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

Abstract

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 a questionnaire 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.

Keywords:

• Social cohesion
• teacher education
• teacher agency
• Pakistan
• conflict

Acknowledgement

We are grateful to the research participants and team members for their contributions, especially to Salima Karim Rajput for her role in data collection. The views expressed in the paper do not reflect those of the sponsors or their partners.

Notes

1. Jihad is a complex notion with multiple interpretations, including military action for the cause of Islam and/or its defense.

2. A term that describes the people who migrated to Pakistan after its independence and their descendants.

3. Madrassa as used in this paper means an Islamic seminary where largely Islamic subjects (e.g. Islamic jurisprudence, interpretation of the Quran) are taught but the curriculum may include some non-religious subjects (e.g. philosophy, logic), as well as languages (e.g. English).

4. Peace be upon him.