Migration in Textbooks: A comparative Research Project

The topic of migration has gained in significance around the world in the last ten or twenty years, especially in the countries of Western Europe. Europe has historically been, and continues to be, a continent that experiences various forms of migration. The expansion of the European Union, the continuous (re)-unification of families, the careful liberalisation of labour markets, de-colonization, the collapse of the Soviet system, the end of the Cold War and the pervasiveness of the worldwide flow of asylum seekers clearly indicate that emigration will continue throughout the decades to come. Integration and interethnic coexistence as well as future immigration present major challenges to the design and development of European societies. What were originally thought of as short-term issues related to the admission and integration of immigrants have turned into long-term, social, political and cultural challenges for which European societies have largely proved to be unprepared.

The movement of people across borders will continue to shape Germany and the rest of Europe in the 21st century. Social, cultural and demographic diversity are more likely to increase than decrease in the future. The Europe of the future will be increasingly marked by the diversity of and differences between people, groups and cultures. Pluralism will be a central theme of future collective identities and will be directly defined by diversity shaped by migration.

In contrast to countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia, which are nations based on immigration, immigrants in Europe have been, and frequently still are, viewed as foreigners for a long time after their arrival and are stigmatized, disadvantaged and excluded as a result. Awareness of their historical and contemporary cultural diversity is, all too often, lacking in many European states and may even be completely absent from their national cultures or public life. In order to face the various challenges that are presented by this lack of awareness, new and stronger initiatives are necessary in the area of education.

If coexistence (which is socially necessary and indeed desirable) is to be successful in an interethnic and intercultural society, as Germany has long been, then school textbooks must also undergo some changes.

The project compared the ways in which migration and immigration history has been addressed in the teaching materials of different European countries since 1945. The most significant forms of migration to shape post-war Europe have been escape from persecution, expulsion, colonial repatriation, labour migration, ethnic migration (‘repatriation’ of ethnic minorities to their homeland, for example the re-immigration of emigrants to Germany) as well as illegal migration. Examining how changes resulting from migration affect national self-understanding was central to the project, as well as the ways in which foreigners are perceived and how this perception, in turn, affects the foreigners themselves.

The project team examined the way in which textbooks and teaching materials in selected European countries addressed the topics of migration, societies shaped by migration and inter-ethic/inter-cultural co-existence since 1945. The following key areas formed the basis of the analysis:

• How topics such as migration, societies shaped by migration and inter-ethnic co-existence since 1945 are depicted and have been depicted.
• What differences there are between the selected countries
• What explanations can be found for the different perceptions of migrants and immigrants and inter-ethnic coexistence?
• What trends towards social cohesion and the integration of migrants are emerging in the respective host societies, and what measures can be identified?