National Identity and Educational Reform: Contested Classrooms PDF
Preview National Identity and Educational Reform: Contested Classrooms
National Identity and Educational Reform National identity in Moldova remains contested despite repeated attempts by governments, historians, and educators to cultivate a shared sense of national belonging through the development of history textbooks. Concern over professional status and distrust of the government’s motivations hin- dered these reforms, demonstrating that the success of such efforts greatly depends on teachers’ and citizens’ social memory and everyday lives. This volume looks at educational reform and the struggle over national iden- tity in the history classroom from the perspectives of five different groups: elected politicians, Ministry of Education officials, textbook authors and historians, teachers, and students. Each chapter explores the actors’ moti- vations and agendas regarding reform, their role in promoting or obstruct- ing the reform process, and their opinions about the ensuing controversy. Drawing on months of fieldwork and original research, author Elizabeth Worden examines the importance of teachers and students in the success or failure of a reform initiative. Elizabeth Anderson Worden is an assistant professor at American Uni- versity, Washington, DC. Her research examines how governments foster national belonging through education during social and political transi- tion. She has published articles in Compare and Comparative Education Review. Dr. Worden’s research interests include history teaching, memory, citizenship education, and international exchange. Routledge Research in International and Comparative Education This is a series that offers a global platform to engage scholars in continuous academic debate on key challenges and the latest thinking on issues in the fast growing field of International and Comparative Education. Books in the series include: 1 Teaching in Primary Schools in China and India Contexts of Learning Nirmala Rao and Emma Pearson with Kai-ming Cheng and Margaret Taplin 2 A History of Higher Education Exchange China and America Teresa Brawner Bevis 3 National Identity and Educational Reform Contested Classrooms Elizabeth Anderson Worden National Identity and Educational Reform Contested Classrooms Elizabeth Anderson Worden Routledge I n Taylor & Francis Group NNEEWW YYOORRKK LLOONNDDOONN First published 2014 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Taylor & Francis The right of Elizabeth Anderson Worden to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Worden, Elizabeth Anderson. National identity and educational reform : contested classrooms / Elizabeth Anderson Worden. pages cm — (Routledge research in international and comparative education ; 3) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Nationalism and education—Moldova. 2. Nationalism and historiography—Moldova. 3. Educational change—Moldova. I. Title. LC93.M65W67 2014 379.476—dc23 2013036577 ISBN13: 978-0-415-71954-4 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-1-315-86732-8 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by IBT Global. SUSTAINABLE Certified Sourcing FORESTRY www.sfiproaram.ora Printed and bound in the United States of America INITIATIVE SSFFII--0011223344 by IBT Global. SFI label applies to the text stock Pentru Prietenii mei din Moldova cu recunoştinţă This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Figures ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 Moldovan Histories: An Overview of Moldovan History, the Post-Soviet Textbook Development, and Social Memory 20 2 The Government: Creating Identities 39 3 Historians, Textbooks Authors, and Historical “Truth” 57 4 Teachers: Mediating the State and the Nation 80 5 Students: Sharing the Past but Not the Future 103 Conclusion: Learning Lessons from Moldova 117 Research and Methods Appendix 131 Notes 143 Bibliography 151 Index 163 This page intentionally left blank Figures 1.1 The Republic of Moldova. 18 1.2 Moldova in the Context of Europe. 19
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