PEACE EDUCATION IN PRACTICE: A STUDY OF PUBLIC SECTOR PRIMARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS AND TEACHER PERCEPTIONS IN QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN

Pakistan is a cosmopolitan, multilingual, and multi-ethnic country whose social variety frequently raises peace and conflict issues. In Balochistan, the research on peace education is limited, highlighting necessity for rigorous investigation in this field. The current study, therefore, aimed to examine peace education within the province by analyzing public sector primary school textbooks developed by the Balochistan Textbook Board, Quetta, alongside exploring the perceptions and classroom practices of primary teachers. Data were acquired using multiple qualitative study approaches. The findings revealed that the Islamic Studies curriculum incorporated a comprehensive range of peace-related themes, whereas the Social Studies, Urdu and English textbooks demonstrated noticeable lack of such content. Teachers' perceptions indicated a lack of knowledge of notion of peace, despite their willingness to participate positively if given sufficient training. Classroom observations revealed an absence of structured peace-related activities at both the classroom and school levels. Based on the findings, the study recommend that curriculum developers & policymakers incorporate peace education topics into primary-level textbooks to build a culture of peace from early years of schooling. Further, study will be helpful for policy makers, curriculum developers for evolving real peacebuilding approach through curriculum.