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Teachers as agents of peace? Exploring teacher agency in social cohesion in Pakistan

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posted on 2023-06-09, 05:34 authored by Anjum Halai, Naureen Durrani
This paper studies an under-researched area—teachers’ role in peacebuilding in conflict-affected contexts—through exploring teacher agency for social cohesion in Pakistan. Insights are sought into teachers’ perspectives on the major drivers of conflict in society and the role of education and teachers in social cohesion and mitigating inequities in education. A 4Rs framework of redistribution, recognition, representation and reconciliation was employed to analyse data gathered from: interviews with and classroom observations of teacher educators; focus group discussions with and questionnaires completed by pre- and in-service teachers, and analysis of teacher education and school curriculum texts. While teachers expressed a nuanced understanding of the conflict drivers in society and appreciated the significance of education in peacebuilding, they subscribed to assimilationist approaches to social cohesion which were aligned with curriculum texts and promoted official nation-building agendas. Additionally, teachers saw issues of social cohesion as peripheral to the core academic curriculum. Teachers’ identity was integrally linked to their religious affiliations.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education

ISSN

0305-7925

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Issue

4

Volume

48

Page range

535-552

Department affiliated with

  • Education Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2017-03-29

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-11-24

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2017-03-29

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