Conceptual framework
Texte intégral
1This research relies on the study of narratives disseminated about a particular conflict, in this case the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, to gain insight into how education is used to support the peacebuilding process within that context. In this study, the term narrative refers to an account of an event used to help recipients make sense of what has occurred (László, 2008). According to Wertsch (2008), cognitive processes occur to help people understand external stimuli and have a tendency to make schemas to allow subjects to make sense in the easiest and quickest way possible. This has an impact in shaping the way groups view their past. As narratives are used to provide justification for violence, the continued prevalence of these conflict-supporting narratives in a society threatens the longevity of peace (Federman, 2016). On the other hand, according to Edlmann (2017) space given to encounter different ways individuals and communities remember a conflict can support sustainable peacebuilding efforts by changing both the way people think and interact with each other over time.
2In order to assess the impact of post-conflict education as it pertains to Rwandan peacebuilding efforts, textbooks are used to ascertain the dominant narrative being taught in Rwanda relating to the 1994 Genocide. At the intra-societal level, formal institutions such as schools are often used as a way of disseminating the desired conflict-supporting narratives of the leading faction, with school textbooks acting as a tool to achieve these goals (Bar-Tal et al., 2014; Bush & Saltarelli, 2000; Grever & Vlies, 2017). Textbooks can be manipulative and may portray certain groups in overtly negative ways, promoting ethnic intolerance through negative stereotypes (Bush & Saltarelli, 2000). In crafting textbooks, the authors not only make choices as to how to portray the events included, but at a more fundamental level they decide what is important enough to pass on to the next generation of students (Grever & Vlies, 2017). As such, the examination of nationally produced textbooks offers the researchers the ability to analyse the extent to which narratives being shared are conflict-supporting or peace-supporting and would therefore be useful in answering the central research question.
3Previous researchers have provided a number of tools useful in conducting this work. Bush and Saltarelli (2000) write that positive peacebuilding educational initiatives must both ‘deconstruct structures of violence’ and ‘construct structures of peace’ (Bush & Saltarelli, 2000, vii). Although his work focuses on structural planning frameworks rather than educational materials, the way Sanz (2012) conceptualises how different actors in narratives fit into character archetypes is useful in understanding how similar elements play out in the narratives found in textbooks. This is also reflected in Federman’s (2016) work, along with how narrative interventions can be used to promote peacebuilding by tackling problematic dynamics and latent conflicts that are not addressed by traditional peacebuilding tactics. Finally, research done by Bar-Tal et al. (2014) provides vital insight into the use of conflict-supporting and peacebuilding narratives that establishes a framework for examining narratives found in the content analysed.

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