IMAFREDU

The impact of the portrayal of the African continent in textbooks on racism against students of African ancestry in German schools

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The image of Africa in German textbooks and curricula is based on racist stereotypes, which can be traced back to the colonial era when dehumanisation of African people served to justify the colonisation of their continent. Poverty, violence and underdevelopment are the prevailing images of Africa in German history and geography textbooks. Pre-colonial African history, African culture and philosophy are not covered by the Eurocentric curriculum. Classic and modern western literature is interspersed with stereotypes about African people; these stereotypes often pass uncommented by the teachers. In an empirical case study we examine the impact of this presentation of Africa on the treatment and assessment of students of African ancestry by fellow students and teachers. The longitudinal study will be carried out in an urban school in Hamburg, with Year 7 students (12-13 years old). In the first phase the initial situation will be assessed using quantitative and qualitative data collection. In the second phase, the textbooks and curriculum will be reviewed in cooperation with historians and textbook authors and new unbiased tutorials will be developed. These tutorials will be based on up-to-date research and will consider the African perspective. In the third phase spanning over one academic year, the new tutorials will be implemented in the lessons. The lessons will be observed ethnographically. In the fourth and final phase the initial enquiry will be repeated. Comparing the results of the initial and the final enquiries we examine to which extend racism in schools can be combated on a cognitive level, by correcting the distorted image of Africa. The novelty and the relevance of this project is that we will go beyond revising the image of Africa to actually apply the new tutorials in real school lessons. Thus this research will contribute to a better education and will directly benefit curriculum developers, educators and students.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

AN EU-funded initiative examined how German textbooks portray Africa and if this influenced racism against students of African descent.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The IMAFREDU project also endeavoured to rectify the distorted image so as to engender a more critical engagement with the existing discourse. It developed a framework of analysis to engage with origins of the exclusion of particular topics and explore various facets of racism.

Research looked at the historical emergence of racist ideology and its reproduction in school textbooks. The analysis entailed deconstructing images of people from Africa in geography and history textbooks as well as in the media.

Images of Africa that are rooted in colonialism are marked by a simplistic portrayal of the continent. These effectively remove characteristics of western 'humanity' from people of African descent. Thus, the project posited that a legacy of colonial discourses in teaching materials along with Eurocentric perspectives contribute to the reproduction of racism by teachers.

Various interviews were conducted with students of African descent and their 'white' peers and teachers to establish attitudes regarding the African continent and its people. Another critical feature of the research involved assessing the mainstream 'development' discourse in Germany and how it maintains implicit discriminatory stereotypes.

As the project progressed, an objective was added focusing on training teachers. Beyond workshops designed for teachers across the country, a 'Critical Racism Studies' course was offered to Masters of Education students at the University of Hamburg. This approach was adopted to ensure the effective communication of project findings and their implementation in German classrooms.

Analyses of textbooks revealed a consistent hierarchisation of people's living conditions, economies and levels of knowledge, with western countries at the top and African countries at the bottom. Another project finding showed a clear relationship between racist portrayals of Africa and racial discrimination of students of African descent.

Project partners applied a sustainable dissemination method to achieve a more thorough understanding of the status quo in Germany. Dissemination and implementation activities included publications in peer-reviewed journals, workshops with varied audiences and communication with publishers of German textbooks.

Although IMAFREDU's funding period has come to an end, project work continues with development of a set of guidelines for textbook authors, publishing houses and curriculum developers. Project activities represent a first step towards alternative considerations of issues concerning the portrayal of Africa and attitudes towards its people.