The Things They Learned: Aspiration, Uncertainty, and Schooling in Rwanda’s Developmental State

Abstract

The role of formal education in the reproduction of inequalities is well documented. Less clear is how this lens can be applied to a study of post-conflict state-building. The present study pairs policy analysis with student-centred ethnographic fieldwork to examine education policy in Rwanda. Since the end of the genocide, the government has staked its claim to legitimacy in delivering inclusive development. Its basic education policy is an entitlement programme with broad public support and designed to allow all children to attend primary and secondary school. Students found themselves caught up in a web of contradictions with important symbolic and material dimensions. They went to schools designed to improve access for the poor. But they were also poor schools, lacking in quality and associated with failure. The country’s switch from French to English was bound up in alliances of domestic power that further undermined effective teaching and learning. The basic education policy intended to highlight the government’s commitment to deliver development to all. But in absence of a sustained and effective strategy to improve quality, young people felt excluded from meaningful engagement in the education system. Whether the basic education policy constitutes inclusive development is therefore debatable.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to my research assistant and the participants in this study, who shared their time and stories with me. Marie Berry, Jason Hart, Rose Løvgren, Kirsten Pontalti, and members of the Mowana Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education provided helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article. Comments and suggestions from the three anonymous reviewers improved this paper substantially. All errors are my own.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. For the protection of study participants, all names presented in this paper are pseudonyms. Details about geographic locations have also been modified.

2. In 2012, schools of basic education received 4,250 Rwandan Francs (USD $5.80) per student per year. Boarding schools receive 20,000 Rwandan Francs (USD $ 27.80) per student per year.

3. It is also important to note that schools of basic education may have been fee-free, but they still had hidden costs that made them prohibitively expensive for many households (Williams, 2013; Williams, Abbott, & Mupenzi, 2015).

4. Throughout my fieldwork, I worked closely with a local assistant, who coordinated logistics and translated conversations using Kinyarwanda and English when necessary.

5. See also: Williams (2017); King (2013); Russell (2013); Samuelson and Freedman (2010).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a research studentship provided by the University of Bath.