Language
English
English
Degree
M.A.
Select type of work
CIS Program Old
CIS publications
No
CIS Thesis
Yes
Student Name
Doukmak, Noor Alhuda
Year of Graduation
2017
QF Thematic Areas
CIS Program
Abstract
| What does it mean for Arab Gulf states to incorporate Islamic references into a science curriculum based on a secular American science textbook series? What features of the regional and global landscape of science education lead to the adoption of an American curriculum in the Gulf, and what are the stated aims behind inserting religious references into this curriculum? How do students and educators respond to the project, and to what extent are its intended consequences realized? In light of these questions, the present thesis aims to explore the current Qatari middle school science curriculum, which, like that of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, is a translated and edited version of a textbook series by the American publisher Glencoe McGraw-Hill by Obeikan publishing house. Those who were involved in making decisions about which religious references were to be incorporated – and how – specified three main aims for their endeavor: to increase the faith (iman) of students, to use Islam's moral dimension in encouraging ethical practice, and to demonstrate the lack of conflict between Islam and science. Situating the textbooks in the context of literature on science and religion, science and Islam, and science education in Muslim countries, I rely on textbook review as well as interviews with students, teachers, and decision-makers to assess the successes and limitations of the project as per its intended consequences. I argue that a tension exists between the textbooks' attempt to increase faith and their emphasis on critical thinking, a concept present in the original textbooks and left untouched during the editing process. Though there are instances in which Islamic references are used to encourage ethical practice, these instances do not differ very widely from what is already there in the American textbooks. I point out topics deserving of ethical consideration, especially those involving science used to manipulate nature, in which the textbooks miss the opportunity to invoke religion. Finally, I argue that the harmony the textbooks seek to portray seems to hold only because of a prudently selective inclusion of religious topics on the one hand and of scientific concepts on the other. I suggest these tensions in the Qatari science curriculum are symptomatic of the challenges facing the nation in its ongoing attempt to delicately balance modernization with its cultural and religious values. |