Intercultural content and perspectives in school textbooks in Georgia

ABSTRACT

This study used content analysis to explore the way in which primary grade school textbooks in Georgia cover multicultural content. Seventeen primary grade textbooks for all subjects were assessed with Relational Qualitative Content Analysis, which included five subcomponents: (1) ethnocentric approaches; (2) promoting intolerance; (3) stereotyping; (4) classification of different groups (invalid, enemies, others, etc.), and (5) accuracy and scope of information. The research revealed important shortcomings in each of the components mentioned above and makes important suggestions for National Curriculum and school textbook reforms in Georgia

KEYWORDS:

• School textbooks
• Georgia
• intercultural content
• diversity
• primary grades

Acknowledgments

This research was implemented in the framework of The East-West Management Institute’s (EWMI) Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development in Georgia (G-PAC) Program, funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shalva Tabatadze

Shalva Tabatadze has a PhD in Education and has served as a chairman of the Centre for Civil Integration and Inter-Ethnic Relations (CCIIR) since 2005. Throughout this period, he provided leadership to more than 45 international projects in the field of education.

Dr. Tabatadze is an Associate Professor at East European University, Tbilisi, Georgia. He has received several important awards for his academic, practical and research activities in the field of education. He was awarded the Edmund Muskie Program Fellowship by the United States Department of State of in 2006. That year, he also received the PHI BETA DELTA INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS award for distinguished scholars and students of 2006. For his work in the field of bilingual and minority education, he was inducted into Kent State University’s Hall of Fame and received Kent State’s Diversity Alumni Award in 2011.

His research interests are educational policy and multilingual and intercultural education. He is the author of 4 textbooks, 7 monographs and more than 30 articles in the field of educational policy and multilingual and intercultural education and the editor of more than 10 textbooks on content and language integrated teaching.

Dr. Tabatadze serves as an educational expert and consultant for many international organisations and has participated as an educational expert for more than 40 research and education projects since 2005.

Dr. Tabatadze has experience working as an international consultant in Moldova, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

Natia Gorgadze

Natia Gorgadze holds PhD in Education Sciences. Her professional experience counts twelve years of working for national and international institutions including public, academic and private sector. Currently she works for the Centre for Civil Integration and Inter-Ethnic Relations as a programme manager. At the same time she acts as a national consultant for the research organisation - Mathematica Policy Research which performs M&E services for the general education component of the MCC/MCA Georgia project Compact 2 where development of native and English language skills are one of the objectives.

Dr. Gorgadze is an invited lecturer at Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia. She is an author of many publications in the field of equity and equality, literacy and multicultural perspectives.

She serves as education and M&E expert for international and national research and evaluation projects and has participated in more than 45 research studies and evaluations since the last ten years.

Dr. Gorgadze has an experience of working as international consultant in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Bulgaria.

Kakha Gabunia

Kakha Gabunia has a PhD in Philology. Kakha Gabunia works as an experts at the the Centre for Civil Integration and Inter-Ethnic Relations since 2005. Throughout this period, he participated in more than 50 international projects in the field of education. Since 2009 Dr. Gabunia is an Associate Professor at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia. His research interests are Kartvelian linguistics, language Policy, Second language education and multilingual education. He is the author of 60 textbooks, 12 monographs and more than 70 articles in the field of linguistics and multilingual and Second language education and the editor of more than 50 textbooks. Dr. Gabunia serves as an expert and consultant for few international projects since 2005

David Tinikashvili

Dr. David Tinikashvili has a PhD in Church History and MA in Theology. He teaches the history of religions at the Ilia State University and Grigol Robaqidze University in Georgia since 2010. He is a co-author of the textbook ‘World Religions’ (2012) and ‘Religions in Georgia: Encyclopedic Guide’ (2008); editor-in-chief of the collection of the critical essays ‘Christianity of the East and West’ (2009). He wrote more than 50 articles in various academic journals and non-academic magazines. In 2011-2013 he had written the articles about the school education for the magazine ‘Teacher’ of the Centre for Professional Development of the Teachers (Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia). In 2006-2010 he also wrote the articles about religious minorities in Georgia for the journal ‘Solidarity’ of the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia