Muslim Students in Maltese Schools: Outsiders Looking in

Presently, Muslims in our schools can be compared to students who require a wheelchair but no ramps and easy access doors are built for them. Schools are not free of prejudice and do not make the necessary arrangements to provide these pupils favourable conditions for learning.

by Louise Chircop

Image: DFID / Flickr (some rights reserved)

 

[dropcap]U[/dropcap]ntil 20 years ago, the Maltese school population was perceived as being homogenous in terms of cultural, religious and ethnic identities. Non-Catholic students, mostly Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses, were few enough to be almost invisible. The numbers of Muslim students have increased steadily, mainly due to immigration but also due to the slowly growing number of Maltese Muslims. However, schools in general do not seem to have responded adequately to the evolving demographics, and thus, Muslims, among others, are often relegated to the margins.

I’d like to focus on two different but related issues: the implications of schools operating on a Catholic ethos and how this impinges on the concept of equality of condition.

 

A Catholic Ethos

According to the Constitution of Malta, the state has to provide Catholic religious education to all students in compulsory schooling. Students can be exempted from these lessons and in a number of schools Ethics is offered for those opting out. Most schools start the day with a Catholic prayer during assembly.

There are schools which recognise the existing diversity within their student population, and have a secular or multi-faith assembly, but these schools are few and far between. Besides, it is normal practice, entrenched in every school calendar in State Schools, to organise Mass, sometimes as often as once a month. Moreover, there are activities related to Catholic feasts such as Christmas and Easter, where apart from Mass, students have to attend Novenas, Lenten talks, and confession if deemed necessary. Still more religious activities pepper the school calendar, such as Marian day, Eucharistic Day, Ash Wednesday and others.

 

 

Despite the ever increasing number of non-Catholic students in schools, the religious activities mentioned, together with prayers during assembly, lunchtime and dismissal (especially in primary schools) immerse the students in a school culture that is Catholic, and this very often ignores or is indifferent to the cultures and faiths the students bring with them from home. Religious celebrations of other faiths are mostly unheard of, and when these happen, it is mostly a tokenist approach that is taken by the schools. There seems to be little effort to turn schools into learning communities that acknowledge and are respectful of all diversities, including diversity of belief.

 

The Curriculum

The inadequacy of the response to diversity, in our case, in terms of faith, is reflected in the curriculum. The curriculum is an important tool by which social diversity in schools is or is not addressed. Borg and Mayo* consider the curriculum as, “strongly connected with a process whereby different cultures are engaged in a contest for legitimacy.” Thus the curriculum is strongly linked to power—those who are more powerful will have more say in the establishing of a curriculum to suit their means and their vision.

Darder considers the curriculum as “the perpetuation of values and social relations that produce and legitimate the dominant worldview at the expense of a vast number of its citizens”. In establishing the dominance of one culture and group, the curriculum is also a means through which the ‘others’ are created. This can be done both explicitly and implicitly. 

 

The influence of the Catholic religion can be felt throughout the curriculum and syllabi. For example, Maltese historical persons mentioned in the primary syllabus are Catholic priests. This gives little opportunity to the non-Catholic students to engage with historical or contemporary figures to whom they can relate more directly—and to Catholic and non-Catholic students alike to learn about diverse aspects of history and culture . The syllabi themselves reflect a Eurocentric and at times monocultural worldview. There are various references to the Maltese festa, to other traditional feasts, such as Santa Maria and San Girgor—all religious feasts—however, there is no reference to any religious or cultural festivals that pertain to other cultures present in Malta. If ever these are mentioned or discussed, this is done solely at the discretion of the teachers.

In Maltese literature, especially that of the past, as well as history books one often comes across anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments. These further promote a negative self-image in Muslim children and youth and also influence the perceptions of those who are not Muslim.

 

 

For instance, the Form 1 history textbook ‘Ġrajjiet Malta (L-Ewwel Ktieb)’ (1976), can be considered as one of the more problematic textbooks for its portrayal of Arabs, concluding that they are “nothing but Bedouins, that is, people who roam around aimlessly and live on the desert sand …”. The text is littered with terms such as ‘Mawmettani’ and conveys the implicit message that Arabs are vindictive because, “… they destroyed a Maltese temple, probably because some of our forefathers broke the agreement …”. It is thus essential that teachers deconstruct such texts, and engage students in thinking critically about them, taking into consideration the contexts, eras and occasions on which these were written.

 

Prejudice and Racism

Various studies indicate that schools do not seem to be free of prejudice. One such study shows how the presence of non-European pupils in a particular school elicited disturbing reactions from teachers, administration and pupils. Some teachers harboured prejudices and generalised certain behaviour as if it pertained to a whole nation or race.

For instance “the dominant perception was that the Arab culture is inferior to our own culture or to other European cultures”, and they thought that “Africans and Arabs are normally involved in social difficulties as a result of marriage breakdowns, and the dominance of men over women”. This is cultural racism, as these teachers attribute the same characteristics to all Arabs without distinction, as if all exhibit the same behaviour and share the same culture.

Parents of Muslim students are understandably wary of the tenuous position their children are in. They know that the anti-Muslim/Arab sentiment is not targeted solely at adults and that their children will not be spared their share of unpleasant experiences because of their race and religion. They are also aware that educational institutions are not free from prejudice and bigotry. These parents feel that their children would not be judged by their character and abilities but might be instantly discriminated against because of their differences. In another study, one Muslim parent said:

 

It is also indicative of an approach which considers the ‘different’ as carrying the full burden and cost of assimilation as minority. Not least, it captures processes of racialisation, in which people’s cultural backgrounds are locked into fixed racial attributes. This is also recognised by some teachers working in public schools.

One head of school said that sometimes teachers attributed a child’s action to his or her ‘race’. For example, when a student presents what is perceived as untidy work he hears teachers comment that the student did so, ‘Ghax dak missieru Gharbi’, which translates into English as ‘Because his father is an Arab’. The interviewed head of school was very concerned because she said that such an attitude would keep these children from learning and maximising their potential. She added that when teachers were not open and accepting of other cultures and religions they were bound to be racist. Moreover, Muslim students are very often considered as non-Maltese migrants, even though they might be Maltese.

 

The Equality of Condition Perspective

The first principle of the National Curriculum Framework maps out each student’s entitlement to a quality education experience, promoting the development of a holistic education, among others. The second principle, addressing diversity, acknowledges various differences, including those of beliefs and ethnicity. It affirms that students learn and grow and are successful when their differences are respected, when they learn in an inclusive environment and policies and practices that address their needs are in place.

Presently, Muslims in our schools can be compared to students who require a wheelchair but no ramps and easy access doors etc. are built for them. Schools accept them but then they do not make the necessary structural arrangements so that these pupils will not encounter any difficulties.  Thus, I view accessibility in terms of the type of education Muslims can expect to receive in state schools. For this reason, the principles above seem to be contradictory to the experiences of many Muslims in schools. Having access to educational institutions is of tantamount importance but much more is required if we want schools to be truly egalitarian institutions.    

 

 

Lynch and Baker suggest that it is important to be aware and acknowledge the relationship between education and socio-cultural, political, economic and affective systems that exist in society if equality in education is to be achieved. They put forward the concept of equality as equality of condition.  They argue that “equality of condition is about equalizing what might be called people’s ‘real options’, which involves the equal enabling and empowerment of individuals”.  It is clear, therefore, that our education system does not offer Muslim students equality of condition because it offers only one option with regards to religious education, even though the NCF emphasises the importance of spiritual growth.

Moreover, the highly visible Catholic influences in the curriculum and syllabi,  which portray the Maltese identity as inherently Catholic does not allow Malta to be reconceptualised as culturally and ethnically diverse. Consequently, prejudice borne out of  such practices sustain inequality of respect and recognition described by Lynch and Baker as, “a general silence or invisibility that is often accompanied by devaluation or condemnation, a systematic bias in the syllabi and organizational practices of schools…”.

 

 

The dominant presence of the Catholic Religion in schools, attached as it is to Maltese identity, impacts all stakeholders in schools.  The curriculum and syllabi, privilege the Catholic identity and in their constructions of non-Catholics as Other, allow such students to be marginalised and rendered invisible through non-recognition and non-representation.

Teachers, on the other hand, hold a position of power when compared to their students. They can employ this power to reinforce the Catholic identity and persist in ostracising those who do not subscribe to this way of being. They can also opt for resisting the system, questioning the status quo and challenging the parameters set by an ethos and curriculum which recognise only one kind of ‘credentials’ that allow one to belong. However, teachers also have to contend with restrictions imposed on them by the Heads of School, and the education system in general.

From data collected**, the majority of teachers considered non-Catholics, and in particular Muslims, as a ‘problem’, due to the fact that the latter are seen as obstructing the normalisation of hegemonic practices. Other teachers provided a counter discourse, claiming that for schools to be inclusive, they have to do away with divisive  practices that implicitly or explicitly locate students as ‘us’ and ‘Other’. It is ultimately a change in culture that is needed to address the shortcomings of the educational experience we are providing our students.

In providing Catholic Religious Education to the dominant group, together with all the implications, while ignoring the religious needs of other students, is not only a huge disservice towards non-Catholics, but it is a lesson in minimalist tolerance to all those who live the experience of the eleven years of compulsory education.

 

*Borg, C. and Mayo, P. (2006), Learning and Social Difference: Challenges for Public Education and Critical Pedagogy, London, Paradigm Publishers.

**The data presented here was collected through interviews with parents of Muslim students and teachers and members of SMT from state, church and independent schools.

Louise Chircop is an Ethics Support Teacher within the Directorate for Quality and Standards in Education and a Visiting Lecturer at the Faculty of Education. Her Ph.D. dissertation focused on educators’ constructions of social diversity.