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Who We Are

Schools are one of the most powerful tools to mitigate extremist influences. They are key to achieving the tolerant and open-minded societies of the future. But they can also be…

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Making a Difference

Reports

IMPACT-se researches school textbooks, teachers’ guides, and curricula to assess whether young people are being educated to accept Others—be it their neighbors, minorities…

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IMPACT World Focus

Afghanistan -- Afghanistan Times (via MENAFN) _March 2, 2021 -- Taliban Ban Girls From Education in Northeastern Takhar Province UK -- Independent -- March 2, 2021 -- Primary Pupils Shouldn’t Be Made to Wear Masks in School, Says No 10 USA -- Tes -- March 1, 2021 -- Will Pupils Struggle to Get Back Into a School Routine? Japan -- The Japan Times -- February 28, 2021 -- Opinion: Global Education Has Permanently Changed Pakistan -- Daily Industry -- February 28, 2021 -- Pakistan Facing Language Crisis in Education System Cambodia -- ScandAsia -- February 28, 2021 -- Sweden and UNICEF help Cambodia to Protect Children’s Education During COVID-19 Ireland -- Irish Times -- February 27, 2021 -- Opinion: Two-Tier Education System Philippines -- The Manila Times -- February 27, 2021 -- Philippines the Only Southeast Asian Country With Declining Literacy World -- Theirworld -- February 26, 2021 -- This Week in Global Education Lebanon -- The Telegraph -- February 26, 2021 -- ‘I Might Not Go Back to School’: Childhood Dreams Fade as Poverty Forces Lebanon’s Young Into Work USA -- Boston Herald -- February 26, 2021 -- Ways Parents Can Become More Involved in Their Child’s Education Iran -- Center for Human Rights in Iran -- February 26, 2021 -- Non-Persian Mother Languages Treated as “National Security Threat” in Iran Nigeria -- Ghana MMA -- February 26, 2021 -- Education Is Under Attack In Northern Nigeria: Amnesty International Bahrain -- The Daily Tribune -- February 25, 2021 -- Preparing Students to Face Labor Market Challenges Sweden -- Reuters (via IDNPos) --February 25, 2021 -- Swedish Report Reveals Seething Antisemitism Inside Schools Syria -- Al-Monitor -- February 25, 2021 -- Authorities in Northeast Syria Struggle to Impose Kurdish Curriculum Canada -- The Jerusalem Post -- February 25, 2021 -- Canada Deepens Probe Into UNRWA’s Anti-Israel School Textbook Materials UK -- Yahoo News -- February 24, 2021 -- Education Secretary Announces Schools Will Reopen in England as Planned on March 8 Morocco -- Morocco World News -- February 24, 2021 --Housework Prevents Girls From Education Pakistan -- DunyaNews -- February 24, 2021 -- Education System Must Focus on Developing Character, Creative Thinking: President USA -- WWLP22 News -- February 24, 2021 -- Report: Men Still Hold Bulk of Top-Paying Higher Education Job World -- The National (MENA) -- -- February 23, 2021 Covid’s Impact on Global Education Inequality Revealed in UNESCO Research Egypt -- Middle East Eye -- February 23, 2021 -- Egypt’s Sisi Faces Backlash Against Removal of the Quran From School Textbooks Ireland -- Irish Times -- February 23, 2021 -- School Closures Highlight Our Deeply Fragmented Education System Kenya -- LaPrensaLatina -- February 23, 2021 -- The Kenyan School Where Mothers Bring Their Babies to Class Morocco -- Anadolu Agency -- February 22, 2021 -- Moroccan Union Rejects Educational Ties With Israel Ethiopia -- IOM -- February 22, 2021 -- Rehabilitated School Brings Together Conflict-affected Communities in Ethiopia UK -- The Guardian -- February 21, 2021 -- Editorial: Education is Not Enough to Help Children Recover Egypt -- IQNA -- February 21, 2021 -- Egypt Gov’t Denies Removal of Quran Verses from School Books Cyprus -- In-Cyprus -- February 20, 2021 -- Cyprus Operation of Schools During Pandemic Smoother Than EU Average France -- The Times of Israel -- February 20, 2021 -- French Minister Warns Against ‘Islamo-Leftism’ in Universities Syria -- SciDevNet -- February 19, 2021 -- ‘Intranet’ Rescues Education in Syrian Refugee Camps World -- Their World -- February 19, 2021 -- This Week in Global Education Iraq -- ACTED -- February 18, 2021 -- Four Years Later, the Children of Mosul Are Heading Back to School Afghanistan -- The Telegraph -- February 18, 2021 -- Like It or Not, Governments Must Negotiate With the Taliban to Ensure Girls’ Access to Education Egypt -- AhramOnline -- February 17, 2021 -- Egypt’s Ministry of Education Should Work to Rid Schools of Religious Extremism: MP Saudi Arabia -- Eurasia Review -- February 17, 2021 -- Saudi Arabia: Further Textbook Reforms Needed, Says HRW Morocco -- Morocco World News -- February 17, 2021 -- More Than Half of Morocco’s Employed Labor Force Has No Diploma USA -- The Wall Street Journal -- February 16, 2021 -- School Reopening Pits Parents Against Teachers: “Is There a Word Beyond ‘Frustrating’?” Iraq -- Middle East Online -- February 16, 2021 -- American University in Baghdad Seeks to Fill Needs of Iraq’s Growing Youth Libya -- Libyan Express -- February 16,2021 -- Thousands of Students Return to School Bangladesh -- The Daily Observer -- February 16, 2021 -- Survey: 40% of High School Students Don’t Get Required Education MENA -- Al-Monitor -- February 15, 2021 -- Egypt, Sudan Cooperate to Eliminate Extremism in School Curricula Algeria -- Kawa-News -- February 15, 2021 -- Algeria Records the Highest Rate of Women Engineers in the World, Says UNESCO Report Nigeria -- Quartz Africa -- February 15, 2021 -- The UK Education System Has Provided a Safe Haven for Corrupt Nigerian Politicians: Report USA -- Kuwait Times -- February 14, 2021 -- Homeschooling Taking off in US as Pandemic Shutters Schools Afghanistan -- The Telegraph -- February 14, 2021 -- Afghanistan Faces a Brain Drain as Young and Educated Flee a Wave of Violence Oman -- Times of Oman -- February 14, 2021 -- Expats Barred From Certain Positions in Oman’s Education Sector Cyprus -- In-Cyprus -- February 13, 2021 -- New Educational Programs for Migrant Children Sudan -- Dabanga -- February 13, 2021 -- Women and Girls Lauded for Role in Science in Sudan Pakistan -- Modern Diplomacy -- February 13, 2021 -- Linguistic Racism in Pakistan Saudi Arabia -- Arab News -- February 13, 2021 -- Pandemic Puts Spotlight on Special Needs Education in Saudi Arabia New Zealand -- Stuff -- February 13, 2021 -- Music Education in New Zealand Needs a Reset, Experts Say Pakistan -- Dawn -- February 13, 2021 -- Opinion: Making Arabic Compulsory World -- Theirworld -- February 12, 2021 -- This Week in Global Education Africa -- Forbes -- February 12, 2021 -- While Schools Are Closed, Radio Lessons Keep Students Learning Ehiopia -- The Conversation -- February 12, 2021 -- COVID-19 Has Dealt a Blow to Ethiopia’s Private Higher Education Institutions MENA -- Naharnet -- February 11, 2021 -- Policy Makers Across MENA Discuss Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools UK -- Jewish News -- February 11, 2021 -- How UK Gives Annual Nod to Hate-Filled Palestinian Education Iran -- The Algemeiner -- February 11, 2021 -- Iranian School Textbooks ‘Brimming’ With Antisemitism and Glorification of Violence: ADL Report Pakistan -- Geo News -- February 10, 2021 -- Terrorism Spread in Pakistan Due to a Weak Education System: Education Minister Kenya -- Taarifa -- February 10, 2021 -- Kenya Drops Colonial Education System, Switches to Competence Based Curriculum Morocco/Israel -- The Jerusalem Post -- February 10, 2021 -- Israeli and Moroccan Students Will Learn About Moroccan Jewish Heritage USA -- The Orange County Register -- February 10, 2021 -- Braille Institute Uses Technology to Help With Real World Learning Israel -- i24 -- February 9, 2021 -- Coronavirus Cabinet Authorizes Partial Restart of Education System Egypt -- Egypt Online (via allAfrica) -- February 9, 2021 -- Egyptian Space Agency---Egypt Is Building 35 Education Satellites UAE -- Jewish Cleveland News -- February 9, 2021 -- Pointing to COVID-Related Economy, UAE Says It Will Not Fund UNRWA in 2021 Jordan -- UNRWA -- February 8, 2021 -- UNRWA Schools Open for the Second Semester in Jordan South Sudan -- Devex -- February 8, 2021 -- In South Sudan, Mobile Classes Improve Education Access Turkey -- Arab News -- February 8, 2021 -- Turkey to Open Schools in War-Torn Syria Pakistan -- Daily Times -- February 7, 2021 -- Opinion: Pakistan’s Single National Curriculum---Moving Education Forward Israel -- The Times of Israel -- February 7, 2021 -- Online Classes Cause Surge in School Dropouts, Increase Socioeconomic Gap Saudi Arabia -- Arab News -- February 7, 2021 -- Almost Half of Students in Shifted to Government Schools Amid Pandemic Cyprus -- Cyprus Mail -- February 7, 2021 -- Coronavirus: Schools Gearing up to Reopen for Primary and Final Year Students UNRWA/EU -- The Jerusalem Post -- February 7, 2021 -- European Parliament Raises Issue With UNRWA Textbooks Promoting Hate Jordan -- Kuwait Times -- February 7, 2021 -- Jordan Students Back to School After Almost a Year UAE -- BESA -- February 7, 2021 -- The UAE’s School of Government Can Help the Arab World Live Up to Its Potential USA -- The Times of Israel -- February 6, 2021 -- Jews as US Minority: The Controversy Over California’s Ethnic Studies Curriculum Pakistan -- The International News -- February 6, 2021 -- Opinion: Reforming Education? USA -- Phys.org -- February 6, 2021 -- Study Examines Why College Education Leads to Healthier and Longer Lives Indonesia -- RepublicWorld.com -- February 5, 2021 -- Indonesian Government Bans Mandatory Religious Attire In Public Schools Turkey -- MEF -- February 5, 2021 -- Islamism Is Stunting Turkish Academic Achievement World -- Theirworld -- February 5, 2021 -- This Week in Global Education Somalia -- RadioErgo -- February 5, 2021 -- First School Opens in Mogadishu for Somali Children With Autism Turkey -- WKZO -- February 5, 2021 -- Student Protests Highlight Erdogan’s Struggle to Win Over Turkey’s Gen Z Wales (UK) -- BBC News -- February 4, 2021 -- COVID: ‘I Don’t Want a Holiday, I Want to Go to School’ Greece -- Theirworld -- February 4, 2021 -- Arts and Crafts Packs Help Young Refugee Children Deal With Stress Myanmar -- Education International -- February 4, 2021 -- Myanmar: Teachers’ Union Condemns Military Coup UK -- The Guardian -- February 4, 2021 -- Opinion: Geography, Not Race, Explains the Disparity in England’s Educational Outcomes Kenya -- Theirworld -- February 3, 2021 -- Why Investing in Early Education Is Crucial for Kenya’s Children World -- OECD -- February 2, 2021 -- Report: COVID-19 Pandemic Has Demonstrated That on-Line Learning Is No Substitute for Teachers World -- Tes -- February 2, 2021 -- How Have International Schools Adapted to Provide Remote Assessment During the Pandemic? Pakistan -- The Times of India -- February 1, 2021 -- All Education Institutes Reopened in Pakistan Afghanistan -- Dawn -- February 1, 2021 -- Saga of a Refugee Girl’s Quest for Education Canada -- CBC -- January 31, 2021 -- Disrupted Schooling, Learning Loss Will Have Effects Long After Pandemic, Say Education Experts Canada -- The MediaLine -- January 31, 2021 -- Canada Investigating UNRWA for Alleged Incitement to Hatred USA -- The Washington Post -- January 30, 2021 -- Why Did Education Leaders Trash a School Full of Music, Dance and Art? UNSC -- VietnamPlus -- January 30, 2021 -- Vietnamese Diplomat: Peace Education Important for Children in Conflict Zones Saudi Arabia -- The Washington Post -- January 30, 2021 -- Saudi Arabia Has Been Scrubbing Its Textbooks of Anti-Semitic and Misogynistic Passage East Africa -- African Arguments (via allAfrica) -- January 29, 2021 -- Developing a Knowledge Society for Peace in the Horn of Africa India -- The Times of India -- January 29, 2021 -- Sharing India’s New Education Policy With the World Ghana -- Ghana MMA -- January 29, 2021 -- Education Sector Missing ‘Basic Principles and Values,’ Says Parliament Speaker USA -- IdeaStream -- January 29, 2021 -- Investing In Our Global Future: Why The Education Of Girls Matters Norway -- Sputnik -- January 28, 2021 -- In Crackdown, Norway Raises Awareness of Antisemitism, Conspiracy Theories Among Schoolchildren World -- CGD -- January 28, 2021 -- Is the Global Partnership for Education Redundant? UK -- BBC News -- January 28, 2021 -- Digital Divide Locking Children Out of Education Canada -- The Cord -- January 27, 2021 -- Opinion: Students Are the Real Investors of Higher Education Philippines -- Manila Bulletin -- January 27, 2021 -- Education Group: Gov’t Should Act Swifltly to Avoid Education Crisis USA -- The Daily Campus -- January 27, 2021 -- Music and the Brain: Why Schools Should Really Fund Music Education More

Monitor the World

Recent Reports

Attaturk over Erdogan's Shoulder

THE ERDOGAN REVOLUTION IN THE TURKISH CURRICULUM TEXTBOOKS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made significant changes to Turkey’s state-approved school textbooks since taking power in 2003. This report is the fourth undertaken by IMPACT-se into the Turkish curriculum. We have identified a marked deterioration in Turkish textbooks since our last review in 2016, in regards to meeting UNESCO defined standards of peace and tolerance. On the contrary, textbooks have been weaponized in Erdogan’s attempts to Islamize Turkish society and to hark back to a nostalgic age of Turkish domination.

2020-21 UNRWA Booklets

REVIEW OF UNRWA-PRODUCED STUDY MATERIALS IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
PA school textbooks have consistently shown a systematic insertion of violence, martyrdom and jihad across all grades and subjects. Yet, it is this material that is taught in UNRWA-run schools throughout the Palestinian Territories of the Gaza Strip and West Bank as well as Jerusalem. Our research shows that UNRWA, as a UN organization, knowingly produces and teaches material in its Gaza Strip and West Bank schools that are rife with problematic content that contradicts stated UN values. UNRWA’s lack of transparency to address such problematic issues make it impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of any efforts it claims to have made.  Updated Research of post-November material shows hate remains.

Saudi Review Cover image

REVIEW OF SAUDI TEXTBOOKS 2020–21
This follow-up report of Saudi 2020-21 textbooks by IMPACT-se shows that while many problematic examples have been removed from the curriculum, some still remain. The removal of the problematic content however, should certainly be seen as a significant improvement and an encouraging development, representing a step toward moderation. Our sense is that the Saudi kingdom, along with some other countries in the region, is gradually moving in a direction that could bring it in line with UNESCO-derived standards of peace and tolerance—contingent on whether the remaining issues are addressed.

UAE_Moral Education-2

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES—Moral Education Textbooks
This preliminary IMPACT-se report focuses on the United Arab Emirates’ “Moral Education” curriculum, taught in all Emirates public and private schools, from grades 1-12. The research covered the textbooks and teacher guides that make up the “Character and Morality” section of the UAE curriculum, measured against IMPACT’s UNESCO-derived standards of peace and tolerance. While the current research covers only this limited spectrum of the UAE curriculum, it is noteworthy that the content goes a long way to incorporate the values of peace and tolerance into a traditional education system. This stand-alone course is unique in the region and may reflect UAE’s emerging leadership in the reform of textbooks.

Painting of Doha

UNDERSTANDING QATARI AMBITION—The Curriculum 2016–20
IMPACT-se’s interim review of 238 textbooks of the Qatari curriculum for the calendar years 2016-20, used international standards for peace and tolerance. The curriculum appears to be in in a change-mode, moving in a direction from jihadi radicalism toward open engagement with the world. While somewhat less radical than previous versions, the process of moderation is in its infancy. Some particularly offensive material has been removed after decades of radical propaganda in Qatari schools, but while heavily influenced by Western educators, serious issues remain regarding peace and tolerance.  Interim Report   Exec Sum  Centrality of Antisemitism in the Qatari Curriculum  Problematic Content in the Qatari Curriculum_Selected Examples

Picture of Winding Road in Saudi Arabia

THE WINDING ROAD TO A NEW IDENTITY                Saudi Arabian Curriculum 2016-19
The Saudi curriculum, at this stage, should be viewed as a reflection of the efforts being made to transform an exclusively traditionalist Islamic society into one that incorporates more Western economic values and its pre-Islamic heritage. However while the curriculum tries to evolve with such inherent contradictory elements, the radical orthodoxy of the Wahhabis remains dominant. The narrowing of the gap between the kingdom’s modernization goals and their practical application—both within the curriculum and throughout Saudi society—is in the beginning stages of a work in progress.

A Tajihi Exam (Culture)

PALESTINIAN CURRICULUM PUT TO THE TEST     The General Certificate of High School Examination in Palestine (Tawjihi)
This report studies the twenty-six tests comprising the Palestinian 2019 Tajihi Matriculation Exam which tests grade 12 material from the Palestinian curriculum. The exam was analyzed according to IMPACT-se’s UNESCO-derived standards for peace and tolerance in school education.  IMPACT-se’s finding is that many of the final exams are so designed that students must study problematic content that does not meet international standards for peace and tolerance.

THE 2019–20 PALESTINIAN SCHOOL CURRICULUM: Grades 1–12
This updated report includes selected examples from research by IMPACT-se on the new Palestinian school curriculum for the 2019–20 academic year. The curriculum has been released over the past four school years, beginning with grades 1–4 (2016–17) and the twelfth grade books finally available for the 2018–19 term. Additionally, the report includes examples from new chapters added to the 2019–20 academic year textbooks.

YTS_Peace and Conflict in Israeli Textbooks

PEACE AND CONFLICT IN ISRAEL STATE-APPROVED TEXTBOOKS: 2000–2018
The article describes the peace and conflict educational approaches found in the Jewish-Israeli curricula between the years 2000–17, and extracts the dominant themes and messages towards Muslim, Arab and Palestinian “others.”  Study findings indicate that current Israeli textbooks do not contain any overt racism or incitement against Palestinians. However, ethnocentric perceptions and victim mentality are two themes that still dominate curricular discourse and are counterproductive to peace education goals.

Picture of Rabin, Clinton and Arafat: Removed

THE REJECTION OF PEACE: References to Peace Agreements, Israel, and Jews, Now Removed from PA Curriculum
A report on selected positive content about peace, relations with Israel, and Jewish historical presence previously in the Palestinian curriculum between 2000 and 2016, now removed from the 2016–19 curriculum. Although some of the positive examples were removed even before 2016, the “new” PA curriculum represents a quantum leap backward toward radicalizing the textbooks—and unfortunately— Palestinian children.

Chart showing number of violent references in Palestinian textbooks by grade

THE NEW PALESTINIAN CURRICULUM: BY THE NUMBERS Quantitative Analysis of the Current Palestinian Ministry of Education Curriculum
A quantitative analysis of textbooks from the current Palestinian Ministry of Education curriculum, applying UNESCO-derived standards of peace and tolerance.  Additionally, in this report, we define Problematic Content as: violent connotations, incitement to violence, hatred of the Other, and radical, inappropriate or disturbing content. The accompanying graph from the report displays by grade, the number of violent references included in each textbook.

The Amman Message

JORDAN’S NEW CURRICULUM: The Challenge of Radicalism
IMPACT-se evaluates a range of topics: moderating the education of Islam for students (with emphasis on diversity and openness); layers of national identity; the idea of good citizenship, which includes gender, economic and environmental responsibility; Jordan’s approach toward the West Bank and the Palestinians; unresolved internal conflict toward its peace with Israel and compassion toward the disadvantaged.

TWO LANGUAGES ONE COUNTRY: Turkey’s Elective Kurdish Curriculum

The Kurdish textbooks appear at first glance to be simple and straightforward, no more than very little elective training in a minority population’s mother tongue . . .  a conversation about this curriculum is worthwhile because the question of Kurdish education in Turkey remains unanswered.

WASATIA EDUCATION: Exploring the Palestinian Curriculum

This booklet suggests Wasatia Education for the Palestinian educational system using the methodologies of both IMPACT-se and the WASATIA Academic Institute. It explores the present Palestinian school textbooks and identifies areas where the curriculum incites, demonizes and delegitimizes the Other while proposing concepts and values to allow for a future of coexistence, tolerance and prosperity.

THE NEW PALESTINIAN CURRICULUM: 2018-19 Update–Grades 1-12

IMPACT-se’s latest research portrays a Palestinian curriculum that accommodates the full spectrum of extreme nationalist and Islamist ideologies in both Gaza and the West Bank, including anti-Semitic motifs amid themes of continuous struggle. heroism  and martyrdom.

SYRIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY: Reformulating School Textbooks during the Civil War

For seven consecutive years a brutal civil war has been raging in Syria. This study of the Syrian curriculum examines the updated 2017–18 education contents in the areas controlled by the Assad regime while the civil war con-tinues to rage. It offers a unique look at a people in the midst of a mortal crisis.

REFORM or RADICALIZATION: PA 2017 Curriculum [A Preliminary Review]

With the first full reform of the Palestinian curriculum since 2000, IMPACT-se, in its second of three reports, covers sixty-six textbooks from the new PA curriculum of 2017–18 for Grades 5–11. Further research will provide a full assessment of the new curriculum covering Grades 1–12.  Selected Examples (Updated)

Image: Haredi Family

HAREDI EDUCATION IN ISRAEL: REINFORCING THE BARRICADES

IMPACT-se researches textbooks used in the Haredi curricula to promote a unique and separate cultural identity while  keeping  contact with  Israeli culture to a minimum. Though it fails to meet all of the UNESCO standards, Haredi education nevertheless offers some unique characteristics and advantages worth examining.

PALESTINIAN ELEMENATARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM 2016–17: RADICALIZATION AND REVIVAL OF THE PLO PROGRAM

This IMPACT-se report examines the 2016–17 Palestinian Authority school curriculum, focusing on elementary school grades 1-4.  To a greater extent than the 2014–15 textbooks, the curriculum teaches students to be expendable martyrs, rejects negotiations, demonizes and denies the existence of Israel and focuses on a “return” to an exclusively Palestinian homeland.

NEIGHBORS AND RIVALS: CHINA IN TURKEY’S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

In July 2015, protesters throughout Turkey burned China’s flag, along with effigies of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong. On the same day, a group of Turkish Ultra-nationalists and Islamists gathered in central Istanbul to protest the alleged restrictions on Uyghur religious freedom in China.

TURKEY’S CURICULUM UNDER ERDOGAN: THE EVOLUTION OF TURKISH IDENTITY
This well-timed report monitors Turkish school textbooks published since the AKP’s (Justice and Development Party) rise to power from 2002–15, with special emphasis on recent years (2013–15). The report examined 117 school textbooks covering subjects in the humanities, science, religious instruction and civics.

PALESTINIANS IN ISRAELI TEXTBOOKS: 2016 UPDATE
This timely report updates Impact’s analysis of the Israeli School Children current Israeli educational curriculum, particularly as it relates to the Palestinian people and the Palestinian educational process. It is based on the review of 123 state and state-religious textbooks, which were approved and recommended by the Israeli Ministry of Education through the 2017 school year.

IRANIAN EDUCATION: THE CONTINUOUS REVOLUTION
Between 2012-16 IMPACT-se revisited Iranian school textbooks, and prepared this latest report reflecting new developments in Iranian education. The Iranian education curriculum includes a long list of troubling, sometimes paradoxical features, offering insight into a nation preparing its population–starting with its children–for an imminent apocalyptic battle with the world’s “oppressors.”

The PA EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: IN THE SHADOW OF THE TERROR WAVE
This Impact-se report revisits the Palestinian Authority school curriculum, which is perhaps the chief expression of Palestinian cultural independence. The report covers the main findings of our 2011 report as well as some current observations up to and including, the 2015–16 “Knife Intifada.” Major findings include some positives but troubling from the perspective of Israeli- Palestinian peace is what can aptly be called a “Guerrilla Curriculum.”

BETWEEN SHARIA AND DEMOCRACY:  ISLAMIC EDUCATION IN NORTH AMERICA
The report surveys Islamic Studies curricula studied in The United States and Canada. With some exceptions, our main conclusion overall is that Muslim education in North America includes many positive elements, is flexible and generally tolerant. The curricula contain a clear “us versus them” paradigm that rejects materialism, secular or liberal Islam. The materials demonstrate a respect for Christians and Jews but show hostility to Israel and distort the Israeli-Palestinian conflict…

EGYPT ENHANCES IT’S PEACE EDUCATION, ONE STEP AT A TIME
Ofir Winter’s IMPACT-commissioned response to the February 17, 2016 Times of Israel article titled “In a First, New Egyptian Schoolbook Teaches Peace Deal with Israel.”
IMPACT-se Brief Report

More IMPACT Reports

IMPACT BRIEFS

Rehabilitated School Brings Together Conflict-Affected Communities in Ethiopia

February 22, 2021/in Blog, Frontpage /by Rahel Negussie/Alemayehu Seifeselassie -- International Organization for Migration

For Ethiopians like Ahmed, an eighth grader at Bilisuma Primary School, pursuing education in East Hararghe has been agonizing. An outbreak of violent conflict in 2016 led to the disruption of education and schools were damaged. “I have a very keen interest in finishing my studies. However, I was forced to stop for some time […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/IOM_Aahmeds-Education-was-Halted.jpg 234 350 Rahel Negussie/Alemayehu Seifeselassie -- International Organization for Migration https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Rahel Negussie/Alemayehu Seifeselassie -- International Organization for Migration2021-02-22 15:00:342021-03-02 15:10:13Rehabilitated School Brings Together Conflict-Affected Communities in Ethiopia
Iran classroom during pandemic

Teaching Hate: Iran Textbooks Push Antisemitism

February 11, 2021/in Blog, Frontpage /by TOI Staff -- Times of Israel

Iranian schoolkids are studying antisemitism, hatred and conspiratorial material in their textbooks, including a theory that Western media hyped up the COVID-19 pandemic to thwart large-scale attendance at last year’s celebration of the Iranian revolution, according to a comprehensive study published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Thursday. The ADL said its report, “Incitement: Antisemitism and […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/Iran-classroom-during-pandemic-2.jpg 240 384 TOI Staff -- Times of Israel https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png TOI Staff -- Times of Israel2021-02-11 14:09:452021-02-11 14:15:29Teaching Hate: Iran Textbooks Push Antisemitism
VOA-Turkish Protests, Arrests_Screen

Turkey Detains Dozens More Over University Protests

February 5, 2021/in Blog, Frontpage /by Voice of America

Authorities in Turkey made dozens of new arrests in cities across the country Thursday, after downplaying international criticism—including U.S. condemnation—of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown on university student rallies. According to police, about 600 people have been detained since January 4 as protests spread in the capital, Ankara, and in Istanbul. Erdogan has accused student […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/VOA-Turkish-Protests-Arrests_Screen-2.jpg 257 410 Voice of America https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Voice of America2021-02-05 18:23:362021-02-06 18:24:02Turkey Detains Dozens More Over University Protests
Afghan Girls_Afghan Times_Education

On International Day of Education 3.7 Million Afghan Children Remain Out of School

January 24, 2021/in Blog, Frontpage /by Afghanistan Times

January 24 is considered the ‘International Day of Education; Afghanistan also celebrates this day, as in the last 20 years, one of the greatest accomplishments has been increasing access to education for all Afghans. Despite the tremendous achievements, 3.7 million Afghan children are still deprived of education. This country opened its first modern school around […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/Afghan-Times_Education.jpg 400 600 Afghanistan Times https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Afghanistan Times2021-01-24 22:55:592021-01-26 22:56:22On International Day of Education 3.7 Million Afghan Children Remain Out of School
Fatima_Bangledesh_WFP_Nalifa Mehelin

Education Day: A Schoolgirl in Bangladesh Reads Her Way to Success

January 21, 2021/in Blog, Frontpage /by Brook Dubois -- WFP

Illuminated by the winter sun streaming through her bedroom window, 13-year-old Fatema reads through the half-dozen books spread across her desk. In Bangladesh, Fatema is one of the 42 million children who have been out of school for almost 12 months. Spurred by the pandemic, inequality between students threatens to grow deeper and wider in […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/Fatima_Bangledesh_WFP_Nalifa-Mehelin.jpg 300 450 Brook Dubois -- WFP https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Brook Dubois -- WFP2021-01-21 20:44:582021-01-30 20:45:25Education Day: A Schoolgirl in Bangladesh Reads Her Way to Success
0SCHA-Indian Children Studying in Open Air Against Covid-2

The Virus That Shut Down the World: Education in Crisis

December 28, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by UNOCHA

Children all over the world have had their education severely disrupted this year, as schools struggle to cope with repeated closures and re-openings, and the transition, if it’s even an option, to online schooling. Disadvantaged children, however, have been worst-hit by the emergency measures. In this part of our look back at the effect that […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/Indian-Children-Studying-in-Open-Air-Against-Covid-2.jpg 252 462 UNOCHA https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png UNOCHA2020-12-28 19:24:022020-12-29 19:24:32The Virus That Shut Down the World: Education in Crisis
MS-TOI Blog_pic School-Jordan

An Opportunity to Change the Cycle of Hate

December 20, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Marcus Sheff -- TOI (The Blogs)

Every day, around 60 million children in the Middle East and North Africa region and between 200-300 million children in the Muslim world turn up to school. Over the last decades, these schools have taught a regular and unchanging diet of hatred towards Jews. The intensity has varied from country to country, but the central […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/School_Jordan-2.jpg 288 512 Marcus Sheff -- TOI (The Blogs) https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Marcus Sheff -- TOI (The Blogs)2020-12-20 21:00:372020-12-23 21:03:29An Opportunity to Change the Cycle of Hate
pic- Afghani Children--CSM Children Bouncing Back

‘Lost Year’ for Education: Global Lessons on How Students Can Rebound

December 17, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Ann Scott Tyson -- Christian Science Monitor

Societies that rebuilt their education systems after war and natural disasters may offer lessons on how to close the learning gap opened by the pandemic. “A catastrophe, a pandemic is likely to have a negative impact on outcomes,” says Emma García, an education expert at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute in Washington. Nonetheless, she says […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/CSM-Children-Bouncing-Back-2.jpg 252 378 Ann Scott Tyson -- Christian Science Monitor https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Ann Scott Tyson -- Christian Science Monitor2020-12-17 21:01:482020-12-22 21:02:11‘Lost Year’ for Education: Global Lessons on How Students Can Rebound
Brief pic_Northland Age-World -Leading Education Now Average

World-Leading Education Now ‘Decidedly Average’

December 7, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Muriel Newman -- Northland Age

Schools around New Zealand are paying tens of thousands of dollars to private consultants to help them improve the way they teach reading. They are introducing the so-called “structured literacy” approach, more commonly known as phonics. While backed by 30 years of educational research, it is not funded by the Ministry of Education. Developed by […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/Northland-Age-World-Leading-Education-Now-Average-2.jpg 260 461 Muriel Newman -- Northland Age https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Muriel Newman -- Northland Age2020-12-07 17:24:512020-12-20 17:26:25World-Leading Education Now ‘Decidedly Average’
Pic-Rising Kashmir-Value-Based Education

The Need for a Value-Based Curriculum in Higher Education

November 29, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Yasir Ashraf -- Rising Kashmir News

Without imparting values and morals in education, human development is incomplete. Values are the guiding principles of life that contribute to all round development of an individual. Values add a good quality to life and it should also contribute to the welfare of family, the community and the nation. Philosophers, spiritual leaders and educationists of […]

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Student pictured in Sunday Times_Teach Us about the Slave Trade

Teach Us About the Slave Trade, Not the Tudors

November 22, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Sian Griffiths -- The Sunday Times

All children should learn about Britain’s role in the slave trade and the sometimes bloody history of its empire, as well as braided hair and the Windrush generation, according to young [student] campaigners whose petitions have attracted nearly 400,000 signatures. Four campaigners still at school and university are trying to have such topics made compulsory. […]

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FP-Girls Access to Edu-Getty

Girls Have Greater Access to Education Than Ever

October 9, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Ginanne Brownwell -- Foreign Policy

When Adelaide Tsogo Masenya was six, she switched primary schools. Her local school, Dr Knak Primary School, in the poor Johannesburg township of Alexandra, only taught in her native language of Sepedi. Her new school, Marlboro Gardens Secondary School, had an English-only curriculum. Years later when she asked her mother, a cashier who only had […]

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NextBillions-Public vs Private-Pic

Helping the Schools That Serve the World’s Neediest Children Survive COVID-19

September 10, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Irene Pritzker -- Next Billions

Before the COVID-19 crisis, Lily Baah of Apaaso, Ghana, was busy running the Baah Memorial School, with more than 580 students in nursery school through junior high. Then, in March, the pandemic forced her to close. As a result, Baah could no longer collect tuition. She has sold children’s clothing and made-to-order pies to help […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/NextBillions-Public-vs-Private-2.jpg 258 435 Irene Pritzker -- Next Billions https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Irene Pritzker -- Next Billions2020-09-10 15:15:452020-09-26 15:16:36Helping the Schools That Serve the World’s Neediest Children Survive COVID-19
Qatar is Obsessed with Globalization

Partial and Reversible—Qatar Takes a Tiny Step Forward

August 20, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Dr. Eldad J. Pardo

There is much to be concerned about in the Qatari curriculum. Most troubling is the realization that the leaders of this proud and unique country have allowed their children to be exposed for years to one of the most radical jihadi educations in the world. It is hard to conceive that there are still countries […]

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Brief_Brookings-6 Education Ideas

Building a Better World Through Education

July 16, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Christopher J. Thomas -- Brookings

The distinguished philosopher Martha Nussbaum argues that the purpose of education is to produce “decent world citizens who can understand the global problems … who have the practical competence and the motivational incentives to do something about those problems.” Indeed, education has helped to build a better world. Most people are generally more prosperous and […]

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WP-Students Return to School

As Countries Reopen, Hundreds of Millions of Students Have Returned to School

June 5, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Adam Taylor -- Washington Post

Well beyond a billion students were sent home from schools as the novel coronavirus spread around the world. In recent weeks, hundreds of millions were cleared to return, as countries began to reopen in fits and starts. By late March, less than two months after the confirmation of the first coronavirus cases outside China, more […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/WP-Students-Return-to-School-4.jpg 237 358 Adam Taylor -- Washington Post https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Adam Taylor -- Washington Post2020-06-05 20:44:292020-06-10 20:45:22As Countries Reopen, Hundreds of Millions of Students Have Returned to School
Academics bemoan toxic politics

Education is a Political and Ethical Matter

June 3, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Muki Moeng -- Mail&Guardian

With the Covid-19 lockdown regulations, ministerial announcements and public commentary, never before have Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire’s ideas about education been more relevant. In 1970 Freire argued that education is political and ethical, and cannot be detached from the current context of social and political realities. This is evident in the policies that […]

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Ancefa

COVID-19: How to Ensure Continuity of Education in Africa?

May 19, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Mame Codou Dieng -- ANCEFA

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically hit the world since its outbreak in late 2019 with a lot of infections and death. Africa is no exception. The affected countries are facing enormous difficulties and have put in place measures to contain its spread. Education has been one of the most impacted sectors affected by the COVID-19. […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/ancefa.jpg 275 480 Mame Codou Dieng -- ANCEFA https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Mame Codou Dieng -- ANCEFA2020-05-19 15:25:222020-05-30 15:26:14COVID-19: How to Ensure Continuity of Education in Africa?
Theirworld-Back to school-Lesotho

Back to School—With Face Masks, Hand Sanitizers, Smaller Classes and No Hugs

May 15, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Their News Team -- Theirworld

Classrooms that had been closed by the Coronavirus crisis are slowly beginning to reopen around the world.  Here are some of the measures to make learning safe. Picture a kindergarten or primary school classroom. What do you see? Children gathered around communal tables— swapping crayons, books and hugs with their friends? Not now. Not in […]

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Financial Express-Education that spurs creativity in children

Education that Spurs Creativity in Children

April 26, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Syeda Sultana Razia -- Financial Express

Children are born to be creative, like eagles are born to soar, see the world, and find food, not scratch and fight for scraps in a coop. Instead of competing against each other on memorisation tests, when children utilise their creativity to its full potential, creativity can contribute to healthy lives and future careers. Creative […]

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Organization for Peace Studies-Peace Studies Should be for all children, not just in colleges

Why Is ‘Peace Studies’ Only A Graduate Program

April 18, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Sarah Namondo -- Organization for World Peace

The word “peace” has been defined in several contexts such that it’s complex to pinpoint or generalize a single meaning. The study of peace remains pertinent in this world full of unpreventable and unresolved conflicts. Learning about what is national peace and how it can be managed has been relegated as a graduate or postgraduate […]

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World Economic Forum-Education Losing Ground

Our Education System Is Losing Relevance. Here’s How to Unleash Its Potential

April 13, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Karthik Krishnan -- World Economic Forum

Education today is in crisis. Even before the coronavirus pandemic struck, in many parts of the world, children who should be in school aren’t; for those who are, their schools often lack the resources to provide adequate instruction. At a time when quality education is arguably more vital to one’s life chances than ever before, […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/Old-Science-Classroom3.jpg 217 339 Karthik Krishnan -- World Economic Forum https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Karthik Krishnan -- World Economic Forum2020-04-13 21:05:272020-04-29 21:06:01Our Education System Is Losing Relevance. Here’s How to Unleash Its Potential
Their World-from Ebola to Coronavirus, children and education still paying the price

From Ebola to Coronavirus: Education Must Not Be Forgotten in a Health Crisis

April 2, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Ewan Watt -- Theirworld

The challenge faced during the 2014 epidemic in West Africa of ensuring that children don’t fall between the cracks now confronts the whole world. The global coronavirus pandemic and the more concentrated Ebola virus epidemic – which killed more than 11,000 people – are very different situations. But there are similarities in the way in […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/Ebola-and-washing-2.jpg 234 350 Ewan Watt -- Theirworld https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Ewan Watt -- Theirworld2020-04-02 21:01:142020-04-29 21:02:04From Ebola to Coronavirus: Education Must Not Be Forgotten in a Health Crisis
Faculty Focus-The World Needs Educational Leadership Through Corona Crisis

Leading Our Classes Through Times of Crisis with Engagement and PEACE

March 25, 2020/in Blog, Frontpage /by Donald A. Saucier & Tucker L. Jones -- Faculty Focus

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has caused a fast and radical shift across colleges and universities to remote and online teaching models. As such, our face-to-face courses have been taken out of the physical classroom and thrust into virtual domains. While many instructors are fluent and may prefer online teaching practices, others are struggling to rapidly […]

https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/Leading-Our-Classes-Through-Times-of-Criisis-2.jpg 309 472 Donald A. Saucier & Tucker L. Jones -- Faculty Focus https://www.impact-se.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo-IMPACT_SE.png Donald A. Saucier & Tucker L. Jones -- Faculty Focus2020-03-25 16:30:312020-03-31 16:31:10Leading Our Classes Through Times of Crisis with Engagement and PEACE
More IMPACT Briefs

IMPACT in the News

  • Saudi Arabia Has Been Scrubbing Its Textbooks of Antisemitic and Misogynistic Passage

    School buses in Riyadh during school closure

    The Washington Post — Jan. 30, 2021
    IMPACT-se’s research on the new 2020 Saudi Arabian curriculum is covered, including the removal of an infamous hadith that called for Muslims to fight and kill all Jews on the Day of Judgement and a section that supported capital punishment for homosexual relationships. The article notes that IMPACT-se’s earlier report on the previous Saudi curriculum was highly critical, and was presented to the Royal Court and Saudi Ministry officials with detailed changes that should be made.  IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff says in the article that the new 2020 textbooks show Saudi Arabia has demonstrated a concerted effort to make content more moderate. A State Department official told the Post, “We are encouraged by the positive changes in influential textbooks used throughout Saudi Arabia.” ADL’s David Weinberg is quoted as saying, “Finally, after years of unremarkable changes, they’ve finally excised some of the hate and incitement in very real ways [although] there is still a very heavy focus on enmity with Israel and Zionism.” Sheff said that textbooks have an overwhelming influence in the Middle East, where students see their curriculum as communicating messages formulated by the state. “There is an understanding of the direct link between textbooks’ power to radicalize young people. And it works the other way around: Textbooks have this power to act as a barrier to radicalization.”

  • New York Times Quotes IMPACT-Se in Assessment of New US-Saudi Relationship

    The New York Times — Jan. 19, 2021
    The New York Times quoted IMPACT-se’s report on the updated Saudi curriculum today as evidence of significant progress in the Kingdom, in a wider piece about the potential relationship between Saudi Arabia and the new US administration. The article suggests the textbook report findings point to Saudi Arabia going through a process of modernization, which might ease tensions with a Saudi-critical President Biden. The report cited the recent review of Saudi textbooks by IMPACT-se, which found that most of the material deemed anti-Semitic had been taken out, as had text praising jihad and saying gays and lesbians should be punished with death and noted many changes since its previous report last year. Marcus Sheff, the group’s chief executive, told the Times in an interview that the Saudis were moving in the right direction, and faster than they had before. “This curriculum is not free from of hate, not free of incitement,”he said, “but Saudi Arabia has clearly made a concerted effort, an institutional effort, to modernize the curriculum.”

  • ‘Leap’ in Attitudes as Saudi School Textbooks Lose Anti-Semitic and Hardline Islamist Content

    The Telegraph — December 16, 2020
    Hardline Islamist and anti-Semitic content has been removed from Saudi Arabia’s curriculum, according to a new report, in what researchers say marks a historic shift in attitudes in the Gulf Kingdom. A study of the latest Saudi teaching materials found that official state textbooks – distributed to 30,000 schools in Saudi Arabia and abroad – no longer contained calls for non-believers and gay men to be punished by death, nor the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews control the world. Marcus Sheff, Chief Executive of IMPACT-SE, which has reviewed official textbooks since 2003, said that in previous years, lessons had been heavily influenced by Wahhabism, a puritanical form of Sunni Islam, including “very radical” content. “The latest textbooks reflect a real leap forward and an institutional effort to remove some references to hate, including anti-Semitism, jihad, and homophobia,” he said. “There is more work to be done, but these revisions are a real cause for optimism.” Note:  Telegraph has Paywall Complete Article  HERE

  • Saudi Arabia Removes Some---But Not Yet All---Hate Speech from School Books

    Time — December 15, 2020
    Students in Saudi Arabia, like so many around the world, have traded in-person classrooms for logging onto an app during the COVID-19 pandemic. But they’re also experiencing other major shifts in Saudi Arabia’s official, country-wide curriculum, with new reforms stripping out lessons of hatred toward the “other”—whether Christian, Jewish, or gay—and dictats to defend the Islamic faith through violence. The Kingdom’s latest batch of textbooks has for the first time removed sections calling for non-believers to be punished by death, and predicting an apocalyptic final battle in which Muslims will kill all Jews, according to a report released Tuesday by a Jerusalem-based think tank that analyzes global curricula for extremist and intolerant views. The “trend line is cause for optimism,” says Marcus Sheff, CEO of the nonprofit Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education, or IMPACT-se. “We do see a significant change … a real institutional effort … at the highest levels to make a change to modernize the curriculum to remove offense.”

  • Qatari Textbooks Teach Anti-Semitism: Sheff/Weinberg

    Newsweek — September 25, 2020
    On September 14th, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Qatari counterpart signed an accord on cultural exchanges to advance what the State Department lauded as the countries’ “shared ideals of tolerance and diversity.” The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) has issued the most extensive study ever on Qatar’s official school curriculum with regard to topics of peace and tolerance, and the results are sobering. Its findings indicate that Qatar’s textbooks are on par with those issued by Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority as the worst in the region, and perhaps the world, with regard to government-published antisemitism and other forms of hate. The results of IMPACT-se’s new study are especially striking when viewed according to the rubric of the Anti-Defamation League’s new toolkit for assessing antisemitic tropes: “Antisemitism Uncovered: A Guide to Old Myths in a New Era.” The Qatari textbooks investigated by IMPACT-se propagate nearly all of the antisemitic tropes identified by ADL’s guide: power, disloyalty, greed, deicide, blood libel, Holocaust denial and anti-Jewish slanders that are framed as critiques of Zionism or Israeli policy.

  • UAE ‘Moral Education’ Curriculum in Stark Contrast to Qatar Curriculum

    Al Arabiya — September 13, 2020
    The Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) recently reviewed 238 Qatari textbooks from the last four academic years.  It also reviewed textbooks from the UAE’s “Moral Education” curriculum—a government initiative launched in 2016 for public and private schools in the country. The organization found glaring differences between how the two Gulf countries are teaching young people about people of different religions and backgrounds. While IMPACT-se concluded that Qatar’s “curriculum does not meet international standards of peace and tolerance,” it found UAE’s Moral Education curriculum “aligns with UNESCO standards and UN declarations.” “I would describe the Qatar curriculum as falling short of UNESCO standards in school education,” said IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff in an interview with Al Arabiya English, while the Moral Education curriculum introduces UAE students to “the values of tolerance and respect for themselves, and others, both national and global.”

  • EU Parliament Resolutions Condemn PA Failure to Stop Hate in Textbooks

    EUReporter-EU Res-PA Texts_Screen

    EU Reporter — May 18, 2020
    The European Parliament passed three resolutions which condemn the Palestinian Authority (PA) for continuing to teach hate and violence in its school textbooks and which oppose European Union aid to the PA being used for this purpose.  German MEP Niclas Herbst of the European People’s Party stressed that “EU funds should be spent on peace and mutual understanding. Paying teachers to teach anti-Semitism and incitement to violence through Palestinian schoolbooks should never be subsidized by EU-money. The result of votes today is a strong signal on this regard.” Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se noted that EU officials told the group that its [pending] report on Palestinian curriculum will be classified. “There now must be a moment of truth for the European Union. Will it continue to ignore the parliament that oversees its spending? Will the commission now publicly release the freshly- minted report on the Palestinian Authority’s textbooks? Governments, legislators and over a million Palestinian children know what’s in the textbooks. Classifying the report is senseless and frankly, seems highly suspicious,” he said.  IMPACT-se Report

  • Time Magazine Covers IMPACT-se Saudi Textbook Report

    Time — February 10, 2020
    A recent Time Magazine article published on February 10, under the headline, “Saudi Arabia Rebuffs Trump Administration’s Requests to Stop Teaching Hate Speech in Schools,” lays out IMPACT-se’s main findings in it’s recent report on the Saudi Arabian curriculum, including the persistence of anti-Semitism in the textbooks. IMPACT-se presented the Saudi textbook report and policy recommendations at the White House, National Security Council, State Department, and Congress along with the ADL, a leader in researching Saudi textbooks and presenting policy recommendations to the U.S. Administration. IMPACT-se also presented its report to top European officials.

  • Despite Revisions, Saudi Textbooks Show Contradictions: IMPACT-se Report

    FDD/LWJ — March 30, 2020
    Following up on several recent studies of the Saudi curriculum by ADL, the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Education in School Textbooks (IMPACT-se) just completed a longer, comprehensive review of Saudi textbooks since 2016, using standards for peace and tolerance outlined by UNESCO as a benchmark. The results are eye-opening. In some respects, progress has been made. Yet, on the other hand, the latest Saudi curriculum remains plagued by intolerance. In essence, the latest Saudi curriculum seems to be something of a contradiction. On the one hand, there appears to be a real attempt to move away from jihadism. On the other, deep and destructive prejudices remain, including those that are used by extremists to justify religious violence against people demonized as the Other.  Although the kingdom has undertaken rapid reforms in several other areas—such as expanding women’s rights and curtailing the abusive religious police—the kingdom’s rulers have yet to show that they are giving similar priority to the urgent removal of incitement from government-published textbooks.

  • Norwegian Daily: Palestinian Schoolchildren Learn That Martyr Death Is ‘The Most Important Thing in Life’

    Aftenposten — November 12, 2019
    An article on the new PA curriculum by Norway’s leading newspaper follows a report and visit to Oslo by IMPACT-se last week to meet legislators of every major political party, as well as with senior leaders at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Said IMPACT-se CEO MS: “While Norwegian taxpayers fund the new and radical Palestinian curriculum, their diplomats were on the ground, working with the PA during its creation.  It should have been screamingly obvious to the Norwegian diplomats in Ramallah two years ago that they had a problem…” Socialist Party member and leader of “Friends of Palestine in Parliament” MP Petter Eide, while objecting to aid being held back, said, the new curriculum is “problematic” and that it will “make it more difficult for the Palestinians to secure international aid in the future.”

  • UK-EU Review Into Incitement in PA Textbooks Begins After Delay

    Jewish News (via TOI) — Sept. 15, 2019
    A major government review into incitement and anti-Semitism in Palestinian textbooks that was due to have been completed this month has only just begun. Following research on the PA curriculum by IMPACT-se, the Department for International Development (DfID) announced the review with the European Union six months ago, saying it would be complete by September 2019. The reason given for the six-month delay was due to a change in the Palestinian Education Minister and to contractual negotiations between the EU and the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research, tasked with carrying out the work.

  • Leading Arab Newspaper Claims IMPACT-se is Changing Textbooks in the Middle East

    Al-Akhbar — June 11, 2019
    Top Arabic network, Al-Akhbar, has claimed that IMPACT-se is changing curricula across the Middle East, according to a June 11th print and internet think piece (English translation) which covers IMPACT-se’s reports, legislative work in the European Parliament and joint project with Prof. Mohammed Dajani Daoudi’s Wasatia Institute.

  • IMPACT and WASATIA Unite to Moderate PA Curriculum

    The Algemeiner — March 14, 2019
    IMPACT-se said it will be working with Professor Mohammed Dajani Daoudi of the WASATIA Academic Institute (WAI) to “promote Wasatia education for the Palestinian educational system.” A jointly published booklet identified five “problematic categories” within current Palestinian textbooks: [encouragement] to violence; subliminal violent messaging; demonization of the Other; indoctrination to militancy; and degradation of women.
    “It is hoped that the Palestinian Authority will revise its curriculum along the lines of the international standards for peace education presented here,” Daoudi wrote.

  • IMPACT-se Report Spurs EU Study of Palestinian Textbooks

    EuroNews — May 22, 2019
    The European Union will fund a study on Palestinian school textbooks “with a view to identifying possible incitement to hatred and violence and any possible lack of compliance with UNESCO standards of peace and tolerance in education,” EU Commission Vice-President Federica Mogherini told European lawmakers. The announcement follows a damning report by IMPACT-se, a Jerusalem-based watchdog, which reviewed selected examples from the new Palestinian school curriculum for the 2018–19 academic year and concluded the material was “more radical than those previously published.”

  • Top Swiss Newspaper Questions Gov Support of UNWRA Schools

    SonntagsZeitung — Jan. 6, 2019
    “School materials that run contrary to the spirit of a two-state solution, which glorify violence, which fuel racism and anti-Semitism or trivialize violations of international law and human rights are not in compliance with the Swiss position on the Middle East,” said a spokeswoman of the [Swiss] Foreign Office (EDA). “Switzerland will examine reports such as those by IMPACT-se and discuss them with other donor nations.”  Eng. Translation

  • PA Teaching Materials Honors Terrorists

    BILD — Dec. 15, 2018
    Following the completion by the Palestinian Authority (PA) of its curricular reform, analysts from the organization “IMPACT-se” have documented dozens of examples of the veneration of terrorists and a martyr cult in the new textbooks for Grades 1-12. But the new texts are apparently even more radical than the old ones, as currently shown by IMPACT’s study.  Article in English

  • IMPACT-se Turkey Report Featured in NYT Article

    The New York Times — Sept. 18, 2017
    Following a report last year by Impact-se, which analyzed 117 school textbooks in Turkey and concluded that the curriculum taught human rights, was open to Darwin, gender equality, the protection of the environment, compassion toward AIDS patients and various lifestyles, critics have now challenged the overhaul of more than 170 curriculum topics by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “representing a frontal assault on the country’s already fragile tradition of secularism.” The author of the IMPACT-se report, Dr. Hay Yanarocak, said the new changes showed, “Turkey is changing its direction and is no longer, by default, a Western state.”

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