A CORPUS-BASED CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF RECURRING IDEOLOGICAL THEMES IN PUNJAB CURRICULUM ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS FOR GRADES 1–2

Abstract

The study uses a quantitative corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to find out the ideological patterns prevalent in English textbooks Grades 1 and 2 published by the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) under the Single National Curriculum (SNC) policy in Pakistan. Based on the three-dimensional model of CDA forwarded by Fairclough, the textual analysis, discursive practice, and social practice, the research takes advantage of corpus linguistic applications, including AntConc, Sketch Engine, and NVivo to identify the ideological presentation and language-based patterns in the texts. The group of four major themes was identified: nationalism, religious beliefs, gender roles, and family constructions. It shows that the same pattern of monolithic Pakistani identity in terms of Islamic religiosity, male-dominated gender roles, and conservative family norms has been replicated with little representation of other pluralistic or progressive variations. With the help of frequency analysis, collocation, keyword extraction and concordance, this paper illustrates how textbook language is an ideological tool of state discourses. The study comes up with empirical findings that outline the necessity of constructive, balanced and intellectually challenging curricular material. It ends with the provision of the policy and pedagogical implications that are relevant to the Vision 2025 of Pakistan and SDG 4, as well as defining the future avenues of the cross-disciplinary research.