Animals have Feelings, Too : Humane Education in Pakistan

• In Event: Poster session I
  In Poster Session: Poster session 1

Proposal

Humane education (HE) encompasses a curricular framework focusing primarily on issues of ecological sustainability, animal welfare, human rights, citizenship and social justice. The ideology behind humane education is to incur social change and combat contemporary challenges through the principle of interconnectedness between environmental ethics, animal welfare and human rights (Institute for Humane Education, 2013). Humane education falls under the holistic genre due to its underlying philosophy of interconnectedness and interdependence of all living things (Eadie, 2011). According to Oakley (2011) a holistic approach is necessary in responding to the different forms of human, animal and environmental injustices prevalent today which appear to be interconnected in one way or another. Kahn and Humes (2009) recommend practicing this holistic approach by adopting values such as kinship and compassion towards animals and getting rid of utilitarian perspectives which would ultimately benefit the causes of social justice and ecological sustainability. HE practitioners are also referred to as social activists who embody the values of society and develop into advocates of personal and social transformation which results in a just, humane and sustainable world (Weil,2004).
There is a desperate need for humane education in Pakistan which inspires restorative and sustainable change on behalf of all humans, animals and Earth. HE employs a critical theory perspective whereby students are empowered to be critical thinkers in order to induce personal and social transformation. The purpose of this study is to understand the attitudes and perspectives of primary teachers towards humane education focusing particularly on animal welfare in Pakistan’s private schools. To study this, nine primary teachers were selected through purposeful sampling from three different private schools in Lahore, Pakistan. The teachers were all interviewed and asked to draw and illustrate their perceptions regarding humane education. A thematic analysis was employed to analyze findings.
Three theories (Fine and Sirin’s (2007) theory of hyphenates selves, Freirean philosophy (2006) and Transformative learning theory) were simultaneously integrated to develop a conceptual framework. I posit through these theories that educational institutions should reverse the process of accepting the dominant culture and the problems which then ensue through critical pedagogy based on HE. Based on this model, I aim to answer the following questions: (i) What are the perspectives of primary teachers in Pakistan’s private schools around the notion of humane education and its underlying philosophy of using education as a tool for transformation and social activism? (ii) What changes can be made to the existing pedagogy in order to provide a holistic approach towards transformative education which includes critical thinking and reflection amongst students to raise planetary consciousness?
Results of this study propose the inclusion of animal portraiture (which allows animals to be viewed in a humanistic frame) and conservation photography (wildlife) in classrooms where students engage in activities/projects which require them to take pictures (of animal’s expressions, behaviors and needs or any other environmental photography), and then share their affective experiences with the class. Research shows that conservation photography has the potential to improve students’ perceptions of animals (Farnsworth, 2011).

Author

• Sunnya khuram Khan, University of Toronto