2025 Tunisian Curriculum: Between Progress and Prejudice

By IMPACT-se — January 2025

This study explores how themes of peace, diversity, gender equality and international conflict are addressed in Tunisia’s state-approved textbooks. It finds that the curriculum consistently encourages peaceful coexistence, intercultural dialogue, and cooperation with the wider world, while rejecting extremism and underscoring respect for diversity and women’s equality. These features distinguish Tunisia as a relatively progressive case within the region.

However, the report highlights clear inconsistencies in the portrayal of Jewish identity and the Arab–Israeli conflict. Jews are often depicted through antisemitic stereotypes, Zionism is frequently presented solely as a colonial enterprise, and the conflict itself is framed in a highly politicized and one-sided manner.

Read the full report here.

tunisia2008Peace and the “Other” in Tunisian Schoolbooks: A Concise Final Report
By IMPACT-se — November 2009

IMPACT-se has concluded a report on Tunisia’s schoolbooks. The results are extraordinary: following reforms of revolutionary proportions carried out by the Ministry of Education, the Tunisian schoolbooks, in stark contrast with most Middle Eastern curricula, emphasize the importance of tolerance, peace and dialog with the “other,” equality between all human groups, openness toward the “other” and its culture (that is, the West), use of religion for universal rapprochement, and restriction of the ideals of (militant) jihad and martyrdom to historical events. Thus, provided they apply the above tenants within the context of the Middle East conflict, the Tunisian schoolbooks may serve as a model for Arab and Muslim countries regarding the attitude toward the “other” and to peace. A concise report has been compiled from the full report, which will be available here soon.