Review of International Geographical Education Online ©RIGEO 2016, 6 (1), 86-110 Research Article Copyright © RIGEO 2016 To cite this article: Zecha, S.; Popp, S.; Yaşar, A. (2016). Islam and Muslim Life in Current Bavarian Geography Textbooks. RIGEO, 6 (1), 86-110. Retrieved from http://www.rigeo.org/vol6no1/Number1Spring/RIGEO-V6-N1-5.pdf Submitted: December 19, 2015 / Revised: March 3, 2016 / Accepted: March 27, 2016 Islam and Muslim Life in Current Bavarian Geography Textbooks Stefanie ZECHA1 Catholic University Eichstätt, GERMANY Stephan POPP2 Vienna University, AUSTRIA Aysun YAŞAR3 Mustafa Kemal University, TURKEY Abstract This paper investigates the Islam and Muslim life in German textbooks. The study is based on the analysis of current Geography textbooks in Bavarian secondary schools. As a first step, the authors developed a system for objective analysis of the textbooks that structures the content in categories. In a second step, the authors used the qualitative method. One category system was developed to analyze the didactical quality of the illustration to the theme Islam and Muslim life another category system was developed to analyze the different aspects of Islam and Muslim life in textbooks. Quantitative analysis shows that the book authors use a variety of illustrations, but especially photos followed by maps. The quality is generally good. Three aspects were selected for qualitative analysis: Spatial representations of Islam, Islam as a religion and Muslim people in Germany. The spatial representation of Islam across the different textbooks is very diverse. Islam is usually not presented as a European phenomenon. The presentation of Islam as an oriental phenomenon risks propagating the idea that there is no other religious group in this area. The information on Islam as a religion is often superficial and may cause students to falsely assume that Islam is a homogeneous religion. Overall, the reader is led to wrongly falsely assume that Muslim migrants, many of whom are living in the 3rd generation in Germany, are still not really part of German society. This is certainly not true for the majority. Keywords Textbooks, Bavaria, Islam, Muslim Life, Illustration 1Corresponding Author: PD Dr. Stefanie Zecha, Catholic University Eichstätt/ Ingolstadt, [email protected] 2Dr. Stephan Popp, Department of South Asian, Tibeten and Buddist Studies, Vienna University, [email protected] 3Dr. Aysun Yaşar, Islamic Theology Department, Mustafa Kemal University, Antakya, Turkey, [email protected] © Review of International Geographical Education Online RIGEO 2016 ISSN: 2146-0353 www.rigeo.org Review of International Geographical Education Online ©RIGEO, 2016, 6 (1), 86-110 About 4 million Muslims were living in Germany in 2009 and about 1.8 million of these had German citizenship (Haug, 2009, p. 11). Religions, whether they be Christianity or Islam, shape their cultural surroundings, but conversely, cultural surroundings also shape religions, religious practice and the importance of religion in daily life (Tautz, 2006, p. 86). Due to the growing number of Muslim people in Germany, German pupils are gaining first-hand contact with Islamic life, beliefs and culture. The whole spectrum of religious beliefs is represented in German public schools. Dealing with other cultures and religions is part of the challenge of daily life. Since Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, it plays an increasing role in society. The school lessons are often directly influenced by schoolbooks. The aim of this pilot study is to present how the geographical lessons on Islamic religion and culture is presented in the current schoolbooks with a special focus to the geography schoolbooks in Bavaria in relation to the theme Islam and Muslim life. Theoretical Part: The Theme Islam Examination of Illustrations and of the Depiction of Islam and Islamic Life in Schoolbooks Analysis of illustrations. There are some publications that treat the effect of illustrations in geography schoolbooks. Hamann for example focuses on maps in schoolbooks and their quality in her publication (Hamann, 2013). Jahnke and others especially consider photos in a learning context (Jahnke, 2012). Recent publications, which endeavor to analyze the quality of illustrations, deal with the field of didactics of physics and chemistry. Strahl analyzes the quality of illustration in physics schoolbooks and develops a special category system for this (2013). There is no investigation in the field of geography schoolbook research, which especially takes account of the different kinds of illustrations in geography schoolbooks and their quality. Presentation of Islam und Muslim life. Studies aiming at investigating the image of Islam and Muslim culture in schoolbooks and school curricula exist to a certain extent. This is especially true for schoolbook research (Heine, 1995; Biener, 2007; Tworuschka, 1986a, b; Fischer, 1987; Ihtiyar, 2004; Mc Andrew, 2008; Schultze, 1988; Lähnemann, 2006; Csazar, Z. & Vati, T., 2012). Most of the studies were done in the area of history didactics (Biener, 2007; Tworuschka, 1986; Ihtiyar, 2004) or in the didactics of religion (Heine, 1995; Tworuschka, 1986a, b). There are only a few investigations in the field of didactics of geography (Schultze, 1988; Csaszar, 2012). Csaszar analyzes the presentation of Islam and Muslim life in Hungarian schoolbooks in his study. As a conclusion, it can be said that there have been publications about Islam and Islamic life in schoolbooks in Germany for the last twenty years, but not with a special focus on geography schoolbooks and with the focus on illustrations. The Role of the Geography Schoolbook Geography schoolbooks have an important role as an intermediary between political curriculum planning and the introduction of the curricula in the classroom. »…schoolbooks are written to serve teachers and students […] to work on their behalf as the links between the ideas present in the intended curriculum and the very different world 87 Zecha, S., Popp, S., Yaşar, A. / Islam and Muslim Life in Current Bavarian Geography…. of classrooms« (Valverde 2002, p. 10). In his publication, Howers emphasizes the power of schoolbooks in the classroom. “But despite the obvious powers of the new technology, it must be accepted that its role in the vast majority of the world’s classrooms pales into insignificance when compared with that of schoolbooks and other written materials.” (Howson, 1995, p. 21). As a consequence, schoolbooks have two functions in the geography lessons guaranteeing that the content in the curricula is implemented, as mentioned above, and regulating the discussion about the content of education in class for this reason, schoolbooks and ancillary materials will remain an instrument of extraordinary power. They still are the most effective of educational technologies yet invented, and there is no reason to imagine a modern educational system where schoolbooks do not play a central role. It is therefore proper to pay close attention to their content (Hamann 2013). The results of a study of Thöneböhn titled “How teachers use geography schoolbooks” (Thöneböhn, 1995, p. 29) prove this. Teachers use 80% of schoolbook content in their lessons. 84,9% of the teachers use the schoolbook as a base for the preparation of their lesson (Thöneböhn, 1995) and 63,2 % base the selection of the theme for their lesson on the schoolbook (Niemz, 1989, p. 112). Only 2,5% do not use the schoolbook for their preparation or for teaching (Thöneböhn, 1995). It is obvious from these results, that most of the teachers take the schoolbooks when they prepare their lessons. Only very few teachers have a scientific knowledge about Islam and Muslim culture, and for this reason, they trust the schoolbooks and use them a base for their lessons. It is therefore important that the theme Islam and Islamic life is presented in the schoolbooks in a neutral way. From a systematical view, the geography schoolbook is not only the result of special methodological reflections on geography lessons. It is also a political und pedagogical mirror of the current discussion in society. This can be recognized in the selection of its themes, i.e. in the content to be learned. In this case, the schoolbooks mirror the elements of the current discussion about Islam und Muslim culture in Bavaria at the time when they were written (Laubig & Peters & Weinbrenner, 1986). Illustrations in Geography Schoolbooks Definition of illustration. There is no exact definition of the term “illustration” in German geography didactics. For this study, the following images are included: photos, aerial pictures, caricatures, diagrams, cartograms, maps and cuttings of newspapers/books/prospects. Other pictures, like profiles, did not prove valuable after the first reviewing process, therefore they are not included in this definition. Meaning of illustrations. In this chapter, the authors can provide a glimpse of the relation between illustration and text only, and of the way illustrations are perceived. Like language, illustrations are a system of symbols, which have to be learned and applied. Viewing an illustration is not only “looking”, but a constructive task of the intellect, because there is a close relationship between vision and thought. Different psychological measurements show that the attention when viewing an illustration and the individual interest of the observer influence the activity of remembrance. The results are based on measurements of the change of the extent of the pupils of the eyes. Illustrations have an important function: they support the learning process and serve as an intermediary by visualizing knowledge. Illustrations do not have a positive effect to the learning process 88 Review of International Geographical Education Online ©RIGEO, 2016, 6 (1), 86-110 in themselves. They have a positive effect when the illustration and the text are related to each other (Levie & Lentz, 1982; Peeck, 1994). Moreover, the position of the illustration is important, and it can have an influence to the learning process. Illustrations that are placed before important text areas can have the effect of activating previous knowledge of the learner (Lewalter, 1997). According to Small, illustrations gain more and more importance as pupils are used to pictures, consuming many of them using the modern media. For instance, pupils almost automatically learn to pay attention to the pictures in books as well nowadays, according to Laine (2000, p. 99), as media and technological innovations are often based on visual communication methods, for example TV and computer games. Illustrations can only be used in scientific learning when an observer has the capacity to decode the content of the pictures and process them. Girwidz sees some problems for the pupils regarding illustrations: one main problem is that students do not take a close look at the image, which means that they do not look at the illustrations and negligibilities purposefully. Tasks in the schoolbook could improve the situation. Often the entertaining function of the picture takes center stage. Another problem is that students do not understand certain elements of the picture, for example certain symbols, and therefore the pupils have problems to decode certain aspects of illustrations (Girwidz, 2009). The way the meanings of illustrations are interpreted depends on the cultural background, on experiences, as well as on the situational factors and on personal interests (Kaikkonen 1994, p. 57). Especially in the field of Islam and Muslim culture, this could result in a misunderstanding. For that reason, a mixed method was developed to analyze the didactical quality and function of the illustrations (chapter: Research method). Islamic Religion and Islamic Life The relation between the effects religion has on an area is a core question to this kind of studies, and a correct representation in the schoolbooks can only be made if the essentials of a religion are also presented to understand the effects on the area. Islamic religion. For this reason, the authors tries to define firstly religion, secondly the effects of religion on an area, thirdly how these are connected, and finally, the authors shows the consequences for this investigation. “Religion” is one of those words that are practically impossible to define in any final sense (Braun, 2000). There are a variety of possibilities for the definition of religion, which are as different and complex as the phenomenon of religion itself. Kehrer (1998) showed that especially words that try to define a big context are always problematic, especially in sciences that consider very different societies and their culture. Religions are orientation systems (Waardenburg, 1986), worldviews (Smart, 1983), mind-sets, in which humans are integrated and which is set up and structured. There are spiritual orientating systems (religions) and secular orientation systems (ideologies). The basic element of a religious orientation system is the experience that the holy (supernatural) expresses itself in the profane (earthly). This means that ideologies stay within the range of secular experience (Rinschede, 1992). However, this intent to define religion in comparison to ideologies is inadequate as well, because the efforts to find essential characteristics that separate the religious sphere from the rest of human life is already part of the Western point of view (Kong, 2010). In short: Religions serve as a primary repository of meaning and identity and are used by believers to address issues of ultimate significance in their lives. One consequence is that the study 89 Zecha, S., Popp, S., Yaşar, A. / Islam and Muslim Life in Current Bavarian Geography…. of religion provides crucial insights into the structure and substance of human culture. Religious beliefs and practices can convert a place into a sacred space for example. These places can be observed in architectural construction and in social structure (Kong, 2010). Geographers need to know the specific beliefs and practices to understand how they influence society, and how beliefs and practices are influenced by social systems (Geertz, 1991, p. 188). The consequence for research is that there is a division into important religious rules and contents of religion on the one hand, in this case Islam, and the function of religion in the society on the other. Islam as an aspect of culture. Religion also influences human culture. For quite some time, researchers of different subjects, such as anthropology, social sciences, and psychology, have been occupying themselves with the construct of culture, for which, according to Maletzke (1996), no common definition exists. According to Mossmüller (2007), culture is understood to be both a process and its product. Therefore, culture both influences human action and is shaped by human action. According to Miliopoulos (2011, p. 202), cultures can be regarded both as entities “essentialistically” independent of each other, which are centered on a substantial and almost invariable common ground, and as a very open and dynamic construct. Notwithstanding the difference of these essentialist or constructivist concepts of culture, universal characteristics of culture, which serve to determine “cultural identity” as well as “cultural globalization” can be found according to Miliopoulos (2011). According to this approach, the various definitions of culture share a collective context of meaning and action, which however is particular from a global perspective. They facilitate a linguistic and ethnic basis, in which convictions, values and lifestyles (i.e. everyday usages) based on moral, ethos and religion are interwoven. According to Osgood (1951) descriptive elements of culture (“percepta”), which subdivide into observable behavior (such as greeting rituals) and results of behavior (e.g. architecture), can be distinguished from explicative elements of culture (“concepta”). The notion of concepta comprises reasons of behavior like values, norms and attitudes. This approach was taken up and refined by various researchers, among others by Hofstede (2006). These authors try to explain the relation between concepta and percepta with the help of layered models. In this approach, the explicative elements (concepta) form a deeper, invisible layer of culture and they are the base of the visible features (percepta). Hofstede (2006) uses the metaphor of “culture as an onion” to represent the layers of culture. The fundamental values of a culture, which are passed on from one generation to the other subconsciously, form the core. The outer layers of the “onion” represent visible practices specific to a culture, which comprise rituals (e.g. manners), heroes and symbols (like status symbols and lucky charms). This means for Islamic areas that the explicatively Islamic features of architecture can be distinguished from cultural elements (concepta) like the value of daily prayer, the influence of Islam on society or the way of living in a city or in suburban areas. Religion, such as Islam, is an essential part of culture, and a geographer who desires to analyze cultural phenomena, cannot exclude the religious factor. There is an interaction between the religious aspect of culture and a geographical area: religions shape areas, as their principles and values influence the structure of an area, such as the structure of the Islamic city, or the economic system. Religion is influenced by area in turn, i.e. by both the social and the natural environment. (Rinschede, 90 Review of International Geographical Education Online ©RIGEO, 2016, 6 (1), 86-110 1992, p. 4). We need to distinguish between cultural features that a religion requires and those that just go along with it (known as “Islamic” and “Islamicate” respectively in Islamic studies). In the case of Islam, minarets e.g. are not an essential part of a mosque, and many Iranian mosques lack them. On the other hand the slender Turkish “pencil minarets” were a token of Ottoman culture and built wherever the Ottomans established their rule, so that Turkish Muslims hardly can imagine a mosque without such a minaret, or with a massive North-African one. To analyze this the authors developed a category system. Questions of Investigation The following research questions for schoolbook analysis can be derived from the theoretical chapter: To which main chapter in the schoolbooks is the thematic Islam and Islamic culture devoted? Which kind of illustrations are dominating? Which didactical quality and function do they have? Which themes in relation to Islam and Muslim life are represented in the illustrations? How is the spatial representation of Islam in the schoolbooks? Which topics are mainly treated? Which differences are there in the topics between the curricula and the schoolbooks? How do the schoolbooks of the German school systems, viz. Realschule and Gymnasium differ regarding these topics? Methodology Data Base Schoolbooks always indicate developments in education and in current discourses within society (Apel, 1991, p. 6). They also give answers to contemporary challenges. The topic of Islamic religion and Muslim life in geography are one example of these challenges. The authors chose geography because recent studies have not considered it yet (Biener, 2007). Geography is also an appropriate subject to convey cultural differences and connections (Csaszar, 2012, p. 183). The subject of geography is very suitable since it allows the pointing out of region-specific aspects of Islam and Muslim life. The sixteen federal states of Germany have cultural sovereignty, which leads to different curricula for geography nationwide and also to sixteen different schoolbooks. This diversity complicates a study for the entire federal republic. In order to manage such an amount of material, the authors had to make a systematic choice. There are several reasons to choose Bavaria for this analysis: Religion has played a prominent role in Bavaria’s self-concept from the very beginning, and the integration of a new religion will be seen more crucial to culture than elsewhere in Germany. The curricula and schoolbooks also reflect this. As a consequence, the presence of Islam is taken more seriously than in the more secular societies of Northern Germany, so that Bavaria treats the theme of Islam in the whole perspective. Moreover, Bavaria has the second largest population of Germany, and has had a conservative government continually since 1957. It is therefore representative for the more conservative part of the country. What is more, a new curriculum will be introduced next year, so that the results of the analysis can find their way directly in the next generation of books. 91 Zecha, S., Popp, S., Yaşar, A. / Islam and Muslim Life in Current Bavarian Geography…. In Bavaria, there are three separate types of secondary school: Gymnasium, Realschule and Hauptschule, which (ideally) lead to academic, commercial and artisanal vocations. The authors chooses the school years from the 5th to 10th, because they offer a comparison of the different school types. Realschule ends at year ten. Geography does not exist in Hauptschule as a separate subject. As base for the investigation, seven choolbooks were selected, which are currently in use. Four choolbooks of Realschule and three schoolbooks of Gymnasium. The theme Islam and Muslim life is because of the curricula in Realschule in class 7 and in Gymnasium 8 in class 8. Data Collection As the theme Islam and Muslim life is restricted to the chapter Orient and to the chapter Turkey, the authors had a special look to these chapters. Each illustration was categorized and analyzed. Textbooks realschule of the research. Bacigalupo, E. (ed.) (2010). Seydlitz Erdkunde 7, Realschule, Braunschweig: Bildungshaus Schulbuchverlage. Bendel, A. (ed.) (2010). Terra 7, Erdkunde, Realschule Bayern, Stuttgart: Klett Verlag. Brucker, R. (ed.) (2012). Unsere Erde 7, Oldenbourg: Oldenbourg Verlag. Duda, C. (ed.) (2013). Mensch und Raum 7, Cornelsen, Berlin: Cornelsen Verlag. Textbooks Gymnasium of the research. Altmann, A. (ed.) (2006). Terra. 8 Geographie, Gymnasium Bayern, Stuttgart: Klett Verlag. Büttner, G. (ed.) (2006). Diercke 8, Geographie für Gymnasien in Bayern, Braunschweig: Bildungshaus Schulbuchverlage. Dietersberger, R. (ed.) (2006). Seydlitz 8, Geographie, Gymnasium Bayern, Braunschweig: Bildungshaus Schulbuchverlage. Research Method A universally accepted method for analyzing schoolbooks does not exist currently (Pingel, 1999). Content analysis is a method for summarizing any form of content by counting various aspects of the content. This enables a more objective evaluation (Früh, 2011). As a first step, the authors developed a system for objective analysis of the curricula that structures the content in categories, so that a comparison of all different textbooks is possible. In a second step, the authors tried to build a bridge between the quantitative and the qualitative method. Mayring (2002, p. 212) combines the advantages of both analyzing methods and proposes a structural qualitative method of analysis. One category system was developed to analyze the didactical quality of the illustration in relation to the theme Islam and Muslim life (chapter: Category system for the didactical aspects) another category system was developed to analyze the different aspects of Islam and Muslim life in textbooks (chapter: Category System for analyzing Islam and Muslim 92 Review of International Geographical Education Online ©RIGEO, 2016, 6 (1), 86-110 life). First, frequencies were counted. In a second step, the information units were analyzed in the qualitative way (Tholey, 1996, p. 101), (Figure 1). Curricula analysis Quantitative analysis (frequency Qualitative analysis analysis) Analysis of didactical aspects of Analysis of the content of the illustrations to the theme Islam theme and culture (table 1) Analysis of Islam and culture and the contents (table 2) Figure 1. Structure of the curriculum analysis Reliability The authors are responsible for the analysis of the illustrations, because a certain knowledge is required for it. In the case of content analysis, reliability goes along with the notions of stability, reproducibility, and accuracy (Weber, 1990, p. 120). To guarantee this, the categories have to be clearly defined and must possess intercoder reliability, which means that the same results of coding are obtained from two different coders. Such intercoder reliability can be expressed as a numerical value, in this case 0.7 (Weber, 1990, p. 121). Category Systems The category system consists of two systems: one category system deals with the didactical aspects of illustrations and the other category system deals with the didactical aspects of illustrations treating Islam and Muslim life. Category system for the didactical aspects of the illustrations of Islam and Muslim life. In the 80s, different universities developed different grids to analyze the quality of schoolbooks, in order to make the selection for teachers easier. Some examples: the Bielefeld grid by Laubig, Peters & Weinbrenner, 1986, the Reutlingen grid by Rauch & Tomaschewski, 1986, the Salzburg grid from the 90s, the grid of Schiller 2001 or the grid of the Stiftung Warentest from 2007 (Doll & Rehfinger, 2012, p. 22). For the examination of the didactical aspects, the grid by Strahl will be the base, as it was especially developed for the evaluation of illustrations, and it was already tested with textbooks of physics and chemistry, so that the authors could adapt it for geography textbooks. The reorganized grid will be presented now (Strahl, 2013). 93 Zecha, S., Popp, S., Yaşar, A. / Islam and Muslim Life in Current Bavarian Geography…. Category system to analyze illustrations. Table 1 Example for Coding Illustrations category coding rule capture no deficits with regard to the capture of The capture of the illustration is good. the illustrations (cno) the capture is wrong (cr) The capture does not fit (cf) There is a capture but it does not really go along with the content of the illustration. The capture is missing (cm) The illustration has no capture. legend no deficit in relation to the legend (lno) The legend is correct. legend is not necessary (lne) relation between illustration and text The relation between illustration and There is a direct relation between the text and the text is obvious (ito) number of the illustration. Relation between image and text exists There is no number of the illustration in the text, but but no direct link (itonl) the reader can recognize by reading the text that there is a relation to the illustration. category coding rule No information to the image in the text The illustration is presented without further (itn) information. didactical aspects no didactical lack (do) The illustration can be used thus and helps the pupils to understand the subject. doubtful from the didactical The illustration does not help to understand the perspective (dd) subject. (Source: base of the category system of Strahl 2013, changed by the authors to this subject) Category system for the aspects of content. The base for the category system examining the content was the category system of Fischer (1987) and Schultze (1986), because it was already tested. The instrument was adapted to this research through an iterative process as the authors explored the curricula. This procedure was used to refine the final sub-themes and categories used in the grid (Kromrey, 2000). The authors divided Islam into two sections: Islam from the religious perspective and Islam from the cultural perspective. Another aspect was the theme of Islam in Germany and which regional case study the authors of the schoolbooks used. 94 Review of International Geographical Education Online ©RIGEO, 2016, 6 (1), 86-110 Table 2 Category System for Analyzing the Curriculum (Changed After The Base Fischer 1987/ Schultze 1986) category subcategory 1. Spatial presence of Islam dispersion in the present spreading over a long history 2. Islam as a religion different denominations Muhammad religious duties religious code of conduct of individuals (e.g. no alcohol) the role of woman in Muslim culture 3. Islamic elements in a Middle Eastern city the territorial organization of the old city the mosque separate presentations of the city Islamic influence on life in the city 4. Cultural efforts in the Islamic world 5. Encounter of the Islamic and the Western world in present time 6. Islam as a religious and political factor 7. Muslims in Germany Findings Selected Results In Relation To the Topic Islam and Muslim Life Quantitative analysis. The quantitative analysis of the illustration in relation to the topic Islam and Muslim life was divided into two parts: Firstly, the different kinds of illustrations and their representations in the different schoolbooks were analyzed (table 3). Secondly, the quality of the illustrations (table 3; table 4) was noted. Didactical Aspects of the Illustrations Different kinds of illustrations. Table 3 Different Kinds of Illustrations. schoolbook type of illustration Photo Map Text Diagram Arial Chart Drawing Model Table Photo Seydlitz 7 10 2 1 13 Unsere 4 1 1 6 Erde 7 Terra 7 3 1 4 1 9 Cornelsen 7 17 2 1 1 1 22 Diercke 8 5 1 6 Terra 8 2 2 1 1 6 Seydlitz 8 7 1 1 9 48 9 4 3 2 2 1 1 1 71 95