When Teachers Are Heard Through Others: Mediated Voice, Agency, and Reform Legitimacy in Pakistan’s Education Policy

Abstract

The research examines the mediation, constrainment, or marginalisation of the voices of secondary school teachers in the education policy reform process in Pakistan with reference to the channels of communication between teachers and policymakers. Teacher involvement is well known as the key to legitimate and effective policy reform. Nevertheless, in most Global South setups, teacher views are often channeled through administrative lines instead of being aired outright which casts doubts on the authenticity of the teacher voice and the level of professional agency in the policy making procedures. The design used was a qualitative case study design. Semi-structured interviews with twelve teachers of secondary schools and four policy makers were used as a source of data, which was complemented by the review of documents and non-participant observations. Data interpretation was performed with the help of the thematic analysis. The findings have shown that the voices of the teachers are mostly mediated by the school administrators but not directly integrated into the policymaking process. The consultation process can be filtered and formal feedback mechanisms are usually restricted thus limiting any meaningful participation of teachers through hierarchical structures of communication. However, agency is exercised through informal and localised resistance that takes place among teachers. Institutionalisation of policy processes should incorporate direct teacher consultation strategies and open channels of feedback. By reinforcing participatory communication systems, reform legitimacy can be improved and meaningful teacher agency in policymaking accomplished.