Education under the state of ISIS: What lessons can be learned from the Physical Education Curriculum?

Abstract

This study focused on what lessons can be learned from the Physical Education Curriculum under the reign of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)? We conducted an unprecedented analysis of ISIS primary school physical education curriculum. The research objective focused on describing and analyzing the context and philosophy of the document as well as its content (calligraphy, didactic, pedagogy, learning assessment, among others). We also analyzed the general scientific quality of the curriculum of physical education targeting fitness preparation by the instructor in charge of the education of the youth. In addition, our analysis focused on the philosophical and contextual issues of the manual. Findings revealed an incomplete and a rapidly developed textbook where several essential elements related to pedagogy, didactics, learning and assessment were missing or inconsistent. The logic of military preparation under the guise of preparing the student’s physical condition was an important finding without being explicitly mentioned. Integration of religious content was present without being affirmed in the content of the lessons. We argue that the ISIS physical education curriculum appears to be committed to an absolutist/theocratic ideological or propaganda program that, among other things, promotes the preparation of the future soldiers of the ISIS army. Recommendations about secularization and the reconstruction of post-ISIS education systems are formulated.

Peer Assessment of Curriculum Content of Group Games in Physical Education: A Systematic Literature Review of the Last Seven Years

“…Gadais, et al [29] To define and interpret the curriculum document context, philosophy, and substance (calligraphy, didactic, pedagogy, learning assessment, among others); to examine the overall scientific quality of the PE curriculum aimed at fitness preparation by the teacher in charge of youth education.…”

“…Meanwhile, Gadais, Touir, Décarpentrie, Al-Khatib, Daou, Chamsine and Arvisais [29] ground-breaking examination of the PE curriculum in the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) primary schools described and analysed the document's context and philosophy and its substance (calligraphy, didactic, pedagogy, learning assessment, among others). The study also examined the overall scientific quality of the PE curriculum aimed at fitness preparation by the teacher in charge of youth education.…”

Education Under the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria: A Content Analysis of the Physical Education Curriculum

“…Based on a, so called, teacher's manual, the research objectives focus on describing and analyzing the general quality of the document, in particular: (1) intentions of the manual and (2) content analysis on didactic, pedagogy, and learning, in order to understand ISIS intentions in this war-torn context. A complementary study from the same project looked more specifically at the illustrations and calligraphy inside the manual (Gadais et al, 2021).…”