What is it about?
Following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the country's education system underwent major changes that affected teachers, students and everyday school life. This study draws on the experiences of 21 teachers from across Afghanistan during the first year of Taliban rule to examine how these changes affected teaching and learning. The research identifies three connected experiences: unpredictability, as teachers faced uncertainty about what might happen next; inflexibility, as changes within the education system restricted their ability to respond; and unknowable futures, as teachers struggled to imagine what lay ahead for themselves and their students. Drawing on these experiences, the article introduces the idea of "pedagogies of unbelonging" to explain how education systems can contribute to exclusion and social disruption during periods of political change.
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Why is it important?
Education is often seen as a way to rebuild societies after conflict or political upheaval. However, this research examines how education can also contribute to exclusion and social disruption. By bringing Afghan teachers' experiences into discussions about political change, the article questions the assumption that transitions necessarily lead towards greater stability or progress. It offers a different way of understanding what happens to education when political change brings new restrictions and uncertainty. The concept of "pedagogies of unbelonging" may help researchers and education professionals examine similar processes in other societies experiencing political upheaval. The study also brings attention to the experiences of teachers whose professional lives and futures have been affected by the Taliban's return to power.
Perspectives
For me, one of the important questions raised by this research is what happens to teachers and students when an education system becomes a source of uncertainty and exclusion. The experiences of Afghan teachers deserve attention beyond discussions of education policy and political change. Their accounts help us understand how decisions made at the political level affect everyday teaching, professional life and the possibilities people see for their futures. I believe it is important to examine education not only as a means of social development, but also as an institution that can contribute to exclusion under particular political conditions. The experiences documented in this study provide an opportunity to reconsider some common assumptions about education during political transitions.
Dr Mir Abdullah Miri
University of Bath
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Reverse Transitologies in Comparative Education: Pedagogies of Unbelonging Under the Taliban, Comparative Education Review, May 2026, University of Chicago Press,
DOI: 10.1086/740456.
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