Ideological Foundations and Their Impact on Educational Policies in Afghanistan in the Past Century

Document Type : پژوهشی

Authors

• Rohollah Eslami ¹
• Basir Ahmad Hasin ²

¹ Assistant Professor of Political Science at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

² Doctoral of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science - Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and a member of the academic staff of the political science department of Jami University of Afghanistan

10.22067/fedu.2025.87540.1340

Abstract

The aim of this research is to examine the ideological foundations and their impact on educational policies in Afghanistan over the past century. Although the susceptibility of educational policies to prevailing ideologies is a common rule, in Afghanistan, this rule has undergone transformations. The main question is: What have been the ideological foundations and their impact on educational policies in Afghanistan in the recent century? The assumption is that Afghanistan's educational system has undergone transformations under the influence of ideological foundations and the values of ruling governments. The theoretical framework of the research is based on Louis Althusser's theory. The method of this research is documentary, descriptive-analytical, and information gathering tools include library resources, articles, and journals. The findings indicate that educational policy has been influenced by four types of ideological foundations: from the reign of Amanullah Khan to the end of Daud Khan's era, the government's efforts focused on strengthening individual and familial governance. During the communist rule, the educational system was influenced by revolutionary and communist ideologies. During the reign of the Mujahideen and Taliban, educational policies and curricula were based on religious teachings with an Islamic interpretation. After 2001, during the rule of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, efforts were made to institutionalize the values of liberal democracy in programs and textbooks.

Keywords

• Ideology
• Educational System
• Afghanistan
• Curricula

Main Subjects

• Educational Philosophy

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