Geloof in burgerschap
Teachers at Islamic primary schools, have to work with the interplay between religious identity, political debate and social expectations. Jamal Ahajjaj investigated how they deal with this challenge and translate it into concrete lessons: "Islamic schools are workshops for modern citizenship."
"Islamic primary schools are under a magnifying glass, especially when it comes to citizenship and integration. Politicians, media and society often express doubts about whether these schools are transmitting the 'right' democratic values. The public debate about this mainly takes place on the basis of incidents at some schools, but there is as yet little insight into the actual educational practice. With my research, I want to fill this gap.
"I visited several schools and observed lessons, especially class discussions on social issues, and talked to teachers about how they see citizenship and deal with sensitive themes. My most important conclusion is that teachers at Islamic schools prepare their pupils to engage with and actively participate in a society that is becoming increasingly diverse and do not a priori assume an opposition between Islam and citizenship education."
Difficult topics
"In the classroom, the pupils, in interaction with each other and with the teacher, learn to reflect on and exchange opinions about difficult and sensitive social topics, such as discrimination and Islamophobia, exclusion, homosexuality or wearing a headscarf. Pupils learn how such topics should be discussed in and outside of the classroom, without hardening the conversations or creating feelings of exclusion.
"The teachers ensure this by showing pupils how to agree or disagree with each other and how to listen to each other and remain respectful in conversation. Religious beliefs and citizenship may sometimes cause tensions but can also align to one another."
More information on the thesis