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Dr. Habibullah Pathan's Profile

Dr. Habibullah Pathan is Director and Associate Professor at the Directorate of English Language and Development Centre of Mehran University in Pakistan. Dr. Pathan completed his first Master's degree in English from Pakistan, followed by his second professional Master's in English Language Teaching from the University of Glasgow in 2009. Dr. Pathan would go on to receive a PhD from the University of Glasgow in 2012. His research investigated the role of English courses/ textbooks and socio-psychological factors in learning English. Later, under the Hubert H. Humphrey's professional affiliation opportunity, Dr. Pathan did his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Noam Chomsky and completed his project on Indoctrination Through State Controlled Textbooks in Pakistan.

Dr. Pathan completed his Hubert H. Humphrey fellowship at Boston University in the fields of higher education administration, policy and planning and received certifications from the State Department signed by U.S. President Obama and Senator John Kerry and from Questrom Business school in non-profit management and leadership. To his credit, Dr. Pathan has more than 18 research papers published by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and recognized by national and international journals. He has also presented his research papers on L2 motivation at international conferences as a keynote speaker. In 2016, at the Harvard University Social Enterprise Conference, Dr. Pathan was part of a five-member team who won a 'hackathon' on their proposal for the improvement of community colleges in the U.S. Dr. Pathan also presented a paper on financial literacy and financial inclusion in Pakistan at Boston University; another on higher education reforms in Pakistan at the University of California Davis; and a group presentation at the Global Leadership Forum in Washington D.C. on green financing. Dr. Pathan is the founder of the first ever MPhil/ PhD program in English Language at Mehran University – a first in the 50-year history of the university. He is Chair, Board of Studies at Mehran University and a board member at various other universities in Pakistan for English language teaching courses. Recently, Dr. Pathan authored a book titled Indus Identity: A study of textbooks in Pakistan. With the help of the HEC, Dr. Pathan established the first ever Self Access Center at Mehran University which is now serving as a teacher’s training hub in the country.

Abstract

Cultural and Ideological Discourses Promoted in the English Language Textbooks in Pakistan

This paper uncovers the dominant cultural and ideological discourses promoted through State-run and ‘O’ level textbooks. Critical discourse analysis framework proposed by Fairclough (2003) has been employed in the present study to uncover the underlying ideologies in the textbooks. For data collection, English language textbooks for grade-9 and grade-10 taught in state-run schools and Oxford English language textbooks for ‘O’ level were selected. The study found that English language teaching in Pakistan is a more ideologically-driven phenomenon. Both state-run and elite private schools in Sindh promote two distinct ideologies respectively. In the former case, more localized content including national integration and unity, religious identity and indigenous culture is promoted, whereas the Oxford English language textbooks in elite private schools present a secular worldview to the learners by exposing them to western values and culture. Both the textbooks contribute in perpetuating social and educational inequality with their particular hidden motives. The present study recommends that English language curriculum must contain a balanced content touching upon local, national and international elements. Moreover, the neutral approach to English curriculum may be adopted so that learners can be taught to think critically and have their choices not at stake.