Teaching Content Related to National Identity in Rwanda: Focusing on Social Studies Teachers’ Understanding and Responses to Challenges

Abstract

This paper explores the role of school teachers in the formation of a unified national identity in post-genocide Rwanda. By analyzing data collected from interviews with five primary school social studies teachers, this paper examines how teachers in authoritarian contexts interpret teaching content related to national identity, the challenges they face, and the strategies they use to navigate these difficulties. The analysis identifies three key points. First, the teachers’ knowledge closely aligns with official government narrative. They tend to perceive social studies as an “easy” subject and emphasize adherence to the curriculum, often accepting its content uncritically. Second, the teachers experience two types of fear when teaching social studies. One is the fear of political interference, which leads them to treat the government’s perspective as truth and avoid deviating from the official narrative. The other fear lies in the potential emotional impact of teaching traumatic historical content, which may evoke distress among students. The teachers thus may deliberately withhold certain forms of knowledge to mitigate potential psychological harm. This act, however, can function as a mechanism through which the ideology of the ruling class is transmitted to students. Third, the teachers may not always possess the necessary pedagogical skills to navigate controversial content related to national identity, due to the lack of training opportunities. This limited access to professional development has left them with no alternatives beyond relying on the textbook and the teacher guidelines, though they recognize the importance of addressing controversial issues. These findings underscore the importance of equipping teachers with tools, such as developing their autonomy and classroom strategies to teach controversial issues and cultivating their gatekeeping role. Finally, this paper suggests that it is teachers who hold the potential to reconstruct ideologies, including those related to national identity.