Coexistence And Cohesion Towards A Unified Country

This study focuses on the gaps in the citizenship education of the two educational systems in Cyprus between Greek Cypriots(GC)and Turkish Cypriots(TC)through the perceptions and experiences of students as well as through the proposal of guidelines for an alternative perception and implementation of their citizenship education in the two education systems,in the context of cohesion and coexistence of the community.In this context,this study examined the perceptions and experiences of five students from the GC community and five from the TC community,including a focus group of six students from the GC community and five students from the TC community.Moreover,a document analysis was carried out to identify gaps in the education of the Cypriot society regarding the coexistence and cohesion of the two communities towards a unified society.Furthermore,the major part of this study was based on the use of the theoretical model of Cultural Historic Activity Theory both for the classification and analysis of the data,as well as for the findings of the data related to the relationship between the human mind,cultures' history and activity.The findings showed that there is a big gap in the citizenship education of the Cypriot society.In particular,as noted in this study,there are no courses or lessons to promote citizenship education in either of the two communities,despite the appearance in literary lessons of the Greek Cypriot community.In addition,the history books of both communities display a one-dimensional narrative and monologue,accusing the “enemy” and specifically the “motherland” of the other community,where,based on students,it does not yield any positive results.Against this backdrop,the strong political element that has been expressed both through the content of the school books and the teachers themselves,has resulted in political tensions in the classrooms.Many history school teachers often seem unable to teach the required knowledge as they are possessed by stereotypes and prejudices towards the other community.The ministries of the two communities,on the other hand,do not follow a common political line consistent with cohesion and coexistence,since each community has the political influence of their ethnicities and the parties they represent,mainly in the case of the GC community.Concerning the ambiguity of the activities through the lessons,it was found that there are no activities in line with the citizenship education which promote cohesion and coexistence,or even at an official educational level.Nevertheless,activities consistent with this framework can be found through non-governmental organizations that seek communication between communities while aiming at resolving the Cyprus problem.In this context,apart from students' views and experiences,it has been argued that inter-communal contacts in a disordered society can combat prejudices,stereotypes,pessimism and intolerance among social groups,embarking on the path of coexistence,respect and friendship.This study recommends a number of activities that can be implemented both in the present and in the near future in order to achieve citizenship education that will promote cohesion and coexistence between the two communities in the context of the reunification of the island.In conclusion,this study highlights the possibility and the strong need to apply a citizenship education that aims to unite the communities of Cyprus in the context of peaceful coexistence.