This book questions the conventional wisdom that education builds peace by exploring the ways in which ordinary schooling can contribute to intergroup conflict. Based on fieldwork and comparative historical analysis of Rwanda, it argues that from the colonial period to the genocide, schooling was a key instrument of the state in contributing to the construction, awareness, collectivization and inequality of ethnic groups in Rwanda - all factors that underlay conflict. The book further argues that today's post-genocide schools are dangerously replicating past trends. This book is the first to offer an in-depth study of education in Rwanda and to analyze its role in the genesis of conflict. The book demonstrates that to build peace, we cannot simply prescribe more education, but must understand who has access to schools, how schools are set up, and what and how they teach.
• The first book to offer an in-depth study of education in Rwanda and to analyze its role in the genesis of historic and contemporary conflict • Focuses on Rwanda before and after the genocide • Findings are relevant for the study and practice of education and peace building around the world • Has a cross-disciplinary approach, blending political science and international education
Contents
1. Moving education from the margins to the mainstream; 2. Colonial schooling; 3. Schooling under the Rwandan republics; 4. Schooling after genocide; 5. Education for peace building: Rwanda in comparative perspective; 6. Conclusion.
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