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Factors Influencing Sectarian Conflict and Peace Through Education in Lebanon: an Ethnographic Analysis of Equal Access, Social Inclusion, and Social Contract

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Factors Influencing Sectarian Conflict and Peace Through Education in Lebanon: an Ethnographic Analysis of Equal Access, Social Inclusion, and Social Contract Title Page Factors Influencing Sectarian Conflict and Peace through Education in Lebanon: An Ethnographic Analysis of Equal Access, Social Inclusion, and Social Contract by Miranda (“Mina”) Hogsett B.A., Marshall University, 2008 M.Ed., University of Maryland, 2010 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2020 Committee Page UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF EDUCATION This dissertation was presented by Miranda (“Mina”) Hogsett It was defended on April 20, 2020 and approved by Chair: Dr. Maureen Porter, PhD, Associate Professor, Administrative and Policy Studies Dr. Müge Finkel, Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs Dr. Noreen Garman, PhD, Professor, Administrative and Policy Studies Dr. Maureen McClure, PhD, Professor, Administrative and Policy Studies ii Copyright © by Miranda Hogsett 2020 iii Abstract Factors Influencing Sectarian Conflict and Peace through Education in Lebanon: An Ethnographic Analysis of Equal Access, Social Inclusion, and Social Contract Miranda (“Mina”) Hogsett, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2020 This is an ethnographic study with the purpose of spotlighting factors related to K-12 education in Lebanon that tend to reduce or exacerbate sources of sectarian conflict. The following research questions guided my research: (1) How do education stakeholders operationalize equal access, social inclusion, and social contract through education? (2) What features in K-12 education contexts exacerbate sectarian conflict in Lebanon? (3) What features in K-12 education contexts contribute to conflict-reduction in Lebanon? Data sources include interviews with education stakeholders and school visits I conducted throughout Lebanon, curriculum documents and documents outlining education purposes and policies in Lebanon that I analyzed. I present a model for examining factors that precipitate and exacerbate sectarian conflict in Lebanon that contributes to theory-building related to equal access, social inclusion, and social contract. Findings pointed to the following seven factors to intensify sectarian conflict: related to unequal access to education were (1) the sectarian structure of the school system and (2) the inadequate access to free and compulsory education in the country; related to social exclusion in education were (3) policies that prohibit dialogue about religion and politics in school that are nonetheless relevant to students’ everyday lives and (4) minimum power-sharing and multi- stakeholder engagement in education decision-making; factors that exacerbate conflict by iv weakening social contract in Lebanon included (5) the misuse of political power among elites to benefit themselves and members of their affiliated sect, (6) a contradiction between curriculum content and reality, and (7) a lack of autonomy for students and teachers. All of the seven major structures, trends, and inadequacies in education that I found to exacerbate sectarian conflict originate from the national level and stem from Lebanon’s modern interpretation of its consociational system of government. On the other hand, seven out of eight major factors that I found contribute to reducing sectarian conflict through education originate from the school and classroom levels, primarily from teachers and principals of varying religious sects. This highlights how model educators and school administrators already play a critical role in contributing to conflict-reduction through education in Lebanon. The eight factors that contribute to conflict reduction were the following: related to equal access are (1) the government’s stated commitment to free compulsory education and (2) a rise in nonsectarian private school options; related to social inclusion were (3) linguistic inclusion and (4) the prevalence of teaching approaches centered on common threads that bind students across sectarian differences; related to social contract included (5) teacher protections, (6) opportunities among educators and students in some schools to exercise choice and influence, (7) opportunities for reconciliation in some after-school NGO-facilitated programs, and (8) capacity-building. The study concludes with pragmatic recommendations for practitioners (government, Ministry of Education, school directors, and teachers) in Lebanon to address factors that contribute to sectarian conflict and to enhance those factors that make a difference in reducing conflict. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... xiii 1.0 Introduction: Past the Point of No Return ........................................................................... 1 1.1 Statement of the Problem and Purpose of the Study .................................................. 4 1.2 Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 6 1.3 Personal Past and Positionality: Why Lebanon? ........................................................ 7 1.3.1 The Contradictions and Paradoxes of Lebanon ..............................................11 1.4 Significance of This Study ............................................................................................ 16 1.5 Organization of This Dissertation ............................................................................... 16 2.0 Literature Review ................................................................................................................. 18 2.1 Contextual Information about Lebanon .................................................................... 18 2.1.1 Education Context ..............................................................................................18 2.1.1.1 Background Statistics and Trends in Education ................................ 18 2.1.1.2 Education System Structure ................................................................. 19 2.1.1.3 The Private/Public School System ........................................................ 20 2.1.2 Economic Context ..............................................................................................21 2.1.3 Political Context .................................................................................................22 2.1.3.1 Election Processes and Government Features .................................... 23 2.1.3.2 Weaknesses in Civil Liberties and Fundamental Freedoms .............. 25 2.1.4 History of Conflict Context ...............................................................................27 2.1.5 Definitions of Core Concepts throughout This Study .....................................28 2.1.5.1 Conflict .................................................................................................... 28 vi 2.1.5.2 Peace ........................................................................................................ 29 2.1.5.3 Quality Education .................................................................................. 30 2.2 Factors That Lead to and Exacerbate Civil War and Ethnic Conflict .................... 32 2.2.1 Factors Cause Civil War and Ethnic Conflict .................................................32 2.2.2 Factors that Exacerbate Conflict within a Country........................................35 2.2.3 Contributions of This Study to Conflict Studies in Education ......................37 2.3 Conflict, Peace, and Education in Consociational Countries ................................... 38 2.3.1 Contributions of This Study to Consociationalism Literature ......................42 3.0 Research Design .................................................................................................................... 45 3.1 Methods ......................................................................................................................... 45 3.1.1 Data Collection ...................................................................................................45 3.1.2 Recruitment and Representation ......................................................................47 3.1.3 Research Timetable ............................................................................................52 3.1.4 Methodological Underpinnings .........................................................................53 3.1.4.1 Ethnography ........................................................................................... 54 3.1.4.2 Narrative Inquiry ................................................................................... 55 3.1.5 Data Collection and Analysis Framework .......................................................57 3.1.6 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................61 3.1.7 Research Quality ................................................................................................73 3.1.8 Modifications to the Original Study Plan ........................................................75 3.1.9 Caveats and Constraints ....................................................................................77 4.0 In the Dark: Education Factors That Exacerbate Sectarian Conflict ............................. 82 4.1 Darkness around Unequal Access ............................................................................... 86 vii 4.1.1 Sectarian Structure of the School System ........................................................86
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