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International Review of Education

, Volume 62, Issue 4, pp 439–457 | Cite as

Education for connecting Omani students with other cultures in the world: The role of social studies

  • Saif Al-Maamari
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Oman is a multicultural society in terms of both ethnicity and religion. Communities vary in terms of cultural heritage, language, dress and religious or sectarian affiliation. The majority of people are Arab; other members of society belong to one of three main ethnic groups: the Hyderabadi, the Baluchis or the Zanzibari (Arabs of Omani descent who lived in Zanzibar for many years and returned to Oman after 1970). Arabic is considered the official language in Oman; however, several other languages such as English, Urdu, Baluchi and Swahili are also spoken. Islam is the state religion of the sultanate, with the majority of people being Ibadhi while the remaining population is divided between the Sunni and the Shi’a denominations. This cultural and religious diversity needs to be reflected in the school curriculum, especially in Social Studies education, which is regarded as the subject closest to intercultural education in terms of concepts, skills and values. This paper is based on a literature review exploring current practices regarding intercultural education in Omani schools. Specifically, the study attempts to identify which practices are implemented by Omani schools to help Omani students develop positive attitudes towards differences among cultures. The author considers both curricular and extra-curricular elements of intercultural education. He then turns to Social Studies textbooks used in Omani schools, investigating unit contents. His conclusion is that while intercultural education is to some extent already incorporated in the Omani education system, current practices are far from sufficient. There is still a great need to improve teacher training and open up the Social Studies curriculum considerably to include all the students’ cultures and faiths.

Keywords

Cultural diversity Intercultural education Social studies Oman 

Résumé

Éduquer pour relier les élèves omanais aux cultures du monde : rôle des études sociales – Le Sultanat d’Oman est une société multiculturelle à la fois en termes d’ethnies et de religions. La population est en majorité arabe, d’autres membres de la société appartiennent à l’un des trois principaux groupes ethniques minoritaires : Hyderabadais, Baloutches et Zanzibariens (Arabes d’origine omanaise établis à Zanzibar pendant de nombreuses annéess et rapatriés à Oman après 1970). L’arabe est la langue officielle, mais plusieurs autres langues sont parlées à Oman : anglais, ourdou, baloutchi et swahili. L’islam est la religion d’État du Sultanat, la plupart des habitants sont adeptes de l’école ibadite, les autres sont sunnites et chiites. Cette diversité culturelle et religieuse devrait se réfléter dans les programmes scolaires, en particulier dans l’enseignement des sciences sociales, considérées comme la discipline la plus proche de la formation interculturelle quant aux concepts, compétences et valeurs. Le présent article se fonde sur une analyse documentaire des pratiques actuelles en éducation interculturelle dans les écoles omanaises. L’étude tente plus spécialement de cerner les pratiques des écoles pour aider les élèves à acquérir des attitudes positives envers les différences entre les cultures. L’auteur examine les éléments à la fois curriculaires et extra-curriculaires de l’éducation interculturelle. Puis il se tourne vers les manuels d’études sociales utilisés dans les écoles, explorant le contenu d’un module. Il tire la conclusion que si l’éducation interculturelle est dans une certaine mesure déjà incorporée dans le système éducatif omanais, les pratiques actuelles sont loin d’être suffisantes. Il est encore absolument nécessaire d’améliorer la formation des enseignants et d’élargir considérablement le programme de sciences sociales pour couvrir les cultures et confessions de tous les élèves.

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© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.College of EducationSultan Qaboos UniversityMuscatOman

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