A comparative overview of citizenship education in Cyprus

A comparative overview of citizenship educationin Cyprus

Fatos Silman • Mehmet Caglar

Published online: 1 February 2011

� Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Abstract Cyprus is a Mediterranean island divided into two political sections. For

political agreement to be possible between the North (Turkish) and South (Greek),

Cyprus should give full consideration to citizenship education at schools with the

aim of transmitting shared values and helping students become EU citizens. In this

research, two citizenship textbooks which were designed and used for eighth grade

level were examined using content analysis. One was a Greek book used in South

Cyprus and the other one was a Turkish book used in North Cyprus. Both textbooks

were prepared and published in the respective mainland states (Greece and Turkey)

and reflected the culture of these countries. Although Turkey is a candidate state for

the European Union, the Turkish book focuses on empowering local citizen identity

in the nation state and does not discuss broader issues related to global citizenship.

By contrast, the Greek textbook covers both national and global issues concerning

citizenship. Silman and Caglar suggest that North and South Cyprus should design

their own citizenship books to promote the concepts of interdependence, multi-

culturalism, democracy, human rights and respect for cultural diversity. The

researchers believe that this could facilitate a possible political agreement between

the two sides.

Keywords Citizenship � Citizenship education � European Union � North Cyprus �South Cyprus

Resume Etude comparative de l’education a la citoyennete en Chypre – La

Chypre est une ıle mediterraneenne scindee en deux parties appartenant a des

F. Silman (&) � M. Caglar

Institute of Educational Sciences, Near East University, Mersin 10,

Nicosia, North Cyprus, Turkey

e-mail: [email protected]

M. Caglar

e-mail: [email protected]

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Int Rev Educ (2010) 56:671–682

DOI 10.1007/s11159-010-9175-7

systemes politiques differents. Pour rendre un accord politique possible entre le

Nord (turque) et le Sud (grec), la Chypre devrait accorder une importance pri-

mordiale a l’education a la citoyennete dans les etablissements scolaires, en vue de

transmettre des valeurs partagees et d‘aider les eleves a devenir des citoyens de

l’Union europeenne. Dans le cadre de cette etude, les auteurs ont examine au moyen

d’une analyse de contenu deux manuels d’education a la citoyennete, concus et

utilises pour l’enseignement en huitieme annee. L’un est un manuel grec employe

en Chypre du Sud, le second un manuel turque en Chypre du Nord. Tous deux ont

ete elabores et edites respectivement en Grece et Turquie continentales et refletent la

culture de ces pays. Bien que la Turquie soit pays candidat a l’Union europeenne, le

manuel turque s’attache a renforcer l’identite citoyenne locale au sein de l’Etat-

nation et n’aborde pas des questions plus vastes portant sur la citoyennete mondiale.

Par contre, le manuel grec couvre les aspects a la fois nationaux et mondiaux de la

citoyennete. Les auteurs suggerent que les deux parties de la Chypre elaborent leurs

propres manuels d’education a la citoyennete afin de promouvoir les notions d’in-

terdependance, de multiculturalisme, de democratie, de droits fondamentaux et de

respect pour la diversite culturelle. Ils sont convaincus que cette demarche pourrait

faciliter un accord politique eventuel entre les deux parties de l’ıle.

Zusammenfassung Vergleichender Uberblick uber die politische Bildung in

Zypern – Zypern ist eine politisch zweigeteilte Mittelmeerinsel. Wenn zwischen

dem (turkischen) Norden und dem (griechischen) Suden des Landes Verstandigung

moglich werden soll, dann muss sich Zypern mit aller Kraft der politischen Bildung

in den Schulen annehmen. Das Ziel muss sein, gemeinsame Werte zu vermitteln und

die Schulerinnen und Schuler bei ihrer Entwicklung zu Burgerinnen und Burgern

der EU anzuleiten. Die vorliegende Forschungsarbeit ist eine Inhaltsanalyse zweier

Lehrbucher, die fur den politischen Unterricht in Klasse 8 konzipiert und eingesetzt

wurden. Das eine war ein griechisches Buch, das im Sudteil Zyperns benutzt wurde,

das andere ein turkisches, das in Nordzypern Verwendung fand. Beide Lehrbucher

wurden im jeweiligen Festlandsstaat (Griechenland bzw. Turkei) entwickelt und

veroffentlicht und reflektierten die Kultur dieser Lander. Ungeachtet der Beitritts-

kandidatur der Turkei zur Europaischen Union konzentriert sich das turkische Buch

auf die Starkung der lokalen Identitat als Burger des Nationalstaats, ohne auf das

weiter gefasste Konzept des ,,global citizenship‘‘, des Burgers einer Weltgesells-

chaft, einzugehen. Im Gegensatz dazu behandelt das griechische Lehrbuch sowohl

nationalstaatliche als auch internationale Aspekte der Burgerschaft. Silman und

Caglar schlagen vor, dass der Nord- und der Sudteil Zyperns eigene Lehrbucher fur

den politischen Unterricht entwickeln sollten, um die Konzepte der Interdependenz,

des Multikulturalismus, der Demokratie, der Menschenrechte und der Achtung

kultureller Unterschiede zu fordern. Die Autoren der vorliegenden Forschungsarbeit

sind der Auffassung, dass dies eine eventuelle politische Verstandigung zwischen

den beiden Seiten erleichtern konnte.

Resumen Una vision comparativa de la educacion ciudadana en Chipre – Chipre

es una isla del Mar Mediterraneo que esta dividida en dos sectores polıticos. Para

que pueda ser posible un acuerdo polıtico entre el Norte de Chipre (el sector turco) y

672 F. Silman, M. Caglar

123

el Sur de Chipre (el sector griego), Chipre deberıa considerar plenamente una

educacion ciudadana en las escuelas que tenga la finalidad de transmitir valores

compartidos y que ayude a los estudiantes a convertirse en ciudadanos de la UE. En

el marco de esta investigacion se examinaron, mediante un analisis de contenidos,

dos libros de texto de educacion ciudadana que fueron disenados y usados para

estudiantes de octavo grado. Uno era un libro griego, usado en el Sur de Chipre, y el

otro era un libro turco usado en el Norte Chipre. Ambos libros de texto han sido

preparados y publicados en sus correspondientes Estados continentales (Grecia y

Turquıa), y reflejaban las culturas de estos paıses. Si bien Turquıa es un paıs

candidato a ser miembro de la Union Europea, el libro turco se centra en el refuerzo

de una identidad ciudadana local dentro del Estado nacional y no trata temas mas

amplios relacionados con una ciudadanıa del mundo. Contrastando con ello, el libro

de texto griego cubre temas de ciudadanıa tanto local como mundial. Silman y

Caglar proponen que el Norte y el Sur de Chipre deberıan disenar sus propios libros

de ciudadanıa con el fin de promover los conceptos de interdependencia, multi-

culturalismo, democracia, derechos humanos y respeto de la diversidad cultural. Los

investigadores creen que esto podrıa facilitar un acuerdo polıtico entre ambos

sectores.

A comparative overview of citizenship education in Cyprus 673

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Citizenship and citizenship education

With the rise of globalisation, the concepts of citizenship and citizenship education

have been the subjects of huge debate. Globalisation is associated with the concepts

of democracy, freedom, respect for cultural diversity and interdependence. It

signifies economic, political and cultural interconnections which make political

borders and economic barriers irrelevant (Steger 2005). Global citizenship is more

concerned with the wider world order than with national political identity. We, as

citizens, are considered to be part of global interdependence and cultural diversity

(Davies 2006).

Citizenship is associated with respect for the members of a community and their

rights and duties (Lawy and Biesta 2006). It is an important element of democracy

and implies the sovereignty of the citizens. For the sustainability of democracy,

citizens should fulfil their responsibilities, such as serving in the army, paying taxes,

obeying laws, showing commitment to the democratic political community and

state, and showing an effort to improve the quality of political and civic life (Patrick

1999).

The establishment of the European Union also gave rise to the improvement of

citizenship at a European level of identity. In the process of European integration,

creating a European identity became very important for securing a European

political community emerging from the European Union (Ortloff 2006). European

countries now face some social and cultural changes, such as growing individu-

alism, the rise of fundamentalist Islam, the extremism of the political right, and the

increase in ethno-cultural diversity. Educational institutions should not ignore these

changes and should thus reconsider their pedagogical tasks accordingly (Leeman

and Pels 2006).

The concept of citizenship has become one of the core issues of education. The

emerging democracies have emphasised how education can contribute to the

formation of democratic dispositions and the development of a democratic culture

(Biesta and Lawy 2006). Students should be taught the elements of democracy and

how it works. They also need ‘‘to move beyond conceptual understanding to

learning experiences that develop participatory skills and civic dispositions for

exercising the rights and carrying out the responsibilities and duties of citizenship in

a democracy’’ (Patrick 1999, p. 3). Citizenship education helps students understand

the society in which they live. Citizenship education aims to connect citizens to

their states and nations and make them aware of their roles, rights and duties within

the borders of their country (Piattoeva 2005). Yet within the global context,

citizenship education is considered in its relationship to post-national institutional

citizenship, which can be seen in the development of the European Union. In this

case, citizenship education among the EU countries focuses on understanding and

practising a multicultural, cosmopolitan citizenship (Gifford 2004). Davies and

Issitt (2005) argue that policymakers should not, through textbooks, support the

status quo, or aim to foster the existing national identity, but rather promote social

qualities of being cooperative and showing respect for diversity.


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Several studies on citizenship education have already been carried out. For

example, Oulton et al. (2004) investigated teachers’ readiness to use controversial

issues in the context of citizenship in the classroom. The research included focus

groups and questionnaires which were applied to a sample of 205 teachers. The

researchers found that many teachers were unprepared and felt constrained in their

ability to handle controversial issues concerning citizenship in their classrooms. In

another study, Piattoeva (2005) examined the democratisation and nation-building

processes in Russia and how these processes affected citizenship education from a

historical perspective. He found that democratisation and nation-building processes

gave rise to a revision of citizenship materials. The author added that in the early

1990s, these documents put more emphasis on legal education, democratic school

ethos and active involvement. By 1994, the emphasis had been moved to patriotism

and patriotic education and strengthened the concepts of state and nation-building.

Davies and Issitt (2005) examined the recent development of citizenship

education in Australia, Canada and England. In the citizenship textbooks they

examined, they found several differences. The textbooks in Ontario, Canada offered

education in civics (providing information about formal public institutions), while

those in England supplied education for citizenship (a broad-based promotion of

socially useful qualities) and those in Australia focused on social studies (societal

understanding that emerges from the development of critical thinking). In another

study, Collado and Atxurra (2006) analysed citizenship textbooks in the Spanish

primary curriculum to find out how these books addressed the issues of education

for democratic citizenship in the context of the European framework and Spanish

educational reforms. Their qualitative study showed that European ideals of

citizenship education were barely and unevenly addressed in these textbooks.

Ortloff (2006) analysed the civics education curricula of Denmark, Germany and

Austria. She discovered differences in how education toward developing a European

identity (‘‘Europeanness’’) is tackled in each country. For example, in Denmark there is a

nationally conceived image with expansion toward the European, while in Germany a

European citizen is situated between the international and national frames, and in

Austria both the European and national images emerge from the international frame.

This study aims to provide a comparison of the content of the textbooks on

citizenship education used in North and South Cyprus, and to examine what aspects

of citizenship these textbooks intend to promote. Cyprus is an EU country. Yet there

are two communities in Cyprus: the Turkish Cypriot community in the North and

the Greek Cypriot community in the South, which have different religious and

ethnic identities. Therefore, citizenship education in Cyprus, in terms of EU

relations, is expected to promote civic identity to hold citizens from diverse

backgrounds in ‘‘a single democratic political order’’ (Patrick 1999, p. 1). South

Cyprus (Greek Cypriots) joined the EU in 2004 as the Republic of Cyprus. Although

the whole island is considered to be part of the EU, EU legislation is suspended in

North Cyprus. This allows Turkish Cypriots to enjoy solely personal rights as EU

citizens. Yet in order for a political agreement between both South and North

Cyprus to be possible, both sides should give deeper consideration to citizenship

education in schools with the aim of transmitting shared values and helping students

become EU citizens. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the content of


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the two citizenship textbooks used in the respective sections of the island promotes

these aims.

Method

In this study, the content analysis technique was used to examine and compare the

citizenship textbooks. The researchers had the following aims:

1. To examine and compare two citizenship textbooks (one used in South Cyprus

and one used in North Cyprus) in order to evaluate which aspects of citizenship

these textbooks addressed.

2. To determine whether citizenship textbooks in South and North Cyprus had the

aims of transmitting shared values and helping students become EU citizens.

The two textbooks were designed for secondary school students (eighth graders).

These two books were the only textbooks currently used in the citizenship

curriculum for the same grade level in South and North Cyprus respectively. The

textbook in South Cyprus is entitled Social and Political Education and consists of

310 pages. It was published in 2000 in Greece1 and covers three units: Unit 1

‘‘Individual and Society’’, Unit 2 ‘‘Individual and State’’ and Unit 3 ‘‘Individual,

State, Organisations and European Union’’. The textbook in North Cyprus is entitled

Citizenship and Human Rights Education and consists of 110 pages. This book was

published in 2006 in Turkey2 and covers four units as follows: Unit 1 ‘‘State,

Democracy, Constitution, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities’’, Unit 2 ‘‘Pro-

tection of Human Rights’’, Unit 3 ‘‘National Security and Elements of National

Power’’ and Unit 4 ‘‘Problems Faced in the Protection of Human Rights’’.

In this qualitative study, the researchers attempted to examine how the basic

elements of citizenship (national issues, global issues and human rights) were

addressed in each of the two textbooks. The researchers determined these elements

from the literature on existing research studies conducted on citizenship textbooks.

Each text was examined to identify the chapters which covered these elements.

The Greek textbook was translated into Turkish by a Turkish Cypriot expert who

is competent in Greek language. Then the translation was checked by a Greek

Cypriot expert in Turkish language to examine whether the translation was accurate

and made sense. Each book was reviewed by the researchers reading only the

chapters that were related to the issues of citizenship addressed in this study. All

quotations from the two textbooks were translated into English by the researchers.

1 Released by the Ministry of Education, this textbook for ‘‘Gymnasium’’ students was published by the

Organisation for the Publication of Social Textbooks, OEDB, in Athens.2 Ilkogretim Ders Kitabı. Vatandaslık ve Insan Hakları Egitimi, a ‘‘basic education’’ textbook, was

published by Feza Gazetecilik A.S. in Istanbul.


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Findings

National issues

The third unit in the Turkish textbook used in North Cyprus includes information

regarding issues of ‘‘national security, national targets, national power, military

power, internal and external threats to Turkey and current threats to Turkey’’. It

deals with terrorism and how it influences Turkey’s relationship with other nations

which contribute to the spread of terrorism. Since this issue is an important one in

Turkey, the third unit emphasises that each Turkish citizen should know what

national security is and be aware of the national goal, which is to ‘‘elevate’’ the

Turkish state to Western standards, and protect its independence:

The national goal is to reach the level of civilised states and exist as an

independent state… National goals should bear national qualities and should

be in congruence with the reasons of state and national interests. The main

national goal of Turkey is in line with Ataturk’s main aim which is elevating

the Turkish state to Western standards (p. 56).

This above information stresses Ataturk’s national targets. It is widely known that

Ataturk saw the salvation of Turks in an image of cultural unity and aimed to

establish this unity in the sovereignty of the nation. By including the name Ataturk,

the book explicitly emphasises the significance of secular values in achieving this

aim. As stressed in the book, the military also plays an important role in the

protection of sovereignty:

Military power is a physical power for the implementation of the national

politics and the attainment of the national targets… With this power both

internal and external peace can be ensured… Our army is the source of our

presence, trust and pride. Our army is also the guardian of our democratic

republic (p. 58).

The use of the personal pronoun ‘‘our’’ in the above quotation aims to raise people’s

awareness of the army’s significance for the protection of Turkish national identity,

independence and sovereignty of the Turkish state.

By comparison, the first unit of the Greek textbook used in South Cyprus raises

the significance of being part of a nation. The unit begins with brief information

about teams, emphasising that the members of a team may have different

characteristics but still manage to unite around a common purpose. Then the unit

shifts to discussing social teams:

Social teams are not composed of only one race. In every country there are

different races. For example in our country there are gypsies, Muslims, Jews

and Catholics. These teams sometimes may nourish hatred for and grudges

against other racial teams and may want to dominate them… This means that

to solve such problems, societies must educate their young generations (p. 80).

Like the Turkish text, the Greek text also stresses the significance of the protection

of national unity despite cultural or social differences. In the Turkish case, we saw


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that Ataturk’s secular thoughts and the presence of the military as the safeguards of

these values played an important role. By contrast, we can see in the Greek textbook

that family, education, religion, economy and culture are important components for

the formation of strong social ties. The fifth subsection of the first unit widely

discusses the importance of family and environment. The subsequent pages of the

first unit discuss the significance of religion for the growth of Greek adolescents and

their national identity. The book explores in what ways the church plays an

important role in this purpose. In religious courses, students learn about the lifestyle

of Jesus Christ and his agios (holy followers) and take them as role models (p. 78).

In Turkey, national identity is seen as being protected through secularism and the

military, while in Greece it is seen as being protected through religion.

Global issues

The Turkish textbook used in North Cyprus does not include any sections related to

the EU or EU citizenship even though Turkey is a candidate country for EU

membership. On page 46, there is information stating that Turkey has become a

member of the European Council. The Council has the right to interfere if human

rights are violated in member states. The focus of the book is not the improvement

of citizenship around a European identity, but rather the improvement of a national

identity. By contrast, Unit 3 ‘‘Individual, State and European Union’’ in the Greek

book used in South Cyprus introduces readers to the issues of international

communities, international relationships and international organisations. After a

brief introduction to the history of the establishment of the European Union, the

second section in the unit discusses the responsibilities and rights of member states

and European Union citizens. Unlike the Turkish book, the Greek material focuses

on both national and EU identities.

Greek consciousness lies in some concrete phenomena that form our culture.

These are our ways of thinking, our philosophy of individual and commune life,

our philosophy of life, history, language, religion, art, traditions, and educational

technology and so on… These national elements foster our perceptions of who

we are, and develop our ‘‘we’’ feeling… Eventually, Greeks who live outside the

borders of Greece can have strong ties with Greece and protect their national and

cultural identity in a foreign country (p. 296).

This quotation emphasises the national priority of Greece, which is to develop a

strong national identity that would protect the culture of the country. Then the

section discusses the significance of universal culture, which can be protected

through mutual respect of different cultures. This notion is reinforced with the

following information in the text: ‘‘The EU aims to create a common consciousness

and feeling among EU citizens about their rights to vote and be elected, the fact that

they share the same history and belong to the same community’’ (p. 296). It could

thus be argued that the content in the third unit in the book stresses the importance

of the protection of the national identity and also of ‘‘Europeanness’’.


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Democracy and human rights

The second unit in the Turkish book emphasises democracy and human rights,

which are explored as inseparable concepts. It is mentioned that if human rights are

not protected, there will be no peace and trust in society, trust for the state will

decrease, powerful people will dominate weak people and class differences will

occur. This may eventually prevent the society from being a nation and a state and

being in other nations’ good books. If human rights are protected, illegal behaviour

will decrease, trust in people and the state will increase, citizens will be more

conscious, responsible and proud, and parliaments, state organisations, and non-

governmental organisations will function more effectively. In addition, laws will be

more functional. The unit also discusses the importance of protecting human rights

on the national and international level. The unit covers a wide range of issues related

to democracy, which confers political, social, personal and economic rights. In the

first unit, the material also stresses that, for the sustainability of democracy in the

country, citizens should be able to vote and be elected, pay taxes, serve in the army,

and abide by the laws and rules of the land (p. 30). It can be argued that the issues

related to democracy and human rights in this context seem to put a strong emphasis

on the home nation-state and less emphasis on global matters.

In the Greek book, there is an emphasis on human rights at both national and

international levels. In the second unit, it is mentioned that the rights of Greek

citizens are protected through the Constitution. The rights are classified as political

rights, individual rights, and social rights (p. 70). Looking at the content pertaining

to human rights, we can see that there is a parallel with the Turkish book.

Democracy in Greece can be protected if people’s political, individual and social

rights are assured. Unlike the Turkish book, the third unit in the Greek book also

emphasises the rights of Greeks as EU citizens:

Greek citizens can freely travel in EU countries and can vote and be elected in

the municipal and EU Parliament elections… the citizens have residence and

employment rights… One of the basic principles of EU law is that all citizens

are entitled to the same rights and discrimination is not allowed… If any

Greek citizen thinks that his/her rights are violated in his/her native country,

then he or she can apply to the Greek court which should conform to the EU

regulations (p. 295).

This section stresses that the protection of the human rights of Greeks at both national

and EU levels will ensure democracy in both Greece and the European Union.

Women’s rights

The first unit in the Turkish book is devoted to discussing the concepts of state,

democracy, constitution and citizenship rights and responsibilities. In this unit, there

is a significant discussion of the women’s rights issue. The status of women during

the pre-Ottoman period was equal to that of men, while in the Ottoman reign,

women were seen as inferior to men. The main reasons for this transformation have

not been discussed thoroughly, but seem to be related to the illiteracy of many


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women. The unit then discusses Ataturk’s efforts to promote equality between

women and men. Ataturk worked for the emancipation of Turkish women and

aimed to make them equal citizens with men, which he thought was one of the

important principles of democracy. The unit also deals with how Ataturk saw the

significance of women for the establishment of the Turkish republic. In 1934, he

granted women the right to vote and be elected.

In the Greek textbook, the issue of gender equality is discussed under the subtitle

of individual rights. It is mentioned that all Hellenic people are equal before the law.

Article IV in the Constitution implies that all Hellenic men and women have equal

rights and responsibilities. The section also emphasises that equality between men

and women in Greece and other countries has been achieved after a long struggle.

As in the Turkish material, gender equality is emphasised as an important aspect of

democracy in the Greek textbook, but it has no information on the historical process

by which women achieved their equality with men. It could be argued that the

reason the Turkish book places more emphasis on the emancipation of women than

the Greek book is because the gender equality issue is still a big problem in Turkey

that has not yet been resolved, even though gender equality is stated explicitly in the

Turkish Constitution (Article 42).

Table 1 depicts the main characteristics of the North Cyprus and South Cyprus

citizenship books designed for eighth grade level.

Table 1 Comparison of the citizenship books in North and South Cyprus

North Cyprus (Turkish book) South Cyprus (Greek book)

National

issues

* National security, national targets,

national power, military power,

internal and external threats to

Turkey

* National unity

* Ataturk’s national targets (unitary

state)

* Strong social ties through family,

education, religion, economy and

culture

* Significance of religion for the

protection of Greek national

identity

Global issues * Lack of global issues such as EU

citizenship, ‘‘Europeaness’’

* National identity

* EU identity

* Improving national identity * Universal culture

Democracy and

human rights

* Democracy and human rights for

peace and trust in the country

* Human rights on both national and

international level

* Protection of human rights on

national and international level

* Political, individual and social

rights

* Rights to vote and be elected * Rights of Greeks as EU citizens

* More emphasis on the home

nation state than global matters

Women’s rights * Ataturk striving for the

emancipation of women

* All Hellenic people are equal

before the law

* Ataturk granted women rights to

vote and be elected

* Little emphasis on the

emancipation of women


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Conclusions

First, it is worth noting that both textbooks analysed were designed and published in

the respective mainland states of the two sections of Cyprus and reflected their own

cultures. This situation can be traced back to the 1960 Constitution, in which

education was the responsibility of Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots separately.

Between 1960 and 1974, educational programmes and books were received from the

respective mainland states, and education was the responsibility of education offices

in both areas of Cyprus. It can be argued that today, the use of both textbooks from

the mainland states is the continuation of this tradition.

Citizenship education in an international context should encourage democratic

citizenship in modern, complex, democratic and multi-cultural societies in a

globalised world (Collado and Atxurra 2006). However, this study has revealed that

the Turkish citizenship book used in North Cyprus focuses more on national and

local identity than on encouraging European citizenship. This can be attributed to

the fact that Turkey has more crucial issues such as women’s rights and terrorism

that should be prioritised above the formation of a global identity, as emphasised in

the book.

By the 1920s, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Modern Turkey, made

progress in the development of a secular Turkey. He established a unitary state and

formed a cultural unity that he thought could be protected and transmitted through

education. Being concerned with the unity of the Turkish Republic, the state is

reluctant to give too much autonomy, discretion and democracy to schools,

especially for developing their own curricula. The state fears that this may help to

inspire ethnic minorities to disseminate their political ideologies through academic

books and cause unrest in the country. Ethnic minorities might request political

instruction, and thereby threaten the uniformity of the Turkish nation-state founded

by Kemal Ataturk. While Turkey is in the process of becoming an EU member,

many Turkish schools are given autonomy by the Ministry of National Education

(MONE) to carry out reform initiatives to ensure everyone’s participation in the

educational process, and produce new educational concepts, tools, methods, and

techniques (Silman and Celikten 2005). However, the curriculum is still centrally

controlled by MONE, probably because of the above-mentioned political purposes.

This may be one of the reasons that the Turkish citizenship book is more concerned

with the issue of terrorism than with promoting European citizenship.

By contrast, the Greek textbook focuses both on national and on global issues

concerning citizenship. Yet, in the book, there is an emphasis on the significance of

religion for the growth of Greek adolescents and their national identities. The book

states that the church plays an important role in building the national identity of the

country, and students should be informed to a great degree about the lifestyle of

Jesus Christ and his agios (holy followers). Students are also encouraged to take

these men as role models. The researchers think that the emphasis on religion in the

book may form a serious barrier in the Europeanisation process since European

identity requires adoption of democratic and secular principles.

Finally, it can be argued that both citizenship books reflect the cultures and

identities of their countries of origin (Greece and Turkey). We cannot ignore the fact


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that South and North Cyprus have strong ties with the cultures of their mainland

states and share similarities with these cultures. Yet for a political agreement

between the two sides to be possible, both South and North Cyprus should design

their own citizenship books in line with EU norms. These books should aim to

transmit shared values and help students become EU citizens while preserving their

unique cultures which bear similarities to the cultures of their mainland states.

The good news is that a new citizenship book for grade six was recently designed

in North Cyprus and books for grade seven and eight are being prepared in line with

EU standards. In South Cyprus, the preparation of new citizenship books which are

in line with EU standards is being considered.

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The authors

Fatos Silman was born in London in 1971. She completed her BA and MA studies in English Language

and Literature at Eastern Mediterranean University and PhD studies in Educational Administration and

Planning at the Middle East Technical University, Turkey. She did a year of academic research as a

visiting scholar at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in the US. She is currently an Assistant Professor

at Near East University at the Institute of Educational Sciences in North Cyprus. Her research interests are

gender issues in higher education, administrative processes at schools, and citizenship education.

Mehmet Caglar was born in Cyprus in 1959. He completed his BS, MSc and PhD degrees in

Mathematics Education at the Middle East Technical University, Turkey. He is currently an Associate

Professor at Near East University at the Institute of Educational Sciences in North Cyprus. His research

interests are leadership at schools, new approaches in mathematics education and citizenship education.


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A comparative overview of citizenship education in Cyprus

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