The cultural politics of curriculum in Pakistan: the challenges for pluralism, inclusion and the UN SDGs in a post-colonial context

The promotion of tolerance and social harmony are the expressed goals of the Pakistani education curriculum, though the potential for pluralism is yet to be realised. In recent decades, fundamentalism and violent extremism have taken large parts of Pakistani society hostage. This violent extremism has resulted in the death of around 65,000 people (Crawford, 2018, p. 1), an economic loss of billions of rupees (FD-GoP, 2018, p. 248), and damage to the international standing of the country. The situation has made the promotion of pluralism an urgent need for contemporary Pakistani society; education can be a powerful tool to realise this need. The thesis examines the Pakistan Studies curriculum and textbooks for Grades 9 and 10 to identify and analyse how the cultural politics of curriculum development in Pakistan works to promote or hinder pluralism and inclusion. Pakistan is a post-colonial nation-state whose complex and diverse society provides the ingredients for realising the spirit of pluralism through constructive engagement with diversity. At the same time, historical legacies in relation to its colonial past and contemporary post-colonial dynamics produce significant challenges to achieving this goal. The thesis deploys post-colonial theories, curriculum theory, and critical discourse analysis (CDA) to examine and analyse educational policy discourses, curriculum, and textbooks of the Pakistan Studies course in Grades 9 and 10 from Pakistan’s Federal Board of Education and the Boards in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab, and Sindh provinces. This analysis is framed by locating the stated aims of social inclusion and harmony in the context of the cultural politics of education development in post-colonial Pakistan. In developing this analysis, the thesis identifies and analyses a number of central elements of the cultural politics that shape Pakistan Studies, including: the Islamic Ideology and the nation-state’s quest for national identity; the historical landscape of the nation and the politics of looking back; and the cultural politics of gender and challenges for women’s equality and fairness. Through a critical analysis of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this study argues that SDGs can provide a framework to identify, analyse, and seek to respond to the educational challenges in Pakistan. In the context of the key focus of this thesis, SDG 4 can provide a framework for action to reshape the cultural politics of education in Pakistan for the promotion of pluralism, inclusion, and respect for diversity. In providing this framework, SDG 4 offers reflective spaces, analytical tools, and a number of key competencies to realise education’s promise for peace, pluralism, inclusion, and sustainable development. SDG 4 is significant for recognising education’s potential in achieving sustainable societies through respect for diversity, inclusion, and gender equality.