Anand, Kusha; (2019) Teaching India and Pakistan relations: Teachers’ pedagogical responses and strategies. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Education is a major source of identity formation in India and Pakistan. Policymakers in both countries devise educational policies and curricular content in line with their respective ideological positions. Scholars have identified that national curricula have been used to shape the mindset of the new generations vis-à-vis their neighbour (India/Pakistan). Teachers have often played the role of silent implementers of this agenda on both sides of the border. Teachers matter because in the classroom they make the final decision on what to teach and how to teach it. It is important to explore teachers’ attitudes towards India/Pakistan and Indo-Pakistani relations as central agents of socialisation, transmission and construction of personal/social identities. This study explores how India-Pakistan relations are reflected in the national curriculum and to understand the ways in which teachers in both countries respond to and interact with the curriculum and textbooks pedagogically. Teachers’ attitudes are examined through the semi-structured interviews, while their pedagogical responses are analysed through classroom observations. The key findings of the research reveal a close relationship between the socio-economic status (SES) (and institutional habitus) of a school and teachers’ attitudes. Importantly, there are significant differences in teachers’ attitudes mediated by the SES and the institutional habitus of the school, regardless of the individual teacher habitus. Teachers’ pedagogical responses are multifaceted. In both countries, they find it difficult to articulate and develop critical thinking among students. In the classroom, teachers construct their attitudes in response to the expectations and assumptions of their school. The textbook analysis shows that Pakistan Studies textbooks constitute a negative framework of representation that depicts India as an enemy of Pakistan. Indian textbooks highlight the importance of mutual respect for each other’s culture and beliefs. However, Indian textbooks have an insufficient engagement with the partition of 1947. Indian and Pakistani textbooks both lack information about the religion, culture, economic and political activities of the other country/faith (India/Pakistan and Hindus/Muslims). This study concludes that the SES of schools is a significant factor that influences teachers’ attitudes and pedagogical responses in India and Pakistan. This research offers insights for headteachers and policymakers in both countries to engage with teachers’ attitudes and schools’ prescribed pedagogies for history teaching.

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