EXC 2060 Projekt B3-42 Experiences and needs of teachers for Islamic religious education in Northrhine-Westphalia

Description

Islamic religious education (IRE) in public schools raises issues of religious constitutional law and the recognition of religious communities, as well as of social and cultural participation. This gives IRE a crucial role for integration policy.

An evaluation of IRE in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2014–18 revealed a high level of approval among Muslim students, their parents, and the Islamic teachers. Both its pedagogical and curricular implementation and its integration policy–related aspects were consistently rated highly and positively. A remarkable finding was that the students were very open to learning about other religions as well, showing that IRE did not lead to the self-isolation or religious self-absorption it had been expected to entail.

The current situation in North Rhine-Westphalia is that the teachers trained for the first time at the Center for Islamic Theology (ZIT) in Münster are starting their work in schools, alongside numerous “career changers.” However, for all these positive results, the evaluation for North Rhine-Westphalia also showed that the teachers in particular still see a need for development and improvement.

The ZfTI conducts expert interviews with the IRE teachers using a qualitative guideline-based method. We regard the teachers as experts in the sense that they personally and significantly contribute to the implementation of IRE in North Rhine-Westphalia. At the same time, the focus is on their experiences with students, for example in their dealing with the tensions that may arise from the potentially different religious socialization in the mosque and in the classroom.