Dutch history teachers' perceptions of teaching the topic of Islam while balancing distance and proximity

Abstract

Teaching about the topic of Islam may be challenging. We report the results of a survey study (N = 81) of Dutch history teachers and six in-depth interviews examining the sensitivities experienced when teaching Islam-related issues and the motives that underlie teachers' decisions. We developed an analytical framework comprising three dimensions that describe the proximity and distance between teachers and students from interpersonal, identity and knowledge perspectives. Our results show that differences between teachers and students regarding their sources of knowledge and epistemological authority are an important factor affecting the sensitivity of Islam-related issues.