Citizenship Education in Schools - A Way Forward for Lebanese Democracy
Opinion analysis by Rita-Theresia Makhlouf, Visiting Contributor
November 18th, 2021
“The main hope of a nation lies in the proper education of its youth”, said none-other than Desiderius Erasmus. It appears that the Lebanese government had fully embraced this saying after the Taif Agreement, the latter having brought a new plan for Education in Lebanon, alongside a seemingly collective agreement to end the Civil War. Proper Citizenship Education that transmits democratic values is a starting point to be able to trigger reform in the country through the increased patrimonial sentiment, rather than the sectarian one, and that would be taught and applied in schools. Thus, a new project saw the light of day: strengthening national unity starting in the younger classes as a core reform, portraying the essentiality of improved citizenship education. However, said-project has yet to be implemented properly in schools after the new curriculum of 1997.
As the country dives deeper into its various crises with every passing day, the light at the end of the tunnel is clearly the youth. Indeed, despite the increasing struggles that the educational system is facing, it is primordial to improve citizenship education in schools, as its effects on the long-term are undisputable. And so, how has the lack of proper citizenship education in Lebanon impacted the country, seeing that the political system seems to thrive as a result of its absence? And why can improved citizenship education in Lebanon act as a tool to generate a reformed model of democracy in the country?
First and foremost, there are many repressors found in the democratic atmosphere in schools. The lack of open debates in the classroom setting and the students’ fear of asking analytical, reflective, and critical questions is alarming, as students barely engage in worthwhile discussions, especially those that are considered to be nationally sensitive. In this sense, the role of teachers can be strongly emphasized, as they are the leaders of their classrooms. Indeed, the classroom reflects a Micro-Lebanese society, in which roles, personalities, political stances, opinions, and skills differ. Thus, it is of utmost importance that instructors embrace the diversity of the environment they are trying to nurture. This leads us to shed light on another issue faced in Lebanese schools, whereby some students have the chance to prove themselves more than others. Indeed, teachers differentiating between “smarter” students and others is also a negative reflection of basic citizenship philosophy: the treatment is not as equitable as it should be. Also, another issue that contributes to the failure of Citizenship Education in Lebanon is the almost-entirely theoretical curriculum, especially that of Civic Education. In fact, the material provided to students is fully informative and memorization is the only task required from students in this subject; the application of knowledge is almost inexistent. For example, volunteering - a crucial element needed to foster a sentiment of national citizenship – is very much lacking, as schools do not impose these sorts of activities on their students, although they should. Yet, an even bigger problem lies in its wrongful presence, as it often solely takes a sectarian direction. This deludes the path to constructing a national belonging along with national commitment.
Consequently, Citizenship Education, as we know it today, has very little impact in Lebanon, despite state intentions to strengthen it after the Taif Agreement. Various results have unfolded due to this deficiency. Indeed, the lack of education regarding the fundamental principle of democracy is very serious: holding accountable those in power if they fail to uphold their responsibilities can be seen as somewhat mythical in Lebanon, and this all starts with the citizenship education curriculum in schools and how students are taught about their basic rights and responsibilities as Lebanese citizens. The blame could be put on the rampant political culture and the huge power distance relationships that exist in the Lebanese society and the Arab world in general. Leaders and politicians are seen as untouchable and this has not changed due to the lack of steadfast Democratic and Citizenship Education of younger generations in schools. Another alarming outcome is the so-called toxic Lebanese resilience. As it is noticed further and further during the current crises, it appears that Lebanese citizens adapt and re-adapt to the absence of their basic rights in their daily lives such as being provided with electricity, water, basic social welfare, and so on so forth. The fact that students are not taught to fight for their rights and to clearly know who they are and what they entail is alarming. In this way, the role of education towards democracy can be unfolded. We can argue that the basis of this branch of education is to inform students about their rights, duties and what justice truly is. Most importantly, it teaches students how they should act - in other words, how to be well-behaved citizens -, but it also teaches what they deserve to receive in return. And so, when they acknowledge that the current treatment that they are receiving is not the one they should be getting, that is when they will learn to hold politicians accountable for the promises that they have never fulfilled. However, what repeatedly happens in Lebanon is the complete opposite: students always hear that “this is just how things go in Lebanon”, and that there is nothing that they can do about it. This wrongfully transmitted idea should be banished, and instead, be replaced by Citizenship Education that can enlighten students’ minds and make them realize that it is through democratic means that they should gain back their rights and hold accountable those who did not do their jobs correctly. Reaching this stage of citizenship enlightenment would be a trigger that could end the toxic Lebanese resilience, adaptation and re-adaptation to the absence of rights on the long-term.
Indeed, Lebanese passivity towards the corrupt bureaucracy of the past thirty years and towards what the country is currently enduring is in part due to improper Democracy Education as DE Tocqueville, a famous philosopher, would have elaborated on. Indeed, this can be associated to “Soft Despotism” that DE Tocqueville tackles when this breach in educating generations occurs. As he explains, Soft Despotism is a form of tyranny which can take-over democracies: leaders give the illusion to the people that they are in control and that their voices are heard, while in fact, they barely have a say when it comes to governmental decisions. This is the case due to under-inducing education for democracy with the young generations. He states that the foundational democratic principles must be inculcated to citizens starting in schools. This includes forging the duty of holding people accountable, of monitoring politicians’ applications of their agendas, making sure that their basic rights are provided and finally, sustaining the nation. If the latter fail to be conveyed, then the democracy and the nation would be threatened and “soft despotism” would start taking place. This can clearly be assimilated to Lebanon’s case. We are currently witnessing the consequences of decades of corruption, deprivation of rights, and hugely cultivated sectarian oversentimentality. The tendency towards “soft despotism” is indirectly embedded in how sectarian leaders are able to hold sway over people’s minds and refrain them from getting out of the rabbit hole that they threw themselves in because of a very simple, sectarian and existential identity threat speech.
Thus, improving Democratic Education in Lebanese curriculums could unfold in the country as a means for future change, perhaps pushing towards less passivity and political mismanagement. We have recently noticed the impact of the informed and politically engaged students in university elections, NGOs and civil society movements that are providing applicable alternatives in their respective institutions. Hence, the youth that is engaged in such civil society activities are ones that were students of the current curriculum, one that does not provide the full picture of the political life that is desired, and they came to realize that upon growing up. However, noticing the increasing demands for new, independent, and visionary people, whether in political parties, student elections, or even during the October 17th Revolution, is proof of inevitable change that occurred on the short-term. Therefore, proving that the implementation of proper Citizenship Education for students at schools starting a young age will have its drastic effect later on in society will show that it is this democratic education that will draw the path to reformed mindsets on the long-term.
Therefore, the “how” question is now essential to address. A first pillar that should be worked on is perhaps breaking the higher power distance Lebanese model, present in schools, and reflected later on in political life. This is crucial since this issue is reflected later on in evaluating political work, whereas the new generation will also surrender to any behavior or decision taken by politicians, since they are seen as untouchable due to the previous authoritative-leaning and unquestionable student-teacher relationships in classrooms.
It can also be argued that a switch from an abstract curriculum to a more groundwork focused and volunteer-centered one can have a very big impact on students. Content-wise, learning strategies should shift the attention towards the shaping of a collective national unity. From here comes the necessity of engaging students in debates in the classroom. In a Lebanese society where clashes are incessant, sectarian thinking is pervasive, and political parties are constantly disagreeing, we would be building a generation that develops empathy towards one another, no matter how different they might be. Youth that acquire inquisitive thinking are our way out of the never-ending identity crises that we go through in this country. It is through this engagement with the other, in discussions and in on-the ground actions, that tolerance would be slowly and progressively acquired. Consequently, if schools engage students in integrated debates with each other, following a constructivist appeal and purpose, then a more flexible, open-minded Lebanese society would blossom and see the light of day: one that aims to develop a peaceful and heterogeneous nation.
Thus, it is ultimately clear that improved Citizenship Education in Lebanon could lead to a reformed democracy model among future generations, one that thoroughly promotes a national belonging feeling and unifies efforts towards a reformed society, which preserves its undeniable sectarian plural identity but, simultaneously, is one step closer to a better Lebanese nation.
We could say with certainty that if a few changes and reforms are executed, we would be working towards leading new generations. They would be the departure point that would start the race for change in this society, one that has not changed post-conflict, thirty years later; generations to whom tolerance, empathy, critical thinking, fellowship for the nation and fellow citizens, national belonging and duties are democratically transmitted, starting from their early school years, in order to avoid further passivity towards the political, economic and social Lebanese crises. And so, reinforced youth soft power would be the main tool used to defeat soft despotism of the system’s building blocks.
References:
- Akar, Bassel. (2007). Citizenship education in Lebanon: An introduction into students’ concepts and learning experiences. Educate~. 7.
- Akkar, B. (2014, July 28). Learning active CITIZENSHIP: Conflicts Between students' conceptualizations of citizenship and classroom learning experiences in Lebanon. Retrieved April, 2021, from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425692.2014.916603
- Akar, B. (2012). The space between civic education and active citizenship in Lebanon. Rethinking education for social cohesion: International case studies. ed. maha shuayb; rethinking education for social cohesion: International case studies. ed. maha shuayb (pp. 154-170) Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lau.edu.lb:2443/books/space-between-civic-education-active-citizenship/docview/1914464521/se-2?accountid=27870
- Baytiyeh, H. (2017). Has the educational system in lebanon contributed to the growing sectarian divisions? Education and Urban Society, 49(5), 546-559. doi: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.lau.edu.lb:2048/10.1177/0013124516645163
- Blits, J. H. (1997). Tocqueville on democratic education: The problem of public passivity. Educational Theory, 47(1), 15. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.lau.edu.lb:2443/scholarly-journals/tocqueville-on-democratic-education-problem/docview/214137712/se-2?accountid=27870
- Shuayb, M. (2015, February). HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEACE EDUCATION IN THE LEBANESE CITIZENSHIP TEXTBOOKS: A COMPARATIVE LENSE. Retrieved April, 2021, from https://lebanesestudies.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Citizenship-education-Lebanon.pdf
- SINNO, S. (2019). Educating for Democracy? The Case of the Lebanese Elementary ESL Classrooms. Retrieved April, 2021, from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/658820