Civic Education and Lebanon

Abstract

The purpose of Civic Education in Lebanon includes the structure of the government and the way it functions.  Isn’t it civic desert?   One should consider then, the meaning of civics.  Civics does not focus on a course or a book, but rather on fundamental social learning.  It is the need to lay the foundation for communication and critical thinking when encountering traditions in conflict with what one’s own.  Yet schools have their role to play, by revealing secular values, for conflict affected areas can easily regress to violence.   A menu of civics implement classroom discussion of current critical events.  Yet, Lebanese schools are overtaken by the baccalaureate program which hardly gives any time to controversial issues.  Teachers are important elements in teaching civics.  They have to believe in what they teach, display it verbally, nonverbally and add ‘mindful learning’.  Yet, one can visualize an array of socio-personal factors when issues are controversial, knowing that humans are resistant to change.  To conclude, teaching quality in civics is to be ranked highly on the scholarly agenda and research is needed to better understand the improvement of civic education.