Transcript Rwandan History teachers and drawings on Genocide

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
1.Introduction
2.Drawings as a research method
3.Françoise’s drawing: Asking pardon
forgiveness and analysis- discussions
and
4.Methodological aspects
5.Glimpse at other drawings and conclusion
 Inspired
by a PhD study: Teaching genocide
and its related controversial issues in History
in Rwandan secondary schools
 Why
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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
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
•
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.
•
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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
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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
4. Analysis
 Victim: dominating
position –taller –
bigger - stands up
–open fingers
 Perpetrator:kneeled
-hands up- shut
fingers
 Metaphor:
relig
connotation
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“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.
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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).
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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
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
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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