Multiculturalism in the Citizenship Education Curriculum of Lebanon - Analysis and Evaluation

Introduction

Citizenship education is one of the most important challenges that faces educational institutions and teachers in the world. The growing interest in citizenship is accompanied by social changes that necessitate the question of how to prepare for and educate it in the 21st century. (Bray and Lee, 2001) This is why education on citizenship and learning its skills is one of the most important things/issues that a citizen must learn and educate in order to identify and adhere to his rights, duties and knowledge of his role in society. Among the most important things/issues that achieve citizenship education in the country is the good educational system and curricula that prepare the individual, if properly used to become a good and effective citizen in society and enable him to live in civil society.

Since the founding of Lebanon after the First World War, and because of its religious, doctrinal and cultural diversity; Lebanon is facing challenges in the concept of citizenship among a large group of its citizens. These challenges are related to determining their identity and belonging to the Arabic or Islamic environment in addition to the country policy, which, since its foundation in 1920 led to the deprivation of a large part of the Lebanese from social justice and rights for various reasons (religious, national, and cultural) (Qubaisi, 2012). These policies were one of the causes of the civil war (1975-1989).

After the civil war was ended, Lebanon continued to suffer from the consequences of the war and the weakness of citizenship due in relation to the strength of sectarianism among its citizens, which the war had contributed to strengthen at the expense of national belonging. Therefore, the plan to restore confidence in this country was through legislation, laws and educational curricula whose primary goal was to strengthen the sense of national belonging and to cherish the Lebanese identity, and thus the curriculum of citizenship education was produced in 1997.

Considering that educating on multiculturalism is an important part of educating on citizenship in many multicultural countries, including Lebanon, which considers educating on multiculturalism as part of citizenship education curriculum (Al-Amin and others, 2002), this article will search for the extent to which the Lebanese curriculum on citizenship education addresses the issues of educating on liberal multiculturalism. The search will be done through analyzing the content of textbooks on citizenship education for secondary and high school.

Theoretical Frameworks of Multicultural Education

Multiculturalism is a term used in three different meanings: describing the state of cultural diversity in a society, an ideology that aims to legitimize the consideration of ethnic diversity in the general composition of a society, or as general policies aimed at creating national unity through the ethnic diversity of a society (Kallen,1982).

Kymlicka (2002) considers that multiculturalism includes immigrants, national minorities, ethnic and religious groups, and indigenous people.

In sum, there are two trends in multiculturalism: conservative and liberal. The conservative considers that the dominant culture must be preserved and minorities must adopt it. (Grant and Ham, 2013). Conservatives are interested in the transmission of fixed knowledge and cultural heritage based on preserving the social order as it is, and they view culture as a fixed and predetermined entity. They are wary of many terms such as tolerance, diversity and pluralism and are afraid of posing them in schools for fear of negative effects on community discipline. (Hopkins- Gillispie, 2011(

As for liberal multiculturalism, it respects cultural and ethnic differences, cherishes cultural traditions and supports cultural diversity in curricula and teaching (Banks and Banks, 2010). It considers that culture is dynamic and not fixed, so there is no worry that the world and its culture will change. Liberal multiculturalism advocates focus on critical thinking in education, and encourage the change of educational programs in order to reflect the interests of the rest of the cultural groups in the country (Slater and Grant, 2006). All students ’cultural needs must be taken into consideration while taking into account the greatest number of aspects of diversity among students, they emphasize the importance of student participation in school decision-making processes, to achieve the ultimate goal of multicultural education which is to contribute to the establishment, application, and maintenance of social justice.

Theorists of liberal multiculturalism such as Tyler (1996) and kymlicka (1995) consider that multiculturalism can solve some of the problems of classical liberal citizenship theory in countries with diverse cultures and nations. For example, kymlicka (1995) tries to provide an explanation of liberalism on the basis of the rights of cultural minorities, where education on liberal multiculturalism contributes to integration, national harmony and national unity through attention to ethnic and cultural diversity, and the enhancement of citizenship and related policies on the basis of cultural diversity.

Also, liberal multicultural education helps to spread the sense of the nation on a large scale by promoting the values ​​of living together, common belonging to the homeland and commitment to the land and the homeland, which helps citizens to act collectively despite their different interests and ideologies and to turn them into a real people in the homeland and not just people who coexist. Therefore, the country must consider strengthening the spirit of citizenship through the media, national symbols, the holidays’ system and its educational programs. (kymlicka, 2017)

So kymlicka (2011) considers that in many western democracies today, there are calls to promote a sense of shared citizenship as a way to build social cohesion in increasingly diverse societies.

Considering that the Lebanese curriculum for educating on citizenship tries to build a good and active citizen in his society who cherishes his homeland and considers the other as his partner in an atmosphere of peace and coexistence, the curriculum also tries to enhance the national affiliation of students and to weaken the sectarian affiliation that was the cause of the civil war, so Sinno (2018) and Tawil (2015)  consider that liberal multicultural education may help in achieving many of the educational and national goals that the current curriculum has not been able to achieve due to its imbalance.

Accordingly, I will rely in this article on the theory of liberal multiculturalism[1] education in order to research topics of liberal multiculturalism that commensurate with the Lebanese situation. We must take into account when designing the curriculum for education on citizenship, in order to promote the values ​​of citizenship, democracy, acceptance of the other, and coexistence between different cultures. Then I will analyze and evaluate the current Lebanese curriculum of citizenship education on the basis of liberal multi-culturalism, since liberal multiculturalism has not yet been adopted as an element of analysis, evaluation and development of the Lebanese curriculum by Lebanese educational specialists.

Therefore, issues of educating on multiculturalism that the curriculum must address will be determined first, according to studies, experiences, and opinions of educational specialists and curriculum planners in Lebanon. And secondly, the extent of the orientation towards multiculturalism issues in the Lebanese citizenship curriculum will be examined for the secondary and higher levels. So in this article, we will answer the following questions:

1- What are the issues of the multiculturalism that the Lebanese curriculum for educating on citizenship must include?

2- To which extent the issues of citizenship education for secondary and higher levels are being cared for in the current Lebanese curriculum?

The Importance of the Multicultural Citizenship Education in Lebanon

Citizenship is one of the most important issues in the Lebanese scene since its foundation, especially after the civil war, as the sects in Lebanon and the political parties in the city of Ta’if in Saudi Arabia agreed to rebuild Lebanon again,  to take practical procedures to achieve justice and equality among citizens and to get rid of the effects of the war that destroyed the capital Beirut and a large part of the villages and towns of Mount Lebanon, and displaced more than a million citizens from their areas. The war also undermined confidence among citizens and made them lose hope that the country would return to its normal situation. (Qubaisi, 2012)

The importance of citizenship education in Lebanon lies in preparing a good citizen who cherishes his national identity, adheres to laws and regulations, participates actively in his society, works for the benefit of his country, believes in peace and coexistence between sects, and believes in diversity and multiculturalism.

Work has begun to amend the curriculum immediately after the Ta’if Agreement:

“The Ta’if Accord, which put an end to the civil war, initiated a major educational reform. It called for the development of a new curriculum that promotes national unity. Section 3.F.5 of the Ta’if agreement states that the curricula shall be reviewed and developed in a manner that strengthens national belonging, fusion, spiritual and cultural openness. Building on the principles for reform and reconstruction stipulated in the Constitution and Ta’if  Peace Accord, the  MEHE[2]  produced a national curriculum (1997) that further confirmed the role of citizenship education  in Lebanon”.(Europeaid, 2013)

The Ta’if Accord (1989) also states on: “respecting public liberties, namely freedoms of opinion, belief, and expression, of the press, of assembly, and of association... The Preamble also states the nation-wide aim of abolishing political confessionals and applying, instead, principles of merit, namely expertise and competence."

The new curriculum (1997) focused on the information, skills, and knowledge a student needs for civic education, education on citizenship, national values, freedom, democracy, non-violence, and social justice. It also focused on the issue of Lebanon's relationship with its environment, the importance of Arab relations, and its relationship with the world.

The aims of citizenship education in the Lebanese curriculum share many commonalities with other curricula around the world, including those for Turkey, which emphasized international human rights and local identity, nationalism, and patriotism. (Ince, 2012)

Among the most important aims set for this curriculum:

1- To cherish and belong to the homeland and adhere to its issues.

2- To adhere to the spiritual heritage stemming from the heavenly messages and the human values ​​and morals.

3- To know the inclusive national history, away from the narrow factional group and towards a unified and open human society.

4- To give importance to the public interest and adherence to the laws in line with the common co-existence charter.

5-To work to consolidate the spirit of peace in the self, in relations among individuals, and in national social relations.

6- To preserve Lebanon's resources and its natural environment, and to work to protect, improve, and maintain it continuously.

7- To train the learner to participate in civil life and play an active role in his immediate environment and in the general national field.

These goals emphasize respect for multiculturalism and confront the imbalance in citizenship due to the civil war by emphasizing the issue of Lebanese identity, national belonging, and managing diversity and living together. And affirming that Lebanon is a final homeland for all of its people and they must be educated on this concept to prevent the penetration of national and religious ideologies that call for union with the rest of the countries of the surrounding region, where the curriculum considers that the Lebanese like any other people of the globe, are eager to build a coherent national community in which everyone feels secure and stable within constitutional, human rights and a political framework that secures the various components of Lebanese society justice, equality, equal opportunities and true partnership in managing public affairs, active participation in accountability and defining state policies.  (Khalifa, 2018)

The Ministry of Education did not amend the 1997 curriculum for citizenship education, despite the existence of gaps and problems that must be addressed, as it does not achieve the desired aspirations significantly, after changing many political and social matters and the return of civil life to the Lebanese.

The Ministry of Education has carried out several studies on the curriculum, showing that it does not achieve the goals required of it well, in addition to the existence of problems in these curricula, as it needs to be modified and renewed (Abu Rujaili and Al-Khoury, 2016). It suffers from several gaps such as dislocation and imbalance due to his focus on cognitive goals rather than its focus on intellectual, practical activities and skills (Al-Amin and others, 2002). In my field study, I concluded that the book of national education provides "light knowledge that can be gained from public life without the need to apply The New Approach "(Al-Amin, 2008).

This weakness led the curriculum to be questioned and criticized by the citizenship education teachers, most of whom considered that a large part of the book is far from living reality. Most of them have also suggested partly changing the subject's topics (Abu Rujaili and Al-Khoury, 2016).

One of the problems of the curriculum is its focus on the concepts of citizenship with its minimum limits, that is, it suffices with theoretical knowledge and some simple activities. This leads to a lack of motivation among students, and a gap between what the teachers want and their willingness to change their perception of the subject and the way it is taught (Abu Rujaili and Al-Khoury, 2016)

One of the most important problems with this curriculum is also its distance from the biggest problem facing citizenship, which is "sectarianism". It does not introduce the student to his sectarian reality and its impact on belonging to the country, and the curriculum did not focus on multiculturalism in the country, its importance in enriching the national reality, how to deal with multiculturalism in the country, the importance of coexistence and common living between the components of the country, leading to social integration and a unified national identity. (Khalifa, 2018)

One of the objectives of this curriculum is to enhance the citizenship in Lebanon, and weaken the sectarian influence on individuals for their actual integration into society and their cooperation for building the country. Since Lebanon is a multicultural country, the Lebanese curriculum for education on citizenship has included multicultural issues to help in promoting citizenship values, and the production of a good citizen able who is able to coexist with others in a state of peace and without violence.

 In Banks' (1995) view, multicultural education is an educational trend that believes in the ethnic and cultural diversity of society. Therefore, his educational policies are based on reforming the main concepts of diversity such as identity, conflict, ethnic intolerance, national and cultural discrimination. These policies help to regulate them and help individuals live together and coexist.

Multicultural curricula can emphasize the cultural characteristics of different cultural groups within a country and can contribute to the growth and promotion of indigenous cultures and ultimately to the promotion of the national culture. In such circumstances, the education system must respond to the students’ need to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to obtain specialized knowledge (Hakimzadeh, 2016).

Delpit concluded in her study 1999 with the title “Education in a Multicultural Society that: Our Future's Greatest Challenge” that students who study a curriculum which takes into account multiculturalism, have a higher level of acceptance of the other and self-confidence and are ready to cooperate and share with other people more than students who study a curriculum less dependent on multiculturalism.

Arvin (2001) considers that a multicultural curriculum is an important program for students at all levels of school because it promotes endurance, respect, understanding and acceptance of their own culture and the culture of others.

The Lebanese educational policy aims to help the student to reject intolerance and violence, to learn how to respect the other and considers him a partner in the homeland. The Lebanese educational policy aims to help the student cohere with others, to have social solidarity, to learn the values ​​of citizenship and democracy in a proper way.

Any revision of the citizenship curriculum and corresponding textbooks need to acknowledge the rights of varied groups in Lebanon (Shuayb, 201

Concerning this, there is a great call today in Lebanon to respect multiculturalism and seek its realization like the rest of the developed countries (Khalifa 2018), where multicultural education is one of the best ways to deal with the transitions of the multicultural society and to face its problems. The term multiculturalism is a concept that has been emphasized in recent years through education, especially through the sociology of education, which means that despite the expansion of communication between countries and their transition to a global system, the issue of races and cultural differences remains an important part of its curriculum (Javadi, 2009). So, to what extent did the Lebanese curriculum for educating on citizenship is concerned with multiculturalism?

Research Methodology

The research methodology that will be admitted is descriptive - analytical of the type of content analysis and document analysis, whereby the researcher extracts the topics of liberal multicultural education through reading documents, books and theories, analyzing them, and then gathering and compiling them, and the number reached to 25 subjects. It was presented to 15 specialists in the field of education and curriculum planning in the Ministry of Education, in addition to 10 teachers of the subject to ensure the extent of compatibility of these topics with the Lebanese educational reality.

In order to obtain accurate results, and after conducting reviews and amendments by the specialists and in order to secure a point of agreement, we benefited from William Scott method (Jenks, 2001). By making use of 6 specialists in the field of education, the result of the compatibility between them was calculated, and it was: Cr = topics, resource of compatibility / all topics * 100.

Cr = [(25+24+25+23+24+25)/150] *100= 97.3%

Then the content of the books will be analyzed on the basis of the extracted topics and an indication of the extent mentioned in the books on education on citizenship, where the field research includes books on education on citizenship for the secondary and high levels which are six books, in each book 30 lessons with a total of 180 lessons, and these books dealt with 348 topics from Citizenship education topics.

In this research, tables and statistics will be used to describe the extent to which multicultural education topics are mentioned in the curriculum to citizenship education, and to indicate the percentages of topics. A cooperation with another educational researcher was done to ensure the accuracy of the results of the content analysis. The result of the match was 0.98, Then the results were analyzed and indicated.

Inferred Goals of Liberal Multicultural Education

        With the help of specialists and researchers, a set of goals has been worked out. On the basis of these goals, we will extract the topics that should be included in the curriculum for citizenship education.

These goals are:

1- Helping students to develop their knowledge and skills in order to prepare them to be good citizens.

2- Introducing students to other cultures in society and providing them with the skills to deal with them.

3- Working to enhance communication between different cultures.

4- Teaching students how to take a positive attitude towards cultural difference and accept and respect differences between members of society.

5- Developing students ’skills to become productive elements in a multicultural society.

6- Teaching students how to resolve conflicts inside and outside the school and how to deal with different cultural, religious and sectarian views.

7- Creating a common human sense among students, and showing the common things in different cultures and what brings them together at country.

8- Promoting affiliation with the national identity and the country at the expense of sectarian affiliation.

The subjects of multicultural education commiserating with the Lebanese reality

After researching the Lebanese situation in terms of political, cultural, social and geographical terms, and after reading and researching national, regional and global models on the issue of citizenship education, and after consulting specialists in the field of national education and some planners for the curriculum of civil education in the Ministry of Education, the researcher extracted a set of topics related to the multicultural education which commensurate with the Lebanese reality. The topics extracted are:

1- Knowing the structure and diversity of society

2-Knowing the multiple identities of the individuals

3- Learning about religions and sects in Lebanon, their history and values

4- Knowing the history and geography of the country

5- Learning about the issues of war, peace and violence, and learn conflict resolution skills

6- Skills of facing social problems

7- Understanding the mechanisms of social change and building societies

8- Knowing the importance of social inclusion and training to cope with it

9- Be open to others and accept their opinions

10- Participation in civil and political life

11- Participation in national and religious occasions and holidays

12- Knowing the importance of coexistence and peace education

13 - Diagnosing logical issues, understanding fallacies, critical and creative thinking, and learning dialogue and discussion skills

14- Taking national and social responsibility

15 - Ethical education and national values

16- Patriotism, national belonging and pride in national identity

17- Respect for the law

18- Respecting and tolerating others

19- Social Solidarity

20- The importance of taking care of the external environment and maintaining cleanliness

21- Defending the unity of the nation and the unity of the people

22- Pride in the national heritage and culture

23- National and Social Integration

24- Participating in the fields of public welfare and voluntary work, and participating in community service programs

25- Encouraging cooperative work

Analysing the curriculum of “citizenship education”

It appears to us through an analysis of the curriculum of educating on citizenship that this curriculum has many advantages. It provides learners with topics, concepts and principles of ethics, education and patriotism that are very important. It also deals with a set of values ​​and knowledge that aim to consolidate the spirit of Lebanese citizenship among students and deepens the sense of belonging to the country. The curriculum is based on a political philosophy that belongs to contemporary rationality, and adopts the modernist concept of democracy based on human realities and the associated social and political values. Its goal is to change at the individual and social levels in order to reach a renewed Lebanese social structure based on the principles of unity and belonging. In addition to promoting citizenship and developing the responsibility to participate in public life.

However, despite these advantages in the curriculum, it continued to suffer from many problems. Its attempt to move away from theorizing did not succeed enough as it focused a lot on knowledge and information intended for memorizing. Despite its attempt to raise issues related to the student's daily experiences and getting knowledge and skills through scientific activity and personal effort that the learner makes to extract it from his real life, however, these activities are often unenforceable due to the difficulty of implementation in the Lebanese environment or because of taking too many lessons that do not give sufficient time for activities.

These activities fall in part to keep up with the curriculum's goals, objectives and aspirations, and its weakness is not compensated for. It needs a fundamental reconsideration of its perception, its designation and its compatibility with the content of the sections and topics covered, so it should be given great importance, such as that which was given to identify the topics, sections and explanations on them.

The curriculum also suffered from repeating subjects in more than one book without introducing anything new so that the student lost the opportunity to expand, deepen and increase knowledge. In addition to focusing on the duties side and neglecting the rights side.

As for the results of analyzing books and the rate of caring for multicultural issues in the current Lebanese curriculum for citizenship education, the books on education on citizenship were analyzed from the seventh to twelfth grade and numbered six books. The unit of analysis was the texts contained in the lessons, where the results of the analysis showed that all the topics that it was covered by the 348 books, including 77 topics on multiculturalism in 180 lessons. The details of the curriculum analysis are shown in the analysis of the following data:

A- The analysis of the book on citizenship education for the seventh grade shows us that among the contents of the book and its topics that are enumerated with 48 iterations, only 7 subjects or contents related to multiculturalism were dealt with corresponding to 14.5% of the total topics of the book, where the book dealt with the topic of moral and national values ​​by 4.1%, affiliation and patriotism are also at 4.1%. As for the topic of coexistence and common living, and the issue of sharing with others and bearing responsibility in society, the book covered it by 2% for each topic. It is a low percentage in this book.

B- Analysis of the book on citizenship education for the eighth grade shows us that out of the 44 topics and contents of the book, 7 topics related to multiculturalism were covered by 15.9% of the total book topics, where it addressed the topic of co-existence by 6.8% while dealing with the topics of sharing with others and taking responsibility and patriotism is 2.1% each, which is a low percentage in the book.

C- Analysis of the book on citizenship education  for the ninth grade shows us that out of the 67 book’s  topics and contents, 22 topics related to multiculturalism were covered by 32.8% of the total book topics where it dealt with topics of participation with others, love of the country, human and moral values, acceptance of the other, and respect for laws in proportions 4.4% for each of them, in addition to the topics of co-existence, caring for the environment, and participation in community service programs, with a rate of 2.6% for each of them. The book is considered one of the books of the curriculum of citizenship education that dealt with the issues of multiculturalism and with a high percentage.

D- Analysis of the book on citizenship education for the tenth grade shows us that out of the 66 topics of the book, there were 21 topics related to multiculturalism at 31.8% of the total topics of the book where it addressed the issues of peace, war and violence by 13%. As for the topics of human and moral values, respect for laws and regulations, and respect and acceptance of others the percentage was 4.5% for each of them. And as for the topic of sharing with others, it was covered by 1.5%. As a result, the percentage of discussing multiculturalism in this book is good.

E- The analysis of the book on citizenship education for the eleventh grade shows us that out of the 62 topics and contents of the book, there were 15 topics related to multiculturalism that covered 24.1% of the total book topics, and it is an average percentage that is less than the required level, as it deals with issues of human and moral values ​​by 16.1%. As for the topics of participation with others and participation in society, it was covered by 3.2%. The percentage of discussing multiculturalism in this book is medium.

F- The analysis of the book on citizenship education for the twelfth grade shows that out of the total of 61 subjects of the book, 5 topics related to multiculturalism were discussed at 8.1%, which is a very small percentage, as it dealt with issues of learning about the multicultural society by 3.2% and the topic of sharing with others by 3.2%, and the topic of social responsibility by 1.6%.

The following table summarizes the multicultural education issues in the Lebanese curriculum for citizenship education: