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Multiculturalism in a Deeply Divided Society: The Case of Cyprus

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International Handbook of Migration, Minorities and Education

Abstract

This chapter explores the current ideological ethos of the Greek-Cypriot national curriculum and its implications for multicultural education understandings. Cyprus has been and still remains a deeply divided (and segregated) society due to the protracted nature of conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The goal of this chapter is to map the curriculum dynamics, mainly in subjects that are important to issues of identity and culture (specifically, Modern Greek Language, History, and a special subject called “I Know, I Don’t Forget and I Struggle”), of the national curriculum for primary education (implemented since 1996) and discuss the potential consequences for multicultural education in light of the increasing presence of various minorities in Cyprus. This analysis is important at this point and time because there are efforts for comprehensive curriculum reform and thus it is valuable to clarify the theoretical assumptions and implications of existing curriculum dynamics.

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Acknowledgments

I want to thank my research assistant, Yolanda Panteli, for her contribution in the curriculum analysis .

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Open University of Cyprus, P. O. Box 24801, 1304, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Michalinos Zembylas

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  1. Michalinos Zembylas
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Correspondence to Michalinos Zembylas .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Melton Center, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel

    Zvi Bekerman

  2. Hochschule für Soziale Arbeit, Institut Integration und Partizipation, Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz, Riggenbachstrasse 16, Olten, 4600, Switzerland

    Thomas Geisen

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Zembylas, M. (2012). Multiculturalism in a Deeply Divided Society: The Case of Cyprus. In: Bekerman, Z., Geisen, T. (eds) International Handbook of Migration, Minorities and Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1466-3_39

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