Research methodology
Texte intégral
1This research uses the case study of Rwanda to gain insight into different narrative elements found in post-conflict history education. It was chosen as the case-study country for several reasons. Rwanda experienced a moratorium on covering sensitive topics to allow local experts to determine the best way to depict recent history with help from the international community (Buckley-Zistel, 2009; Gasanabo et al., 2016; Henry, 2016), in line with recommendations made for a similar conflict by the Council of Europe (Parliamentary Assembly, 2000). As the ultimate goal of this research is to provide resources for actors aiding in the construction of post-conflict educational material, this context is valuable since it parallels potential situations they may find themselves in. The time period is also relevant, as it has been thirty years since the conflict ended and eighteen years since the history of the conflict was first introduced into the official curriculum (Henry, 2016). This places one full generation between the conflict and now; current students would have no living memory of the conflict but their parents or caregivers likely would, and there has been a decent amount of time for narratives to evolve since they were initially introduced in 2006.
2The educational materials used are the six textbooks provided by the Rwandan Basic Education Board for use in secondary schools (Rwanda Basic Education Board, 2020c, 2020e, 2020d, 2020i, 2020j, 2020k). As a secondary resource, the accompanying teacher’s guides (Rwanda Basic Education Board, 2020a, 2020b, 2020f, 2020g, 2020h, 2022) are used to assist the researcher in understanding the content being presented and the associated goals. These are the most recent textbooks available, representing the most up-to-date narratives being disseminated to students in their formal secondary education. Furthermore, a comparison to the previous textbooks initially published in 2017 (Aime, 2017; Myres et al., 2018) and new ones published in 2020 found minor differences in content, with many sections copied word for word into the new version. Thus, there seems to be some level of consistency in the narrative over the past several years. These textbooks are provided and distributed by the Rwandan government to the over 700,000 secondary school students studying in Rwanda as of 2023, based on a ratio of four students for every textbook for lower secondary school.1 Although secondary school enrolment is still low in comparison to primary school enrolment, it grew by nearly 200,000 pupils between 2017 and 2023 (Ministry of Education, 2024). Moreover, although student numbers are lower for secondary school than primary school, the complexity grows with each level, allowing for deeper analysis of the narrative being portrayed.
3One limitation of this research is that these textbooks are not the only resources used to help educate students about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Students are encouraged within the textbook themselves to use online resources to complete tasks (Rwanda Basic Education Board, 2020h, 2020c, 2020e, 2020i, 2020j, 2020k). Teachers are encouraged to take students on field trips to local genocide memorial sites or the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre at Gisozi (Rwanda Basic Education Board, 2020b, 2020a, 2020g, 2022). As such, it is possible that students are introduced to other narrative elements within an educational setting from these additional resources. Future research could include interviews with educators within Rwanda to discern how these resources are used in practice and the impact this has on students’ understanding of the conflict.
4The case study analysis section is broken down into three parts. The first part measures the frequency of the term ‘genocide’ in the textbooks to showcase the space given to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and how its memorialisation influences understanding of other narratives. The second section focuses specifically on the units explicitly teaching about the conflict or events leading up to the conflict and analyses the flow of when content is introduced. Of the 155,889 students reported to have started lower secondary school in 2017, only 54,960 completed the final year of upper secondary school in 2023 with the largest drop-off between Senior Three and Senior Four as students move from lower secondary to upper secondary school (Ministry of Education, 2024). With this information in mind, it is possible to ascertain which parts of the narrative reach the widest audience and which parts are still inaccessible to many students. Finally, the section dives into the details of the narratives being taught, highlighting common themes to determine if these themes are conflict-supporting or peacebuilding. Once the case study is analysed, the next section connects the narratives ascertained to the broader research question, identifying areas that strengthen and limit peacebuilding and connecting them with what has been seen in previous studies.
Limitations of this study and direction for future research
5The present study is limited in scope to investigate the narratives surrounding the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi currently in use in Rwandan history, and to reflect on how effective these narratives are at promoting sustainable, long-term peace. As previously mentioned, it does not seek to make any broad claims on the efficacy of history education in reducing the risk of conflict in Rwanda, though the present research may be useful in future research aimed at achieving that goal. For example, the textbooks used for the research are secondary school textbooks and are therefore only accessible to students who are able to attend secondary school. Whilst the number of enrolled students is increasing yearly, there is still a large portion of the population that does not make it to the end of secondary school (Ministry of Education, 2024).
6Furthermore, these textbooks are produced in English, reflective of a 2008 policy shifting the language of instruction from the fourth year of primary school onwards (Trudell, 2016). Freedom House, a non-governmental organisation, has raised concerns that this shift in language policy may privilege urban, particularly Tutsi, elites with higher levels of English proficiency to the detriment of those from primarily Kinyarwanda and French speaking communities (Freedom House, 2024).2 The present study does not provide any insight into demographic discrepancies that could pose challenges to peacebuilding, though further research on classroom demographics and the impacts of the language policy shift, such as research done by Pearson (2016) and Ntwabwoba and Sikubwabo (2024), could provide direction to determine how the content may affect certain portions of society differently than others.
Notes de bas de page
1Statistics were not provided for upper secondary school.
2McLean Hilker (2011) further specifies that this policy may be advantageous specifically to those coming from Tutsi returnee families that had been in Uganda rather than Tutsi families that had either remained in Rwanda or had returned from francophone countries.

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