CULTURE OF SILENCE IN ACADEMIA OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN: A STUDY INTO DIALOGICAL EDUCATION AND PRAXIS THROUGH CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND CRITICAL THINKING

Abstract

This research paper attempts to concisely describe the existence of culture of silence in academia and see how it proves to be detrimental to both teachers and learners. This research focuses on pedagogical practices through critical consciousness and critical thinking in academia, whereas, the objective of this research is to justify education as the practice of emancipation where students deal with the reality through critical lens in order to discover participatory ways to transform and humanize their world. Data were collected, arranged and executed through qualitative and analytical methods to create logical coherence in the argument. The study was conducted on the basis of mostly primary data from personal observations and first hand experiences of researchers and interviews through the platform of PASS conferences and webinars that provided the prospects to generate an engaging conversation about the topic at hand and, however, secondary sources were also used to corroborate the central argument emphasizing on identifying an issue, analyzing the argument by discovering the facts, and challenging the established socio-cultural assumptions and biases in academia of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and thus integrate the findings prior to draw a synthesized conclusion.