The Ministry of Education’s budget for the academic year 2007–2008 reached JD 468,638,000, at which point the national budget stood at JD 4,922,301,000, meaning that the proportion of the national budget allocated to education was 9.52 per cent, a percentage that compares well to education budgets in the rest of the world (Ministry of Education 2007–2008). During this period the Ministry of Education further focused on deepening the qualitative impact of education. Emphasis was placed on the need to keep pace with academic, educational and technical developments and to observe developmental models and experiments in other parts of the region and the world in order to benefit from them by introducing innovations in all areas of the education system and its activity. A further focus was put on modernising curricula and textbooks and incorporating modern concepts in topics such as demographic, environmental, health and Highway Code education. Emphasis was also placed on embedding the concepts of democracy and human rights, on highlighting national, ethnic and humanitarian dimensions and on enhancing students’ academic research skills. These programs included a package of educational innovation projects which were introduced to all parts of the education system, particularly ICT facilities. Given the importance of the comprehensive and continuous review of the Jordanian education system, a National Education Conference was held in December 1999, enjoying broad participation. It aimed to evaluate the development of education, its inputs, processes and outputs, and to form a common vision of the future direction of education. In light of the discussions and recommendations of the conference, a

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comprehensive operational plan for the development of the different processes of the education system was prepared, including strategies, programs and reform projects in several areas. These included the establishment of infrastructural and educational projects, such as the King Abdullah Schools for Excellence, Queen Rania’s project for the computerisation of education, the universal provision of English teaching in years one to twelve and the general proliferation of government and other nursery schools. Along with the operational plan, further efforts were made to develop and modernise the curricula, in order to advance scientific research and critical thinking skills. Special care was taken for students with learning difficulties; and summer camps for learning languages and computer skills were set up. Human resources development projects were implemented, such as a comprehensive medical survey for all students, the provision of milk for all students of the first elementary level, the development of educational and sporting activities, the development of a system to grade teachers and the activation of administrative supervision and accountability. Specialised centres were established, including the National Centre for Testing, the Technological Centre for Training, the Centre for Educational Research and Consultation, the Centre for Educational Diagnosis and Guidance (‘Ababneh et al. 2005). In September 2002, the Forum for Future Education in Jordan was held. This came about in response to His Majesty King Abdullah II’s pronouncement that the economic future of Jordan would be based on its successful participation in the global knowledge economy and the information technology industry in particular. At this point, a new conception of the needs of the education system began to emerge given the nature of the knowledge economy, which requires life-long learners who are able and prepared to gain new types of skills and have the capacity to access, supply and adapt knowledge, engaging in it for the duration of their lives. A coordinated and integrated action plan was put in place to meet the present and future needs of Jordanian students and society in the context of the knowledge economy and within a comprehensive project – the Project for the Development of Education towards the Knowledge Economy. The Project for the Development of Education towards the Knowledge Economy There are four interrelated components of the development of education in Jordan towards the knowledge economy which have been put in place for the continuation of development efforts for a period of five

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years. They were first applied on 1 July 2003. The first component is the formation of a new education policy and new educational objectives and strategies through governmental and administrative reform. This component was designed to support the development and application of the policies and strategies and to give new direction to the effective administration of the education system, and to enable it to meet the needs of students and, more generally, those of society. Efforts at reformulating educational policies included re-defining the vision for education and informing people about it, and establishing an integrated education strategy; defining powers and authority (governance), and administration, and decision-making mechanisms; support systems for the integrated education resolution; educational research, supervision and assessment and the development of policies; and effective administration. The second component is the development of programs and educational practices to achieve educational outputs that are congruous with the knowledge economy. This component deals with the nature of learning and teaching and the expectations that come with them in the context of the new curriculum, which was designed to prepare students for life and work in a society of the knowledge economy. It comprises three elements: development of the curriculum and the tailoring of teaching; professional development and training; and materials to support effective learning. The third component is the provision of support for the preparation of a high-quality physical environment for teaching. The most significant goal of this component is to describe and explain the aims and activities that might help to improve the quality of teaching and learning by improving the quality of the necessary physical equipment to create an appropriate teaching environment in government schools. This comprises three elements: replacement of school buildings that are unsafe and of schools that are seriously overcrowded; upgrading of existing schools to support and improve teaching; and providing school buildings that are commensurate with the increase in population growth. The fourth component is the enhancement of readiness for learning through education, beginning in early childhood. This component aims to expand and improve comprehensive care and teaching in early childhood. The Jordanian Ministry of Education is endeavouring to establish more governmental nursery schools, because it is convinced that making children ready to learn from an early age is beneficial, improving students’ chances of success at this early stage and throughout the other stages of education, both elementary and secondary. This component comprises four elements: improving institutional efficiency; profes-

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sional development for teachers in nursery schools; spreading nurseries to cover larger areas; and improving society’s awareness and general understanding (Ministry of Education 2003). These components are important because they are consistent with the international organisation UNESCO’s ‘Education for all’ declaration, the objective of which is to li the proportion of children enrolled in kindergarten to 100 per cent by 2015. In order to achieve these goals, a number of reforms have to be implemented in several interrelated areas of the education system. Thus, education needs to be tied to the economic development needs of the country. For this purpose, students need to get acquainted with the use of information and communication technologies; active learning skills need to be fostered, including the capacity for work in a team and the acceptance of the views of others (Ministry of Education 2002). In addition, the Ministry of Education itself is being restructured in order to be er fulfil its main functions in the area of strategic planning and establishing policy at the macro level: specialist councils and commi ees are now established to assist policy makers, and broad community involvement is a declared goal; school administration and finances are being re-shuffled, and evaluation is becoming an integral part of educational development. Some of the main functions of the bodies that manage education at a regional level are: planning educational programs and directives at the regional level; supervising the observation of the different educational and administrative affairs relating to their schools; the evaluation of performance, the establishment of joint development plans and the encouragement of positive competition between schools. Indeed, schools are becoming more independent; they are meant to form their own development plans, to organise programs for the continuous professional development of its employees and they are encouraged to build cooperative relationships with institutions in the local community (Ministry of Education 2002). The drive towards education for a knowledge-based society and economy necessitates changing the role of the teacher in classroom and developing her/his professional skills, prompting the need for continuous on-thejob teacher training schemes and a re-shuffling of teacher training at college. The Ministry of Education works to enhance the institutional efficiency of the education system and to develop the educational process in accordance with a comprehensive, integrated vision. This project’s general aims involve a empting to develop education administration, both centrally and at the point of delivery, in accordance with an integrated approach including: establishing job descriptions and performance ap-

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praisal, applying the ISO 9001 quality management system and developing an administrative communication system in the ministry. It also aims to develop the policy of continuous professional development for teachers, to improve the performance of teachers, renew their competencies and keep them up to date with new developments. Other objectives include the development of a method for monitoring and evaluating schools’ performance and the establishment of a proposed structure to ensure the quality of teaching and guarantee a be er quality of learning for all students (‘Ababneh 2005). Another goal is to expand the use of innovative educational activities in the first three years of elementary school and to use computers to improve the quality of learning and teaching about the use of information and communication technologies. An increase in the number of women among the school inspectors of the intermediate and higher levels is also targeted, as is the integration of the idea of gender into all of the project’s components (Ministry of Education 2002). The project for looking a er outstanding students has also been set up, aiming to do so by developing their abilities and making good use of their specialist fields through the King Abdullah II Schools for Excellence. Another project is in place for students with special needs, aiming to improve the quality of their programs and the services they are offered, and to give them more opportunities to learn by expanding projects to develop learning resource rooms for those with special needs. Other projects include one for students who dropped out of school, one for the schools affiliated with UNESCO, the life and school skills development project, the outreach project to increase awareness of the dangers of drugs and to stop them from spreading and the national project for the prevention of child labour. Achievements The sustained reform efforts undertaken by Jordan in the realm of education since the late 1990s have resulted in a number of achievements. A new education policy and new educational objectives and strategies were formulated, which have been disseminated through a national public relations campaign. The Ministry’s accounting systems have been modernised, and education system management has been gradually decentralised. In June 2004, the Education Council approved the general framework for curricula, for measuring learning, and for twenty-three textbooks. Subjects’ learning outcomes were decided on and used as directives for

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development and support of the contents of every subject in year one, four, eight and ten. Teams of specialists in creating curricula and measuring learning were sent on foreign study trips to observe the best practices in this field. The project for the computerisation of mathematics in Exploratory Schools was completed, as was the experimental project for the computerisation of Arabic language classes for the fourth year of primary education. Achievements in the field of information technology and the training of teachers and administrators included the following: 21,000 teachers were granted the ICDL certificate; 575 teachers and educational regulators were trained in WorldLinks, with another 1,000 teachers currently in the process of being trained; and 15,200 teachers were given eighty hours of Intel 1 computer courses. Achievements relating to school buildings and equipment include the following: the submission of bids to build 103 schools, of which 40 are funded by the World Bank, 38 by the Arab Fund, and 25 by the Islamic Bank, Jeddah, 63 schools are under construction, of which 43 are funded by the European Investment Bank, 8 projects have completed their technical reports in preparation for their submission, and 12 schools are funded by the German Construction Bank; the development of existing school buildings, funded by the World Bank, as 23 sets of bids for work relating to the development of existing school buildings were submi ed, including additions to 183 schools; the equipping of 1,042 schools with computers, providing each school with a computer laboratory, as well as supplying the Exploratory Schools with 300 laptops and a range of projectors and data-show devices. The following achievements have been made in relation to early childhood programs: the establishment of 67 government nursery schools in 2004; the introduction of the interactive national curriculum to all government nursery schools and the development of a way of assessing the curricula; the training of 160 (female) nursery school teachers; and the training of 40 educational inspectors.

Conclusion and Outlook In the last six decades Jordan has experienced significant quantitative and qualitative development in its education system. This is apparent from the increase in the numbers of students enrolled in public education, an increase which came about because of the introduction of educational legislation that made education compulsory and free. Primary education became compulsory in the academic year 1954–1955, year

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nine became compulsory in 1964, and year ten in 1988. In the academic year 2004–2005, the gross and net enrolment rates in the first year of primary education reached 100 per cent. Meanwhile, the gross enrolment rate for year one to year six stood at 99 per cent, with a net figure of 96.7 per cent. The gender parity index reached 1:1 and the proportion of people remaining in school from year one to year six reached 96 per cent. The coefficient of efficiency (a measurement of the proportion of inputs to outputs: the number of years required for a student to graduate from elementary education) reached 89 per cent. The illiteracy rate dropped to 7.9 per cent in 2008 and average classroom size fell to twenty-seven students in 2006–2007. Jordan thus came to occupy first place among Arab countries in terms of the extent to which education is widespread, efficient and fair, and in terms of eradicating illiteracy. The Jordanian education system has also experienced a significant increase in the number of schools in order to cope with the increasing numbers of male and female students. This quantitative development has been accompanied by a qualitative one, whereby Jordan’s educational philosophy has been modernised in line with global educational developments. It therefore started to focus on critical thinking, using academic methods, defining the general and specific goals of each stage of education and improving the quality of education. This was also accompanied by developments in the preparation and production of curricula and textbooks, strengthening the links between the curricula and each stage of education’s specific objectives and the relationship between the curricula and society’s needs. This involved shi ing focus away from lists of facts and information and towards the development of skills in advanced thinking, adopting an academic approach and solving problems. This shi resulted in the production of curricula and textbooks based on the knowledge economy, focusing on the positive role of students in debate and discussion, the bold and free demonstration of ideas, interaction with contemporary technology, taking rational decisions and generating and developing knowledge. It also brought about a qualitative shi in the roles of the teacher, making her/him a critic, a leader, a creator and an innovator, someone who discusses, debates and directs and an advisor. A qualitative development also took place in learning and teaching strategies, with focus placed on learning the right skills for the future, and on computer-based e-learning, learning universal concepts, openness towards global cultures and the global exchange of knowledge and the training and enabling of innovators and inventors who challenge the status quo. There has also been quantitative and qualitative development in the regulation of education. The number of educational inspectors has in-

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creased significantly and their roles have developed from aiming to assess the performance of teachers to offering what is necessary for the teachers in terms of their teaching, teaching plans and in terms of training them to use modern methods of dealing with students, curricula, teaching techniques and the local community. The budget allocated to education also increased to an 11.5 per cent share of the national budget in 2008, a percentage that is very close to the global average. Despite this quantitative and qualitative development, the Jordanian education system still faces a number of challenges, which it must deal with seriously by forming a strategy for the next stage, specifically by implementing the second stage of the knowledge economy project: Early childhood education. Levels of enrolment in pre-school education in the poor and rural areas are still low (those that are least developed and most in need). There is a need to enhance institutional efficiency and the skills of workers and teachers in nursery schools in order to find out which students have special needs and how they should be treated. Education for all. Poor planning o en prevents doing what is actually necessary for the expansion of government schools in order to achieve the goal of providing education for all. Around 13 per cent of those studying in government schools do so in rented buildings or in schools that function with the double shi system. There are also only a limited amount of resources allocated for future investment in the education sector, and a lack of financial resources for the maintenance of school buildings and of partnership projects with the private sector for investment and sustainability objectives. On top of this, there is a need for pilot programs to be developed to stop non-a endance and to help deal with those with special needs and to deal with adult education. There is also a disparity in the teacher to student ration in different districts. Quality of Education. The education system is facing the challenge of increasing numbers of people who repeat years in elementary education and a decline in the efficiency of students in years five to ten. This is because of an increase in the failure and drop-out rates in the elementary stage of education at the national level for both sexes. The rising cost of education is a challenge, in order to achieve the high level of performance necessary to improve the quality of education to compete on regional and global levels in national and international examinations. Additional financial resources are also necessary for the development of mechanisms to assess teacher-training programs, to increase in financial incentives and to meet the need to a ract highly skilled teachers. Life skills, life long learning. There is a need to increase the numbers of inspectors and teachers of vocational education and to develop their

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abilities. It is also necessary to increase the funds allocated to this area, to lower the number of students in each course and to provide adequate workshops and facilities in vocational schools. These schools also need to coordinate with institutions from the local community and the surrounding area to take advantage of available possibilities. Institutions outside the school sector should contribute to the development of professional standards and study programs and curricula. Other aims must be to increase the number of people enrolled in vocational education, to provide training opportunities during their studies and to improve the general secondary examination results of those in vocational education. Eradicating illiteracy. There is a need to develop and modernise the curricula and textbooks currently used in illiteracy eradication and adult education programs, and the way in which material is presented to the targeted groups. It is also necessary to make the physical environment of some of the buildings used by the centres be er equipped for learning, to ensure the availability of modern technical equipment, and to improve the educational expertise of the teachers working in these centres. The learning-teaching process should also be further facilitated by the standardisation of the level of teaching for students in each section. Gender inequality. It is necessary to reduce the gender gap in those employed in senior leadership positions and to reconcile the demands of senior leadership positions with the demands of women’s work within the home. The level of female participation in technical commi ees should also be raised, with job descriptions based on capabilities rather than skills, facilitating women’s access to leadership positions. Emphasis should also be placed on reducing the gap in achievement between males and females in national and international examinations. Governance. Focus should be placed on applying decentralised governance in the education sector, with the presence of qualified cadres to prepare results-oriented budgets and frameworks for medium-term spending. They should also engage in qualitative planning and sectoral analysis in keeping with educational legislation that keeps pace with requirements and developments and obliges engagement with a comprehensive and integrated educational management information system in order to support educational decision making. An effective system of accountability should be activated, based on measurable indicators of performance. There should also be decentralisation, with more administrative and financial authority granted to the provinces. Links and internal and external evaluation procedures should be set up with educational programs and projects, and community support should be

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activated to aid educational development, and to ensure the quality of the education system on the local, regional and global levels. Translated from Arabic by Clem Naylor

References (all in Arabic) ‘Ababneh, Nuwaf, et al. 2005. Educational Development in Jordan: History and Political Aspects and Implementation. Amman: Ministry of Education. ———. 2005. Systematic Input to Educational Development for a Knowledge Economy in Jordan. Amman: Ministry of Education. Al-‘Amri, Shouket. 1978. Development of Educational Inspection in Jordan. Unpublished MA thesis. The Jordanian University. Al-Tal, Ahmad. 1978. The Political, Economic and Social Conditions that Influence Educational Development in Jordan. Amman: Ministry of Culture and Youth. Badr, Majid. 1988. ‘The Economy and Development of Education’, Risāla alMu‘allim al-Badīl 30, 1–2. Government of Jordan. 1994. ‘Educational Law no. 3 of 1994’, Risāla al-Mu‘allim 35, 2. Jaradat, ‘Izzat, et al. 1996. Yearbook. Al-Mudīriyya al-‘āma lil-buhūth wa aldirāsāt al-tarbawiyya, Qism al-tatwīr al-tarbawī, Amman. Ministry of Culture and Information. 1969. Yearbook. Dā’ira al-Matbū‘āt wa alNashr, Amman. Ministry of Education. 1990–1991. Statistical Abstract. Amman. ———. 1991–1992. Statistical Abstract. Amman. ———. 2002. Future Perspectives of the Education System in Jordan. Muntada alTa‘līm fī Urdun al-Mustaqbal, Amman. ———. 2003. New Perspectives on Educational Research in a Society with a Knowledge Economy. Amman. ———. 2007–2008. Statistics of General Education. Amman. Mu’taman, Muna. 2007. Comprehensive Evaluation of the Program for Eradicating Illiteracy in Jordan. Amman: The Jordanian Education Ministry. ‘Obeidat, Suleiman, and ‘Abdullah al-Rashdan. 1993. Education in Jordan. Amman: Maktaba Baghdād. ‘Omayrah, Muhammad. 1977. Education in Jordan from the O oman Era until 1977. Amman: Dār al-Masīra lil-Nashr wa al-Tawzī’. The Educational Process Conference in a Developed Jordanian Society. 1980. Amman: Al-Tawsilāt

Q4 MAJOR TRENDS OF EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN EGYPT Iman Farag

Education in Egypt The evolution of a formal Egyptian education system based on Western curricular models dates back to the early nineteenth century when Muhammad ‘Ali began rebuilding the Egyptian state, military and economy along European lines (1811–1849). His main aim was to train qualified cadres of state administrators and army officers as well as to build up a skilled workforce for the evolving modern industrialised sector of the Egyptian economy. For this purpose, the traditional system of kuĴab schools and religious institutions of higher learning such as the university of Al-Azhar were gradually sidelined by a highly centralised and hierarchical state-run education system; starting with institutions of higher learning and later free elementary and secondary schools (Al-Sayyid 1984; Sayed 2006). However, during the British occupation (1882–1919), these plans were temporarily halted and free public education was abolished. Only foreign and missionary private schools offered a modern quality education to a privileged and Europeanised minority serving in the British administration. Under the constitutional monarchy (1922–1953) the right to free public education was inscribed in the constitution. Compulsory primary education was introduced in the 1930s, but limited resources hampered the development of the public education system, while private schools continued to thrive. Despite the dramatic expansion of the public education system since the overthrow of the monarchy by the Free Officers’ Movement in 1952, the segmentation of the school system and the hierarchical and centralised character of the state’s educational policies dating back to those formative years continue to prevail. A er a second phase of rapid expansion since the 1990s, the Egyptian education system is today the largest in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. According to official figures available for the year 2006, the number of students

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surpassed 17 million enrolled in around forty thousand schools. As of 2007, 83 per cent of all pupils studied in state-run public schools which teach the national curriculum devised by the Ministry of Education (MoE). Most pupils are enrolled at Arabic language schools, but a small number a end so-called experimental language schools where science and math are taught in English, pointing to the growing need of English language proficiency in today’s labour market. The number of educators amounted to 821,000, on top of which there were 711,000 administrative employees and 150,000 general workers – in total exceeding 1.6 million (Ministry of Education 2007). In 2007, private schools were a ended by 7 per cent of all pupils. Some private schools mainly follow the national curriculum, but offer be er learning conditions in terms of class size, equipment and qualified teaching personnel who receive higher salaries than those in public schools. Other private schools are sponsored by foreign institutions and teach most classes in English, French or German. Together with the national curriculum, these schools also offer the possibility of a aining the American High school diploma, the French baccalauréat or the German Abitur, etc. The high tuition fees turn these schools into elitist institutions catering to the privileged few. About 10 per cent of all students are enrolled in the semi-autonomous religious school sector run by the Supreme Council of the AlAzhar Institution (Ministry of Education 2007: 31). These schools receive government funding but operate partly along the national curriculum, placing a high emphasis on religious education. Graduates of Al-Azhar secondary schools can continue higher education but only at Al-Azhar University (Zeghal 2007). A growing number of independent Islamist schools have sprung up, too. Like all private schools, they are subject to close supervision by the MoE (Herera 2006). Another development in private schooling is the number of private tutoring centres that have sprung up since the 1990s despite being officially prohibited by the MoE. Learners seek additional training at the centres to improve school grades in the hope of ensuring access to institutions of higher education. Partly a consequence of the poor quality of many public schools in terms of classroom size and educational facilities, private tutoring centres are also an additional source of income for chronically underpaid teachers. The MoE regards the sector with disdain because it draws both financial and human resources away from the formal education system (Sayed 2006: 71–73). Pre-primary education is not part of the formal education system and several actors are involved in this sector. The school system is divided into three levels: six years of primary school, followed by three

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years of preparatory, or lower secondary, school. These two levels are termed basic education and are compulsory. Depending on success in the countrywide standardised exams at the end of basic education, pupils may continue with secondary education, which consists of between three and five years and is divided into several tracks – general secondary, technical secondary and vocational schools subdivided into three types: industrial, commercial and agricultural. The material expansion and reform of Egypt’s education system in the 1990s was supported by sizable funding from international donor institutions. Their involvement in the educational reforms in the areas of curriculum development and education system management that were initiated in the 1990s signalled the gradual disengagement of the MoE from its own ‘socialist’ past as it partly adopted neo-liberal development policy strategies devised by international donors, who see investment in education as a means to increase productivity, national income and socio-economic mobility, which would eventually lead to socio-economic transformation and ultimately democratisation. Part and parcel of this strategy is a call for more market and less state, which in the educational field translates into calls for a decentralisation of education, more autonomy and accountability for individual schools and more choice for parents. Egypt partly adopted such strategies since the 1990s. The following sections of this chapter will discuss selected aspects of these reforms.

Comparison between the General Education Reform and the Specifics of Current Proposals Since the 1860s, the Egyptian state has engaged in numerous educational reform schemes. Despite dramatic political change and different systems of governance that emerged over the years, these schemes should best be understood as part of one ongoing process. The history of the Egyptian educational system can be narrated as a continuous chain of reports and reform schemes based on an examination of the respective status quo, from the first ‘Education Principal’ (Mukhtar, 1837–1839) to the latest Minister of Education (Abdel-Karim 1945; Farag 1999). Egypt shares common features with a large number of developing societies which emphasised educational development as a means for progress, particularly since the 1960s. But no consensus could ever be achieved regarding the educational system, and just as success seemed within reach, it receded yet again (Milner 1984).

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This is not to say that all governmental development policies failed; some had measurable accomplishments and succeeded in realising a measure of satisfaction, if only temporary, for instance in the spheres of housing or employment or social security. Policies in these areas followed a rationale of continuity; they built upon and expanded existing foundations. In contrast, educational development rather followed a rationale of breaking with the past, policies in this area are associated with the re-examination, re-establishment and the re-definition of aims and means. Still, the ultimate goal remains the same: Education and knowledge are highly valued in Egyptian society, just like the concepts of justice or democracy, and paying tribute to these values is even more important than actually improving the educational system. Indeed, the ‘effectiveness’ of the educational system as a tool varies according to the standards of measure used; for knowledge is a road to freedom, whereas the educational system is a tool of social and political control. Perhaps it is this ambivalence between the two dimensions of modern education, a means for individual empowerment and at the same time a disciplinary tool in the hands of the state, which invites us to reflect on the successive ‘generations’ of reform schemes which brought together good intentions and noble goals. Are new projects based on evaluating the outcomes of former ones, or do they derive their legitimacy from different sources? To what extent is educational reform influenced by the prevailing political directives? What is the relationship between that constant striving towards educational reform on the one hand and the certainties tied to the notion of progress on the other? Is it conceivable that the reform message has other effects beyond those intended, to say nothing of its level of implementation? Education has assumed an increasingly prominent place in Egyptian public discourse. To some degree, this is a consequence of the great number of people directly or indirectly affected by education (students, teachers, subject-ma er experts). What is more, mapping the reform – regardless of its application – a ained wide promotion and with it important influence in building the foundations of legitimacy of the political system. Indeed, the controversial public debate around the reform schemes sometimes creates openings for discussions into thorny legal ma ers, and in some instances it is possible to identify the impact of public opinion on governmental resolutions and educational policies, for instance concerning the re-organisation of the Secondary Examination Certificates, which conclude school-level education, and their corresponding areas in the university admissions systems. Similarly, sizable social sectors may assume new social and political weight. Teachers, for example, may protest against policies which they consider

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harmful to their interests or to their social standing. On the other hand, different media sprouted education-related spaces and columns, and a number of specialised journalists appeared in that domain who undertook intermediary roles between State policies on the one side and the citizens’ anxieties and problems on the other. Apart from the growing public debate on educational ma ers inside Egypt, we have seen since the end of the twentieth century the globalisation of the agenda of educational reform, as states adopted the perspectives of donor organisations. Seemingly neutral international standards were adopted by all parties and propagated through a kind of semispecialised language (‘knowledge economy’, ‘producing the elite’), until it appeared that the reform schemes which the states adopted were nothing more than a carbon copy from a single source, differing only in detail (Musselin 2007). As part of this trend, reforms of higher education were integrated into free trade agreements, assuming ‘international competition’ as the highest goal for the educational process. Along this logic, the whole society would profit from such reforms. Proponents of this kind of educational reforms drew a sharp distinction between a past era during which education was ‘knowledge for the sake of knowledge’, which was to be replaced in the new era by an education that produces ‘knowledge for the sake of the market’, as formulated by theorists such as Michael Gibbons (1994). International organisations assume responsibility for translating this agenda into recommendations and programs. The notion of decentralisation, originally meant to empower local stakeholders in the educational process and thus make the system more accommodating and effective, was confined to technical dimensions: Due to a legacy of heavy-handed politics and centralised education system management, the notion of decentralisation was practically applied in ways which do not touch the roles of political censorship and security, but merely redistributed them in a more efficient, i.e. less costly manner. In order to appreciate the relation between the domestic public debate on educational reform and the standards promoted by international donors, one has to keep in mind that in Egypt the ma er of education traditionally interlocks with other issues linked to work and income, but also to symbolic values and dignity and social standing as well as to the ability to negotiate the acquisition of rights (Farag 2006). Since the mid twentieth century and until today a kind of implicit social contract exists in Egypt, according to which the State/educator assumes full control over the whole sector, in exchange for taking on the majority of its costs. Over a number of decades the idea became firmly rooted in society that education is an obligation before it can be a right and that

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it is the main legitimate way, but not the only one, for increasing social mobility. Indeed, these assumptions are in urgent need of review. For Egyptian politicians today constantly talk about the need to ‘ease the State’s burdens’. This does not imply a decrease in state control over its citizens. Rather, the Egyptian State nowadays offers extremely weak guarantees of the collective rights of society; access to health care services and education is far from equitable, and this has irrefutable effects which cannot be reversed on individual or group levels. The educational policies of the State are today influenced by the rapid liberalisation of the economy in combination with the persistent political authoritarianism.

Features of the Educational System in Egypt The above mentioned components of the educational system in Egypt need to be contextualised. All aspects of educational reforms need to be taken into consideration as well as the limitations facing them politically, socially and economically. In terms of sheer numbers, the MoE is today the biggest apparatus of the State, excluding the armed forces, which makes the educational system in Egypt the largest such system in the MENA region. The size of the educational system might help to explain the extent of the difficulties encountered when it is confronted by any change. Any quantitative expansion could result in an equivalent increase in difficulties. Without doubt, in an educational system of this size the State plays a fundamental role in educating the majority. The budget does not depend only on the allocations by the State budget for education and their distribution over all of the various educational stages and sectors, but rather the educational system is also increasingly affected by the overall situation related to the distribution of the income and cultural resources at the national level. In other words, what is still officially presented as ‘free’ education became a financial burden upon poor families, even though it is ostensibly meant to form a mechanism for upward social mobility and affirmative action for the benefit of people of limited income. Similarly, despite the relative increase in the overall enrolment averages and the shrinking of the gap between males and females, enrolment rates at the secondary stage did not exceed 80 per cent of the corresponding age bracket, and the average measure decreases in the poorest governorates. In addition, school dropout rates remain high, reaching a peak between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. The noticeable expansion in base enrolment for sixth grade

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students is among the most prominent of the available State indicators (Ministry of Education 2007). Moving to deficiencies within the educational system itself, the governorates suffer from a shortage of teachers or from a lack of capacity in certain fields. Numerous difficulties have slowed down the implementation of the full school day, despite the approval of that policy several years prior and despite the relative decrease in the number of schools that operate in double or triple shi s. Still, the number of schools is far from sufficient, and many are not suitable to accommodate a full school day. Thus, there is a tendency to sacrifice open spaces and athletic fields in order to build more classrooms, funding for school materials is often cut down and physical and artistic activities are diminished – areas which are traditionally marginalised anyway. We find a similar discrepancy between public and private education. For example, differences can be found in the high density of classrooms in public schools, whereas private schools generally enjoy be er conditions with respect to classroom density, suitability of facilities and length of the school day. It is as if the school had become – in addition to other generally known social factors – tantamount to an environment driving away precisely those whom it should be a racting and incentivising. Thus, the number of classrooms at the primary levels increased by 17.7 per cent between 2001 and 2006, while at same time the growth in the number of pupils reached 23 per cent, which means that the classrooms became more congested (Ministry of Education 2007). Finally, within the structure of public education there is a clear disparity as far as potential and social status are concerned. This is equally visible with respect to general education leading up to university-level studies and to vocational training – the easiest track with respect to requirements, and one which theoretically qualifies one for entering the job market. But vocational training schemes are also associated with the inability of students to reach public secondary school, or with the inability of their families to afford the expenditures that come along with it. Up until now the government has been unable to change the image of vocational training schemes, and as a ma er of fact the past years have witnessed a rise in the rate of unemployment facing graduates specifically of vocational training programs. Of course the features of these structural weaknesses, some of which have been outlined above, have had a significant impact on the process of education and knowledge transfer. Far from downplaying the importance of the content of that knowledge itself, they form the necessary background to observe and discuss the most important trends of educational reform, which are the focus of the following sections.

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Reform Schemes and Directives The public discourse of educational reform abounds with pleasant (or innocuous) terminology, but its exact meaning remains ambiguous, and the implementation of reforms o en points towards other goals. Thus, promoting certain educational reforms as ‘enabling civil society’ becomes a way of circumventing any real discussion about lightening the State’s role in the educational sector. Similarly, the slogan of decentralisation undoubtedly won universal agreement and unconditional support as a result of the bad reputation of the established highly centralised education system management. As a consequence, the controversial practices of decentralisation in Egypt would become mere ‘details’ of li le interest which were hardly scrutinised by international donors and local actors alike. To illustrate this point, have a look at the mission statement presented on the website of the Egyptian MoE. It refers to all the general concepts agreed upon and uses all the coined technical terms, mixed with expressions of national pride: The Ministry of Education pledges high-quality pre-university education for all as a basic human right, within the scope of a decentralized system built upon civil partnership, and it pledges that education in Egypt will prove itself to be a pioneer in the region, striving to prepare the citizens for the knowledge society under the auspices of a new social contract founded in democracy and justice and enabling continual progress towards the future. (2007)

In the context of this study, we will deal with the reform plan approved by the Ministry only in order to clarify the friction between conditions on the ground and the actual priorities of the reform plan. This plan was issued in the year 2007 and was prepared by the Ministry’s Unit of Policies and Strategic Planning, with technical support from United Nations organisations and donor agencies. Combined in its goals are three slogans: quality of education, efficiency of systems (decentralisation and community participation) and equal access. These goals are distributed over twelve programs, including: the comprehensive reform program of the curricula including incorporation of information technology and communications; reform focused on schools and their preparation for instructional accreditation; the modernisation of human resources and professional development; the official establishment of decentralisation; technological development and information systems; modernisation of monitoring and evaluation systems; building development; development of the kindergarten stage; reform of basic education; the modernisation of secondary-stage instruction; support for schooling for girls and children not enrolled in formal

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education; and educational programs and curricula for children with special needs. The strategic plan provides these programs with indicators and numbers to measure the present situation, the costs and means and time horizon for implementation, and what has already been accomplished by schemes to increase financing. This comprehensive plan could be considered a perfect example of contemporary educational reform projects, including dependency on external support, conflicting priorities and the availability of information and numerical data. The following section discusses three revealing cases of how these reforms were actually implemented.

Between Service and Commodity: The Redistribution of the Burden Since the mid twentieth century, the establishment of free education paralleled the expansion of the public education network. On the other hand, appropriate political and social considerations required that private education be maintained but subjected to various restrictions related either to expenditures or to the educational process. Moreover, half a century later we see increasing numbers and kinds of private schools, as well as new social and economic realities. There are Christian missionary schools traditionally catering to elite families, new elite schools of various kinds have sprung up, there are upper-class schools and schools for the wealthy as well as private schools at a more modest level, and among them specifically those which spread in the poorer districts. Private schools have o en been founded as a response to new language requirements, while Islamic schools are a response to various levels of social demand and cultural forms. All private schools are subject to State controls. Some of the indicators – such as the advertising campaigns about schools, marketing exhibitions and moving the beginning of the academic year to coincide with the consumer calendar – illustrate the fact that the previous years have witnessed the establishment of a school ‘market’ in the true sense of the word, controlled by the factors of supply and demand, purchasing power and information. But only a minority of the population has a chance to participate in this market (Farag 1996). Thus, private schools that are licensed to grant foreign degrees, in exchange for exorbitant fees, are becoming increasingly popular due to the perceived quality of these certificates and the social prestige that comes along with them. At the same time, such schools might also help rich students to avoid potentially disastrous national test results at the end of secondary school.

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The percentage of those who enroll in private education did not exceed 8 per cent for more than half a century. The limited number of those enrolled in private education increases rather than decreases the severity of the conditions and the mechanisms of si ing out the elite of the learners, as becomes visible in the ‘victory’ of graduates of private education over those from public education in what are known as the top colleges or the prestigious university subjects. Nevertheless, the actual distribution of the burden of education follows more diverse, zigzagging paths. Efforts at raising the quality of education are accompanied by its transformation into a commodity whose cost is borne by the consumer. The 1990s saw the beginning of a new type of official public school which brought together more intensive foreign-language instruction and an educational service that is supposed to be outstanding. Furthermore, the costs for these experimental language schools reached a level that was too high for what is considered public education, even if it is much less than the costs of private education. The number of experimental language schools grew from 195 in 1991–1992 to 898 schools in 2005–2006, an increase of 360.5 per cent. This increase far exceeds that of the free public schools, and during the same period the proportion of students reached around 2.5 per cent of the overall total of students at all the different stages (Ministry of Education 2007). These indicators reflect the growing demand and the increasing public concern about this type of schools. Their number has increased despite some controversial public debate around them, and new types have evolved, from experimental to ‘distinguished experimental’, among them also primary schools called ‘schools of the future’. Questions remain as to how this type of school might fit into the existing framework of governmental public schools, which officially remain free of charge. In practice, the costs of enrolment in the regular public government schools increased as well, and with it the additional expenses of transportation and the daily expenses for students. As a result, ‘free’ education began forming a burden upon the families of limited income who set aside a relatively large portion of their income for educational expenditures. The privatisation of education has taken up various features, perhaps the most common and most important being the so-called ‘scourge’ of Egyptian education: private lessons. All the parties involved in the educational process, including the State, family, teachers and students, conspired to propagate this scourge. The phenomenon is illegal but not expressly prohibited and functions very much like a black market. Within it takes place the exchange of benefits between the teacher, who sells his/her skills in exchange for a be er income, and the par-

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ents, who have purchasing power or contrive to get it at the expense of other things. Similar to private schools, the private lessons also have their own markets whose prices vary in different neighbourhoods and at different economic levels; some lessons are given in the homes and some in organised centers which receive hundreds of students. Taking private lessons is equally spread among students of overcrowded government schools and students of private schools in which the classes are smaller and where it is expected that one enjoy be er physical and educational conditions. Private lessons had initially been an exceptional phenomenon, the aim of which was to support the minority of weak students, but it became a broad pa ern fuelled by poor material conditions in many schools, low teachers’ wages as well as competition among students. Another feature worth mentioning in this context are the so-called ‘extracurricular’ books, which were intended as a supplement to the school textbooks, but the actual practices indicate that they are about to become a substitute for the textbooks and a tool for absorbing the minimum extent of knowledge necessary for passing tests with the least possible effort. While the cost of the officially approved textbooks forms a significant percentage of the government expenditure on education, the expenditure on these extracurricular books and similar items (abstracts/summaries, examination specimens) surely poses a significant burden on private households: It was estimated at around 625 million Egyptian pounds annually (Farouk 2008). The Egyptian media witnessed, towards the end of the first months of each school year, periodical disputes about the increase in the rates of absenteeism from schools as a result of applications and private lessons and exam preparation. It is clear, then, that the ‘redistribution of the burden’ is for the benefit of cu ing the expenses of the State, and that it is not necessarily accompanied by educational policies which strive for more equality. Hence the repeated discussion about ‘the illusion of free education’, which pushes, under the pretext of merely adjusting the system to reality, the demand for the generalisation of ‘the market price’ of education and its regulation. This development casts a shadow over the possibility of fulfilling the educational needs of around 20 million students. Recent studies point to the fact that the Egyptian household expenditure on education has in reality surpassed what is allocated by the State for education from the official government budget, even though wasteful overspending is a distinguishing feature which is common to both of them (Farouk 2008).

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Educational Paths: From Attempts at Unification to the Adoption of Plurality A number of popular initiatives strive to implement alternative forms of education in order to accommodate marginalised regions or social groups whose needs are not sufficiently addressed through the official school system. Such initiatives have grown in number in recent years; most are relatively inexpensive but fail to offer meaningful chances for upward social mobility. One central goal of Egyptian educational policy since the mid twentieth century was to provide compulsory and free education for all. But this was not the only fundamental transformation which shaped the educational system in Egypt. For from early to mid twentieth century, one of the pivotal points of social and political conflict had been the a empts at merging the educational tracks for the elite, and what was called ‘popular education’. Primary education was basic and free, intended to educate the general public – and the farmers in particular – without diverting them from their farming work, and without changing their social status. But tuition fees had to be paid for intermediate and secondary school education at that time, thereby limiting access to higher education to the wealthy minority of Egyptian society. The two paths differed greatly with respect to costs, mechanisms of control and school curricula. The compulsory education for the farmers’ children was free but confined to ‘practical knowledge’, it did not include foreign languages and children did not wear school uniforms like students in intermediate and secondary schools. Therefore the adoption of one-school-for-all in the 1940s represented a revolutionary shi in ways of thinking, recognising the rights of all citizens to obtain a minimal education guaranteed by the State (Farag 1999). However, that revolutionary dream was never completely realised in practice. Educational development proceeded unevenly, the capitals of governorates along the sea coast, males and urban middle classes were the main beneficiaries, while other regions and social groups remained marginalised. Thus, enrolment rates were lowest in the rural areas (southern Egypt), and specifically with girls. But instead of increasing its efforts to close such gaps, the State during the 1990s abandoned its former policy and openly declared that formal education and a unified school system for all male and female students were ill suited to meet the educational needs of society. It may be true that resorting to lower-cost alternatives can sometimes improve the living conditions in some disadvantaged districts and areas, while

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simultaneously easing the financial burden of the State. But at the same time, this policy also expressed a lowering of expectations and ambitions by the State, which thereby basically gave up on its agenda of modernisation and development through education. In other words, the 1990s saw the return to the variety of educational paths along regional and class lines. By the same token, the State thereby officially recognised alternative educational initiatives that had formerly not formed part the system. The combination of these conflicting considerations adds to the difficulties of evaluating educational institutions such as the one-room schools, a government initiative that started in 1993 when the first 211 schools of this type were built; by 2006–2007 their number had reached 3,120. While being open for boys and girls, these schools specifically aimed at providing educational opportunities for girls in their places of residence without economic or social impediments preventing them from learning. These girl-friendly schools were established in cooperation with the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood and the concerned ministries and governorates, as part of an initiative to provide schooling for girls in the six–fourteen age brackets through community cooperation in rural and disadvantaged areas, in cooperation with UNICEF. The experiment relies on self-motivated community efforts in local villages. Similarly, the community schools rely on collective participation through forming ‘education boards’ in every village, and teaching takes place within a single classroom, according to the various age and educational levels (Ministry of Education 2007). Indeed, in small towns and villages experimental forms of schooling such as the one-room schools became an alternative for costly investment in building schools in rural areas. These alternative schools have adapted lessons to working conditions at home or in the fields; they are more flexible regarding the age of enrolment and, in addition, they provide a safe social environment for educating girls in geographical areas or conservative social regions which may be a bit apprehensive about girls’ education. On the level of slogans, these schools seem to vindicate the rhetoric of decentralisation and community involvement in education system management, which in practice o en merely means downsizing state investments in education. The experiments indicate that these forms of alternative education had in many situations accompanied a proportional improvement in living conditions, especially with respect to girls. Still, the semi-official expansion in educational forms of limited costs – and consequently expectations as well – came at the expense of investments in the unified school system for all, which used to be considered both the goal and the means of reaching patriotism.

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Accreditation and Quality – Instead of Reform? The bright and shiny new slogan of decentralisation replaced the former one of one-school-for-all, which had been overused and abused. What impact do the agenda of decentralisation and the accompanying drive for improving the quality of education through accreditation and evaluation have on the ground? What are they except the appealing entrée fashioned for shrinking the size of public education, as it is considered to be a burden on the State budget? It is certainly true that evaluation and quality management became indicators adopted by the State for what it presented as modern and rational educational policies, which were in line with international developments. A er years of controversy, in which many educational experts, the media and social organisations took part, Statute 82 was issued in 2006. It specified the founding of the National Authority for Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation. The controversy did not come to an end with the issue of this law. In fact, until the final months of 2008 the standards of quality management were still being developed and tested in some selected schools, as a preparation for applying them in the first group of 137 schools (National Authority for Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation 2008). It proved difficult to predict factors affecting that system, and many suspected that its introduction would likely open the doors to more corruption. Among the arguments raised in the current discussion around accreditation and quality assurance in education is that a such a system suits countries with diverse educational systems, which lack objective standards guaranteeing that the schools perform their roles and their commitments to students and parents (as in the United States, for example). In contrast, centralised education systems have a unified set of standards defined by the State. Then, what constitutes ‘evidence’ of quality in an educational system like the Egyptian one where more than 90 per cent of the students are enrolled in public schools which get their resources from the State budget? The State defines school policies, it prescribes the values to be taught, it issues the textbooks, it is responsible for the school buildings and classroom capacities and it also facilitates the training of new teachers. What will be the responsibility of the State, indeed what will be the fate of the MoE in the coming years? The establishment of the National Authority for Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation, which in practice is a rather small commi ee (resembling an administrative panel consisting of fi een experts) seemed like a tacit acknowledgement of the failure of the State’s educational reform plans, or of the incapacity of education inspection and monitoring mechanisms within

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the MoE to perform their roles. It is indeed true that many previous educational reform schemes had li le effect because they never tackled the bureaucratic legacy of the ageing system but merely added new layers to it. In contrast, the National Authority for Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation is independent from the MoE and directly a ached to the prime minister’s office. It remains to be seen if this is a guarantee for performance improvement, because there remain close ties between political and administrative dependencies. Added to that, there are questions around the fate of those State-run educational institutions which are negatively evaluated and fail to get accreditation. It is equally unclear whether the MoE will eventually transfer ‘full responsibility’ to individual school administrations as part of its declared agenda of decentralisation, and what this would actually mean in practice. For example, overcrowded classrooms are a common problem in public schools, and many are located in districts where the sewage system is damaged. Do the standards of quality assurance and accreditation include classroom size and the quality of water available to pupils? In that case, the schools might be asked to generate their own resources to tackle these problems. The financial costs for entering the accreditation procedures would then become unaffordable for schools of limited resources. But such measures are indeed being promoted, though only on the level of general directives for the time being. In other words, along this logic it is up to the schools – which still expect education to be a service provided by the State, not a commodity, and which are still, paradoxically, waiting for the State to improve performance – to generate the funds needed for these improvements. That is what is indicated by the catchphrase ‘the productive school’. A further ambiguous concept is the promotion of community participation in the educational process and the idea of empowering parents’ boards in schools in those regions suffering from extreme poverty and limited social resources, despite the persistent grasp of the security services. In a similar vein, claiming that the accreditation process provides standards that can help parents choose the best from the ‘school market’ implies a rational consumer who also has freedom of choice – something rarely applicable to the majority of Egyptian families. The system of accreditation and quality assurance will eventually also address the quality of teaching, including inventing new standards of evaluation which will be linked to job promotion and salary increases. This concept was tested on teachers for the first time in 2008. Known in the media as the ‘staff exam’ it aimed to measure the scientific and instructional knowledge of the teachers. In addition to reservations

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against such examinations raised among their ranks, it is noticeable that these tests do not differ greatly from students’ exams and similarly involve anxiety, bo lenecks and ‘last-minute advice’. In sum, questions remain concerning the relationship between the mechanisms of accreditation and quality assurance that will lead to a diversification of the educational system on the one hand, and the traditional mechanisms of educational reform that emphasise the provision of equal chances for all on the other. Translated from Arabic by Namir Henrikson

References Abdel-Karim, Ahmed Ezzat. 1945. History of Education since the End of the Reign of Muhammad Ali to the End of the Reign of Tawfiq. 3 vols. Cairo: Ministry of Education (Arabic). Al-Sayyid, Alaf Lutfi. 1984. Egypt in the Rein of Muhammad Ali. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Farag, Iman. 1996. ‘L’enseignement en Égypte ; économie politique d’une libéralisation annoncée’, in Âge libéral et néo-libéralisme, Les dossiers du Cedej, CEDEJ. ———. 1999. La construction sociale d’une éducation nationale : enjeux politiques et trajectoires éducatives. Égypte première moitié du XXe siècle. Doctorat de Sociologie Politique, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris. ———. 2006. ‘A Great Vocation, A Modest Profession: Teachers’ Paths and Practices’, in Cultures of Arab Schooling: Critical Ethnographies from Egypt. Eds. Linda Herrera and Carlos Alberto Torres. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 109–133. Farouk, Abdel-Khalek. 2008. How Much do Egyptians Spend on Education? Cairo: Dar Al Ain (Arabic). Gibbons, Michael, et al. 1994. The New Production of Knowledge: The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies. London: Sage Herera, Linda. 2006. ‘Islamization and Education: Between Politics, Profit, and Pluralism’, in Cultures of Arab Schooling. Eds. Herera and Alberto Torres. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 25–52. Milner, Jean-Claude. 1984. De l’Ecole. Paris: Le Seuil. Ministry of Education, Arab Republic of Egypt. 2007. National Strategic Plan for the Reform of Pre-University Education in Egypt (2007–2008 / 2011–2012). Cairo. Ministry of Education website, h p://knowledge.moe.gov.eg. Musselin Christine. 2008. ‘Vers un marché international de l’enseignement supérieur?’ Critique internationale 39, 1–23. National Authority for Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation website, h p://naqaae.org/main/php.

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Sayed, Fatma H. 2006. Transforming Education in Egypt: Western Influence and Domestic Policy Reform. Cairo and New York: The American University of Cairo Press. Zeghal, Malika. 2007. ‘The “Recentering” of Religious Knowledge and Discourse: The Case of al-Azhar in Twentieth Century Egypt’, Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics of Modern Muslim Education. Eds. Robert W. Hefner and Muhammad Qasim Zaman. Princeton, NJ, and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 107–130.

Q5 ON THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF TEACHING HISTORY IN LEBANON Notes on a Textbook Controversy Massoud Daher

The 1975–1989 civil war shook the foundations of inter-community life in Lebanon. Its strong negative impact on Lebanese society can be seen, among other things, in a decline in the standard of education and an increase in tension between the country’s different sects and denominations. As a result of the civil war, history textbooks slipped out of pedagogical and state control to a degree that threatens the ways in which future generations of Lebanese would see their shared history and the issue of building a united nation. For this reason, the Ta’if Agreement of 1989 that marked the end of hostilities demanded that school curricula should be reviewed and developed in order to reinforce Lebanon’s citizens’ sense of belonging and encourage their intermingling and spiritual and cultural openness; it therefore called for the standardisation of history and civics textbooks. Pedagogical commi ees were formed to standardise Lebanese history textbooks and to encourage progress from the narrow, sectarian sense of belonging that had prevailed in Lebanon to an all-inclusive sense of national belonging. In 2001, immediately a er the Educational Centre for Research and Development had published the first two volumes in the series of standardised textbooks, a crisis broke out; its political and sectarian impact made the minister for national education stop the distribution of the books and prohibit the teaching of history in all Lebanese schools. He then formed a new commi ee under the supervision of the Centre. It has completed its work but the book is yet to be published. In the absence of a standardised history textbook, several series of history books have sprung up in different state and private schools, produced and distributed without the supervision of the regulatory authority, the Educational Centre for Research and Development. This raises questions about the causes of the crisis and the appropriateness

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of the suggestions made to overcome it, as well as about the nature of the education policy that the Lebanese State presently supports and about the reasons for its failure to deal with the crisis surrounding the standardised history textbook in the past. The history of the regions that make up Lebanon goes back more than five thousand years. Until the birth of the state of Greater Lebanon in its present borders in 1920, these regions witnessed the arrivals of a succession of different peoples and played host to conflicts between local powers, struggling against each other to centralise authority. The Lebanon Mountains have always been a refuge for oppressed sectarian groups from all over the Arab Middle East and today more than eighteen religious sects inhabit the region. The most prominent of them are the Maronites, the Sunnis, the Shi‘ites, the Druze, the Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. They are divided into more than six different ethnic groupings, the most prominent of them being the Arabs, the Armenians, the Kurds, the Turkmen and the Circassians. The writing of a standardised, academic history in Lebanon must therefore confront methodological issues that relate to the way in which an academic history can be wri en, and how it should meet its educational aims. Next to pedagogic appropriateness, such a textbook would need to respect the historical facts without ignoring or denying the negative aspects of Lebanon’s history, treating them instead in a careful and highly academic manner, with sensitivity to the country’s need to strengthen the bonds of national life among all the Lebanese people, regardless of what sect they belong to and where they are from. These issues are strongly linked to two of the building blocks of the history of Lebanese society that have remained central to it throughout its development: the geographical distribution of the groups and sects in the different regions of Lebanon and the variety of roles played by the leaders of the Lebanese sects in the different periods of history. The areas neighbouring the Lebanon Mountains have witnessed periods of bloody fighting, both between religious communities and denominations and within the Jewish, Christian and Muslim groups. The region has also witnessed continuous, bloody conflict between the communities’ leaders, fighting for power and influence and for the right to collect taxes. Reports about the facts and events of Lebanon’s history used to be transmi ed orally within each sectarian group until they were written down, sometimes without anyone having checked their accuracy. The accounts were circulated on the authority of those who had related them within the sect, without comparing them to the individual or group accounts of sources from the other sects. The historical events that Lebanon’s regions witnessed were therefore recorded in a selec-

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tive manner and solely on the authority of those who originally related them (Daher 1986: 11–44). The prominence of non-academic, sectarian, denominational and regional accounts in Lebanese discourse turns the writing of a standardised school history textbook into a complex enterprise. Nevertheless, Lebanon has enlightened historians who have supplied us with rich, academic research that helped foster a feeling of national responsibility. They are capable of writing the history of Lebanon in an academic way, looking beyond all the sectarian groups without ignoring the history of any one of them (Qarm 1996). This is the most suitable approach to writing the history of a nation in which more than eighteen sects and six ethnic groups live together in a way that is, in times of peace, extraordinary. These works have a racted a great deal of interest from those working on a standardised all-Lebanese history textbook. One should not ignore that the civil wars which have raged continuously in the Lebanese territories since the mid nineteenth century have led to deep cultural fault lines regarding the modern history of Lebanon. Serious and reliable academic studies might help to re-establish a cultural connection between the generations of Lebanese who lived through the last civil war (1975–1989) and those who were born a er it. It is also necessary to focus on the development of the Lebanese political, administrative and economic apparatus, by drawing on the academic studies of Lebanese history that have been published in various languages. Bold steps are required to transform each of the ideologically motivated histories of the sects or districts into the social history of all Lebanon’s sects and districts. If the sectarian accounts carry on developing, Lebanon’s tragedy will carry on repeating itself in all of the country’s sectarian groups. The movement from a sense of sectarian belonging to one of national belonging, from regional and sectarian division to inclusive citizenship in a modern, independent Lebanese state which enjoys complete sovereignty over all its citizens and all its regions must be gradual and objective, not arbitrary or achieved by force. There are encouraging signs of progress in this field. Academic commi ees who specialise in the issue have been working for several years to write a standardised textbook of Lebanese history based on sound academic foundations that maintain the plurality and variety of the sects whilst striving to write a complete history of Lebanon, including all its sects and regions. These commi ees have made use of academic a empts to write history textbooks in developed countries. The last civil war presented Lebanon’s sects with a very negative image of each other, an image which has worsened in the last ten years, since sectarianism has

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turned into denominationalism, and regional and international factors have started to play a greater role on the Lebanese stage.

The Political Significance of Standardising History Textbooks in Lebanon A er the Lebanese state recovered central government in accordance with the 1989 Ta’if Agreement, it began a serious effort to build a modern state in which all Lebanese citizens would enjoy equal rights and responsibilities. However, application of the Ta’if Agreement faltered as a result of the dominance of sectarian, and then denominational, conflict. The majority of the reform clauses of the agreement, including that which dealt with the standardised school history textbook, were not implemented. The introduction to the new constitution of 1992 stipulates that Lebanon is a free and independent nation, a nation for all its children within clear and recognised borders. In the field of education, the constitution stipulates that there should be provision of learning for all and it should be made compulsory at the primary level at least. The freedom of education should be assured, in accordance with the laws and public orders of the state; private education should be protected; state supervision of private schools and of school textbooks should be strengthened; state, professional, and technical education should be reformed, strengthened and developed so that it complies with and is well adapted to the needs of a developing and growing country; the Lebanese University should be improved and supported, especially its vocational faculties. Curricula should be re-examined and developed in such a way as strengthens a sense of belonging and the mingling of the country’s citizens, and re-enforces spiritual and cultural openness; history and civic education textbooks should be standardised. (1)

The Lebanese state specified the aims and curricula of history teaching in pre-university public education, stating that ‘the study of history makes a prominent contribution to the national and human culture of the pupil and to the development of his academic skills, and to his whole education’. In reality, the Lebanese sects’ have developed their own particular views on each other throughout their long history. This has had a negative impact on history textbooks for all stages of preuniversity education. The historical periods and events to be included in history textbooks have in the past been chosen in a highly selective manner, promoting the roles of some of the sects in Lebanon’s history whilst downplaying or ignoring the roles of other sects. A large number

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of Lebanese students were confronted with a complete or partial absence of their regions’ or sects’ history, and equally that of their political leaders and prominent thinkers. Focus was placed on the prominence of specific sects in the building of modern Lebanon and in bringing about the transition of the country from a Ma‘aniyya or Shahabiyya emirate to a country whose regions were divided into a system of administrative districts governed by district presidents: one for the Druze and another for the Christians. It was this political system that prepared the way for the creation of the district of Mount Lebanon or ‘Small Lebanon’, which existed between 1861 and 1914. The French then expanded its borders when they announced the creation of the state of Greater Lebanon in 1920; Lebanon obtained its political independence in 1943. Writing the history of these rapid transformations is highly complicated, especially a er a long and bloody civil war which sectarian and political divisions intensified. For this reason the a empt to standardise school history textbooks has witnessed an intense struggle between the political and sectarian powers of Lebanon, which insist on their particular views of themselves and of other groups. Each sectarian group’s image of the other groups is extremely negative. The sectarian historical narratives were not unified or standardised before the civil war, but they became more negative and distorted as a result of it. Thus, the ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary history of Lebanon became fiercely contested issues, which school students could not grasp in the circumstances of extreme sectarian and denominational tension in Lebanon. There is, for example, a fierce debate surrounding the origins of the Phoenicians and their cultural and economic role, and regarding the history of the Arabs before Islam and the Arab character of Lebanon from ancient times, and the role of the various Christian and Islamic sects in building the modern Lebanese state, concerning the a itudes of the leaders of those sects towards the Crusader campaigns, towards the O oman sultanate and the French mandate and, more generally, towards Lebanon’s links with Europe, and Lebanon’s position vis-à-vis the Arab-Zionist conflict and countless other ma ers. How these debates shaped the teaching of history in Lebanese schools since the Ta’if Agreement is the focus of the following section.

History Curricula in Lebanese Schools: How Did the Solution Turn into a Crisis? A er Lebanon achieved its independence, a series of new resolutions and regulations relating to education in Lebanon was announced. This

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happened in four stages: the secondary education curricula of 1968, the intermediate education curricula of 1970, the curricula for infants of 1971 and the curricula for primary education from the same year. They set out the apparatus of history teaching that was to remain in use until 2000 (Abu Fadel 1993). In 1996, the Lebanese parliament formed a commi ee of historians to establish the general goals for pre-university level history teaching in Lebanon. Then, in 1997, it approved of their work, resulting in the formation of a new commi ee that was responsible for establishing the goals of the history curricula. A third commi ee was then formed to establish the history curriculum for the different levels of pre-university teaching. In 2000, parliament issued an act that defined the goals and curricula of pre-university history teaching. The Educational Centre for Research and Development established a complete education plan to renew Lebanon’s teaching curricula, and to produce the standardised school history textbook, and a standardised textbook for civic education. The education ministry issued a general decree that work from the old history curricula should be stopped, awaiting the Educational Centre for Research and Development’s publication of the standardised book. Specialist commi ees, whose members were chosen with sectarian and geographical distribution taken into consideration, then began the writing stage. A schedule was established, according to which the books for the first two elementary courses, for the second, third, fourth, fi h and sixth years were to be finished at the beginning of the 2001–2002 academic year. These were to be followed by the books of the third (intermediate) course and the secondary level at the beginning of the 2002–2003 academic year (The Lebanese Republic 2000). Immediately a er the publication of the first of the two history books in the series ‘My Window into the Past’ for the second and third years of the elementary stage – that is the first and second parts of the first course – the book faced harsh criticism from some members of parliament and mosque preachers, which pushed the minister of education to suspend it. He issued decree no. 92 of 2001, demanding that the managers of public primary and secondary schools should replace the hours set aside for history teaching with civic education. A resolution was then issued suspending the teaching of the series of standardised history textbooks which had been published by the Educational Centre for Research and Development in the academic year 2001–2002, with the publication of the entire rest of the series scheduled for the start of 2002–2003 academic year. What aims did the minister of education have in mind in standardising the history textbooks? And why did he retreat from this quest a er a serious crisis led to the suspension of the teaching of history in Lebanese schools following the publication

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of only two of the new series of history textbooks whose preparation and publication were supervised by the Educational Centre? There is no doubt that the issuing of these resolutions without any consultation raised questions about the government’s approach to the school history textbook crisis in Lebanon; whether their policy was sincere, aiming to develop a standardised school history textbook, or whether it was political, aiming to prevent its teaching temporarily of indefinitely (Frayha 2003: 195–232). The debate evolves around several main questions: Did the crisis result from the writing of the book; in other words, did the controversial points it contained give rise to a forceful campaign against it and lead, eventually, to its suspension? Or was the crisis a result of quarrels between the members of the commi ee for writing the history books and the commi ee to supervise them, commi ees which included researchers who were not specialist historians, but who were specialists in other fields, such as philosophy, political science and Arabic literature? Did the commi ee supervise the historical content carefully, or was too much freedom given to writers who respected neither academic accuracy nor Lebanon’s explosive sectarian, denominational and political sensitivities? Or did the crisis lie in the unclear political position taken by the Ministry of Education, which spoke openly about the need to standardise the school history textbook, whilst it was in fact acting to hinder progress towards the fulfilment of that goal? Our evidence for this is that the minister of education issued a decree demanding the formation of a new commi ee made up of ten Lebanese historians to put in place a new history curriculum for all stages of preuniversity history teaching, under the supervision of the Educational Centre for Research and Development. The commi ee completed its work at the beginning of 2005. Four ministers have since taken charge at the Ministry of Education but the standardised school history textbook still has not seen the light of day. On the contrary, recent years have witnessed great disarray, with the composition and publication of various school textbooks, many of which lack even the slightest degree of objectivity and academic accuracy. The crisis surrounding the school history textbook is a reflection of political and sectarian tensions. The majority of Lebanese educationalists have the impression that the crisis has become difficult to solve because of conflicting interests between a number of actors in the political arena who do not want to find a solution to this crisis, namely the sectarian educational establishments that are happy to be able to teach the history of their sects as they like; the publishers, both local and European, who profit greatly from the sale of school history textbooks; the Ministry of Education and the organisations subordinate to it, which are afraid that the resolution to

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standardise history textbooks would impact negatively on their relations with private educational organisations and who, as a result, only oblige state schools to adopt it. Add to that a large group of Lebanese educationalists who maintain that the standardisation of textbooks fundamentally contradicts the contents of the Lebanese constitution, which stipulates that there should be freedom of education in Lebanon. There are those who believe that the standardisation of school history textbooks should not necessarily mean the issuance of one book or one series, and that the Ministry should standardise the curricula and programmes of study and exams and form a supervising commi ee to oversee its writing but it should allow two or more different series of school history textbooks, as long as they fulfil stringent academic conditions governing the use of sources, the writing, the historical content, the images, the manner of printing, the volume of material, the quality of production, pedagogical questions and other things.

Teaching of History in Contemporary Lebanon Inconsistency is prevalent in history curricula in Lebanon and the Ministry of Higher Education is incapable of making state and private schools follow them. The Ministry is unable to establish direct control of history textbooks without there being legislation which gives it the power to correct the deficiencies of the textbooks and of the practical application of measures to prevent discord between Lebanese students. In view of these factors and the pressing crisis that Lebanon has been experiencing for some years, the Ministry has contented itself with alerting those responsible for education to the need for caution when teaching history, and called on them to create a unified educational climate contributing to national unity. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s publishing houses competed to publish school history textbooks using old material but newly presented. However, the majority of them did not publish history books from the first two courses of the elementary stage, except for the sixth elementary class, which is considered as the end of the second course. In addition to this, history has been taught in a number of schools without any respect for the official curriculum in any classes except those which led to official qualifications, in which students submit themselves to official examinations. This is the method used in schools such as the Jama‘iya al-Maqāsid al-Islāmiyya, the schools of the Shi’ite charitable organisations, the al-Mustafa schools which teach the book ‘Us and History’, and the Armenian schools, the foreign missionary schools and the local

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private schools. In the absence of central supervision and in the absence of standardised textbooks, a number of series have recently been published for history teaching in Lebanese schools. In 2007–2008 there were fourteen Arabic language series of history textbooks available on the Lebanese market, catering for different constituencies. An elaborate discussion of the narratives transmi ed in these textbooks is provided by Jonathan Kriener’s chapter in this volume. Pupils in examination years continued to submit themselves for the official exams and were obliged to follow official curricula. There are a number of schools that teach history in French, including the secular French schools, the Catholic schools and the Jesuit schools that teach Civic Education (Education Civique). There are those that use series of history books that are studied in France and other francophone countries; these books are mainly published by the Nathan and Hachete publishing houses. History books published in English are used in schools using English or American curricula, as are a series of books for sociological education used in American schools. In addition to these, there are books published in Armenian and in the languages of other ethnic groups present in Lebanon which have private schools in the country, teaching the history of their peoples alongside the history of Lebanon.

Requirements for Standardising History Teaching in Lebanon The teaching of history from a standardised textbook has faced many difficulties, leading to the withdrawal of the books from circulation before the writing and publication process had been completed. Many feeble excuses have been made for the suspension of the process, as the specialist academic commi ees could have rid the books of their deficiencies beforehand. Harsh measures were taken by the Ministry of Education in calling a halt to writing and withdrawing the books from circulation, then in stopping the teaching of history. Researchers who specialise in the problems of the standardised history textbook have been unsure of the real reasons behind the Ministry of Education’s decision to suspend activity on the project indefinitely, and to suspend the teaching of history and replace it with civic studies; the stated educational reason for this was that they needed to standardise the textbook (Wahbah 2003: 68–115). There is no doubt that the crisis surrounding the Lebanese school history textbook has become very complicated, and it will require combined academic and pedagogical efforts to get out of it, as well a

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bold political resolution to restore the teaching of history to Lebanese schools. To this author’s understanding, who participated in the academic commi ee formed by the Educational Centre for Research and Development to compose a new curriculum for history in preparation for the publication of the standardised history textbook, without political approval there will be no solution to this crisis. As for today, no resolution that obliges use of the standardised textbook can be issued because it contradicts the principles of the Lebanese constitution which affirms unequivocally that education in Lebanon is free on the condition that it does not insult any section of the Lebanese population. A resolution agreed upon by politicians cannot, by itself, produce a standardised history textbook; it should, however, see that historical facts are carefully and academically observed, and that they are presented to students in accordance with the best modern teaching methods. Among the main requirements for a successful standardisation of history textbooks is that it must be based on sound academic research of historical facts. The academic study of history must be objective in its methodology and in the academic tools it uses to research historical facts, and it must avoid projecting the past onto the present or the present onto the past. Historical writing draws on fields related to history such as geography, politics, sociology, economics, archaeology, numismatics, the study of stamps and seals, genealogy, lexicography, and it develops alongside the development of modern academic fields. Authors of Lebanese history textbooks should not ignore the continuous development of historical research in their a empts to uncover historical facts and ascertain their role in Lebanese citizens’ development. History is a record of all people’s activities, whether they be material, spiritual or cultural. Writing history is not limited to demonstrating the transformations that occur in terms of geographical borders, demographic shi s and economic and social exchanges that happen within every country, but rather it also comprises regional and universal history in all its civilisational and human dimensions. One of the first obligations of any objective historian is to take account of all primary sources and documents, whether wri en, oral or material. Primary sources are an historical inheritance that is important for learning about the formation of societies and their development. The study of history should deal with all achievements and phenomena of human societies in their different political, administrational, military, economic, social and cultural manifestations. Academic historical writing plays a fundamental role in connecting generations and allowing people to benefit from the study of the past in order to build a be er future.

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In addition, it is necessary to define the general pedagogical goals of school history textbooks in Lebanon. Textbooks help to develop a spirit of academic research by informing people about historical events. They help students to understand, analyse, explain, criticise, draw together multiple elements, correct, learn academic skills, understand the concept of time and how it progresses to distinguish between the past and the present and analyse human activity in its historical context. They stimulate the memory with historical events, and aid the understanding of aspects of interaction between different peoples, regardless of differences of skin colour, gender, religion and culture, among other things. They demonstrate elements of continuity between different civilisations’ achievements, and the development of civic spirit and moral values. In addition to their academic and pedagogic goals, school history textbooks in Lebanon should have other specific goals, including the development of the national spirit felt by generations of Lebanese, the inculcation of pride in national identity and the strengthening of a sense of allegiance to Lebanon. These goals include emphasising the unity of the Lebanese and the commonality of life between sects, strengthening feelings of Lebanon’s national identity and its belonging to a larger Arab entity, and highlighting the shared cultural and civilisational heritage of Lebanon and its Arab brothers throughout the different periods of history. Textbooks should also contribute to the spirit of national and Arab solidarity, and help to inform the Lebanese youth about how reforming and revolutionary movements in Lebanon and the other nations of the Arab and wider world have helped to bring about emancipation from unwanted rule, oppression and colonialism. They should help students to take an interest in public affairs and political practice, to understand that the relationship between citizens and their government should be founded on the principles of democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental liberties. They should foster a spirit of resistance against oppression and aggression, and against all forms of maltreatment. They should accentuate examples of the Lebanese demonstrating heroism, sacrifice, bravery and devotion to their land, people and nation through different periods of history. The teaching of history in an unshakeably academic manner that was a hallmark of the suspended standardised history textbook strengthens the link between Lebanese citizens and the united geographical status of their county. The standardised history textbook has as a point of departure Lebanon’s status as a united geographical entity with internationally recognised borders which are stipulated in the constitution and

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the exceptional nature of its national culture in terms of its uniqueness, its richness, the variety of sources that it comes from, its belonging, on the one hand, to Arab culture, and, on the other, its openness towards other cultures of the world. The textbook also informs students about the history of the Zionist movement and the expansionist ambitions it holds, which became strikingly clear from the occupation of over half of Lebanon, from the abhorrent massacres commi ed in Lebanon’s territory, from the expulsion of the people of Palestine and from the occupation of large areas of the neighbouring Arab territories. The standardised history textbook also emphasises the significance of religious – particularly Christian and Islamic –values in Lebanon as a fundamental source of the principles of moral behaviour and humanity, principles that are compatible with none of the forms and manifestations of sectarianism and sectarian religious fanaticism. It also strengthens consciousness of the negative effects of conflicts among the Lebanese, and their impact on the unity and stability of the country. The textbook also highlights the role of foreign powers in the majority of the bloodshed that Lebanon has experienced since the nineteenth century because of the direct interference of foreign countries in the affairs of Lebanon and its neighbours.

Conclusions In a society like the Lebanese which is composed of a variety of sectarian and ethnic groups, whose constitution guarantees the freedom of education in all its stages, it is only possible to standardise the teaching of history if there is a national consensus around this issue. The crisis surrounding the standardised history textbook is a by-product of the broader crisis that Lebanese society has been experiencing since the beginning of the civil war. It is also the product of a malformed education policy that established a curriculum for history that was taught for only one hour a week, giving this curriculum the responsibility of strengthening the links between the Lebanese people. The standardisation of history examinations constituted a positive but insufficient step: only school years in which students present themselves for public examinations were focused on, whereas the teaching given in other years remained subject to the a itudes of the schools’ management, the type of textbook used, and the character of the teacher, who o en replaced the stipulated textbook with personal material, which was handed out to the students. But in any case, history has o en occupied a marginal position in Leba-

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nese schools. It has therefore been easy for the minister of education to suspend teaching since 2000 without requesting it to be taught again. It is necessary to distinguish between a standardised curriculum and a standardised textbook and pay a ention to the dangers of mixing them. The Lebanese constitution calls for freedom of education and the Ministry of Education has never in its long history obliged the use of any textbook except the civic education textbook, which was published a few years ago and includes exemplary, entirely unobjectionable ideas. The standardisation of history textbooks is an extremely difficult, treacherous issue because it conflicts with the history of teaching in Lebanon, the plan for educational advancement announced in 1994, and the freedom of culture prevalent in the visual, audio and wri en media. The idea of standardising textbooks was not one that Lebanese educators were accustomed to before the Ta’if Agreement, which established as its objective the enhancement of internal solidarity and national reconciliation. The standardisation of a textbook due to political concerns constitutes a new phenomenon in the history of teaching in Lebanon. Textbooks are always at risk of being rejected by Lebanese schools for various sectarian, political, cultural, educational and economic reasons. National reconciliation alone can lead to the successful standardisation of history textbooks, as well as those of other disciplines. Thus the history textbook is not the cause of Lebanon’s bloody conflicts, and its forced standardisation will not be a way out of the problems but rather a source of further conflict amongst the Lebanese. The Ministry of Education does not have the power to impose things on private schools because private education is protected by the Lebanese constitution, which is the fundamental guarantor of the culture of diversity and pluralism of which the Lebanese are so proud. The idea of creating a unified history textbook came about within a framework of ideas about unifying Lebanese society a er it had been torn apart by the long civil war. This unification, or standardisation, of the textbook cannot be achieved by a central administration which decides arbitrarily and repressively on the rules according to which it should be composed, published and distributed. It is very valuable that the Educational Centre for Research and Development can write, print and publish the textbook and distribute it to students for free or for very reduced prices. However, the monopoly that the Centre and its commi ees have over the process of writing and publishing the book is one of the possible causes of the severe crisis, given that it has never before happened that all Lebanese schools have had to adopt a single textbook.

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The ideal format, to this author’s understanding, consists of forming specialist academic commi ees to supervise the composition of history textbooks according to precise academic standards. These commi ees should not sanction the publication of any history book that does not conform to the requirements of objectivity and respect of sectarian sensitivities in the course of teaching the subject. This should be enforced with the threat of severe punishments for any educational establishment that contravenes the constitution, which guarantees the freedom of education on the condition that it does not offend any of the Lebanese people. It is important to note here that the standardisation of history textbooks does not mean the advancement of a single point of view through the Ministry of Education. A history textbook cannot be the only source of historical information in Lebanese schools. The Ministry of Education cannot stop private schools from using other books, including books imported from outside Lebanon, for teaching in schools, as is the case at present. On the contrary, textbooks should take into consideration diversity of thought and opinion, and none of the content and topics they deal with should be presented as sacred. This enables a large number of writers to have positive creative input, demonstrating careful respect for what is found in the curriculum and for the variety of social, cultural, civilisational, academic and other topics. In conclusion, there is a pressing need to achieve national consensus regarding the standardisation of history textbooks in Lebanon. The idea of standardisation came about in the climate of agreement that led to the Document of National Unity, the Ta’if Agreement. The Lebanese hoped that its clauses would be implemented in their entirety because they contained complete political, economic, social and educational reforms which had as their objective the establishment of a state of social justice in Lebanon, a state of continuous human and economic advancement supported by modern, continuously developing organisations. The absence, or removal, of the standardised history textbook is inevitably instrumental in the lack of equal educational opportunity among Lebanese students. This leads to a kind of sectarian education that sha ers the cornerstones of citizenship in favour of ba ling sectarian and denominational groups. However, the forced imposition of the standardised history textbook contravenes the Lebanese constitution and also contradicts the plan for educational advancement in Lebanon. It is not possible to force thousands of teachers to teach it in Lebanon’s state and private schools because they have their own political and sectarian standpoints. In the absence of a unifying policy for Lebanon’s centralised state, the education system guarantees the perpetuation

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of the dominant sectarian system of government. It is difficult for the Lebanese state to impose a contrived policy of conciliation under the cover of what purports to be nationalism; however, it can transform the narrow sense of sectarian belonging of the Lebanese into an inclusive sense of national belonging which can prepare the way for a unified national history. Translated from Arabic by Clem Naylor

Notes 1. Quoted from the Lebanese Constitution. The term originally used is altarbiyya al-wataniyya, literally ‘patriotic education’. Its profile, however, was equivalent to what is generally termed civic education. A er the civil war, the more precise term tarbiyya madaniyya came to be used.

References (all in Arabic) Abu Fadel, Wahib. 1993. The Development of History Teaching in Lebanon: How is History Taught and How do we learn It. Beirut: Manshūrāt Maktaba Antoine. Daher, Massoud. 1986. The Historical Roots of Sectarianism in Lebanon, 1697–1861. 3rd edition. Beirut: Ma‘had al-Inmā’ al-‘Arabī. Frayha, Nemer. 2003. 1017 Days in the Educational Center. Beirut: Dar al-Ibda’. The Lebanese Republic. 2000. The Official Gaze e, no. 27, 22 June, 2115–2120. Qarm, Georges. 1996. Introduction to Lebanon and the Lebanese. Beirut: Dār alJadīd. Wahbah, Nakhla. 2003. Grandchildren without Grandparents: Some issues of Historiography. Beirut.

Q6 RECONFIGURING THE PAST History, Memory and Ideology in Egyptian History Textbooks between 1932 and 2009 Atef Botros

The chapter focuses on Egyptian history textbooks as a means of constructing a collective memory, which plays a key role in determining the features of one’s identity and in depicting the position of the Self with regard to the Other. School textbooks represent an effective means of wide and rapid propagation, and are political tools reflecting dominant intellectual currents in society that are adopted by the State and managed by a group of experts. Specific selected aspects of and interpretations of that past are ultimately presented through textbooks, which serve as a medium for the ‘representation’ of what we need to remember collectively (Neumann 2003). Maurice Halbwachs (1877–1945) pointed out that the sense of awareness specifically pertaining to the group, or what we can call the sense of identity ‘crossing individuality’, is formed through the shared practice of reclaiming the past and the a empt to interpret it. Resemblance among the individuals of the group does not represent an objective reality, but rather the collective performance of this practice (Halbwachs 2008: 23). Building upon the ideas of Halbwachs, Jan Assman defines the collective identity of each community and each era as a group of repeatedly used texts, images and rituals. Through their preservation, society is able to stabilise and present its self-image. Together these elements form the shared collective knowledge of the past, upon which any group relies and which forms the awareness that delimits its unity and its uniqueness (J. Assman 1992). According to Assmann, the practice of recalling and re-interpreting the past takes place within a framework of ‘institutional communication’ to form, or re-form, cultural memory. The school textbook can be considered as a cultural institution with a well-studied, organised communicative function which lays the foundations for a collective cultural memory. Along with other media, textbooks are used as a stage for pre-

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senting and disseminating the collective memory of a society. Among the most important characteristics of those mechanisms – besides establishing a foundation for shared identity – is that memories do not reflect the true past that can be recalled from a fixed, static storage when needed, but rather they take on different, continually changing forms linked to specific social frameworks at specific moments in time, or what Halbwachs called ‘les cadres sociaux de la mémoire’ (2008: 23). In this sense, memory is a reconstruction of the past that serves today’s needs. Indeed collective memory, in contrast to individual memory, is consciously constructed by states and institutions, which thereby fill the gaps, holes and communication voids in individual memory and complete it by constructing a fully connected holistic story which obtains legitimacy and is transferrable through individuals and generations (A. Assman 2000: 21–27). In the selective process of constructing collective memory the dominant elite excludes certain elements of history and includes others. However, this does not mean that those elements which had been excluded from collective memory are completely forgo en, as they are encoded in semiotic signs that continue to exist even while marginalised. For those semiotic signs whose function had been removed or invalidated in a certain framework or time period leave a void in the overall semiotic system. This void can be filled again, once conditions change. In other words, the semiotic sign occupying a particular space in the system may be excluded and turned to ‘storage memory’, to be recalled later to occupy its place in the ‘functional memory’ (Lachmann 1993: xviii; A. Assmann 2006: 133–142). This study will apply the concept of collective memory for analyzing history school textbooks. It will also make use of the theory of intertextuality in order to understand the relationship between the functional text in the schoolbook and the hypothetical text represented by the collection of historical texts or the storage memory. One can observe transformations of textbook narratives under changing circumstances and over periods of time, with the goal of identifying the processes of omission, substitution and inclusion and of defining the semantic voids which may be filled or le unfilled. In addition, the analysis can identify the intrusions of the author into the learning process, by adding explanations and commentaries, by creating links between the events of this past with the present, or by extracting the so-called lessons of history. History textbooks recall the past in a manner influenced by specific cultural and intellectual discourses. They allow for idealisation to be used as a method for representing selected past events, transforming them from neutral, public, inanimate ‘storage memory’, which belongs to everyone, into a living, ‘functional memory’, one which is linked to a certain group or community and which forms their identity in a specific

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social and temporal framework, through a guided future vision and a general intellectual scheme. As curricula and textbooks are developed directly by the state in most Arab countries, they reflect officially sanctioned visions of the collective identity of a society. Most Arab countries have a diverse population with multilayered identities comprising various levels, which may include loyalties to the family or tribe, to ethnically defined groups, language, religion, nation and culture. These affiliations are accompanied by further ones such as: East/West, North/ South and affiliations to the continent, the Third World and/or to cultural, regional or political coalitions, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab West, the Levant or the Mediterranean, etc. Such loyalties may interfere and overlap. Nation states have mostly worked to reduce this diversity and focus on one single national identity. It might be easy to arrange the priorities of these levels in some cases, but in others it may be more difficult. How are these priorities drawn in the school textbooks, and how do the engineers of this identity specify its center and periphery? How are diverse ethnic and religious identities and multilingual realities in Arab countries treated? How are the levels of identity organised, or re-organised and re-structured, in the school textbooks within the framework of recalling the past? And finally, what is the position expressed by the educational message of the school textbook towards the major issues of the human being, his existence in society and his relationship with the State – in particular, the issues of human rights, equality, justice, gender, the value of Islam and rejecting violence? Against this background, the study examines eight Egyptian history textbooks for preparatory and secondary schools from three different phases in the course of the twentieth century. The first sample was published from the 1930s to the mid twentieth century, an era in which the Arabic language became established in national education and which also witnessed many of the political events and instabilities in the stage of post-separation from the O oman Empire, as well as the beginning of the constitutional state, the Liberal party experiment, the a empts to oust the British from colonisation and the establishment of a national identity. As an important step on this way, the ‘Constitution of 1923 . . . stipulated free, compulsory education and the process of Egyptianising the educational policy in Egypt’ (Salaama 1966: 11). The following textbook sample was published during the pan-Arabist Nasser years in the 1950s and 1960s. Finally, contemporary history textbooks are analysed. The study reviews selected elements presented in textbooks throughout all of these eras according to the outlined theoretical framework. Although these widely disparate selections provide only a limited cover

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of the continuous, critical developments in school textbooks, they may still shed light on the changing representations of identical elements of history. The fundamental question posed by this study is not to examine how closely the historical narratives in these books reflect the so-called historical facts, but rather it is based on comparing the different accounts and contents within a changing educational discourse. The study distinguishes between the historical subject ma er and the educational message with which the subject had been loaded. The history curriculum has been divided overall into three main eras, the first being the history of ancient Egypt and of other ancient Eastern civilisations – in the Nasserist period termed the ‘Ancient Civilisation in the Arab World’. Usually this part extends to cover the eras that followed the ancient Egyptian (pharaonic) state, such as the Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine eras, and recently interest increased in treating the so-called Coptic era – during which Christianity was spread – a er the educational system was criticised for neglecting this period. The second era relates to Egyptian history from the Islamic Arab Conquest until the O oman era. The third and last phase is treated under the title ‘The History of Modern Egypt’; it covers the campaign of Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt (1798–1801) and the rule of the family of Muhammad Ali starting in 1805, reaching the early 1950s with the announcement of the Republic until the late twentieth century. The following sections focus on representations of the ancient and modern eras in textbooks from all phases mentioned. What is important about these various presentations is that they re-organise and redefine the issues related to identity and the position of the self towards the world and the other. Each time the dominant intellectual scheme changes, this play is newly staged by employing the mechanism of inclusion and exclusion and by providing various historical readings which link to and suit the present reality.

The Ancient Egyptian State The subject of ancient Egyptian history occupies a primary position in the Egyptian school textbook, representing around 34 per cent of the total pages in the history textbook designated for the first year of secondary school published in 1932 (History for Year I Secondary henceforth H1),1 52 per cent of the same textbook published in 1949 (History for Year I Secondary, henceforth H2), 10 per cent of the 1961 edition (History for Year II Secondary, henceforth H3) and 43 per cent of the 2008 edition (History for Year I Secondary, henceforth H4).

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To begin with the ‘origin of the Egyptians’, the issue is discussed in some detail only by the first textbook, whose author was well aware of the disagreement among historians with regard to the issue: Historians disagreed on the origins of the Egyptians, hence some said that the origin was Abyssinia and some said that they are from Asia, but the researchers demonstrated that the Egyptians used to be tribes and clans who came to the Nile Valley from three directions: (1) East Africa, from those tribes who used to live between Nubia and the Sinai … (2) North Africa, known as Libyans (3) West Asia, from the Asian tribes known as Semites. (H1: 8)

This part is never included in subsequent textbook generations. How did this statement sneak into the textbook during this particular period? Was its appearance and subsequent disappearance reflective of the progress of Egyptology over time, as a kind of mistake that was corrected? Or did it become necessary to circumvent the debate regarding the mixed origins of Egyptians, because it contradicted the idea of a coherent national identity built upon the foundation of a ‘pure race’ rooted in ancient history? Also showing variation in the texts were the way in which the ancient state was established and the beginning of the period of the pharaonic dynasties a er the unification of the North with the South. The issue was treated differently in subsequent generations of textbooks: Egypt remained divided between two governments until Mena took over. … Using all of his political ability and his military skills, Mena managed to defeat the Delta and to integrate it into Upper Egypt. … There were other kings as well, and the most difficult task facing them was to satisfy the people of the coastal areas because they o en revolted. (H1: 9–10) So ‘Mena’ or ‘Narmer’, one of the kings of the South, managed to unify the two kingdoms … and Mena extended the borders of Egypt south to the First Cataract, defeated the Libyans, and protected the western Egyptian borders from their raids. … The kings of the first and second dynasties followed Mena in implementing his policy to protect the Egyptian political unity. They eliminated all conflicts and riots and extinguished the revolutions whose fires had been set by the princes in the North, and in that way the real unification for the kingdoms of North and South took place. (H2: 18–20) The Egyptians had realised since the end of the dawn of ancient Egyptian history the benefits of political unity, and their reliance on a single river – the great Nile – led them to this general awareness. … Therefore you can see that the Egyptians were the first Arab people to know the meaning of unity, because it is the way to glory and to a state with strong foundations. (H3: 9–11)

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Allah granted success to Mena 3200 BC to achieve political unity for the country, and he managed to form for Egypt a strong central government. … The successors of Mena worked to strengthen the country, solidify its unity, strengthen its security, and expand its territory. … In the era of the two kingdoms the country had witnessed a chain of conflicts and wars, especially when the kings of the interior raised the flag of jihad for the sake of unifying the country. This struggle ended with the victory of a king called ‘Narmer’. … In this way the Egyptian homeland submi ed to his rule, led by the great pharaoh who seized the reins of authority, and so the unification of the Egyptian people in the shade of strong government was a fruit of a long struggle and jihad, since the Egyptian had been among the first people in the world to know the meaning of unity and unification, and these are the way toward strength, glory, and building a great civilisation and a state on solid foundations. (H4: 6, 33)

As we can see, the historical narration of the issue of political unity and the ways of recalling it express the changing perspectives on history. The first version confirmed the superiority of the southern state and the military and political strength of its leadership, which led to its victory over of the Delta region and its integration to the kingdom of the south. The issue is presented similarly in the second treatment, which also clarified that the expansion of the state of the South had been achieved by a long period of violence in order to put down the revolutions and uprisings in the North. We see how this portrayal changed in the Nasserist era of the 1960s. In the new discourse of Arab socialism, we find that the account has abridged the historical event and employs it to express a historical continuity, from the fourth millennium BC through the present day, in which the Egyptian conviction in the idea of political unity and its benefits has not changed. The concept of unity in this version, then, was not tied to considerations of economic and political interests, nor to the framework of an expanding and bloody military scheme by the southern kingdom which extended throughout the rule of the first and second dynasties. Instead, it is presented as a result of the desire for national unity. Similarly, the reason for this early recognition and awareness of the importance of unity is presented as rooted in the shared reliance of the Egyptians on one river. The textbook presents ancient Egyptian history through the lens of Arab unity, which existed – in appearance – between Egypt and Syria at the time of the publication of this particular textbook. In this way the issue of complex political unity had been reduced, with all of its circumstances and complexities, to an event for celebration expressing the desire of the ‘first Arab peoples’ who recognised the meaning of unity. While the first and second versions a ributed the victories of the king who unified the two

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parts of the country to his political and military skill, the desire of the public for unity came in the third presentation to fill the gap in reasoning and to provide the answer, meaning and function to the memory of an ancient sense of unity. The final version was overflowing with the new religious language to account for the ancient victory as being granted by Allah, giving the military event religious legitimacy as jihad and distancing the reader from a critical, intellectual awareness of history towards a hidden agenda which relies on metaphysical interpretation. The military and political expansion of the empire, which was an absolute worldly deed and which took place before the appearance of the monotheist religions, is thus presented as a holy deed. Here the problem of the educational message in the intellectual formation of the recipient emerges, where the ideological reading dominates, whether nationalist, religious or a combination of the two, such that students do not learn to see the event in its historical context, to analyse it logically or to be cognizant of its human dimensions and political calculations as well as its consequences, from the perspective of both conflicting powers. Raising the question of political unity functions as the first step towards defining Egyptian identity as a cohesive unit, while ignoring the conflicts between North and South and the existence of demographic diversities within one region – although linguistic and cultural diversity exists in Egyptian society until today. All four school textbooks mentioned above also recount the history of the pharaoh Akhenaton and the short period known as the Amarna period relative to the region of Amarna hill, where Akhenaton moved the capital of the country a er he converted to a monotheistic religion based on worshipping one god which is the god of the sun, Aton. In fact this pharaoh has enjoyed a special place in Egyptian cultural memory, especially in recent decades, as a figure that carries both religious and nationalist connotations, considering that monotheism as a religious idea had been launched from Egypt at the hands of an ancient Egyptian intellectual who is looked upon with respect and admiration. In many texts he is even presented as a prophet, and he is seen by some people as the symbolic beginning of Islamic monotheism and the first Muslim in history. Naguib Mahfouz, for example, treated him in two of his works in a manner that expresses admiration of him as a religious reformer who called for love and peace among people and who worked hard to spread the message which he imagined came to him as a divine revelation (Mahfouz 1998, 2009). Mahfouz conveyed to us with astonishing literary skill the problematics of the ‘pharaoh prophet’ who ruled in the service of religion – or in the service of his religious message – which led to the collapse of the kingdom. His failure as a

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ruler is presented by Mahfouz as a result of his pre-occupation with religion: by mixing the world of religion with the world of politics, he lost his spiritual message and his kingdom (El-Enany 1995: 16–29; 2007: 48–50). Remarkably, even while expressing different intellectual currents the aforementioned textbooks agree with Mahfouz in the reception of Akhenaton. The early textbooks critically present him as a ruler whose policies and pre-occupation with religion caused extreme losses for which generations a er him paid the price: Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton): In his days a religious revolution took place that led to the tearing apart of that expansive kingdom which had been reached by Egypt … so Akhenaton was busy with his religious beliefs, away from administrating his affairs of state, and thus his negligence failed to stop the Hi ites who raided the country of Syria and some of the Asian lands were taken away from Egyptian rule, until he became hated and detested by the people and the priests for changing their object of worship and the capital of their country, and forsaken by the soldiers of his father for to the deterioration of the country and its downfall at his hands. (H1: 28–29) [Egypt’s] influence continued in Asia, until the king Amenhotep III died, and he was succeeded by Amenhotep IV, who called himself ‘Akhenaton’. He was a philosopher and poet and spent most of his time in religious studies. He abolished the worshipping of Amun and spread a new religion, announcing the monotheism of the god – one god who controls the world, and his power represented by the disk of the shining sun ‘Aton’. Akhenaton busied himself with spreading the new religion, resisting the priests of Amun, so the greed of the Hi ite and the rebellions of some of the princes of the Levant were renewed. As a result Egypt lost most of its lands in Asia in this period, and the kings a er him exhausted themselves trying to restore the influence of Egypt there. (H2: 37)

Compared to the first textbook quoted, the second one seems less of an a ack on the personality of Akhenaton and was more interested in his religious message. As for the textbooks of the 1960s, they shi ed the focus to the unity of what they called the ‘Ancient Arab East’: So the Pharaoh Thutmose III succeeded in gathering most of the regions of the Ancient Arab East in one mass. But that state started to founder as a result of religious revolution which Akhenaton had set alight. So the Egyptians set off to religious conflicts, while Egyptian influence began gradually to weaken inside and out. Then came the nineteenth dynasty, and Egypt started to regain what it had lost. (H3: 12)

Finally, the contemporary textbook does not mention at all the political losses of Akhenaton, and it considered his religious thought an important step in what it called the ‘ascent to monotheism’. This textbook introduces selections from ‘hymn by Akhenaton who used to sing it to

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his god Aton’ (H4: 27). It offers a rather positive reading of Akhenaton with notable religious overtones: The mature phase in social, political, and religious thought: when Akhenaton called on one god, the sun, who sends his rays toward the people of the earth, carrying to them light and life, and he did not symbolise him with anything other than this image, and he did not carve an idol for him, and he did not make a wife or a son for him. … Remember: the pharaoh Akhenaton called for the worship of one god only. He called him Aton, and he considered him as the power behind the sun. But his new religious summons did not succeed, and it ended completely with his death. (H4: 23, 29)

Reflecting the changing political circumstances and different intellectual currents, sometimes we find Akhnaton portrayed as a fair ruler who lost the glory of the kingdom, and at other times we find him portrayed as a great prophet in the cause of lo y religious thought. The 1949 textbook came closest to Mahfouz’s treatment of Akhenaton in the 1980s, encouraging the reader to revisit his vision with regard to the relationship between religion and politics, while the contemporary textbook is providing a rather one-sided, limited image employed to support the religious discourse. The history textbooks of various phases differ also in the way they discuss the issue of violence and military power, and relations between the ancient state and its neighbors with regard to war and peace. The first textbooks recount the wars and raids against the state and the neighboring peoples in the framework of military expansion. Thus, the 1932 textbook mentions the wars of Amenhotep I (Twel h Dynasty) who ‘subjugated the Libyans and Nubians and purified the country from disputes and internal wars’; it also talks about his son, who ‘undertook his rule in an exemplary way and reformed the country’ and ‘he directed his efforts toward expanding the extent of his kingdom’ and sent military campaigns to the south which returned with gold and wealth; and about Senusret III who ‘was fond of wars and completed the conquest of Nubian lands’ then ‘sent a mission to the land of Syria’. The textbook later discusses the weakness of the two dynasties, the thirteenth and the fourteenth, which gave the opportunity to the Hyksos to take over Egypt, defining them as ‘Semites who were a mix of Arabs, Levantines, and Anatolians’ and who ‘in the beginning abused the Egyptians, a er which they assumed Egyptian ways and built many temples and buildings and worshipped the Egyptian gods’. The textbook mentions the benefits that came to Egypt as a result of their rules and recount the wars and conquests in the era of Thutmose I (Eighteenth Dynasty), who ‘drove his armies to the lands of the

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Nubians and invaded it and subjugated it, and also drove his armies to the land of Syria until they reached the river Euphrates’. The language of pride in the strong kings of Egypt glorified their works in expanding the empire that reached its peak with Thutmose III, ‘the greatest king of the world and the strongest and the one with the most conquests of foreign kingdoms’ (H1: 18–25). The 1949 textbook drops completely the expansion of the empire before the invasion of the Hyksos, it only mentions the formation of the armies in that era. The Hyksos’ invasion of Egypt is described in a way that reflects the militarist atmosphere a er independence: ‘The warlike spirit spread in the country, and the Egyptians aspired to invasions and expanding their dominion.’ The book mentions the conquests of the strong kings of Egypt, in particular Thutmose III and Ramses II (H2: 30–38). The textbook from the Nasserist period dedicates li le space to ancient Egyptian history, which is treated as part of the ancient history of the Arab peoples. This book therefore does not discuss the expansion of the empire prior to the Hyksos, which are presented as ‘shepherd peoples from Palestine’, erasing what the earlier books mentioned regarding their Arab and Semitic origins. It briefly discusses Thutmose III, confirming the success of the pharaoh ‘in unifying the majority of the ancient Arab eastern areas in one mass’, thus making it clear how the text is being employed (H3: 13). The textbook says nothing more about the Egyptian invasions and their wars of expansion. In contrast, the contemporary textbook provides under the heading ‘Political Life in Ancient Egypt’ a number of pages about the army and the wars, but it completely drops what had been mentioned in the previous textbooks with regard to the history of military expansions before the invasion of the Hyksos, it merely mentions the wars of Thutmose III as having been a direct response to rebellions from the ‘Asian princes’ against the pharaoh, who found himself having to defend the stability of the empire. It also entirely drops everything about the interaction between the Hyksos and the Egyptian peoples and the benefits which Egypt derived from their intermingling. But more importantly, abbreviating the long history of ancient Egypt and its wars of expansion told in superficial form conveys an essentialist notion of Egyptians as a single entity whose nature did not change for thousands of years. So according to this version, the Egyptians were a peaceful people who did not initiate wars and were not aggressive towards others, where ‘Allah gave them what he did not give any other peoples in the world known at that time so their life used to be sweet and comfortable, full of stability and peace. Then when ma ers changed and things

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became serious and the Egyptians were called to war, everyone sallied forth armed with weapons.’ The book repeats this idea frequently, introducing it in what it calls the historical revision confirming that war became necessary a er the invasion of the Hyksos, so the Egyptians were ‘truly peaceful people and for a long time they enjoyed stability and peace. But in view of the changing situation a er the invasion of the Hyksos and the insistence of the Egyptian people in kicking them out by military force, so came the call to war.’ In addition, the textbook utilises rhetorical language which exaggerates in the heroism of the Egyptian people who always go forward with courage to fight, where ‘the stories of heroism and the accounts of victory inspired the youth in the era of the modern state and they believed in military life and joined the ranks of the army’ (H4: 39–46).

Modern Egyptian History As for the history of the modern Egyptian State a er the French campaign against Egypt led by Bonaparte (1798–1801) and the beginning of the rule of Muhammad Ali and his family until the announcement of the Republic in 1953, the history textbooks treat these issues in different forms and provide varying amounts of space, depending on the period in which the textbook was published. The persona of Muhammad Ali seems to have confused the authors of the textbooks as much as it gave pause to the historians; he came to Egypt at the head of the O oman forces to confront Bonaparte and therefore his story in Egypt began with the resistance to the European coloniser, but he is not an Egyptian and was loyal to the O omans. Furthermore, he killed the remaining Mamluks, oppressed the domestic Egyptian elites and established himself as an absolute ruler. He was undoubtedly a strong and clever ruler, who managed to build the foundations of modern Egypt. How should historians and textbook authors present this political personality and the modern Egyptian state which he established? Is it possible to consider this state as a separate political entity with a particular identity, despite the fact that Muhammad Ali and his family members, who ruled Egypt until the middle of the twentieth century, did not come from Arab or Egyptian origins? Does this mean that the founders of the modern Egyptian state are foreigners? If the role of Muhammad Ali and his family in building the modern state is recognised, and if this family is considered to have become Egyptian and Arab over time, then how is it possible to justify the overthrow of the grandsons of Muhammad Ali at the hands of the revolutionaries? What is the moral position vindicating the mili-

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tary expansionism military of the modern Egyptian State vis-à-vis its neighbours, and how should it be treated and recalled to memory in the various textbooks? Did the positions towards these questions change with historical discourse and political circumstances? The textbooks in the stage prior to the Revolution of 1952 treat the personality of Muhammad Ali with some caution and sensitivity because he is the founder of the State and the great-grandfather of the ruling family. A textbook entitled ‘The Political History of Egypt in the Modern Era’ (History for Year IV Secondary 1944, henceforth H5) focuses with great verbosity on his heroics and avoids mentioning events which might present him in a negative light. By contrast, a history textbook of 1949 comes with some revisions to this policy, mentioning under the title ‘The Autocracy’ that Muhammad Ali ‘wanted to be the absolute ruler without rivals, therefore he found it necessary to get rid of the Mamluks, his Albanian soldiers, and also the popular leaders’. Here the textbook goes on to explain that regarding those leaders ‘rivalries among them were creeping up, so the pillars of public leadership begin to founder from the end of 1805, and the tower of public leadership began to be leveled by exiling ‘Umar Makram in 1809 and removing him from the field of play’ (History for Year II Secondary 1949: 82–83, henceforth H6). The textbook from the post-revolutionary era designated several pages for the issue of ‘the extermination of the popular leaders’ (History for Year IV Primary, 1957: 58–61, henceforth H7). Here the leaders’ behavior is presented in a more critical form, based on his position towards the leaders in the beginning of his rule, when Muhammad Ali seemingly respected ‘the popular leaders and submi ed to their will’, but in reality he had ‘in his heart a hatred for the popular authorities, since his soul had been harboring a desire for despotism, and he had built his policy on ge ing rid of these popular leaders’ (H7: 59). In addition, the author does not deny the responsibility of the popular leaders themselves in losing their position, when Muhammad Ali exploited their weakness and mutual competition. However, the authors pounced on the despotism of Muhammad Ali and his absolutism, hence they admi ed that he had used ‘these powers in building the modern state in Egypt’ (H7: 61). This textbook is considered the first which came a er the revolution, and it was designated for use from 1954 and remained without any noteworthy changes until 1957. When the Arabist ideology of Abdel Nasser crystallised in the beginning of the 1960s, some amendments were made to this new version of the textbook, and its title was changed to ‘The Modern Contemporary History of the Arabs’. Subsequently, the majority of the content

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was amended so as to include the Arab world, while still preserving the same order and topics and placing the material related to Egypt at the beginning. The second section comes with title of ‘The Building of the Modern State in Egypt’, and it is close to the text of the previous book but with some important modifications. While the first book (1957) mentions the defeat of the ‘Urabi rebellion in the 1870s, the second book drops this information completely, focusing instead on the “accomplishments” of the Revolution of 1952, and thus skips the history of the national resistance and the liberal phase in Egypt as well as the ‘Urabi movement or the Popular Revolution of 1919: In this way the popular leadership which the people had struggled to establish crashed, and the field was open to Muhammad Ali to take over the rule of Egypt as an absolute ruler, and the people had to wait more than seventy years for a new type of popular leadership. (H7: 60) In this way the popular leadership which the people had struggled to establish crashed, and the field was open to Muhammad Ali to take over the rule of Egypt as an absolute ruler. Egypt lived under absolute rule until the final days of Isma’il, and despotic and absolute power became among the customs of the dynasty of Muhammad Ali until the July Revolution of 1952, which overthrew this family and returned the rule to the people. (History for Year III Secondary, 1962: 58, henceforth H8)

Here we observe the evolution of the text and its alternation between inclusion and exclusion to suit new positions and discourses. With regard to the topic of the popular leadership or the participation of the people in government, any mention of the ‘Urabi Movement is absent, replaced by a long jump from the rule of ‘Umar Makram at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the arrival of the July Revolution of 1952. Similarly the textbook skips over many anti-colonial liberation movements besides the prolific liberal experiments. This paragraph includes a denial of Muhammad Ali and his dynasty’s contributions to the building of modern Egypt, and presents the image of a despotic and aggressive dynasty whose rule came to an end only at the hands of the revolutionaries who ‘returned the rule to the people’. It is as if the authority surely had moved directly to the people and was not transferred to the dominant military elites, where it has remained through the present day. This method of employment and linking the past with the present, or comparing with the post-revolutionary era, has disappeared in the contemporary school textbook, which – under the title ‘The Extermination of the Popular Leadership’ – merely indicates that Muhammad Ali favoured the idea of absolute rule and therefore got rid of the popular leadership when the opportunity presented itself, and that the division

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of the resistance was one of the reasons for his success in exterminating them. The language used here differs notably from earlier textbooks, and it was not used again a er the demise of Nasserism: In a manner which avoided moral rules and human principles, the extermination of this tyrannical group served also to exterminate the old regime with its feudalism and its reactionism and its backwardness and its impotence in defending Egypt. This heralded the dawn of a new era in which Egypt was heading toward modern civilisation, and began gradually to take its position with its glorious past among the countries. (H7: 56)

This apologetic comment might be read in the context of the early Nasser years, when the textbook was published. Did it serve as a hidden message defending the mistakes of the Nasser era with regard to torturing the le ist activists, the Muslim Brotherhood and many Egyptian intellectuals? Were those victims the Mamluks of the Nasser era, whom it was necessary to exterminate in order to allow ‘the dawn of a new era in which Egypt was heading toward modern civilisation’? Indeed the school textbook narrates facts and events in a rather normative way that leaves no room for the reader to draw his/her own conclusions. These mechanisms employed by the textbook to recall elements from the memory and present them as objective history, help to convey the educational message to the student. This message expresses a general position adopted by state institutions, and it is a position completely linked with the issue of identity and images of the self and the other. It is also a position related to major issues such as the value of peace, freedom, equality, rejecting violence, democracy, modernity, human rights, etc. The educational message determines the selection of historical material and its presentation, directly interfering in order to influence its comprehension and reception. As a result, memory will be linked with this position and identity. We have seen in the treatment of the school textbooks on the history of ancient Egypt, and in particular with relation to the expansion of the ancient state, how elements of the memory have been manipulated to hide what is related to the aggression of the ancient Egyptian state against its neighbours via the framework of the expansion of empire or even in what is known as the unification of the two states. The situation did not change with regard to the modern history of Egypt and the expansions of Muhammad Ali into the Sudan, the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. The campaign against Sudan in 1820 was the first war undertaken by Muhammad Ali on his own initiative, i.e. without orders from the sultan. The pre-revolutionary school textbook on history recounts all

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possible motives that might have prompted Muhammad Ali to wage this war, among which was to remove his Albanian soldiers and to get rid of them a er their victorious return from his war against the Wahhabis. According to the textbook, he also wanted to drive the remaining Mamluks from Egypt, to search for gold, to stimulate trade, to find the source of the Nile and bring it under his control, and to recruit Sudanese soldiers to his growing army (H5: 98–105). The textbook openly discusses the resistance of the people of Sudan, stating that the Egyptian campaign had ‘met great resistance from the tribes known as al-Shayqiyyah or “al-Shaigiya”, where 30,000 of them gathered on horses and camels, and in their minds flamed fires of war, so that they were prepared to fight to the death in defense of their homeland’ (H5: 101). The textbook further indicates the ferocity of the fighting and the refusal of the Sudanese to submit to the Egyptians. The conquest of Sudan was tied to the boom in slave trade which Muhammad Ali had officially banned. However, the textbook also mentions that Muhammad Ali had ‘announced the abolition of the slave trade not because he opposed it in principle, but rather to satisfy the European countries and to gain the good favor of England in particular’ (H5: 102). This trade continued for many decades a er the official prohibition. The presentation of this material does not vary greatly in a textbook published a er the revolution in 1957, even though the discussion is very short given the size of the book (H7: 92–99). This textbook designates for the issue of Sudan eight pages under the title ‘The Egyptian-Sudani Empire of the Nineteenth Century: 1820–1882’, and the description of this expansion in the South came as ‘another field where the Egyptians did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives whatever the cost was the field of the South, and thus they re-gained – since 1820 – the ancient connection between the two sides of the valley: Egypt and Sudan’ (H7: 92). This version stresses the links between the two countries and what it presents as natural concern of Egypt with its ‘sister’ to the south: ‘once Egypt started regaining its power in the nineteenth century, Sudan was the primary concern of the Egyptians, so they decided to interfere in order to organise its affairs and rescue it from the chaos and strengthen their ties with it under a single, strong rule’, or, in other words, rebuilding Sudan by ‘linking it – through Egypt – with the civilised world’ (H7: 94). While the textbook touches on the issue of recruiting Sudanese slave-soldiers for service in the Egyptian army, unlike the pre-revolutionary textbooks it ignores entirely the violence and savagery used to kidnap some thirty thousand Sudanese men, and it fails to mention the end of this tragedy with the death of the majority of them from sickness. Instead, according to this textbook, Muhammad Ali

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used to fear working the Egyptians in the army and preferred not to distract them from agriculture, therefore he went forward searching for another element from which to form his new army. He went to the Sudan to take from there the content of his army, for he sensed their courage. It had been said that the experiment of recruiting the Sudanese in the army of Egypt did not succeed, but this is not true since the Sudanese continued to be an important element in the Egyptian army, where they had provided the best effort in the wars of the nineteenth century. (H7: 94)

As for the resistance to the campaign, the textbook states that it did not receive any resistance worth mentioning except in two areas: in Dongala, where the campaign achieved victory against the Mamluks and sca ered them, and in southern Dongala, where the tribe of Shayqiyya resisted the army of Isma’il, until he achieved victory against them at the Ba le of Kurti (November 1820). He appreciated their courage in fighting, then he won them over and entered them into his service, and since that time this tribe has kept its loyalty to Egypt and its sons began to volunteer in its army. (H7: 95)

These passages reflect the dominant mood in Nasserist Egyp, when Egypt posed as kind of a Big Brother to all of the Arab countries, including Sudan. The textbook thus recalls the memories related to the Sudan campaign very selectively, to say the least. As for the death of Muhammad Ali’s son Isma’il who was killed in revenge by the Sudanese king, it was portrayed as follows: ‘He disputed with its king Nimr, so the la er arranged a plot for him where he burned Isma’il. In response Muhammad Ali sent his son-in-law al-Da ardar to lead the army in place of Isma’il, and he went too far in his revenge on the tribe and punished them severely’ (H7: 95). This last sentence seems like an implicit apology, followed by a long elaboration of achievements realised under Egyptian rule over Sudan in the fields of education, infrastructure and urbanisation. The textbook also touches on the subject of ‘resisting slavery in Sudan’, assuring that Egypt had carried out ‘a strong war against the slave trade in which some European traders used to participate’ (H7: 98). All in all, the Nasserist account of Egypt’s colonial wars in Sudan presents them as kind of a mission civilisatrice, which of course is a rather awkward position for a regime that never tired in criticising Britain and France for their colonialist policies in Egypt: In the nineteenth century, Egypt felt an obligation – as the most civilised African country – that it had a noble mission toward the African people: to take their hands and guide them toward light and civilisation, and Egypt knew that if it did not get up to start working it would be beaten to it by European countries seeking to colonise on this continent, which they used to call ‘the dark continent’. (H7: 98)

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Reflecting Nasserist pan-Arabism, the textbook published in 1962 shows the incorporation of Sudan as part of a scheme drawn by Muhammad Ali which aimed ‘to establish a large country bringing together all the Arab countries, with Egypt as its center’ (H8: 75). Similarly, it discusses the incorporation of the Levant as ‘a basic part of Muhammad Ali’s hidden agenda, which was the establishment of a State bringing together the sca ered Arab peoples under his absolute leadership’ (H8: 77). In this sense, Muhammad Ali’s rule was ‘the first a empt to bring together the Arabs in a distinct unity from the O oman State’ (H8: 79).

Conclusion It is clear from the previous examples how the same historical material can be loaded with educational messages of differing ideological and intellectual orientations – in other words, how the mechanism of constructing memory is employed for the sake of creating a collective identity. With Maurice Halbwachs, who argued that identity is created through the act of remembering, we can conclude that these different ways of presenting the historical material can directly affect the formation of identity. On an epistemological level, the different ways of presenting history pre-determine how this knowledge is used and related to the present reality. For example, a critical reading of the historical events can lead to establishing a self-reflective and non-essentialist view of the self and a distancing from feelings of uniqueness and superiority or of being a permanent historical victim. The Egyptian history textbooks, particularly the Nasserist and contemporary ones analysed in this chapter are not very encouraging in this respect, as can be derived from the way in which they treat militarism and political expansionism in ancient Egypt, or from the fact that they construct a fixed and ahistorical Egyptian national identity whose essence remained in place from ancient times through the present day. While the small sample of eight textbooks used for this study allows only for preliminary conclusions regarding the evolution and the quality of Egyptian textbooks in general, this chapter provides a theoretical and methodological model for analyzing and highlighting some of the phenomena and tendencies, through methodological comparison and observing intertextual relationships among different textbooks. This approach might be broadened by applying it systematically either to the study of one country or to a comparative analysis of textbooks from different countries, for instance, regarding the representation of the Egyptian-Sudanese wars in the textbooks of both countries. Comparative research on history textbooks might eventually help to create

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multi-perspective teaching materials that transcend narrow nationalist or otherwise ideological readings of history, which would encourage students to develop a more self-reflective identity and critical thinking ability. Translated from Arabic by Namir Henrikson

Notes 1. There is no date printed on the book, but according to the information wri en on it by hand it can be inferred that it was issued in or before 1932.

References Assmann, Aleida. 2006. Erinnerungsräume, Formen und Wandlungen des kulturellen Gedächtnisses. Munich: Beck. ———. 2000. ‘Individuelles und kollektives Gedächtnis – Formen, Funktionen und Medien’, in Das Gedächtnis der Kunst: Geschichte und Erinnerung in der Kunst der Gegenwart. Ed. Kurt We engl. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag. Assmann, Jan. 1992. Das kulturelle Gedächtnis: SchriĞ, Erinnerung und politische Identität in frühen Hochkulturen. Munich: Beck. Halbwachs, Maurice. 2008. Das Gedächtnis und seine sozialen Bedingungen. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. El-Enany, Rasheed. 1995. Reading Between the Lines. Beirut: Dar al-Tali’a (Arabic). ———. 2007. Naguib Mahfouz: His Life & Times. Cairo: American University Press in Cairo. Lachmann, Renate. 1993. ‘Kulturhistorischer Prospekt’, in Memoria: Vergessen und Erinnern. Eds. Anselm Haverkamp and Renate Lachmann. Munich: Fink. Mahfouz, Naguib. 1998. Akhenaton: Dweller in Truth. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. ———. 2009. Before the Throne: A Dialogue between the Rulers. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. Neumann, Birgit. 2003. ‘Literatur als Medium (der Inszenierung) kollektiver Erinnerungen und Identitäten’, in Literatur – Erinnerung – Identität, Theoriekonzeptionen und Fallstudien. Eds. Asrtid Erll, Marion Gymnich and Ansgar Nünning. Trier: WVT, 49–77. Salmah, Jirjis. 1966. The Influence of British Occupation in National Education in Egypt (1882–1922). Cairo: Maktabat al-anjl al-Miryah (Arabic). School Textbooks Arranged according to Date of Publication The Concise History for Secondary Schools, Year I, Cairo, 1932. [H1] History for Year IV Secondary, Cairo, 1944 (‘The Political History of Egypt in the Modern Era’) [H5]

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History for Year I Secondary, Cairo, 1949 (‘Summary of Ancient Egyptian History and the Islamic State’) [H2] History for Year II Secondary, Cairo, 1949 (‘The Brief History of Islamic and Alawi Egypt’) [H6] History for Year IV Preparatory, Cairo, 1957 (‘History of Egypt in the Modern Era’) [H7] History for Year II Secondary, Cairo, 1961 (‘History of the Arab World and Civilisation in the Ancient and Islamic Periods’) [H3] History for Year III Secondary, Cairo, 1962 (‘The Modern Contemporary History of the Arabs’) [H8] History for Year I Secondary, Cairo, 2008–2009 (‘Egypt and Civilisations of the Ancient World’) [H4]

Q7 DIFFERENT LAYERS OF IDENTITY IN LEBANESE TEXTBOOKS Jonathan Kriener

A er fourteen years of civil war in Lebanon, the peace agreement of Ta’if between the parties to the conflict was concluded in 1989. At that point, the great variety of schools existing in Lebanon, o en affiliated with one of the country’s numerous confessional groups, were considered to hamper the (re-)building of a common national identity, a crucial factor for re-building a sense of solidarity among citizens that would help prevent further violence. Assuming that education plays a crucial role in the formation of society, the Lebanese politicians who formulated and signed the Ta’if accord included a clause in the treaty document that stipulates the unification of textbooks for the subjects of history and national and civics education.1 New civics textbooks for these disciplines designed for use in all school sectors were indeed published in the years 1998 to 2002. Regarding history textbooks, however, no agreement could be reached until today. A new unified history textbook was created, but it was suspended by decree from the minister of education in 2001. Hence, public schools continue using a textbook published by the Curriculum Department (CRDP) in the Ministry of Education (MoE) in the 1980s. The private school associations, more than half of which are religious, choose textbooks according to their preferences.2 According to Awit (2001), three positions figure prominently in the debate about reforming the Lebanese history curriculum: Some call for a continuation of the status quo, i.e. free textbook production according to a central curriculum that prescribes the thematic foci only. Others argue in favour of prescribing a standard textbook, in which everything, the content, methods, etc., is centrally defined. Finally, some voices call for unified history textbooks that offer students different readings of historical events by a critical method. There are intellectuals and educationalists who object to the unification of the history textbooks as an inappropriate interference of the state with educational affairs (Harik 1999), or who fear that unification will only produce a smallest com-

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mon denominator of poor quality (Wehbe 2003: 68–92). Some, like Massoud Daher, head of the history department at the Lebanese University, and Nemer Frayha, former head of the CRDP, object to the third formula, because they consider it unsuitable for the age group of school students in Lebanon.3 As much as these two scholars judge the issue from different angles, both are convinced that the projected unified history textbooks have been suspended for political reasons, not because of pedagogical deficiencies. Studying history in a comparative way means looking into different available sources in order to get as complete and differentiated a picture of historical reality as possible. Since the 1970s educationalists have developed approaches of history instruction aimed at teaching students to deal with sources and to discuss their value in order to develop their personal point of view regarding history and to understand the principles that shaped their state and society. Until replaced by this approach, which I will call ‘historical consciousness’ (Jeismann 2000: 7–72), historical processes are mostly presented through the prism of a normative national history. In countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Palestine, which by their constitution adhere to a particular religion, the school curriculum for history and religious education partly or entirely adheres to religious interpretations and concepts (Abdella 2003; Hock 2005; Kriener 2003). True, in secular liberal societies history education is also used in order to explain and justify norms and values. In a liberal democracy, however, which Lebanon is according to its constitution, citizens are supposed to choose their values freely within the framework of the constitution. From the liberal point of view democracy is not predestined, but a collective choice. Therefore, school education in the humanities and social science disciplines has to enable students to make choices, i.e. teach them skills of differentiation, consideration of alternative views and morals, rational and dialectical argument, etc. This is what the historical consciousness approach in history teaching is aimed at. This chapter portrays a variety of interpretations of Lebanon’s history disseminated through educational institutions in the country, and it discusses to what extent these historical narratives enable students to participate in the debates about them. Does history education aim at encouraging historical consciousness? Are different views regarded equally or hierarchically? What dominant frames of interpretation, religious, national or supra-national ones, do authors apply to their narratives? The textbook analysis focuses on two crucial topics and on how these are taught at different Lebanese schools: the Arab-Islamic expansion

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into Syria and Lebanon in the seventh century CE and its significance for Lebanon’s identity and the emergence of Lebanon as an independent nation state in 1943. Both events have been interpreted very differently along various communal and national perspectives. I analysed the narratives on these two issues in the textbooks used by different types of schools according to the following variables: (1) Record: 1 = uni-dimensional, x = multi-perspective (i.e. considering more than one actor’s perspective). (2) Dominant frame of interpretation: nl = national Lebanese, na = national Arab, i = political Islam, hc = historical consciousness (considering more than one narrator’s perspective). (3) Student activities: c = content oriented, p = process oriented (skills: learning to differentiate, compare, analyse, argue, etc.) (Ross 2002; Pingel 1999:16) (4) Use of sources: i = illustration only, t = also as a basis for students’ work.

I consider criteria (3) and (4) to indicate whether students are encouraged to form their opinion about history independently to any extent, or if they are rather ‘fed’ with pre-selected contents and value statements in a receptive manner. The la er would be expressed in exercises that instruct the students to re-capitulate the lessons’ contents and the interpretations offered by the authors. The other way would demand a certain measure of multi-perspectivity and a considerable share of process-oriented activities allowing the students to approach sources by techniques of analysis, interpretation, discussion, etc.

Conceptions of Society and State Prevalent in Lebanon Nationalism During the early twentieth century, different nationalist tendencies have been influential in Lebanon: Lebanese, Syrian and Pan-Arab nationalism (Firro 2003). A er the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the quelling of the Arab uprising in 1920 by the French army had discredited the liberal American-French style nationalism in the eyes of the Arab movements for independence, the romantic concept of nation based on pre-determined factors, like common language, culture and destiny, became prevalent throughout the Middle East. Although it has lost momentum since 1967, nationalism is still a factor in Lebanese society and politics, be it Lebanese nationalism as represented by the Phalange party and the Lebanese Forces, Syrian nationalism as represented by

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the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, or Arab nationalism, to which the majority of the political forces in Lebanon refer, albeit with different connotations. While some forces stress the distinct identity of Lebanon, Arab nationalists rather view Lebanon as an imperialist fait accompli (Salibi 1988: 200–215). Religion and Confessionalism The Lebanese Republic is obviously rather weak in providing security to its citizens, against violence as well as against economic calamity. People tend to resort to their confessional group for welfare and security, particularly in times of crisis. Moreover, confessional fragmentation is manifest in Lebanon’s system of political representation as well as in its personal status legislation and jurisdiction, which is in the hands of the different religious authorities. There are nineteen confessional groups officially acknowledged by the state. Unlike in fully secularised states, in Lebanon there is no way to enjoy citizenship without belonging to one of them. This is what the term confessionalism (ta’ifiyya) describes (Arzuni 1997; Maaluf 2006). The concept is not specific to Lebanon. Several other states in the region leave personal status, family and heritage issues to the religious authorities and/or reserve seats in parliament for religious minorities, e.g. Egypt, Iran, Israel and Jordan. But Lebanon is unique in this regard, because in 1926, under French mandate, the Shia and the Druze gained the status of confessional groups with a distinct personal status legislation and judiciary. Since then, there is no sect in the country that outnumbers all the others entirely. The term confessionalism also names an a itude that puts the parochial interests of one’s own sect ahead of the interests of a broader entity, e.g. Lebanon or the Arab nation, or that prefers co-religionists as applicants for jobs, housing, etc., thus a aching greater importance to their confessional belonging than to their individual characteristics and qualifications. This vernacular concept of confessionalism is o en used in order to dismiss opposing claims and positions as illegitimate. People who openly defend the confessional system o en do so arguing that this confessional mentality must first be overcome before a non-confessional order can succeed. Confessional identification is supported by supra-national concepts of collective identity, like belonging to a church or to the Islamic umma. Political Islam in its Sunni and Shi’i versions gives clear priority to anti-secular concepts of polity (Gambill 2006; Qasim 2004: 40–42, 277–294, 307; Shanahan 2005: 163).

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State of Research So far only Lebanese researchers have studied Lebanese school textbooks. The ones whose samples overlap the one used in this study are Salama (2001), who analysed history, Arabic and geography textbooks as to their depiction of the Arabs and Israel, and Frayha (1999), who examined Arabic and history textbooks pertaining to their image of Europe. Frayha’s findings show displeasure at the West concerning its interactions with the Arab World (colonialism, the conflicts with Byzantium and the crusaders). When considered as such, however, the West is o en presented as displaying admirable inventiveness and creativity, and as possessing a superior efficiency of its economy and state institutions. Salama criticises most textbooks as being produced out of purely commercial considerations. Wehbe and Amine (1980) studied a sample of history books that are not in use anymore considering three content categories: periods, agents and genres of history (e.g. biography, military, political, economic and social history). They found that the four series all supported a history of prominent political personalities, and educated a passive, receptive learner and a citizen subordinating her/himself to the ones in power. On the level of identity, Wehbe found considerable differences: ‘Muslim’ textbooks, for example, depicted Lebanon as an Arab country embedded in the greater Arab homeland, ascribed lots of text to the Palestinian cause and included features of an Islamic discourse, while ‘Christian’ and ‘Public’ textbooks tended to view Lebanon as independent from its Arab environment, stressed the age of the Phoenicians and Lebanon’s roots in their culture, etc.

The Lebanese History Curriculum Two different curricula for history exist in Lebanon: the one of 1971, and the new one decreed by the president of State in 2000 (CRDP 2000). Only this la er one is available to me in its entirety. It contains a large share of value-laden statements: Many objectives in the new curriculum contain wordings like ‘strengthening the sense for’, ‘developing a spirit of’, ‘awareness of the values of’ and the like. When looking at contentoriented objectives, the categorisation according to value-, content- and skill-oriented objectives comes to its limits, as for instance Lebanon’s belonging to the Arab culture and the alleged positive contributions of Islam and Christianity are not subject to a dialectic argument. Their being listed as objectives in themselves implies an approach that strives

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to inculcate a itudes as putative facts. Content- and process-oriented objectives are o en interwoven with value-oriented ones. In some instances priority is clearly based on the la er, as illustrated by the following passage according to which history education should aim at developing the national spirit of the learner through: events and biographies of personalities of Lebanese and Arab history, and Arab national commemoration days that strengthen the learner’s sense for the Arab national belonging. (CRDP 2000: 2118)

But there are also process-oriented objectives aiming at fostering historical consciousness among students, like keeping a distance from generalisations and slogans, precaution against the de-contextualisation or concealing of events, pursuit for the historical truth, the presentation of facts as they happened, and of more than one narrative or reading to an event, be it by means of the text itself or by documents a ached to the book, in order to strengthen the learner’s trust in the book in his hands and to stimulate discussion and deduction. (CRDP 2000: 2116)

A degree of ambivalence is thus visible in the curriculum between value and process-oriented objectives that principally allows for different kinds of textbooks to emerge. These are the focus of the following section.

Sample of Textbooks Among the forty or more series of history textbooks circulating in Lebanon three are highly popular and representative of what is taught in history classes at certain types of schools (Salama 2001: 17; Kriener 2011: 141): ‘History’ (HC) is a series that was first published in the early 1980s by the CRDP and was reprinted several times in the 1990s. In the intermediate stage, the focus of this study, the series comprises grades 6 and 7. Public schools, the schools of the Makassed Society and of the Mabarrat Society use it. Makassed is a conservative Sunni welfare organisation founded in 1878. It runs forty-five schools in Lebanon enroling 15,000 students. Mabarrat was founded in 1978 by Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah, one of the leading figures of Shi’i political Islam in Lebanon, and runs fourteen schools with 19,000 students. Public schools enrol about 340,000 students, 37 per cent of Lebanon’s students. The second example, ‘History and Us’ (HS), was issued in the early 1990s by the Society for Islamic Religious Teaching, a Shi’i organisation that also publishes religion textbooks and organises other activities of religious education, like Koran recitation contests and the like. The

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books are regularly taught at the schools of the Mahdi and Mustafa associations, which enrol 25,000 students at nineteen schools and are affiliated with Hizbullah. Third, a textbook entitled ‘Scientific History’ (HH) published by the Habib publishing house in 1996, appears on the textbook lists of the Druze Irfan Schools (five schools, 4,500 students) and of different Christian and secular private schools. The Christian and secular school associations, unlike the Muslim ones, do not oblige their schools to use specific textbooks for history instruction. It is therefore unclear how many schools exactly teach HH. Salama (2001: 22) found that it is the most popular text among private schools in the greater Beirut area. All three publications follow the chronological structure of the curriculum issued in 1971. Lessons consist of a main part reporting the important political decisions, actions and effects of a given time span followed by shorter sections that add social, economic and cultural implications. They end with a row of five to ten questions, the overwhelming share of which asks the students to repeat facts and statements presented in the lesson. Modes of Record and Frames of Interpretation In their forewords to the textbooks the authors of both HH and HC state their commitment to a national Lebanese vision of history based on scientific research. The introduction to HH reads: ‘We aimed at … a scientific summarising study … that presents past events … in a purely national light that enables us to understand and proceed in our reality and supplies us with the means necessary to build our future, for the people that does not have a history has no future.’ The authors of HC in their introduction express the ‘commitment of this book to the essence of the general curriculum … and to the Lebanese natural and social environment … in order to deepen the tie between the learner and his homeland’. The authors of HS promise a ‘presentation of the historical event with the highest possible objectivity and abstraction … in harmony with the official curriculum of the MoE’. The record in all three publications is overwhelmingly unidimensional, while the frame of interpretation switches. Thus, the emergence of Christianity is told according to the Christian tradition, the emergence of Islam according to the Islamic one. HC6 dedicates three pages to the emergence of Christianity. Christ’s resurrection is taken for granted, and a positive cultural and political influence is ascribed to Christianity. Later on the Prophet Muhammad is depicted on seven pages according to the Islamic tradition. The Jews of Medina appear as conspirators in this context. The

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text includes no reference to their expulsion from Medina and does not mention the massacres of Jews by Muslims in this context. Neither does the text remark that the sole ‘witness’ to the accusations against the Jews of Medina was documented by Muslim historiographers some 150 years later. Hanifism, a Koranic concept naming an individual monotheist conviction without adherence to any particular doctrine ascribed to Abraham and other legendary figures, is presented as ‘Abraham’s religion’ occurring in the Arabian Peninsula in pre-Islamic times (121). HH6 informs us that ‘the Jews fought the Lord Christ’s call for the redemption of all humankind’ (96), disregarding the fact that Christ and his followers were themselves Jews and lived and thought in terms of Jewish doctrine. Christianity is said to have ‘contributed to a rise in the morals’ (98) among the peoples of the Roman Empire.4 Later on, HH6 states that ‘Muhammad lived a life of abstention’ and that ‘a er his contemplation he became convinced of the error and folly of the pagans’ religion’ (114–115). Like HC6 (127), HH6 supposes ‘the belief in … the Gospel and the Thora’ (117) to be part of the Islamic conviction, a claim widespread among Muslims, which blurs the fact that Islam professes belief in the Christian and Jewish holy scriptures according to their Koranic reading, which is much shorter and partly at odds with those canonised by the Jewish and Christian traditions. Thus, the grand narrative of harmony between Islam and Christianity that seems so vital for Lebanon is woven by leaving un-addressed the open questions and contradictions between different modes of narration. A remarkable exeption to this rule is a short note in HH6 explaining that Christians believe in Christ’s crucifixion, while Muslims believe God saved him from it (96). However, students are not driven to contemplate the meaning of such differences, explore their background or draw conclusions from them. In contrast, HS6 presents all other religions from an Islamic perspective: Judaism is termed a religion that deviated from the original message of the prophets and falsified it in order to justify the Jews’ self-perception as the chosen people whom the other peoples should serve as slaves (103). Christianity is presented as a movement that came to correct the Jews’ wrongs (ibid.), but once it was not persecuted anymore fragmented into different sects that quarrelled over the nature of Christ. It states that the parties which falsely ascribed to Christ a divine nature prevailed and canonised the four gospels that contain this forgery (106). Although it becomes clear in several instances that the authors present a Shi’i version of early Islamic history (HS6: 160–168), the narrator of HS does not perceive of himself as presenting a Shi’i viewpoint, but an Islamic one:

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Islam carried in its legislations a lot of the teachings that purify society from the filth of corruption, and li s man’s level of life, knowledge, and work … it encourages: Higher morals: Honesty, reliability, modesty, justice, obeisance to the parents, honour for the orphan, … (and for) the worker, liberation of the woman, the achievement of equality, and just government. In sum: The Islamic doctrine strives for everything that warrants the creation of the just state. (150)

Consequently, later Islamic regimes whose actions did not suit such ideals are interpreted as deviations from original (asil) Islam, presenting decadence as a break with religion rather than a complex socioeconomic, cultural and political process.5 Sources HC does completely without sources marked as such. Only the minority of the verbal sources in both HH and HS are labelled with fully verifiable bibliographical data. In both textbook series, verbal as well as visual sources function as mere illustrations or explanations to the authors’ text, not as a resource for students to work with.

Analysis The Arab Islamic Conquest of Syria-Lebanon There is no consensus on the question when and to what extend the area of today’s Lebanese Republic became Arab. One answer is that the Arab-Islamic conquest of greater Syria in 640 AD was the turning point. There are voices, though, that classify the Middle East as Arab already before the advent of Islam (e.g. Daher 2008), while others view its Arabisation as a process of cultural penetration that has actually never been quite complete (Firro 2003: 19–21). Well into the eighth century AD, Arabic has been the language of the administrational elite and of an unknown number of local Arab tribes only. The notion that the area of the Middle East had been Arab already before the Islamic conquest, on the other hand, subsumes Aramaic, Nabatean, Phoenician, Canaanite, etc., culture and language under the Arab one. These differences in perception seem crucial to the determination of Lebanese identity. Another sensitive issue is the terminology by which the conquest was named (see table 7.1). The contested presentation in the suspended new history textbook (HC3) called it fath, which means conquest and is derived from the verb ‘to open’. This widely used term positively associates the early Islamic conquests with a process of opening up these

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Table 7.1 | Frequency of key terms referring to the Arab-Islamic expansion into Syria-Lebanon Textbooks

fath

ihtilal

others

Arab

Islamic

History (HC)

18

2

4

19

16

We and History (HS)

9

1

3

—

42

Scientific History (HH)

21

4

2

37

16

countries for the advent of the new religion. But at the same time, HC3 listed this particular conquest in one row with names of peoples that conquered the region before and a er, starting from the Babylonians and the Assyrians, and ending with the O omans and the French, under the lesson headline ‘Independence of the Homeland’ and with an introductory remark stating: ‘Lebanon: a long history and numerous occupations (ihtilalat). But by virtue of the Lebanese’s resistance and sacrifices, all these occupations ended, and independence was achieved. When and how was it achieved?’ The minister of education in charge and others who took part in the curricular process and the discussions about it, considered this presentation unacceptable, because it could be read as if the Arab conquest was an occupation. The three textbooks for grade 6 narrate the expansion as part of the emergence of a new political system that replaced the empires of Byzantium and Persia during the reign of the first four Caliphs. One of two lessons respectively (HC6, lesson 19; HH6, lesson 19; HS6, lesson 18) tells the course of the mainly military events, and another one the political, administrational and cultural order that was established under the early Caliphs (lesson 20 respectively). HS6 contains an additional lesson in between reporting the schism between the emerging Shi’i and Sunni strands of Islam. Unanimously, the term used for the campaigns is fath. The texts speak of the ‘conquered’ or ‘opened countries’ or of the Muslims or Arabs who ‘conquered’ ( fatahu) any certain area. The noun ihtilal is not used. A rarely occurring verbal form of it refers to certain geographical or topographical points in the sense of strategic positions. In HH it reads, for example, that the Arabs ‘occupied’ Syria, Damascus, Homs and Baalbek (similar in HS6: 156; HC6: 136), and the Lebanese (!) coast (HH6: 125). Second, a clear difference exists between the narratives composed by the Shi’i authors, HS, on the one hand, and those by the confessionally mixed teams of authors of HC and HH on the other concerning the identity of the conquerors. The la er define the expansion and the army that

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carried it out as ‘Arab’ and use the a ribute ‘Islamic’, ‘Muslim’, etc., only as an additional a ribute in order to characterise them: ‘This way Syria came under the rule of the Muslim Arabs in 640 AD’ (HC6: 137). Elsewhere the text states: ‘The Muslim Arabs’ migration to and se lement in the “conquered lands” is presented as one result of the futuh’ (138). Islam appears as providing the laws and customs of the newly emerging state (139–142). HH6 calls this state ‘the Arab state’ (128–130) and only in the questions to the lesson (131) adopts the term ‘Islamic state’. In HS6, conversely, Arabness is no feature in the expansion. It is called the ‘Islamic conquest’ carried out by ‘Muslims’ and the ‘Islamic armies’. In HC, both the conquest itself and the following se lement of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula, the spread of Arabic among the population of the empire (138), the political, administrational and social structure (139–141) are described in a rather dispassionate way, except for the statement that the Arab-Islamic civilisation became an outstanding one following its encounter with the developed civilisations it conquered. The frame of interpretation shows features of an Islamic perspective, e.g. the supposed enhancement of the social position of women by Islam (141).6 On the other hand, the alleged virtues of the conquerors appear as springing from an Arab ethnic or national character through the use of the term Arab when naming the conquerors. Some pages ahead of the story of the conquest, HC reports that ‘the Lebanese’ helped construct and drive the Arab fleet, and that Yazid b. Abi Sufyan ‘managed to occupy the Lebanese shore from Tyre to Latakia in Northern Syria’ (HC6: 130, 136, 137). Although these three motifs are intermingled, there is no multi-perspectivity in the narrative, neither on the actors’ nor on the narrators’ level. Lebanon appears as becoming part of the Arab-Islamic world in an organic process. The textbook presents the newly erected judiciary system in the conquered lands to have been based on the ‘Islamic sharia’ (HC6: 140). Historically, the legislatures by which the first Muslim administrators governed were rather loose agreements with local groups of inhabitants, who to a large extend went on applying the regulations hitherto valid. What has been called the sharia later on slowly developed out of this state of affairs (Vaglieri 1992). HC6 alludes to this fact by asking: ‘Did the Muslim Arabs benefit from the systems of the defeated states in organising the affairs of their state?’ (139). HH, too, mentions the stratification of the Islamic society into Arab Muslims, who held the high posts in the administration, the non-Arab Muslims (mawali), and the dhimmis. The la er ‘were followers of the non-Muslim monotheist religions, i.e. the Christians and the Jews, who

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kept on exercising their ritual in freedom in exchange for paying a fixed jizya’ (HH6, 129). HH also mentions discriminative rules against them: ‘They were not allowed to carry arms, had to pay the jizya in return for protection, and enjoyed a large measure of freedom, particularly concerning their civil, penal, and judicial affairs, unless the issue concerned Muslims.’ Slaves formed a fourth layer in the young Islamic society (140). One sentence states that Islam ‘raised the status of women’ (129). The wealth of the new state is traced back to the victories in ba les and to ‘the spoils the Arabs captured during their conquests and the huge resources that flew back to it’ (129). Miniatures from the Islamic arts show ba lefield scenes and a scene from a slave market (125, 130). The Shi’i narrative (HS6: 112, 156–159, 171–177) eulogises the social order brought to the conquered lands in terms that remind of Marxist rhetoric: ‘Islam caused a revolution in the life of the people: it eliminated the class system and raised the banner of equality’ (176). Islam ‘granted the human rights to non-Muslims, i.e. freedom of worship’ (ibid.).7 It ‘freed the woman from the nightmare of oppression, and granted her the freedom of learning, speech, work, she a ended the councils of teaching, participated in wars (bandaged the wounded, carried water, prepared food), and carried out permissible labours’ (ibid.). In the context of the financial system, we read that the jizya was a tax paid by non-Muslims, ‘parallel to the zakat paid by Muslims’ (172). All this is supported by quotations from the Sunna. In defence of jihad we read that ‘fighting in Islam is … a means to fight back aggression, spread religion, and protect the Muslims’ (HS6: 174), again supported by quotes from the Koran and the Sunna. The problematic implication that armed violence had been legitimate in order to spread religion is not explained or discussed any further. Comparable apologetic remarks do not accompany the rather judgemental lessons on, for instance, the crusades, likewise an a empt at spreading religion by means of warfare (HS7, lessons 10–12; HC7, lessons 8–10; HH7, lessons 8–10). So by generally legitimising expansionist jihad without contextualising it historically, and by ascribing terms and achievements of modernity, like equality of the sexes and religious freedom, ex-post to early Islam, a historical period from which they are not documented, HS displays an Islamist character. The other two narratives appear as ‘Lebanist’ in that they apply the modern geographical and political concept of Lebanon to times when it did not yet exist. These two follow the Islamic narrative in describing the early Islamic period, too, but abstain from value statements as are made in HS. Of all three texts HH defines the measure of freedom the non-Muslims enjoyed under Islamic rule

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Table 7.2 | Teaching the Arab-Islamic conquest Textbook/school type(s)

Record

Interpretation

Task/ exercise

Use of sources —

History/public schools (HC)

1

nl (na, i)

c, p (13, 4/17)

We and History/Shia (HS)

1

i

c

i

Scienific History/Christian (HH)

1

nl (na, i)

c

i

and its restrictions most accurately. None of the textbooks approaches the ma er comparatively. Except for two questions in HC the mode of teaching is receptive throughout (see table 7.2). Lebanon’s Independence A er the dissolution of the O oman Empire, a particularly high proportion of the Maronites was inclined to the Lebanese national idea. But also part of the Druze and Shia saw advantages in a state model in which they would not be a small minority under Sunni predominance anymore (Firro 2003: 16–30; Shanahan 2005: 47–59; Arzuni 1997: 165). The debate as to whether modern Lebanon is an authentic nation rooted in local history or was an artefact of foreign interventions continues until today: Salama (2001: 34–35) quotes renowned historians to the effect that the first political entity carrying the name Lebanon was the autonomous district Mount Lebanon (Mutasarrifiyyat Jabal Lubnan), which was formed by the O omans in 1861 under pressure from European powers. Corm (2005: 46), on the contrary, dates the beginning of modern Lebanon in the sixteenth century, when a rise in Maronite intellectual power and in Druze political power coincided with an orientation of both communities towards Italy. Such differences of historical interpretation exist with regard to any nation state on the globe. The question here is not if Lebanese nationalism is more or less authentic than Syrian or Arab nationalism or any communal or religious vision. This study rather seeks to analyse how the modern Lebanese nation is conceptualised in textbooks and to what degree they confer or diverge in their approaches. To that end I ask two questions: How were local aspirations for a Lebanese nation state, according to the textbooks, related to other political currents, local and foreign? In how far do the textbooks present Lebanon’s independence as a linear development dating back to the Ma’nid Emirate of the sixteenth to seventeenth century? The story of Lebanon’s national independence is taught to students during the primary stage in grade 5 (e.g. HC5: 124–140), and again,

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more elaborately, in grade 9.8 The chain of events looks alike in both HH9 and HS9: According to both versions, the Lebanese people and politicians, confident in their right to full independence, tenaciously resisted the impudent a empts by the French mandatory administration at making excuses for staying in charge. In order to win over their support against the Vichy-affiliated administration of General Dentez, the allied forces of Britain and Free France had promised the peoples of Lebanon and Syria full independence. General Catroux, who was put in charge of the local administration by De Gaulle a er Dentez’s resignation, declared Lebanon’s independence on 26 November 1941, but then went on governing with everything le unchanged, i.e. the constitution and parliament suspended and the French armed forces as well as the French so-called consultants to the Lebanese administrators in charge (HH9: 87–91; HS9: 103–106). A er protests by the Lebanese, a new parliament and local government were elected in 1943. These did not tolerate intervention by the French mandatory administration anymore. They declared Arabic the language for all public dealings, thereby disconnecting the administration from the French ‘consultants’, and demanded the authority over the infrastructure, transportation, communication, water, etc. (HH9: 92–94; HS9: 107–109). The parliament changed the constitution on 9 November 1943. The French suspended the constitution and parliament again, arrested the president of the State (PoS) Khoury and part of the government, and declared Khoury’s opponent Emile Iddé the new PoS. Protected by a spontaneously organised civil guard, the rest of the government and parliament continued making decisions and pushed through national independence against the ongoing disturbances by the French: They designed a new flag and sent a protest note to the great powers, the League of Nations, and to the already independent Arab states. Finally Britain gave the French an ultimatum until the next day, 22 November 1943, to release the arrested Lebanese president and ministers, which they did. Hence this date became the Lebanese Independence Day.9 The textbooks mention that some Lebanese cooperated with the French, like the defeated candidate for the presidency Emile Iddé, and a few nameless agents provocateurs engaged by the French (HS9: 119–120; HH9: 101). Yet, these appear exceptional and the background of their actions is not being mentioned. In general, the Lebanese are said to have supported their newly elected government in its demands through demonstrations, strikes and other forms of anti-colonial protest (HH9: 89, 97, 98, 101; HS9: 103, 112–114, 120). The two reports also converge with regard to the one instance, when internal Lebanese dissent, not French manipulations, hampered prog-

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ress in forming an independent legislative and government: When a er the resignation of the Vichy-friendly administration the process towards Lebanese independence began to move forward, struggles among the Lebanese deputies ensued over the PoS’s intention to have the Lebanese expatriates participate in the elections and over the distribution of seats in parliament among the various sects. The outcome of these struggles, however, is presented differently in each textbook: While HH9 (91) reads as if the compromise formula that stayed valid until 1989 was reached following British and Egyptian mediation, in HS9 it appears as a purely French decision. More than that, in HS9 it appears that the French sewed the seeds of sectarian strife for decades to come: The French did not agree to elections for the deputy council before they had drawn the policy of mutual sectarian distinction by the decision that confirmed the superiority in Christian representation (the relation 6 to 5), this distinction made the Muslims feel cheated for decades, what made Lebanon go through woes of local sectarian war, which special international apparatuses steered. (HS9: 107)

Summarising the new government’s inaugural speech, HS9 highlights the aspect of solidarity with the Arab neighbours against colonialism: We do not want it [i.e. Lebanon, JK] to be a seat for imperialism, and they [i.e. the Arab states] do not want it to be a passage for imperialism, and we and they want it to be a respected, independent, sovereign, free homeland. (109)

The other textbook summarises both the PoS’s and the government’s speech depicting what has been achieved as an inner Lebanese compromise: From the speech that PoS Bishara al-Khoury gave in front of the parliament, and from the government’s declaration given by Riyadh as-Sulh emanated what was termed the National Pact. It is an expression of an unwri en agreement, the most salient lines of which are: ‘Lebanon is an independent country with an Arab face, in it its inhabitants live in freedom and equality, the offices are justly distributed between the sects, and the Christians let go of the desire for foreign protection and the Muslims let go of the desire for unity with the Arab states.’ (HH9: 93)

Thus, if one narrative conceives of independent Lebanon as a compromise among the Lebanese, and the other one as a French construction, while the Lebanese leaders stressed their solidarity with the Arab states, how did this Lebanon come into being? Both narratives report Emir Fakhr ad-Din II al-Ma‘ni (1572–1635) to have aspired to ‘independence’.10 HH indeed shares Corm’s view that modern Lebanon originated in the Ma’nid Emirate of the sixteenth cen-

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tury: ‘This great Emir is considered the first a empt at building modern Lebanon, his personality and his deeds constitute a school of itself, so from this school we have to derive the lessons to build a be er Lebanon’ (HH8: 20). No such path-breaking effect is ascribed to Fakhr ad-Din in HS. Instead, he is treated with suspicion: He ‘used methods of bribery and force’ (HS8: 30, similarly 51), gave administrational posts to people who ‘excelled in the politics of fla ery and bribery, most of whom were Maronites’ (57) and his aim was the ‘expansion of the Emirate, in order to build a strong state’ (28). He is particularly suspected for his religious a itude, as he ‘was never seen praying’ nor entering a Mosque, he ‘was said to have been baptised … by his Capuchin physician’ (58), ‘despised the Islamic religion and encouraged the apostolic missions’ (HS8: 50) and ‘offered them soil to build monasteries in Islamic [!] cities like Sidon, Beirut, and Trablus’ (59). Similar pa erns apply to the period of the Shihabi Emirate (1670– 1840) and the règlement organique for Mount Lebanon (1860–1921) that was agreed between the O oman government and the European powers: While in HH these developments appear as steps corresponding with a genuine Lebanese will to independence, HS rather views them in connection to foreign interferences (see table 7.3). The Story of Arab Nationalism The textbooks single out two main external factors that contributed to the emergence of the Arab liberation movements in the early twentieth century: the increasing weakness of the O oman state and the Turkification policy initiated by the Young Turks a er their coup d’état in 1909, which discriminated against the Arabs and other peoples in the empire (HH9: 32–33; HS9: 46). HH dedicates an additional section to the intellectual impetus of the Arab liberation movements: They were essentially inspired by Western thought for which Lebanon, its missionary institutions, its thinkers and literati constituted the main transmi ers. The Islamic reformers Afghani, Abduh and Kawakibi, too, contributed to the Arab awakening (33). In the relationship between the Arabs and the Europeans, HS views the la er generally as the active part, while the Arabs and Lebanese appear as reacting. In HH the Lebanese and Arabs also have a considerable part in the initiative. Articulate demands for an independent Lebanese nation state are first reported from the end of World War I. When the O oman Empire had seized to exist, and a er Emir Faysal’s troops had taken hold of Damascus with British support, various Arab delegations a ended the

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peace conference in Versailles making claims for independence. A delegation from Mount Lebanon demanded independence for Lebanon and an expansion of its borders under French auspices (HS9: 63; HH9: 58). HH reports that ‘the Lebanese’ voiced a variety of ideas ranging from ‘Lebanon’s independence and reestablishment (isti‘ada) of its historical borders with French help’, ‘Lebanon’s complete independence and reestablishment of its historical borders without any tutelage’, to ‘administrational independence within Syrian unity’ and ‘independence under temporary American or British tutelage’ (HH9: 59).11 Textbooks wri en by Shi’i authors differentiate between inhabitants of Mount Lebanon, the majority of which demanded ‘independence in the frame of French guardianship’ and ‘inhabitants of the li oral and the interior’, most of whom demanded ‘independence in the frame of the Faysali rule in Damascus’ (HS9: 63). HS further points to the National Arab Conference in Damascus, 1920, which demanded independence for Greater Syria as a kingdom (HS9: 66–67). According to a quote from later PoS Bishara al-Khoury’s memoirs at the end of the lesson, the Lebanese delegations to Paris were initiated and their members selected by the French, who also pulled the strings in the Lebanese demonstrations for independence on the occasion of Faysal’s visit to Beirut. In HH9, on the contrary, the delegations appear as foremost having independence in mind, and therefore protested the decisions at the San Remo conference for enforcing the mandate (61). Lessons 8 and 9 in both textbooks narrate the course of the French mandate over Lebanon in two phases: First, direct military rule by France until 1925 and second, ‘the Lebanese Republic [in HH termed “the national regime”] under the auspices of the mandate’. The next crucial step in the genesis of contemporary Lebanon was the proclamation of Greater Lebanon by the first French High Commissioner General Henri Gouraud on 31 August 1920. In its introductory remarks to lesson 8, HS9 states: The French mandate disappointed the free Lebanese, so they turned to the international organisations for independence, but the aspirations of France and England prevented the fulfilment of this desire, which stirred the anger of the nationalists among the Lebanese. France wanted to absorb the anger and revenge of the public opinion, so she took an intelligent and cunning step and recommended upon General Gouraud the proclamation of Greater Lebanon. (71)

Remarkably, the wording in the following passage implies that this ‘cunning step’ re-established something that had been lost before: ‘It returned to Mount Lebanon: Beirut (the capital), and the districts of

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Table 7.3 | Teaching the independence of the Lebanese Republic Textbook/school type(s)

Record

Interpretation

Task/ exercise

Use of sources

We and History/Shia (HS)

x

1:nl

c

i

Scientific History/Christian, Druze, Secular (HH)

x

1:nl

c

i

Tripoli, Sidon’ (71), and thereby enlarged its territory, augmented the number of its inhabitants, its economic resources, and ‘added a balanced variety of inhabitants to Lebanon, because as the majority of the Mountain had been Druze and Christians, the other sects (Sunna and Shia) returned in order to play their natural role in the construction of Lebanon based on the principles of truth, justice, and equality’ (72). HH9, too, enumerates material and human gains. Concerning the new confessional composition it remarks: ‘The demographic balance in Greater Lebanon became based on Christian-Muslim cooperation, a er it had been a Maronite-Druze balance during the period of the mutasarrifiyya’ (65). In addition HH explains the concept behind the mandate: An idea of former South African PM Christian Smuts, the institution of the mandate was intended as ‘a compromise between the American way of calling for the peoples’ right to self-determination and the European way of calling for control and colonisation’. It was intended to ‘help the states and peoples that had been subject to colonisation and enable them to govern themselves’ (62–63). The perceived absurdity of this concept as applied to Lebanon is expressed in a caricature from a satirical journal showing a frightening Senegalese soldier serving in the French forces, depicted larger than life and in a loin-cloth instead of a uniform, who threatens handsome Lebanese citizens dressed in suits and costumes and calls on them to become civilised.12 The reports about the genesis of the constitution are rather convergent. Like in the chapters on the struggle for independence, HS elaborates more on the window dressing character of the constitution and the Lebanese institutions under the French mandate, while in HH the Lebanese appear as playing an active role in laying the foundations of the Lebanese state despite such limitations (see table 7.3).

Conclusion Although the three analysed publications differ in some respects, they converge to a large degree. This might be due to the curriculum of 1971,

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which still constitutes the basis for history exams.13 Neither publication sticks to an overall frame of interpretation that is applied throughout. None of them applies the historical consciousness approach in the sense of narrating history as an open-ended process and pointing to alternatives in its different stages. Instead, all three textbook series try to integrate different layers of identity influential in Lebanese society by adopting their founding myths. Regarding the historical periods highlighted in this study, Islam, Christianity and Lebanese nationalism provide for the master narratives. The Islamic tradition is tapped for the narration of the early Islamic rule; biblical concepts form the basis of the story about early Christianity. The political implications of both religious traditions are adopted without further scrutiny, including the immanent defamations of other groups and their beliefs that come along with it, as regards the Jews and in the case of the Shi’i textbook also Christians and Polytheists. As a ma er of fact, this contradicts §10 of the Lebanese constitution, according to which education is free as long as it does not hurt the dignity of one of the religions or confessions existing in the country. In their reports on the founding of the Lebanese Republic, the HH and HS textbook series both depict it as a kind of national renaissance, the re-establishment of an older entity, although no references can be found to support this claim, neither in the textbooks nor in any other work of historiography. Thus, a myth of Lebanon as a concept deeply rooted in the past is constructed. In HH this myth perpetuates the predominantly Lebanese frame of interpretation that is also applied to previous historical periods. In HS this myth is posited against the prevailing a itude that Lebanon in its current borders was induced by French intrigue and that Lebanon’s independence movement was strongly influenced by Pan-Arabism. Both history textbooks introduce their readers to concepts of Lebanese nationalism at the end of World War I, but do not mention the intellectuals who forged these ideas, like for example Michel Chiha, Yusuf Dibs, Yussuf as-Sawda’ or Said Aql. Conversely, Arab nationalist positions at the beginning of the twentieth century are exposed more articulately, and some of its leading personalities are named (HH9: 32–36; HS9: 45–53). Concerning the demands for independence at the end of World War I, the two approaches examined in this study practice a measure of multi-perspectivity on the level of the historical actors that cannot be found in the lessons about earlier historical periods or in those that deal with the second half of the twentieth century. Thus, when HH describes Lebanon’s political system as a compromise between Christians and Muslims, the communal aspect comes in as a subordinate feature to the grand narrative that generally addresses them all as Lebanese.14

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Yet, the widening of perspective from one to multiple is restricted to a brief mentioning of different positions and makes no reference to their backgrounds. The Arab nationalist positions that are elaborated in a previous lesson are in no way related to the Lebanese ones presented in this lesson. Neither are they demarcated against each other, nor does the textbook show the intellectual, personal, etc., connections between them. The overall one-dimensional style of narration is cemented by the purely content-oriented, repetitive mode of involving the students. There are also significant differences: The Shi’i authors do not share the story of the time-honoured Lebanese struggle for autonomy but rather view modern Lebanon as a brainchild of European imperialism. Conversely, by alluding to slavery in Islam, HH displays scepticism towards the notion that early Islam established justice and equality. These differences could proof fundamental if they transcended the level of allusions and were addressed openly in the framework of one comparative approach. A er all, Lebanon has a free press, and globalisation makes information available to everybody. Thus, every literate person in Lebanon can know that Hizbullah strives for an Iranian-style Islamic republic, while the Free Patriot Movement favours secularism, the Lebanese Forces federalisation and again other parties propagate union with Syria.15 Against the background of this complex Lebanese reality it becomes evident that a unified history textbook for all Lebanese schools, if this project should ever be re-started, makes sense only if it applies a comparative approach that provides different perspectives and trains students to understand them and distinguish them from one another. Such a book would finally address some of the measures for scientification proscribed by the new history curriculum.

Notes 1. On the linkage between education and the spread of nationalism, see also Anderson (1985) and Meyer (1997). 2. About 36 per cent of Lebanon’s schools are public schools run by the MoE. Of the private schools roughly 20 per cent are Catholic, 2.6 per cent Christian Orthodox and 2 per cent Protestant. The exact share of Muslim private schools is unknown to me. Shi’i, Sunni, secular and Druze school associations participated in the curriculum commissions of the latest educational reform (1997– 2002) besides the MoE and the Christian associations. They comprise 6.3 per cent (Shi’i), 2 per cent (Sunni), 2 per cent (secular) and 0.5 per cent (Druze) respectively of the school system. 3. Statements by Daher and Frayha made during the conference ‘Textbooks and Educational Reform: Middle Eastern and European Perspectives’, conduc-

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ted by the Georg-Eckert-Institute for International Textbook Research in Amman, 18–21 July 2008. 4. The lesson on the birth of Islam in HH6 comprises five pages. The section on Christianity is only half that size. 5. See, for example, HS7: 10–11: The Abbasid Caliphs ‘lacked piousness and religiousness’ and led a life of ‘amusement and luxury’. 6. This view is contested among scholars, see e.g. Mernissi (1983). See also another Lebanese history textbook in which the Arab woman is described as enjoying considerable freedom and rights in pre-Islamic times; see Jiha and Shafiq (1992), Al-Musawwar fi at-Tarikh, grade 6. Beirut: Malayin, 130, 158. 7. The Human Rights of the UN Chartas are usually translated huquq al-insan. The term used here is al-huquq al-insaniyya. The class struggle terminology and the term inqilab hint to Iranian style Islamism, as in Persian the term inqilab means revolution. In the Arab Levant the common term is thawra. 8. See lessons 12 and 13 in both HS9 and HH9. 9. Even more convergent than that are the reports about the withdrawal of the French military forces, which was completed on 31 January 1946, again a er a empts by France to obstruct it. See HH9: 100–103; HS9: 117–123. 10. The Arabic term Istiqlal can also mean autonomy. See HH7: 118; HH8: 21, quoting from of a le er by Fakhr ad-Din to ‘the Lebanese’: ‘Our aim is … the independence and sovereignty of our country.’ See also HH8: 27, 34; HS8: 28, 32 (3x), 33 (2x), 34, 36, and 54. The textbooks emphasise that Lebanon or parts of it enjoyed or strove for autonomy also with regard to other historical contexts, e.g. HC7: 70 (Mamluks). 11. It is not made clear in the textbook which ‘historical borders’ are referred to, nor if this expression was used in an original document. 12. Thus, the stereotype of the uncivilised Oriental is combated by another one, the primitive Negro. 13. E-mail correspondence with Tanos Abou Moussa, director of the geography department at the Collége St. Joseph des Prêtres Lazaristes in Jdeidé, 10 January 2010. 14. The sects, their emergence and their parts in political developments are dealt with more extensively in the reports on Lebanon in medieval and early modern times in the volumes for grades 7 and 8. 15. For Hizbullah, see Qasim (2004), 40–42, 70–82, 277–302. For the Free Patriot Movement’s programme and charta, see www.tayyar.org and www .lebanese-forces.com. See also Shanahan (2005), 95–105.

References Textbooks Al-Sahili, Issam, et al. 2000. At-Tarikh, grade 6. 18th edition. Beirut: CRDP, 1st ed. 1983 [HC6]. ———. 2000. At-Tarikh, grade 7, seventeenth edition. Beirut: CRDP, first ed. 1986 [HC7}

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Board of Authors. 1991. Nahnu wa-‘t-Tarikh, grade 8. Beirut: Society for Islamic Religious Teaching [HS8]. ———. 1991. Nahnu wa-‘t-Tarikh, grade 9. Beirut: Society for Islamic Religious Teaching [HS9]. ———. 1995. Nahnu wa-‘t-Tarikh, grade 7, 2nd edition. Beirut: Society for Islamic Religious Teaching [HS7]. ———. 1997. Nahnu wa-‘t-Tarikh, grade 6. 3rd edition. Beirut: Society for Islamic Religious Teaching [HS6]. Curriculum Department [CRDP]. 2001. Nafidha ‘ala al-Madhi, grades 2 and 3. Beirut: CRDP [HC2 and 3]. Hayek, Jean, et al. 1996. At-Tarikh al-‘Ilmi, grade 6. Beirut: Habib [HH6]. ———. 1996. At-Tarikh al-‘Ilmi, grade 7. Beirut: Habib [HH7]. ———. 1996. At-Tarikh al-‘Ilmi, grade 8. Beirut: Habib [HH8]. ———. 1996. At-Tarikh al-‘Ilmi, grade 9. Beirut: Habib [HH9]. Literature Abdalla Doumato, Eleanor. 2003. ‘Manning the Barricades: Islam According to Saudi Arabia’s School Texts’, Middle East Journal 57, 2: 230–247. Al-Husri, Abu Khaldun Sati’. 1959. Ma hiya al-Qawmiyya? Abhath wa-Dirasat ‘ala Daw’ al-Ahdath wa-‘n-Nazhariyyat. Beirut: Malayin. Anderson, Benedict. 1985. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Emergence and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso. Arzuni, Khalil. 1997. Ilgha’ at-Ta’ifiyya fi Lubnan wa-Fasl at-Tawa’if ‘an ad-Dawla. Beirut. Awit, Henry. 2001. ‘L’Enseignement de l’histoire: chance et/ou handicap pour le dialogue?’, in Cultures en Dialogue, Actes du neuvième colloque annuel. Ed. Secrétariat Général Pour L’Enseignment Catholique au Liban. Beirut. 35–49 (in French and Arabic). Corm, Georges. 2005. Le Liban contemporain: Histoire et société. Paris: La Décourverte Curriculum Department. 2000. Decree no. 3175, Definition of Aims and Curricula for the Subject of History, Grades of General pre-Academic Education, Al-Jarida ar-Rasmiyya, no. 27, 22 June. Daher, Massoud. 2008. ‘Kitab at-Tarikh al-Madrasi fi Lubnan: al-Ma’ziq arRahin wa-l-Hulul al-‘Ilmiyya’, paper presented at the conference ‘Textbooks and Educational Reform: Middle Eastern and European Perspectives’, conducted by the Georg-Eckert-Institute, Amman, 18–21 July. Firro, Kais. 2003. Inventing Lebanon: Nationalism and the State under the Mandate. London: Tauris. Frayha, Nemer. 1999. ‘Surat al-Gharb fi al-Kutub al-Madrasiyya al-Lubnaniyya’, Bahithat 5: 284–331. Gambill, Gary. 2007. ‘Islamist Groups in Lebanon’, MERIA 11, 4. Harik, Ilya. 1999. ‘On the Nature of the State and its Responsibilities’, in The State and Education in Lebanon. Ed. Munir Bashshur. Beirut: LAES, 13–38 (Arabic). Hock, Klaus, et al. 2005. Die Darstellung des Christentums in Schulbüchern islamisch geprägter Länder. 3 vols. Hamburg: EBV.

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Jeismann, Karl-Ernst. 2000. Geschichte und Bildung. Beiträge zur Geschichtsdidaktik und zur Historischen Bildungsforschung. Paderborn: Schöningh. Kriener, Jonathan. 2011. Lebanese – but how? Secular and Religious Conceptions of State and Society at Lebanese Schools. Würzburg: Ergon. Mernissi, Fatima. 1983. Sexe Idéologie Islam. Paris: Tièrce. Meyer, John, et al. 1997. ‘World Society and the Nation State’, American Journal of Sociology 103: 144–181. Pingel, Falk. 1999. UNESCO Guidebook on Textbook Research and Textbook Revision. Hannover: Hahn. Qasim, Na’im. 2004. Hizb Allah, al-manhaj.. at-tajriba.. al-mustaqbal. Beirut: Hadi. Ross, Alistair. 2002. ‘Citizenship Education and Curriculum Theory’, in Citizenship Education and the Curriculum. Eds. David Sco and Helen Lawson. Westport, CT: Ablex, 45–62. Salama, Husayn. 2001. Surat al-‘Arab wa-Isra’il fi al-Kitab al-Madrasi al-Lubnani. Beirut: Ad-Dar al-Islamiyya. Salibi, Kamal. 1988. A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered. London: Tauris. Shanahan, Roger. 2005. The Shia of Lebanon: Clans, Parties and Clerics. London: Tauris. Vaglieri, Laura. 1992. ‘The Patriarchal and Umayyad Caliphates’, in The Cambridge History of Islam. Eds. Anna Lampton and Bernhard Lewis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 57–103. Wehbe, Nakhlé. 2003. Ahfad bi-la Judud. Qadhaya Kitabat at-Tarikh. Beirut. Wehbe, Nakhlé, and Adnan El Amine. 1980. Système d’enseignment et division sociale au Liban. Paris: Le Sýcomore.

Q8 THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION AND THE RANGE OF ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CONTENT OF CIVIC EDUCATION TEXTBOOKS IN JORDAN Mustafa Abu al-Sheikh and Yasser al-Khalailah

The last decades witnessed some rapid developments that triggered important changes in most countries of the world. In the realm of education, the importance modern societies a ach to civic education has grown as a result. This has happened particularly during the first decade of the twenty-first century, a decade which has been characterised by differences in values and behavioural norms, increasing violence, the break-down of relations and conflicts of interests (al-Mahrouqi 2008). Prescribed textbooks are considered some of the most important means for combating these issues through education. They are the tools used by educational institutions to achieve their specified objectives, and they contain the philosophies, values, foundations and models that characterise the societies in which the books are taught. By analysing them, we can identify the foundations and principles of the curricula of which the textbooks are a part. Societies endeavour to disseminate these principles in the hearts of their young through their school curricula (al-Shawan 1996). The curricula of social studies, including those of national and civic education are considered particularly relevant in this respect (Suleyman and Nafi’ 2001). Several studies have analysed social studies textbooks of various countries. Some of these have analysed the books in terms of the social values that they contain, for example, the studies of al-Sayyid (1991), Mubarak (1991), Sharp and Wood (1994) and al-Rayyis (2000). There are also studies that deal with the books’ concepts and other types of content, such as Pritchard and Gordy (1995) and al-‘Umayr (1996) and also Wade (1993), which followed studies that analysed social studies over a period of ten years (1982–1992), dealing with the topics covered in the books. The most significant results of this study demonstrated the limited coverage of topics, the prevalence of errors in the content

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and didactical shortcomings that limit students’ understanding of the content. This chapter aims to analyse a sample of Jordanian civic education books for the advanced level of elementary education in order to evaluate to what extent the official philosophical foundations are reflected in the textbook content. Jordan has invested great energies to systematically develop its education system since the 1960s, and it has made considerable progress in this respect. Next to the physical expansion of the education system, thanks to careful planning it has become more coherent and efficient in achieving its goals. Among other factors, a Jordanian educational philosophy has been defined, as have its goals, its policies and its levels of education. A deliberate discussion of Jordanian educational development is provided by Mohammad Abbas’s chapter in this volume. Programs for the development of curricula and textbooks have required great efforts and financial resources from the ministry, which has also carried out studies to evaluate the programs. As far as the researchers know, none of these studies have dealt directly with the extent of the implications of the guiding principles of Jordan’s educational philosophy for prescribed textbooks, and no strategies have been put forward to reduce the disparity between the guiding principles and what is found in these books (Abu al-Sheikh 1999). The principles and the general goals of education laid down in officially adopted documents put forward an image of the student as a believer in God and a member of his nation and his community, graced with the virtues of humanity and developing the different aspects of his/her character, whether they be physical, mental, spiritual, emotional or social (Ministry of Education 2007). The textbook is one of the most important components of the curriculum, playing a central role in the educational process. It is the tool used by educational institutions to achieve the established goals of education in society. A textbook includes philosophies, values, principles and ideals which characterise the society in which the textbook is taught. Analysis of textbooks helps us to understand the foundations and principles which give rise to the curricula that contain these textbooks. These principles represent the culture of a society and govern the behaviour of its members (al-Doueiri 1995; Zahran 1984). Society endeavours to propagate such principles among its people through its curricula and textbooks (al-Sha’wan 1417 AH). Civic education textbooks are characterised by their diversity and breadth of scope, giving special a ention to the unique, distinguishing characteristics of the society in which they are studied. These characteristics can be historical and geographical and can include some political,

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economic and social aspects (Hoge 1996). For this reason, analysis of textbooks can give a clear picture of the characteristics of this society, and of the foundations, philosophies and principles it adopts (Padge 1976). The elementary stage of education in Jordan is compulsory, and the eighth, ninth and tenth years come at the end of this stage, a er which, at the age of sixteen, students can enter the labour market. This study has focused on this stage, because students graduating from this stage should be particularly well-equipped with the capabilities outlined in the philosophical foundations of education, foundations that are derived from the philosophy of Jordanian society as it is outlined in the Jordanian Constitution and the Jordanian National Charter. The significance of this study lies in its identification of the role of prescribed textbooks in achieving the educational objectives that arise from this philosophy. It also lies in defining the extent to which the philosophical foundations of Jordan’s educational philosophy are reflected in the contents of the civic education textbooks prescribed for the higher level of elementary education. Several studies have a empted to identify the actual nature of the educational reforms included in textbooks, particularly at the elementary level, in order to help to complete the intended process of modernisation. Thus, al-Hawamada and al-‘Adwan (N.d.) determine the degree to which social and civic education books for the first, second, third and fourth years of elementary education in Jordan focus on principles of tolerance. The study demonstrates that the textbooks focus on some of the principles of tolerance, and overlook other principles that are significant to the students. They also show that these principles were not addressed in an organised, systematically planned manner, without a pre-defined educational plan. Al-Ruba’i (1994) and Shtaywi (N.d.) deal with the image of women and gender roles in elementary school curricula in Jordan. They demonstrate that textbooks do not present a balanced image of gender roles, neither in terms of quantity nor in terms of quality. Naseema al-Khalidi’s chapter in this volume provides an elaborate analysis of Jordanian textbooks concerning gendered representations. Sari (1995) analyses the concepts of human rights included in elementary Jordanian Arabic language textbooks. This study demonstrates that there is considerable coverage of the concept of human rights in textbooks from this level of elementary education in Jordan. Some of its features, like the right to defend one’s nation, the right to equality before the law, and the individual’s right to live in a clean, unpolluted environment were focused on more than others. The study also shows that the manner in which the books present these concepts

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to students was not consistent and commensurate with the students’ age and level of learning. ‘Umayra’s study (2001) aimed to identify the focus of elementary level social education books in Jordan and its teachers’ knowledge of the principles of human rights by distributing a questionnaire to elementary level teachers in the Irbid district, and by analysing the content of this level’s social education books. The analysis showed that civic education textbooks ranked first in the extent of their concern for the principles of human rights, followed by social education textbooks for the lower elementary level (grades 1 to 5), history textbooks ranked third and geography textbooks ranked last. The results of the study relating to the knowledge of teachers (male and female) about all sections of the questionnaire indicated that the field of culture ranked first, followed by civic affairs, and, on average, politics ranked last. When male and female teachers were treated as separate groups, their results were the same as when they were taken together. Raghda al-‘Ataywi’s study (1995) evaluated elementary social and civic education curricula in Jordan in terms of social foundations. It carried out an analysis of social and civic education textbooks and a consultation of the teachers of these curricula. It indicated that some aspects of social foundations were particularly prevalent in the textbooks and it also demonstrated that teachers had advanced knowledge of social foundations and that there is a relationship between the prevalence of these foundations and the teachers’ knowledge of them, and that social foundations are some of the most important foundations upon which states base their systems of regulations. The present study differs from those mentioned above in that it endeavours to reveal the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan, particularly those of civic education, and the extent of their explicit and implicit implications for textbooks prescribed for use in the higher elementary level of education.

Jordan’s Educational Philosophy Jordan’s educational philosophy is rooted in the Jordanian Constitution, Arab-Islamic civilisation, the principles of the Great Arab Revolt and the national experience of Jordan, as laid down in Education Law no. 3 of 1994 (Ministry of Education 2007). This philosophy is evident in foundations that have been categorised into five different areas. The first of these, the intellectual foundations, includes faith in God and in the ideals of the Arab Nation. Islam is seen as an intellectual, behavioural system that demands respect for humankind, promotes the importance

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of intellectual activity and encourages learning, work and creative activity. It is also defined as a comprehensive value system that provides the values and sound foundations that form the conscience of the individual and the community and the fact that there is an organic relationship between Islam and Arabism. The next category is that of the social foundations, according to which Jordanians share equal political, social and economic rights and duties – what differentiates between them is what they offer their society and the degree to which they participate in it – and individual freedom and dignity are respected. The basic foundations of society are social justice, the balancing of the needs of the individual and those of society, the cooperation and shared responsibility of individuals for the greater good and the assumption of individual and social responsibilities. Society’s progress depends on its members being organised in such a way that defends the interests of the nation and the people. Political and social cooperation within the framework of a democratic system is declared the right of the individual and his/her duty to society. Finally, access to education is declared a social necessity and the right of everyone. The next category is that of educational philosophy’s national foundations, which state that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is an Arab state whose system of government is that of a parliamentary hereditary monarchy. According to these national foundations, Jordan forms part of the Arab nation and the Jordanian people are an integral part of the Arab-Islamic community; the Jordanian people are an integral entity, within which there is no place for ethnic-, regional-, sectarian-, clan- or family-based intolerance or partisanship. The next category is that of ethnic foundations. According to these, the Arabic language is a fundamental pillar of the Arab community, and one of the factors that contributes to its unity and its renaissance. Another element of this category is that the Great Arab Revolt demonstrated the ambitions of the Arab community and its aspirations for independence, freedom, unity and progress.1 This category also includes devotion to the Arab nature of Palestine and all parts of the Arab nation that have been forcibly appropriated, and the need to recover them. The Palestinian question is therefore an issue of fundamental importance to the Jordanian people. The humanitarian foundations focus on the need for balance between elements of national, ethnic and Islamic identity on the one hand, and, on the other hand, openness towards global cultures. It also focuses on the need to adapt to modern developments and to enable individuals to meet the demands of the modern world.

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Civic Education in Jordan Social studies teaching in Jordan in public education before 1989 consisted mainly of history and geography. At the start of the sixties, a subject was added to these that was taught for several years, it included elements of philosophy, sociology and psychology. This subject then vanished from the curriculum, and civic education was limited to the information and instruction that were found in the subjects of history, geography and Islamic studies. In fact, Islamic studies took the place of civic education for over a quarter century. The commi ee set up by the Jordanian prime minister at the end of 1985 to review Jordanian education policy and develop a new education policy to replace it recognised that civic education had been wrongly neglected and that an imbalance had developed in the education of generations of Jordanians because of this. For this reason, the committee emphasised in its recommendations the need to ‘develop national loyalty and a sense of ethnic belonging among the emerging generation and their teachers. This should be done by introducing civic education into the various stages of education.’ This recommendation was then adopted by the 1987 Jordanian Educational Development Conference in Amman and civic education was introduced into the curriculum of social and national education in elementary education that was set up in 1989, and into the curriculum of social and national education in secondary education that was set up in 1992 (Muhafiza 1994). The curriculum for the study of civic education in Jordan is based on the philosophical foundations of education, which are derived from the education law, the general objectives of education, the principles and values of the heritage of Arab-Islamic civilisation, the objectives of the Great Arab Revolt, the nation’s constitution and Jordan’s national experience, in its political, economic and social dimensions. The study of civic education aims to prepare citizens who are commi ed to their duties, who defend their rights, who believe in freedom and justice and equality before the law and who feel a sense of belonging to their nation and their community. It also endeavours to give students the fundamental skills that enable them to engage in self-criticism, to participate in decision making, to be of fine moral character, to use reason in debate and respect the opinions of others, to embody academic values, such as reliability, objectivity, curiosity, perseverance, to perform their duties, to uphold their rights, to believe in the principles of social justice, to uphold freedom, to bear responsibilities, to practice democracy, to work as part of a team, to take part in collective and

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volunteer action, to take interest in the nation’s problems, to protect its achievements, to maintain its stability, to value the public interest and place it above personal interest, to make sacrifices for the common good, to be aware of Jordan’s status as an Arab, Islamic nation, to believe in pluralism within the framework of national unity and to use this for the good of the nation (Ministry of Education 1991).

Curriculum and Textbook Development in Jordan Curricula and textbooks are prepared in Jordan through a number of measures that focus on adopting broad outlines established by the Education Council.2 The curricula and textbooks are then administered by the Ministry, which elects a commi ee to direct and supervise the preparation of the curricula and the composition of the textbooks, and to choose the members of the team of authors to write the units of the manuscript. The academic editor then edits the educational content, prepares the entirety of the manuscripts, its images, drawings and presentation. A er the copyediting of the manuscript, it is presented to the Education Council for discussion and approval, a er its authors have incorporated the Council’s comments. The editing department then carries out the technical editing of the manuscript, and the design department prepares the necessary designs, and the drawings, images and front and back cover. This is followed by the printing of the textbook and its distribution and adoption in all schools a er it has been tested in a limited number of them and assessed and adjusted.

Research Questions The study aims to identify the philosophical foundations that direct education in Jordan and to explore to what extent these foundations are reflected in the content of the prescribed civic education textbooks. This is demonstrated by calculating the frequency of their appearance, either explicitly or implicitly, in the content. The study also a empts to identify the extent to which the implications of these foundations for the content of the prescribed civic education textbooks in the higher level of elementary education differed according to the level of the classes. The sample chosen for analysis includes the civic education textbooks prescribed for the higher level of elementary education in Jordan (grades 8, 9 and 10) that were taught in all state and private schools in

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the 2007–2008 academic year. To achieve these objectives, the researchers have a empted to answer the following questions: To what extent are the philosophical foundations that direct education in Jordan in general, and particularly civic education reflected in the civic education textbooks prescribed for higher elementary education? Are differences discernible regarding this ma er between civic education textbooks of the various grades (i.e. between the 8th, 9th and 10th grades)?

Research Strategy The researchers have identified ‘the philosophical foundations of education’ to be a group of foundations, objectives and beliefs held by society as a defined intellectual or political ideology that is distinguished from other intellectual or political ideologies. ‘Content analysis’ is a descriptive method of research that is concerned with collecting data from documents, whether they be wri en, or audio or visual recordings, and then analysing the information found in the content of the documents in order to arrive at objective explanations and conclusions. In this study this means the analysis of civic education textbooks (the study sample) as wri en documents. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers have used a descriptive methodology, surveying official documents, books and sources that relate to the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan, to the se ing up and development of curricula, and to the composition and printing of textbooks in general, and civic education textbooks in particular. Part of the researchers’ descriptive methodology is their use of content analysis, which begins by selecting a sample of the material under analysis, then categorises and subjects it to quantitative and qualitative analysis (Kana’an 1995: 23). This necessitates the composition of a list of expressions and ideas (and others that are derived from them) that are included in the books and that provide evidence of the philosophical foundations of education, namely its intellectual, national, ethnic, humanitarian and social foundations. The researchers also identified a single theme for the process of analysis; this is considered to be the largest, most important and most useful of the units of content analysis. It is a fundamental unit for the analysis of a itudes, values and beliefs (Kana‘an 1995: 38). They then prepared analysis lists and standards against which to evaluate the textbook contents. They identified the indicators of the different foundations using a single classification when classifying the categories of the content (an individual classification for each category to avoid any duplication in

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the classification). They examined the frequencies of items in their analysis and then one of the researchers carried out a statistical treatment of the data and presented explanations and conclusions based on the results of the analysis. The material used in the study consisted of the 2007 edition of higher level elementary (grades 8, 9 and 10) civic education textbooks. To confirm the reliability of the instruments of content analysis used in this study, they were cross checked and approved by a commi ee of arbitrators consisting of seven university professors with expertise in this field. The reliability of the analysis was ensured using the method of verifying consistency between two analysts, whereby one unit was selected from each civic education book and analysed by external analyst. It became clear that there was a strong correlation in its results; the researchers calculated the degree of the coefficient of congruence between their analysis and that of the other analyst according to the Holsti equation (Holsti 1969), and found that it stood at 0.90. This is a high level of congruence that confirms the soundness and consistency of the analysis. In terms of the treatment of statistics, the study included independent variables, including the variable of the content of the higher elementary level civic education textbooks, which have three levels, and the variable of the philosophical foundations, which have five levels. The dependent variable, meanwhile, is the extent of the implications of education’s philosophical foundations in Jordan for the civic education textbooks prescribed for grades 8, 9 and 10, which is indicated by the frequency of the philosophical foundations’ direct and indirect appearances in the sample of books, whether in the form of an item of information, a skill being taught, or a positive a itude, and the percentage of the sampled books’ pages on which they appear. A er sorting and organising the data gathered through analysis of the content of the civic education textbooks prescribed for grades 8, 9 and 10, the statistical so ware SPSS was used to calculate the frequencies and percentages of each of the indicators used to analyse the intellectual, national, ethnic, humanitarian and social elements of the philosophical foundations. The total for all of the categories together was also calculated. These procedures were carried out for each of the books in the sample. Data were also analysed individually (One Way ANOVA) to test for signs of differences between the frequencies of the appearances of the five different categories of the philosophical foundations of education in each of the three civic education textbooks against the variable of the level of the books (for grades 8, 9 and 10). Scheffe’s Test was used to identify signs of differences between the frequencies

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of the five categories of the philosophical foundations of education according to the level of the three civic education textbooks.

Results of the Study The first question posed by the study was: ‘To what degree are the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan reflected in the contents of the three civic education textbooks prescribed for study in grades 8, 9 and 10 of the higher elementary level of education in Jordan?’ A summary of the frequencies, percentages and levels of the implications of the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan for the three prescribed civic education textbooks can be seen in table 8.1. Table 8.1 | References to the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan in Civics textbooks The philosophical foundations of education according to education law number 3 (1994)

Number

%

1. Faith in God Almighty

2

0.5

2. Belief in the higher ideals of the Arab community

9

2.5

3. Islam as an intellectual, behavioural system that demands respect for humankind, promotes the importance of intellectual activity, and encourages learning, work, and creative activity

46

12.5

4. Islam as a comprehensive value system that provides the values and sound foundations that form the conscience of the individual and the community

21

5.7

5. The organic relationship between Islam and Arabism

3

.8

Total for intellectual foundations

81

22.1

1. Jordanians share equal political, social, and economic rights and duties, and what differentiates between them is what they offer their society and the degree to which they participate in it

37

10.1

2. Respect for the individual’s freedom and dignity

14

3.8

Rank

Categories The philosophical foundations of education

A – Intellectual Foundations

3

B – Social Foundations

(continued)

164 | Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East

B – Social Foundations (cont’d.) C – National Foundations D – Ethnic Foundations

3. The cohesion and stability of society are beneficial and necessary for all its members, the basic foundations of society are social justice, the balancing of the needs of the individual and those of society, the cooperation and shared responsibility of individuals for the greater good, and the assumption of individual and social responsibilities

26

7.1

4. Society’s progress depends on its members being organised in such a way that defends the interests of the nation and the people

14

3.8

5. Political and social cooperation within the framework of a democratic system is the right of the individual and his/her duty to society

27

7.4

6. Education is a social necessity and the right of everyone according to their own abilities.

3.3

12

Total for social foundations

130

35.4

1. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is an Arab state whose system of government is that of a parliamentary hereditary monarchy. Loyalty in Jordan is first to God and then to the nation and the king.

43

11.7

2. Jordan forms part of the Arab nation and the Jordanian people are an integral part of the Arab-Islamic community

3

0.8

3. The Jordanian people are an integral entity, within which there is no place for ethnic, regional, sectarian clan, or family-based intolerance or partisanship.

39

10.6

Total for the national foundations

85

23.2

1. The Arabic language is a fundamental pillar of the existence of the Arab community, and one of the factors that contributes to its unity and its renaissance

3

0.8

2. The Great Arab Revolt demonstrated the ambitions of the Arab community and its aspirations for independence, freedom, unity, and progress

8

2.2

3. Devotion to the Arab nature of Palestine and all parts of the Arab nation that have been forcibly appropriated, and the need to recover them.

5

1.4

4. The Palestinian question is an issue of fundamental importance to the Jordanian people.

11

3.0

Total for the ethnic foundations

27

7.4

1

2

5

Civic Education Textbooks in Jordan | 165

E – Humanitarian Foundations

1. The need for balance between elements of national, ethnic, and Islamic identity on the one hand, and, on the other hand, openness towards global cultures.

18

4.9

2. The need to adapt to modern developments and to enable individuals to meet the demands of the modern world

10

2.7

3. The need to build up international understanding based on justice, equality, and freedom

8

2.7

4. The need to work to participate positively in global civilisation and to develop it.

8

2.2

Total for the humanitarian foundations

44

12.0

Total for the five different fields

367

100.0

4

Table 8.1 shows that the content of these books includes 367 indicators of the philosophical foundations of education within the three books, including text, images and diagrams. This shows that the rate of inclusion of the different philosophical foundations in civic education textbooks for grades 8, 9 and 10 stands at 101.1 per cent. That is to say that, on average, each page included at least one indicator of one of the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan. The table also shows that references to the social foundations were most prevalent in terms of the number of occurrences (130) and the percentage (35.8 per cent). References to the intellectual, national, humanitarian and ethnic foundations occurred 81, 85, 44 and 27 times and the percentages of their inclusion stood at 22.1 per cent, 23.2 per cent, 12.0 per cent and 7.4 per cent respectively. These particular results may reflect the choice of the textbook authors rather than the rules codified in education law. The fact that the national foundations occupy second place may be the result of the focus on this area in the official activities of the state’s institutions, and the various unofficial activities of the institutions of civic society. The researchers believe that the ranking of the intellectual foundations (third) may be the result of the influence of Arab-Islamic culture, with which Jordanian citizens, including the authors of the textbooks, are brought up. It seems that the writers’ focus on the fields of the ethnic and humanitarian foundations was insufficient in terms of its treatment of the economic and political conditions in which all groups of Jordanian citizens live. In order to determine the extent of the implications of the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan for the contents of each of

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the civic education textbooks for the higher elementary level of education (grades 8, 9, 10), table 8.2 has been drawn up, demonstrating the frequencies, percentages and ranking of the total implications of the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan in each book. The analysis of civic education textbooks for grades 8, 9 and 10 displayed in table 8.2 reveals an imbalance in the distribution of the categories of foundations within each book, and between the three different books. This is confirmed by the contents of table 8.3, which presents the results of the study in terms of the frequency of the indicators of the different categories of the philosophical foundations of education, and the ranking of each one of them in each of the civic education textbooks Table 8.2 | References to the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan in selected Civics textbooks, grades 8–10 Book

The Grade Eight Book

The Grade Nine Book

The Grade Ten Book

Categories of philosophical foundations

Frequency

%

Ranking

A – Intellectual foundations

20

5.4

2

B – Social foundations

30

8.2

1

C – National foundations

12

3.3

5

D – Ethnic foundations

18

4.9

3

E – Humanitarian foundations

14

3.8

4

Total for all five categories

94

25.6

Second

A – Intellectual foundations

16

4.4

2

B – Social foundations

17

4.6

1

C – National foundations

13

3.5

3

D – Ethnic foundations

1

0.3

5

E – Humanitarian foundations

7

1.1

4

Total for all five categories

54

13.9

Third

A – Intellectual foundations

45

12.3

3

B – Social foundations

83

22.6

1

C – National foundations

60

16.3

2

D – Ethnic foundations

8

2.2

5

E – Humanitarian foundations

23

6.3

4

Total for all five categories

219

59.7

First

367

100.00

Total for the three books

Civic Education Textbooks in Jordan | 167

prescribed for the eighth, ninth and tenth years of higher elementary education. Table 8.3 shows that the different categories of educational foundations are reflected unequally in the three textbooks. The researchers believe that this may mainly be the result of poor coordination between the teams writing the three books, and poor follow-up work from the team responsible for checking the contents of the books and comparing them with what is wri en in the documents outlining the curricula, and in Education Law no. 3 of 1994. Table 8.4 has been prepared in response to the second question posed by the study: ‘Does the extent to which the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan are reflected in the civic education textbooks prescribed for higher elementary education vary between the different grades (8, 9 and 10) of this stage of education?’ It contains the frequency Table 8.3 | Frequency of the indicators of the philosophical foundations of education in selected Civics textbooks, grades 8–10 Frequency of the indicators of the The catephilosophigories of the cal foundaphilosophical tions of foundations educations of education that appear according to in the grade education eight book law number 3 (1994) Number %

Frequency of the indicators of the philosophical foundations of educations that appear in the grade nine book

Frequency of the indicators of the philosophical foundations of educations that appear in the grade ten book

Frequency of the indicators of the philosophical foundations of educations that appear in the three books together

Number

%

Number %

Number

%

Ranking

A– Intellectual foundations

20

5.4

16

4.4

45

12.3

81

22.1

3

B – Social foundations

30

8.2

17

4.6

8.3

22.6

130

35.4

1

C – National foundations

12

3.3

13

3.5

60

16.3

85

23.2

2

D – Ethnic foundations

18

4.9

1

0.3

8

2.2

27

7.4

5

E– Humanitarian foundations

14

3.8

7

1.1

23

6.3

44

12.0

4

Total for all five categories

94

25.6

54

3.8

219

59.7

367

100.00

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Table 8.4 | Differences between selected Civics textbooks, grades 8–10, regarding references to philosophical foundations of education Frequency of the indicaThe categories of tors of the the philosophical philosophical foundations of foundations education accord- of educations ing to education that appear law number 3 in the grade (1994) eight book

Frequency of the indicators of the philosophical foundations of educations that appear in the grade nine book

Frequency of the indicators of the philosophical foundations of educations that appear in the grade ten book

Frequency of the indicators of the philosophical foundations of educations that appear in the three books together

A – Intellectual foundations

20

16

45

81

B – Social foundations

30

17

8.3

130

C – National foundations

12

13

60

85

D – Ethnic foundations

18

1

8

27

E – Humanitarian foundations

14

7

23

44

Total for all five categories

94

54

219

367

of the indicators of the different categories of the philosophical foundations of education in civic education textbooks for grades 8, 9 and 10, demonstrating the extent of the implications of the philosophical foundations for these books. Table 8.4 demonstrates differences between the three books regarding the extent to which the categories of philosophical foundations are reflected in them. To confirm these apparent differences, the frequencies of the five categories of the philosophical foundations of education in each of the civic education textbooks against the variable of the level of the book have been tested using single differentiation analysis (One Way ANOVA), as is presented in table 8.5. Table 8.5 demonstrates the presence of significant differences in the frequencies of the five categories of philosophical foundations of education that are evident in each civic education book against the variable of the level of these books (grades 8, 9 and 10). Such differences are statistically significant when α = 0.05.

Civic Education Textbooks in Jordan | 169

Table 8.5 | Statistical significance of differences between textbooks regarding references to philosophical foundations of education All Categories

Tolerance

Average of Categories

Value

Significance

Between the groups

2856.133

2

1428.067

4.369

.038

Within the groups (error)

3922.800

12

326.900

The entire group

6778.933

14

To demonstrate that the significance of the difference in the frequencies of the five categories of the philosophical foundations of education between the three civic education books stands at α = 0.05, Scheffe’s Test was used, the results of which are shown in table 8.6. The results show that there are significant differences between the frequencies of the five categories of philosophical foundations of education in the civic education books for grades 9 and 10, with grade 10 having a significantly higher frequency.

Conclusions The Jordanian state is concerned with the application of general principles, and key concepts and a itudes that together form an educational philosophy that is defined within four key areas: Islam and Arabism, the Great Arab Revolt, the Jordanian experience and global civilisation. These are general areas, which are not clearly defined. Thus, although specific, fundamental principles and ideas about education have developed, a clearly defined educational philosophy has not yet developed.

Table 8.6 | Statistical significance of differences between the frequencies of the five categories of philosophical foundations of education in selected Civics textbooks, grades 9–10 (I) BOOKS Book for year eight

Book for year nine

Mean Difference (I–J)

Std. Error

Sig.

Book for year nine

7.20

11.435

.823

Book for year ten

–25.00

11.435

.134

Book for year ten

–32.20

11.435

.048

(J) BOOKS

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Educational affairs are directed according to these officially followed foundations and ideas, elements that are derived from heritage, values and aspirations. They can be found in Education Law no. 3 of 1994, classified into five categories: ‘intellectual foundations’, ‘national foundations’, ‘ethnic foundations’, ‘humanitarian foundations’ and ‘social foundations’. These foundations originate from several key sources: the Jordanian constitution, the principles of the Great Arab Revolt (unity, freedom, a be er life) and the Jordanian national experience. They can also be seen in political movements, professional organisations, and their political, social and other ideologies, and in global civilisation and the openness of the Jordanian national experience to it. It is clear from official documents that the establishment and development of curricula, and the preparation and printing of textbooks in Jordan, were carried out in a practical, academic, coherent, orderly manner, in accordance with the regulations and directives put in place specifically for this purpose. Meanwhile, the results of the study’s analysis of the content of the higher elementary level civic education textbooks reveal that there is a discrepancy between the content of these books, and the foundations of Jordan’s official educational philosophy. It is clear from these results that the textbooks sometimes contain the general a itudes and principles of the foundations to a high extent, but sometimes only to a medium or low extent. They also show that there is an imbalance in the extent of the implications of each of the five categories, and an imbalance in the implications of individual categories across the three books. The researchers believe that the disparity between the actual content of the content of these books and the foundations of Jordan’s official philosophy has several causes, of which the most important are the following: The general lack of sufficient care and a ention on the part of the authors of the textbooks, which may be the result of their use of sources that are not based on the philosophical foundations of education in Jordan, in spite of the fact that these foundations are explicitly stated in the law and are mentioned among the goals and policies dealt with in the general outlines for the curricula and the textbooks established by the Education Council. Another possible reason for the disparity is the generalisation and ambiguity that characterises the passages in the aforementioned education law which describe the majority of the five categories of the philosophical foundations of education. This ambiguity is particularly prevalent in passages describing the national, ethnic and humanitarian foundations. It is difficult and sometimes even impossible to derive

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indicators and educational principles and a itudes from such texts so that they can be included in textbooks, especially when the writers have not been trained to do this, with their training and preparation focusing instead on furnishing them with the relevant academic content and enabling them to carry out the formal production of the textbooks. The reason for the disparity between the content of the books and the official educational philosophy of Jordan may also lie in the systems of values, traditions, a itudes, ideas and beliefs held by the authors themselves. This explains the prominence of indicators reflecting the intellectual foundations, which the Arab-Islamic values and traditions that are prevalent in Jordanian society dominate through the social formation that prevails in families, the local community, the media, social and cultural centres and clubs, and places of worship. The researchers also believe that the lack of a ention paid by the writers to the foundations relating to race/ethnicity, especially to matters concerning the Palestinian question and the forcibly appropriated parts of the Arab nation, may be the result of the political situation and the international agreements that Jordan has signed, things that have not been accompanied by changes in the descriptions of the philosophical foundations that are found in the aforementioned education law. This gives rise to contradictions between the a itudes held by textbook authors and what is found in official documents, making it difficult for the authors to include the foundations in the textbooks they write. Translated from Arabic by Clem Naylor

Notes 1. The Great Arab Revolt was an uprising against the O oman state led in June 1916 by the ruler of Mecca, al-Sharif Husayn, with support from the British. 2. The Education Council is under the leadership of the minister of education and has eighteen members representing the different social actors involved. They are appointed by the cabinet on the recommendation of the minister for a renewable period of four years. The secretary-general and the directorgeneral of the curricula from the Ministry must be among these members. The Council is entrusted with taking specific decisions about the broad outlines of curricula for different levels of education and for different subjects, and of prescribed textbooks and their teaching manuals. No book can be taught and no curriculum can be used in any educational establishment without the approval of the Council.

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References Sources in Arabic Abu al-Sheikh, Mustafa Hussein. 1999. Al-Usus al-falsafiyya lil-tarbiyya wa dawr tadrīb al-mu‘allimīn wa ta’hīlihim fī tahqīqihā. Unpublished doctoral thesis, the Lebanese University, Beirut. Ahmad, Ahmad Jabir. 1991. ‘Muda fa‘āliyya muqarrarāt al-dirāsāt al-ijtimā‘iyya wa mu‘allimīhā fī tanmiyya al-qiyam al-khalqiyya wa al-ijtimā‘iyya bil-halqa al-thāniyya min al-ta‘līm al-asāsī’, al-Majalla al-tarbawiyya 4: 17–52 (Kulliyya al-tarbiyya, Sohag, Egypt). Al-‘Ataywi, Raghda Muhammad. 1995. Taqyīm manāhij al-tarbiyya al-ijtimā‘iyya wa al-wataniyya fī marhala al-ta‘alīm al-asāsī al-ijtimā‘ī. Unpublished Master’s thesis, al-Yarmouk University, Amman. Al-Doueiri, Maysoun Ahmad. 1995. Wāqi‘ al-qiyam fī kutub al-tarbiyya alijtimā‘iyya al-wataniyya lil-sufūf al-arba‘a al-ūlā min al-marhala al-asāsiyya fī alurdunn. Unpublished Master’s thesis, al-Yarmouk University. Al-Hawamada, Muhammad Fuad, and Zaid Suleyman al-‘Adwan. N.d. ‘Dawr al- manāhij al-tarbawiyya fī muhāriba al-irhāb min khilāl ta‘līm thaqāfa altasāmuh’. Paper presented at ‘Mu’tamar al-irhāb fī al-‘asr al-raqmī’, at alHussein ibn Talal University, Amman. Al-Mahrouqi, Majid ibn Khalfan. 2008. Dawr al-manāhij al-dirāsiyya fī tahqīq ahdāf tarbiyya al-muwātina. Dā’ira al-ishrāf al-tarbawī lil-manāhij, h p://swideg .jeeran.com/geography/archive/2008/11/730754.html, retrieved January 2010. Al-Naji, Hassan ‘Ali, and Dhabab al-Rajifa. 2002. ‘Dirāsāt tahlīliyya lil-qiyam al-mutadammina fī kitāb al-‘ulūm lil-saff al-thāmin al-asāsī fī al-urdunn’, Majalla kulliyya al-tarbiyya 17, no. 19. United Arab Emirates University. Al-Rayyis, Abdulaziz Abdullah. 1421 AH / 2000. “Al-Qiyam allatī tatad.ammanuhā kutub al-tarbiyya al-wat.aniyya al-muqarrara ‘ala al-s.ufūf al-thalātha al-akhīra min al-marh.ala al-ibtidā’iyya fī al-mamlaka al-‘arabiyya alsa‘ūdiyya”, unpublished Master’s thesis, King Sa‘ud University, Riyadh. Al-Ruba‘i, Raghda Ahmad. 1994. Sūra al-mar’a fī manāhij al-lugha al-‘arabiyya lil-marhala al-asāsiyya fī al-urdunn. Unpublished Master’s thesis, al-Yarmouk University, Irbid. Al-Sayyid Ahmad Jabir Ahmad. 1991. “Muda fa‘‘āliyya muqarrarāt al-dirāsāt al-ijtimā‘iyya wa mu‘allimīhā fī tanmiyya al-qiyam al-khalqiyya wa alijtimā‘iyya bil-h.alqa al-thāniyya min al-ta‘līm al-asāsī”, al-Majalla al-tarbawiyya, number 4, Kulliyya al-tarbiyya, Sohag (Egypt): 17-52. Al-Sha‘wan, ‘Abdarrahman Muhammad. 1997. ‘Al-Qiyam wa al-turuq tadrīsihā fī al-dirāsāt al-ijtimā‘iyya’, King Sa‘ud University Journal 92: 151–183. Al-‘Umayr, Mana Ahmad. 1417 AH / 1996. Tahlīl mustawa kutub al-tārīkh lilsufūf al-nihā’iyya bi-marāhil al-ta‘alīm al-‘āmm (banāt) bil-mamlaka al-‘arabiyya al-sa‘ūdiyya fī daw’ i ijāhāt al-ma‘rifa wa-turuq ‘ardiha. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Kulliyya al-tarbiyya, King Sa‘ud University, Riyadh. The Jordanian Ministry of Education [Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta‘līm]. 1991. Al-Khutūt al-‘arīda li-manāhij marhala al-ta‘alīm al-asāsī fī al-urdunn. Amman: Al-Mudīriyya al-‘āmma lil-manāhij wa taqniyyāt al-ta‘alīm. ———. 2007. Qānūn al-tarbiyya wa al-ta‘līm raqm 3 li-sana 1994. Amman.

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Kana’an, Ahmad ‘Ali. 1995. Shi‘r al-atfāl fī sūriyya: dirāsa fī tahlīl al-madmūn altarbawī. Damascus: I ihād kutub al-‘Arab. Mubarak, Fathi Yusuf. 1991. ‘al-Qiyam al-ijtimā‘iyya al-mulāzima li-talāmīdh al-halqa al-thāniyya min al-ta‘alīm al-asāsī dawr manāhij al-mawād alijtimā‘iyya fī tanmiyyatihā lil-tālib’, Majalla al-jam‘iyya al-misriyya lil-manāhij wa turuq al-tadrīs: 133–177. Cairo. Muhafiza, ‘Ali. 1994. ‘Manāhij al-tarbiyya al-madaniyya fī al-duwal al-‘arabiyya’. Paper delivered at the conference ‘Mu’tamar al-tarbiyya al-madaniyya fī al-‘ālam al-‘arabī: al-tahaddiyyāt al-mushtaraka wa subul al-ta’āwun almustaqbaliyya’, held at Dār Sayyida al-Jabal, Adma, Lebanon, 2–4 September 1994. Sari, Hulmi. 1995. ‘Mafāhīm Huqūq al-insān: dirāsa ijtimā‘iyya tahlīliyya limadāmīn kutub al-lugha al-‘arabiyya fī marhala al-ta‘alīm al-asāsī fī alurdunn’, Majalla al-dirāsāt 22 (a), no. 6. Shtaywi, Musa. N.d. Al-adwār al-jandariyya fī al-kutub al-madrasiyya lil-marhala al-assāsiyya fī al-Urdunn. Paris: UNESCO (WGE/DRG). Suleyman, Yahya ‘Atiyya and Sa‘id, ‘Abdu Nafi‘. 2001. Ta‘līm al-dirāsāt alijtimā‘iyya. 2nd printing. Dubai: Dār al-ta‘alīm. ‘Umayra, Ahmad. 2001. Mabādi’ Huqūq al-insān fī kutub al-tarbiyya al-ijtimā‘iyya lil-marhala al-asāsiyya fī al-urdunn wa muda ma‘rifa al-mu‘allimīn lahā. Unpublished Master’s thesis, al-Yarmouk University, Irbid. Zahran, Hamid Abdassalam. 1984. ‘Ilm al-nafs al-ijtimā‘ī. 5th ed. Cairo: ‘Ālam al-kutub. Non-Arabic Sources Gordy, Laurie, and Alice Pritchard. 1995. ‘Redirecting Our Voyage through History: A Content Analysis Of Social Studies Textbooks’, Urban Education 30, 2: 195–218. Hoge, John D. 1996. Effective Elementary Social Studies. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Holsti, Ole R. 1969. Content Analysis for Social Sciences and Humanities. Menlo Park, CA: Addison Wesley. Padge , R. 1976. ‘A Content Analysis Of Expressed Values Used In The Treatment Of Latin American In Selected Social Studies Textbooks’, Dissertation Abstract International 36, 3: 687–688. Sharp, Pat Tipton, and Randy M. Wood. 1994. ‘Morals / Values’ Review Of Selected Third And Fi h Grade Reading And Social Studies’, Texas Reading Report 16, 4: 6–7. Wade, Rahima C. 1993. ‘Content Analysis Of Social Studies Textbooks: A Review Of Ten Years Of Research’, Theory And Research In Social Education 21, 3: 232–256.

Q9 GENDER IMAGES IN JORDANIAN SOCIAL EDUCATION TEXTBOOKS Naseema al-Khalidi

The social education and upbringing of children are aimed at developing youths’ awareness of acceptable and unacceptable actions and perceptions in any given time or environment. This takes place within a sequence of intentional or unintentional processes which ultimately work to make individuals aware of their different social roles and of how to carry out those roles. It is worth mentioning here that individuals, males or females, discover their identities from the ways that they were treated by the people surrounding them during their upbringing (United Nations Development Fund for Women [UNIFEM] 1999). The school remains one of the most important social institutions in the development of individual awareness of one’s self and roles. The school curriculum embodied in the textbooks is considered one of the most crucial means of socialisation because they transmit the norms that define individuals’ future roles. It might be useful in this context to look at the discourses put forth by critics who argue that schools should encourage students to apply their energies towards liberation, equality and social justice (Al-Khalidi 2004). This chapter examines the extent to which elements of the identities, worldviews and perceptions of social norms of both genders are propagated and shaped throughout school textbooks in the subjects of history and of social and national education taught in Jordan. It analyses how these textbooks contribute to the formation of gender identities among female and male students in Jordan. The sample selected for this study comprises a total of eight social education textbooks in the lower basic grades (1 and 2) used in 2008–2009, and textbooks on history, national and social education, and social education and civil education in the higher level basic grades 8–10. Students in basic grades 1 and 2 of the Jordanian educational system study social education and national education, but not history. The sample has been selected from these groups because the students are in their early childhoods, which are considered the critical years in which they gain social independence

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and adaptation. Similarly, the Geneva Report (2004) indicates that the percentage of young people in Jordanian society is high, representing 39 per cent of the total population. This chapter consists of five sections. The introduction is followed by a discussion of the conceptual framework, including the background of the study, a review of previous studies, the importance of this research and a methodological outline. This section is followed by a presentation of the results of the textbook analysis, then a discussion of the results and, finally, conclusions will be drawn. The chapter thereby contributes to a policy aimed at building a curriculum which might encourage greater awareness and a sense of belonging in the students and helps them to be er understand their societal roles. Such a curriculum would also help students to scrutinise social expectations from a more enlightened and balanced perspective, one which considers the students as responsible individuals expected to obtain the skills to interact creatively both within their immediate communities and within the greater society.

Conceptual Framework Background Social identities can be aptly defined as the learned ways of behaviors and actions within a certain cultural context. Some theorists point out that ‘the roles and the social relations of both genders guarantee that men and women realise their social expectations, just as it also defines an individual’s share and chances in life, including access to services and benefits’ (Azouni and Shaheen 2005). Others emphasise that the social construction of gender is ‘defined by economic, political, environmental, and cultural factors’ (Al-Faouri 2003). In a broader sense, this encompasses ‘the variations of roles, rights and responsibilities, commitments, relations, obligations, images, and the position of the woman and the man defined socially and culturally throughout the historical development of a certain society – all of which are variable’ (UNIFEM 2005). Social identities in diverse societies are thus changeable according to place and time. Due to the profound links between gender equality and development in all its dimensions, the International Forum for Education held in Dakar considered that the goal of achieving gender equality required the realisation of equality in girls’ and boys’ enrolment in primary and secondary schools by the year 2005, and in all educational stages by 2015. A endees of the forum admi ed that ‘the inequality of opportu-

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nities for girls to pursue and apply knowledge is both cause and consequence of this discrepancy simultaneously’ (UNESCO 2004). Others have noted the negative consequences ‘of dictatorship, discrimination, and violence for women and likewise also for society’ and called for more cooperation and equality between women and men in order to realise their common humanity (Abu Bakr and Shukri 2002). UNESCO reports indicate that ‘in the Arab regions, in addition to South and West Asia and Africa, is the highest level of discrepancy between the two genders’ (Azouni and Shaheen 2005). As self-perceptions are changeable, educationalists work to restore a balanced image for the students, one built on real abilities to have productive and creative interactions that transcend the gendered images already impressed in the minds of many which also categorise their thoughts, orientations and customs. In this vein, educational organisations should develop general policies which eliminate the stereotypical images in the school textbooks regarding personality, profession, activities, power relations and bias in language. Such policies can reduce the effects of standard textbooks which are full of stereotypical images that shape the awareness of youths. While it is true that the de facto marginalisation of women’s roles in contributing to the building of human civilisation in general and of Arab civilisation in particular causes imbalanced mindsets on a social level which reinforce injustice and inequality and which also negatively affect individual personalities, it is worth recalling the Moroccan researcher Naqrachi, who points out that education can definitely help to achieve human rights such as gender equality. Naqrachi concedes that without regard to gender, educational practices may not play a positive role in facilitating the development of a complete individual personality (2007). The school curriculum is the educational tool which should provide female models that reinforce balanced gender roles. State of the Art This section examines research efforts in the field of gender identity from different perspectives, beginning with an important study by Shutaywi regarding gender roles in school textbooks at the primary stage in Jordan in terms of content, images and language style. Among the Shutaywi’s findings was that the feminine roles in public life were focused on work such as teaching, training, office jobs and unskilled labour, and in private life the roles were that of wife, mother and daughter. With regard to expectations tied to roles, the study indicates that the majority of qualities such as independence, leadership, courage, rationality, free-

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dom and creativity are linked to the male roles. Shutaywi emphasised, however, that the problem is not in the limitation of the roles but rather in the absence of many roles which are shared by Jordanian women – occupations such as politics, entrepreneurship, law and others (1999). The current study will follow up on Shutaywi’s work, which was based on materials used in the 1990s, before the current education reform cycle started. While Shutaywi focuses on roles and images, the current study examines also issues of rights and responsibilities and regards them as important in developing awareness in both male and female students of what is required of them as active participants in society. Al-Rubai analysed the image of women in Arabic-language curricula for primary schools in Jordan, approved by the Jordanian Ministry of Education in 1993–1994. His study scrutinises how women, their environment and their roles in different social contexts appear in the textbooks. It showed that most female roles related to public life were those of the working woman and the student (1994). The current study expands the analysis of gender images to also include men and male roles, and it examines textbooks on the subject of social education. Elbers and Kak (2005) reviewed school textbooks in Morocco with respect to human rights and gender equality. They examined textbooks on the Arabic language, art, French language, family education, geography, national education, history and Islamic education. The study showed that few female authors participated in developing these textbooks, and there is no mention of creative women in these books. With respect to stereotypes in the process of developing the books, the results were astonishing: women had been selected only for subjects like home economics. Sadiqi (2003) examined the presence of male bias in classical Arabic, Moroccan and Berber language texts, and she discussed the stereotyped images at the level of language and the types mentioned above. Focussing on proverbs and other kinds of general discourse, the researcher found that the types mentioned above consider feminine language as being unworthy of concern. Such ideological biases work to weaken the women’s position while at the same time strengthening male control. Despite the importance of the topic of this study, however, being restricted on one category of analysis (language) may affect the generalisation of the results. Assali (2005) explored how women were represented in the curriculum of civil education in grades 1–6 in Palestine. The study examined the image of the woman represented in the family context, including the extent of equality between the wife and the husband and their different roles within the family. Finally, it explored the extent to which

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women were shown to enjoy valuable freedom of choice in the nature of the job they desire, and whether their right to work was transmi ed in the texts. Assali found that women appeared in the textbooks first and foremost as mothers and housewives. With respect to professions, women were restricted to jobs such as teaching, farming, nursing and secretarial work, whereas men appear in a variety of professions and at different levels. She concludes that there is a gap between the official and unofficial sides of education, and the full spectrum of women’s roles in society is not reflected in the curriculum which depicts them mostly as housewives. The current study builds on Assali’s, and it examines a larger sample, including textbooks on civil education, history and social education, which allows for a more comprehensive analysis. Malik et al. (2004) have conducted a similar study regarding images of women in Arabic-language primary school textbooks in Kuwait. They also examined the training and preparation of those who author, edit and illustrate these textbooks. They found that there is greater concern with men than with women, and the dominant appearance of men, in both quantity and quality, in the textbooks used from grades 1–4 demonstrates that the textbooks are out of balance in many areas and on important topics. They concluded that the appearance of women and girls in images and texts in the content of the textbooks in the study sample does not exceed one-third, which is an unjust percentage and reflects the domination of norms and customs over religion and law. In addition, the representation of jobs and professions for males, in both images and content, was more than double that of women. Malik et al. pointed out that the jobs for women in the study sample were restricted to the home, school and hospital, and no women appeared as engineers, religious scholars, astronauts or poets. The study showed that the appearance of women in the books in the study sample was restricted within a very narrow and traditional scope, where they appear as consumers, followers and almost as non-entities. The overall picture of these representations indicates the absence of a clear vision regarding a woman’s place and purpose in society. The current study expands the scope of inquiry to include also textbooks on history and social education, and it is not restricted to the image of women but rather includes the social identities of both genders. Importance of this Study This study was inspired by the lack of research which examines gender images in Jordanian school textbooks on the subjects of history, social education, national education and civil education. The Jordanian edu-

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cational system underwent a series of reforms since the early 2000s, including the development of a new generation of textbooks, but these have not yet been analysed. Feminist Arab scholars have long argued that ‘it is a duty of the Arab woman to participate, contributing to the development process and to the building of a democratic society based on respect for the individual and human value, regardless of gender’ (Maqsoud 1994). Similarly, many researchers recognise the great need ‘for establishing an Arab frame of reference for a strategy to raise the status of Arab women aiming toward sustainable and comprehensive development’ (Report of the Second Conference of the Arab Women’s Summit 2002: 2). Undoubtedly, directives should be launched which aim at improving the reality through analysis of the elements of the current Arab situation and all of the variables that affect it. This includes scientific research to analyse school textbooks which profoundly affect the thought formation among young people. The existing research suggests that textbooks mostly provide male perspectives and, indeed, female educators hardly participate in the writing of the textbooks. In order for women to be given a chance to express themselves in an atmosphere of gender equality and justice, the curriculum must fulfill its desired role and deepen balanced gender perceptions within a comprehensive social perspective, thus realising the aims and objectives of society as a whole. In addition to uncovering gender images in Jordanian education, this study also casts a wider glance to the Arab world, meaning that the results of this study contribute to providing quantitative and qualitative data which facilitate the understanding of the elements of this reality, and to the goal of building the Arabic society that we want. Methodology Content analysis is a method for quantitatively describing a subject in a way which distances the study from individual interpretations. Thus, it is important to set procedural definitions which clarify the meaning of each of the categories of analysis. This study will use the basic concepts of gender as reflected in Uncovering Gender and Development: A Reference Guide (UNIFEM 1999: 18, 19, 32).1 It also refers to the Columbia Encyclopedia (2007). Accordingly, the following procedural categories of analysis have been used: Position: The place occupied by the individual in the organisational framework of political, cultural, social or economic society. This position confers a special status within the system, and others are expected to treat the individual accordingly.

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Role: The expected behavior of individuals, as described and defined for them by the cultural arrangement in society. It is also a group of practical functions required by the position. Gender rights: All privileges related to the recognition of the importance of gender in contributing to development, emphasising the equal distribution of resources, opportunities and benefits between the sexes. Gender responsibilities: All requirements for the active participation of both men and women in planning, implementing and evaluating all programs and services in the society. Language: Words, symbols and labels incorporated in the textbook content; it may employ the masculine form alone or a form applicable to students of both sexes. Images: All types of forms, illustrations and decorations that appear in the reading material read, in addition to the text, and which are used to enhance or clarify the meaning or concept.

The researcher surveyed the content to determine parts of the texts in the study sample that contain ideas related to gender, and then reread those parts carefully with the intent of extracting the main themes around which these texts revolve. The researcher then identified the relationship of these parts of the texts with the gender categories that were defined procedurally, and finally calculated the frequency of the analysis categories in the extracted themes, a percentage calculated using the following formula: Category percentage = (100 x frequency of the category) / total frequencies, all categories

Results To begin with, the analysis of textbooks used in grades 1 and 2 included in the sample yielded the following results, as shown in table 9.1. TB 1: Social and National Education, Basic Grade 1 (Two Parts) These results show that the prevalence of the elements of gender image analysed through the above categories was as follows: the number of rights and responsibilities included in a book was six and its percentage among all the elements of gender image was 10.3 per cent. In terms of roles, the number of position and roles included in the textbook amounted to seventeen, of which nine or 15.5 per cent were males, while seven or 12.2 per cent were females. The range of male roles in-

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Table 9.1 | Frequency distribution and percentage of analysis categories in social and civic studies textbooks Basic Grade I

Basic Grade II

Analysis Categories Frequency

Percentage

Frequency

Percentage

Rights and Responsibilities

6

10.3%

8

13.3%

Male Images

18

31%

14

23.3%

Combined Images

10

17.2%

6

10%

Female Images

8

13.8%

4

6.7%

Male Positions/Roles

9

15.5%

20

33.3%

Female Positions/Roles

8

12.2%

8

13.3%

58

—

60

—

Totals

cluded: a son with his family cooperating in the housecleaning, a father teaching his daughter, boys playing, a hard-working student, citizens growing plants, an old man crossing the street, a student who receives winter allowance, a father figure who grants winter allowance and a student saluting the flag. As for the range of female roles, these were: a nursing mother, a girl using a computer, the educated mother who reads to her son, the daughter being taught by her father, a child crossing the street in error, a student saluting the flag, and a girl interacting with her family. Males figured in eighteen or 31 per cent of the images, while females appeared in eight or 13.8 per cent. However, both genders appeared in shared images numbering ten or 17.2 per cent. The language used in the book is suitable for the age level of the students; for example: ‘Draw a line and circle the people who represent the family in the picture’ (part 1: 11). There then appears an image of a family showing a father, a mother, two daughters and two sons. The same options are given for the male or female teacher in the segments related to classroom activities. TB 2: Social and Civil Education, Basic Grade 2 (Two Parts) Elements of gender images in this textbook include eight types of rights, having mostly to do with the rights and responsibilities of students towards their parents and their environments, equaling 13.3 per cent. The number of male positions and roles was twenty, accounting for 33.3 per cent of the total, while the number of female positions and roles was eight, accounting for 13.3 per cent of the total. The numerous male

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roles included: doctor, patient, worker, police officer, suspended delinquent, aid worker, construction worker, children playing, king, sharif, soldier, companion, farmer, boy speaking, grandfather, son, husband, father and employee. The female roles were: mother of a martyr, wife of the Prophet, grandmother, wife, daughter and mother caring for her daughter. A total of twenty-four images appeared, of which males appeared in fourteen or 23.3 per cent, while females appeared in four or 6.7 per cent. At the same time, males and females together appeared in six images, including the cover image, or 10 per cent. The basic second grade book includes an activity related to gender which is offered to students at an early stage. It poses the following question: ‘Ahmed’s grandmother lived with them in the family home, so what are the behaviors that should be followed in order to respect the rights of elders?’ (part 2: 72). Again, the book’s language is suited to the students’ age group, as it relates to their personal life experiences, and teachers can apply the exercise in classroom activities. The following sections focus on history textbooks for grades 8, 9 and 10 used in Jordanian schools. The analysis of this sample yielded the following results, as summarised in table 9.2. TB 3: World and European History in the Middle Ages and the Modern Era, Basic Grade 8 (Two Parts) With regard to citizens’ rights and responsibilities, this history book includes seven types, all of which relate to rights and responsibilities

Table 9.2 | Frequency distribution and percentage of analysis groups in history textbooks taught to grades 8–10 in Jordan Analysis Groups

Grade 8

Grade 9

Grade 10

Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

Rights and Responsibilities

7

20.5%

11

19.3%

4

9.5%

Male Images

9

26.5%

13

22.8%

10

23.7%

Female Images

—

0%

2

3.6%

—

0%

Male Positions/Roles

14

41.2%

21

32.8%

26

61.9%

Female Positions/Roles

4

11.8%

10

17.5%

2

4.8%

Totals

34

—

57

—

42

—

Gender Images in Jordanian Social Education Textbooks | 183

of a general nature (right to liberty, right to equality among people, political rights, economic rights, the right to resist invasion, fundamental rights such as food and housing), and this category represented 20.5 per cent of the total. The appearance of shared images of both sexes was eclipsed by the predominance of males over females in most parts of the educational content, and we note that the positions and roles of males reached fourteen in a variety which included: emperor, mercenaries, the enemy who destroys the emperor, warrior, church bishop, clergy, Pope, king, reformer, revolutionary, scholar, philosopher, protester and knights. These male positions and roles represented 41.2 per cent of the total. Women appeared in only four roles: Saint Helena, the first wife (Catherine), the second wife (Anne Boleyn) and the daughter (Elizabeth). These female positions and roles represented 11.8 per cent of the total. It is also worth noting that the male roles are important leadership roles. Note also the following: ‘In Spain, Philip II worked to unify the Christian world and to make Spain the greatest country in the Western world’ (part 1: 47). As for the evolution of human thought, this textbook contained the names of twenty scholars, and yet not one of these was a woman. Instead, the students are asked to assign greater importance to the leading role of men in scholarship, as when given the following activity instructions: ‘Look up one of the following scientists on the internet and write a report, and then present it to your colleagues on the school radio: Alfred Nobel, Robert Koch, Alexander Fleming, Ahmed Zewail’ (part 2: 86). Regarding the images included in the book, all were images of males as players in the events of European history in the Middle Ages and the modern era. There were a total of nine included in the book, accounting for 26.5 per cent, and no female images appeared. As for the language, balanced gender-related language was used in the book’s introduction to address both male and female students, but the language used in the formulation of the expected outcomes, and similarly the language of classroom activities, was directed towards the male student without taking the female student into consideration. TB 4: The History of Arab-Islamic Civilisations in the Middle Ages and the Modern Era, Basic Grade 9 The book discusses eleven types of rights and responsibilities, the majority of which are general in nature: the rights of Muslims guaranteed by their leader, justice among citizens, the right of the oppressed to address the Court of Complaints, the right of soldiers to complain, the right of volunteers to their share of the spoils, the right of non-Mus-

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lims to protection in exchange for tax, duty of the Muslim to pay zakat, the duty of the Muslim to control measures, the duty of Muslims to protect the people of the dhimma, the general rights of boys to learn the Noble Koran and writing, the rights of the client and the right of the Leader of the Faithful to the accounting of governors. The percentage of rights and responsibilities amounted to 19.3 per cent. The roles in this book varied regarding male roles, among which were: caliph, martyr, minister, worker, governor, treasurer, head of the police, judge, refined individual, writer, treasurer of the office of the translator, bookbinder, deliverer of the Communion, physician, optician, scholar, warrior, husband, brother and father. These male positions and roles totaled twenty-one, representing 36.8 per cent. The roles and positions for females totaled ten, including: mother, wife, daughter, teacher, poet, fighter, political advisor, neighbour, judge and member of the government. The percentage of women’s roles amounted to 17.5 per cent. The book also states: ‘Islam took care of education since the beginning and included the education all groups of society including boys and men and women’ (85). In a similar vein, it stipulates: ‘Islam gave woman all of her rights, considering her to be the nucleus of the family as mother, and the family as nucleus of society, for she is mother and wife and sister and daughter, and she is the mainstay of the family and the pillar of the community’ (86). There is also here a question for discussion: ‘Do women enjoy their rights in our modern era?’ (ibid.). With regard to male images included in this book, these totaled thirteen, representing 22.8 per cent of the total, whereas the number of female images totaled two and accounted for 3.6 per cent of the total. In terms of language, the introduction to the book tends towards balanced language addressing both male and female students, but the overall outcomes and the classroom activities are in a language addressing the male students only. TB 7: Modern Arab History and Current Affairs, Basic Grade 10 Rights and responsibilities were noted four times in this book, amounting to 9.5 per cent of the total. In grade 10 it is clear that male roles and positions dominated those of females in all parts of the content, and these roles and positions varied and included the following: army commander, general, veteran, prisoner, conqueror, sheikh, sharif, leader of Islam, sultan, Grand Vizier, lord, protestor, politician, governor, invader, ruler, Bey, khedive, resident general, revolutionary, prince, imam, caliph, king, scholar and engineer. The number of male roles totaled twenty-six, representing 61.9 per cent, compared to only two roles for women – militant and saint – representing 4.8 per cent. It is clear that the

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concentration in these history textbooks is on the male roles, equally in the histories of both ancient and modern civilisations. The book states: ‘Murad I a acked the Balkan peninsula and conquered the Adriatic and defeated the Serb and the Bulgarian’ (12); and: ‘Muhammad Ali sought to establish a modern Arab state modern to replace the O oman Empire and the Mamluks in Egypt’ (44). With regard to modern Arab history in the contents of the textbook: ‘As soon as the French set foot on the land of Algeria, the movement of resistance started everywhere, where Prince Abdulqadir Al-Jazairi appears, he who established the armed resistance and had achieved victories in many places’ (47); ‘Following Ahmad Orabi, Mustafa Kamil has led the resistance who directed his political struggle (efforts) towards the international public opinion … then he established the National Party to Combat Colonialism’ (58); ‘Britain’s King George III issued an order making it a requirement that the population of the colonies (in North America) be subjects of the central ruling power in Britain for he believed in the absolute control of Britain over its colonies’ (56). All these quotes place a high value on male leaders and emphasise their significant roles in the articulated events. With respect to language, that used in the introduction to the book indicates the building of a curriculum which is a entive to and stirs the interest of students of both genders. As for the remaining classroom activities, the language was directed towards the male students, without consideration for the females. The analsis of civics textbooks from grades 8, 9 and 10 used in Jordanian schools yielded the following results, as shown in table 9.3. Table 9.3 | Frequency distribution and percentage of analysis groups in social-education textbooks taught in Jordan Analysis Groups

Grade 8

Grade 9

Grade 10

Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

Rights and Responsibilities

15

33.3%

4

18.2%

Male Images

2

4.4%

3

13.6%

Combined Images

6

13.3%

4

18.2%

Female Images

1

2.2%

1

Male Roles

16

35.6%

Female Roles

5 45

Totals

16

47%

3

8.8%

3

8.8%

4.6%

4

11.8%

5

22.7%

4

11.8%

11.1%

5

22.7%

4

11.8%

—

22

—

34

—

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TB 5: Social and Civil Education, Basic Grade 8 (Two Parts) Rights and responsibilities included in the history textbook were of twenty-five types, amounting to 33.3 per cent of the total. With respect to appearances of both genders, the males dominated the females in the majority of the content; we note that there were sixteen male roles and positions, representing 35.6 per cent of the total. These roles included: husband, agreeable father, worthy son, youths who respect the elderly, university students, young troublemakers, unemployed youths, student, patient, athlete, cultured intellectual, upright citizen, purchasing consumer, investor and wasteful spender. The female roles were: working wife and her children, diligent student, devoted daughter, pensive girl and consumer. These female roles appear only five times, representing 11.1 per cent of the total. With respect to images contained within the textbook, there are two male images, representing 4.4 per cent, and one female image, representing 2.2 per cent. Both genders appear together in six images, and the language in the introduction to the textbook is gender-balanced and addresses both male and female students, but the language used in the formulation of outcomes and in classroom activities is directed towards male students only. TB 6: Social and National Education, Basic Grade 9 Rights and responsibilities included in the textbook were of four types, amounting to 18.2 per cent of the total. With respect to positions and roles, there were five for both males and females, each representing 22.7 per cent of the total. New roles emerged for both genders, including for females: a surrogate mother, servant, nanny, a university student obsessed with fashion, a student researching science, and female members of unions or associations. Similar new roles emerged for males as well, such as: a male consumer obsessed with mobile phones, professionals belonging to trade unions, entrepreneurs and members of unions and associations. With respect to images contained within the textbook, the total number of images was eight, of which the number of male images was three, representing 13.6 per cent, while the number of shared images was four, representing 18.2 per cent, and female images numbered one only, representing 4.6 per cent. The language in the introduction to the textbook is gender-balanced and addresses both male and female students, but the language used in the overall outcomes and student activities is formed through male language and directed towards male students only.

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TB 8: Civic Education, Basic Grade 10 There were sixteen types of rights and responsibilities included in this textbook, amounting to 47 per cent of the total. New roles appeared for both males and females. The male roles totaled four and included: university student, breadwinner/husband, prime minister and decision maker. Roles which were indicated for both genders included: tolerant individual and gi ed university students. The female roles matched male roles in number, but differed and included: candidate, elector, university student and woman in a hijab. The numbers of male and female roles were four each, representing 11.8 per cent of the total. The images contained in this book totaled ten, of which there were three male images, or 8.8 per cent, three shared images, also representing 8.8 per cent, and four female images, accounting for 11.8 per cent. The language in the introduction to the textbook is gender-balanced and addresses both male and female students, but the language used in the overall outcomes and in student activities is formed through male language and directed towards male students only.

Discussion of Findings The goal of this study was to uncover the gender images disseminated through school textbooks for grades 1, 2, 8, 9 and 10 of basic education in Jordan in the subjects of history, social and national education and national and civil education. It was also an a empt to identify how the textbooks (in the study sample) influence the formation of both male and female students’ (community of the study) gender identities. The textbooks for the basic lower grades (basic grades 1 and 2) mostly represent non-stereotypical gender roles, for repeatedly the mother and father appear engaged in roles of equal importance – as with a father helping his daughter in her studies, a girl using a computer and a boy helping his family with the housework. Family members appear as individuals who converse using expressions of active social networking. The images included in the textbooks for the basic lower grades represented in total a balanced picture of gender identity. For example, the cover image for the first part of the basic 1st grade textbook is a picture of a male student on one side, balanced by a picture of a female student on the other. At the same time, the cover image for the second part is a boy si ing beside his mother and the two are reading together – this constitutes a change from the stereotype of the mother cooking in

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the kitchen. Furthermore, there is content that includes images of dialogue taking place between family members, as well as images of sons and daughters helping their families with the housework, and these too reflect the trend to change stereotypes. There are also images of men, women, sons and daughters busy in various activities outside the home. In the basic 2nd grade textbook we note an awareness of gender issues, for we find a girl who is asking her father about the roles of the women in early Islam: ‘Daddy, were there no women among the Prophet’s Companions?’ The father assures her: ‘Sumaya Bint Khayyat was first martyred in Islam as a result of torture to force her to abandon her religion’ (part 2: 54). It is also worth noting here that there are parts of the texts that present boys and girls in equal numbers engaged in dialogue with one another. With regard to a discussion of rights and responsibilities, the textbooks did not include rights or responsibilities that were specific to one particular gender or the other, but rather the content a empts to show the relevance of kinship, responsibilities, social customs and good will among people, as well as the rights of the grandfather and grandmother and the elderly, and how it is possible to take into account the rights of all. More striking are the results of the analysis of Jordanian history textbooks, as these are characterised by an overwhelming dominance of males over females in the majority of the educational content of the grades. We likewise note that the majority of male roles involve positions of leadership, including the colourful emperor, the church bishop, the clergy, the Pope, the king, the reformer, the revolutionary, the scholar, the philosopher, the protester and the knights. Women appeared in small numbers, and theirs were the more traditional roles as wife or daughter of an emperor or a saint. The findings echoe those of U’Ren (1971), whose textbook analysis found that girls appeared less than boys, and when they did appear they were portrayed as if they were vulnerable and wary non-entities dependent on and controlled by others, while boys appear competitive and aggressive leaders. The quotations from the history books for the 8th and 10th grades presented above place a high value on men and emphasise their leading roles as agents of history, whereas women are referred to in traditional roles tied to the notion that a woman belongs to a man and her importance is derived from her presence in his life as a wife or daughter or mother. It is important to note, however, that there are many Arab women who were pioneers in many fields, including resistance to colonialism and to occupation.

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As we reflect on the influence of textbooks and how these books contribute to the educated girl’s formation of her self-perception, and how they shape the search for identity at this the stage of adolescence, we should keep in mind Sadker and Sadker’s belief that ‘each time a girl opens a book and reads a womanless history, she learns she is worthless’ (1995). As seen in the results of the analysis, it is clear that these textbooks work to deepen the girls’ feelings of worthlessness and vulnerability and leads to their inability to take responsibility. On the other hand, notable differences exist between the various history textbooks in terms of content, and it appears that the 9th grade history textbook differs from those of the 8th and 10th grades in that it consists of parts in which the value of women is increased, such as the following: ‘The Muslim woman has ruled as prime minister in more than one Muslim country in modern history. What are these countries, and give examples of the participation of women in the political life in our country, Jordan?’ (TB 4: 87). It is clear from this that there is a trend towards changing the stereotypical image of women in the Jordanian textbooks, but one also finds that such changes are not systematic and seem to reflect the efforts of individual textbook authors, rather than a policy directive from the Ministry of Education. In fact, all textbooks included in this sample had been authored before the Jordanian government adopted a gender strategy in 2009 which pledged to review the school textbooks from a gender perspective and to put forth recommendations for combating stereotypes included in any given textbook. Indeed, a comprehensive review of school textbooks is needed in order to develop a non-stereotyping curriculum which offers a balanced picture of women and men. The results of the analysis of social education books for grades 8, 9 and 10 have highlighted new roles for individuals including working women, and children and girls who honor their parents and respect the elderly, the pensive girl, and the boy consumer (contrary to the stereotypical image common in the world which presents woman as the consumer). New social roles and career models have emerged, such as: the surrogate mother, the consumer, the fashion-obsessed university student, the student researcher, the women who belong to unions or associations, the working women, the investor, the wasteful spender, the young man obsessed with mobile phones, the workers and the workers with rights. Male and female roles were equal in in the 9th and 10th grade textbooks. Likewise the images contained in the 8th grade textbooks were equal, even in the shared images showing individuals of both genders engaged in various activities, through which a balanced image of gender is offered based on justice, fairness and equality.

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Firer and Adwan assure us that ‘the content of textbooks and teaching methods specifically reflects much about nation-building, because school education is one of the most powerful tools in the transfer of national identity, values, desired principles, symbols, and stereotypes’ (2004: 14). Yet, the gender images transmi ed through Jordanian textbooks then present a conflicting picture to students. There is a lack of consistency in content, when males stand out in the history textbooks, while the social education textbooks present a more balanced picture, which leads to the question of which content truly represents the students, and which make the largest impression on them? The language in the textbooks on history and social education in basic grades 8–10 primary is gender-balanced and addressing students of both sexes, but in the general outcomes and classroom activities it is male language addressing male students only. Against this background, the National Strategy for Jordanian Women in the Field of Education demands an ‘analysis and review of educational curricula, taking into account the concept of gender to determine its universality with respect to concepts, and life skills and practices which ensure that a balanced portrayal of women in Jordanian society stands out, as well as non-discrimination between men and women, and which are consistent with contemporary scientific developments in terms of content and methods’ (The Jordanian National Commission for Women 2006: 22).

Conclusions History textbooks for grades 8 and 10 in Jordan are characterised by a flood of diverse male roles, all leading and active, as opposed to limited traditional and stereotypical roles for women. There is no gender stereotyping in the contents of social-education textbooks, as observed among the results of the study showing that the educational content was free from parts which sought intentionally or unintentionally to perpetuate ideas about the inferiority of women’s abilities, personalities or roles. Nor did the textbooks in the study sample include content leading students to underestimate the importance of gender. The content of the textbooks in the study sample did not include distinct rights or responsibilities specifically favouring one gender over another, but rather the social-education textbooks varied in terms of including content defining students’ rights and responsibilities, and by including various forms of rights, such as rights of citizenship and

Gender Images in Jordanian Social Education Textbooks | 191

civil rights, personal freedoms and human rights in Islamic law. Similarly, women’s rights were shown within an international context, thus contributing to the reinforcement of students’ cultural and gender awareness. The language used in the contents (excluding the introductions) of these Jordanian textbooks in all of the academic subjects included in the study sample is not gender-sensitive, as it is framed in male language directed towards male students only. The history textbooks in Jordan for grades 8 and 10 are entirely devoid of female images, and the appearance of only two female images in the grade 9 textbook, in contrast to the thirty-two male images in all three books, reflects a significant imbalance with respect to gender and a clear bias existing in this subject field. However, the appearance of individuals in the social-education textbooks was much closer to a balance, which indicates that the insertion of the elements of gender images was carried out according to individual interpretations rather than emanating from systematised policies for realising gender equality and balance in images. The accomplishments of Muslim and Arab women, past and present, have not been included in the content of the history textbooks, nor has this concept been officially recognised through a clear policy stemming from a united vision of the role of women as participants in the building and developing of their societies, as, for example, by inserting their names, alongside those of men, into the lists of distinguished individuals. In conclusion, an unbiased culture with respect to gender means that school textbooks, being an instrument for shaping the self-perceptions of individuals, means meeting the needs of learners in a way that empowers them to contribute to the sustainable development of society on all levels. Translated from Arabic by Namir Henrikson

Notes 1. The United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) was established in 1976 as a fund to support women, and in 1994 the regional office – the UNIFEM Regional Office for Arab States in Amman – was established, which includes seventeen Arab countries and works towards women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming. For more: www.unifem.org.

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References Arabic sources Textbooks [TB 1] Al-Mardini, Maha, et al. 2005. Social and National Education, basic grade 1. Two parts. Amman: Ministry of Education. [TB 2] Al-Mardini, Maha, et al. 2005. Social and National Education, basic grade 2. Two parts. Amman: Ministry of Education. [TB 3] Al-Mathany, Musa, et al. 2005. World and European History in the Middle Ages and the Modern Era, grade 8. Amman: Ministry of Education. [TB 4] Al-Mathany, Musa, et al. 2006. The History of Arab-Islamic Civilisation in the Middle Ages and Modern Era, grade 9. Amman: Ministry of Education. [TB 5] Hajjaj, Khalil. 2000. Social and Civil Education, basic grade 8. Two parts. Amman: Ministry of Education. [TB 6] Al-Rashdan, Abdul-Karim, et al. 2006. Social and National Education, basic grade 9. Amman: Ministry of Education. [TB 7] Jaradat, Abdul-Karim, et al. 2005. Modern Arab History and Current Affairs for grade 10. Amman: Ministry of Education. [TB 8] Al-Rashdan, Abdul-Karim, et al. 2006. Civic Education, basic grade 10. Amman: Ministry of Education. Literature Abu Bakr, Umayma, and Shirin Shukri. 2002. Women and Gender: Ending Cultural and Social Discrimination between the Sexes. Dar al-Fikr: Damascus. Al-Faouri, Nawal. 2003. Gender from the Perspective of Islam. Amman: Supreme Council of the Population. Al-Khalidi, Naseema. 2004. The Role of the Academic Curriculum in Women’s Empowerment in Jordan. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Jordan, Amman. Al-Rubai, Raghda Ahmed. 1994. The Image of the Woman in the Arabic-Language Curricula for the Basic Stage in Jordan. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan. Assali, Alia. 2005. The Image of Women in the Curriculum for Civil Education, from Basic First Grade to Basic Sixth Grade. h p://www.tarbya.net/ArticleDetails, accessed October 2009. Azouni, M. Z., and Zeinab Shaheen. 2005. Training Manual for Instructors and Mentors on the Analysis and Integration of Gender Issues in Education. UNESCO. The Jordanian National Commission for Women. 2006. National Strategy for Women in Jordan. Amman. Malik, Badr Muhammad et al. 2004. The Image of the Woman in Arabic-Language Textbooks at the Primary Stage in the State of Kuwait. Cairo: The Institute of Educational Studies. Maqsoud, Hala. 1994. ‘Arab Women and the Challenges of the 21st Century’, in Arab Women: Between the Weight of Reality and the Aspirations of Freedom. Ed. Center for Arab Unity Studies, Beirut. Report of the Second Conference of the Arab Women’s Summit. 2002. Strategy for the Promotion of Arab Women: Arab women … a new vision. 3–4 November 2002, Amman.

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Salama, Yasser Khaled. 2003. Encyclopedia of Top Women. Vol. 1. Amman: Dar Safa’ lil-Nashar wa al-Tawzea’. Shutaywi, Musa. 1999. Gender Roles in Textbooks for the Basic Stage in Jordan. Amman: UNESCO. United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Regional Office for Arab States. 2005. Development and Gender. Amman. United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Western Asia Regional Office. 1999. Uncovering Gender and Development: A Reference Guide. Amman. Non-Arabic Sources The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2007. 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press. Elbers, Frank, and Mustapha Kak. 2005. A Study on Gender Bias in Schoolbooks in Morocco. Casablanca: Ministry of Education & HERA. Firer, Ruth, and Sami Adwan. 2004. The Israeli Palestinian Conflict in History and Civics Textbooks of Both Nations. Hannover: Verlag Hahnsche Buchhandlung. Jordanian Ministry of Education. 2004. Geneva Report: The Development of Education. National Report of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Amman. Naqrachi, Aniss. 2007. Final Report Morocco: Country Gender Profile. Geneva: United Nations Research Institute. Sadiqi, Fatima. 2003. Women, Gender And Language in Morocco. Leiden and Boston, MA: Brill. Sadker, M., and D. Sadker. 1995. Failing at Fairness: How America’s Schools Cheat Girls. New York: Touch Stone Press. Spra , Jennifer E. 1992. ‘Women and Literacy in Morocco’, Annal of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 520: 121–132. UNESCO. 2004. Education For All: The Leap to Equality. The EFA Global Monitoring Report. Paris. U’Ren, Marjorie, B. 1971. ‘The Image of Women In Textbooks’, in Women in Sexist Society: Studies in Power and Powerlessness. Eds. Gornick and Morgan. New York: Basic Books, 318–328.

Q 10 IMAGES OF EUROPEANS IN JORDANIAN TEXTBOOKS Qasem al-Newashi

Textbooks are considered among the most important tools in the education process. The educational experiences presented to students in textbooks have a clear impact on the formation of their characters and a itudes and on their personal development. These experiences convey specific images or worldviews adopted by the institution or the educational group responsible for preparing the terms of the curriculum and choosing the content of the textbook. Moreover, textbook authors present the different forms of knowledge and the a itudes and skills that the educational system in that country wants to implant in the minds of its students. Regarding images of Europe and Europeans, it should be pointed out here that, alongside textbooks, the mass media also plays a role in forming these images, and negative elements are also found in them, as is clear from popular Arab reactions to what the media sometimes reports about the development of anti-Arab or anti-Muslim trends in some European countries, or about some of the political a itudes of European countries towards Arab issues, including a lack of respect for the traditions and cultures of Arab societies, especially when these traditions are connected to Islam in the minds of their citizens. There is no doubt that the spread of ideas and prejudices about European society is one of the reasons for the way in which Arab and Muslim immigrants withdraw into their own communities in European societies. The ‘Self’ cannot know itself completely unless it does so through sound understanding of relevant ‘Others’. Some consider external Others to mean the enemy, the infidel or the opponent in ba le. However, different value statements are a ached to narratives about Others according to context. If the concept of the Other is limited to meaning something that is deviant or hostile, then it becomes a consecration of exclusivist and dualistic thought. But we cannot discuss the Other – and here I mean Europe – as a single unified entity, something that it has never been. Images of Europe in some textbooks as a single unified entity have contributed to the formation of dubious stereotypes about

Images of Europeans in Jordanian Textbooks | 195

Europe and Europeans that have led to ignorance of the actual facts (Al-Ashmawi 2005). In the Jordanian context, one relevant external Other is Israel. The sensitivity of the issue became visible when the Ministry of Education announced the amendment of curricula as part of a comprehensive, threestage plan, finishing in 2008. This involved amendments to the concepts found in the matrix of human rights and the ‘culture of peace’. When these amendments were announced, a serious dispute about them arose between political circles and trade unionists in Jordan. Some departments in the Ministry of Education were interested in a empts to bring in a culture of peace ‘through promoting peace with Israel’, whereas the Ministry considers the amendment to come as part of ‘a dra amendment to the matrices of the curricula, including the identification of outcomes for each stage’. The controversy and debate about this issue have led the minister of education to deny to the media that the amendment came in response to ‘a call from the American president, George Bush, for the need to amend the curricula of the countries of the Middle East’ towards acceptance of the Other, in this case the State of Israel. As a matter of fact, Israel is rarely represented in Jordanian textbook narratives. Obstacles to understanding the Other have come to be a shared phenomenon in the West and the East. Among the reasons for this is – as far as this researcher is concerned – the fact that an accumulation of historical events has been selected and presented in textbooks in a charged political context. Both Arab and European representations of the respective Other are still governed by an ancient cultural inheritance that a empts to find an outlet in the present political situation. In order to reveal the obstacles that stand in the way of Jordanian students’ understanding of Europe and Europeans, the present research analyses the content of textbooks (for history, geography, civic education and general culture) to identify the images that Jordanian textbooks disseminate. There are numerous authorities that oversee the education of students. They cooperate in order to achieve general educational objectives. The Ministry of Education is the institution that provides learning and teaching services to the highest percentage of students. It controls 70 per cent of general education in Jordan, UNRWA and private schools making up the remaining 30 per cent (Massad 2000). The Ministry of Education contains a number of departments, with the Department of Curricula and Textbooks being responsible for writing, producing and developing the textbooks used in all Jordanian schools. The department contains three divisions: (1) The Curricula Division, which is made up of the Arabic language section, the foreign languages section, the sciences section, the vocational subjects section and the humanities section

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(2) The Textbooks Division, which is made up of the trials section, the production section, the design section and the editorial section (3) The Curricula Computerisation Division

The humanities section is made up of the following subjects: social and civic education (history, geography and civic education), Islamic education, artistic education, physical education and music and singing. This section also aims to prepare the yearly plan, to oversee the preparation of the broad outlines of the curricula and the composition of the textbooks, to choose the writers, to present working papers to the Education Council concerning the humanities subjects, to incorporate field observations a er the subjects have been studied, to follow up on the design of the textbooks, to follow up on the development of the textbooks in the field and also to prepare textbooks for reprinting and to introduce new concepts into the textbooks.

Research Methodology A team of teachers who specialise in teaching history, geography and civic education was formed to analyse the content. The research team analysed the broad outlines of Jordanian history, geography, civic education and general culture curricula for years seven to twelve. The general and specific outcomes were classified in terms of the presence of explicit and implicit references to Europe, Europeans or any European country. Through this, the features of the general image that Jordanian curricula aim to construct in the minds of students were identified. Any reference to Europe or any European country in the content of these Jordanian textbooks was recorded. The sample used for this study comprised altogether eighteen textbooks from the three disciplines mentioned, as shown in the tables below. Table 10.1 | Geography textbooks Code

Title of the book

Grade

Printing date

General Geography

Seven

2005

G2

Geography

Eight

2006

G3

Geography

Nine

2006

G4

Geography

Ten

2006

G5

Geography

Eleven and Twelve

2006

G6

Geography

Eleven and Twelve (Arts Track)

2004

G1

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Table 10.2 | History textbooks Code

Title of the book

Grade

Printing date

H1

The History of Ancient Civilisations

Seven

2003

H2

The History of Europe and the World in the Medieval and Modern Periods – Part I

Eight

2005

H3

The History of Europe and the World in the Medieval and Modern Periods – Part II

Eight

2005

H4

The History of Arab-Islamic Civilisation

Nine

2006

H5

The Modern History of the Arabs and its Contemporary Issues

Ten

2005

H6

The Contemporary History of Jordan

Eleven (Arts Track)

1998

H7

The Contemporary History of the Arabs and the World

Twelve

2001

Table 10.3 | Civic Education and General Culture textbooks Code

Title of the book

Grade

Printing date

C1

Civic Education [lit. ‘National and Civic Education’]

Seven

2006

C2

Civic Education

Eight

2006

C3

Civic Education

Nine

2006

C4

Civic Education

Ten

2006

C5

General Culture

Eleven and Twelve

2004

Textbook Analysis Defining Europe Europe has a considerable presence in Jordanian textbooks that manifests itself in its connection with science, technology, progress, modernity, freedom and democracy. The most prominent features of the image of Europeans and Europe constructed by the majority of Jordanian textbooks – particularly geography and civic education books – in the minds of students focuses on the important role played by Europe and the European people in the general development of human culture. General culture textbooks, meanwhile, demonstrate clearly that credit for the world’s modern technological achievements and developments also lies with the Europeans.

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Jordanian textbooks discuss Europe as if it were a unified entity, and as if it has been like this since the dawn of history. The characteristics ascribed to Europe in the textbooks reflect imagined, stereotypical moulds, they are based on marginalisation and elimination of historical facts, which is incompatible with dialogue, reason, and continuity. On the other hand, Jordanian textbooks present an ideal image of contemporary Europe. There is no doubt that the presentation of an ideal image of Europe leads to the accumulation of unblemished conceptions that conceal the actual truth from those who hold them, making Europe into a closed-off entity with fixed characteristics into which contradiction and disagreement do not enter. The image of Europe as a place of modernity and more, making it appear as a promised paradise, has made it an example of what young Arabs aspire to in terms of connecting with modernity and global civilisation, supported by the pillars of freedom and reason. Thus, one textbook presents the European’s ability to innovate as the secret behind technological developments in this period, indicating that the European mind is free from superstitions: The emergence of these technologies, specifically in this period, is, in part, due to the high estimation in which the role of reason and its innovative capacity has been held by Europeans since the end of the Middle Ages. At this time they rid themselves of superstitions and delusive ideas, and confronted their problems in a rational manner, encouraging reflection and the use of scientific research for developmental objectives. The major industries are built on the use of the results of scientific research to serve development, as we see in the manufacture of medications, petro-industries, and the different communications systems. (C5: 128)

Other textbooks state that European civilisation led to global social and economic development such as the entrance of women into the labour market (C3: 12), present Europeans as models for global peace and tolerance (C2: 73), as a densely populated and urbanised area (G1: 57, 99), or discuss the demographic structure of European societies, ‘in which birth rates are low and which have a rising proportion of old people. These are known as pyramid societies. Most European states are like this’ (G1: 61). Jordanian textbooks also demonstrate that there is no water problem in Europe, even though this is not entirely applicable to all European countries, as, for example, the majority of Southern European states do suffer from a scarcity of water (G1: 86). Arab Superiority over Europeans Jordanian textbooks contain numerous references that emphasise the Arabs’ role in the advancement of the Europeans and how the West

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took from the Arabs the principles of most of the sciences and wrongly claimed credit for them. Thus, medieval European medicine was presented as based on superstitions while Arab medicine was advanced, as becomes evident in the following commentary: A picture showing European medicine in the Middle Ages in which a man is having his head dried out. The doctor believes his illness to be that he is possessed by the devil so he has taken a knife and split his head and rubbed it with salt and the man has died. Arab medicine at this time was, meanwhile, advanced. (H2: 5)

The same textbook also states that the Arab Renaissance pre-dated the European Renaissance by several centuries. European civilisation is said to not have been of European origin, because what the Europeans received from the Arabs led to the emancipation of Europeans’ minds (H2: 19, 24). For example, Italy is said to have experienced the Renaissance before the other European countries because of its proximity to the Arab region (H2: 27). Arabs are also presented as having laid the scientific basis of the Europeans’ geographical discoveries (H2: 39). The Image of Christianity Jordanian textbooks construct an image of Christianity that seems influenced by colonialist practices that strove to spread Christianity and protect Christian minorities. For instance, in the Middle Ages, Christianity is said to have fought against art and creativity, that the Church considered love and enjoyment of beauty to be a sin and writers were not allowed to express these feelings. The Church considered love and enjoyment of beauty to be a deadly sin. Writers, poets, artists, and thinkers were not allowed to express these sorts of feelings, among others. It was not allowed to teach the works of the Ancient Greeks and the Romans because of the pagan elements they contained. The Roman Church rejected them and fought against ancient classical heritage. (H2: 14)

The textbook indicates an aggressive missionary a itude of Christianity when it mentions examples where some Muslims in Africa were forcibly converted to Christianity (H2: 44). A further textbook hints at a lack of tolerance among Europeans, stating that extremism in European societies led to the a ack of non-European minorities and communities (C5). The spread of Christianity is presented as one of the most important objectives of European colonialism in the Arab region (H5: 46). Thus, European states interfered in the affairs of the O oman state in order to protect Christian minorities (H6: 16). The cultural impact European missions had in the Arab region is presented in ambiguous terms as both positive and negative (H7: 35–53).

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The Damage Caused to the Arab Region as a Result of Competition between European States Jordanian textbooks discuss European colonialism in a notably negative light. The European states are said to have engaged in colonialist projects with the aim of seizing the riches of the region out of greed and because of their competition among one another. Thus, one textbook states that competition between the European states to establish colonies led to brutal wars between them, which sometimes merely served to satisfy the personal desires of some of their leaders: Louis XIV understood his error a er some time had passed when he said to his grandson: ‘Beware of being obsessed with buildings, ostentation, and wars, as I was. Instead, strive to lessen the pains of the people, for if France does not become embroiled in these tragedies, it will become the richest and most luxurious country in Europe.’ (H2: 50)

One textbook highlights the violent nature of inter-European rivalries and processes of state and nation-building in Europe by discussing the German case: Bismarck planned wisely and efficiently to achieve the unification of Germany. He said: ‘Difficult problems in this age are not solved through grand speeches, but rather through blood and iron’ and this happened in stages. (H3: 16)

European colonialism is further presented as immoral because it wasn’t meant to meet the genuine needs of the people of the European states (H3: 28). In addition, it is stated that the presence of the French in Egypt led to the spread of indecency in Egyptian society (H5: 40). One issue that receives notable coverage in this context is the impact of World War I on the Arab region. Thus, it is said that despite the Arab countries’ support of the Allies during this war, they were betrayed by the Allies: Despite the Arab countries advantageous position in World War I and their support for the Allies during the most perilous periods, especially a er the beginning of the Great Arab Revolt against Turkey and its allies, the Allies were completely ungrateful and started inflicting painful blows on the Arabs even before the end of the war. (H3: 52)

A further textbook states that the European states use the concept of international law and the civilisation of non-European peoples as a justification for their colonialist behaviour (H7: 14). Eventually, the West is presented as being responsible for polarisation between itself and Islam because it considers it to be a strange civilisation and considers Islam to be an enemy (C5: 28).

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Negative Attitudes towards Britain, France and Italy Jordan underwent British colonisation, so Jordanian textbooks contain many references to the role of Britain and its practices throughout the colonial period. They develop strongly negative a itudes towards Britain, pointing to Britain as being responsible for the development of the Palestinian issue (H5: 132), blaming it for the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 and the Balfour Declaration of 1917 (H3: 52). In this context, the textbooks also denounce British policies regarding the Sharif of Mekka Hussein Ibn Ali and his a empts at founding a united Arab kingdom in the shadow of World War I (C5: 176; C2: 45). More generally, Britian and France are presented as having conspired against the Arab Nationalist government (C5: 198). Britain in particular is criticised for breaking promises and for having betrayed the Arabs time a er time, as is expressed in the following exercise in a secondary level textbook: The publication of the Balfour Declaration on 2 November 1917 is considered to be a second British betrayal of the Arabs by promising to grant the Jews a national home in Palestine. What was the first betrayal? (C5: 198)

Britain’s support for the establishment of the state of Israel is denounced as having served its own interests, rather than being a humanitarian exercise for the sake of the Jews (H5: 86). British policies in the Arab region are described as ‘divide and conquer’ policies (H5: 109). Britain is discredited as lacking serious commi ment to solving the Palestinian issue (H5: 133). Its policies towards Jordan are described as treacherous, as having failed to honour the 1928 agreement between Prince Abdullah and Britain, which established a legislative council in what was then a British protectorate. One textbook states that ‘Britain was not sincere in this. … It continued to interfere in the administrative and financial affairs of the country, it le British forces in it, and the Arab army remained under the leadership of Britain’ (C1: 12). Moreover, Britain is presented as having fought against holding parliamentary elections in Jordan, as a dictatorial country in its foreign policy (H6: 114). The point of view that Jordanian textbooks form about France is not as negative as that which they form about Britain. Still, they list some of their practices in the colonial period, concerning French atrocities and mass killings in Algeria ( H5: 117–118) and Tunisia (H5: 121), denounce France as a conspiratorial country (H5: 12), and as a country that does not respect the environment and used Algeria for its nuclear experiments (H5: 47).

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Despite Italy’s limited role in the colonial period, Jordanian textbooks still display negative a itudes towards Italy, which launched a fierce and savage campaign against Libya (H5: 122), brutally suppressed resistance (H5: 121), stole land from the Libyans and fought against their religion (H5: 51).

Results The preceding analysis of selected Jordanian textbooks demonstrates that they construct an image of Europe and Europeans that relies on historical facts and cultural a itudes common in the society, far removed from the current a itudes of the state and its foreign policy. The results of the study can thus be summarised in the following manner: Jordanian textbooks present sufficient information about European civilisation and its role in advancing human civilisation, particularly in the field of global developments in science, technology and concern for the environment. They also portray Europeans as innovative and emancipated from superstitions. However, at the same time they emphasise unambiguously that European civilisation is not European in origin, but in fact came into being because of its contact with ArabIslamic civilisation. Jordanian textbooks do not present Europe or the Europeans as the enemies or even the competitors of the Arabs. However, they do refer to the fact that the West beli les the importance of Arab-Islamic civilisation and considers it strange and Islam as an enemy. They also refer specifically to the negative role of Britain and France in shaping the history of the Arabs and their present situation. As well as this, the textbooks explain that European governments strove to control the natural resources of the Arab region for their own economic benefit. This led to the outbreak of successive conflicts and wars, launched by the European states against the peoples of the region so that they could take the lead in their competition with each other. The textbooks also use scathing terms to describe the European countries, particularly Britain and Italy, which engaged in conflicts and wars against the peoples of the Arab region, particularly during the period of the Crusades and that of colonialism. The terms used in this context resemble those that are used in the media today to describe the terrorist groups against which the international community is fighting. Jordanian textbooks explain that the conflicts and wars with Europe and Europe’s interference in the affairs of the countries of the region led to problems on several different levels: economic, political and social.

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These problems range from economic weakness and poor management of resources to the issue of Palestine and the development of the state of Israel, the fragmentation of the Arab states and the outbreak of intermittent conflicts between them, and moral problems, social fragmentation and the prevalence of depravity. The textbooks also state that European states – and especially Britain – have not been serious about solving the Israel-Palestine conflict, despite the fact that it was the actions of the Europeans that led to the outbreak of the conflict in the first place.

Discussion Some aspects of the image that Jordanian textbooks construct in the minds of students constitute a barrier to the development of a sound understanding of the European Other. This impacts on day-to-day behaviour and on interaction with and interpretation and prediction of events. Obstacles to understanding the Other have become a phenomenon common among Europeans and Arabs. To this author’s understanding, the reason for this lies in the fact that an accumulation of historical events has been selected and presented in textbooks in a charged political context. The distortion in the image that both the Arabs and the Europeans construct of the Other is still governed by an ancient cultural inheritance that a empts to find an outlet in the present political situation. In order to reveal the obstacles that stand in the way of Jordanian students’ understanding of the European Other, the present research endeavoured to analyse the content of textbooks (for history, geography, civic education and general culture) to identify the image that Jordanian textbooks form in the minds of students. The results of the study converge with the findings of Al-Haloji in his study on the image of Europeans and Americans in history textbooks in Arab countries in general (2004). Most obstacles that stand in the way of constructing a sound image of the European in the minds of Jordanian students have come about entirely due to the nature of the West’s policy towards the Islamic world since the beginning of European expansionism in the early fifteenth century. They have also come about due to the image that Muslims have of themselves, through which they define the nature of their understanding of the Other (Bernal 1987). The wars and armed conflicts which, in most confrontations, ended in defeat for the Muslims have led to the formation of a self-image characterised by being seen as weak by the European Other. This has been the case since the rise of the European colonial powers, starting with

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the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch, and then more intensely with the French and the English until the mid 1950s during the period of direct colonial rule. The experience of independence that followed this stage deepened the Muslims’ sense of bi erness at their defeat, with the failure to solve the Palestinian issue representing the most prominent illustration of this defeat. This failure instilled feelings of frustration and led to the internalisation of the military defeat. These feelings come to the surface at every opportunity of dealing with Europe that arises in Jordanian textbooks; the defeat is presented as a result of European, specifically British, policy. This sometimes leads to development of a conspiracy complex among Jordanians. This complex shapes the way in which many individuals a empt to explain the different developments in which Europe plays a part (Madan 2006). The idea of the conspiracy derives part of its legitimacy – as the textbooks conceive of it – from European foreign policy, which conflicts with the principles that many European democracies see as being part of their very nature. The books depict human rights, for example, more as a means by which to achieve hegemony than as a project with which to establish a civilised society. There is another obstacle that is linked to the nature of Muslims’ selfperceptions, their identities and their religion, which forms, at the same time, the foundations on which the image of the Other is constructed. This also necessitates the study and analysis of books for Islamic Education, Arabic language, among other textbooks, in addition to history and geography books. Numerous factors apart from textbooks contribute to the formation of an image of the Other. The educated elites that generated Islamic opposition movements, framed organisationally in the form of parties, play a prominent role in this field. Their elite position and the simplicity of their rhetoric, and also their mastery of methods of propaganda and the participation of some of their members in the composition of textbooks, have enabled them to change the image of Europe from an imperialist enemy to an enemy of the faith. The image of Europe that the educated elite produced is in large part a product of the internalisation of the military defeat complex. The involuntary summoning of this complex limits Muslims’ self-perception, and their perception of Islam, and also of the Other to the political level. That is to say that the conception of relations with the European Other is principally governed by confrontation and conflict, and it is thus deemed necessary to focus on all elements of differentiation with them. There is no more effective means of expressing the exclusivity of any culture than faith and doctrine. It is from this fact that the role of these elements in political confrontation with Europe arises. The danger here is

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that being selective and reductive in choosing the content of textbooks deprives students of the riches of religions’ historical experience. Given the presence of these varied obstacles, linked to Western and Islamic identity, how can we imagine a way out of this mutual aversion? The solution that is proposed today, one that enjoys official support and a flood of media promotion, is intercultural and interfaith dialogue. However, each of these dialogues has a number of shortcomings, making it difficult to achieve any rapprochement or mutual understanding through them. This is due to a collection of factors linked to flaws in the very premises of such activity. Talk of intercultural dialogue is contrived – cultures do not engage in dialogue, they interact with each other in varied and complex historical contexts. Peoples take what is needed from different cultures without any plan, without establishing a framework for what they take, without any need for speeches from elites, whether they are factual or ideological. How can a dialogue between two faiths be possible? What would this or that religion say to the other? Each religion defines its perception of itself and of others through the principle of absolute truth; every religion has, of course, a truth of its faith. As this sort of truth is sacred, it can only constitute a rejection of the Other. The interfaith dialogue project thus contains the seeds of its own failure within its design. If faiths or civilisations are to engage in dialogue, this can only happen with an understanding of religion and society that prioritises cultural and historical elements. History, in the sense of sound, rational knowledge of the Self and the Other, constitutes the most fertile ground for rapprochement between peoples and religions because of its capacity to get past the exclusivity of absolute truths. Faiths in this sense include historical experiences that sometimes run parallel to each other and intersect each other to form a shared heritage. To overcome the disputes between Arabs and the West it is therefore necessary to return to the basis of history in order to ensure a neutral, rational understanding that can lay the foundations for consciousness of the varied nature of human experience. ‘The Crusades’ are what first come to the minds of Arabs in connection with the image of Europe in Muslim society. Despite the fact that these campaigns against the Arab region date from the medieval period, and there is thus no doubt that Europe’s approach towards the Muslim world has since developed, many still think of the Europeans as if they were lying in ambush for their easy prey, the Muslims. The French campaign led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 has been associated with the European colonial conflicts over the Arab world despite the fact that it brought about many positive outcomes as well. It also led

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in one way or another to the emergence of Islamic reform movements and the modernising tendencies that were overtaken throughout the Muslim world by the propensity for imitating Europe. The distorted nature of the image of European society in the Arab world does not conform with reality. Looking at the Islamic world, we see that some Arabs actually regard European society as if it were a disintegrated place, dominated by depraved relations between the sexes (Ibrahim 2001). There is no doubt that Europe is not a single entity and not absolute. It is characterised by diversity, differences, contradictions and conflicts. By thinking about it as an Other with a varied human and cultural experience, the mystification of Europe can be overcome. Arab societies are, in turn, characterised by cultural, religious and social diversity. Analysis of images formed of Europe is therefore only possible from the starting point of this diversity. The only possible solution to this phenomenon lies in correcting the image on both sides, particularly in textbooks and the media, as well as in cultural exchange between those who develop curricula in the Arab world and in Europe, so that an accurate image of European and Arab thought is presented. Understanding Europe and its philosophy does not necessarily entail believing in it (Delgado-Moreira 1997).

Recommendations In conclusion, I believe that the results of the research emphasise the necessity of reviewing the content of textbooks with the aim of removing all information that conflicts with reality from the books so that two different images are not formed in the minds of children, one of which is constructed by textbooks based on historical events, and the other of which is constructed by current events, as are apparent in the daily practices of the state and its foreign policy. Such a conflict reduces curricula’s capacity for achieving their educational objectives and leads, in the end, to students and teachers losing interest in the contents of textbooks and their messages. This situation can be avoided by reviewing and revising the content of textbooks in order to achieve harmony between a general framework of curricula that reflects the a itudes of the state, its constitution, and its foreign relations on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the transitory a itudes of the government, which all continue to be connected to the values and culture of the society. It is also necessary to a end to the development of history curricula and teaching methods, since it is only possible to construct a sound image of the other through comprehension of the cultural and historical

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dimensions of religions in order to get beyond the exclusivity of absolute religious truths. Analysis should not be limited to history and geography books; the other academic subjects, including, among others, Islamic education and Arabic language, should also be analysed and reviewed, because all textbooks define one’s self-perception, and they form the natural basis for the formation of an image of the Other. The development of history curricula and teaching methods is proposed as a solution that can overcome the obstacles to comprehension of the Other, and is the only way of escaping from the difficulties of the contradictions of intercultural and interfaith dialogue. An Arab initiative is necessary in order to develop history curricula and teaching methods. A sound image of the Other can only be constructed through an understanding of religion and society that prioritises cultural and historical elements. History, in the sense of sound, rational knowledge of the Self and the Other, constitutes the most fertile ground for rapprochement between peoples and religions because of its capacity to get past the exclusivity of absolute truths. In addition to this, there should be cultural exchange between those who develop curricula in the Arab world and in European states, so that a sound image of the Other is presented and so that there might be wider consciousness of the fact that understanding the life philosophy of the Other does not necessarily entail believing in it. The concept of Arab identity remains unclearly defined and differs from the concept of Islamic identity. Even if we assume that curricula in Arab countries have succeeded in forming an image of Islam in the minds of students and in encouraging them to adhere to the principles of the religion, this does not mean that the curricula have succeeded in moving Arab-Islamic societies off the bo om rung of advancement and in enabling them to present the image that they want Others to see of them. Unfortunately, despite enormous spending in some Arab countries on projects for the development of education and curricula, the end products of education are still individuals of whom the majority have no identity, and there is no hope that this type of individual will contribute to the construction of advanced states which are strong economically, academically, culturally and technically. The Islamization of the curricula does not offer a viable solution to this issue, as it tends to project an Islamic identity that is static and unchanging and therefore does not suit the necessities of the contemporary world. To this author’s understanding, curricula should rather focus on fostering an Arab identity in the minds of students, for instance through Arabic language curricula, which help to transmit a single, comprehensive, complete Arab identity, so that students learn to see themselves and

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Others with equanimity and objectivity, far removed from feelings of marginalisation and defeatism. Preservation of this identity depends on desire to do so, on awareness of the tendencies and desires of the upcoming generation and of the a itudes of the age, and on serious, cohesive work, beginning with conservation of the mother tongue, which is considered to be the most important feature of cultural and historical identity. Translated from Arabic by Clem Naylor

References Arabic Sources Ibrahim, Abdullah. 2001. Islamic Centrism. Beirut: Al-Markaz al-Thaqāfī al’Arabī. Jordanian Ministry of Education. 1994. ‘The Educational Law no. 27 for 1994’, Risalat al-Mu’allim 35, 4: 163–179. Madan, Hassan. 2006. Marāyā al-Sharq … Marāyā al-Gharb. UAE. Massad, M. 1995. ‘The Educational Supervisors Problems in Jordanian Schools as Perceived by Teachers’, Risalat al-Mu`allim 36, 3: 63–72. ———. 2000. ‘Classroom Environment: Problems and Solutions’, Risalat alMu’allim 40, 1: 16–24. English Sources Al-Ashmawi, F. 2005. ‘The Image of the “Other” in the school books in Europe and in the Arab World’, Islam Online, 25 January. h p://islamonline.net/ English/artculture/2005/01/article08-5.shtml, accessed January 2010. Al-Haloji, M. 2004. The Image of Europeans and Americans in History Textbooks in Arab Countries. Cairo: Translation and Language College, Al-Azhar University. Bernal, Martin. 1987. Black Athena: Afro-Asiatic Roots of Classical Civilization: The Fabrication of Ancient Greece, 1785–1985. Vol 1. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Delgado-Moreira, Juan M. 1997. ‘Cultural Citizenship and the Creation of European Identity’, Electronic Journal of Sociology 2, 3: 1–17.

Q 11 HISTORY CURRICULA AND TEXTBOOKS IN PALESTINE Between Nation Building and Quality Education Samira Alayan

Textbooks play a prominent role in the cultural formation of children. According to Schissler (1989–1990), textbooks and educational materials have a strong influence on students inside and outside the classroom not only because they convey actual knowledge, but also because they convey the images of history, the concepts of time and of political and social representation and values that society wants to pass on to the younger generation. Textbooks also endeavour to establish political and social norms for societies and communities, and to transmit their historical consciousness. In addition to this, textbooks are the first and o en the only books that many people read and come into contact with and they are therefore not merely a means to acquire socio-cultural knowledge, but rather they constitute a legitimate and early type of ‘media’ that reflect the values and knowledge any society sets out for its members. It seems that curricula and textbooks carry a ‘stamp’ that promises the ‘truth’, even if it is in fact only a question of claiming truth and general legitimacy, and even if the identity of the information in the books is a topic of political and cultural debate in many countries, especially democratic ones (Laessig and Pohl 2008). As for the importance of analysing history books in particular, according to Pingel (1999; 2010), books used for teaching history do not only convey facts, but also disseminate ideologies and follow political conflicts, a empting to justify them by investing them with historical legitimacy. Textbooks have o en been used as an instrument of war in order to provoke opponents and to justify the patriotic a itudes of individuals. On this subject, William (2001) claims that history, geography and social studies textbooks are specifically characterised by pursuing the interests of the researchers, politicians and the public. These subjects o en focus on the issues of greatest sensitivity to collective identities and serve as fundamental tools for

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defining the identities which are important and relevant to the interests of those who decide the books’ contents. Writers of social studies and history textbooks necessarily need to make choices over the inclusion of issues deemed relevant and the emphasis placed on each topic, while other topics are le out. These choices always reflect the ways in which the books are supposed to refer to people’s past and make links between it and the present. For this reason, the writers are not completely free from political and ideological considerations; hence, according to Nicholls (2006), social studies and history textbooks do not only convey a description of a specific region, community or group of people, they also provide an opportunity to separate any society’s past, present and future. Textbook authors thus perform the role of producers and suppliers of the memory of a specific culture. Education shapes the identity of individuals and their sense of belonging to a coherent larger group, but it also provides groups with the necessary force and legitimacy to challenge a given social system. Thus, control of education regulations and the contents of textbooks is a powerful instrument used by educational authorities to influence the formation of identity within a given group (Appel and Christian-Smith 1991; Russell 2001; Schissler and Soysal 2005). This study analyses the Palestinian history textbooks that were developed by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and are being taught in schools since 2000. These books are taught in all Palestinian schools (governmental and private) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including schools in East Jerusalem, where, despite its special status, schools observe the curricula and textbooks prescribed by the Palestinian MoE.1 Studies on the Palestinian education system have rarely combined textbook analysis with an evaluation of their educational quality. Few studies have analysed Palestinian textbooks from a Palestinian perspective. Brown (2003) examined Palestinian curricula and the way in which the subjects of history and identity are presented in them. He generated important results that contradict some flawed stereotypical claims about Palestinian curricula: that they are curricula of war, filled with hatred, violence and racism. But he also revealed that the Palestinian curricula are not ‘curricula of peace’. In their important work, Firer and Adwan (2004) compared images of the Self and the Other in Palestinian and Israeli textbooks for several subjects – history, civic education, religion and Arabic language. However, all of the Palestinian textbooks analysed in this study were issued during a transitional phase of preparing the Palestinian Authority’s (PNA) textbooks in the 1990s. In this study, Adwan found that the textbooks prepared by the

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PNA presented Palestinians as victims of Zionism and the Israeli occupation. Accordingly, the Israeli Other was presented in these books as a criminal and an aggressor who stole Palestine’s land. It is interesting to compare the results of this study to Firer’s other studies (1985; 2004), which analysed the Arab-Israeli conflict as presented in Israeli history textbooks. Firer found that Israeli textbooks revolve around the idea of the Zionist movement and the Jews’ right to a state. Jews are presented here as victims of a continuous series of massacres and forced migrations culminating in the Holocaust. The books deny the Arabs’ right to Palestinian land and the legitimacy of their national movement, and refuse to recognise the Palestinians as a national entity. Nasser (2004) analysed identity discourses in Jordanian and Israeli textbooks. He demonstrated points of similarity and difference in the books of both countries and found that the Jordanian and Israeli narratives were similar in that they revolve around three principles – location, civilisation and history. The majority of the other studies which have analysed history books (Mathias 2003; Bar-Tal 1996; Bar-Tal and Teichman 2005; Podeh 2002; Peled-Elhanan 2009) have examined the Arab-Israeli conflict and the image of the Other only in Israeli books. An additional principle – the relationship between the nation and the homeland – was found in the Israeli books, and the study’s results also demonstrated that Palestinians are featured in these books mainly as foils that helped to carve out the meaning and specificity of their own national collective. An elaborate discussion of Israeli textbooks is provided by Achim Rohde’s chapter in this volume. The following section offers a survey of the main features of the Palestinian education system with regard to curriculum and textbook development.

Curriculum Development in Palestine The most important distinguishing feature of Palestinian education from 1948 until the establishment of the PNA in the 1990s is the lack of an education system specifically for Palestinians. A er the first ArabIsraeli War of 1948, the Gaza Strip came under Egyptian administration, while Jordan was governing the West Bank. The Egyptian education system and curricula were therefore introduced into Gaza, while the West Bank followed the Jordanian education system. This split education system continued until a er the 1967 war, when both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip came under Israeli occupation. The Israeli army started to manage education; it was later managed by the Israeli

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Civil Administration in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians residing within the State of Israel were channeled into a separate sector of the Israeli education system that is not the focus of this study. Finally, UNWRA provides education facilities for the Palestinian refugees of 1948. The agency was formed to provide relief and works for the refugees under a United Nations resolution from 8 December 1949 to be in charge of relief and works operations in cooperation with the regional governments under whose protection the refugees were living (MoE 2007). Within the Westbank and Gazastrip a er 1967, elements in textbooks relating to Palestinian national identity and the Palestinian question were likely to be censored. In 1994, following the signing of the transfer agreement by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel, control of all the public education institutions was handed over to the PNA. The split system of education in the Westbank and Gaza Strip has since been gradually replaced by a Palestinian education system, producing the first Palestinian curricula. Egyptian and Jordanian textbooks were used in Palestinian schools on a temporary basis until their gradual replacement with Palestinian textbooks. All the textbooks used in this period bore a stamp inside them, showing the agreement between the states of either Egypt or Jordan and the PNA. These books continued to be used until the end of 1995. A er this, the idea of developing independent curricula for Palestinian students came about. In 1996, the Centre for the Development of Palestinian Curricula announced its comprehensive plan, which was characterised by its focus on the need to embed concepts of democracy, human rights and the implementation of social justice. The preparation of curricula coincided with the phase of transition and struggle for the liberation and construction of the state (Al-Jarbawi 2003: 34). Palestinian curricula and textbooks were thus developed in successive phases from 1998 until they were completed in around 2006. Palestine, like all the other Arab states, participated in the World Education Conference in Dakar, Senegal, in 2000. The forum established six objectives, which the member states commi ed to and agreed to implement until 2015. Palestine, like the other states, committed to the objectives of the Senegal forum and established a long-term (2000–2015) plan to achieve them. One of the most important objectives to come out of the forum was the expansion and improvement of care and education in early childhood, especially for the most vulnerable and deprived children. Another objective was to enable all children to receive good, free, compulsory primary education, to give them necessary life skills and improve the quality of teaching and to reduce levels of illiteracy, particularly among women (MoE 2007: 23).

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Textbook Analysis This study answers the following questions: Did the Palestinian MoE succeed in presenting an image of the Self and the Other through history textbooks in such a way that enables Palestinian students to form a national identity; an ethnic identity; a collective identity; a cultural identity? Did they succeed in maintaining the quality of education in history textbooks? The study aims to analyse Palestinian history textbooks for the 7th to the 12th grade in terms of their presentation of an image of the Self and the Other, and at the same time it aims to deal with the educational aspect, considering the quality of the content and the manner in which it is presented to students. In order to obtain a more comprehensive set of results, textbooks for other subjects would have to be analysed. The textbooks were analysed along specifed categories focusing on the texts, the content and other elements like images and maps (see Ven Leeuwen and Kress 1995). In addition, open interviews with supervisors from the Centre for Curriculum Development and with functionaries responsible for history textbooks in the MoE. Images of Self and Other The foundations and principles of the history curriculum for secondary education are based on a general philosophy of Palestinian society, according to which it is the product of ‘its religion, its heritage, its values, its customs, the Palestinian people’s ambitions to protect their land, their historic rights, and their national identity, the 1988 Declaration of Independence, and the Ministry’s policy of preparing upright Palestinian citizens’ (MoE 1999: 3). The history curriculum therefore has a number of foundations: intellectual and national, social, knowledge-based and psychological. A closer look reveals that their content places a particular focus on ethnic and religious issues. The intellectual and national foundations are comprised of four important points: The first point refers to strengthening faith in God, and God’s role in creating and facilitating the universe, humankind and life, and to strengthening faith in Islam and its message, values and principles. The second point refers to faith in the justice of the Palestinian cause, and all Palestinians’ – wherever they may be – sense of belonging to the natural, historic Palestinian nation. The third point states that the Palestinian people are an inherent part of the Arab-Islamic community (umma). The fourth point of the intellectual and national foundations deals with the fact that education plays a

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central role in the development of upstanding Palestinians and focuses on the Palestinian identity with its traditional, historical, political and social dimensions, and on the development of skills and capabilities based on academic and methodological foundations. The social foundations also deal with the history of Palestine, its cultural heritage, and its importance, and with the religious, social and national values that must be stressed in the education of the next generation. When the curriculum addresses its educational and knowledgebased foundations, it deals with the development of students’ capabilities and skills in terms of monitoring and analysing events, making links between their causes and effects, and evaluating their impact on the Palestinian cause. Mention is also made of the fact that the student should be considered as the focal point of the educational process and he/she should be taught skills that develop his/her spirit of initiative and innovation and ability to learn from experiences. Optional subjects should also be introduced, giving students additional information and enhancing their motivation for learning (MoE 1999). The history curriculum displays an educational philosophy focused on the fostering of students’ national identity. The following tables demonstrate the central content of history textbooks. Table 11.1 | Teaching Contents, Grades 7–9 Code

Grade

Title of book

Year

Content of book

H1

Seventh The History of the Middle Ages

2007 • Europe and the Middle Ages (first • Frankish a acks on the Arabpublished Islamic ‘Levant’ 2001) • The Islamic Jihad movement against the Franks The Mamluks

H2

Eighth

2005 • Arab-Islamic civilisation and its (first characteristics published • The political system 2002) • The judicial system

The History of Arab-Islamic Civilisation

• Economic and social life Academic life H3

Ninth

Modern and Contemporary Arab History

2005 • The state of the Arab world in (first the O oman era published • The O oman state – “separation 2003) and reform” • Colonialism in the Arab nation Contemporary Arab issues

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Table 11.2 | Teaching Contents, Grades 10–12 Code H4

Grade Tenth

Name of book Modern and Contemporary World History

Year

Content of book

2004

• The modern European Renaissance • Modern revolutions and nationalist movements • Modern colonialism and the World Wars • International bodies and organisations

H5

Eleventh

The Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine [Part I]

2005

• Palestine from ancient times until the end of the Mamluk period (1016 A.D.) • Palestine during the O oman era until the end of the nineteenth century • Foreign intervention in Palestine at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century

H6

H7

Eleventh

Twelveth

The Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine [Part II]

2006

Arab and World History in the Twentieth Century

2006

• The British mandate in Palestine (1920–1948) • Palestine in the 1948–1967 period • The development of the situation in Palestine between 1967 and 2005 • Foreign intervention and competition over the Arab nation and the world in the twentieth century World Wars I and II • International and regional organisations, blocs, and alliances • The stage of liberation and statebuilding in developing countries in the twentieth century • Political issues of the twentieth century • Economic issues of the twentieth century

Tables 11.1 and 11.2 show the contents of Palestinian history textbooks. They deal with world history, and do not focus entirely on the history of Palestine. They address antiquity (5000 BC to 476 AD), the medieval period (476–1453 AD) and the modern period (1435–1789 AD). The main topics that the books focus on are sequences of events, dealt

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with chronologically. Thus, year seven begins by establishing information about Europe and the Middle Ages, and about European civilisation and its importance, with focus placed on the wars of the Franks. The next stage deals with Arab-Islamic civilisation, its distinguishing characteristics, its systems and its importance for Arab, Muslim students. The events and periods covered progress to the O oman era and the formation of the O oman state (1299–1512 AD), its achievements and then its weaknesses and its disintegration. Next comes the period of colonialism in the Arab nation, the Zionist colonialist designs, the Zionist movement and its different aspects. We then reach the Palestinian question and its roots, and the United Nations resolutions. The Palestinian question is a central topic, treatment of it starts in year nine and continues through years ten and eleven. The following paragraph discusses the images of external Others contained in these textbooks. The image of Europe and the Europeans is, on the one hand, connected with the concept of civilisation, secularism, rationalism, individualism and humanitarian movements. Thus the books demonstrate the importance of European civilisations and their influence on the world; they also demonstrate the importance of Greek civilisation, and the impact of the Greek philosophy of the likes of Aristotle, Plato and Socrates, on the world and on scholars. In this way, Europe is characterised by renaissance, rational thought, science, progress and modernity. The textbooks refer to a number of revolutions that occurred in Europe and the impact they had, and present the liberal ideas, the modern discoveries and inventions and the industrial advancement that had an impact on the world and brought about great changes to the world and to the life of humankind. However, on the other hand, Europe is characterised by the medieval Crusades that are broadly covered in the textbooks. The textbooks refer to Europe’s prevalent weakness and its diverse types of economic and social fragmentation and the schism within the Church that made it look to the East and seek to occupy it. Numerous causes of the Frankish campaigns in Greater Syria and Palestine are named, most notably ‘the Pope’s a empt to gain control over the Churches of the East; the desire to seize the riches of the East; the knights’ desire to set up emirates for themselves; and the Pope’s claim that the Muslims were abusing Christian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem’ (H1: 37). In the book, this passage indicates that the European occupation of Greater Syria was also motivated by religion, not only by economic desires for the wealth of the region. The Frankish campaigns are extensively covered in the history textbooks in order to convey Western designs on the Greater Syria.

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This image is supplemented by that of the period of colonialism. Discussions of British, French, Italian and Spanish colonialism in the Middle East and the Arab Maghreb occupy a major position in the history textbooks. The discussion of colonialism gives a negative image of Europe and of the methods Europe used to obtain what it desired in the Arab world, as illustrated by the following quote: ‘There was fierce competition between each of Britain, France, and Germany to colonise the African states and each of them engaged in deceit and treachery to achieve their colonialist objectives’ (H4: 58). Treatment of the motives for the colonisation of the Arab nation explains the history of the region, its importance and the central position it occupies – the book thus explains that the geographical position of the Arab nation, Europe’s need for the natural resources located in the region, its religious importance and the fact that it is the birthplace of the revealed religions put the region under threat from the desires of the European states. The image of the coloniser is presented negatively in the books, as the following quote illustrates: ‘Colonialist policies share various elements: making the language of the colonising state the language of education in order to propagate Western culture, fighting against the Arabic language, following a policy of obscurantism, dissolving the Arab armies, fragmenting the Arab countries, establishing artificial borders between them, and encouraging partisan, sectarian, and territorial strife within them’ (H3: 47). This image of the coloniser demonstrates to students the negative aspects of colonialism and its impact on current affairs in recent years in the Arab world and Palestine. The message implicitly conveyed through such texts to students is that many of the social and political problems haunting contemporary Arab countries are to be blamed on European colonialism. The textbooks also criticise European states for what is presented as treachery and a breaking of promises that they made to Arab nationalist leaders and states a er World War I. The books discuss Britain and British colonialism in Palestine as a foundation for and a prelude to the establishment of the State of Israel. By implication, Zionism here is presented as part and parcel of the European colonial enterprise in the region. On this point, one of the books states: ‘The Zionist entry into Palestine was encouraged by the European states, and particularly by Britain, which started to encourage Jews to se le in Palestine and form the Jewish state under British protection, making use of Israel to look a er its interests and its connections with the East’ (H5: 56). Information in the history textbooks is presented in such a way as demonstrates that during the Mandate Britain dealt deceitfully with the Palestinians and the Jews at the same time, making contradictory statements to the two sides. Thus, the Brit-

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ish mandatory authorities are blamed for being at the root of all problems Palestinians are facing today. The Zionist movement and the plans of Zionist colonialism and European states are extensively covered in the history textbooks, starting in the late O oman times. They are first dealt with in the 9th grade textbooks and they are discussed at length in the later textbooks, especially in order to explain the objectives of the Zionist movement to students and thus to enable them to understand Palestinian history. Zionism is defined in the history textbooks as a racist, ideological, political movement that emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century. Its emergence coincided with that of the movement of modern European colonialism, itself being a colonialist, racist movement which is, in reality, an integral part of global colonialism. It aimed to create a state that embodied the phrase ‘a land without a people for a people without a land’, mixing religion and nationalism to formulate its principles and beliefs, basing itself on alleged religious and historical rights, expressed by Zionist books in terms of the implementation of two ideas: the return to the land of Zion, and the idea of salvation from the diaspora that was imposed on the Jews and that obstructed their return to what they call ‘the Promised Land’. (H4: 60)

It is apparent from this definition of the Zionist movement that it is seen as the main opponent to Palestinian national aspirations. Zionism is presented as being based on erroneous opinions that deny the rights of the people that lived and continue to live in Palestine, that it is a component of global colonialism, and that it mixed the Jewish religion with Jewish nationalism, something that the text refers to as a racist idea, which denies non-Jewish Others equal rights. An 11th grade history textbook further elaborates on this point: The second half of the nineteenth century was a turning point in the history of the Zionist movement as the idea of forming a Jewish national homeland spread from European circles to the Jews themselves, who started to strive to achieve this objective. Thus the interests of the great colonialist states coincided with Jewish interests and this was the decisive factor in the achievement of the Zionist dream – the establishment of the Jewish state on Palestinian land. (H5: 62)

The Balfour Declaration is one of the important issues dealt with in the history textbooks, as a turning point in the conflict and the Palestinian question: This declaration is considered one of history’s strangest international documents: it granted land it did not own (Palestine) to a movement that did not deserve it (the Zionist movement), at the expense of the Arab Palestinian people who both owned and deserved it. This led to the forced

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seizure of a nation and the displacement of an entire people in a way that is unprecedented in history. (H3: 73)

At the same time, the textbooks also deal with the history of the Jews in the region and acknowledge that Jews lived for numerous periods in the land of Palestine. That they do not deny this fact shows that the history textbooks’ treatment of the Jewish people as a religion and a sect is not hostile, rather the books object to and oppose the idea of Zionism. The textbooks address the Jews’ history in Palestine in the following way: The ancient history of Palestine witnessed the entrance, in the twel h century B.C., of the Israelites under the leadership of Joshua, the son of Nun, when they fought the Canaanites and the Philistines. … Saul, the son of Kish, took over leadership of the Israelites and fought the Philistines under the leadership of Goliath. … The prophet David, son of Jesse, took over leadership of the Israelites and continued to fight … and founded a kingdom in a part of the Palestinian lands under his leadership. … Next came the prophet Solomon … in whose reign the Jewish state reached its broadest state of expansion. A er his death, the state broke up into two parts: the kingdom of Israel in the north (Samaria), and the kingdom of Judah in the south (Jerusalem/al-Quds). (H5: 9).

The books also deal with the agreement between Napoleon and the Jews and the promises that he made them: ‘Napoleon appealed to the Jews of Asia and Africa, urging them to rally around his flag so that he could return them to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple in return for them helping him to control Greater Syria’ (H5: 49). These passages and numerous others from the textbooks show that the Palestinian textbooks do not deny historical facts pertaining to the Jews in various historical periods, facts which are referred to in the textbooks, allowing Palestinian students to learn about the history of the Jews in Palestine over numerous periods. That this treatment of the Jews is found in the textbooks does not, of course, mean that they do not refer to the Muslims’ historic entitlement to Palestine: the books also deal with the place’s Islamic holiness from the time of the Prophet Muhammad, as mentioned in a Qur’anic verse: ‘He [Allah] took the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) on a night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and from there he ascended to the heavens above, as the Qur’an mentions.’ They also deal with the Islamic conquests from the time of the first caliphs to the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, what happened during these periods and the impact of these dynasties on Palestine. In addition to this, they deal with religious and secular law that proves the ownership of the religious places in Jerusalem. For example, one of the books refers to the conflict over

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the Western Wall, indicating that the Muslims’ rights to the wall are not only religious, but also legally granted by the League of Nations. The text states: The League of Nations formed the International al-Buraq Commission, according to the recommendations of the Shaw Commission, in order to examine the ownership of the Wailing Wall. It concluded the following: ‘Only the Muslims have rights to and ownership of the Wailing Wall, which forms a part of al-Haram al-Sharif. The area was an Islamic endowment, and the square next to the wall also belongs to the Muslims. However, Jews are free to visit the Wailing Wall to pray at any time.’ (H6: 11)

The text refers to the religious conflict between Islam and Judaism over the ownership of the Western Wall and the a empt to prove the legal, religious and historical rights to the place. When asked about how the textbooks deal with the reality of the occupation, one of those responsible for the curricula responded: An image of the occupation and of Zionism is presented in history books, but it is not an image that is hostile to Judaism or Jews. Instead, it reflects the evils and horrors of the occupation – we can not convey a beautiful and peaceful image of the occupation to students as it is painful reality and a horrific situation that the Palestinian people are experiencing, and we must be realistic with our students and present a realistic image.

As far as the history books’ treatment of the image of the Self is concerned, the concept and image of the Self stem from Arab-Islamic civilisation. The construction of Palestinian students’ ethno-religious identity starts with the extensive presentation of ancient Arab-Islamic civilisation offered by the history books. This civilisation’s influence on others is highlighted in the books in a most positive way. For example, it is stated that Europe remained in a state of barbarism for an extremely long time without being conscious of it. No inclination towards scientific, academic activity appeared in Europe until the eleventh and twel h centuries A.D., when some people saw it fit to emerge from their deep ignorance, turning towards the Arabs, who were the alone in their academic advancement at that time. The Crusades were not, as is generally claimed, the reason for the entry of the sciences into Europe. In fact, they entered through Spain, Sicily, and Italy … and the West did not only translate the works of Arab scholars, like al-Razi, Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd … into Latin, but also books by Greek scholars, translated by the Muslims into their own language. (H1: 23)

Notably, Islamic civilisation is presented here not only as superior but also as an open entity that incorporated achievements of earlier ones.

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The foundations of Arab-Islamic civilisation are presented in the books in the following way: ‘The Islamic religion is the principle factor in the shaping and forming of Arab-Islamic civilisation, next comes the Arabic language, because it is the language of the Qur’an’ (H2: 6). The concept of the Self presented by the textbooks thus comprises several layers, an Arab, an Islamic and a Palestinian one. This concept of identity in part reflects the ideas of of Pan-Arab nationalism, based on the shared Arabic language which supports and crystallises ethnic identity and the sense of belonging to a broader community of Arab peoples. The reference to the Islamic religion, meanwhile, reflects a sense of belonging to a global Islamic community (umma). A Palestinian national identity and a sense of belonging to the Palestinian people features as a third layer, and all of them are interconnected in various ways. An important aspect of Palestinian identity as presented in the textbooks is their being an oppressed people, deprived of their right to freedom and to living in their nation and on their land. The books portray them as being, despite this, a resistant people who do not give up their legal, historical and national rights. The Arabic language is used in the textbooks, particularly in sections referring to wars and ba les, in a positive way when detailing events concerning the Palestinian people. For example, the following words and sentences are used in the text: ‘The Palestinian Liberation Organisation opposed … the formation of Israel … and cooperated to confront the Israeli troops at the Ba le of alKarama. … The Palestinian people rose up in a people’s intifada against the occupation and Israel failed to put an end to it’ (italics mine) and so on. Words such as ‘opposition’/’confrontation’ (muwājaha), ‘cooperation’ (mushāraka), ‘rising’ (qiyām) and ‘the enemy’s failure’ (‘ajz) are indicative of a empts at motivation, aiming to present a positive image of Palestinians to students. In references to Palestinian defeats, the books usually use words that are designed not to be disheartening for students, such as: ‘The Palestinian troops were forced to leave Beirut a er a heroic resistance [Sumūd] that lasted more than 80 days’ (H6: 77; italics mine). This passage thus suggests coercion and not defeat. We can conclude that the image of the Self in the textbooks presents students with content about Arab-Islamic civilisation and a sense of ethnic belonging to the Palestinian cause and people. When this author asked one of the officials in the department for curricula about how the books deal with the Christian Arabs in the process of building identity, his response was: The textbooks convey historical facts, we do not enter into political or religious ma ers in our composition of the books and our writing of the content. Students in Palestine are free to express their opinions and reli-

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gious and political beliefs. However, schools and textbooks are neutral; we discuss an Arab-Islamic civilisation that includes Arab students in general, and Palestinian Christian students study this ancient civilisation just like the other members of the class. (personal conversation with MoE official, May 2009)

At the same occasion, another official added: ‘Palestinian identity is a subject that concerns Muslim and Christian students in this state. There is no difference between them. Palestine is one of the few – perhaps the first – countries of the Arab nation to compose Christian religious studies books, and Islamic religious studies books, so that students can decide which books are relevant to them and study them.’2 From these and other responses, we may conclude that ethnic and national identity and religious ma ers are separate; however, the content of the books does not reflect this. Quality Education An analysis of contemporary Palestinian history textbooks from an educational perspective needs to take into consideration that textbooks are the principle and o en the only tools at the teachers and students’ disposal in Palestinian schools. The implications of such material conditions on the quality of schooling as well as other factors like the quality of teachers’ training cannot be discussed in the framework of this study. The information and content included in the books is broad, voluminous and highly academic. The information dealt with in the books does not only relate to the history of Palestine but that of the whole world, over numerous periods of history. For example, the textbook H7 contains, among other things, information about the two World Wars, economic and political crises throughout the world, peace treaties made between states and international and regional organisations, a survey of developing countries and liberation revolutions and the construction and liberation of states in the world. The information and documents used in the books are documented, demonstrating to students the importance of authenticating information. Treatment of the history of Palestine includes a very broad range of information and numerous details in order to explain the Palestinian question. The information listed is documented, including statements and reports made by important historical characters from the different periods of the Palestinian question, arousing readers’ interest and encouraging them to follow events and narratives from the Palestinian

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perspective. When examining the way this information is presented in the text, we see that it is shown in a way that is relevant to the daily, social lives of the students. This is in line with contemporary educational thinking according to which texts should be relevant to the lives of students in order to stimulate interest and to enable students to absorb and understand the broader content, not just the content that is limited to the text (Dewey 1938; Gardner 1991; 1993; 2000). However, despite the breadth of information and the stimulating way it is presented in the text, the majority of questions in the textbooks are of a single type, those based on memory. For example, the majority of questions in the history books are of the following sorts of types: ‘remember’, ‘quote’, ‘count’, ‘fill in the blanks’, ‘yes or no’, ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘for what reasons’. All of these questions are based on the memorisation of information, and there are a small number of questions that stimulate a degree of independent analysis and reflection among students. This, according to Bloom’s theory (1956), leads to a limited level of analytical thinking among students, not allowing them to engage in advanced analysis of information. These types of questions also indicate the central role of the teacher in the teaching process, and in the communication and explanation of this information to the students, showing that the teaching process is centred on the role of the teacher, with the student being a recipient of information (Rogers 1969; Freire 1970). The information presented in the history books is thus suitable for a certain elite of students with strong academic capabilities who are good at learning, those students who are able to learn through memorising and retaining information and those who are capable of being successful in final examinations. The history books do not take into account the differences between students and the need to deal with all students on a single level. The history books and the important content they include are not suitable for students who are weak learners, and those who are unable to memorise information. From this, and according to academic studies that focus on pupils and their personal activity and examine their varying intelligence and academic abilities, we can see that the history books do not conform with these theories and do not take into account the different abilities and levels of students. The pictures displayed in the history books are not very numerous. These pictures are connected to the text and usually help students to learn about the historical figure that the text is discussing. According to Pingel (1999; 2010), images have important functions in textbooks. They o en affect the emotions of the students and make them want to express their feelings, aiding free expression and independent think-

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ing. Notably, all of the few pictures that are displayed in the textbook sample used in this study and the texts themselves refer to male figures; there is no mention of any famous woman who participated in global historical events. Even in the books’ treatment of the Palestinian question and in the broad range of information about it that is set out in the books, no mention is made of women and no role is ascribed to them. The single topic in which women are briefly mentioned is that of ‘Manifestations of Social Life in the Arab-Islamic States’ (H2: 86). Here, the book states the rights and responsibilities of women in Islam, making reference to the example of Aisha, the wife of the Prophet Muhammad. This poses an important question – what is the role of women in world and Palestinian history? It is beyond the scope of this study to comprehensively discuss this topic (see Al-Jarbawi 2003; Alayan and Al-Khalidi 2010). The maps that are shown in the history books appear most frequently in discussion of the Palestinian question, in order to explain to students the geographical location of the state of Palestine and of Greater Syria. In all of these maps, there is not mention of the State of Israel. When asked about the reason for this, one of the MoE officials responsible for the curricula replied to this author: ‘The State of Israel did not exist in the time period that the text discusses.’ On the same occasion, another official stated: Maps, whether in history, geography or national education books, are inserted to serve the educational text. In discussion of, for example, the natural geography of Palestine, we have, therefore, inserted a map of natural Palestine. By this, we mean historical Palestine. Thus the map fits our objectives – the objective of textbooks is not to establish the borders of the Palestinian state because that is a political ma er, not an educational one. It is one of the important points of negotiations about the final solution. When there is a political agreement on the borders of the Palestinian state, this will be included in curricula, but if this happens, the concept of historical Palestine will not be wiped out, just as Israeli curricula do not refer in any textbook to the borders of the occupying state. Instead, Israeli students are taught about the state without borders, showing that the desire to occupy extends far beyond the areas currently occupied, stretching, according to the Zionist conception, between the Nile and the Euphrates. (interviews with MoE officials, May 2009)

Indeed, the textbooks display numerous maps from different periods, such as Palestine in ancient history and in the Middle Ages. When the books deal with the historical events of the period of partition and Jewish se lement, it refers to the proposed Jewish state, the proposed Arab state or the areas under Jewish se lement and those under Arab se lement. The following maps demonstrate this.

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Figure 11.1 | ‘Map of Natural Palestine.’ Source: H5: 4

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Figure 11.2 | ‘The territories of the Arab state proposed by partition resolution 181 that came under Israeli control as a result of the 1948 war.’ Source: H6: 36

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Figure 11.3 | Map showing the UN partition plan of 1947, i.e. resolution 181. Source: H6: 29

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Figure 11.4 | Map entitled ‘The Green Line’, dividing ‘the part of Palestine occupied by Israel in 1948 and the area it occupied in 1967’. The term Israel figures on the map to demarcate the lands lost in 1948. Source: H6: 57

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Figure 11.5 | Map showing the so-called ‘Sharon Plan’ of 1982. The map explicitly mentions ‘Israel’. Source: H6: 58

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Discussion The study shows that a clear educational philosophy is apparent in Palestinian history curricula and textbooks. This philosophy deals with the nature of the history of the Palestinian people, and their religious, ethnic and national identity. The study revealed an extensive narrative of the history of Palestine and the Palestinian question presented in textbooks, beginning in ancient times, and passing through the medieval and modern periods of Palestine’s history to extend to modern events and their significance. Twentieth-century history is discussed extensively. The topics treated in this regard include the various United Nations resolutions pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from the partition resolutions (181, 194) to resolutions on the problem of the refugees, and resolutions 242 and 338 concerning the withdrawal of armed forces from the territories that were occupied in 1967 and the achievement of a just se lement to the problem of the refugees, the wars fought by the Arab countries and Israel, Palestinian resistance and its role in the conflict, the Sabra and Shatila massacres, the first and second intifadas and the suffering of the Palestinian people at the hands of Israeli forces and under military rule, the confiscation of land, se lement, the poverty and unemployment from which the Palestinians have suffered and continue to suffer and Israel’s political control over the Palestinian economy and over economic and human resources. The books’ coverage of events extends up to recent events like the construction of the partition wall. The density of information in the history books shows the importance a ached to forming a collective memory and a national identity among students. Thus we can conclude that the PNA has aimed at establishing a national, ethnic identity for Palestinian students through curricula and textbooks. Relevant external Others in Palestinian history textbooks include Europe and Israel. The study revealed a highly ambivalent presentation of Others in these textbooks: A good deal of information is presented about European civilisation and its role in the advancement of humanity, particularly through global developments. But at the same time, Europe is also portrayed as the coloniser who entered the Greater Syria and Palestine and caused a great number of crises in Arab countries. Israel is clearly presented in these books as an opponent and an aggressor. The textbooks express opposition to and disagreement with Zionism, which does not recognise the rights of the Palestinian people to their land and their nation, and opposition to the Zionists’ entry into Palestinian territory and the influx of migrants that lead to the occupation of Palestinian land, the building of se lements and the establish-

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ment of a Jewish nation. In their treatment of the partition agreements and the solutions offered by the United Nations, the textbooks point to the Zionist movement as having opposed and violated the agreements and as having obstructed the peace. Palestinian textbooks do, however, succeed in differentiating between Zionist thought and Judaism as a religion and a community. The study did not find passages that are hostile and violent towards the Jewish people as such, since historical events are dealt with in a way that simply describes historical facts. The findings of this study contradict some of the claims of Marcus and Crook (2004), which suggest that Palestinian textbooks contain some information that is provocative and hostile to the State of Israel and the Jewish people, including statements denying the Israeli right to existence and declaring its destruction as legitimate. This author did not find any such statements in the history textbooks used for this study. In his study of Palestinian textbooks, Kriener (2003) claimed to have found passages in the textbooks that express hostility towards Jews and Israel. Listing some of the examples that he found in the textbook Lughatuna al-Jamīla (Our beautiful language), Kriener suggests that the hostility is apparent from the depiction of an Israeli man as a soldier with a violent, unpleasant face. He states that a further image of the same soldier with the same appearance is depicted next to a peaceful-looking Palestinian policeman. To this author’s understanding, statements of this sort a empt to divert a ention from or even to de-legitimise criticism of the violent face of the Israeli occupation which the soldier symbolises. How can one expect the Israeli occupation as presented in Palestinian textbooks to have a beautiful face? As for the claim that the maps in the textbooks do not mention the State of Israel and the Green Line, we can see from the results of the study that Israel is indeed not mentioned in most of the maps. One might not subscribe to the reasons for this void given by the Palestinian officials interviewed for this study. However, this does not amount to a denial of Israel’s existence, as proven by the fact that two of the maps presented in this study do mention Israel and show the Green Line. Some topics relating to world or Middle Eastern history that are politically sensitive in the Palestinian context are treated only selectively in the textbooks, making it difficult for students to develop any deeper understanding of these issues. Thus, the history textbooks include a great deal of information about ancient and modern world history, including discussion of World War I and II and of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. The books also deal with Nazi ideology. However, they do not mention the Holocaust. By omi ing this important piece of histori-

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cal information, the textbooks prevent Palestinian students from grasping a crucial reason for the United Nations’ agreement to establish the State of Israel. In a similar vein, events of recent years in neighbouring Arab countries are only very briefly addressed in Palestinian history textbooks. For example, concerning Iraq one textbooks states: ‘Saddam Hussein took power in 1978 and remained in power until April 2003, when America and Britain occupied Iraq and toppled his regime by force’ (H3: 58). The same is true regarding domestic political developments. Thus, the history books pay respect to former PNA president and PLO chairman Yassir Arafat by stating: ‘In 1965, the leader Yasser Arafat declared the start of the armed Palestinian Revolution with the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), which was widely endorsed by Arabs and Muslims and internationally. This led the majority of the countries in the world to acknowledge the existence of the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination’ (H3: 75). When asked about political developments inside Palestine since the establishment of the PNA and their impact on textbooks, one official responded: We do not communicate political ma ers in the formation and writing of textbooks’ content. Education does not meddle in whether Fatah or Hamas is in power; the Ministry ensures that the educational process is not influenced by any political factions. There are fi een political groups in Palestinian society so how can textbooks be controlled or affected by them? The Ministry guarantees academic, cultural, objective topics for their students. One hundred per cent. (interview with MoE official, May 2009)

While such voids regarding certain historical and contemporary developments cannot be denied, the books contain factual information regarding other domestically sensitive topics, like the issue of Palestinian land sales to Jews in the Mandate period. For example, the books indicate that land was sold to Jews by some Arabs and that not all of the land was occupied and plundered. The text states: ‘Zionists were able to buy more than half a million dūnums in the 1931–1935 period’ (H6: 17).3 The books do not, of course, neglect to explain to students that those who sold land were agents and middlemen who people were encouraged to shun. With regard to the quality of the Palestinian curriculum, the study discovered that the books succeeded in conveying a broad range of information about historical events in the ancient and modern periods. This information is stimulating and of an elevated academic standard. However, the questions and activities proposed in the history books are based only on memory, which prevents students from broadening

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the horizons of their thinking and analysing and explaining historical events. On top of the fact that the content is based on memory, it is most o en designed for students who are highly proficient at memorising and retaining information and communicating it in response to examination questions. Such students obtain good results in examinations and are considered the elite of advanced students at schools. Thus the content of history books is suitable for a certain elite of Palestinian students but does not take into account individual differences between them, leading to a lack of enthusiasm in the education process among all students (Alayan 2006). It is fair to say that discussion of events concerning the Palestinian question is not objective, but rather they are presented from a subjective Palestinian point of view. According to Laessig (2009), history and social sciences textbooks are not devoid of the beliefs of their writers about this subject as it is them who decide what their books include and what they do not include, it is them who decide which topics should be prominent and which should not. Thus the writer has an important influence on the text and textbooks are never free of their writers’ political and ideological views. I believe that Palestinian history curricula and textbooks are just like books in most other countries of the world that recount their historical narratives from the perspective of a team of writers, who, in most countries, work for their Ministry and for the higher authorities of that country. As well as this, Palestinian history textbooks have taken into account all the social, economic and political considerations of the Palestinian people, and the circumstances of the continuing occupation and this obliges the writers of the books to deliver their historical narratives to Palestinian students from a subjective perspective in order to aid the construction of the future state. Finally, we must bear in mind that Palestinian textbooks were only recently composed and were more or less completed in 2006. Some of them were not completed until the end of 2008, such as the English language textbooks. Despite this, the history books present an extremely broad range of information about the history of the world and of the Palestinian question. They relate information in a way that is neither hostile nor objectionable, in spite of the harsh conditions and difficulties of the occupation with which the Palestinian people live. Information is presented in a way that describes historical events from a Palestinian point of view, aiming to develop students’ national identity and to aid the formation of the Palestinian entity. The development of history textbooks of this standard gives reason for some optimism and hope and demonstrates the MoE’s ability to respond to the conditions of the oc-

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cupation and to political developments. Education is one of the central axes that drive development and I hope that the results of this modest study might help the flaws that have been revealed through analysis of the history books to be identified and dealt with. Translated from Arabic by Clem Naylor

Notes 1. On the subject of the special status of East Jerusalem in terms of education and curricula and in terms of the powers bestowed upon the Palestinian National Authority and the Israeli authorities, see Alayan and Yair (2009). 2. This is incorrect; several Arab countries have issued separate Christian religious studies textbooks. 3. A dūnum is a measure of land roughly equivalent to 900 metres squared.

References Textbooks [H1] Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta’līm al-’ālī [MoE]. 2007. Tārīkh al-’Usūr al-Wusta [The History of the Middle Ages], 7th grade. [H2] Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta’līm al-’ālī [MoE]. 2005. Tārīkh al-Hadāra al’Arabiyya al-Islāmiyya [The History of Arab-Islamic Civilisation], 8th grade. [H3] Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta’līm al-’ālī [MoE]. 2005. Al-Tārīkh al-’Arabī alHadīth wa al-Mu’āsir [Modern and Contemporary Arab History], 9th grade. [H4] Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta’līm al-’ālī [MoE]. 2004. Tārīkh al-’Ālam al-Hadīth wa al-Mu’āsir [Modern and Contemporary World History], 10th grade. [H5] Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta’līm al-’ālī [MoE]. 2005. Tārīkh Filastīn al-Hadīth wa al-Mu’āsir, al-Juz’ al-Awwal [The Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, part I], 11th grade. [H6] Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta’līm al-’ālī [MoE]. 2006. Tārīkh Filastīn al-Hadīth wa al-Mu’āsir, al-Juz’ al-Thānī [The Modern and Contemporary History of Palestine, part II], 11th grade. [H7] Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta’līm al-’ālī [MoE]. 2006. Tārīkh al-’Arab wa al’Ālam fī al-Qarn al-’Ashrīn [Arab and World History in the Twentieth Century], 12th grade. Arabic sources Al-Jarbawi, Tafida. 2003. ‘Sūra al-mar’a fī al-manāhij al-filastīniyya’. Majalla alMu’allim/al-Tālib, numbers 1 and 2. Tarbiyya al-UNRWA. Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta’līm [MoE]. 1999. ‘Al-Khutūt al-’arīda li-manāhij altārīkh lil-Sufūf 11–12’ [Broad Outlines of the History Curriculum for Grades 11–12].

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Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta’līm al-’ālī [MoE]. 1989. ‘Khi a al-manāhij al-filastīnī al-awwal’. Ramallah: UNESCO. Wizāra al-tarbiyya wa al-ta’līm al-’ālī [MoE]. 2007. ‘Al-Ta’līm lil-jamī’ fī filastīn, taqyīm muntaqaf al-muda fī filastīn 2007’ [Education for All in Palestine]. Ramallah. English language sources Alayan, Samira. 2006. ‘Good and Significant Learning: Positive Learning Experiences Remembered Favorably Among Alumni of the Arab Education System in Israel and the Impact of these Experiences upon Them’. PhD dissertation, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Alayan, Samira, and Naseema Al-Khalidi. 2010. ‘Gender and Agency in History, Civics, and National Education Textbooks of Jordan and Palestine’, The Journal of Educational Media, Memory, and Society 2, 1: 78–96. Alayan, Samira, and Gad Yair. 2009. ‘Paralysis at the Top of a Roaring Volcano: Israel and the Schooling of Palestinians in East Jerusalem’, Comparative Education Review 53, 2: 235–257. Appel, Michael W., and L. K. Christian-Smith, eds. 1991. The Politics of the Textbook. New York and London: Routledge. Bar-Tal, Daniel. 1996. Development of Social Categories and Stereotypes in Early Childhood: The Case of ‘The Arab’ Concept Formation, Stereotype and A itudes by Jewish Children in Israel. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Ltd. Bar-Tal, Daniel, and Yona Teichman. 2005. Stereotypes and Prejudice in Conflict, Representation of Arabs in Israeli Jewish Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bloom, Benjamin. 1956. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. Handbook I: Cognitive domain. New York: Longmans, Green. Brown, Nathan J. 2003. ‘Democracy, History, and the Contest over the Palestinian Curriculum’, in Contested Past, Disputed Present, Curricula and Teaching in Israeli and Palestinian Schools. Ed. Falk Pingel. Hannover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 99–125. Dewey, John. 1938. Experience and Education. New York: Collier. Firer, Ruth. 1985. The Agents of Zionist Education. Tel Aviv: Poalim [in Hebrew]. Firer, Ruth, and Sami Adwan. 2004. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in History and Civics Textbooks of Both Nations. Ed. Falk Pingel. Hannover: Verlag Hahnsche Buchhandlung. Freire, Paulo. 1970. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder. Gardner, Howard. 1991. The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach. New York: Basic Books. ———. 1993. Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. New York: Basic Books. ———. 2000. The Disciplined Mind, Beyond Facts and Standardized Tests, The K–12 Education that Every Child Deserves. New York: Penguin Books. Kriener, Jonathan. 2003. ‘Palestinian School Textbooks: Between International Polemics and National Apologia’, Internationale Schulbuchforschung 25: 399–406.

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Laessig, Simone. 2009. ‘Textbooks and Beyond: Educational Media in Context(s)’, The Journal of Educational Media, Memory, and Society 1, 1: 1–20. Laessig, Simone, and Karl Heinrich Pohl. 2008. ‘History Textbooks and Historical Scholarship in Germany’, History Workshop Journal 67: 125–139. Marcus, Itamar, and Barbara Crook. 2004. ‘Palestinian Children in Combat Support Roles: Behaviour mirrors teachings in Palestinian schoolbooks and popular culture’, h p://pmw.org.il/index.html, accessed February 2012. Mathias, Yehoshua. 2003. ‘The Thorny Way to Recognition: Palestinians and Arabs in the Israeli Curriculum’, in Contested Past, Disputed Present, Curricula and Teaching in Israeli and Palestinian Schools. Ed. Falk Pingel. Hannover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 29–57. Nasser, Riad M. 2004. Palestinian Identity in Jordan and Israel, The Necessary ‘Other’ in the Making of a Nation. New York and London: Routledge. Nicholls, Jason, eds 2006. School Textbooks Across Cultures. International Debates and Perspectives. Oxford: Symposium Books. Peled-Elhanan, Nurit. 2009. ‘The Geography of Hostility and Exclusion: A Multimodal Analysis of Israeli Schoolbooks’, Journal of Visual Literacy 27, 2: 179–208. Pingel, Falk. 1999. UNESCO Guidebook on Textbook Research and Textbook Revision. Hannover: Verlag Hahnsche Buchhandlung. ———. 2010. UNESCO Guidebook on Textbook Research and Textbook Revision. 2nd revised and updated edition. Paris and Braunschweig: UNESCO and Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research. Podeh, Elie. 2002. The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Israeli History Textbooks 1948–2000. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey. Rogers, Garl R. 1969. Freedom to Learn: A View of What Education Might Become. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company. Russell, Mona L. 2001. ‘Comporting Overlapping, and Contradictory Agendas: Egyptian Education under British Occupation, 1882–1922’, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and Middle East 21, 1–2: 50–60. Schissler, Hanna. 1989–1990. ‘Limitation and Priorities for International Social Studies Textbook Research’, The International Journal of Social Education 4, 3: 81–89. Schissler, Hanna, and Yasemin N. Soysal, eds. 2005. The Nation, Europe, and the World: Textbooks and Curricula in Transition. Oxford and New York: Berghahn Books. Ven Leeuwen, Theo, and Gunther Kress. 1995. ‘Critical Layout Analysis’, International Textbooks 17: 25–43. William, Edward Marsden. 2001. The School Textbook, Geography, History and Social Studies. London: Woburn Press.

Q 12 BRIDGING CONFLICTS THROUGH HISTORY EDUCATION? A Case Study from Israel/Palestine Achim Rohde

History Education and Conflict Resolution Much has been said and wri en regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, its political, geographic, military and economic dimensions. Socalled so issues like educational policies and textbooks, too, have been contested among banner bearers of both sides, in the region itself and in international academia. Debates concerning educational issues in this context usually evolve around questions of representation and mutual recognition, o en focussing on the humanities and social sciences, which are considered crucial disciplines for shaping pupils’ worldviews and their sense of identity. Unsurprisingly in the context of this bi er conflict, both sides have been trading accusations regarding the content of teaching materials, which they criticised as being narrowly nationalist and ignorant towards the concerns and the history of the respective other side. Indeed, the establishment of modern education systems in the Middle East in the course of the twentieth century formed part of a stateand nation-building agenda consciously followed by state building elites in the region who tended to value education not least of all for its socialising function of producing loyal state citizens willing to submit to centralised and o en authoritarian government control. Such approaches were prevalent in countries like Ba‘thist Iraq and Nasserist Egypt, both of which played a crucial role in the expansion of education in the region, but they were also applied by the Zionist movement during the Mandate era and by the Israeli authorities a er the founding of the State of Israel. Since its inception in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has invested considerable energies in developing a national education system in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as part of its efforts at building the foundations of a future

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Palestinian state. In all these cases, the humanities and social science disciplines have served as a means to disseminate a national historical consciousness and a sense of identity favoured by the respective state elites. In the Israeli and Palestinian contexts, the common history of both societies and the history of the country itself are usually interpreted in competing and mutually exclusive ways, reflecting the ongoing conflict of two nationalist movements claiming the same piece of land. Against this background, it is hard to imagine how history education might serve as a means to so en tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Efforts at using history education as a means to foster mutual recognition and reconciliation between conflicting communities or societies seem more feasible in post-conflict se ings, when the actual grievances that fuelled the conflict are a thing of the past. Even then such efforts are usually seen as promising only in the mid to long term, as reconciliation processes demand a readiness to question one’s own selfperceptions and historical ‘truths’ through a prolongued dialogue with former opponents (Cole 2007). These are not linear processes, and they are not always successful. Only in a minority of cases former opponents arrive at formulating a bridging narrative that encapsulates the understanding and the common ground reached in years of negotiations. What is more, education in post-conflict societies o en faces a contradictory situation that negatively impacts on its transformative potential. As Pingel (2008: 184) observed, ‘On the one hand, it is striking that education is not a high priority when it comes to redistributing political power and economic resources a er conflict and that sometimes education is hardly mentioned in peace se lements. On the other hand, implicitly or expressly, education is expected to secure the sustainability of peace and contribute to fostering a itudes toward peaceful cohabitation in the future.’ Obviously, education contains a socialising and normative dimension pertaining to the contents transmi ed to students through the curriculum. Debates concerning education reforms in general and history education in particular usually focus on this dimension. But education also contains an allocative dimension pertaining to the material conditions in which the education system operates and its structure, to the chances for upward social mobility students may gain through education, etc. This dimension is o en ignored by politicians when it comes to (re-)formulating educational policies not only in postconflict se ings. But material conditions shape the real-life experiences and therefore the worldviews of students to an important degree. Thus, in order to be successful, any a empt to use education as a means for conflict resolution needs to address both issues at the same time.

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Within the Israeli-Palestinian context, the years of the Oslo process (1993–2000) initially seemed to open a window of opportunity for arriving at a sustainable de-escalation of the century-old conflict and preparing the ground for a comprehensive peace agreement between both sides. Unfortunately and for reasons that outgrow the scope of this study, Oslo proved to be a non-starter. Yet, in the realm of education these years saw some important developments in the education systems of both countries. Within the West Bank and Gaza Strip, education was one of the few areas where the newly established PNA was able to assert a meaningful degree of sovereignty, and it indeed managed within slightly more than a decade to develop a comprehensive curriculum and textbooks for all grades and disciplines that breathe the spirit of Palestinian national aspirations. By comparison, the Israeli education system is a long-established one that underwent a variety of stages regarding both structure and curriculum content, which will be discussed below in more detail. Important differences exist between both education systems in terms of the availability of school buildings, class sizes, classroom equipment, availability of additional teaching materials and the quality of teacher training facilities, reflecting the socio-economic gaps between an advanced industrialised and a still not independent developing country. The segregation of Jews and Arabs in the realm of education originated in the period of the British Mandate in Palestine, which was also a formative period for both nationalist movements. The following section therefore offers a historical survey of the development of modern education in Israel/Palestine from the early twentieth century and until today, with an eye towards its structure and a particular focus on the contents of the history curriculum. Against this background, the chapter then portrays and discusses the significance of the bi-national history textbook project initiated by the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME).

The Evolution of Palestinian and Israeli Education Systems In the 1920s and 1930s, the British mandatory authorities in Palestine adapted the O oman system of communal autonomy, a er initial attempts at constructing a unified governmental framework for both the Palestinian Arab population and the Jewish immigrant community (Yishuv) had failed. Thus, the British authorities effectively endorsed the evolution of separate Jewish and Palestinian Arab societies within the borders of the mandate. These two emerging national communities were not treated equally by the British. The Yishuv was able to muster

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the financial resources and professional skills to set up a framework of communal institutions including schools, and the British authorities granted Jewish se lers a great degree of autonomy in pursuing this agenda. In contrast, they became far more directly involved in se ing up local governmental structures for the Palestinian Arab population. As part of these efforts, they expanded the Arab education system. Elements of a modern education system had first been introduced to the region during the late O oman period, as a result of the Tanzimat reforms and the establishment of European-sponsored Christian missionary schools (Ma’oz 1968; Fortna 2002). The British authorities built on this emerging infrastructure. They oversaw the construction of new schools and teacher colleges, thus contributing to the expansion of a still relatively small but meaningful educated elite among the Palestinian population. As elsewhere in the region, this fostered the emerging Arab and local Palestinian nationalism, and Palestinians grew increasingly critical towards both the British authorities and Jewish immigration. While the British invested considerable energies to expand the Palestinian educational sector, they simultaneously strove to control the curriculum and to suppress the spread of nationalist sentiments in Palestinian Arab schools. Thus, the curricula introduced to Arab schools and colleges were clearly meant to distract students from dealing with Arab and Islamic history, let alone with contemporary developments in the region and local politics. They mirrored British models, with some adaptations to the local environment, like the teaching of Islamic religion, or agricultural skills. The logic underlying British educational policies towards the Palestinian Arab population was to allow for the emergence of a limited, dependent and Europeanised Arab elite as well as an extended labour force sufficiently educated to suit the needs of the developing regional economy in the framework of the British Empire, while discouraging signs of Arab or Palestinian nationalism. Still, schools become focal points of nationalist mobilisation among Palestinians (Tibawi 1956; Miller 1985; Mathews 2006). The first Arab-Israeli war of 1948 and the ensuing Nakba (catastrophe), i.e. the flight and/or forced emigration of some 750,000 Palestinians (about two-thirds of the total Palestinian population at that time) from their homes and the destruction that went along with it, disrupted the material infrastructure and the cohesion of Palestinian society. Its education system, too, disintegrated as Palestinians were sca ered all over the region: The educational needs of the refugees and their descendants were taken up by the United Nations Working and Relief Agency (UNWRA), which until today is running the schools in Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan and Lebanon. These are

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subject to varying political, legal and curricular frameworks specific to each host country (Cha y and Hundt 2005). Within the segmented education system of the newly founded State of Israel, Palestinians were channelled into a marginalised sector of the state-run public school system that until today remains reserved exclusively for Palestinian pupils. Palestinian schools in Israel use more or less the same curriculum as the Jewish secular public schools, and this includes the teaching of Jewish cultural heritage and Israeli history from a Zionist perspective, while the teaching of Arab, Islamic or Israeli history from a Palestinian perspective is deliberately prevented by the Israeli Ministry of Education (IMoE; Al-Haj 2002). With regard to its Palestinian citizens, Israeli educational policies to some degree resemble British educational policies from the Mandate era. Similarly, cooptation and repression were only partly successful in preventing the emergence of an increasingly educated and self-conscious Palestinian minority that today demands recognition of its cultural and national identity by the Israeli state, an identity that distinguishes them from both Jewish Israelis and Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip or elsewhere in the region (Al-Haj 1995; Abu-Saad 2006; Robinson 2006). The West Bank and Gaza Strip have until 1967 been administered by Jordan and Egypt, who integrated Palestinian schools in these areas into their respective education systems. Since the beginning of the occupation, Israeli authorities kept the Jordanian and Egyptian curricula with only slight amendments. While allowing for a gradual expansion of the Palestinian educational infrastructure (schools, colleges, universities) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli educational policies in the Occupied Territories strictly outlawed expressions of Palestinian nationalism. Finally, East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in 1967, but its status remained ambiguous, as the majority of Palestinian East-Jerusalemites refused to take up Israeli citizenship and preferred to keep their Jordanian passports. Until the 1990s Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem continued to follow the Jordanian curriculum and used Jordanian textbooks, a er these had passed the Israeli censors (Alayan and Yair 2009). Thus, a high degree of fragmentation, external control and alienation characterised Palestinian educational institutions throughout most of the twentieth century. This situation remains unchanged until today regarding the Palestinian citizens of Israel and the refugee populations residing in Jordan and Lebanon. A veritable Palestinian education system only emerged in the West Bank and Gaza Strip a er the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. Since then, a comprehensive national curriculum and textbooks for all disciplines and grades has gradually been devised and issued by the Palestinian National Authority’s (PNA)

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Ministry of Education (PMoE), in cooperation with the Palestinian Curriculum Development Center set up in 1995, today a department within the Ministry (Khoury 2003). The system is centrally administered by the Ministry, which is subdivided into several regional districts: about 76 per cent of all schools in these areas are public schools run by the PMoE, some 12 per cent are UNWRA schools and about 12 per cent are private schools run mostly by churches or Christian organisations. All three school sectors in the West Bank and Gaza Strip follow the same national curriculum. Additional extra-curricular teaching materials are principally allowed, but their use in class is limited due to the lack of ICT facilities and other equipment as well as the density of the curriculum that doesn’t leave much space for extra-curricular activities. There are important differences between the three school sectors as regards funding, the size of classes, teachers’ wages, the availability of teacher trainings, equipment, etc. UNWRA schools offer the least favourable conditions, while private schools enjoy the support of Western sponsors and o en offer state-of-the-art learning conditions. Due to the structural weakness of the PNA and its financial difficulties in recent years, governmental schools also differ greatly from one another. There is a notable urban-rural divide within the governmental school sector, and much depends on each individual school principal. The daily experience of Israeli military occupation, the continuing land grab by Jewish se lers in the West Bank and their o en violent behaviour towards Palestinian civilians as well as the exceedingly harsh military containment policies implemented by Israel vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip, put heavy strains on the Palestinian education system and negatively impact on pupils’ performance, particularly in areas of friction.1 Even though Hamas meanwhile took over control of the Gaza Strip, schools in Gaza continue to operate along the curriculum issued by the PMoE. However, due to conditions on the ground, especially a er the Israeli assault on Gaza in 2008–2009, there is a lack of reliable research concerning the current status of the education system in the Gaza Strip. Finally, Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem nowadays follow the Palestinian curriculum and use the teaching materials devised by the PNA.2 While clearly reflecting Palestinian national aspirations, the Palestinian curriculum, as one of the few more or less sovereign achievements of the PNA so far, has at times been mis-represented by some researchers and pro-Israel pundits in the context of the second Intifada and a er, who accused the PNA of fostering hate against Israel and anti-Semitism through education. Such allegations could not be verified by sound scholarship. The Palestinian curriculum evades explicit discussions of certain thorny and politically unresolved issues like the

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exact borders of the future Palestinian state, and it presents Palestinian national history as an autonomous development unrelated to external actors like Israelis, who are rarely mentioned at all in the textbooks (Kriener 2003; Adwan 2004; Brown 2006). In fact, Palestinian pupils learn next to nothing in school about Israeli and Jewish history, and on contemporary Israeli society, including its Palestinian minority. While the history of the conflict and its main events, most notably the wars of 1948 and 1967 and the ensuing occupation are discussed in length in PNA textbooks from a Palestinian nationalist perspective, more recent and contemporary developments in politics and society are le out. Palestinian society as presented in the textbooks is a ached to conservative social norms and the Islamic religion, and it is clearly located within the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Jerusalem is omnipresent in the textbooks as the symbolic capital of Palestine that, however, stays strangely out of focus when it comes to presenting the actual living conditions of Palestinians in Jerusalem, as in Israel in general. These voids seem at least in part to be an effect of Israeli pressure on the PNA not to show any sign of endorsing Palestinian irredentism regarding territories lost in 1948, and in particular concerning Jerusalem. In fact, the Palestinian curriculum has been criticised by Palestinian scholars from within the West Bank for failing to transmit what they termed a comprehensive and inclusive concept of Palestinian history and culture that would not be limited by political constraints (Al-Shaikh 2008). An elaborate discussion of the contemporary Palestinian history curriculum and textbooks is provided by Samira Alayan’s chapter in this volume. In comparison, today’s Israeli education system is the result of a farlonger history of independent development than has been the case regarding the Palestinian education system in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Already during the Mandate years, the Yishuv operated its own Hebrew language schools independently from the British authorities and imbued them with a Zionist pioneer ethos. Palestinians or Arabs in general were practically non-existent in the formal teaching materials until 1930 (Firer 1985). Apparently, the principal ‘Other’ against whom Zionism constructed its own self-image was the Jewish Diaspora in Europe, particularly in those early years of Jewish se lement in Palestine. (Porath 2006: 56; Raz-Krakotzkin 1993; 1994). Palestinians or Arabs in general were represented more frequently in textbooks and informal texts like children’s and youth literature produced in the Yishuv a er the ‘Arab Revolt’ of 1936, which disseminated negative stereotypes of Arabs as primitive, hostile and dangerous, thereby reflecting the increasing intensity of the conflict between the Yishuv and the Palestinian population (Cohen 1985; Bar-Tal and Teichman 2005: 157–176;

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Darr 2006). A er the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the education system was built along a consociational approach similar to the Lebanese case that granted a degree of educational autonomy to the various subgroups comprising Jewish-Israeli society, thus diffusing potential conflicts between them. At the same time, this sectorial segregation institutionalised the fault lines between the social milieus comprising Israeli society and contributed to a growing distance between them (Sarfati 2008). The Jewish secular state schools constitute the biggest sector. In 2007–2008 it served about 45 per cent of the pupils enrolled. About 13 per cent of all pupils in 2007–2008 were enrolled in the state-run religious school sector. The equally state run ‘Arab sector’ (including Beduins and Druze) catered to about 26 per cent. About 16 per cent of Israeli pupils were enrolled in independent but state-funded ultra-orthodox schools affiliated with the religious political parties Shas and Agudat Yisrael (Hemmings 2010). In recent years, a growing number of private schools have been established in all these sectors (Ichilov 2010). Each sector enjoys a degree of autonomy regarding the implementation of the curriculum. Thus, compared to the mainstream Jewish secular state schools, state religious schools put a strong emphasis on teaching Jewish religion and heritage at the expense of the humanities and social studies, while the Arab schools put higher emphasis on Arabic language and sciences, also at the expense of the humanities and social studies. The independent religious schools take this trend to the extreme and o en don’t even teach the disciplines belonging to the core curriculum (English, maths, etc.), devoting most of the time to teaching religion. These sectorial differences in implementing the curriculum have increased since the late 1980s, when the IMoE embarked on a policy of decentralising the education system and granted more power to local municipalities, individual schools and parents. This trend reflected international trends in educational policies as well as the diminished financial capabilities of the state that resulted from neo-liberal reforms initiated by Israeli governments since the mid 1980s (Inbar and Choshen 1997; Resh and Benavot 2001). The ‘Arab sector’, while receiving less funding than the Jewish sectors, is most strictly and directly controlled by the IMoE. Material conditions in the independent orthodox schools and in Palestinian schools are the least favourable compared to all other sectors, student achievements are lower than in other sectors and they have the highest drop out rates (Mazawi 1999; Human Rights Watch 2001; Resh and Benavot 2003; Golan-Agnon 2006).3 The development of curricula and teaching materials in Israel went through several stages (Podeh 2002). From the establishment of the state until the mid 1970s, curriculum and textbook development was con-

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centrated in the IMoE. Scholars have characterised teaching materials issued during these years as reflecting the strong ideological impetus and emotional a achment to Zionist pioneer values that permeated Israeli society at that stage. The dense and normative narratives presented in textbooks issued during these years told a story of Jewish national awakening and return to their ancient homeland a er two millenia of exile. They included outrightly negative stereotypes and sometimes contained racist language regarding Arabs (Ma hias 2003). In the course of the 1970s Israel started to introduce market elements into the education system, when it allowed for some textbooks to be published by private publishing houses, while the majority of teaching materials were still issued by the IMoE itself. Still, this development reflected the evolution of competing agendas within Israel’s educational establishment during this second stage, which lasted until the late 1980s. A certain polarity became visible during this phase between those who favoured a more academic approach regarding the content of history and civics curricula and textbooks on the one hand, and those who prioritised value oriented nationalist education on the other. In a new generation of textbooks published in the mid 1970s, Arabs tend to be represented in a less anonymous manner than before, and some textbooks treated the Palestinian-Israeli conflict up to 1948, including the mentioning of Arab viewpoints to some degree. Still, while textbook narratives in this phase became more subtle and didactics more sophisticated, they clearly constituted a legitimising discourse regarding the past and present. Since the late 1980s the IMoE gave up its former monopoly on textbook publishing and outsourced this function to a fast-growing private sector. As a result, teaching materials available on the market became more diverse. The impact of debates between Israeli historians concerning the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that ensued since the late 1980s (‘new’ vs. ‘old’ historians), which called into question a variety of cherished ‘foundational myths’ of Zionist historiography and validated some Palestinian viewpoints regarding 1948, slowly trickled down into textbooks published during the late 1990s. Academic institutions like the Van Leer Institute or the Hebrew University’s Truman Institute as well as institutions of informal education like the Kibbutz study center Givat Haviva developed democracy and co-existence programs and teaching materials that stressed the issue of civil rights, and some of them were introduced to the civics curriculum in schools, mostly in the state-run secular schools. During this third phase of its development, which corresponded to the above-mentioned policy of decentralising the education system, schools gained more freedom to develop indi-

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vidual profiles, and they could choose from among a growing variety of teaching materials along their own political preferences and those of their constituencies. The IMoE keeps a degree of centralised control, as it still sets the curricular framework and organises the standardised and countrywide matriculation exams. It also issues a list of officially licensed textbooks to be used for the exams. A certain degree of diversity has always been inbuilt in these lists, as the Ministry habitually licenses a variety of textbooks in each discipline in order to account for the diverse audiences and their varying agendas. In the 1990s it licensed several textbooks that were influenced by Post-Zionist scholarship despite criticism from conservative circles, and many schools also used non-licensed textbooks and other extra-curricular teaching materials (Firer 2004; Naveh 2006). A sign of the times, in the year 2000 then Minister of Education Yossi Sarid (belonging to the liberal Zionist Meretz party) shortly abolished standardised state matriculation exams for history and civics, enabling individual schools to run their own exams in these disciplines, but he withdrew from this decision a er a controversial public debate ensued over the issue. This move by Sarid was widely understood in Israel as a recognition of the widening political gaps between the various segments and milieus comprising Jewish-Israeli society, particularly concerning the contents of history and civics education. Sarid suggested to solve this issue by disengaging the state from the whole debate. While some critics emphasised the loss of prestige for the two disciplines that went along with Sarid’s decision, others rejected the idea that the state should give up its authority to disseminate a normative ‘truth’ concerning these two disciplines, as such a move would endanger national unity and undermine Zionism (Firer 2004: 32–33). In what could be termed the fourth phase in the development of the Israeli education system, the IMoE has since 2001 reasserted a greater degree of control over textbook production and their dissemination in schools than was the case during the 1990s. While keeping the market principle introduced to the system in the late 1980s, a special committee within the IMoE nowadays reviews every new textbook manuscript that is being prepared for publication and at times actively intervenes in the process of writing. Publishing houses tolerate this interference out of concern for their sales, as schools were simultaneously forbidden to use non-licensed textbooks.4 These new regulations signal a certain change of heart in the Israeli educational establishment regarding its agenda of decentralisation, presumably in order to control the centrifugal powers set in motion by such policies, which are understood to contribute to a growing distance between the various milieus comprising

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Israeli society. Yet, the Ministry’s policy in this regard remains contradictory: Introducing stronger control mechanisms and standardising a core curriculum strengthens the central state’s regulative power in the education system to some degree, but the continuous cuts in the IMoE’s annual budget by subsequent Israeli governments drain the state’s resources and weaken its ability to actively shape the education system and ensure its quality. Instead, this fiscal policy actually widens the already existing gaps between the various school sectors, which overlap with the growing gaps between more and less affluent municipalities, thus intensifying the cleavages between the various segments of Israeli society in the educational sphere and beyond. Strengthening the Ministry’s control over teaching materials introduced to Israeli schools also means that education again became more susceptible to the changing tides of governmental politics. Thus, in 2007 then Minister of Education Yuli Tamir (Labour Party) licensed a history textbook for use in primary schools in the ‘Arab sector’, which noted, concerning the founding of State of Israel in 1948, that Palestinians commemorate these events as a national catastrophe (Nakba). Although the textbook was designed for use only in primary schools in the ‘Arab sector’, it is remarkable that an officially licensed Israeli history textbook incorporated the Palestinian perspective on the most crucial event in the common history of both peoples. Tamir’s successor Gideon Sa’ar (Likud Party) withdrew the licence for this particular textbook shortly a er taking office in 2009, when the newly installed government under Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to outlaw commemorations of the Nakba by any publicly funded institution in Israel. In fact, some history textbooks licensed by the IMoE for the year 2009–2010 do refer to the Palestinian reading of 1948 as Nakba, but textbook authors need to manoeuvre cautiously in this regard, lest the Ministry will withdraw the book’s licence, as happened to a history textbook issued in 2009 by the Jerusalem-based Merkaz Shazar Publishing House, which contained a quote by the distinguished Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi concerning the Palestinian exodus of 1948.5 In sum, a er the establishment of the Israeli state the Zionist narrative and the Hebrew language helped to absorb various Jewish immigrant groups into a newly constructed Israeli Leitkultur that remained hegemonic until the mid 1970s, when it gradually disintegrated and gave way to the emergence of various distinct and competing sub-cultures, reflecting the religious-secular divide, ethnic and cultural fault lines as well as class divisions. The formal curriculum, however, does not fully reflect this growing diversity. Despite the impact of educationreform policies of the 1980s and 90s towards multi-perspectivity and

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world history, the curriculum still reflects Zionist values and a Eurocentric (secular) Israeli identity discourse (Raz-Krakotzkin 2004; Al-Haj 2005; Naveh 2006). In any case, the more innovative history and civics textbooks and curricular reforms enacted during the 1990s were implemented merely in parts of the secular Jewish state sector, not in the state religious and independent orthodox sectors. Palestinian perspectives on history and present issues are rarely represented in the textbooks, and most Jewish-Israeli pupils learn neither the Arabic language (the second official language of the state next to Hebrew) nor about the lives of their Palestinian neighbours, be it within the State of Israel or in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In many aspects, the Israeli education system differs widely from its Palestinian counterpart developed by the PNA. The asymmetry of power that generally characterises the relations between both sides is visible also in the educational sector. A er decades of external control, the Palestinian education system in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is still in the early stages of its development. Its centralised structure reflects the state- and nation-building agenda that is the priority of the PNA at this stage, while it is struggling against the limitations imposed on it by the occupation, by the structural weakness of the PNA and the fragmentation of the Palestinian polity resulting from the ri between Fatah and Hamas (Khan, Giacaman and Amundsen 2004). In contrast, Israel has been a sovereign state for sixty years and is listed among the world’s advanced industrialised countries. Building on foundations dating back to the Mandate years, it has managed to build a sophisticated and diversified education system. Yet, despite these differences some remarkable similarities are visible on the level of textbook narratives concerning both sides’ respective national history. Both construct an independent and unique nation whose foundations date back to antiquity. The existence and the viewpoints of the respective Other are largely omi ed, more so in the Palestinian then in some of the more recent Israeli textbooks. However, the Israeli government’s decision in 2009 to deliberately outlaw the teaching of the Nakba in Israeli schools seems to signal the end of such liberal tendencies for time being. In sum, both sides treat the conflict as something external to their own national history, which needs to be overcome. It seems hard to consider the possibility that the history of each of the two nations might be inseparably linked to and shaped by the other side through a century of conflict. Instead, we encounter two more-or-less exclusivist and competing nationalist narratives. Under conditions of an ongoing conflict, it is impossible to integrate both sides’ perspectives into a bridging narrative telling a multi-per-

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spective relational history, as this would not be acceptable to more than an avant-garde of critical intellectuals from both sides. This is not to say that such efforts are futile. On the contrary, they might prove crucial in preparing the ground for a day to come when a bridging narrative might be more acceptable for larger audiences on both sides (Silverstein and Makdisi 2006; Pappe 2006). Within the Israeli-Palestinian context, much would already be achieved by simply taking notice of the existence of the ‘Other’ and her/his understanding of the conflict. Such a pragmatic approach will be the focus of the following section.

Learning Each Other’s Historical Narrative: A Road Map to Peace? Under the impression of the second Intifada and the collapse of the Oslo process, the Palestinian educational scientist Sami Adwan from Bethlehem University and the Israeli psychologist Dan Bar On from Beer Sheva University jointly founded a bi-national NGO called PRIME (Peace Research Institute in the Middle East) in 2002. Both had supported the Oslo process in principle and had experienced mixed IsraeliPalestinian work se ings for several years. In the absence of any meaningful political process towards solving the conflict, they reckoned, bo om-up pressure needed to be created by civil society initiatives, not least of all in the realm of education. Under the roof of PRIME, they assembled a group of teachers and historians from the West Bank/ East Jerusalem and Israel in order to develop a textbook for secondary schools treating the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from both perspectives. This local adaptation of the multi-perspectivity approach in history teaching was termed the dual narrative approach. Unlike the officially licensed history textbooks used on either side, the one developed by PRIME offers an extensive survey over the crucial stages of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict all through the twentieth century, from the Balfour declaration until the Olso years, and it deliberately treats all these subjects from a Palestinian nationalist and a Zionist Jewish-Israeli perspective. The juxtaposition of two competing nationalist narratives within one textbook that is designed to be used in Israeli and Palestinian schools alike, is meant to inspire critical self-reflection among pupils concerning the contingency of their own narrative and to raise their awareness of a different version of historical truth existing alongside their own. Along this logic, learning about the existence and the viewpoints of the Other regarding the common history of both peoples will eventually lead to mutual recognition and acceptance.

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By the year 2009, PRIME published the textbook in a Hebrew and an Arabic version, developed an accompanying online teachers’ guide and tested the material in experimental teaching units in formal and informal se ings located in Israel and the West Bank/East Jerusalem (www.prime-peace.org/tmp). An English version of the book is to be published in 2011, parts of the material have been translated to Spanish, French and German. Indeed, the project has drawn considerable a ention in Europe and the US, including financial support from the German Foreign Office, US and European foundations and the European Commission, whereas at home it is viewed with heightened suspicion, and both the Palestinian and the Israeli MoE have until today ruled out official recognition of the textbook. Due to conditions on the ground in Israel/Palestine, particularly the policy of segregation between Israelis and Palestinians enforced by the Israeli authorities through the separation wall, the difficulties Palestinians encounter in obtaining entry permits to Israeli territory and other technical problems, PRIME has regularly conducted week-long bi-national summer workshops abroad, mostly in Germany. Since 2004, PRIME has cooperated with the GeorgEckert-Institute for International Textbook Research (www.gei.de). The GEI hosted the annual summer workshops of PRIME, its staff regularly a ended project meetings in Israel/Palestine and supported the evaluation of the textbook in experimental teaching units. In practice, the textbook was developed by two autonomous subteams, a Jewish-Israeli and a Palestinian one. Each team was ultimately responsible for its own narrative, but both met regularly in bi-national se ings in order to discuss and review the texts, all of which were made available in Arabic, Hebrew and English versions. As a result of these discussions the two sub-teams o en adjusted their own narrative in order to be less offensive to the respective other side. Thus, some controversial terms like terrorists or martyrs were replaced by less emotional ones, without altering the content of the texts. The teachers/authors also shared their experiences of teaching the material in experimental classroom se ings and developed various techniques and didactic guidelines that are made accessible for subscribed users of the online teachers guide to the textbook. As laid out in the previous section, both education systems are at different stages of their development. Such differences were visible also in the ways in which the two teams constructed their narratives: While the Palestinian narrative o en seemed rather normative, the Israeli one seemed more academic and included more discussions of differing viewpoints regarding a given topic. Of all the chapters in the textbook, the Palestinian sub-team found it most difficult to agree on its account of the Oslo years, reflecting the different

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perceptions among Palestinians regarding this period, and eventually decided to include these differences of opinion in the relevant chapter of the textbook. All in all, the textbook reflects two mainstream narratives concerning the history of the conflict. Thus, the Israeli narrative is rather hesitant to embrace the findings of ‘post-Zionist’ historiography, because its authors wanted to prevent the textbook from becoming too distant from mainstream Israeli public opinion. On the other hand, it constitutes a secular reading of the conflict and is a far cry from the national-religious discourse favoured by Jewish se lers in the West Bank and their supporters, which has gained increasing influence in Israel in recent years. The Palestinian narrative, too, is built along a secular nationalist agenda and omits the religious reading of the conflict developed by Hamas. To include such perspectives in the textbook would result in a diversification of the two national narratives and would more adequately reflect the internal diversity of the two nations. But in practice proponents of such views from both sides would not participate in a cooperative Palestinian-Israeli project like PRIME. The composition of the project teams and the nature of the textbook narratives indicate that PRIME follows the Oslo agenda of ‘two states for two peoples’. While it was technically impossible to include in the project team Palestinian refugees and their descendants residing in neighbouring Arab countries, Palestinian citizens of Israel with their particular perspective on the conflict have been deliberately kept out of the project: They are Palestinian nationals and at the same time demand to be equal citizens of the State of Israel. To incorporate into the textbook the hybrid position of this minority group that today numbers more than one million (one out of five Israelis is a Palestinian), would have blurred the bi-polar structure of the whole project. While PRIME pragmatically argued that introducing a third narrative into the textbook would have complicated project activities beyond the capabilities of its participants, this author would rather a ribute the particular set-up of the project team to a political agenda that defends the vision of two ethnically homogenous nation states living peacefully side by side against an empirical reality that is more complex. But analysing the textbook alone without looking at the project team’s internal dynamics does not fully capture the significance of the project. Beyond the production and implementation of the textbook, PRIME consciously aimed at triggering a transformative group process among the teachers/authors themselves that would eventually alter their own perceptions of the respective Other. The experience of discussing the two narratives and many other related issues in bi-national

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se ings and the common work on an equal footing over a period of several years were seen by PRIME as crucial qualifications for being able to effectively teach history along the dual narrative approach (Bar On and Adwan 2006a; 2006b; Steinberg and Bar On 2009). This emphasis on internal group processes surely improved the project team’s coherence. The political situation in the region with its habitual violent peaks constituted a burden, as a result of which the project team experienced a certain fluctuation over the years. But in sum the group proved stable despite the deteriorating circumstances. The Gaza War in 2008–2009 led to the freezing of project activities, and a resounding silence between its Israeli and Palestinian members seemed to signal its collapse. However, the group resumed activities a er the storm had se led, met for another bi-national summer workshop in Germany and presented the project in a final video-conference held in Ramallah and Tel Aviv in summer 2009. One particular incident during the project team’s summer workshop in 2006 illustrates the dialogic moments and challenging processes of mutual recognition that were made possible through working in this particular group se ing. As part of that workshop, which took place in the premises of the Georg-Eckert-Institute, the group visited the Concentration Camp Memorial Site of Neuengamme near Hamburg, which was one of the main camps located within German state territory during the Nazi era. It was operative from 1938 until 1945 and served the dual purpose of annihilating individuals who were considered subhuman by the Nazis, while simultaneously providing slave labourers to the German construction industry and the military-industrial complex. Approximately half of the 100,000 camp inmates who passed through Neuengamme over the years died there. Today, the site has been reconstructed and turned into a memorial and a museum (www.kzgedenkstae e-neuengamme.de). While Israelis usually know a lot about the Holocaust, Palestinians rarely do. At times, a certain competition is visible between Israelis and Palestinians when juxtaposing the Holocaust and the Nakba as the two formative experiences of victimisation that play a crucial role in the collective memory of both societies, but these issues had until then never been openly discussed in the project group. The visit in Neuengamme offered an opportunity to overcome this silence. When towards the end of the guided tour through the compound the group started to discuss the experience of this visit, some (male) Palestinian participants stated that the stories they had heard during the tour touched them, and they felt reminded of some of their experiences in Israeli military prisons

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during the First Intifada.6 This statement obviously posed a challenge to the Israeli group members. But instead of engaging the Palestinian group members in a discussion about the historical correctness of such comparisons, their Israeli counterparts expressed their wish to understand what was so horrible about Israeli military prisons that a visit in Neuengamme brought up some painful memories in Palestinian group members. They all finally agreed to organise a session in which (male) Palestinian ex-prisoners would talk to the group about their experiences in jail. In turn, (male) Israelis would recount their experiences while serving as soldiers in the Occupied Territories. This session was indeed conducted during the following year’s summer workshop. It was a dense and cathartic experience that resembled the work of truth and reconciliation commissions. Exposing oneself to a different truth, which in the Israeli-Palestinian case o en straightforwardly contradicts one’s own self-perception and one’s image of the Other, is a confusing experience. If circumstances allow, this confusion might pave the way for a more complex and multi-dimensional understanding of reality that accepts the legitimacy of the Other. Such processes took place within the project group, and they correspond to what Buber (1965) and Bakhtin (1981) have termed a dialogic truth that emerges in a process of dialogic interaction between partners on an equal footing. The main challenge PRIME members faced when implementing the textbook in practice was to transfer these transformative dialogic moments experienced in the framework of the project into classrooms in the region itself, where no dialogic interaction – and certainly not an equal footing – is possible between students from both sides. The material was tested among three different constituencies in the intermediate and secondary levels: Jewish-Israeli classes in state secular schools, Palestinian pupils from governmental and private schools in East-Jerusalem and the West Bank, and Palestinian classes from the ‘Arab sector’ within the public Israeli school system. The reactions to the dual narrative approach differed notably between these constituencies. Although only small samples were tested among each of them, and only short-term observations were possible, the results allow for preliminary conclusions that need to be substantiated in future more systematic research. The Jewish Israeli classes exposed to the PRIME textbook showed a broad range of reactions, from refusal to accept the validity of the Palestinian narrative to a cautious questioning of the validity of the Israeli narrative and a readiness to engage with the Other’s understanding of historical truth (Einy 2009). Palestinian pupils from

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the West Bank and East Jerusalem remained sceptical regarding the validity of the Israeli narrative and insisted on their own historical truth, but just as the Jewish-Israeli sample of pupils they were generally not opposed to ‘know the enemy’ and study the Other’s historical narrative (Badr 2010). Given the policy of refusing cooperation with Israelis that is widespread among Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, the Palestinian pupils’ readiness to get to know the dual narrative approach is encouraging. As Jewish Israelis belong to the stronger party in this conflict and usually do not experience violence in their daily lives, they can therefore more easily afford a degree of curiosity regarding the Palestinian narrative and are more frequently ready to question their own self-perceptions than Palestinian pupils who live under constant threat by Israeli soldiers and se lers. Remarkably, the Palestinian students from within Israel, who are well acquainted with the Zionist-Israeli historical narrative through school, but were never exposed to history lessons introducing a Palestinian nationalist reading of history, showed the most negative reactions to the dual narrative approach. According to Eid (2010: 72), it is not effective as for the Palestinian population living inside Israel. It did not encourage acceptance of the Other’s narrative, nor did it give rise to any positive feelings toward the Israeli narrative among the sample of Palestinian Israeli students examined here. Negative feelings arose toward the Israeli narrative to which they were exposed, mainly feelings of anger for not being taught their own narrative in schools. Such feelings were an expression of the alienation Palestinian citizens of Israel are subjected to by the Israeli education system.

However, instead of dismissing the potential of the dual narrative approach out of hand with regard to Palestinian citizens of Israel, Eid argues for recognition of the specific needs of this group. In order to accommodate their feelings of alienation that give rise to the aggressions Eid describes in her study, it would be necessary to allow for the emergence of a history curriculum in the Palestinian sector of the Israeli education system that reflects the historical experiences of this particular part of the Israeli population, instead of imposing on them a Zionist reading of history that does not enjoy any credibility among the pupils in this sector. The logic underlying Eid’s argument is that once history education for Palestinian pupils within Israel is reformed accordingly, they would show more openness towards a Zionist Israeli narrative than under the present circumstances (Hanf 1989). In the longer run, the history textbook developed by PRIME could thus be suitable also for this constituency, particularly regarding the first half of the twentieth century until the war of 1948.

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Conclusion Given the status quo of two mutually exclusive nationalist historical narratives taught in Israeli and Palestinian schools alike, the dual narrative approach developed by PRIME is a meaningful innovation and a model for teaching history in a conflict situation, where no bridging narrative yet exists. The particular set up of the project – a civil society initiative that creates bo om-up pressure on politicians by juxtaposing conflicting historical narratives in a collectively authored textbook designed for use on both sides of the barricades – has the potential of becoming a point of reference in the field of peace education (Bekerman and McGlynn 2007). Yet, its potential should not be overestimated. Pragmatically speaking, neither the Palestinian nor the Israeli MoE has licensed the textbook, and in the prevailing political climate projects such as PRIME are viewed with suspicion on both sides. Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip mostly reject cooperation with Israelis as illegitimate as long as the occupation continues, and Palestinian members of PRIME have indeed sometimes been threatened or called upon to quit the project, particularly in times of escalating violence, while Israeli PRIME members could usually apply the material in class without encountering serious opposition, as long as they kept a low profile and did not ask for official approval. Still, as Israeli governmental politics are dri ing towards the extreme right, projects such as PRIME are being pushed to the margins. The textbook will thus not be widely used on either side for the foreseeable future. When implemented in classroom se ings, the reactions of students on both sides followed notably different pa erns. To this author’s understanding, these differences point to the significance of the allocative dimension of education. While the PRIME textbook addresses the socialising dimension of education in a unique and innovative way, it cannot change the huge asymmetry between Israelis and Palestinians, as regards the availability of material resources, chances for upward social mobility, etc. As long as the material reality that perpetuates the conflict (i.e. the occupation) continues to exist, as long as the inequality that is at the root of the conflict remains unchanged, the impact of voluntarist educational initiatives for peace and co-existence like PRIME will remain limited. A further and equally significant conceptual weakness of the idea of intercultural dialogue underlying the dual narrative approach lies in the fact that by presenting two homogenous, separate and competing nationalist narratives the PRIME textbook pastes over the internal

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diversity of both societies, and it cements the bi-polar structure of the conflict itself. Introducing a third voice, most notably that of the Palestinian citizens of Israel (let alone the voices of the Palestinian diaspora), might help transcend this dichotomy of competing nationalisms and highlight the fact that both peoples are inextricably interrelated. In this author’s perception, the history of Israel/Palestine should be more adequately taught as a ‘mosaic of intercommunicating stories and memories’ (Naveh 2006: 268), which transcend communalist and nationalist boundaries even while acknowledging their existence. Such an approach would be relevant also regarding history education in other conflict-ridden Middle Eastern countries where internal diversity and communalism play an important role, like Lebanon or Iraq.

Notes 1. Personal observations made during field study trips to the West Bank between 2007 and 2009, including classroom observations and talks with school principals in some twenty schools, in cooperation with the PMoE. 2. Officially, Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem have to use the censored versions of the PNA textbooks supplied by the Israeli authorities. In practice, they are o en bought directly in the West Bank and then smuggled into Jerusalem (interview with a Palestinian school principal from East Jerusalem, July 2009). See also, Edmund Sanders, ‘East Jerusalem school textbooks are a war of words’, Los Angeles Times, 24 October 2011. 3. Regarding drop-out rates, see, for example, Or Kashti, ‘Student dropout rate jumps by nearly 40 per cent’, Haaretz, 17 June 2010; as well as numerous other articles on related topics by Kashti, who is the Israeli daily’s educational correspondent; see h p://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/or-kashti-1.520?type =news&page=0. 4. Interview with Eyal Naveh, a historian from Tel Aviv University and author of history textbooks, July 2009. 5. Interview with Eyal Naveh, conducted in November 2009. 6. For a newspaper report on this memorable visit, see Michaela Ludwig, ‘Das Leiden der anderen’, Der Tagesspiegel, 9 August 2006.

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ONTRIBUTORS

Muhammad Khalil Abbas received his PhD in Evaluation Studies from the University of Jordan, Amman. Abbas is the chief of UNWRA’s Field Education Program based in Amman. He was also a member of the Jordanian Educational Council and head of UNWRA’s Commi ee of Human Rights. He has published numerous studies in the field of education in Arabic. Mustafa Hussein Abu al-Shaikh received his PhD in Educational Science from the Lebanese University. Abu al-Shaikh serves as director of the Arab Center for Performance Improvement and Human Resource Development at the Arab University of Amman for Graduate Studies, located in Amman (Jordan). Samira Alayan received her PhD in Sociology of Education from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, with a study entitled Arab Education in Israel: Examination of Good and Significant Learning Experiences from the Viewpoint of Arab Students in Israel. Alayan is a lecturer at the David Yellin College of Education, Jerusalem. Since 2006 she is a research fellow at the Georg-Eckert-Institute for International Textbook Research, Germany. Her research focuses on education in conflict zones, especially in Israel/Palestine, including East Jerusalem, and on education reforms in the Arab Middle East. Alayan is a co-editor (together with Achim Rohde and Sarhan Dhouib) of Al-Islah at-Tarbawi fi-sh-Sharq al-Awsat: Al-Dhat wa-l-Akher fi-l-Manahij al-Madrassiya (Amman and Ramallah: Dar al-Shurouq, 2010). Atef al-Attar Botros, DPhil, a former research fellow at the GeorgEckert-Institute for International Textbook Research and since 2008 a research fellow at the Center for Near and Middle East Studies of the University of Marburg (Germany), studied German Literature (MA) and wrote his PhD dissertation in the fields of Comparative Literature and Arabic Studies in Germany. Among his publications are Der Nahe Osten - ein Teil Europas? Reflektionen zu Raum- und Kulturkonzeptionen im modernen Nahen Osten (Wuerzburg: Ergon, 2006), and Ka a – Ein jüdischer Schri steller aus arabischer Sicht (Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2009). Masoud Daher received his BA in education and a Higher Studies Diploma in history from Lebanese University, Beirut. He obtained a PhD

262 | Notes on Contributors

in Social History from Sorbonne University, Paris. Since 1973, he has taught at the Lebanese University’s Department of History, where he also served as director. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo on many occasions, and at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. Daher has been honored with numerous awards in the course of his career and has served in a variety of commi ees and advisory boards in Lebanon and other Arab countries. He has published widely in Arabic and English on Lebanese and Arab history as well as on Japanese history. Sarhan Dhouib studied Philosophy at the University Sfax (Tunesia) and Paris I (Sorbonne), where he obtained his MA. From 1996 until 2002 Douib worked as a teacher in Tunesia. In 2008 he received his PhD from the University of Bremen, Germany, with a dissertation on the philosophy of F. W. J. Schelling. In 2008–2009 Douib was a research fellow at the Georg-Eckert-Institute for International Textbook Research. Within his research and teaching he engages in German Idealism, Arab-Islamic philosophy as well as intercultural philosophy. Since 2010 he is a research fellow at the Institute of Philosophy Kassel University, Germany. Dhouib is a co-editer of Al-Islah at-Tarbawi fi-sh-Sharq al-Awsat: Al-Dhat wa-l-Akher fi-l-Manahij al-Madrassiya (Amman and Ramallah: Dar alShurouq, 2010). Iman Farag is a former research fellow at the Centre d’études et de documentation économiques, juridiques et sociales (Cedej), Cairo. Farag obtained her PhD with a dissertation entitled ‘The Social Construction of National Education, Egypt 1900–1950’ in Political Sociology at the École des Hautes Études, Paris, in 1999. Her research focuses on the construction of public debates and forms of political mobilisation, as well as on the history and sociology of education. Nemer Mansour Frayha received his MA in Political Science and his PhD in Educational Science from Stanford University a er studying history and social sciences at the Lebanese University. From 1985 until 1999 he was a professor in the Department of Education at the Lebanese University. From 1999 to 2002 he served as head of the Educational Centre for Research and Development, sponsored by the Lebanese government, where he was responsible for educational infrastructure and curriculum development. From 2004 to 2009 he served as advisor for curriculum development at the Ministry of Education in the Sultanate of Oman. In 2010 he was a visiting professor at the Department of Education, Faculty of Arts and Applied Sciences at Dhofar University

Notes on Contributors | 263

(Oman). Frayha has published numerous works in the field of Educational Sciences in Arabic. Salha Abdullah Yusuf Issan received an MA in Educational Administration from the University of Hull, UK, and a PhD in Comparative Education from the University of London. Issan is an associate professor and former dean of the the faculty of Education at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Among her numerous publications is ‘Education in Sultanate of Oman’, in The International Encyclopedia of Education, 3rd edition, edited by Barry McGaw, Penelope Peterson and Eva Baker (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2010). Yaser Yusuf al-Khalayleh received a BA in Law and Military Studies from Mu’ta University, Jordan. Al-Khalayleh obtained an MA and a PhD in International Law from Bristol University, UK. He served as legal advisor in environmental ma ers to the Jordanian government, and also worked for the Jordanian Center for Human Rights. Al-Khalayleh is an associate professor at the Amman Arab University for Graduate Studies. His has published numerous articles in the fields of human rights and environmental studies. Naseema Mustafa Sadiq al-Khalidi received an MA and a PhD in Curriculum Development and Teaching from the University of Jordan, Amman. She also holds a diploma in English Language and Literature from Yarmouk University. Al-Khalidi is a researcher at the Directorate of Training Qualification and Supervision in the Jordanian Ministry of Education. Her research focuses on gender issues in education in Jordan and the Middle East. Jonathan Kriener graduated from the Department of Oriental and Islamic Studies at the Ruhr University of Bochum (RUB), where he lectured from 2007 to 2011. Kriener has been coordinating the Middle East projects at the Georg-Eckert-Institute for International Textbook Research from 2002 to 2006. He completed his PhD at RUB as a member of the graduate school Humanism in the Age of Globalization at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (KWI) in Essen from 2006 to 2009. From 2010 to 2011 Kriener worked as a research associate at the German Orient Institut Beirut and from 2011 to 2012 he was a visiting professor at the University of Tübingen/Dpt. for Oriental Studies. Since April 2012 he functions as coordinator of a research project at RUB about social sciences at Egyptian and Lebanese universities.

264 | Notes on Contributors

Qasem al-Newashi received his PhD in Educational Sciences from the University of Hamburg, Germany. Al-Newashi is a lecturer in the Department of Education at the Balqa University of Applied Sciences, Jordan. A former project manager at UNESCO Iraq Office, Amman, he is an advisor to the International Rescue Commi ee and a researcher at the Sustainable Research & Development Center, located in Amman. Al-Newashi is the author of Environmental Education in Developing Countries (Amman: Jordan Environment Society, 2003). Achim Rohde received an MA in History of the Middle East from the University of Hamburg and a PhD in Islamic Studies from the Free University, Berlin. Rohde is a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism of the Technical University, Berlin. From 2006 until 2010 he was a research fellow at the Georg-Eckert-Institute for International Textbook Research. In 2011 he was a visiting fellow at the Center for Near and Middle East Studies of Marburg University. Rohde is the author of State-Society Relations in Ba’thist Iraq: Facing Dictatorship (London and New York: Routledge, 2010) and a co-editor of Iraq Between Occupations: Perspectives from 1920 to the Present (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). He is also a co-editor of Al-Islah at-Tarbawi fi-sh-Sharq al-Awsat. Al-Dhat wa-l-Akher fi-l-Manahij al-Madrassiya (Amman and Ramallah: Dar al-Shurouq, 2010).

QI

NDEX

A Abbas, Mohammad Khalil, 9, 61, 155, 261 Abdullah Schools for Excellence, 71 Abu-al-Shaikh, Mustafa H., 11 access to education, 1, 18, 23, 40–41, 61, 77, 85, 87, 212 adult education, 46, 63, 67, 69–70, 77–78 Akhenaton, 118–120 Alayan, Samira, 1, 12, 209, 243, 261 Al-Azhar secondary schools, 81 Al-Azhar university, 80, 81 Ali, Isma’il, 125 Ali, Muhammad, 80, 115, 122–128 passim al-Khalayleh, Yaser, 11, 154, 263 al-Khalidi, Nassema, 11, 174, 263 al-Newashi, Qasem, 11, 194, 263–264 Al-Rubai, Raghda Ahmed, 177 al-Sheikh, Mustafa Abu, 154, 261 Amenhotep I, 120 Arab Human Development Report (AHDR), 1 Arab identity. See cultural identity Arab nationalism, 22. See also cultural identity; Pan-Arab nationalism Arab Revolt of 1936, 243 Arab spring revolutions, 5 Arabic language, 48, 49, 51, 53, 54, 105, 114, 156, 177, 248 Arab-Israeli War of 1948, 211, 212, 226, 240, 243 Arab-Israeli War of 1967, 64, 211, 243 Arafat. Yassir, 232 arts education, 48 Assali, Alia, 177 assessment issues, 35–37. See also exams Assman, Jan, 112

B Balfour Declaration, 218–219, 249 Bar On, Dan, 249 basic education, 17, 20–25, 31, 35, 41–42, 46–47, 82. See also specific countries definition of, 59n1 Baydoun, Muhammad Yusuf, 37n1 Berber language, 177 Botros, Atef, 10, 112, 261 Britain, 63, 201–202, 217–218, 239–240. See also colonialism C Cairo Conference, 17, 37n1 Canadian Bureau for International Education, 20 capitalism, 9. See also funding issues loans, 4, 61 transnational capital, 3–4, 9 career guidance, 53, 55–56, 69 centralisation versus decentralisation of governance, 5–6, 9, 15, 64, 78–79, 80, 82, 84, 244, 246. See also education-system management; specific countries Christianity, 137, 199 Crusades, 205, 216 citizenship, 2, 5, 19, 27, 33–35, 159. See also civics (as subject) civics (as subject), 11, 102, 105, 111n1, 154–171 passim, 181–182, 186, 187, 195, 245, 246 education philosophy, 158, 163–169 classroom density, 43, 86 colonialism, 63, 80, 114, 122, 200, 217–218, 239 missionary schools, 240 compulsory education, 21, 24, 32, 61, 63, 212. See also specific countries

266 | Name Index

computers. See information technology confessionalism, 134, 148 conflict resolution, 20, 237–256 passim consociationalism, 5–6, 244 CRDP (curriculum department, Lebanon), 131–150 passim critical thinking, 4, 6, 62, 76 cultural identity, 4, 10, 131–150 passim, 207–208, 221–222 discourses, 211 Lebanon, 19 political unity, 118 cultural studies, 195 current affairs (as subject), 184–185 curriculum reform, 1–2, 4, 19, 21, 24–25, 26, 42, 46–57, 63, 67. See also textbook revisions; specific countries civics, 154–171 passim CRDP (curriculum department, Lebanon), 131–150 passim elective subjects, 55 foreign languages, 22 grades 1-10, 48–49 grades 11-12, 49–57 history curriculum, 10–11, 97–111, 101–104, 135–136, 136–150 passim, 197, 209–234, 249–256 passim identity issues and, 209–210 kindergarten, 46 life-skills, 43, 49 relation to textbooks, 155, 160 social studies, 154, 157 socialisation, 174–191 passim war and peace narratives, 120–122, 195, 210 D Daher, Masoud, 9–10, 97, 132, 261–262 Dakar Conference. See International Forum for Education (Dakar) Dakar Framework for Action, 17 democracy, 70, 87, 212 Dhouib, Sarhan, 262 dialogic truth, 253

Document of National Accord. See Taif Agreement dropout rates, 32, 85, 244, 256n3 dual narrative approach, 249–256 passim E early childhood development, 17, 72–73, 77, 212 economic development, 15, 18, 73. See also specific countries education philosophy, 45–46, 214, 230 ethnic foundations, 158, 163–169 humanitarian foundations, 158, 163–169 intellectual foundations, 157–158 national foundations, 158, 163–169 social foundations, 158, 163–169 education reform in MENA countries. See also specific countries; specific reforms access to education, 1, 18, 23, 40–41, 61, 77, 85, 87 centralisation versus decentralisation, 5–6, 15 citizenship, 33–35 collective identity, 114 curriculum reforms, 1–2 economic reform influence on, 15, 18, 73 education-system management, 2, 29–33 female education, 32, 33–35 foreign intervention, 4 implementation issues, 25–27 indigenous traditions, 4 information technology, 2 motivations, 15–18 obstacles, 27–30 overview, 1–6 Plan for Educational Revival, 18 quality of education, 1–2, 4, 9, 12, 17, 21, 22, 35–37, 63, 77, 93–95, 213, 222–229 reform of reform, 36–37

Name Index | 267

Educational Center for Research and Development, 28, 35 education-system management, 2, 29–33, 78–79. See also centralisation versus decentralisation Egypt, 5, 7, 80–95, 112–129, 237 educational issues access to education, 85, 87 accreditation, 93–95 centralisation versus decentralisation, 82, 84, 87, 93–95 classroom size, 81, 86, 94 comparison of educational reforms, 82–85 dropout rates, 85 enrollment issues, 85–86, 89, 91 funding, 82 historical overview of education, 80–82 length of school day, 86 physical facilities, 86, 92 quality of education, 93–95 redistribution of financial burden, 89–90 Secondary Examination Certificates, 83 special needs students, 88 statistics, 80–81 unification versus plurality, 91–92 values, 83 Egyptian history ancient Egypt, 115–122 campaign against Sudan, 125–127 colonization, 80, 114, 122 Constitution of 1923, 114 constitutional monarchy, 80 Free Officers’ Movement, 80 July Revolution of 1952, 124 modern Egyptian history, 122–128 modernisation, 92 Napoleon Bonaparte, 122 nation building, 9

persona of Muhammad Ali, 122–128 passim (see also Ali, Muhammad) Popular Revolution of 1919, 124 Republic of 1953, 122 social issues poverty, 85 public discourse, 83, 87, 124 social mobility, 85, 91 textbooks extracurricular books, 90 history textbooks, 10, 112–129 textbooks of era 1930 to mid twentieth century, 114–129 passim textbooks of era contemporary, 114–129 passim textbooks of era pan-Arabist Nasser, 114–129 passim treatment of ancient Egypt, 115–122 treatment of modern Egyptian history, 122–128 treatment of war and peace, 120–122 type of education Arabic language schools, 81, 114 basic education, 82 compulsory education, 80, 91 experimental language schools, 81, 89, 92 female education, 91, 92 free education, 88 popular education, 91 preparatory schools, 114 pre-primary education, 81 primary education, 80, 81–82 private education, 80, 81, 88, 89–90 public education, 80, 88 religious schools, 81, 88 rural education, 91

268 | Name Index

secondary education, 82, 88, 114 tutoring centres, 81 vocational education, 82, 86 Eid, Neveen, 254 Elbers, Frank, 177 English language, 24, 35, 42, 48, 49, 51, 52–53, 54 enrollment issues, 44, 85–86, 89, 91, 175 Europe. See images of Europe exams, 43, 83, 105. See also assessment issues General Certification Examination (Oman), 46 standardised, 246 F Fadlallah, Muhammad Husayn, 136 Fakhr ad-Din III, Emir, 145–146 Farag, Iman, 9, 80, 262 Fatah, 248 female education, 23–24, 32, 33–35, 44. See also gender images; gender inequality financial waste, 27 Firer, Ruth, 211 foreign languages, 22 formation of individuals, 2, 28, 83. See also images of self France, 145, 151n9, 201–202 Frayha, Nemer, 8, 15, 132, 262–263 Free Patriot Movement, 150 funding issues, 3–4, 9, 27, 250. See also capitalism international donor institutions, 82, 84 investment loans, 61 G Gaza War, 252 gender images, 11, 151n6, 156, 174–191 gender responsibilities, 180 language, 180 social construction of gender, 175 social roles, 176, 180

gender inequality, 78, 175–176. See also female education gender rights, 180 Geneva Report, 175 geography, 195 Georg-Eckert-Institute for International Textbook Research, 7, 250, 252 Germany, 252–256 passim Gibbons, Michael, 84 global civilisation, 169 governance. See education-system management Great Arab Revolt, 157, 169, 171n1 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), 8 H Halbwachs, Maurice, 112, 113 Hamas, 248, 251 Hashim, Tariz, 35 health education, 62–63 Hebrew language, 243, 247 Hebrew University’s Truman Institute, 245 Henrikson, Namir, 37, 59, 95, 129, 191 history (as subject), 10–11, 12, 97–111, 112–129, 195. See also memory studies collective memory, 112, 113 comparative approach, 11, 132, 150, 249–256 passim cultural memory, 112 dual narrative approach, 249–256 passim gender images, 182–185 historical consciousness, 132, 238 historical narratives, 132, 249– 256 passim (see also narrative analysis) historical writing, 105 institutional communication and, 112 nation building versus quality education, 209–234 primary sources, 105 as tool for bridging conflict, 237–256 passim

Name Index | 269

History (Lebanese textbook series), 136–150 passim History and Us (Lebanese textbook series), 136–150 passim Hizbullah, 150 Holocaust, 231, 252 human capital theory, 2, 17 human resources, 17, 29, 46, 58, 61, 71 human rights, 70, 87, 114, 142, 151n7, 156–157, 195, 212 humanities, 6 Hyksos, 120, 121 I identity, collective, 112, 114, 209. See also cultural identity affiliations, 114 center versus periphery, 114 identity, individual, 112. See also cultural identity images of Christianity, 199, 205 images of Europe, 11, 194–208 images of gender. See gender images images of “primitive Negro,” 151n12 images of self, 112, 176, 203–204, 220–221. See also formation of individuals; identity, individual individual empowerment. See formation of individuals information technology, 2, 48, 53, 71, 74 International Forum for Education (Dakar), 16, 17, 37n1, 175, 212 intertextuality, 10, 113 Iraq, 5, 232, 237 centalisation versus decentralisation of education, 6 Islam, 4, 137–139, 141, 150, 157–159, 158, 163 monotheism, 118, 119 Shi’i, 134, 136, 140, 142 Sunni, 134, 140 Islamic Arab Conquest, 115, 132–133, 139–143 Islamic education, 48, 49, 51, 53, 54. See also specific countries Islamic society stratification, 141–142

Islamic-Arab civilisation, 157, 169, 183–185, 220–221 superiority issues, 198–199 Israel, 7, 11, 195 educational issues centalisation versus decentralisation of education, 6, 244, 246, 248 consociational approach to education, 244 curriculum development, 244–245 dual narrative approach, 249–256 passim evolution of education system, 239–249 passim exams, 246 fiscal policy, 247 Ministry of Education, 245–247 historical events Arab-Israeli War of 1948, 240, 243 Arab-Israeli War of 1967, 243 establishment of state, 244 Israeli-Palestine conflict, 210–211 textbooks history textbooks, 12–13, 237–256 passim publishers, 245, 246, 247 stereotypes of Arabs, 245 types of schools Arab sector schools, 244, 247, 256n2 independent religious schools, 244 Palestinian schools, 241 primary education, 247 private schools, 244 secular state schools, 244 state-run religious schools, 244 ultra-orthodox schools, 244 Israeli-Palestine conflict, 210–211 bridging conflict through history education, 249–256 passim

270 | Name Index

Issan, Salha Abdullah, 8, 40, 263 Italy, 201–202 J Jerusalem, 210, 234n1, 237, 242, 243, 256n2 Jewish se lements on West Bank, 251 Jewish tradition, 137–138, 219 differentiated from Zionism, 231–232 jihad, 142 jizya’, 142 job market, 46, 58 Jomtien Conference, 16 Jordan, 5, 7, 9, 61–79, 154–171 educational issues, 67–70 access to education, 61, 62, 77 achievements, 74–75 centralisation versus decentralisation, 64 curriculum reform, 63, 67, 69, 70, 71, 76, 160 early childhood development, 72–73, 77 Educational Council, 160, 171n2 educational inspectors, 76–77 educational physical infrastructure, 67, 72, 75 gender images, 11, 78, 174–191 governance, 78–79 health, 62–63 information technology, 71, 74, 75 innovation, 70 laws and legislation, 62–64, 65–66, 67, 157 life skills, 77–78 literacy, 63, 64, 69–70, 78 management, 64–65 Ministry of Education, 195–196 philosophy of education, 63, 76, 157–158, 163–169

quality of education, 77 self-image, 11–12 social study teaching, 159 special needs students, 69, 71 statistics, 64, 66, 68, 70, 76 teacher training, 61, 63, 65, 67, 72, 75 values, 62–63 history of country British colonialism, 63 budgets, 66, 69, 70 constitution, 157, 169 East Bank, 64 Great Arab Revolt, 157, 169 modernisation, 61 national experience, 157, 169 periods of educational development 1950 to 1977, 62–65 1978 to 1988, 65–67 1989 to 1997, 67–70 1998 to 2008, 70–75 textbooks, 63–64, 69, 70, 74 civics textbooks, 11, 154–171 passim, 159–160, 197 cultural studies, 197 geography textbooks, 157, 196 history textbooks, 11, 157, 197 images of Europe, 11, 194–208 social education, 157, 174–191 types of education adult education, 69–70 compulsory education, 61, 62, 63, 75, 156 elementary education, 156 prepatory education, 62, 63, 66 primary education, 62, 63, 66, 75 private schools, 195 public school education, 62, 195

Name Index | 271

secondary education, 61, 62, 63, 66–67 UNRWA schools, 195 vocational education, 62, 77–78 West Bank, 64 (see also Palestine) K Kak, Mustapha, 177 Khalidi, Walid, 247 knowledge economy, 71–74, 84, 87 Kriener, Jonathan, 10–11, 105, 263 kuĴab schools, 80 L League of Nations, 220 Lebanese Association for Education Sciences, 35 Lebanon, 7, 8, 9–10, 97–111 education reforms, 18–20 compared to Oman, 25–36 compared to Syria, 25–36 curriculum reforms, 19, 101–104 educational issues centralisation versus decentralisation of education, 6 civic education, 102, 105, 111n1 comparative approach to history, 11, 132, 150 consociationalism, 5–6 history curriculum, 135–136 Plan for Educational Revival, 18 suspension of teaching history, 102, 105, 131–132 values, 106 vocational education versus academic education, 18–19 history of region, 97–100 civil war, 97, 99 constitution of 1992, 100, 106 independent national state, 133, 143–148 modernisation, 100

nationalism, 133–134 religious issues Christian tradition, 137 confessionalism, 134, 148 Hanifism, 138 Islamic tradition, 137–139 Jewish tradition, 137–138 narratives of harmony, 138, 148 social issues conflict resolution, 20 cultural identity, 19, 131–150 passim narratives of harmony, 138, 148 social stratification, 141–142 textbooks analysis, 139–148 frames of interpretation, 137–139, 141 history textbooks, 10–11, 97–111, 112–129, 136–150 passim key terms, 140 modes of record, 137–139 publishers, 105, 136–137 sources, 139 types of schools, 104–105 Armenian schools, 104 Druze Irfan Schools, 137 Mabarrat Society schools, 136 Mahdi association, 137 Makassed Society schools, 136 Mustafa association, 137 public schools, 136 life long learning, 77–78 life skills, 43, 48, 49, 51, 53, 54, 77–78. See also vocational education literacy, 17, 23–24, 63, 69–70, 78. See also specific countries M Mahfouz, Naguib, 118–119 main teacher system, 42 Makram, Umar, 124

272 | Name Index

Malik, Badr Muhammad, 177 Mamluks, 122, 125 mass media, 174 mathematics, 35, 48, 51, 53, 54 memory studies, 10, 112. See also history (as subject) collective memory, 112, 113 functional memory, 113 memory and identity, 125 memory as reconstruction, 113 semiotic signs, 113 storage memory, 113 MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries, 1–6 passim. See also education reform in MENA countries; specific countries early childhood care, 17, 72–73, 77, 212 human resources, 17, 29, 46, 58, 61, 71 literacy, 17, 23–24, 63, 69–70, 78 modernisation, 1, 8, 61, 92, 100 Pan-Arab nationalism, 22, 133–134, 146–148 political repression, 7 poverty, 1, 17, 33, 85 monotheism, 118, 119 Morocco, 177 Mubarak, Hosni, 10 Murad, ‘Abd al-Rahim, 37n1 music education, 48 Muslim Brotherhood, 125 N Nakba, 240, 247, 248, 252 Napoleon Bonaparte, 122, 219 Naqrachi, Aniss, 176 narrative analysis, 139–148, 233 bi-polar structure of conflict, 256 bridging conflicts through narrative, 249–256 passim criteria, 133 dual narrative approach, 249–256 passim third voice, 256 war and peace, 120–122, 195, 210 Nasser, Abdel, 123–128 passim

nation building, curriculum and, 112, 209–234 passim, 237 National Arab Conference (1920), 146 national education, 180–181, 186, 245 national identity, 131–150 passim. See also cultural identity nationalism, 133–134, 146–148 link with education, 150n1 Naveh, Eyal, 256n4 Naylor, Clem, 79, 106, 111, 171, 208, 234 Netanyahu, Benjamin, 247 Neuengamme concentration camp, 252 9/11, 2 non-violence. See conflict resolution O Oman, 7, 8 education reform, 23–25, 40–59 compared to Lebanon, 25–36 compared to Syria, 25–36 educational issues classroom density, 42 curriculum reform, 42, 46–57 education philosophy, 45–46 enrollment, 44 exams, 43 female education, 23–24, 44 five-year plans, 23, 42 General Certification Examination, 46 history of education development, 40–43 literacy, 23–24 Ministry of Education, 43 school buildings, 23–24, 44 teacher training, 42 textbook revision, 43 social issues five-year plans, 23, 42 job market, 46 types of education compulsory education, 24 secondary education, 43, 49–57 omanisation, 57

Name Index | 273

Orientalism, 151n12 Oslo accords, 12, 239, 241, 249, 250–251 two state solution, 251 “Other.” See self-other O oman Empire, 114, 122, 143, 146, 240 P Palestine, 5, 7, 12, 171, 177 curriculum reform, 211–212 issues of war and peace, 210, 249–256 passim educational issues dual narrative approach, 249–256 passim evolution of education system, 239–249 passim Ministry of Education, 210, 242 quality of education, 222–229 history of region intifadas, 230, 242, 249, 253 Nakba, 240, 247, 248, 252 occupation, 251, 255 Palestinian state, 238 regions East Jerusalem, 210, 234n1, 237, 242, 256n2 Gaza Strip, 210, 211–212, 237, 241, 242, 248 West Bank, 210, 212, 237, 241, 248 textbooks from Egypt, 212 history textbooks, 12–13, 209–234, 249–256 individual differences, 223 from Jordan, 212 maps, 224–229 pictures, 223–224 as tool for bridging conflict, 249–256 passim types of questions, 223 Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), 212, 232

Palestinian National Authority (PNA), 5, 12, 210–211, 237, 241–242 Palestinian refugees, 212, 240–241 Pan-Arab nationalism, 22, 133–134, 146–148 Phalange party, 133 pharaohs, 118 philosophy of education, 63, 76, 154–171 passim Pingel, Falk, 238 Politics of Education Reform in the Middle East, The (Alayan, Rohde, Dhouib) composition of book, 6–13 politics of identity. See cultural identity post-basic education, 31 definition of, 59n1 poverty, 1, 17, 33, 85 primary education, 42. See also specific countries PRIME (Peace Research Institute i the Middle East), 239, 249–256 passim dialogic truth, 253 funding issues, 250 languages of textbook, 250 summer workshops, 250 primitivism, 151n12 privitisation, 40, 89–90 Q quality of education, 1–2, 4, 9, 12, 17, 21, 22, 35–37, 63, 77, 93–95, 213, 222–229. See also specific countries Quar’anic schools, 41 R Rajili, Abu, 23 Ramses II, 121 Reda, Muhammad Jawad, 37 religion, 3, 137–139, 213. See also specific religions monotheism, 118, 119 religious education, 3, 81, 88 research (as academic subject), 51, 53, 54

274 | Name Index

research (textbook and curriculum research), 135, 160–163, 196–203. See also textbook revisions frames of interpretation, 137–139, 141, 175–180 methodology, 179–180, 196–197 statistics, 162 Road Not Travelled: Education Reform in the Middle East and North Africa, The, 1 Rohde, Achim, 1, 12, 237, 264 S Sa’ar, Gideon, 247 Sadiqui, Fatima, 177 Saidian Orientalism, 3 Sarid, Yossi, 246 Saudi Arabia, 5 school buildings, 23–24, 28, 44, 67. See also specific countries science, 35, 48, 51, 53, 54 Scientific History (Lebanese textbook series), 137–150 passim secondary education, 43, 61, 66–67. See also specific countries secularism, 4, 5 self-other, 2–3, 4, 6, 8, 11–12, 112, 125, 203–204, 205–206, 243, 248 affiliations, 114 center versus periphery, 114 historical narratives and, 249–256 images of Europe, 11, 194–208 Israeli-Palestine conflict, 210, 230, 249–256 Senusret III, 120 sharia, 141 Shutaywi, Musu, 176–177 social contract, 84, 87 social education, 174–191 social identity, 175. See also cultural identity; identity, collective social justice, 212 social mobility, 85, 91, 141–142 social studies, 6, 48, 51, 53, 54 socialisation, 174–191 passim sovereignty of states, 4

special needs students, 69, 71, 88 sports education, 48 SPSS computer so ware, 11, 162 student-centered versus teachercentered education, 19–20 Sudan, 125–127 Sultan Qaboos, 23 Syria, 5, 7, 8, 216 compulsory education, 21 education reform, 21–23 compared to Lebanon, 25–36 compared to Oman, 25–36 foreign languages, 22 nationalisation of education, 21 nationalism, 133–134 public versus private schools, 21–22 secondary tracks, 21 Syrian Ba’th regime, 22 vocational track, 21 Syrian Ministry of education, 36 T Taif Agreement, 18, 97, 100, 131 Tamir, Yuli, 247 teacher training, 25, 29, 42, 61, 63 omanisation, 57 textbook revisions, 4, 9–10, 43, 90 analysis, 139–148, 187–191, 197–202, 213–229 civics textbooks, 11, 154–171 passim, 197 controversial terms, 250 cultural studies, 197 discourses, 113 errors, 154–155 frames of interpretation, 137–139, 141, 175–180 gender images, 174–191 geography textbooks, 196 history textbooks, 10–11, 12–13, 97–111, 136–150 passim, 197, 209–234, 249–256 passim (see also history (as subject)) images of Europe, 194–208, 216 key terms, 140 maps, 224–229

Name Index | 275

modes of record, 137–139 narratives, 113, 195, 245 (see also narrative analysis) as political tools, 112, 209–210 research, 135, 160–163, 175–191 (see also research (textbook and curriculum research)) social education, 174–191 sources, 139 standardisation, 97, 100–101, 105–108 as tool for bridging conflict, 249–256 passim Thutmose I, 120, 121 Turkification, 146 U UNESCO, 17, 28, 35, 68, 176 UNICEF, 20 UNIFEM, 174, 191n1 United Nations, 87, 212, 232 human rights, 151n7 UN World Declaration on Education for All, 16–17, 73 UNWRA (United Nations Working and Relief Agency), 212, 240, 242 Urabi Movement, 124

V values in education, 1, 62–63, 83, 106, 245. See also specific countries Van Leer Institute, 245 Vision for the Future 2020, 45–46 vocational education, 18–19, 21, 62, 82. See also life skills W Western Wall, 220 World Bank, 1, 20, 27, 37 World Education Conference. See International Forum for Education (Dakar) Y Yishuv, 239–240, 243 Young Turks, 146 Z zakat, 142 Zionism, 106, 211, 217–219, 230–232, 245 foundation myths, 245 Mandate era, 237, 243, 248 narratives, 247