Conference Program

Israeli military checkpoints and gates in the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a geographical and political reality that imposes its control over the details of daily life, particularly the educational journey. These checkpoints go beyond being mere physical traffic barriers; they have become tools aimed at fragmenting and isolating the educational environment (Nicolai, 2007). While many previous studies have focused on the quantitative impact of these checkpoints on the educational process, this qualitative study fills a crucial research gap by exploring the "lived experience" of Palestinian students. The study views their daily school commute not merely as a state of suffering, but as a democratic act and a daily practice of resistance against enforced ignorance, where the mere insistence on crossing these military points and being present in the classroom transforms into a living form of steadfastness and an assertion of existence (Rijke & van Teeffelen, 2014).

This study adopts a qualitative research design and a phenomenological approach to gain insight into the meanings high school students construct around their daily journey across checkpoints and to understand its pedagogical implications. The study seeks to answer the core question: What is the essence of the students' lived experience of crossing military checkpoints daily, and how do they construct meaning around this journey as a democratic act and a living practice of resistance to enforced ignorance?

Methodologically, the study relies on a multi-tool qualitative design to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the lived experience, targeting a purposive sample of students who are forced to cross military checkpoints and gates daily (such as friction zones in the South Hebron Directorate). Instead of relying on a single tool, the research integrates in-depth individual interviews, focus groups that highlight the students' collective voice, and the collection and analysis of reflective writings in which students narrate the details of their daily journey. This intersected data will be analyzed to extract the main themes that deconstruct the essence of this experience and reveal its everyday resistance mechanisms.

Preliminary insights are expected to reveal that the round trip across the checkpoint transforms from a mere obstacle into a space for informal learning, where students develop coping strategies and high psychological resilience. The experience also shows how the feeling of oppression intersects with the insistence on being present in the classroom as a form of empowerment and democracy.

The significance of this study lies in reframing the narrative around education in conflict zones; it shifts the student from the position of a submissive victim to that of a democratic and resisting agent. The study offers recommendations for curriculum developers and educational decision-makers on the importance of integrating these lived experiences into school curricula and providing the necessary social-emotional learning (SEL) support, thereby enhancing students' steadfastness and affirming that education under occupation is the highest degree of democratic practice and resistance.