Jordan has implemented a significant reform in its educational curriculum, changing many of its aspects including a positive approach towards peace, ethnic minorities, opposition to Islamic extremism and openness to non-Muslims.
Conversely, the curriculum contains minimal recognition of Israel and the peace treaty is treated as a cause for concern, a new study on the subject shows.
The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE) has published a study about Jordan’s new curriculum, outlining the major changes made compared with the previous school books.
The study, conducted by Dr. Eldad Pardo and Maya Jacobi, has also found that the new curriculum’s manner toward women is respectful, boasts diversity as a central theme and recognizes the rights of atheists and polytheists.
The new curriculum is more tolerant and respectful toward Jews, the findings show.
Peacemaking is introduced as a vital part of Islamic tradition, as well as that of the Jordanian identity, evident in the Jordanians’ care for the Syrian and Iraqi refugees their country.
Political themes are also prevalent throughout the textbooks. The curriculum emphasizes that the Hashemite Kingdom is committed to the “West Bank, the Palestinians and Jerusalem.” The Hashemite dynasty is described as the foundation for Jordan’s existence and identity.
IMPACT-SE is a research, policy and advocacy organization that monitors and analyzes education, and aims to prevent radicalization of children and youth as the most vulnerable members of society.
The issue of radicalization in education is prevalent in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has been an ongoing contentious point. A recent report by IMPACT-SE found that positive content about peace, relations with Israel, and the Jewish historical presence in Israel previously found in the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) curriculum has been removed from the 2016–19 curriculum.