Critical Thinking in Syrian Secondary School History Education

Sammanfattning: Despite much research on the socioeconomic effects of public education in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region, few studies have been made that investigate the qualitative dimensions of these countries’ national education systems, modes of instruction, and educational materials. Knowledge- and skills attainment should be at the core of such research, as well as the sociocultural, historic and political implications of education. Syria is a case in point. A previous, tentative study by the author pointed towards a lack of classroom discussions and analytical exercise in Syrian primary and secondary education. This stresses the need for textbooks to provide for analytical skills training in a balanced and creative way. The objective of this essay is to qualitatively evaluate a Syrian history textbook’s rationale for promoting critical thinking among students, focusing on the structure and content of the material. Using a grounded theory method, it is at once a descriptive and exploratory study of a Syrian schoolbook and, as such, may add to knowledge on education in the Middle East more broadly. The study concludes that neither the textbook’s structure nor content is conducive to critical thinking because it does not equip students with the necessary tools for developing thinking that is clear, inquisitive, balanced and self-aware. Rather, the worldview presented in the textbook is a subjective account that focuses on victimization of the own ethos and projecting enemy images onto historic rivals, past and present, and the textbook leaves little room for alternative views. The findings of the research may be informative to the link between public education and regime stability in MENA countries such as Syria, Iraq, Egypt or Libya. Such research would indeed be relevant today as these countries may be forced to restructure their education systems thoroughly in the face of late political upheaval.