Panel 1: Ethnic and Religious Communities

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Panel 1Ethnic and Religious Communities
Strategies in Education

• Panel organizers Inti Soeterik and Sanne
  VanderKaaij
• Participants Michael Merry (University of
  Amsterdam) Christine Sleeter (California
  State University Monterey Bay)
• Discussant Renato Emerson dos Santos
  (Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro)

International Seminar Education and
International Development Why Research
Matters Amsterdam, September 29-30, 2011
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Introduction Participants and Set up

• Southern Northern Perspectives
• Set up
• Trends, Similarities and Differences in the
  Cases of Brazil and India
• Sanne VanderKaaij Inti Soeterik
• 2. The Turn toward Voluntary Separation
• Michael Merry
• 3. Ethnic Studies Curricula in the U.S. Why they
  exist and What Research Says about their Value
• Christine Sleeter
• 4. Discussant Renato Emerson dos Santos
• 5. Plenary Discussion

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Clockwise from above left (1) Annual Day
function of a private faith-based school in
India (2) Project on Afro Brazilian Culture
History public prim. school in Brazil (3)
Computer classes at a private faith-based school
in India (4) President Lula receives Black
Movement Activists in government, Brazil
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Ethnic and Religious Communities Strategies in
EducationTrends, Similarities, and Differences
in Brazil and India

• PhD Research (2006-present)
• Sanne VanderKaaij (India) Muslim Education in
  Mumbai
• Inti Soeterik (Brazil) Inclusion of
  Ethnicity/Race Issues in the Education Curriculum
  
• Similarities theme exclusion, communities,
  minorities
• Differences in
• strategies to overcome exclusion and towards
  emancipation
• consequences for education sector, schooling and
  education

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1. Emancipation Strategies

• Different expectations regarding State/Government
• Different arenas in which strategies are
  developed

• India
• Community organization level low self-reliance
• State not incorporated in strategy ? focus on
  private provision rather than changing
  legislation and policies
• No major strategies in public sector, political,
  or social movements arena.
• Main focus private sector realm (private
  schools, privately publ. textbooks)

Brazil Community organization level high
Brazilian Black Movement 1. State incorporated
in strategy ? focus on changing/creating
legislation and national curriculum guidelines
2. Different arenas/ forms/ scales of
action 3. Main focus public sector
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1a. Causes different Strategies Brazil

• State involvement because
• Opening up of agenda on race in education in
  context of changing relation between Civil
  Society State, due to
• Re-democratization
• Decentralization
• Globalization/ impact crisis welfare state/
  spread of Neo-liberalism
• ? New discourse on social policies
• ? NGO-ization
• International processes events
• ? Increased introduction of race/ethnicity on
  state agendas

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1a. Causes different Strategies India

• Emphasis on self-help because
• 1. Political context of distrust Muslims
  loyalty with Pakistan and/or with the ummah?
• 2. Religion Threats Westernization,
  Hinduization, wrong interpretations of Islam.
• 3. Economy liberalisation, privatisation,
  English.

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Today the winds of a very obscene and vulgar
culture have swept over the entire globe. Social
conditions are becoming bad to worse teenage
promiscuity, dating, vulgar movies, senseless
serials and songs and shameless fashions.
Obscenity is increasing day by day. And the
worst part is obscene is no longer considered
obscene! Because we want to educate our
children, we send our children to such
environments where children are competing with
each other in being as modern as possible, even
if it means wearing minimum clothes, drinking,
going out for movies, rave parties etc. If we
send them to an un-Islamic environment where
their friends discuss boyfriends and movies, it
is possible that, in spite of our best efforts at
home, our children may get affected by these
wrong trends and influences right in front of our
very eyes! It is like pushing our children into
a muddy puddle and still wishing that they dont
get dirty! (Source Brochure school Al
Muminah Mumbai, 2008)
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1a. Causes different Strategies India contd.

• Emphasis on self-help because
• 1. Political context of distrust Muslims
  loyalty with Pakistan and/or with the ummah?
• 2. Religion Threats Westernization,
  Hinduization, wrong interpretations of Islam.
• 3. Economy liberalisation, privatisation,
  English.

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2. Consequences different Strategies Effects on
Education Sector, Schooling and Education

• The different attitudes towards (the role of) the
  state affects education and schooling at the
  ground level, for example in
• a. Provision of and Access to Education.
• b. The Contents of Education.

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2a. Consequences different Strategies for
Provision and Access

• India
• Policies do not change
• Growth private schools
• Growth segregation

• Brazil
• -Political outcome laws
• -Primary/ secondary educ. system remains as it is
• -One HE initiative

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• ..there is a situation in which you try to
  implement the law law 10.639, however this
  implementation of the law doesnt gain space
  within the government institution self.
  there is no internal directive within the
  Ministry of Education that states lets create
  these spaces for implementation of the law.
• (Source Interview Black Movement
  activist/scholar)
• We need a respresentation model in which we
  have a representative, but also some kind of way
  to intervene directly in these institutions.
  Because otherwise we are left to the hands of a
  person that you vote for, and when he is elected
  he disappears. And then you are left there,
  without means to pressure the institutional
  sphere. Then you will need to organize a
  march, what else can you do? Surround the
  parliament. What else..?
• (Source Interview Black Movement
  activist/scholar)

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2a. Consequences different Strategies for
Provision and Access

• India
• Policies do not change
• Growth private schools
• Growth segregation

• Brazil
• Political outcome laws
• Primary/ secondary educ. system remains as it is
• One private HE initiative

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• They asked me Why dont you go to Pakistan?
  Then I heard myself say that I hated Muslims. I
  heard myself say horrible things. I was an
  apologetic Muslim. I realized I felt humiliated
  by those questions. My elder daughter started
  saying the same horrible things and told me she
  felt humiliated because of Osama bin Laden. So I
  decided I rather only be with Muslims and be
  happy. I think that when you are humiliated
  constantly it is easy to become a terrorist. It
  is better to be happy. So, let the students be
  confident and happy children. Let us pass on good
  values to them without being humiliated. We will
  not give them negative feelings towards others.
  And we will make sure that despite the
  segregation they know whats going on in the
  world
• (Source Interview principal Al Muminah School,
  Mumbai 2008)

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2b. Consequences different Strategiesfor
Contents of Education

• India
• State curriculum used. No concerted effort to
  change it.
• To counter unliked parts oral negation by
  teacher and additional learning materials.

• Brazil
• Laws as legal tool
• Limited structural action
• BBM action
• Creation didactic
• material
• - Teacher training

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2. Consequences different Strategiesfor
Contents of Education

• India
• State curriculum used. No concerted effort to
  change it.
• To counter unliked parts oral negation by
  teacher and additional learning materials.

• Brazil
• Laws as legal tool
• Limited structural action
• BBM action
• Creation didactic
• material
• - Teacher training

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3. Means as an End

• Brazil
• Aim Change of curricula for inclusive quality
  EFA and creating support for anti-racist
  struggle.
• Means political and pedagogical transformations
  in the education system.
• End Introducing pluralism in the school

• India
• Aim progress Muslims students.
• Means providing opportunity of access to
  quality education in an agreeable environment.
• End realizing religious schooling environment
  

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• A white person, when he is educated with these
  values, when tomorrow he arrives at a company and
  becomes manager, he will not discriminate a black
  person, think that he is worth less, that he is
  inferior. Also a man that knows this Law, that
  knows the history of Africa, of the black
  community in Brazil, he will not be against quota
  policies on universities.
• (Source Interview Black Movement Activists and
  scholar)

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3. Means as an End

• Brazil
• Aim Change of curricula for inclusive quality
  EFA and creating support for anti-racist
  struggle.
• Means political and pedagogical transformations
  in the education system.
• End Introducing pluralism in the school

• India
• Aim progress Muslims students.
• Means providing opportunity of access to
  quality education in an agreeable environment.
• End realizing religious schooling environment
  

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Conclusions

• Brazil
• State integrated in strategy
• Content transformation towards equality

• India
• Non-state focused strategies
• Congregation of several distinct processes
• Importantly Segregation not necessarily seen as
  a problem.

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