Addressing Religious Diversity through Children’s Literature: An “English as a Foreign Language” Classroom in Israel

Authors

  • Rawia Hayik Sakhnin College for Teacher Education, Israel

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v17i2.911

Keywords:

religious diversity, multicultural literature, critical literacy, stereotype, Israel

Abstract

Conflicts between different religious groups occasionally arise in my Christian and Muslim Israeli-Arab EFL students’ school and area. In an attempt to increase students’ knowledge of and respect for other faiths in the region, I conducted practitioner inquiry research in my religiously diverse Middle-Eastern classroom. Grounded in critical literacy, I used a book set of religion-based literature alongside critical literacy engagements to effect some change in students’ tolerance towards other faiths. This article describes my journey of exploring students’ reader responses to religion-based texts and issues. 

Author Biography

Rawia Hayik, Sakhnin College for Teacher Education, Israel

Rawia Hayik is a recent PhD graduate from the Literacy, Culture, and Language Education Department at Indiana University, in the United States. Currently, Rawia works at Sakhnin College for Teacher Education, in Israel. Her research focuses on using children’s literature on gender, religious diversity, and minority issues with Israeli-Arab EFL students as a springboard for critical reader responses. In addition, she works with her college students on participatory documentary projects addressing social justice issues.

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Published

2015-06-28

How to Cite

Hayik, R. (2015). Addressing Religious Diversity through Children’s Literature: An “English as a Foreign Language” Classroom in Israel. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 17(2), 92–116. https://doi.org/10.18251/ijme.v17i2.911

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 2 (2015): Open Theme Issue

Section

Praxis Articles (Peer-reviewed)

License

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