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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 Afghanistan. This paper investigates and examine the position of Afghan women in Afghan law from various angles and perspectives. The researchers approached the subject of women by taking into account their worldviews, assumptions, and subjective variables. The purpose of this research is to evaluate Afghan women's active, long-term, and meaningful presence in Afghanistan over the last century. The study's findings show that despite deliberate campaigns, efforts, and ongoing struggles over the last century, Afghan women are still denied the right to education, political participation, and institutional employment.

In Afghanistan, education has largely been destroyed, partly in the name of Islam, by the wars fought on its behalf, or by different ethnic groups vying for control of this Islamic country. Similarly, curriculum has been used to promote political and/or religious viewpoints and to strengthen positions of power. War dominated the language of curriculum to such an extent that it became part of the discourse on Islam and education in Afghanistan. In what might be called post-conflict Afghanistan, the new Life Skills curriculum for primary schools promotes ideals of peace and social justice that are inherent in Islam, while being influenced by Western concepts of pluralism and civil society. This paper considers past sociopolitical influences on language and content of textbooks, and examines Islamic and civil society principles espoused in the new curriculum framework as reflected in the Life Skills curriculum. Finally, it considers the convergence of universal themes and Islamic culture/traditions in the curricula of countries where the education systems serve Muslim populations. (Contains 2 notes.)

Iran has been among the top ten largest refugee‐host countries worldwide, sheltering one of the largest groups of forced migrants from Afghanistan during the past four decades. This policy paper briefly examines and summarizes the policies related to education of Afghan children in Iran through a structured review. The results of this review suggest that higher education has been and continues to be heavily restricted for Afghans. While access to primary education has improved for Afghans in Iran, policies continue to neglect both cultural specificity and unique needs of this group. Therefore, enrolment has remained restricted. The findings of our policy analysis call for further attention to culturally relevant education, financial assistance for families living in poverty and interventions to subsidize the cost of education to ensure access of all Afghan children to primary education and retain enrolment. Results also call for reconsiderations in restrictive higher education policies for Afghans in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 Afghanistan. This paper investigates and examine the position of Afghan women in Afghan law from various angles and perspectives. The researchers approached the subject of women by taking into account their worldviews, assumptions, and subjective variables. The purpose of this research is to evaluate Afghan women's active, long-term, and meaningful presence in Afghanistan over the last century. The study's findings show that despite deliberate campaigns, efforts, and ongoing struggles over the last century, Afghan women are still denied the right to education, political participation, and institutional employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R. Freeman Butts was an American historian and philosopher of education who died in March 2010. This paper will investigate Butts’ various roles and writings and ask the question: why is Butts important to the contemporary generation of teacher educators and teachers? This paper will argue that the breadth of Butts’ work builds connections and is a very positive model for sub-disciplines in education. Firstly, it is critical to examine Butts’ contribution, as Butts provokes teachers to inquire about the ‘context of education,’ rather than simply the ‘how to’ of teaching and the question of classroom management. Additionally, it is significant to for educators to study Butts’ life and works as they embody the essence of service – in his case, as an education diplomat. He started with what former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton calls ‘the conversation,’ and this led eventually to projects such as the Afghan Project to bring development to Afghanistan in the era of the mid to late twentieth century. Finally, one can argue that Freeman Butts’ life and works provide educators with an interdisciplinary example as Butts’ combined the talents of an historian and an international educator, something that remains sorely needed today. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Mutefekkir, Faculty of Islamic Sciences is the property of Aksaray University, Faculty of Islamic Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Peace is a basic human need but, unfortunately, in parts of the world, violence is a major cause of suffering for the inhabitants. Further, trouble in one country causes instability throughout the region. The history of Afghanistan is full of instability and, for the past few decades, the volatile situation has adversely affected its neighbours, especially Pakistan and China. In the post-NATO drawdown, Afghanistan's security is at stake, which is alarming for the whole region. This study is an attempt to analyse this situation, particularly regarding how a comprehensive peace education process can help promote regional security. The last part of the paper, which focuses mainly on mechanisms to initiate a peace education process, is the outcome of a ten-year-long field survey in which a large number of people were interviewed. The paper argues that, in addition to various other measures, there is an urgent need to initiate a comprehensive and integrated system of peace education in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and China via a network of peace education centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Against a backdrop of more than four decades of war, conflict and insecurity, Afghanistan is recognised as suffering from endemic violence and children are exposed to multiple forms of violence, including at the family and school levels. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of school-based peace education and a community-based intervention to change harmful social norms and practices related to gender and the use of violence in conflict resolution, implemented in Afghanistan with the aim of reducing violence against and between children. Methods: The evaluation consisted of a cross-sectional, interrupted time series design with three data collection points over 12 months. Data was collected from students in 11 secondary schools (seven girls’ and four boys’ schools) in Jawzjan province of Afghanistan, with a total of 361 boys and 373 girls sampled at endline. All children were interviewed with a questionnaire developed for the study. Key outcomes included children’s experience of peer violence (both perpetration and victimization) at school, corporal punishment both at home and at school, and observation of family violence. Other outcomes included children’s gender equitable attitudes, attitudes towards child punishment, depression and school performance. Results: Between baseline and endline evaluation points, there were significant reductions in various forms of violence at the school level, including both boys’ and girls’ past month experience of peer violence victimization, peer violence perpetration, and corporal punishment by teachers. There were also significant reductions in boys’ and girls’ experience of corporal punishment at home and observation of family violence, with a particularly strong effect observed among girls. Both boys and girls had significantly more equitable gender attitudes and significantly less violence-supportive attitudes in relation to children’s punishment, and significantly fewer symptoms of depression. Girls’ school attendance was also significantly higher at endline. Discussion: To our knowledge this is the first time that a peace education program has been evaluated in Afghanistan, with or without a community intervention to change harmful social norms and practices related to gender and the use of violence for conflict resolution. The evaluation suggests that the intervention may have led to a reduction in various forms of violence, including children’s peer violence, corporal punishment of children both at school and at home, and in children’s reports of domestic violence against women at the household level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper draws on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 data for nearly 60 educational systems to explore the characteristics and patterns of school violence across a number of countries and the extent to which measures of violence are associated with achievement in mathematics and science. Using a multi-level modelling approach, we examine the relationship between school violence and mathematics achievement. Findings from the international model indicate the extent to which violence at and across different levels impacts achievement in a cross-country, large-scale assessment. This paper suggests significant policy-relevant issues about school and national violence and the implications for academic achievement in an increasingly global world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the operation of madrasas in Afghanistan. While numerous projects, initiatives and studies have focused on education generally in Afghanistan, considerably less attention has been directed towards madrasas specifically. Part of the reason can be attributed to the unclear role they play in the wider efforts to provide education across the country and the difficulty of formally including them within the nation-building project. The claim of this paper is that madrasas in Afghanistan are by and large localised and community-driven. The localised nature of Afghan madrasas can be understood as the product of the political tensions throughout the country’s history between a state marked by tenuous authority and dispersed communities closely observant of unwelcome state interference. Moreover, the government lacks the resources and reach to provide educational services in many rural areas, thereby tacitly relying on localised madrasa to provide a base level of education to much of the population. Understanding the entanglements between education, politics and authority is crucial for appreciating the unique space that madrasas inhabit within the country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper compares the American and Soviet transformations at Kabul University, Afghanistan, during the 1960s to the 1980s explained in terms of Americanisation and Sovietisation. Using new declassified documents from both American and former Soviet archives, the author reveals that both powers attempted to impose their rival models of university education in Afghanistan. However, resistance on the part of the Afghan university undermined both of their cultural influences, thus causing their policies of reform to eventually fail. The case of Kabul University demonstrates the inability of the superpowers to encourage the formation of pliable students and professors. Despite crucial transformations in the structure, administration apparatus, and content of disciplines, both superpowers were not able to change the traditions and values of professors and students. The university community has been proven to be the main cause for the success or failure of any reforms brought to a university by external powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper focuses on examining students' attitudes and perception of statistics in Afghanistan universities and the factor structure of the statistical anxiety rating scale (STARS). In total, 209 undergraduate students from different disciplines in different universities in Afghanistan participated in the study. In addition to testing the factor structure of the STARS, a multivariate multilevel analysis that incorporates the correlation in the data was carried out on the aggregated subscales of the STARS scores. Results showed that the original 6-factor structure did not fit the Afghanistan data well. Exploratory factor analysis identified 5-factor constructs to best fit the data and was confirmed by the fit indices as well as a likelihood ratio test. Male students showed more positive attitudes toward statistics and a higher level of statistics anxiety than their female counterparts. Female students experienced higher levels of fear of asking for help and less anxiety in computation. Students who had taken at least a previous statistics course had lower statistics anxiety than those taking the course for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper provides a demand based balance of flow manpower model premised in mathematical programming to provide insight into the potential futures of the Afghan Education System. Over the previous three decades, torn from multiple wars and an intolerant governing regime, the education system in Afghanistan has been decimated. Over the past 10 years Afghanistan and the international community have dedicated a substantial amount of resources to educate the youth of Afghanistan. By forecasting student demand we are able to determine points of friction in the teacher production policy regarding grade level, gender, and province across a medium-term time horizon. We modify the model to provide sensitivity analysis to inform policies. Examples of such policies are accounting for the length of teacher training programs and encouragement of inter-provincial teacher moves. By later applying a stochastic optimization model potential outcomes regarding changes in teacher retention attributed to policy decisions, incentives to teach, or security concerns are highlighted. This model was developed in support of the validation of a large scale simulation regarding the same subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education for children with disabilities in Afghanistan, particularly disabled girls, continues to lag behind despite laudable efforts of the Ministry of Education to promote universal access for all. The opportunity for education constitutes not just a means of achieving learning outcomes but also a space for social interaction, individual development and psychosocial support, which are paramount in Conflict-Affected Fragile States (CAFS). However, many persisting barriers still need to be overcome in Afghanistan to allow education for all and change negative attitudes towards education of children with disabilities. In this paper we argue that viewing education as a basic commodity, which is the widespread practice in CAFS, is not conducive to expanding human freedoms and capabilities. More specifically, through analyses of a national survey, we demonstrate that despite considerable resources, increasing access to education in Afghanistan has maintained processes of marginalisation of the already excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since Afghanistan is strategically crucial for India, a strong and vibrant economic relationship with Afghanistan is, therefore, of critical value and relevance for India. In view of India's relations with its close neighbour Pakistan, Afghanistan attaches further significance for India. Close and stable relations with Afghanistan are possible through sustained and growing trade and investment relations. Afghanistan is blessed with enormous resources and because of its geographical position will become an energy corridor (for TAPI gas pipeline) in the future that would be of considerable importance to India. As a growing and large economy, India needs more energy resources to sustain her high economic growth. In the prevailing scenario, India as the largest and important nation of South Asia, occupying a major expanse of territory with extensive resources and potential, require and sought to increase its commerce and friendship ties with Afghanistan. As a war torn economy, Afghanistan wanted India to establish extensive cooperation in energy, education, agriculture, infrastructure, security, banking, trade and commerce. Besides, Afghanistan is a bridge connecting South Asia with Central Asia, Middle East and beyond. More importantly, the paper has highlighted the bilateral trade potential and modest attempt has made towards in depicting Afghanistan as potential and important country for India in terms of geo-strategic, geo-political and geo-economic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we evaluate the impact of a literacy program for internally displaced female refugees in Afghanistan. The results of the evaluation show that the program was beneficial both for the women who received it and for their children, as participants were 50% points more likely to be able to read and write and 19% points more likely to work. The program also had positive effects on their children who were 2.6% points more likely to be enrolled in secondary school. Overall, the evaluation results suggest that adult literacy programs may mitigate intergenerational poverty traps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The departing point of this study is to understand the implications of 'nation‐building' as a Western initiative in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) particularly in terms of the local conceptualisation of nation or millat. Based on this larger question, the goal of this study is to reveal the idea of nation as presented in the discourse of education constructed by the state of Afghanistan. To this end, the study employs three major primary resources: official state documents, school textbooks and expert interviews conducted at the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan. Pursuing a qualitative research methodology, the study uncovers four major elements that make up the idea of the 'nation of Afghanistan' or the millat‐e Afghanistan: (1) Islam, (2) watan (homeland), (3) qawm and (4) Afghaniyat (Afghanness). Reflecting a very specific understanding of nation that is peculiar to the context of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, this study concludes that the Western‐imposed form of nation has a local content which struggles hard to keep the idea of nation together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between an early Islamic education and academic achievement in Afghanistan. Fears of political indoctrination have dominated discussions of Islamic schooling among many Westerners, making some policy-makers hesitant to support the kind of education to which most children in Afghanistan have access. In addition, misunderstandings of Islamic education as well as assumptions about the lack of educational benefits from pre-primary or primary Islamic schools have helped sideline them in policy discussions. But mosque schools may play an important role in preparing children for academic success. Children who attend mosque schools score better on tests of literacy than those who do not. This is particularly significant in countries like Afghanistan where many children do not have access to formal education. These findings suggest that mosque schools merit more careful attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education is one of the basic necessities of every person which is accepted by the United Nations as one of the basic rights of the individual male and female. Gender differences in educational achievementsиhave long been the focus of researches. Several studies have reported that female students outperform their male counterparts. The purpose of this study is to identify the percentage of intelligence level between male and female based on their exam score taking. The sample size estimation was created on the consecutive sampling where all cases are accessible in a given period of time. In a cross-sectional study out of a total of 610 students of the Dentistry Department of Kabul University of Medical Sciences which is one of the top public universities in Afghanistan, 278 were males and 332 females. The results of final exams of fall semester 2019 of Dentistry Department have been collected, then the percentage of each class have been calculated separately to find out which gender group is due to be among top ten students in each class. And in addition we have calculated how many students of both gender show above 80 percent. Two Sample T Test and Ms. excel were used for statistical analysis. This research showed that the numbers of Female students are more in top ten than male students in each class of Dentistry Department. We can accomplish that female students are more hardworking compared to male students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, gender differences in education have been an area of policy concern, research, and development partnerships. The international agenda of gender equality has been adopted by national governments even in countries, such as Afghanistan, where predominant views are clearly at variance with this agenda. Attempts to analyse such conditions must be based on examination of gender and education in the broader political and cultural context. Gender issues have been a central theme in an EU-funded Master's programme in Educational Research and Development for Afghan students at Nangarhar University, conducted during 2008–2010. This article analyses the political and cultural context of gender in Afghanistan, which constitutes the framework for the Afghan students' understandings of gender and education. These are examined as expressed in texts produced by the students and in group interviews. On the basis of our analysis, the following tension is clear: the students are aware of the international agenda of gender equality in education, but at the same time they are concerned about problems in the practical application of this agenda in their own society and relate these concerns to their interpretations of principles of Islam and Afghan cultural traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Electronic Journal of Political Science Studies (EJPSS) is the property of Electronic Journal of Political Science Studies (EJPSS) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: Teachers in community-based or home-based schools in Afghanistan play a critical role in extending access to education to children who are unable to access the government schools, especially girls. These teachers—men and women—are nominated by the community to teach, without necessarily having teaching experience or even completing their own education. Whilst they may feel under-confident about their teaching skills and need ongoing professional development and support, these teachers nonetheless have a strong sense of their roles in the community, especially with respect to guiding children in their faith and promoting children''s ‘tarbia’ (moral and ethical character) and well-being. This paper draws on qualitative data collected though the Healing Classrooms Initiative of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Using interview and questionnaire responses it presents home-based school teachers’ experiences and beliefs about education and the role of the teacher, and discusses how these constitute alternative qualifications in the context of early reconstruction in Afghanistan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

I examine the pattern of selection on education of asylum seekers recently arrived in Germany from five key source countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Iraq, Serbia, and Syria. The analysis relies on original individual-level data collected in Germany combined with surveys conducted at origin. The results reveal a positive pattern of selection on education for asylum seekers who were able to flee Iraq and Syria, and the selection is neutral for individuals seeking asylum from Afghanistan and negative for asylum seekers from Albania and Serbia. I provide an interpretation of these patterns based on differences in the expected length of stay at destination, the migration costs faced by asylum seekers to reach Germany, and the size of migration networks at destination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Electronic Turkish Studies is the property of Electronic Turkish Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Merger of FATA was long awaited demand of Pakistani nation in order to mainstream the neglected region of the country. On 31st May 2018, FATA region was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) by the repealing 1901 regulation. In an attempt to assess the impact of FATA merger with KPK; qualitative study was conducted in form of interviews of locals of each tribal district. Five major domains were analyzed, the cultural amalgamation- Judicial system versus Jirga system, educational shift from Madrassa to national educational standards, Health standards from urban practices to rural practices, economic shift from free market to regular market and overall impact on national security including regional dynamics involving security situation in Afghanistan. Most of the respondents showed deep concern over performance of Government and slow pace of development in the region. Though some efforts have been put in, however the short comings in social sector are detrimental to national security drive due to its vulnerability to international actors to exploit for re-emergence of conflict. Additionally, the security situation is Afghanistan has direct impact on security of Pakistan. The U.S and Taliban negotiators are extensively engaged in peace agreements, despite sporadic clashes between opposing forces. However, needless to say; it is the country's internal strength that can dictate level of impact of foreign intervention in that country. Therefore; Pakistan Government needs to manifest already planned reforms in social sector on fast track, generate economic activity and strengthen governance in this part of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly four decades of instability and fragility have led to many changes in the status of women and girls in Afghanistan. Yet, little research focuses on these changes within the education system. To understand the country’s stance toward gender issues in formal practice, we examine gender representations in Afghan primary-level Dari language arts textbooks. Using a qualitative content analysis and longitudinal data, we examine how ideologies about gender have been politicised in Afghanistan and are reflected in school textbooks from 1980 to 2010. Findings suggest that tumultuous political events and power struggles in the recent history of Afghanistan have led to many changes in how the daily social and working lives of Afghan women and girls have been portrayed in textbooks. As seen in the textbooks, it appears that efforts are being made within the current regime to balance competing gender norms. We conclude with suggestions for policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 2.5 million Americans served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In this short article, we consider the impact of these experiences on their future welfare. Specifically, we ask if those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq are more or less likely to exploit their GI Bill benefits in order to pursue higher education than service members who did not directly participate in these conflicts. We exploit a comprehensive administrative dataset that the US Armed Forces' Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) provided to us. We find across models that deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq significantly increases the likelihood that veterans will take advantage of their educational benefits, but that exposure to violent combat significantly decreases it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the challenging issues that educational organizations in developing countries face in staffing classrooms with qualified teachers is the high rate of teachers’ turnover. It creates problems for schools, which eventually leads to substandard instruction and low student achievement. This research explores the causes of English teachers’ turnover in a Non-Government Educational Organization in Kabul, Afghanistan. The results indicate that lack of teachers’ motivation, low salary, communication gap between management and teachers, market opportunities for English teachers, workload, absence of career path and weak recruitment processes are the major factors contributing to teachers’ turnover in Afghanistan. The high teachers’ turnover leads to such negative effects as interruptions in learning process, behavioural adjustment of students with new teachers, continuous exposure of students with novice teachers, emotional detachments of students with their teachers and negative effects on students’ learning. The article concludes that educational organizations should deal with their teachers more humanely. Teachers retain and perform in an organization when they are valued, motivated and satisfied with their jobs and their professional status. In the absence of such environment, it is likely that educational organizations in Afghanistan would continue to struggle to attract and retain qualified teachers, which will eventually compromise on the achievements of their students. Considering the findings, creation of covenantal bond rather than contractual bond is suggested as a strategy that could be augmented by a transformational leadership, which can motivate the teachers to remain committed to their profession. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This case details the challenges faced by various members of a 4-year university regarding Kathryn, a non-traditional transfer student and military veteran who recently returned from a traumatic deployment in Afghanistan. Precisely, this study identifies ambiguities pertaining to (a) threat assessment, (b) university weapons policies, (c) transfer students from community colleges to 4-year institutions, (d) military veteran students, (e) awareness and treatment of student mental health concerns, and (f) student residential issues. The case presents educational leaders with a detailed narrative of various campus stakeholders and promotes discussion of topics related to university policy, veterans’ affairs, and campus safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Introduction discusses approaches to and perspectives on analyzing the complex relationship between education, fragility, and conflict and its underlying causes and dynamics. It argues for the need for contextual and time-bound multi-level analyses of interlinked societal dimensions in order to address the ultimate purposes of education policies and programmes, whether they aim to ameliorate or transform existing conditions. Examples are presented of the ways these dimensions apply to the country cases on Afghanistan, Bolivia, Nepal, and Sudan and to the discussion of why quality data is important for analysis, and for policy and programme design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the possible impact of the war in Afghanistan after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the U.S. troops left the country. It says that the Afghan Security Forces (ASF) lacks the ability to plan and conduct operations due to the absence of properly trained officer corps and senior leadership. It mentions several problems that can be encountered in the country including lack of education, direct infusion of development funding, and national security.

Training paraprofessionals such as teachers is one of many significant challenges facing Afghanistan's educational system. This case study focuses on the innovations offered in that regard by BRAC, a large NGO based in Bangladesh that brought its many years of development experience to Afghanistan in 2002 and established itself there as the premier change agent on multiple developmental fronts. Through the use of structured and semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, classroom observations, and extensive document analysis, the authors conclude that by successfully modifying its teacher training programme in Bangladesh, BRAC has been able to develop an approach to teacher training in Afghanistan that may become a showcase example of effective South-South partnership in education. The article concludes by urging adoption of BRAC's innovations in teacher training and recruitment by other developing nations facing similar challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘mentoring’ of the Afghan armed forces will increasingly feature in the Coalition agenda as its involvement in Afghanistan gradually shifts to an ‘indirect approach’ by 2015. Therefore, the challenge for Western policymakers will be to set effective long-term policies into motion while setting aside any false expectations of short-term success. However, Coalition policies in this area to date have emphasized building a quantitatively large Afghan military system in the short-term, with little interest, apart from rhetorical, in stressing quality. This article argues that such policies will have profoundly negative implications for the ability of the Afghan state to build a relatively competent and sustainable military system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

mid rising violence against civilian aid operations in insecure environments, attacks on the education sector pose a unique set of challenges for international aid actors. In recent years incidents of violence targeting the education sector in Afghanistan and the conflict-affected areas of Pakistan have increased. This article synthesizes recent research, quantitative analyses, and observations of practitioners in order to explore the key issues facing aid workers in the education sector. The findings suggest that in extremely violent and polarized environments such as Afghanistan and the conflict-affected areas of Pakistan, the international community can provide education assistance more effectively and securely through a low-profile, community-based approach that de-emphasizes the role of government, and avoids, as far as possible, any association with international political/military actors. The authors conclude that education sector coordinators could play a larger role in providing practical guidance and supporting an inter-agency dialogue to share lessons and good practice in delivering education services in these contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the U.S. Army critical care nurses training before and during deployment in order to prepare them in serving as critical care casualty transport employees in a combat environment. It says that services in U.S. military differ in critical care casualty transport and in personnel who performs the mission. Furthermore, U.S. Army nurses require intensive training because their expanded function is provision of care on injured patients transported via helicopter. INSET: A Typical Transport of a Critically Ill Patient.

Youth in Tajikistan and Afghanistan struggle to attend secondary school. Educational research indicates that individual, family and community factors are key determinants of educational participation. The question that dominated past research was whether family or community variables had a greater influence on educational participation. Instead, this article asks how the community context shapes the influence of family characteristics on educational participation. Using recent data from the Tajikistan Living Standards Measurement Survey and Afghanistan National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment, we demonstrate ways that school availability, school costs and work opportunities shape individual and family determinants of youth educational participation in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. We find that there is greater divergence between communities in Tajikistan than in Afghanistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Carolina Friends School has sustained a peace education effort grounded in a sister-school relationship with a school in rural Afghanistan since 2002. Activities at this Quaker school involve students from preschool through high school in pen pal friendships, ten-day diary exchanges, peace-quilt exchanges, fund-raisers, and a variety of in-class programs about Islam and Afghan culture. Funds have been used in Afghanistan to furnish classrooms, equip playgrounds, and support teacher training. The project aims to educate students about cultural differences underlying conflict in the world and to seek a more peaceful world through building relationships among the sister-school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about blood-borne infection awareness and knowledge among obstetric populations and health care providers in Afghanistan. HIV and hepatitis B awareness and knowledge are described among 4452 intrapartum patients completing an interviewer-administered questionnaire and whole-blood rapid testing and 123 obstetric care providers completing a questionnaire between June 2006 and September 2006. Participants were enrolled from three Kabul public maternity hospitals. Most participants were aware of HIV (50.8% of patients and 95.9% of providers) and hepatitis (72.1% of patients and 91.1% of providers). Correct transmission knowledge (defined as naming three correct routes and no incorrect routes) was lower for both groups (HIV: 19.4% for patients and 59.7% for providers; hepatitis B: 1.90% for patients and 33.9% for providers). Correct HIV transmission knowledge among providers was independently associated with level of education (AOR=1.75, 95% CI: 1.20-2.55). While HIV and hepatitis B awareness is common, correct and comprehensive knowledge is not. Continuing education for providers and health communications strategies should address identified knowledge gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relative progress and major setbacks in the education of Afghan women from the end of the Taliban regime until the present, focusing on government and NGO reconstruction efforts. It is argued that these projects promote the agendas of the state and of NGOs over the needs of women and girls. The adversities arising from recent waves of violence affect the female population most acutely. Just when the education sector was making tentative progress, with some girls' schools being built and operating, the current security realities pose major hurdles to post-conflict reconstruction and rebuilding. This is the environment in which Afghan women continue to struggle against the misogynist and fanatically militant elements that have threatened any areas of progress within the rebuilding of the country. As such, security and a reorientation of state and NGO policies are essential preconditions for women's educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we argue that adult literacy as part of international development is an issue of both human rights and women's rights. We explore this by presenting a case study of the effects of one innovative adult literacy program in Afghanistan that places men and women, as well as various ethnicities, together in the same classroom as couples, using principles that social psychological research has shown can reduce inter-group tension and interpersonal discord. We focus on interviews with the married couples taking part in this program. They learn to support each other's learning, and to treat each other with respect and kindness in spite of differences. These interviews indicated that they felt their newfound literacy skills had changed their daily lives, their view of themselves and their relationships with spouse, family and community, even nation. Since the vast majority of Afghans cannot read or write, the findings stand as a reminder that literacy education can have transformative value and that action and funding remain as needed as ever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mine-risk education programmes will fall short of their intended impact for as long as they fail to take into account local responses--knowledge, logic and everyday practices--to mine threats. Community information, systematically collected through household and institutional surveys, can help to define and understand endogenous 'mine smartness'. The same evidence provides insight into the impact of mine-risk education, including its unintended consequences. Using six criteria of mine smartness, CIET carried out evaluations of mine-risk education in Afghanistan (1997) and Angola (1999). The first clear lesson to be drawn from these evaluations is that people in mine-affected areas do generate their own broadly effective means of facing the daily threat of mines. The second lesson is that people take risks for reasons that make sense to them: 'education' that landmines are dangerous probably adds little value for them. The third lesson is that mine-risk education that does not take into account these first two lessons can cause harm. The evaluations produced evidence of unintended risk-taking by people exposed to mine-risk education programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the efforts of Pakhtun, the largest tribal in the world, to pursue modern education as of 2017. Pakhtun can be found in the northwestern parts of Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and in other parts of Afghanistan. It mentions the hostilities, devastation and disgrace faced by Pakhtuns for the last 40 years. The history of modern education in Pakistan is discussed.