From Classroom to Community: The Role of Secondary School Teachers in Promoting a Culture of Peace in Erstwhile FATA

The role of a teacher is multi-dimensional, such as teaching, mentoring, leadership, counselling, and personality building. The best teacher has all the capabilities and can understand his/her students’ mentality, interests, strengths, and problems. A good teacher provides guidance according to the needs of the students, which is both necessary for academic growth, accompanied by personality development, such as role playing, positivity, and confidence. Keeping in mind, an intrinsic case study was designed to investigate the role of secondary schools’ teachers in terrorism and tribal feuds affecting the tribal area of the erstwhile FATA. A sample size of twenty-five participants, including five Heads of the Schools and twenty teacher teachers, were interviewed by a purposive and convenient sampling method. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews through semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis technique was applied to generate themes such as teachers’ primary contribution to peacebuilding is vital through demonstrating mutual respect, leading by example, encouraging positivity, communal trust, promoting dialogue, ensuring impartiality, and fair treatment to all students. This study has explored the potential of teachers for peace mentorship against extremism and recommends the need for institutional support to enhance it further.