The Psychological and Educational Impact of Violence on Palestinian Children: Learning and Identity Formation Under Political Oppression

Abstract

This article explores how structural violence under Israeli occupation affects the psychological development and educational experience of Palestinian children.Drawing on developmental psychology, human rights reports, and trauma studies, this paper argues that chronic exposure to military surveillance, displacement, and fear creates a pervasive environment of emotional distress. It begins by mapping the everyday conditions of structural violence, checkpoints, home raids, and school disruptions, and then traces how these conditions produce psychological trauma, including PTSD, anxiety, and learned helplessness.

The paper demonstrates how trauma directly impairs learning, disrupts classroom engagement, and erodes a child’s connection to identity and the future. By framing trauma not as a byproduct of conflict but as an embedded, structural force, the analysis presents the ways in which occupation interrupts childhood, the generational continuity of culture, aspirations, and mental health. Understanding this psychological cost is crucial to any conversation on justice, education, and the future of Palestinian society.