K. Essabane (Kamel)

Teaching citizenship values in Islamic religious education in primary schools in the Netherlands

The number of students taking Islamic religious education (IRE) in Dutch schools has increased substantially in the last decades. Notwithstanding its growing popularity, systematic studies into the actual practice of IRE are scarce. Religious education is nowadays increasingly perceived as potentially stimulating interaction between religious traditions and society, fostering citizenship and countering radicalization. But does this also go for IRE? What are the basic philosophical-pedagogical principles underlying IRE and citizenship education? Is the pedagogical orientation of IRE in the Netherlands in line with the goals of citizenship education and, if so, are these goals indeed pursued in practice? Also, how could IRE complement and/or enrich the orientations of citizenship education? And in what ways might IRE detract from the broader aims of citizenship education? These questions are addressed in this project by studying the actual practice of IRE as it is delivered in Islamic as well as in (non-religious) public schools for primary education. To do this, interviews with teachers, parents, students and other stakeholders are combined with classroom observations and textbook analyses to acquire an in-depth picture of the actual practice of IRE in Dutch formal education.

Supervisors: dr. C.J.A. Sterkens, dr. P.A.D.M. Vermeer

• Center for Religion and Contemporary Society