Explaining the Factors Influencing the Construction of National Identity in Iraqi School Environments

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to explain the factors influencing the construction of national identity in Iraqi school environments. Methods and Materials: This qualitative study was conducted using an exploratory and interpretive approach. Participants consisted of 20 university faculty members, educational researchers, school administrators, and experts from Tehran who had relevant academic or professional experience in education, curriculum studies, sociology, cultural studies, political science, citizenship education, national identity, or the Iraqi sociocultural context. Participants were selected through purposive sampling with maximum variation, and sampling continued until informational saturation was achieved. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews lasting approximately 45–70 minutes. Interviews were recorded with participants' permission, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis. Meaning units were identified, condensed, coded, compared continuously, and organized into subcategories and broader conceptual categories. Credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability were enhanced through member checking, peer review of coding, maximum variation, systematic documentation of analytical decisions, and repeated comparison of interpretations with the original transcripts. Findings: Qualitative analysis yielded six major categories influencing national identity construction in Iraqi school environments: educational and curricular factors, teacher-related factors, school cultural and organizational factors, sociocultural factors, political and institutional factors, and family, media, and community factors. Educational and curricular factors received the greatest analytical emphasis, particularly inclusive curriculum design, history and civic education, national symbols, cultural representation, and extracurricular citizenship activities. Sociocultural factors highlighted the importance of integrating ethnic, religious, linguistic, and regional diversity within a shared national framework. Political and institutional factors emphasized institutional trust, educational equality, policy coherence, and political neutrality. Teachers and school climate were identified as important mediators through fairness, inclusive pedagogy, participation, and respectful interaction. Family narratives, community discourse, and digital media were also found to reinforce or weaken school-based national identity formation. Conclusion: National identity construction in Iraqi schools is a multidimensional and interactive process requiring coherence among curriculum, teacher practices, inclusive school culture, recognition of sociocultural diversity, institutional fairness, and the wider family, community, and media environment.