Academic Life and Conflict: Understanding Academic Life through the Eyes of Kyrgyz Teachers in the Conflict between Kyrgyz-Tajik Ethnicities in 2022

In this research, the academic impacts of the 2022 Kyrgyz–Tajik ethnic conflict were examined through the perspective of teachers who were victims of the conflict. Utilizing the qualitative research method of a case study, an unstructured interview technique was employed. The study group of the research consisted of teachers from two schools in Aksai town located in Batken City in the South of Kyrgyzstan, where the conflicts are most intense. The researchers resided in the village for 2 weeks, endeavoring to comprehend the situation faced by the research participants. The research explored the effects of conflict in three phases: initial conflict effects, short-term post-conflict effects, and long-term post-conflict effects. Psychological effects were the most commonly expressed issue within the academic impacts at the onset of the conflict. During the conflict, the most frequently discussed academic impact was related to problems in distance education. It was determined that among the academic effects after the conflict, psychological impacts were once again the most commonly discussed issue. The initial effects of the conflict are characterized by fear and anxiety experienced by both themselves and their students; the short-term academic effects of the conflict are characterized by technological inadequacies as well as a lack of engagement or focus in students’ work; and the long-term effects of the conflict are characterized by an inability to focus on lessons, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders.