Peace and Values Education as a Cross-Cutting Issue in Rwandan Schools: Teachers and Classroom-Based Perspective

Jean Leonard Buhigiro; Emmanuel Sibomana; Jean de Dieu Amini Ngabonziza; Delphine Mukingambeho; Philothere Ntawiha

doi:10.51867/ajernet.5.1.7

Authors

Jean Leonard Buhigiro
leobuhigiro@yahoo.fr
University of Rwanda https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6511-3175
Emmanuel Sibomana The Well Spring Foundation for Education, Rwanda https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1118-7435
Jean de Dieu Amini Ngabonziza University of Rwanda https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0248-6812
Delphine Mukingambeho University of Rwanda https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0944-7362
Philothere Ntawiha University of Rwanda https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5817-229X

Keywords:

Competence Based Curriculum, Peace and Values Education, Peace Education

Abstract

Peace and values is one of the cross-cutting issues in the Rwandan primary and secondary school curriculum. Different organizations such as the Aegis Trust have trained teachers in integrating peace and values in the various subjects, they teach by training learners on how to build a culture of peace. This is very important to Rwanda as a post genocide. However, no research (at the best of our knowledge) has been conducted to investigate how and to what extent teachers integrate peace and values in various school subjects. This article reports on empirical research conducted in five primary schools in four provinces of Rwanda plus Kigali City to examine the teaching of peace and values in Rwandan schools. A qualitative approach was adopted for this research. Classroom observations, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings show that peace values are not part of teachers’ planning and are not explicitly referred to in classroom practices. This is mainly because teachers lack skills and knowledge to do so. However, some peace related messages are shared in extracurricular activities but these are counteracted by violent practices such as corporal punishment and bullying. This article concludes that teachers’ limited understanding of peace impedes the integration of peace culture in schools. Thus, it suggests that peace values should be explicitly and systematically integrated in the teaching of all subjects. It also calls for strong measures to end school violence in Rwandan schools by equipping teachers for positive management of learners’ behaviours.

Dimensions

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