Anwar Sa`di Habib Shaldan
Anwar Shaldan (Shaldān) (أنور سعدي حبيب شلدان), 49, worked as an education supervisor at the Gaza Ministry of Education and Higher Education to promote the teaching and learning of science across all grade levels, from first grade to high school. He was part of a dedicated science committee within the Ministry that worked to integrate scientific inquiry into school curricula and kindle the interest of teachers and students alike in scientific thinking.
Shaldan studied physics and chemistry at al-Quds Open University, and in 2001 earned a Master’s degree from al-Azhar University. His thesis examined the impact of hands-on science activities on Gazan fifth graders’ cognitive development. He also worked on changing how students were taught science, teaching courses in science pedagogy to education students at the University of Palestine.
Repeated Israeli assaults on Gaza, combined with the blockade, took a heavy toll on the education sector, as explored in a conference at the Islamic University of Gaza that Shaldan participated in after the 51-day Israeli assault of 2014. Overcrowded classrooms, absenteeism, increasing dropout rates, and the lack of computer and science labs impinged on both students’ capacities to learn and teachers’ skills and motivation. Extreme restrictions on movement prevented professional development through mutual exchange between Gazan teachers and their peers in the West Bank, to say nothing of travel abroad.
Concerning Shaldan’s specific subject, studies showed a deficit in science education relative to other subjects. A World Bank “Quick Note” reported that less than 15% of Palestinian university graduates majored in sciences or engineering; education, the social sciences, business, and law claimed the lion’s share of university students.
In 2015, the Gaza branch of the Education Ministry launched a yearslong initiative to build a culture of scientific research in high schools. Anwar Shaldan was heavily involved in this project, becoming a member of a dedicated science committee in the ministry. They organized teacher training workshops that emphasized learning by doing over traditional pedagogy based on transmission. As a study of Gaza’s education sector pointed out, “self-motivated and engaging teachers require qualified, competent, and trained teacher educators and supervisors.”
In 2020 remarks honoring a high school teacher in al-Shuja`iyya for her creative blending of arts and science education, Shaldan said, “Teaching science is not only about recall and rote memorization, but should be integrated into experiential contexts, to increase students’ love and enthusiasm for science subjects. This is the highest goal of teaching science.”
(Shaldan, center back row, recognizing high-achieving science students at al-Burayj Girls’ High School)
The committee also worked to motivate students, making onsite visits to high schools and science fairs to judge students’ science projects and presentations. Elementary schools were not left out. Shaldan conducted classroom observations in primary schools, including a second-grade girls’ class in al-Zaytun. The day’s lesson was a reading and performance of the evocative children’s tale ‘Awdat al-Ta’ir (Return of the Bird), penned by Gazan poet Muin Bseiso (1926-1984).
Master teacher Anwar Shaldan was killed in the Israeli genocide on 13 May 2024 in al-Zaytun.