The paper analyses how mid-level bureaucrats in sub-national offices navigated political considerations when trying to fulfil their roles and responsibilities in the post-conflict context of Nepal. Utilising interview data from a wide range of stakeholders, I focus my analysis on perspectives from district level officials who were called on to…

Headteachers in the community schools are responsible for academic and administrative activities. They are considered role models for integrity practices. However, the situation is different on some occasions. For instance, political interest plays more important roles than qualifications, training, work experience, etc., in school affairs. In…

The modern history of Nepal started after the Kingdom of Nepal was formed during the 1760s through a series of military battles, which is now known as a national unification campaign, led by Prithvi Narayan Shah. The history of mass education, however, started during the 1950s when a political uprising overthrew autocratic Rana regime that had…

This paper outlines the different aspects of language contact in Newar, the ethnic indigenous language community of the Kathmandu valley, focusing on language use and attitudes. The data were collected in 2016-2017 with the help of survey questionnaire, key informant interviews, informal interviews, and various observations based on the…

In the context of educational globalisation, the role of supranational organisations in shaping the educational policy decisions, especially of aid-dependent countries, has increased. Using global governance as a theoretical framework and Critical Policy Sociology (CPS) as a methodological framework, this paper analysed key educational policy…

Analyzing three cases of school-level language policy decision-making in Nepal shows that each school had a pair of language policy arbiters, actors with disproportionate power over language policy decisions. The permissive but passive stance of Nepal's government toward providing multilingual schooling including minoritized languages created a…

The effect of high-stakes language tests on teaching and learning a language is usually known as washback. The true nature of test washback can be understood only by taking account of the educational, cultural, political and social contexts in which the test operates. Nevertheless, little research has explored the factors that affect the nature of…

This case study explores how a group of Grade 9 students engaged in sociopolitical discourses and actions in a science class in a mostly indigenous student school in Nepal. The study used sociopolitical consciousness (SPC) as a framework to document and understand indigenous students' SPC-oriented science interactions and subsequent social change…

This paper explores the perceptions and lived experiences of Nepalese educators and stakeholders in relation to the school curriculum and its influence upon student learning in a culturally and ethnically diverse classroom context. The study adopted a qualitative research design using face-to-face semi-structured interviews and focus group…

That school grounds, students, and staff can become tactical targets for parties in conflict is widely accepted as a fact by analysts of education and conflict. However, our understanding of the motivations for such targeting remains limited, as does our ability to engage with this matter through policy. In this article we explore tactical…

This article utilises the main principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness as one conceptual and methodological strategy for making sense of Nepal's recent experiences of educational reform, primarily an increasing loss in ownership in the transition from a project to programme (SWAp) aid delivery paradigm. Whilst drawing on…

This article focuses on the impact on schools and schooling of the ten-year "People's War" in Nepal between 1997 and 2007. It draws on research conducted in schools under a British Council funded Higher Education link from 2000 to 2006. In particular, we examine the role that education played in creating and sustaining the conflict in…

The recent political transformation of Nepal from a constitutional monarchy to a federal democratic republic and from a Hindu polity to a secular country has brought about some crucial changes in language planning. The Interim Constitution of Nepal has not only recognized the multilingual and multicultural reality of the country but has also…

This article problematises Bush & Saltarelli's call for a new and comprehensive peace building education which empowers children through demonstrating that alternatives to conflict exist, that they have choices and the capacity to change their own and their society's situation. It does so by exploring the various possibilities for empowerment…

A violent conflict between Maoist insurgents and the national government has engulfed Nepal for most of the last decade, a situation that has been complicated by deep-seated instability at the highest levels of the government itself. Even with the declaration of a ceasefire in 2006, violence endures in pockets of lawless banditry and unrest at the…