Between Policy Text and Institutional Practice: Recontextualising the Compulsory Quran Translation Course in Pakistani Higher Education Through a Policy Sociology Lens
Keywords:
Policy Sociology, Policy Cycle, Recontextualization, Compulsory Religious Education, Higher Education Pakistan, Case Study, Policy EffectsAbstract
State intervention in the form of compulsory religious education in higher education creates tension among legislative power, institutional autonomy, and teacher agency. This study focuses on the Compulsory Quran Translation Course and its initiation by Punjab provincial legislation between 2018 and 2023, and provides an account of a university enacting the policy. This study adopted a multiple case study design within 10 departments of a public university and the policy cycle framework. The study used semi-structured interviews, systematic classroom observations, and policy document analysis to gather data. The results reveal three interrelated policy effects. First, the policy effect was predominant, with legislative and bureaucratic establishments largely excluding frontline practitioners from policy text formulation. Second, dissemination became the primary emphasis, diminishing the role of course outlines in practice directions. Third, transmission-based teaching, weak monitoring, and tension between shared moral agreement and unclear pedagogy characterised the practice context. This study posits that these are consequences, not mere signs of poor policy implementation; rather, they can be seen as outcomes of the policy's structural design. These findings are valuable to policy sociology, debates on compulsory curriculum reform, and understanding of policy in higher education in the Global South.
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