Abstract accepted for NAES 2016

The following abstract has been accepted for the 44th annual meeting for the National Association for Ethnic Studies (Arizona, USA)

Teacher Education as Form of Resistance: Insights from Gaza, Palestine

Nazmi Al-Masri, Mariam Attia, Katja Frimberger, Grazia Imperiale, and Giovanna Fassetta

This presentation draws on an educational project by the title Researching Multilingually at the Borders of Language, the Body, Law and the State, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in the UK. The project looks into language interaction in situations where the human being is under pressure and/on pain. One of the case studies explored is Gaza, where teachers and teacher educators are in the process of developing an online Arabic language programme to overcome the siege, create employment opportunities for young people, and send a message of peace to the world – thereby defying military occupation. To support teachers in carrying out their roles, educators in Gaza, in collaboration with project researchers, designed a situated in-service teacher education programme. Emerging from a specific context of oppression and suffering, the programme is largely informed by a spirit of resistance and hope. It rests on five interrelated pillars: context, language, (critical) pedagogy, technology, and creative arts. This presentation sheds light on each pillar explaining its relationship to the overall philosophy of the programme, and the higher aspirations of the teachers. Many would agree that the situation in Gaza is one of the clearest manifestations of injustice in our modern time. Through contributing to this programme, we hope to support efforts to restore freedom and human dignity to a place where they have been dearly missed.