Education is a political construct designed to foster unity and cultivate enmity through narratives. Indigenous peoples in Bangladesh, comprising 54 ethno-linguistically diverse tribes, have historically been marginalized in educational depictions. Textbooks have been criticized for perpetuating bias and reinforcing dominant narratives that marginalize indigenous peoples. This study analyzed the representation of indigenous topics in social science textbooks for primary and junior secondary education, as outlined in the curriculum-2021 (later withdrawn). By employing Spivak’s Subaltern theory and the seven-forms-of-bias framework developed by Sadker & Sadker, this study examined a sample of six state-issued textbooks. The findings revealed that the narratives presented in the texts were riddled with biases and (mis)representation, which continue to exist in terminal competencies and textbooks, perpetuating harmful narratives. The results obtained may serve as a reference for future modifications of educational curricula and texts, with the goal of transforming the education system into a more inclusive framework that provides equitable chances for all.
Shantimoy Chakma (Mon,) studied this question.