Locally-Embedded Insights into Trauma and Education: A Decolonial Study of Lebanese Educators

• In Event: Teachers at the Frontline: Identity, Well-Being, and Professional Practice

Proposal

The deepening of ideological divisions and protracted conflicts worldwide underscores the indispensable role of educators as facilitators of a peaceful future. This paper presents empirical research from a 2021 dissertation, “Trauma and Education in Lebanon: A Decolonial Perspective,” which explores the experiences of Lebanese educators between October 2019 and June 2021 (Author, 2021). This period witnessed an unprecedented convergence of political unrest, economic collapse, the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the devastating Beirut port explosion, making Lebanon a poignant example of a “divided world” where an unstable societal reality became the enduring norm. This paper critically examines how educators navigated these tumultuous conditions, challenging prevalent Western-centric models of trauma and offering locally-embedded insights into fostering peace and social cohesion.

Dominant academic and professional literature on trauma in educational spaces, namely Trauma-Informed Education (TIE), has its roots in Western conceptualizations of trauma and therapy (van der Kolk, 2003). This Western lens limits its direct applicability and effectiveness in regions like Lebanon, which suffers from chronic and volatile political, economic, health, and security instabilities. Such clinical, individualistic approaches often fail to account for the collective, political, and transgenerational dimensions of trauma that are prevalent in the Global South (Visser, 2015).

The research employs a decolonial methodology, recognizing and validating local knowledge systems and challenging the notion that Western frameworks for trauma are universally appropriate or effective (Smith, 2012; Edwards & Brannelly, 2017). This approach provides a lens for understanding the complex interplay between individual psychological functioning and broader socio-political conditions, as articulated by critical theorists who argue against the “colonisation of the psychological and social by the biological” (Read, 2005).

The study utilizes a qualitative methodology, drawing on 17 semi-structured interviews with Lebanese education professionals across different regions and school types in Lebanon. Data collection spanned May and June 2021, capturing educators’ personal and professional experiences during a period of sustained disruption. Thematic analysis allowed for deep analysis of the data and the emergence of contextualized insights.

This study’s findings reveal profound tensions between Western and local assumptions about trauma and its treatment, offering insights into education’s role in mitigating divisions and promoting social cohesion. First, the data unequivocally demonstrates that trauma in Lebanon is a collective phenomenon, experienced by both students and educators alike. This contrasts sharply with the individualistic, event-based model prevalent in Western trauma psychology (Read, 2005). Educators frequently recounted their own struggles with the crises, highlighting that their capacity to act as “therapists” to students, as implied by the TIE model, was often compromised by personal hardship. The atmosphere of continuous, ongoing stress and trauma meant that themes of adaptation and persistence took precedence over discrete concepts of healing and therapy.

Second, the study illuminates the importance of locally-embedded knowledge, shared experiences, and communal resilience in how Lebanese educators manage stress and trauma in their students – a key tenet of decolonial methodologies (Smith, 2012). Rather than relying on formal, Western trauma-informed education models (which were largely absent or deemed insufficient by study participants) educators developed their own pedagogical frameworks. These frameworks were primarily rooted in a collective understanding of the ongoing crises and an ingrained cultural ethos of resilience, frequently described as a learned trait passed down through generations due to Lebanon’s cyclical history of war and instability. This communal resilience, however, was also acknowledged as being intertwined with transgenerational trauma, revealing a complex dialectic of adaptive coping mechanisms and transgenerational trauma.

Third, the study identifies a range of organic educational practices that contribute to peacebuilding in this divided context. Educators employed both “protection” and “engagement” strategies to support students. Protection strategies focused on creating a safe and stable environment by reducing academic workload, avoiding overtly sensitive topics, and establishing consistent routines, recognizing that students often found refuge and stability in the classroom and their familial environments. Contrary to TIE’s assumption that homes are typically sites of disruption and instability (Bloom, 1995; Downey, 2007), homes were often reported as the most stable environments for children.

Engagement strategies, conversely, sought to foster students’ critical thinking, reflection, and active participation in public life. This was achieved through creative modes of expression (e.g., drawing, writing) and mediated discussions of sensitive topics, allowing students to process their traumatic experiences and fostering a sense of agency for future change. This pedagogical approach resonates with radical pedagogies that empower students politically in revolutionary contexts, reflecting education’s role in preparing students for an uncertain future (Donoso Romo, 2021).

This research directly contributes to the CIES 2026 conference objectives by:
1. Sharing Empirical and Theoretical Insights: It provides rich empirical data from a crisis-affected, non-Western context, offering a decolonial critique of dominant trauma models and proposing an alternative framework for understanding trauma in education that centers local knowledge and collective experience.
2. Critically Examining Education’s Role in Fostering Peace: The study analyzes how Lebanese educators, through their adaptive practices and facilitation of communal resilience, actively mitigate the impacts of crises and foster social cohesion, even when formal support systems are inadequate or inappropriate. It demonstrates education’s potential to empower students to envision and work towards a more harmonious society.
3. Exploring Effective Educational Practices: By documenting the “protection” and “engagement” strategies developed by Lebanese educators, the research highlights context-sensitive educational practices that contribute to student well-being and peacebuilding. These local approaches offer practical recommendations for policymakers and educators grappling with similar challenges in other divided or crisis-affected regions.

This paper espouses that “Education and Peace in a Divided World” must move beyond Western-centric frameworks and validate the adaptive, context-specific strategies developed by practitioners in the Global South. Specifically, the Lebanese case underscores the urgent need for mental healthcare infrastructure and humanitarian psychological aid interventions to be updated to integrate effective pathways to communal resilience and youth empowerment, ensuring educators are recognized and supported as key actors in peacebuilding within their communities. It offers a timely contribution to expanding decolonial research in Comparative and International Education, refining global understandings of trauma and education to accommodate diverse non-Western experiences and foster peace in divided societies.

Author

• Avery Gonzales