Approaches to Peace Pedagogy in History, Geography and Civics Instruction in Israel and Palestine
The GEI has had a working relationship with regional partners in the Middle East since the 1985 German-Israeli Textbook Recommendations. Among other cooperative projects, a collaboration with PRIME (Peace Research Institute in the Middle East) emerged from this, with the goal of developing a bi-national history textbook.
Within the framework of the “Israel-Palestine” project, which is supported through the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Georg Eckert Institute has been engaged with questions of learning in conflict societies since 2002. The project concentrates in particular on “emblematic” and ideologically susceptible subjects (history, geography, ‘civics’) and explores to what extent these conflict-prone subjects could be conducive to approaches in peace pedagogy. Educational media are not the focus but rather the contexts within which these approaches are applied. The project gathers and links innovative teaching projects in both countries.
Despite all international diplomatic efforts, the situation in the Middle East has worsened. Peace-seeking Israeli and Palestinian pedagogues and under the given circumstances, educational scholars, appear to be alienated with regard to the possibilities and perspectives of their work. How can the few trans-boundary initiatives, which survived the collapse of the Oslo Accords or which re-formed after the collapse, be supported from the outside?
In light of the open state of violence, so-called “meeting projects” increasingly appear in criticisms of peace pedagogy. Not only is their scope and sustainability doubted, but fault is also found in that the maintenance of open dialogue masks the necessity of political action. Projects, which include joint action beyond meeting, are close to impossible given the acts of violence. How can approaches to peace pedagogy unfold in light of this dilemma?
A survey and linking of innovative teaching projects in Israel and the Palestinian autonomous region is taking place within the framework of the project. Expert lectures as well as curriculum and teaching material analyses were carried out and training seminars organized. Results included, among other items, reviews of new Israeli and Palestinian teaching materials and an annotated selection of website links that could be conducive to understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts (see below).
The project offers scholarships for young scholars and has cooperative relationships with Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Bethlehem University.
Textbook Reviews
1. Israeli Textbooks
- Yitzhak Komem, Jerusalem (2004):
Eliezer Domka (Hrg.), Yehiam Weitz, Moshe Zimermann et al.: The World and the Jews in the Last Generations - A Textbook for the High School Level, Part B, vol. 1 - 1920-1970, Merkaz Zalman Shazar le-Toldot Israel, 1999-2000 - Michael Kreutz, Bochum (2004):
Avieli-Tabibyan, Kezia: The Era of Fear and Hope: History Lessons for the High School Level 1870-1870, Ha-Merkaz le-Tekhnologiya Hinukhit (Matah): Ramat Aviv, 2001 - Reem Makhoul, Jerusalem (2004):
Ministry of Education: Being Citizens in Israel - A Jewish and Democratic State (Civics Book for Students in the Senior High School in General and Religious Schools), new edition, Jerusalem, 2001
2. Palestinian Textbooks
- Adel El Sayed, Innsbruck (2004):
The Curricula Centre: Human Geography, Principles of Human Geography, for the 6th grade - Götz Nordbruch, Berlin (2007):
Moderne und zeitgenössische Geschichte Palästinas - Götz Nordbruch, Berlin (2007):
Zeitgenössische Fragen - Jahrgangsstufe 11 und 12 - Götz Nordbruch, Berlin (2004):
The Palestinian Ministry of Education: Palestinian Society - Population Education, for the 11th grade - Götz Nordbruch, Berlin (2004):
The New Palestinian Textbooks for National Education - Götz Nordbruch, Marseille (2004):
Civic Education in the Palestinian Curriculum - A Review of the New Textbooks - Wolfram Reiss, Langen (2004):
Palestinian Textbooks on the Subject of Islamic Religion - Anabel Rett, Köln (2004):
The New Palestinian History Textbooks for grades 6 to 8 - Andrea Zempel, Erlangen-Nürnberg (2004):
Palestinian Textbooks for Civic Education, grades 1 to 3
Publications
- Firer Ruth und Sami Adwan,The Narrative of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Textbooks of Both Nations, Hannover: Hahn 2004 (Studien zur Internationalen Schulbuchforschung, Schriftenreihe des Georg-Eckert-Instituts für Internationale Schulbuchforschung; 110/1)
- Kriener, Jonathan (Ed.), Teaching history in the Middle East - Geschichtsunterricht im Nahen Osten, Internationale Schulbuchforschung, 25 (2003) 4
- Pingel, Falk (Ed.), Contested Past - Disputed Present. Curricula and Teaching in Israeli and Palestinian Schools, Hannover: Hahn 2003 (Studien zur Internationalen Schulbuchforschung; 110/2)
- Mathias, Jehoshua: "The crisis of the National Paradigm: History in Israeli curriculum during the 1990s", Internationale Schulbuchforschung, 24 (2002) 4, P. 427-443
Project Reports
- Kriener, Jonathan: "The Debate on Israeli and Palestinian Textbooks", Internationale Schulbuchforschung, 25 (2003) 1/2, P. 198-200
- Schirin Hildegard Fathi: "From Peace Making to Peace Building. An Israeli-Palestinian workshop in Braunschweig", Internationale Schulbuchforschung, 20 (1998) 1, P. 103 - 107
- Dies.: "Seminar" From Peace Making to Peace Building. An Israeli-Palestinian Comparative Research of History and Civics Textbooks and Curricula Statements." The Georg-Eckert-Institute in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia Düsseldorf, August 17 - 20, 1998", Internationale Schulbuchforschung, 20 (1998) 4, P. 469 - 471
Contact
Achim Rohde
Aussenstelle #1 Raum 2.06
Tel.: +49 (0)531 123103-252
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