(2023). Student Incivility in Higher Education of Afghanistan: Lecturers' Perspectives. Cogent Education, v10 n2 Article 2282302. The study investigated lecturers' perceptions of student incivility in higher education of Afghanistan. It examined students' behaviors that lecturers considered uncivil as well as causes and consequences of students' uncivil behaviors. It also explored strategies lecturers used to address student incivility and to what extent they rated the strategies effective. A survey questionnaire and interview protocols with open-ended questions were used to collect data for the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics, and thematic analysis, were utilized to analyze the data. The study revealed that the participants considered threatening, harassing comments, belittling, making waseta, complaining about a lecturer, and cheating on exams as extremely uncivil behaviors. The participants believed that society, students, lecturers, and institutions were the major sources of student incivility. They believed that student incivility had negative impacts on learning environment (e.g. interrupted… [Direct]
(2023). Impacts of Service Learning on Tourism Students' Sustainability Competencies in Conflict-Affected Bamyan, Afghanistan. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, v24 n6 p1328-1346. Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the impacts of service learning (SL) on teaching sustainability competencies in an undergraduate tourism program at Bamyan University, Afghanistan. This study reports on tourism students' experiences in the SL course which taught five key sustainability competencies (collaboration, values thinking, action-oriented, systems thinking and integrated problem-solving). Design/methodology/approach: This paper assessed students' perceptions of their sustainability competencies gained during the implementation of the course in 2016 and 2017 through focus groups, reflective essays and participant observation. Findings: The results demonstrate how the SL experience led students to self-discovery, strong conceptualizations of sustainability and working relationships with community stakeholders. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to assess the impacts of a SL course in Afghanistan. The analysis provides… [Direct]
(2024). English Language Teacher Professional Identity Aesthetic Depiction: An Arts-Based Study from Afghanistan. Professional Development in Education, v50 n5 p928-948. Despite a burgeoning body of research on teacher identity development, little is known about how incongruities between the ideal and real-life teaching practices create identity tensions. The present study adopted an arts-based approach and examined teachers' ideal and actual teaching practices, and the associated identity tensions and related coping strategies in the context of Afghanistan. Data were collected from six English teachers via drawings and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis indicated that the teachers experienced unattainable ideal praxis in terms of 'time, space and facility', 'ideal teaching methods', 'ideal instructional materials', and 'technology-enhanced classroom', which resulted in various identity tensions. However, thinking reflectively about their imagined community and ideal practices offered affordances for the teachers to be creative to manage the tensions, and build resilience and reflexivity. The study concludes with implications for teachers,… [Direct]
(2024). Alternative Educational Activities and Programs for Female Students Banned from Formal Education in Afghanistan. Issues in Educational Research, v34 n3 p1170-1179. Our descriptive survey assesses the possible alternative educational opportunities for female students deprived of formal education in Afghanistan. Our sample comprised 94 female participants, with 36 (38.3%) being high school students, 32 (34%) being high school graduates, and 26 (27.7%) being university students. Based on the results, the great majority, 89 (87.2%) were participating in at least one alternative educational program; seven of these were already married and involved in their married life; and five others could not participate because of financial problems. Islamic religious schools, tailoring training, English language courses, and some free online educational programs were the main alternative educational activities and programs that participants were involved in. These alternative educational programs are provided by the private sector, with participants required to pay a monthly fee. The Taliban did not provide any alternative educational programs for female… [PDF]
(2023). Afghan Women and the Issue of Education: A Hundred Years of Conflict between Tradition and Modernity. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, v54 n4 p465-478. Afghanistan's history over the last century is littered with incidents and bloody conflicts. In other words, the history of this land over the last century has been one of blood and fire, as well as a conflict between "tradition" and "modernity." Over the last century, the citizens of this land have witnessed life-threatening and subversive changes. These changes have had both positive and negative effects on Afghans' lives. Meanwhile, Afghan women, education, the right to political and social activity, and the right to work and employment have been among the issues that have undergone change and transformation, along with political, social, and cultural changes and developments, willingly or unwillingly, and have been seriously harmed as a result. A qualitative research method has been used, in which data was collected from previous literary sources such as research articles, magazines, reports, and documents kept in the archives and national libraries of… [Direct]
(2024). Faculty Members' Experience of Student Incivility in Public Institutions of Higher Education: A Case Study of a Conflict-Stricken Country. Higher Education Forum, v21 p141-160. Incivility, a growing challenge in higher education institutions, interferes with and disrupts the learning process. This study examined faculty members' experiences of students' incivilities in institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 289 faculty members who were teaching in various higher education institutions across Afghanistan. Descriptive and inferential statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that faculty members experienced varying degrees of a wide range of incivilities in and outside the classroom, including conversing loudly in the class, interruption, and harassment. They also experienced a variety of incivilities related to assessment and grading. A small number of them experienced more serious forms of incivilities including beating, stabbing, and death threats. The findings also revealed that there were not significant differences between participants' experiences… [PDF]
(2022). Faculty Incivility in Higher Education of Afghanistan: Students' Perspectives. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, v53 n1 p133-149 Mar. The study investigated students' perception of faculty incivility in higher educations of Afghanistan. It studied faculty behaviors perceived the most uncivil by students and how often they experienced these behaviors. It also explored the impact of students' gender and ethnicity on their responses. The author collected data from 948 undergraduate students through a questionnaire from four public universities situated in the northeast of Afghanistan. Descriptive and inferential statistics (T test and One-Way ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that students perceived 30 faculty behaviors uncivil to varying extent. They considered six behaviors as the most uncivil ones. Moreover, students experienced faculty uncivil behaviors to varying degree. The most frequently experienced ones were making too hard or tricky exams and grading students based on waseta. The inferential analyses showed that students' gender had a significant impact on students' perceptions and… [Direct]
(2024). Toward a Conflict-Sensitive Approach to Higher Education Pedagogy: Lessons from Afghanistan and Somaliland. Teaching in Higher Education, v29 n2 p619-638. Higher education has become an important agenda in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. A major aspect of this agenda is the conceptualization of education as a tool not just for development but for peacebuilding. Yet there are few studies examining how university educators might be equipped as frontline peace workers. This study explores: How might conflict affect teaching in higher education, especially in and with students from conflict-affected contexts? In what ways does higher education pedagogy serve to ameliorate or exacerbate conflict? How could the practices of academics working with students in conflict-affected contexts inform approaches to higher education pedagogy? Data for the study was collected through interviews with university educators working in Afghanistan and Somaliland, and analyzed through the lens of Santos's 'post-abyssal thinking'. Findings indicate that educators who work in conflict-affected contexts have numerous practical strategies that inform… [Direct]
(2022). Oral Participation Practices in Classroom among University Students in Afghanistan. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, v11 n1 p409-420 Mar. This study aimed at exploring factors affecting classroom participation among students in the English department of Laghman University, Afghanistan. More precisely, this research discovered factors related to teachers and class-size that hinder students' practice of oral participation in the classroom. In collecting the data, this study employed mixed-method research with concurrent design. An adapted questionnaire and a semi-structured interview have been used as the data collection instrument of this study. An online survey questionnaire was conducted with 110 respondents. In addition, a semi-structured interview was conducted with five of the respondents at the English Department of Laghman University. The data from the questionnaire was descriptively analyzed through using statistical package for social science (SPSS), and the semi-structured interview data were thematically analyzed and interpreted. The findings revealed that class-size related factor is the first influential… [PDF]
(2024). Analyzing Levels, Factors and Coping Strategies of Speaking Anxiety among EFL Undergraduates in Afghanistan. Cogent Education, v11 n1 Article 2413225. Proficiency in speaking is essential for effective communication; however, anxiety serves as a significant barrier that negatively impacts oral performance, particularly in EFL contexts. This study addresses this issue by investigating speaking anxiety among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in Afghanistan, where limited research exists on the topic. A mixed-method design was employed, involving 120 students. Quantitative data were collected using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), while qualitative insights were obtained through structured interviews. The results revealed a moderate level of speaking anxiety, with no significant differences based on gender, language proficiency, or academic year. Qualitative findings indicated that participants experienced anxiety, particularly during their initial year of study, exhibiting symptoms such as shaking, sweating, forgetfulness, negative thoughts, difficulties in recalling words, maintaining eye contact, and… [Direct]
(2024). Afghan Undergraduate Students' Perceptions toward E-Learning. E-Learning and Digital Media, v21 n6 p535-558. E-learning provides teachers and students with great opportunities and benefits, by enhancing teaching and learning experiences. Although e-learning is widely adopted in educational systems, some countries still use traditional teaching methods with limited use of technology as a medium of teaching and learning. This study investigates the perceptions of Afghan EFL undergraduate students toward e-learning at a public university in Afghanistan. Few studies have investigated the use of e-learning in tertiary-level education in Afghanistan, indicating the need to understand the perceptions of undergraduate students toward it. Students who were the primary beneficiaries of e-learning were included. This quantitative study was conducted in the form of a survey using data gathered via questionnaires. In total, 140 randomly selected respondents participated in the survey. The key finding of this study was that e-learning is perceived to be useful in higher education. However, it was also… [Direct]
(2024). Armed Conflict, Student Achievement, and Access to Higher Education by Gender in Afghanistan, 2014-2019. Globalisation, Societies and Education, v22 n5 p823-838. Using data from its national university entrance exam, we examined the relationship between armed conflict and student achievement in Afghanistan. Exploiting the province-year variation in exposure to conflict intensity, we estimated the relationship between conflict and exam results generally and by gender for all test takers from 2014-2019. Findings show that a one standard deviation increase in conflict intensity at the province-year level was associated with a 2.9 percentage point reduction in the probability of passing the exam, a 0.096 score point reduction in total exam scores, and a greater detrimental impact on women's exam results…. [Direct]
(2022). Distance Learning during COVID-19 in Afghanistan: Challenges and Opportunities. E-Learning and Digital Media, v19 n2 p144-162 Mar. This study examined students' attitudes toward distance learning, and its relationship with the duration of using Telegram and schooling. It specifically explored students' experiences of the challenges and opportunities that distance learning created during the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, two null hypotheses were formulated: (1) there is no significant relationship between students' attitudes toward distance learning and the duration of using Telegram; and (2) there is no significant relationship between students' attitudes towards distance learning and the duration of schooling. Data were collected from a survey questionnaire and in-depth semi-structured interviews with students from the English Department of Herat University, Afghanistan. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS, an independent samples t-test, and ANOVA. The results of the t-test showed that the first hypothesis should be accepted, meaning there is no relationship between students' attitudes toward… [Direct]
(2022). Education Is Power for Peace and Security in Afghanistan: Take Action to Support the Rights of Afghan Women and Girls. George W. Bush Institute The Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan last year has produced a desperate humanitarian situation in the country. Nearly half of all households are experiencing acute food insecurity, maternal and infant mortality rates are rising quickly, and 97% of families are at risk of dropping below the poverty line. Most concerning is the intentional and vicious erasure of women and girls from public life by the Taliban, especially the ban on girls' access to secondary education and the rapid deterioration of education quality across the country. What is happening to the women and girls of Afghanistan creates not simply a moral imperative, but a growing threat to regional and even global peace, prosperity, and security. Dire as the situation may be, it is not hopeless. This report discusses steps the United States and allies can take, along with civil society and others, to mitigate the suffering of Afghan women and girls and provide opportunities in an otherwise bleak situation…. [PDF]
(2022). Evaluating Impacts of Development Programs on Female Education in Afghanistan. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Arkansas. This dissertation evaluates the effects of three development interventions on female education in Afghanistan: (1) effects of foreign military withdrawal on females' demand for higher education; (2) impacts of PEZAK, a community-driven university entrance preparation, on student enrollment and performance in tertiary education; and (3) long-term effects of National Solidarity Program (NSP), that established gender-balanced local development councils, on female enrollment. Foreign military withdrawal increased female participation in higher education by 0.3 percentage points from a base value of 0.05 percent participation per capita. The PEZAK increased test scores by 0.17 standard deviations and had a positive effect on enrollment in top programs. Female students exposed to the PEZAK had a lower likelihood of enrollment in low-rank universities as compared to treated male students. In areas with favorable attitudes toward women, the NSP increased female enrollment in higher grades…. [Direct]