Using hegemonic theory to map conceptions of education within the

development field in Pakistan

Policies and practicesDominant assumptions underpinning practicesSpaces for innovative practices that counter

dominant assumptionsWhat are dominant understandings?Where are they coming from?Ideas of discourse, power, hegemony and post-

development theoryHow can hegemonic theory better inform us

about power dynamics within the field of development? How is this determining how education is conceptualised and approached?

How did I get here?How did I get here?

► The DFID FellowshipThe DFID Fellowship► The two towers The two towers (9/11/01)(9/11/01)► The return The return (July - August, 2003)(July - August, 2003)► The return again The return again (Dec 2003 - Jan, 2004)(Dec 2003 - Jan, 2004)► And again And again (February – August, 2004)(February – August, 2004)► The ‘permanent hangover’ The ‘permanent hangover’ (post-SEF)(post-SEF)► What do I do now? What do I do now? (development field (development field

realities)realities)► What happened to EE/ESD? What happened to EE/ESD? ► Centrality of power and hegemonic relationsCentrality of power and hegemonic relations

Environmental

Education

Formal and non-formal

Improving health and hygiene

Analysing current practice

Safe school environment

Local needs and relevancy

Acquiring basic skills

Mobilising community

action

Radical pedagogy

Ideal type of environmental education

What are the breadth and depth of hegemonic development and education discourses? Economic growth Modernisation Interventionism Reliance on scientific and technological knowledge

The theories

Power Discourse Hegemony Field Policy Post-development

Post-development takes a critical position by problematising poverty, equating development with Westernization, critiquing modernization and viewing development as a discourse, an imaginary myth (Sachs 1992b; Escobar 1995; Crush 1995; Rahnema and Bawtree 1997; Rist 1999; Pieterse 2001).

Critiques of post-development theory

‘Lack of theoretical depth’ (Brigg 2003). ‘Sprinkling’ effect of mainly Foucault’ Tendencies toward essentialism,

romanticism, binary contradictions, reinforcements of Eurocentricism and intolerant moral/political righteousness. (Brigg 2003; Lehman 1997; Corbridge 1998)

Power relations are embedded within social relations and are exercised through institutional relations that discipline our ways of thinking and acting through self-regulation (Foucault 1977)

Discourse: a particular way of talking about and understanding the world, or an aspect of the world (Phillips and Jorgensen 2003)

The order of discourse is the ‘specifically discoursal organisational logic of a field’ Chouliaraki and Fairclough (1999)

A field may be defined as a network, or a configuration, of objective relations between positions (Bourdieu 1992)

Hegemony shows how power compels us to consent to that which constrains us (Butler 2001: 29).

The moment of hegemonic relation is when the ‘peculiarity of a body, community or social movement ceases to be its own peculiarity and transforms itself within the representation of the universality transcending it’ (Laclau and Mouffe 2001).

The two conditions of a hegemonic articulation are the presence of antagonistic forces and the instability of the frontiers which separate them (Laclau and Mouffe 2001)

The data

Interviews Policies Video Fieldnotes Experiences

The methods

Discourse analysis Hegemony analysis Critical ethnography

Combining different types of data in each data analysis sections

Combining aspect of critical discourse analysis with hegemonic theories and field theory

Different data analysis chapters, different data, different methods Micro-politics of SEF – hegemonic formations of

assumptions of mainstream development and education discourses: participant observations, field notes, interview transcripts, documents

The ‘myth of participation’ – participation as an ‘empty signifier’: video transcripts, field notes, interview transcripts, organisation documents, policy texts

Education as a ‘floating signifier’ - struggles of discourses within a logic of difference: interview transcripts, organisation documents, policy texts

EssentialismsIntoleranceRigid management hierarchyReliance on external knowledgeLack of willingness to work from the ground up

De-contextualisedImposed problems, and solutions from external sourcesTraditional pedagogyLanguage choicesMarketing and advocacy unitNon-participatory and ad-hoc decision-making

Expenditure choicesAgenda-making processImposed readingsTraditional pedagogySelection of panelists and participantsLack of participation from communities and schools

Intertextual referencing of quality from policies Following dominant models of measurement InterventionistRenovation of central office and other expenditure choicesResearch ignoredPriority and expectation shiftingGhost centre

Hegemonic practices

Hegemonic formations

Mainstream developmentTraditional schooling

De-schooling and Post-development discourses

De-schooling and Internal learning Learning retreat Quality Assurance Post-development discourses

Traditional schooling Mainstream development

Hegemonic strength of dominant mainstream development and education assumptions and practices and the inability of post-development discourses to oppose these:

The case of the Sindh Education Foundation

Manchar Lake

Mallah culture

Inside a Mallah ‘house’

SEF Community-Supported School

SEF CSS

Targeting poorest members of each villageContextualised and qualitative knowledgeOrganic development Environment-centred and against micro-credit

General targeting of ‘the poor’De-contextualised and quantitative knowledgePolicy-orientated, donor-reliant developmentPrimary emphasis on macro-economic growth

Participation as an ‘empty signifier’

Participatory, Bottom-up development approaches

PVDP PRSP

Non-participatory, Top-down development approaches

‘Participation’ in Sankar village, Thar Desert, Pakistan

Fuel-efficient stove programme

Education efforts

Water conservation efforts

Education as a floating signifier: Policies and organisations unified through a logic of difference that education is necessary

Organisation Lens Education practices – general summary

DFID Governance Supporting the PRSP – education capacity building and resource allocation

CIDA Poverty reduction with government and CBOs

Supporting small NGOs in health, education, human rights and gender in specific districts

USAID Democracy and governance ICT, mainstreaming madrassahs, science education, quality education and literacy attainment

UNICEF Children Physical infrastructure of schools and health. Also teacher training activities and funding other education/literacy NGOs

Maa Haul I-NGO

Environment, sustainable development

Conservation education, community environmental rehabilitation work

Bachay I-NGO

Children’s empowerment Politically oriented non-formal education similar to ActionAid’s Reflect method. Circles for discussion, problem-solving and literacy facilitation mainly with refugee children

Aurtayn N-NGO

Female rights Educating women about their legal rights as well as their reproductive needs, creating awareness on other rights issues

FauqiyatN-NGO

Formal education School improvement through ICT integration, health curriculum teacher training, infrastructural improvements

TaleemiN-NGO

Formal education Reforming government schools through various community-based and private-sector initiatives. Also programmes of non-formal education for child labourers and literacy for women.

AdbiyaatL-NGO

Women’s literacy Phonic-based, critical literacy approaches mainly with women. Facilitated by women who have gone through the same process

BastiL-NGO

Poverty reduction Environmental organic activities, aversion to micro-credit, health initiatives, community participation, learning and education woven throughout, formal education sidelined

Siyaasatmovement

Peasant and landless rights Political awareness and social mobilisation particularly amongst landless workers and fisherfolk

Education as a floating signifier: prioritisation of objectives and nodal points across key development and education policies in Pakistan

ESR

T-YP

NEP

NPA

PRSP

HRD Qu’ran SAPCRCPakistanConst.

MDGs EFA

Islamic educationUPEQualityLiteracy

UPEAdult literacyECEQuality

UPEAdult literacyMadrassahsQuality

Universal literacyUPEVocational/techn.MadrassahQuality

LiteracyUPESecondaryQuality

Nodal points: UPE, quality, literacy and non-formal awareness UPE: policies, donors, SEF and PVDP Quality: policies, donors, ITA and IUCN Literacy: policies, donors, SCUK and Khoj Non-formal awareness: policies, donors,

Shirkat Gah and PRM

Logic of equivalences (within nodal points) in this study: SCUK, Khoj, Shirkat Gah and PRM

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum school

PFF school

Baloch Women’s Empowerment Literacy Programme Centre

Arabian Sea coast – near the WWF Conservation Centre

What about EE?

EE as an ‘empty signifier’ (Gaudiano 2005) What are the nodal points within EE? What are the logics of equivalence within EE? Why

does this matter? ESD as dominated by assumptions within

mainstream development discourses (more than EE)

The problem with ‘defining’ EE/ESD in a different context – missed opportunities on both sides

SO what next? Applications of hegemonic theory Strength of hegemonic formations of mainstream assumptions within

dominant education and development discourses and social practices Fragility and tenuous spaces for logics of equivalence to retain

hegemonic articulations and avoiding ‘the empty signifier’ Phenomenon of the empty signifier: how to make this into a strength

rather than a weakness inherent in movements of resistance Avoiding interventionism? The issue of labelling – clash of the external versus the internal Post-development theory Getting to grips with complexity: Theories of complexity – mapping Tension between policy and donor expectations, organisational

expectations and individual preferences ‘Practicing what you preach’ Critical research Understanding the influence of wider networks more My new job

Using hegemonic theory to map conceptions of education within the

development field in Pakistan