Peace by Page: Mapping Peace Education in Sindh’s Grades 6–8 Social Studies Textbooks: A Galtung–Heater Content Analysis

• In Event: Embedding Peace, Ethics, and Voice in Education: From Policy Frameworks to Classroom Realities

Proposal

Proposal
Anchored in Johan Galtung’s peace typology (negative/positive peace; direct, structural, and cultural violence) and Heater’s (1984) conception of peace education and its co-disciplines (citizenship, human rights, international/global, development, and environmental education), this study analyzes how state-approved Social Studies textbooks for Grades 6–8 (VI–VIII) in Sindh, Pakistan, integrate peace and civic education. Sindh a home to approximately 56 million people (2023 census),is a coastal province on the Arabian Sea that hosts Pakistan’s principal ports and its largest metropolis, Karachi. Its location at the confluence of South Asia, the Middle East, and sea routes to Central/East Africa makes it a strategic corridor for trade, migration, and cultural exchange via the Indus delta. Sindh has a diverse ethnic and religious population. This diversity and connectivity also surface tensions around language, sectarianism, human rights, and environmental vulnerability.

following the 18th Constitutional Amendment (2010) devolved education functions, provinces like Sindh have played a bigger role in shaping curriculum and developing textbook policy, making this case analytically interesting and policy-relevant. Using systematic content analysis, we code chapters, visuals, sidebars, and end-of-lesson tasks with a scheme derived from Galtung and Heater, covering indicators such as nonviolent conflict resolution, inclusion and diversity, democratic participation, human rights, gender equity, environmental stewardship, and interdependence. The design combines manifest and latent coding, reports coverage and depth indices across grades, and includes double-coding with intercoder reliability checks. We also examine pedagogical intent (dialogue, critical inquiry, perspective-taking vs. rote recall).

Research questions include: (1) To what extent do the textbooks include concepts and competencies associated with peace education? (2) How are “others” represented across narratives, images, and activities? (3) What pedagogical approaches are promoted for conflict transformation and civic engagement? (4) What is the nature of the mandate for peace education in Sindh, Pakistan; how are its objectives and implementation procedures envisioned by policymakers and administrators; and to what extent does environmental well-being factor into this mandate?

The presentation will report the prevalence, placement, and framing of peace-related content; surface gaps and contradictions (e.g., inclusive aims alongside exclusionary tropes); and offer actionable recommendations for textbook boards, curriculum planners, and teacher education. By situating Sindh within global debates on education for peace, civic learning, and SDG 4.7, the study contributes a policy-relevant case from the Global South with implications for multiethnic, conflict-ridden communities and environmentally vulnerable societies.

Authors

• Farzand Ali, Sindh Healthcare Commission

• Daman A. Bozdar, The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst)

• Imdad Ali Baloch, International Education Policy Department, University of Maryland, College Park