The role of Somali secondary school curriculum in building students' citizenship and national identity

Abstract

Somalia is one of the most fiercely divided countries in the world. The people of Somalia face an identity crisis, as they have more than one identity (clan, national, and religion). In addition, the development of good Somali citizens is impeded by the absence of a nation to belong to, as there are clan-based states, a lack of clarity as to whether the country serves the needs of individuals or clans, and an absence of a feeling of obligation towards the nation. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate as to how education as a whole and the curriculum specifically, can build good citizens equipped with a national identity and a participative attitude. To do so, the study employed a quantitative methodology of positivism paradigm with a cross-sectional sample survey design. A total of 400 Somali students in their final year of secondary education participated in this study. The civic outcomes for this study were measured using good citizenship, national identity, and civic participation. The study found that there is no gender difference among participants in the selected civic outcomes. Similarly, the study demonstrated that parental education does not impact students’ civic outcomes. Moreover, it was found that participants’ educational aspirations influence the civic results; the lower the level of education, the lower the civic outcomes. Contrary to the literature, the study concluded that most of the participants had no interest in their nation's social and political issues. The study results also showed that the curriculum exposed to the students contributes towards the civic development of the students and equips them with good citizenship and national identity, and therefore paves the ways for proper civic participation in the future. These results have theoretical and practical implications for anybody working in education, particularly on curriculum specialists. Thus, the study recommends further research on the impact of the school and the teachers on students’ civic outcomes in levels other than the study’s target level. It also suggested an in-depth content analysis of the curriculum include any important civic topics that are currently missing in it and single-subject curriculum delivery and training civic teachers on contemporary civic issues for proper preparation of the future generation.