Teaching about diversity and coexistence

What are the key considerations when teaching about religion, culture, and majority-minority relations?

Across all topics on this platform, incorporating general principles on how to teach diversity is essential. Particularly, when teaching about religion, culture and majority-minority relations, there are certain aspects to consider and be aware of. This text offers six tips for teachers and educators on effectively teaching diversity.

“Education is the first step. The first step to understand the reality around you” – Ferdnand De Varennes

In this video, Dr. Fernand de Varennes, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, discusses how education fosters religious understanding and helps combat group hostility.

1. Inclusive citizenship and human rights

Teaching about diversity can be closely linked to teaching about inclusive citizenship and human rights. It is particularly important to underline that the right to freedom of religion or belief and expressions of cultural identity and linguistic diversity are universal human rights and are not dependent on the goodwill of the current majority or ruling party. The rights to collective expression and to exercise these human rights must never, however, infringe on individual human rights. The right to protection against discrimination on grounds such as gender, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation may provide a solid base for a balanced approach to human rights and inclusive citizenship. (Human rights of minorities)

2. Interdisciplinary teaching

Treating the topic as an integral part of different subjects instead of as a separate topic can increase cultural understanding. If knowledge about minorities is taught as a separate topic and not as a part of the national narrative, it can consolidate a view of minorities as “the other(s)”. This in turn can sustain and nourish existing prejudices and a sense of exclusion rather than inclusion.

3. Diversity is natural and identities are complex

Working on diversity and identity teaches students how to reflect and to be more nuanced in their perceptions of groups and individuals.

There will always be variety and diversity, both within groups and between groups.

A person’s perception of oneself can also vary, depending on the situation. Different aspects of our identity become important in different situations. It is important to be aware that the way in which minority groups are portrayed in, for example, school textbooks, may not apply to students/pupils who identify with these groups.

4. “Culture” is dynamic and religions are internally diverse

It can be difficult to fully grasp the meaning behind cultural expressions. One main challenge in teaching about different cultures is the difficulty of conveying nuances. Therefore, teachers should avoid using static cultural expressions as symbols of a group’s characteristics. Oversimplifications and stereotypical portrayals may alienate minority students by assigning them traits they may not identify with.

5. No single person represents the history or identity of a group

There are various ways of looking at history, the present, identity and belonging. An individual cannot define what it means to be part of a certain group on behalf of others. If external representatives from an organization are invited to the classroom to speak about their religious or ethnic, it is important to emphasize that there is often more than one organization representing that group. Perhaps inviting representatives from multiple organizations could be beneficial. Furthermore, teachers should highlight that different people may have diverse views on the group’s history, its characteristics, and what it means to be part of such group.

How can history be taught in conflict-ridden societies? Interview with Fadi Daou, director of the Adyan Foundation in Lebanon, on the challenges of developing narratives for a common history education i post-conflict situations. Daou also points at approaches to history education that may help develop inclusive citizenship and peaceful co-existence.

6. Be careful about presenting individual students as representatives of an entire group

Students belonging to a group that constitutes a minority at the local or national level should be allowed to choose whether or not they want to share their identity openly with other students. It can be enrichening, and thus tempting, to ask students to share their background and culture with the class.

However, it is important to note that identity can be intimate, sensitive and personal, and teachers should therefore not readily assume that students want to open up in this way. If a student takes the initiative to present his cultural identity, the teacher should provide additional context, as the student’s story represents only one cultural perspective of that group. The diversity within the group can be emphasized through the teaching.

Credits: This text is written in collaboration with Dembra

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