Scientific event

Current debates on education in Algeria
Current debates on education in Algeria
Type
Debates
date
16/02/2017
heure
14:00
lieu
CRASC
Anthropology of Education and Training Systems Division
Theme :
The School and Its Stakeholders
Keywords :
Algeria competency school education training evaluation
Concept note
The quality of the educational system has remained at the center of debates since the 2003 reform. This quality is increasingly being established as a requirement for schools in Algeria. In 2000, UNICEF proposed a definition of quality structured around five characteristics: “healthy and motivated learners, a safe, protective and adequately resourced environment, appropriate educational programs, child-centered teaching approaches, and finally results consistent with national objectives.” The global report (2005, 2015, 2016) on monitoring Education for All, emphasizing the systemic nature of education, defines two indicators of quality: the academic success of all students and the promotion of values inherent to citizenship and to the overall development of the child’s personality.

Society as a whole is called upon to make these two indicators a fundamental principle: a principle that replaces the paradigm of “democratization of schooling” with a new paradigm of “democratization of success for all.” When some media outlets address the issue of schooling in Algeria, two themes are frequently discussed: “its quality” and “the impact of reforms,” with, no doubt, the underlying idea that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the two: “if the challenge of quality has not been met, it is because successive reforms have failed.” What is actually the case? This question fuels debates in the public sphere. The overhaul of pedagogy and curricula, or what is believed to be known about it, is hotly debated by school actors and citizens, often in exchanges that mix scientific arguments with personal opinions. What perspectives do social science researchers have on these issues?
Participants
Djilali EL MESTARI
Djilali EL MESTARI
intervenant
Biography
Djilali El Mestari, Researcher in Philosophy of Religion

Center for Research in Social and Cultural Anthropology

Djilali El Mestari is a Research Professor at the Center for Research in Social and Cultural Anthropology (CRASC, Oran, Algeria). He holds a Habilitation to Direct Research (HDR) and a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Oran. He served as the Director of CRASC from 2017 to 2021, and was previously the Director General of the National Institute for Research in Education (INRE) from 2016 to 2017. His research focuses on religious discourse, education and citizenship, and the communitarian question. He has participated in numerous national and international projects, most recently leading two ongoing research projects on: social sciences and humanities textbooks (1963–2020), and the production of religious knowledge in official religious institutions.

In 2022, alongside researchers from Italy and France, he co-edited issue 95/96 of the journal Insaniyat on the socio-anthropology of the religious in the Mediterranean. He also co-edited a collective book published by CRASC with Dr. Soraya Mouloudji titled: Society and the Pandemic. He has published several articles and research papers on religious and educational discourse in Algeria. His three most recent publications include:

"Youth and the Discourses of Religious Authorities in Algeria: Findings from Field Studies" (co-authored), Insaniyat, issue on Socio-anthropology of the Religious in the Mediterranean, Vol. 1, No. 95, 2022.

"Institutionalized Religious Discourse During the First Period of the Pandemic in Algeria," in the collective book Society and the Pandemic, CRASC Publications, 2022.

"Second-Generation Islamic Education Textbooks in Algeria: Content and Stakes," High Islamic Council Publications, 2021.
Mina TOUNSSI
Mina TOUNSSI
intervenant
Biography
Inspector of Education and a member of the National Curriculum Council since December 2021. She previously served as Head of the Documentation and Database Department at the National Institute for Educational Research (INRE) from 1994 to 2003. Between 2002 and 2016, she was a member of the French Specialized Subject Group (GSD), contributing to the development of school curricula under the auspices of the National Curriculum Commission. She is also the author of several textbooks and extracurricular educational materials.
Cherifa GHETTAS
Cherifa GHETTAS
intervenant
Biography
President of the Scientific Council of the National Institute for Research in Education (INRE), University of Algiers 2, and Member of the National Programs Committee.
Fouad NOUAR
Fouad NOUAR
moderateur
Biography
Fouad Nouar is a permanent researcher at the Research Centre in Social and Cultural Anthropology. His work focuses on socialization institutions and their training systems. His latest scientific publications examine the career outcomes of university graduates, as well as youth and the issue of recognition. He is currently a member of the research team "Trainers of Higher Teacher Training Schools in Algeria: Sociological Profiles."