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Understanding the views of Rwandan history teachers on the teaching of the genocide against Tutsi through their drawings. Paper presented at the 28 th South African Society for History Teaching Conference, October 10-11, 2014 by Jean Léonard Buhigiro and Prof Johan Wassermann, UKZN.
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Understanding the views of Rwandan history teachers on the teaching of the genocide against Tutsi through their drawings Paper presented at the 28th South African Society for History Teaching Conference, October 10-11, 2014 by Jean Léonard Buhigiro and Prof Johan Wassermann, UKZN
Presentation outline 1.Introduction 2.Drawings as a research method 3.Françoise’s drawing: Asking pardon and forgiveness and analysis- discussions 4.Methodological aspects 5.Glimpse at other drawings and conclusion
1. Introduction • Inspired by a PhD study: Teaching genocide and its related controversial issues in History in Rwandan secondary schools • Why this study? • Genocide skipped due to the socio-political context (Buhigiro, 2012) vs mutual understanding. • Involved in Educ. for coty cohesion Project; • Hot discussion about genocide teaching • A tragedy which affected one of presenters’ country
Ctd Focus of the PhD study and the paper • PhD: To analyze teachers’ exper. of teaching genocide and its related CI to provide a critical understanding on how these topics are taught in Rwandan secondary schools and reasons behind those pedagogies. • Methods: drawings-semi structured interviews-photo elicitation- self dialogue. • Narrative inquiry • Sample: 11 participants
ctd • Paper focus: to investigate, by means of drawings the views of Rwandan History teachers’ on teaching the genocide against Tutsi. • Two findings will be presented: • drawings, as an arts-based research methodology to investigate CI • Teachers’ multifarious views on teaching the genocide against Tutsi.
2.Drawings as a methodology • visual methods are more likely to be employed in more complex field interaction and are able to reveal some sociological insight that is not accessible by another means (Banks (2007) • Used for representing teachers’ experiences about teaching GCI to get a starting point • Projecting sensitiveness onto an external object (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2011). • To reinforce participants’ confidence for collaborative meaning
Ctd • How teachers’ drawings are analyzed? • Meanings exist in a covert way and has to be discovered by analysis. • Looking at denotations and connotations inherent in images • Taking into consideration participants’ interpretations for content analysis • Preset categories related to research focus, questions and literature
3.Françoise’s drawing: forgiveness and meth issues 4. Analysis • Victim: dominating position –taller – bigger - stands up –open fingers • Perpetrator:kneeled -hands up- shut fingers • Metaphor: relig connotation
ctd • “For the first time, I was wondering if I shall not have problems while teaching issues related to killings to young learners who didn’t experience them very much…I explain to them that even if genocide occurred, we should pardon one another so that we can reconcile. Reconciliation is the root for Rwandans’ unity”. Françoise.
ctd • Teaching gen in view of unity and reconciliation • Metaphoric representation with a religious connotation - a scene of a sacramental expression of forgiveness. • No contradictions in the perpetrator and the survivor’s positions: not equal and equal. • Looking at the drawing, the forgiveness is possible: meeting between both persons. • Whoever confess his guilt can expect not to be punished. Although this may not strictly be accurate, perpetrators may receive a less severe sentence (Fisher & Mitchell, 2012).
ctd • reconciliation and forgiveness are equally essential to the development and maintenance of a prosperous community (Sullivan, 2010). • The forgiveness is accompanied by a psychological change of the perpetrator who feels genuine peace after confessing and people accept him in the society. • The drawing shows that schools are also actors in the reconciliation process
4. How does she achieve her objectives? • Stradling model (1984) • Françoise multi-perspective approach: • Group works and presentations – sharing experience reinforce unity; raising CI • Movies – reviving events but traumatizing • Pictures – discovering faces of characters • Collecting information at home – challenging • Visit to memorial site • Expository approach – for additional information and hard issues
Conclusions and glimpse at other drawings • Given the emotional aspect of genocide, drawings have proven to be a good research methods to get participants views. • The Françoise’s drawing reveals that despite past atrocities, the teaching of genocide aims at initiating good relationships between learners through dialogue and by explaining to them the role of unity and reconciliation in a post-genocide society. • However, due to her balanced approach, she faces some challenges (learners’ traumatism and CI)
! • Thank you
