children drop out in significant numbers before completing primary school, and also for lower levels of achievement in class. In their interviews, INI and GOB emphasized the effects of poverty and the importance of eradicating poverty to increase the sustainable quality of education: “Poverty of the students hinders the access of the students to education.” (INI) On the other hand, teacher quality and investment is an important component for Increasing teachers’ pay motivates them, attracts more qualified teachers, and improves the incentive to teach in underserved and remote areas, and to teach disadvantaged groups. “We have to decrease students’ poverty and teachers’ poverty. We have to increase the quality of teachers’ livelihoods. We need to invest in education to ensure peace in the family, society, and in the country.” (GOB) Analysing the Education Policy shows that the government has various plans to deal with poverty and lower the dropout rate, for example by providing lunch and building student hostels in the hill tracts area and remote areas. 6. Discussion In this study, while the documents provide an indication of the ongoing shifts at the policy level, the interviews offer insights into the gap between policies and practices based on practical experience. Indeed, the interviewee’s responses varied based on their ideological viewpoint and experiences. The findings shows that some of the policies have seemed to be on the process towards materialization. Four themes emerged based on the findings from the document analysis and interviews, offering insights into the peace-building dimensions of the education system in Bangladesh. Theme 1: Multicultural Education Multicultural education is the first and foremost dimension that emerged from data analysis. Regarding the equality issue, all the interviewees emphasized the importance of Indigenous languages as the medium of instruction until at least the primary level. Participants also agreed that multilingualism is a key component of multicultural education, which can help to provide equal learning opportunities for every linguistic group. Being
children drop out in significant numbers before completing primary school, and also for lower levels of achievement in class. In their interviews, INI and GOB emphasized the effects of poverty and the importance of eradicating poverty to increase the sustainable quality of education: “Poverty of the students hinders the access of the students to education.” (INI) On the other hand, teacher quality and investment is an important component for Increasing teachers’ pay motivates them, attracts more qualified teachers, and improves the incentive to teach in underserved and remote areas, and to teach disadvantaged groups. “We have to decrease students’ poverty and teachers’ poverty. We have to increase the quality of teachers’ livelihoods. We need to invest in education to ensure peace in the family, society, and in the country.” (GOB) Analysing the Education Policy shows that the government has various plans to deal with poverty and lower the dropout rate, for example by providing lunch and building student hostels in the hill tracts area and remote areas. 6. Discussion In this study, while the documents provide an indication of the ongoing shifts at the policy level, the interviews offer insights into the gap between policies and practices based on practical experience. Indeed, the interviewee’s responses varied based on their ideological viewpoint and experiences. The findings shows that some of the policies have seemed to be on the process towards materialization. Four themes emerged based on the findings from the document analysis and interviews, offering insights into the peace-building dimensions of the education system in Bangladesh. Theme 1: Multicultural Education Multicultural education is the first and foremost dimension that emerged from data analysis. Regarding the equality issue, all the interviewees emphasized the importance of Indigenous languages as the medium of instruction until at least the primary level. Participants also agreed that multilingualism is a key component of multicultural education, which can help to provide equal learning opportunities for every linguistic group. Being
129971-dissertation.docx