VPLP and Intersectionality by

How can education move from being harmed by conflict (Victim) to actually causing harm (Perpetrator) when it ignores students' multiple identities?

UCLeducator — 2026-01-12 07:15:42 UTC

Using an example of a student in your classroom, think of their different identity markers (for example, language, ethnicity, religion, gender, or disability). What actions can a teacher take to recognise and value their whole identity as a strength? (Education as a Liberator.)

UCLeducator — 2026-01-12 07:15:55 UTC

Thinking about the same student, how can the teacher support this student to help build understanding and peace among classmates and the wider community? (Education as a Peacebuilder.)

UCLeducator — 2026-05-10 14:23:19 UTC

2026-07-23 00:03:18 UTC

Q1: In my context, education isn't a Victim in the sense of physical destruction, but it can act as Perpetrator in subtler ways — mainstream curricula and teaching materials sometimes assume a fairly uniform economic and linguistic background, which can unintentionally exclude students from lower-income households or those less fluent in English or Urdu as the medium of instruction. This particularly affects displaced or migrant families and students from religious minority backgrounds, who may already carry multiple marginalised identities and feel less represented in what's taught.

Q2: Education has acted as a Liberator in my Baitul Ilm teaching, where faith-based education explicitly values students' religious and cultural identity as a strength, not something to set aside — this builds confidence and belonging. It has acted as Peacebuilder in settings like CDF, where bringing together youth from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds in shared community education spaces fosters cooperation and mutual understanding. What made this possible was intentional, values-based curriculum design and community trust — this could be built on by extending similar inclusive, identity-affirming approaches into mainstream science and maths classrooms, not just faith or community settings.