Practicing democratic values in the secondary classrooms of Bangladesh Policy practice: Focus on the three secondary schools of Bangladesh

Abstract

The democracy of Bangladesh undergoes numerous turmoil situations since its birth which always calls for the active practice of the democratic ideals in the learning system of Bangladesh. But the students active participation in the learning process was always undermined that made the education system to depend highly on rote memorization and provided less autonomy for learners successful transformation. Because of the modernization, the country is at present experiencing a transition which makes it crucial for incorporating a constructive structure in the learning system of Bangladesh. Above all, the instability in the politics which is marked by violence keeps on suppressing peoples democratic rights that demands for a constructive change in the education policy, for the development of critically conscious citizens. In 2010 the National Education Policy comes into existence with a more democratic outlook for making the students transformation. Therefore, by taking a qualitative multiple case study approach the present study is conducted on the three schools of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh to examine the level of practice of the policy requirements. A conceptual framework is formed by adopting three core democratic principles freedom, justice and tolerance to see the incorporation of these three values in the classrooms for the successful continuation of the future democracy. Subsequently, the research findings show that though some of the teachers are implementing some effective pedagogical tools but to fulfill the present requirements of policy is challenging. It still requires more understanding of the democratic values. As Bangladesh is in a transition period from a traditional to a modern society therefore, a sudden change cannot be possible. To accept and incorporate the new concept in the country s education system will take time. The country s political culture also creates restriction on teachers autonomy which makes the teachers reluctant to incorporate democratic values in their practices. It needs a collaborative effort of all stakeholders which can pave the way for learners practical transformation.