Engaging teachers in peacebuilding in postconflict contexts: evaluating education interventions in Rwanda and South Africa
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sussex
Department Name: Sch of Education and Social Work
Abstract
This research seeks to answer the question: To what extent do education and peacebuilding interventions in the two countries promote teacher agency and capacity to build peace and reduce inequalities? The proposed study is anchored within the third of the overarching questions of this call, and aimed at understanding the conditions under which education interventions focused on teachers can promote peace, and mitigate and reduce violence with a view to identifying measures and processes that can increase the effectiveness of such programmes in conflict-affected situations. The research seeks to critically evaluate a series of programme interventions aimed at improving and enhancing the peacebuilding role of teachers through a multi-scalar, mixed method study that seeks to link the everyday practices of teachers in conflict affected contexts with the local, national and global actors and factors that shape their practices and behaviour.
South Africa and Rwanda have been selected because both countries have emerged peacefully out of intense and violent conflict in the 1990s and now have two decades of postconflict experience to draw from. Secondly, they have been important sites for a range of postconflict interventions in the education sector, and in particular on teacher related interventions. Thirdly, they allow for a comparison of similar interventions across two countries which have since 1994 has put in place important policy interventions to promote peace and social cohesion which warrant close scrutiny. Fourthly, both countries enable examination of the complex interrelationship between inequality and peace and social cohesion in education.
The overarching aim of the study is to identify elements of education policy interventions that have enabled teachers to become active agents of peacebuilding in postconflict countries and that may inform future interventions. These objectives will be achieved through an empirically grounded evaluation of the nature, implementation, and impact of large-scale interventions that are designed to support teachers as peace-builders in schools in postconflict contexts. We will look at specifically at interventions focusing on teachers, found in both South Africa and Rwanda, including interventions related to 1) Teacher training 2) Teacher recruitment, deployment and management 3) Teacher performance and practices 4) Curriculum and textbook reform.
Research will include a political economy analysis of the context of these interventions in each country in order to critically embed the research in the local context, and will draw upon a realist evaluation approach (Pawson, 2005) which seeks to understand the underpinning programme theory of each of the interventions, as well as the challenges and outcomes.
Research will also include a global mapping of peacebuilding interventions aimed at teachers, interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders in each country, and detailed classroom observations in three key sites in each country.
The research is linked to, and supported by, a UNICEF 4 year $160 million Education, Peacebuilding and Advocacy Programme (2012-2016), which will ensure its relevance, influence and impact in practitioner, policy and academic domains.
It will feed into debates related to the role of education in peacebuilding with the opportunity to both improve the quality of UNICEF 's and international agencies' peacebuilding and education programmes and to influence a broader United Nations debate on education's place in postconflict peacebuilding interventions.
The research team comprises an internationally diverse and interdisciplinary team of experts from the UK, South Africa, and Rwanda with expertise in teacher education, peacebuilding and conflict studies. The research team will work closely with UNICEF in order to maximise, local, national and global impact and build knowledge and capacity in this important field
South Africa and Rwanda have been selected because both countries have emerged peacefully out of intense and violent conflict in the 1990s and now have two decades of postconflict experience to draw from. Secondly, they have been important sites for a range of postconflict interventions in the education sector, and in particular on teacher related interventions. Thirdly, they allow for a comparison of similar interventions across two countries which have since 1994 has put in place important policy interventions to promote peace and social cohesion which warrant close scrutiny. Fourthly, both countries enable examination of the complex interrelationship between inequality and peace and social cohesion in education.
The overarching aim of the study is to identify elements of education policy interventions that have enabled teachers to become active agents of peacebuilding in postconflict countries and that may inform future interventions. These objectives will be achieved through an empirically grounded evaluation of the nature, implementation, and impact of large-scale interventions that are designed to support teachers as peace-builders in schools in postconflict contexts. We will look at specifically at interventions focusing on teachers, found in both South Africa and Rwanda, including interventions related to 1) Teacher training 2) Teacher recruitment, deployment and management 3) Teacher performance and practices 4) Curriculum and textbook reform.
Research will include a political economy analysis of the context of these interventions in each country in order to critically embed the research in the local context, and will draw upon a realist evaluation approach (Pawson, 2005) which seeks to understand the underpinning programme theory of each of the interventions, as well as the challenges and outcomes.
Research will also include a global mapping of peacebuilding interventions aimed at teachers, interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders in each country, and detailed classroom observations in three key sites in each country.
The research is linked to, and supported by, a UNICEF 4 year $160 million Education, Peacebuilding and Advocacy Programme (2012-2016), which will ensure its relevance, influence and impact in practitioner, policy and academic domains.
It will feed into debates related to the role of education in peacebuilding with the opportunity to both improve the quality of UNICEF 's and international agencies' peacebuilding and education programmes and to influence a broader United Nations debate on education's place in postconflict peacebuilding interventions.
The research team comprises an internationally diverse and interdisciplinary team of experts from the UK, South Africa, and Rwanda with expertise in teacher education, peacebuilding and conflict studies. The research team will work closely with UNICEF in order to maximise, local, national and global impact and build knowledge and capacity in this important field
Planned Impact
The project aims for societal impact, through generating and communicating new knowledge in postconflict contexts on:
(i) how teachers can be enabled to reduce violence and build peace in schools; and
(ii) how education contributes to positive peace in wider society.
Its impact on economic growth is indirect. Teachers are key to improving learning outcomes of school students. Preparing young people to pursue peacebuilding and sustainable livelihoods is a necessary condition for economic growth.
The main beneficiaries of the project are learners and teachers in contexts where the findings are taken up, leading to changed behaviours and professional practices that reduce violence and build peace in schools. Improving the school environment and processes for learners supports improved learning outcomes in relation to skills associated with peacebuilding but also across the whole curriculum. This means children and young people are better prepared to lead sustainable livelihoods, reducing poverty and widening the skill base available to support economic growth.
Impacts on beneficiaries:
(i) Teachers and learners in postconflict contexts, where findings are taken up will benefit from improved design of education initiatives that build positive peace and reduce violence in schools, and raise learning outcomes, better preparing learners for sustainable livelihoods.
(ii) National policy makers and education officials and staff of international agencies in South Africa and Rwanda will acquire new knowledge on impact of peacebuilding of education programmes and contextualised advice on programme design. They will expand capacity to take up new knowledge from education research as research design and findings are shared through the project lifespan.
(iii) Grassroots stakeholders groups such as local NGOs, teacher unions, parents associations and civil society organisations involved in education, will benefit from access to project findings and expanded capacity to take up findings from research through involvement in research design and research briefings.
(iv) International agencies, such as DfID, UNICEF and IRC, who invest in, design or implement education programmes in postconflict contexts, and policy makers in ministries of education will benefit from guidance on programme design derived from systematic evaluation of selected initiatives across two country contexts.
(v) Academics and researchers will benefit from new knowledge and understanding of the role of teachers in peacebuilding, adding to the limited evidence base.
Impact legacy will be achieved within the two study countries through a series of consultation and research briefing meetings together with ongoing email and telephone contact with key staff. Consultation in phase one will be integrated with interviews with 'policy elites' and will feed into research design, so that research meets knowledge needs of specific peace education initiatives. Ensuring the research is relevant to programme objectives and organisational priorities will build a sense of research ownership and commitment to implementing findings amongst our partners.
International impact will be achieved through engagement with staff in the head offices of international agencies, such as UNESCO, and ensuring that findings are related to their current priorities. We will reach international agency staff through participation in the conferences they usually attend, through one-to-one meetings and email contact.
(i) how teachers can be enabled to reduce violence and build peace in schools; and
(ii) how education contributes to positive peace in wider society.
Its impact on economic growth is indirect. Teachers are key to improving learning outcomes of school students. Preparing young people to pursue peacebuilding and sustainable livelihoods is a necessary condition for economic growth.
The main beneficiaries of the project are learners and teachers in contexts where the findings are taken up, leading to changed behaviours and professional practices that reduce violence and build peace in schools. Improving the school environment and processes for learners supports improved learning outcomes in relation to skills associated with peacebuilding but also across the whole curriculum. This means children and young people are better prepared to lead sustainable livelihoods, reducing poverty and widening the skill base available to support economic growth.
Impacts on beneficiaries:
(i) Teachers and learners in postconflict contexts, where findings are taken up will benefit from improved design of education initiatives that build positive peace and reduce violence in schools, and raise learning outcomes, better preparing learners for sustainable livelihoods.
(ii) National policy makers and education officials and staff of international agencies in South Africa and Rwanda will acquire new knowledge on impact of peacebuilding of education programmes and contextualised advice on programme design. They will expand capacity to take up new knowledge from education research as research design and findings are shared through the project lifespan.
(iii) Grassroots stakeholders groups such as local NGOs, teacher unions, parents associations and civil society organisations involved in education, will benefit from access to project findings and expanded capacity to take up findings from research through involvement in research design and research briefings.
(iv) International agencies, such as DfID, UNICEF and IRC, who invest in, design or implement education programmes in postconflict contexts, and policy makers in ministries of education will benefit from guidance on programme design derived from systematic evaluation of selected initiatives across two country contexts.
(v) Academics and researchers will benefit from new knowledge and understanding of the role of teachers in peacebuilding, adding to the limited evidence base.
Impact legacy will be achieved within the two study countries through a series of consultation and research briefing meetings together with ongoing email and telephone contact with key staff. Consultation in phase one will be integrated with interviews with 'policy elites' and will feed into research design, so that research meets knowledge needs of specific peace education initiatives. Ensuring the research is relevant to programme objectives and organisational priorities will build a sense of research ownership and commitment to implementing findings amongst our partners.
International impact will be achieved through engagement with staff in the head offices of international agencies, such as UNESCO, and ensuring that findings are related to their current priorities. We will reach international agency staff through participation in the conferences they usually attend, through one-to-one meetings and email contact.
Publications
Badat S
(2014)
Post-1994 South African Education The Challenge of Social Justice
in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Barrett A
(2015)
Learning, pedagogy and the post-2015 education and development agenda
in International Journal of Educational Development
De Kock T
(2018)
“Narratives of Social Cohesionâ€: Bridging the Link between School Culture, Linguistic Identity and the English Language
in Education as Change
Durrani N
(2018)
Dynamics of gender justice, conflict and social cohesion: Analysing educational reforms in Pakistan
in International Journal of Educational Development
Durrani N
(2016)
Teacher agency for social cohesion in Pakistan
Halai A
(2017)
Teachers as agents of peace? Exploring teacher agency in social cohesion in Pakistan
in Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education
Halai A
(2016)
Teacher governance factors and social cohesion: insights from Pakistan
in Education as Change
Jancic-Mogliacci R
(2016)
Supporting Teachers In Becoming Agents Of Social Cohesion: Professional Development In Post-Apartheid South Africa
in Education as Change
Kadiwal L
(2018)
Youth negotiation of citizenship identities in Pakistan: Implications for global citizenship education in conflict-contexts
in British Journal of Educational Studies
| Description | The project explored how teachers are enabled in diverse post-conflict contexts, specifically, Rwanda and South Africa, to act as agents of peacebuilding. Several key themes emerge from the study. First, the project provides a detailed conceptualisation of the contested and often uncertain meanings of the terms peace and social cohesion, which are neither exclusively actions of the individual nor of structural conditions in society. As such, peace and social cohesion are not merely psychological processes and also require tackling structural socio-economic inequalities, epistemicide and cultural racism. Second, the report highlights two distinct peace-building approaches. In Rwanda, a singular narrative of peace characterises the reconstruction of the post-conflict nation. Sameness is emphasised and individual actions and behaviours are managed to ensure a singular voice and identity. By contrast, South Africa's recognition of difference is coupled with affirmative action policies expressed symbolically as the 'Rainbow Nation'. This form is characterised by activities that explicitly promote and value differences and contact across racial lines. However, while both can support the transition to more inclusive societies, historical legacies which continue to fracture society along race, class, gender, and ethnic lines must be addressed. Third, in both country contexts, there is a growing need to affirm equally the cognitive and non-cognitive in the work of teachers and specifically develop a value driven and ethical teaching approach. Fourth, peace and social cohesion interventions rarely exhibit linear logic from aim to outcome but engender unintended and contradictory outcomes. Thus, interventions need to pay attention to the complex contexts in which they are located. Finally, this project developed a tentative metrics system for measuring peace and social cohesion. This includes qualitative conduct and process indicators coupled with outcome indicators that can be used as a policy planning tool for peace and social cohesion. Specific findings " National education policy in both countries differs regarding teachers' contribution to national policy visions of peace and social cohesion, with contrasting implications for their pedagogical practices. In South Africa, teachers are unclear how to mediate broad policy aspirations to their diverse contexts. In Rwanda, teachers are incorporated in the state mission of suppressing ethnic differences and emphasising a collective Rwandanness. " In both countries, well-trained, quality teachers are unevenly distributed among urban and rural schools, wealthy and poorer schools, and schools affected by violence. There is also a shortage of teachers able to utilize the language of instruction. Existing interventions to redress such problems are often ineffective. " Teacher trust and accountability are built on structural trust, where systems (schools, districts, ministries, etc.) enjoy the good faith of the public and encourage positive relationships between teachers, communities and parents. While evidence indicates that existent policies and processes foster structural trust, teachers exhibit low levels of trust in such structures. Furthermore, levels of violence that pervade the everyday community realities result in low levels of relational trust, making teachers less open to developing practices to promote peace and social cohesion. " Though various programmes support teachers as agents of peace, a general consensus in both countries highlighted the failure of initial teacher education and continuous professional training programmes to equip teachers with the knowledges, pedagogies and skills needed to address peace and social cohesion within classrooms. " In both countries, the review of curriculum and textbooks indicates how they constrain teachers' ability to devote time to cohesion-related issues. Some curricula and textbooks illustrate a shift towards greater recognition and justice for marginalised ethnic, racial and gender groups. Nevertheless, content on discrimination and inequality needs strengthening as textbooks often do not challenge marginalisation. In both countries, the top-down imposition of English as a language of instruction contributes to the difficulties teachers have in promoting inclusiveness. " In both country contexts, when teachers were asked about priorities for social cohesion, they cited addressing structural issues of poverty, unemployment, and crime. Teacher pedagogical strategies focused on the intra- and inter-personal qualities and skills of their learners. The project was influential in forming strong research teams in Rwanda and South Africa. This included capacitating early career researchers and graduate students and forming project networks between the UK, Rwanda and South African universities and with governments and NGOs. The policy workshops and the critical reference groups in each country developed networks of research influential for policy development, with team members acting as advisors in policy discussions and education reform programmes. In summary, the research speaks to how teachers' work within policy structures, school environments and classrooms can enable or hinder their ability to support a progressive agenda of social change. As active agents of peace and social cohesion, teachers need to both support and challenge learners. Furthermore, to be supported, teachers need education officials and teacher education providers to equip them with a variety of teaching approaches and tools that will allow them to engage productively with learners to promote peace and social cohesion. |
| Exploitation Route | Three reports that are emanating from this project have been made publicly available on the website (listed above). These include a country report Rwanda, South Africa, and a cross country synthesis report. In addition, five policy briefs have been finalised based on the synthesis of the various reports. Future research There is strong potential to expand the scope and depth of this research to other contexts, taking a more encompassing view of teacher agency. This includes more in-depth micro-level case studies of teachers' school and classroom roles. More quantitative data on the relationship between teachers and social cohesion, derived from larger education systems datasets and their relationship to conflict indicators, is also necessary. Extending the approach of this study to other contexts of violence, including those plagued by gang violence (particularly in Central and Latin America), would add to the body of knowledge. All these research avenues would benefit from an international, multi-country approach. Policy and practice The project provides the basis for increased engagement with peacebuilding and social cohesion interventions. The findings can influence design of education initiatives in post-conflict contexts, specifically for training and management of teachers and supporting links between educational planning and teacher practices. This includes a social justice approach to developing a holistic education policy framework with specific and achievable targets and indicators to inform peacebuilding processes and programmes. A joined up, cross-sectoral policy approach, coupled with inclusive national economic development growth plans and clear government responsibility would contribute to durable peace and social cohesion. A holistic policy approach that includes effective recruitment and deployment strategies would also ensure that schools most impacted by historic conflict have qualified and motivated teachers. This approach should address the gaps identified between the readability of textbooks and learners' language competence, and explicitly tackle issues of bias, discrimination and prejudice. Teachers, governments and other stakeholders working together may utilise findings to develop monitoring and accountability systems such as Codes of Professional Ethics to enhance teacher trust and accountability for peace. Teacher education providers may use the research to enhance teacher competencies including bilingual strategies for second language learners and provision of necessary content and pedagogic knowledge explicitly aligned to the policy goals of durable peace and social cohesion. They may also use the findings to build supportive collegial networks for teachers, and provide teachers psychosocial support to overcome the 'woundedness' resulting from legacies of conflict. |
| Sectors | Education Government Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://www.sussex.ac.uk/research/centres/centre-for-international-education/projects/ |
| Description | This project has continued to impact policy processes and development globally and nationally. As noted in the Influence on Policy, Practice, Patients and the Public section, we have have influenced the review of textbooks in South Africa through the participation of Prof. Sayed in the South African Ministerial Task Team for the review of textbooks (MTTT). A report of the review of textbooks has been submitted to the South African Minister of Education, and the final report is to be issued by the Ministry in April 2019. Further, Prof. Sayed, has provided a keynote address to the All Party Parliamentary Group (AAPG) for international education which included parliamentarians, and key stakeholders such as NGOs in the UK, focusing on the role of teachers in promoting education quality including building peace and social cohesion. Other non-academic impacts includes workshops and seminars with teachers and education officials in South Africa, for example, Prof. Sayed conducted a workshop about teachers and social cohesion for an education district (Metro Central) in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Furthermore, the findings were shared with academics and practitioners from Angola, Cuba, Mozambique, at a colloquium organised by Roads University and funded by Mellon Foundation USA. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal Policy & public services |
| Description | It is Equitable and quality education for all: The Promise of Equitable Learning for all? |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Roundtable with DBE and UNICEF May 18th 2016 |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | To be added later |
| Description | Social Cohesion Teacher Workshop |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | This workshop with teachers and education officials in the Western Cape Province in South Africa led to an increased understanding of challenges of promising social cohesion and peace in classrooms, and schools in South Africa, and identification of effective strategies of how to overcome such challenges. |
| Description | Textbook advisory committee SA |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | To be added later |
| Description | UNICEF Consortium |
| Organisation | UNICEF |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | At the start of the project in February 2015 the CITE team called together a Critical Reference Group (CRG) made up of members of UNICEF SA, the Department of Basic Education, academics form various universities, principals and teachers, and all of the CITE research team. The goal for the first meeting in February 2015 was to discuss the project and identify for the team the various stakeholders and constituencies that would need to be consulted. The benefit of meeting with the CRG was that participants offered both insights into the nature of the challenges that would be encountered and the decisions that were being made, as well as provided key connections to the various constituencies. From these discussions, researchers were allocated to various components and assisted in identifying the main stakeholders in each section that would be approached and researched. An important value of meeting with the CRG in February 2015 was that it also coincided with the visit to the Centre by members of the PBEA/ESRC team, Prof Novelli, Dr Durrani, Dr Barrett, Dr Eugene Ndabaga, and Dr Jolly Rubagazi. This allowed for their full participation in the project public seminar, with inputs by themselves and the PBEA/ESRC team to the Teachers and Peace Building Symposium, and led to rigorous discussion and debate. Thereafter, the team worked towards finalising the fieldwork arrangements and completing them. In so doing, the team adapted the methodological and theoretical frameworks developed by the UNICEF Research Consortium to suit the context of South Africa. All of the interviews so far have been conducted in English, though some interviews with youth FGDs and non-formal organisations were also conducted in Afrikaans. At the current stage of the project, the team have already moved towards writing up some keys parts of the report, while they finalise the transcriptions of all the collected interviews and the analysis thereof. The last batch of interviews and FGDs will be completed by the end of July 2015/mid August. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Members of the Consortium have met in a Consortium Meeting from 1-3 July 2015 at the University of Ulster. Individual members/co-directors of the Research Consortium have met more frequently in preparation of or during outreach initiatives, or in individual visits to the respective Universities. The three-day Consortium Meeting in Ulster focused on the preliminary results of the fieldwork periods, aiming to develop a common framework for data analysis. Specific attention was paid on how to include gender and violence as transversal themes in data analysis and reporting. Details: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/31050 |
| Impact | Research Area 1 (University of Ulster) Under the research theme on the 'integration of education into peacebuilding and vice versa' outputs 1.1 and 1.2 were merged to include a literature review as part of a wider package of analysis. This package is made up of four discrete parts, which will form one overall output. The four constituent parts are: Activity 1.2.1 Review of global context and developments related to education and peacebuilding (to include literature review, analysis of funding and stakeholder policies and priorities) Activity 1.2.2 Analysis of the integration of education and peacebuilding at the global level (this builds on the first component, to also include an analysis of peacebuilding (Goal 16); and education (Goal 4) indicators; and analysis of interview data related to obstacles and opportunities for integration) Activity 1.2.3 Analysis of the integration of education and peacebuilding at the regional level (based on a review of Regional Office documents and interview with key personnel) Activity 1.2.4 Analysis of the integration of education and peacebuilding at the country level (based on analysis of country work plans and progress reports regarding PBEA Output in Research Area 1, as well as country case studies) The following provides an update on Ulster team progress related to these outputs as of July 2015: Activity 1.2.1 An initial draft was completed and ha updated over the summer to take account of recent global developments over the past four months related to the World Education Forum and the Oslo Summit. It will also be revised to include an analysis of funding to the field of education and fragility. Activity 1.2.2 Interviews have been largely completed and analysis is now underway. Activity 1.2.3 The Ulster team now has access to coded Regional office annual reports. Agreement needs to be sought from regional offices for their participation in the study with a view to initiating interviews with key personnel in September 2015. Activity 1.2.4 The Ulster team obtained access to coded Country office annual reports. Rationale was then agreed for the selection of case studies with a view to initiating interviews with key personnel in October 2015. A draft report on activity 1.2.1 was submitted in September 2015. All other drafts were submitted in December 2015. 3.1.2 Research Area 2 (University of Sussex) The first draft of the literature review on teachers and peacebuilding was completed and shared with UNICEF HQ and the other Research Consortium members on March 15, 2015. Feedback was received in June 2015 and the Sussex team developed a final version of the literature review, which was completed on 30 September 2015. 3.1.3 Research Area 3 (University of Amsterdam) The literature review on youth, education and peacebuilding was published online in May 2015. The Amsterdam team received positive feedback from fellow academics and the UNICEF RO in Bangkok, with whom the review was shared with. One of the specific points of feedback concerned the definition of 'youth' and the need to clearly define an age-range, something that is taken up by the Research Consortium already. 3.2 Additional Research Deliverable: Theoretical framework paper In addition to the initially agreed outputs that are the literature reviews and synthesis papers, the Research Consortium has produced a complete paper on the theoretical framework that the Research Consortium works from. A summary of this was presented in the second briefing, and the full paper was published online in May 2015, after review by UNICEF. An academic publication is now in preparation to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal in the field. 3.3 Additional Research Deliverables: Country Reports As agreed in the Consortium Meeting in Sussex, the Research Consortium has decided to produce and deliver additional documents in the form of five country reports. Even though not contractually bound to this, the Research Consortium considers the production of country reports as a potentially rich source of information and of importance to various stakeholders. After all fieldwork periods, each country team develops a comprehensive country report, including a country and conflict analysis, and analysis and interpretation of all three-research areas based on the fieldwork. These country reports will not only serve the Research Consortium to develop synthesis reports, but will also be informative to UNICEF, UNICEF COs, and other partners as a reference when working in a specific country context. The expected date of sharing first draft country reports was 30 October 2015. Synthesis Reports The second type of planned research deliverables consists of the synthesis reports of the respective research areas. To support the writing of these products, it has been agreed in the Consortium Meeting in Sussex in December 2014 that for each country, a report will be produced that contains the required information on country background and each of the research areas. This report will be developed after intensive data collection, analysis and interpretation of each university team and their in-country partners. Based on these reports, each university team will produce and deliver a synthesis report for each research area. The expected dates of sharing first draft synthesis reports were 30 November 2015 for RA1, 31 December 2015 for RA3, and 31 January 2016 for RA2. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | 'Public Symposium: The Role of Teachers in Peacebuilding & Social Cohesion in post conflict Context: Case of Rwanda and South Africa, September, 8, 2017 at UCL London, UK. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The research team members from the Centre for International Education (CIE), University of Sussex organized a public symposium in London jointly with the Centre for Education and International Development (CEID), UCL Institute of Education. The aim of this public symposium was to share and discuss the main findings of the research project on the Role of Teachers in Peacebuilding & Social Cohesion in Rwanda and South Africa with wider audiences both in acedemia and beyond. Prof. Joel Samoff, African Studies, School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University; Professor Yusuf Sayed, Pof. Mario Novelli and; Dr Naureen Durran from University of Sussex; Professor Azeem Badroodien and Lorna Baile from CITE at Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa; Professor Eugene Ndabaga and Ali Kalibali from University of Rwanda and Dr Tejendra Pherali and Professor Moses Oketch from the Institute of Education at the UCL. The symposium opened with a brief introduction by Prof. Yusuf Sayed. Following this, Prof Yusuf Sayed and Prof. Mario Novelli gave an overview of the systhesis report for the entire research project. This was followed by two country presentations one on Rwanda and one on South Africa. Drawing on the data collected for the research project first Prof . Eugene Ndabaga talked about the role of teachers in Rwanda and second, Prof. Azeem Badroodien and Lorna Baile gave important insights into the role of teachers in peacebuilding in South Africa. After, these two presentations, Prof. Joel Samoff from Stanford University as a discussant provided an important critical view on the project, outlining strengths and challenges and possible future directions. A panel discussion by Dr. Nareen Durrani, Dr, Professor Moses Oketch and Dr Tejendra Pherali further shed light to the importance of such report for the analysis of teachers as an agent of peacebuilding and social cohesion. A diverse group of participants including globally recognized researchers, development agencies (e.g. DFID, UNICEF), practitioners, students and academics attended the symposium. The discussion and debate session after each presentation and at the end of the symposium provided a valuable space for further discussions and generated a critical debate on the issues related to the research and its findings. The rich discussion and comments received from the participants helped informed the final report. The symposium was live-streamed on the day on YouTube under the title of 'The Role of Teachers in Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion in Rwanda and South Africa' for those could not attend the symposium in person both in the UK and beyond. The link for the livestream can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqdVoow2J5c. The live stream link has been visited by more than 200 people. The findings of the research and reflections on the symposium were debated in a blog written by Dr. Tejendra Pherali and Dr. Laila Kadiwal (UCL Institute of Education) on the international day of peace under the title of International Day Of Peace: The Role Of Teachers In Peacebuilding In Post-Conflict Societies'. The link to this event is: http://www.lidc.org.uk/blog/2017/09/21/international-day-peace-role-teachers-peacebuilding-post-conflict-societies |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqdVoow2J5c |
| Description | A public seminar on Education, Teachers and Social Cohesion, South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Research teams from the universities of Rwanda, CPUT (South Africa), Sussex and Bristol held public seminar. Audience included a mix of policy, NGO and academics. The event was held and live streamed from the Centre for International Teacher Education, Mowbray Campus, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Breaking Barriers to inclusion and Participation in Peacebuilding Evaluation Co-Design Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The research participants from CPUT (Cape Town) participated this workshop with an aim to share/disseminate informations on research and its findings. Their contribution was very well received and created a interesting debate and increased the understanding of others' opinions about the topic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Brown bag lunch at UNICEF HQ NY |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Brown bag lunch was held at UNICEF HQ New York inviting staff across the UN to participate in a presentation by Prof Sayed together with representatives from UNICEF HQ, UNDP and Office of SRSG on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Building relationships and networks, South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Critical reference group of local stakeholders including NGOs, UNICEF SA and the Department of Basic Education was formed and workshop was conducted to seek their inputs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | CITE Gender and Violence workshop SA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | A Gender and Violence workshop brought together gender experts from the Human Sciences Research Coucil, Teacher Unions (SADTU, NAPTOSA), NGO's (Equal Education, Section 27, CASE, NELI), Columbia Teacher's College (USA), the Ex-Provincial Minister for Education Yousuf Gabru, and representatives from the Progressive Principals Association which engaged with the research and sparked discussion over a range of issues facing schools and policy-makers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | CRITICAL REFERENCE GROUP (CRG) WORKSHOPS, 2-3 March, 2017 Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The research team members at the CITE (CPUT) South Africa organised their last Ciritical Research Group (CRG) meeting on 2-3 March 2017. Diverse participants including which included the presentatives of 18 NGOs, teachers, academics, representatives from teacher unions, and local and national policy practitioners attended over the 2 day meeting. All participants gave significant input, recommendations, and suggested changes vis-à-vis the draft country report and its key findings. This helped significantly as the end-of-year policy debriefing on 20th October 2017 could then steer national and provincial policy makers and brokers in discussing the implications for current policy developments and visions that emanate from the report's main findings on teachers and peace-building. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Colloquium on Teachers and Social Cohesion in Diverse Contexts in the Global South (Cape Town) October 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) organised a Colloquium on Teachers and Social Cohesion in Diverse Contexts in the Global South in Cape Town, October, 2016. This Colloquium was organised by the research participant team in South Africa aiming to address the role of education in peace and addressing the inequalities and what specific roles teachers can play in peacebulding and social cohesion. Apart from the south african team members, Prof. Y. Sayed and Prof. M. Novelli from the University of Sussex and members of the Rwanda's team also participated in the event. Prof. Novelli's presentation was titled: Teachers as Agents of Sustainable Peace, Social Cohesion and Development: Theory, Practice & Evidence, Prof. Sayed's presentation was on 'Teachers and social cohesion in South Africa, and Dr. J Rubagize's (from Rwanda Team) presentation was titled: 'Teacher as agents of social cohesion: promoting peacebuilding and social cohesion in schools in Rwanda. Mrs R. Arendse from Institute for Justice and Reconciliation also talked about the importance of 'continuing professional development for teachers through the example of UR's teaching respect for all' (see full programme at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8AIlZzwWG6CcDJkVVpmZnBTTTg/view). All these panels were very well received and together made a great deal of contributions to the ongoing debates on the topic through the insights from south africa and Rwanda. The presentations were lead to an interesting debate where many involved in discussion and raised questions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.cput.ac.za/newsroom/events/event/558-colloquium-on-teachers-and-social-cohesion-in-diver... |
| Description | Comparative International Education Society (CIES) Conference (Vancouver- March 8-11, 2016) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Several research members from University of Sussex and the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town took part in the Comparative International Education Society Conference (CIES) 2016, Six Decades of Comparative and International Education: Taking Stock and Looking Forward, Vancouver, Canada, 6th - 10th March 2016. Together research members had organized various panel sessions to talk about the role of education in conflict affected countries and teachers role in peacebuilding and social cohesion and share the initial research findings with the wider audiences. Their paper presentations included: 'The Role of teachers in Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion: Synthesis of Four Country CaseStudies: Pakistan, Myanmar, Uganda and South Africa' by Professors Yusuf Sayed and Mario Novelli; 'Engaging teachers in peacebuilding in conflict affected contexts: insights from Pakistan' by Dr Naureen Durrani and Prof. Anjum Halai (Aga Khan University, Pakistan); 'Shifting Youth Identities? Nation building and education' in Pakistan by Dr. Naureen Durrani and Dr. L. Kadiwal; 'Engaging teachers as agents of peace and social cohesion: Understanding impact' by Yusuf Sayed; 'Teachers as active agents of peace building and social cohesion in Rwanda and South Africa: Emerging lessons on research impact' by Yusuf Sayed; 'the discursive construction of the continuous professional development of teachers in South Africa: Between vision and reality by Dr Azeem Badroodien, Yusuf Sayed and Colleen Howell (from CITE at CPUT); 'History education and social cohesion in South Africa' by Kim Foulds and Yusuf Sayed; 'Humanising Pedagogy for Social Cohesion in South Africa' by Thomas Salmon, Zahraa McDonald, Widad Kriel, Tarryn De Kock and Yusuf Sayed. All these presentations together talked about education in conflict-affected countries and how education and teachers can potentially contribute sustainable peace and social cohesion through the data collected for the research. Together these presentations generated stimulating debate on the topic and captured a lot of attention and interests. Increased number of participants expressed their interest in the projects and requested further information. See Pictures of the event on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/cite_cput/sets/72157665560653840/ In addition to these activities The Crowd360 made a live coverage-blog during the CIES conference with Prof Yusuf Sayed and Prof Mario Novelli under the title of The crucial role of teachers in peacebuilding which can be obtained http://crowd360.org/the-crucial-role-of-teachers-in-peacebuilding/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.cies.us/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=598411 |
| Description | Critical Reference Group Meeting SA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A second critical reference group meeting was held to provide oversight on the research project and on its development with senior policy makers and academics. The advice and input was used to improve the focus of research and to plan further work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Critical Reference Group Meeting- Rwanda July, 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The research team members at the University of Rwanda organised their last Critical Reference group meeting in July 2017. The CRG meeting brought together 25 represenatives from policymakers, professional practitioners, academics and teachers in the field of education, peace-building and social cohesion to obtain an update on the research project and share the emerging findings of the research. The members of the CRG emphasized on the need for building teacher capacity to address issues pertaining to social cohesion, for more sustainable peacebuilding in Rwanda. The CRG meeting provided a space for a critical debate on research and its findings. The CRP committie talked about possible disseminations events for the study and ways to take forward the study in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.ce.ur.ac.rw/?q=node/219 |
| Description | Critical Reference Group Workshop - 2-3 June (Kigali Rwanda) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | At this second Critical Reference Group Workshop, 16 members of the CRG gathered to talked any the research and its progress. They also talked about what to do next. Dr. Angeline Barrett, Co-Investigotor of the Project from the university of Bristol attended the meeting. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Critical Reference Group meeting Rwanda |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Critical Reference Group meeting with stakeholders in Rwanda including representatives from research directorate of Rwanda, government policy mkers, NGO's, representatives from Rwanda Education board and donors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://plus.google.com/photos/104441226502353567871/albums/6256045977333725617 |
| Description | Critical Reference Group meeting- South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A critical reference group meeting was held to provide oversight on the research project and on its development with senior policy makers and academics. the CRG provided a platform for an sparkling debate and allowed the team to share their research findings. The advice and input received during was used to improve the focus of research and to plan further work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Critical reference Group Workshop -21 December 2016 (Kigali Rwanda) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Rwandan Team had a one day workshop with the critical reference group. Prof Ndabaga, Prof Yusuf, Dr Angeline, Dr Jolly had a presentation aimed at familiarizing the critical reference group with what the team is doing about Engaging teachers in Peace building Project. In line with the ongoing Research Project on the Role of Teachers in Peace Building, Twenty Research partners met in their Critical Reference Group (CRG) to update among themselves the progress of the research and share preliminary findings of the study. CRG brought together experts, policymakers and academics in the field of education, peace-building and social cohesion. In his opening remarks, Prof. Eugene Ndabaga, the Research Leader expressed his gratitude to CRG members for their commitment towards the success of study. He also urged participants to come up with comments with a view to enrich the study in the progress. The workshop emphasized on the need for building teacher capacity to address issues pertaining to social cohesion, for more sustainable peacebuilding in Rwanda. Participants in the workshop reflected on the objectives of the project which are among others to enhance national and global policy dialogue and understanding about teachers as agents of peacebuilding. The project also seek to critically examine the role of teachers and teaching in supporting education for peacebuilding. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.ce.ur.ac.rw/news/research-findings-on-the-role-of-teachers-in-peace-bui |
| Description | Dissemination and collaboration workshop, South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Sussex team and African country partners (Rwanda), UNICEF-SA and the Department of Basic Education of the Ministry of South Africa discussed contextualization of the research in South Africa and Rwanda and policy around the research themes creating a strong foundation to implement the project's next steps. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.cput.ac.za/blogs/bulletin/2015/03/03/researching-teachers-role-in-peace-building/ |
| Description | Eastern Cape dissemination event: Teacher and Social Cohesion Roundtable Event, Port Elizabeth, 27th October in Port Elizabeth, South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The research partners at the CITE (CPUT) in South Africa together in partnership with Nelson Mandela University organized a roundtable event in Port Elizabeth, 26th October 2017 to discuss and share the emerging finding of the research and talk about what implications these findings may have for policy developments in South Africa. Research team members from South Africa, Rwanda, the United Kingdom as well as international academics from the USA were present at this dissemination events, with Prof Joel Samoff from Stanford University serving as key discussant and critical reader. Beside them, Senior national and provincial policy makers and practitioners attended tthe Eastern Cape dissemination event on the 27th October in Port Elizabeth. Eastern Cape officials noted that the findings that emerged from the report was reported to the MEC and senior officials in the province and would greatly assist and inform their current thinking and mindsets with regard to the role of teachers and social cohesion in the province. AT this final event, senior national and provincial policy makers and practitioners participanted, Hearing the inputs of Rwandan and other international academic counterparts, as well as national policy, academic, and NGO participants, contributed to thoughtful and judicious inputs from the senior national policy makers and practitioners during the policy debriefing, especially with regard to how the final report could be applied and utilized in policy circles in the period going forward. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Episcopal Conference- May 2016 (Kigali Rwanda) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dr Claudien and Barthelemy from College of Education at University of Rwanda participated in a colloquium organized by the Rwandan Episcopal conference about 50 years of the involvement of the Catholic Church in Education in Rwanda. The aim consisted of tracking peacebuilding issues in Education as well as sharing experiences since the Secretary of SNEC (National Secretariat for Catholic Schools) is a member of our CRG and Formal Education was started by the Catholic Church in Rwanda. The research partners made valuable contribution to debate which was very well received. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Facing the Past -Transforming our Future- Shikaya Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | South Africa team members attended the workshop organized but Shikaya, a non-profit civil society organisation that recognises the crucial role that teachers can play in deepening and strengthening South Africa's democracy. The presentation was on the role teachers in social cohesion and peace. around more than 40 people attended this workshop. The presentation was very well received by those attended from diverse schools (teachers and management) at provincial level. The workshop provided a space for the research participant to share their finding of the research, it also generated a stimulating discussion around good citizenship and social cohesion and the role that teachers play. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www2.shikaya.org/uncategorized/teacher-workshop/ |
| Description | Final Policy Workshop Rwanda September 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Research partners at the College of Education, University of Rwanda organized a workshop as their final policy workshop in September 2017. Diverse participants from ministry officials, NGOs, teachers, academics attended to this workshop. The workshop aimed to disseminate the research findings with wider audiences. Prof. Eugene Ndabaga opened the workshop with an overview to the research project. The team members gave various presentations to shed lights to the role of the teachers in peace building and social cohesion and highlight the local, national and global dynamics that affect the agency of teachers in peacebuilding process. The workshop was very well attended and received by those participants which was evident in the participation of the debate session. The policy workshop and Critical reference group meeting have garnered support for research recommendation. In particular, the research recommended supporting teacher agency for social cohesion through continuing professional development. Relevant ministry officials have agreed to embark on the implementation of CPD focussing particularly on social cohesion and peacebuilding. Furthermore, teachers, teacher educators and other stakeholders attending the policy workshops expressed their participation in the different project activities helped improve their understanding of their role in promoting social cohesion. In particular, teachers claimed the project supported them in developing pedagogies for teaching peace values in their classrooms. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Forum on Education, Conflict & Instability (January 2016, Brighton) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The research team members at University of Sussex organized a Forum on Education, Conflict & Instability in January 2016, University of Sussex. This forum brought together a range of stakeholders with interests in education and conflict-practitioners, funders, consultants, academics, ministry personnel, researchers and doctoral students. Prof. Yusuf Sayed. Prof Mario Novelli, Dr. Angeline Barret from University of Bristol presented on various aspects of the research including and shared preliminarily research findings with the participants. Dr. Naureen Durrani presented key findings and policy implications of the UNICEF funded Pakistan project. All contributions were received very positive responses from the audiences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Forum- Education, Conflict & Instability |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This forum brought together a range of stakeholders with interests in education and conflict-practitioners, funders, consultants, academics, ministry personnel, researchers and doctoral students. Key finding and policy implications of the project was presented. The forum generated an interesting debate between the diverse aoudiences attended and increased the level of interest the research topic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Forum: The Role of Education in Building Social Cohesion and Sustainable Peace at the World Bank. Washington, DC, 6-7 April 2016. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Apart from the delivering the keynote speech at a two day Forum titled 'the Role of Education in Building Social Cohesion and Sustainable Peace' at the World Bank, which was co-organized by the Global Partnership for Education, the World Bank and UNICEF, Mario Novelli made a presentation titled 'Teacher Agency and Peacebuilding' as part of the Panel Discussion 2: Equity and social cohesion. More than 100 diverse participants including the representative of international organizations, eminent academics, postgraduate student, practitioners, donor organizations, policy makers and state representatives attended the event. The event aimed at providing a space for discussing and debate with all actors involved in influencing and making polices related to education for peacebuilding and social cohesion and how education policies can be better formulated to sustain long lasting peace and social cohesion. In his Mario Novelli drew attention to the potential positive role that teachers can play in peacebuilding and social cohesion. His presentation made valuable contribution to the debate on this topic and received well by the participants who raised interesting questions and requested to know more about the topic and project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.globalpartnership.org/event/role-education-building-social-cohesion-and-sustainable-peace |
| Description | Masibambane High School-Presentation (June, 2016) Cape Town |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | the aim of the presentation was to enhance interaction with local school communities as well as to share/disseminate the research findings in local schools. It was very well received by general public as well as students and teachers attended. The presentation has led to an interesting debate afterwords resulting an increased interested in knowing more about the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | POLICY Debriefing and Dissemination Workshop 20 October 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The research partners at the CITE (CPUT) in South Africa organised an important and energetic policy implications debriefing on 20th October 2017 with officials of the Western Cape Education Department and members of the national Department of Basic Education. This debriefing added critical value to current discussions and developments within provincial and national set-ups around learner conflict and integration and the envisaged roles of teachers and educational institutions in addressing this challenge. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Public Seminar: Teachers as Agents of Peace and Social Cohesion: sights from Rwanda and South Africa, 22 March 2017 / 2-6pm at University of Brighton. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The research team members at the University of Sussex took the research partners' meeting as opportunity to organize a half -day public seminar titled as Teachers as Agents of Peace and Social Cohesion: sights from Rwanda and South Africa' 'at the University of Sussex Falmer Campus on the 22nd of March, 2017. At this half - day public seminar, the research partners shared the emerging finding of the project and engaged in a critical debate with a broader audience. The seminar was opened by Dr Simon Thomson, the head of Education at the University of Sussex. This was followed by an overview presentation on the research and its framework by Professor Yusuf Sayed and Professor Mario Novelli University of Sussex. Following this brief output, Professor Eugene Ndabaga, Jane Umutoni, and Barthelemy Bizima from College of Education of University of Rwanda talked about the research project in Rwanda (how the research was conducted, data collection and emerging research finding etc) and Prof Azeem Badroodien and Marcina Sigh from the CITE at CPUT South Africa talked about the research project in South Africa (how the research was conducted, data collection and emerging research finding etc. After these two presentations, Dr. Naureen Durrani (University Of Sussex) talked about curriculum and textbooks Dr. Angeline Barrett (University of Bristol) talked about teacher professional development in Rwanda and South Africa context. This seminar was very well received by all those attended. The discussion session after the presentation allowed audiences to ask specific questions about research and its findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Public conference- Teacher's engagement in peace building (February Kigali- Rwanda) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This public seminar was organised by the research partners at the University of Rwanda. the project members: Prof. Prof Eugene Ndabaga, Prof Yusus Sayed and Dr. Angeline Barret gave presentations at this event. The three research members talked about the research, its findings and its aims and methodology as well as the role of education and teachers in peacebiilding and social cohesion. A range of diverse audiences attended the event (academics, students, practitioners, policy makers, media and NGOs. There was a very stimulating discussion and debate after the talks. many attended expressed their interested in the projects and wanted to hear more information about it |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://ur.ac.rw/?q=node/545 |
| Description | Public lecture at University of Rwanda 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A consultative meeting was held at the University of Rwanda-College of Education with a view to collect ideas that will be used in the ongoing Research Project on the role of teachers in peace building. The project is jointly conducted by members from different Universities including the University of Sussex, the University of Bristol, the University of Rwanda and Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The research will reach out to academics and education stakeholders in Rwanda and South Africa and will explore how teachers are framed and supported in their role as peace builders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://ur.ac.rw/?q=node/545 |
| Description | Report back to District South on Teacher Professionalism Project on Violence and school cohesion in the Western Cape 6 September 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a report back event to District South on Teacher Professionalism Project on Violence and school cohesion in the Western Cape. Apart from the research partners in CPUT and CITE (south Africa), representative from District South, District South principals, representatives from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) and senior school managements attended to this event. The research partners talked about the role of teachers in peace and social cohesions and shared the research findings with the participants. This stimulated an increased interest in the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Research Dissemination Event- the Research Consortium on Education and Peacebuilding (Amsterdam, 2016) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Research team members from University of Sussex and from the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) participated in 'Research Findings Dissemination Seminar: 'The Role of Education in Peacebuilding - Foundations, Findings and Futures' in April, 2016 organized by the Research Consortium on Education and Peacebuilding, a partnership between UNICEF and the University of Amsterdam, the University of Sussex, Ulster University. The event brought together research partners from South Africa, Pakistan, Myanmar and Uganda along with the three Consortium universities: Sussex, Ulster and Amsterdam. The event was attended by over 100 academics, researchers, students, practitioners and policy makers, important donor agencies (e.g. German and Dutch Aid Agencies), multilateral organisations (e.g. UNESCO, UNICEF), International NGOs (e.g.Save the Children,OxfamNovib), research and policy organisations (e.g. PEIC-Protect education in insecurity and conflict, Qatar, American Institute for Peace). At this dissemination workshop, the research team members had presented on the research finding of the four-country synthesis report on the role of teachers in promoting sustainable peacebuilding. Prof Mario Novelli's presentation titled ' the Consortium's Contribution to Education and Peacebuilding: The 4Rs Framework, Research Approach & Framing' outlined the overview of the research process and research framework. In her presentation titled 'The Role of Teachers in Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion', Dr. Naureen Durrani (University of Sussex) discussed the role of teachers in education and peacebuilding. Dr. Azeem Badroodien's (the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) at CPUT) presentation 'Critical research insights from South Africa on social cohesion' focussed on the research finding in the case of South Africa. In their poster presentation, Marcina Singh and Lorna Balie (Centre for International Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, CPUT) discussed the South African case study, which looked at the role of formal and non-formal "socially cohesion" initiatives around youth agency for peacebuilding. These indebt and critical presentations enriched the event and received a great deal of interest and positive responses from various audiences and has opened up a series of new conversations and networks for research team members and made valuable contribution to debates on education and conflict, the role of teachers in social cohesion and youth. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://educationanddevelopment.wordpress.com/rp/research-consortium-education-and-peacebuilding/ |
| Description | Research finding Dissemination seminar- The role of education in peacebulding- foundation, findings and Future April (Cape Town) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Between 50-100 people (including academics, practicioners and postgraduate students() attended to the presentation titled 'the role of education in peacebuilding. The presentation was well received and generated a stimulating debate and raised interesting questions afterwords. Some participant approach to the presenter to seek further information regarding the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Seminar- Internal team seminar- 15 February 2016 (Rwanda) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was an internal seminar organised to share knowledge of instruments and plan activities for the Rwandan Team. The Rwanda's team members had a stimulating discussions about the project and made decisions on future plans and activities. The research partners at University of Sussex and University of Bristol facilitated the seminar and exchanged opinions. This event increased the team spirit at the end. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Seminar: Conversations in Education - Researching Teachers as Agents of Peace and Social Cohesion: 21 June 2017, University of Bristol: BRISTOL |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Prof. Yusuf Sayed, Prof. Mario Novelli and Dr. Naureen Durrani, University of Sussex and Dr. Angeline Barrets from University of Bristol attended this public seminar that is organized by the the Graduate School of Education in Bristol as a part of 'Bristol Conversations in Education' seminar series. Sayed, Novelli and Durrani presented emerging finding of the research 'project with the participants. In their discussion, the team members talked about the how education peacebuilding interventions promote teachers' agency and capacity to build peace and social cohesion. They also talked about the theoretical and methodological framework; a social justice framework that addresses recognition, redistribution, representation and reconciliation that was used to conceptualise peace and social cohesion and how this was applied to an examination of teacher professional development, teacher trust and accountability, pedagogy, textbooks and curriculum in the context of South Africa and Rwanda. The presentations was followed by a critical debate at the question and answer session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.bristol.ac.uk/education/events/2017/bcined---21-june.html |
| Description | South Africa- Rwanda Data Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The research teams from Rwanda and South Africa organized a workshop to share and talk about the data collected for far for the research with other academics, postgraduate, peers, collaborators. the workshop generated a stimulating discussion. Interesting questions asked and issues raised. Advice and opinions were taken accounts for the future stages of the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | South Africa-Rwanda Team Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | More than 50 people attended the workshop organised by two research team in Rwanda and South Africa in Cape Town. The workshop allowed the teams to talk about the research and share and disseminated their findings. it generated interesting questions and debate afterwords amongst the diverse audiences. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | South African Education Research Association (SAERA) Conference (Cape Town) October, 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The research team members from University of Sussex, CITE at CTUP in South Africa and College of Education at University of Rwanda participated in the 4th SAERA (South African Education Research Association) titled Reimagining Education: Poetics, Practices and Pedagogies. The SAERA conference provides a research platform for all educational work and engages in debates related in education and education system in South Africa. At this conference, the research team members put together a Panel under the titled of 'Teachers and Social Cohesion in Diverse Contexts in the Global South, focusing on the transformative potential of education in conflict affected environments for the fostering of social justice and the building of sustainable peace. Paper Presentation included: 'Teachers as Agents of Sustainable Peace, Social Cohesion and Development: Theory, Practice & Evidence' by Mario Novelli (University of Sussex); 'Teachers as agents of change: promoting peacebuilding and social cohesion in schools in Rwanda' by Jolly Rubagiza, Jane Umutoni, Ali Kaleeba & Robert Sengarama (University of Rwanda); 'Teachers and Social cohesion in South Africa' by Prof. Yusuf Sayed, Azeem Badroodien, Yunus Omar, Lorna Bali. Mario Novelli's presentation outlined 'peace with social justice' framework used for the research and argued to adopt an approach that recognises teachers' multiple potential to contribute to both societal peace and development. Drawing on Rwanda's case, Jolly Rubagiza, Jane Umutoni, Ali Kaleeba & Robert Sengarama talked about the role of teachers in promoting peace-building and social cohesion in Rwandan schools in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Yusuf Sayed, Azeem Badroodien, Yunus Omar, Lorna Balie talked about the kinds of support given to education for peace-building and social cohesion in respect to government policies and the training of teachers in South Africa. The presentations was followed by Question and Answer session where all research members and participants were engaged in further debate and discussion related to their presentation. They received very positive responses from the participants and Increased amount of participant expressed their interest in wanting to know more about the research and the topic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://saeraconference.co.za |
| Description | South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation (SAHGF) Educator's programme July 2016 (Cape Town) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The research partners from South Africa involved in this Educator workshop that was organised by South African Holocaust & Genocide Foundation (SAHGF). the aim of this workshop was to educator 'educators' on topics related to human rights, peace and social cohesion. the research partners' talked about the role of educators in sustaining peace and human rights. The workshop was very well attended by local teachers across Cape Town. The workshop generated a stimulating debate and increased the awareness of the teachers role in sustaining peace and democracy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Teacher Professionalism and Teacher Accountability stakeholder meeting, Centurion, 18 June 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE), based at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, in partnership with the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) and the South African Council for Educators (SACE) agreed to host a joint seminar on teacher professionalism and accountability in Centurion on the 18 June 2015, inviting a range of participants across the entire teaching value chain to make presentations, with emphasis on teacher unions, professional bodies, education departments and organisations representing parents and learners. Participation: Group 1 - Education departments and parastatals (total in group: 20) Group 2 - Universities, research and think tanks (total: 21) Group 3 - Teacher unions, professional associations and schools (total: 15) Group 4 - Parents, students, NGOs (total: 10) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://nect.org.za/news/teacher-unions-universities-government-and-civil-society-meet-on-teacher-pro... |
| Description | Teachers and Social Cohesion Roundtable- Cape Town South Africa-May 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The research team from the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE), CPUT South Africa organized an event titled the Teachers And Social Cohesion Roundtable' in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and UNICEF, South Africa in May, 2016 in Cape Town. The aim of the event was to stimulate dialogue, discussion, collaboration, and networking amongst policymakers and stakeholders on the role of teachers in promoting Social Cohesion in South Africa. The event drew from the emerging finding from the project on teachers and social cohesion. This high level event was opened by the Deputy Minister of Basic Education, the Hon, Mr Enver Surty and more than 50 people attended including government officials, policy makers, practitioners, academics and researchers and representatives from professional associations and organisation working on the field. The roundtable event had four workshops on teacher recruitment, deployment and management, national school curriculum and textbooks, initial teacher education & continuous professional development, and teacher accountability and trust to engender policy dialogue and conversation amongst stakeholders. Research team members from CITE at CPUT talked about the role of teachers in social cohesion and peacebuilding and shared the initial findings of the research with other participants through their presentations as well as their involvements in various workshops. Their contribution was received positively by other participants and facilitated further talk and possible connections in the field of education. Images can be seen at https://www.flickr.com/photos/cite_cput/sets/72157668525081412/ The event had a media coverage on 27 of May in THUTO newsletter which can be seen at https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=thuto-newsletter-may2016.pdf&site=320 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=thuto-newsletter-may2016.pdf&site=320 |
| Description | Teaching Respect for All - The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) October 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Teaching respect for all is a local programme that runs national. At this event the research partners from CITE (Centre for Interna onal Teacher Education) and CPUT Cape Peninsula University of Technology) from South Africa gave a presentation on the role of teachers in social cohesion and peace. Around 50 people from various Schools (teachers, principals), Policymakers/parliamentarians and representative from The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) participated in this event and engaged in the discussion. the event generated a great deal of interests within the participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | The Comparative & International Education Societies, Atlanta, USA, 5-9 March 2017. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Mario Novelli attended the Comparative & International Education Societies (CIES) annual conference in Atlanta, USA, 5-9 March 2017. His presentation entitled 'Education & Countering Violent Extremism: Western Logics from South to North, and Education, War & Peace: Securitization & its Discontents' focussed on the role of education both as a source of conflict and but also peace and social cohesion. His remarks and arguments generated a critical debate after the panel session allowing participant to discuss further. Besides this presentation, Professor Mario Novelli was also discussant for the Globalization and Education Annual Lecture at the Conference. The lecture was given by Professor Fazal Rizvi on 'Comparative and International Education in Times of Brexit and Trump'. The full event can accessed at http://www.freshedpodcast.com/fazalrizvi-2/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.cies2017.org/conference-info/ |
| Description | The Conversation - Magazine JUNE 6, 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Yusuf Sayed together with Orla Quinlan published an article titled 'Changing what universities teach is a process, not a single event' in the Conversation, an independent magazine that sources news from the academic and research community and delivers them to public directly. In their article they talk about education and Curriculum in higher education in South Africa. They talk about the necessity of Curriculum transformation in a way that encourages openness, curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, flexibility and problem-solving. It should provide students with the skills they need to keep researching and learning throughout their lives, helping them to rise to new challenges that require new knowledge. The article was read and shared widely on social media: Twitted 59 times and shared on facebook by 130 times and shared by 28 times on LinkedIn. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/changing-what-universities-teach-is-a-process-not-a-single-event-59327 |
| Description | The Conversation - Magazine September 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Yusuf Sayed's article titled 'Pupils deserve applause for demanding a just school system' on the Conversation, UK Editionon September 1, 2016. The Conversation is an independent magazine that aims to source news from the academic and research community and delivered direct to the public. In his article, Professor Yusuf Sayed unpacks the issue of discrimination at schools and how social cohesion can be improved in these spaces. He emphasizes the importance of developing a proactive educational strategies that can tackle marginalization in schools and society. He also talks about the agency of the teachers in bringing about more sustainable peace and social cohesion.The article was read widely by not only academics and students but also wider general public. It was shared on social media as well. Twitted 65 times and shared on facebook 71 times. The same article also got published on Mail and Guardian, a South African newsletter on 16 of September 2006 under the title of Social Justice start at Schools. See this at https://mg.co.za/article/2016-09-16-00-social-justice-starts-at-school |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/pupils-deserve-applause-for-demanding-a-just-school-system-64615 |
| Description | The Conversation UK edition 29 August 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Prof Yusuf Sayed's published an article titled on 'Teachers have a crucial role to play in building social cohesion' in the Conversation, on August 29, 2016. The Conversation is an independent magazine that aims to source news from the academic and research community and delivers directly to the public. In his article, Professor Yusuf Sayed talks about education and social cohesion and potential positive role of teachers in social cohesion in society. He furthermore talks about how equitable education system and social cohesion go hand and hand. The article was read widely not only by academics and students but also wider general public. It was shared on social media as well. Twitted 56 times and shared on facebook 64 times. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/teachers-have-a-crucial-role-to-play-in-building-social-cohesion-60823 |
| Description | UKFIET Conference Under the title of Pedagogies for Sustainable Development UKFIET Conference, 5 - 7 September 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The research team members from the University of Sussex, the University of Bristol, the College of Education/University of Rwanda, and the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE), Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa (CPUT) participated the annual UKFIET conference under the title of Pedagogies for Sustainable Development. During the conference, the research team organized various activities. First, they organized a half day symposium titled as 'TEACHER AGENCY FOR PEACEBUILDING AND SOCIAL COHESION IN DIVERSE CONTEXTS IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH. The aim of this symposium was to draw attention to the vital role of teachers as an agent of peace and social cohesion in conflict affected context. After a brief overview of the research by Yusuf Sayed, the research partners presented three individual papers. The first paper titled 'Teachers as Agents of Sustainable Peace, Social Cohesion and Development: Theory, practice & evidence was presented by Yusuf Sayed & Mario Novelli from the University of Sussex. Their paper outlined the theoretical and methodological framework of the research project (a'peace with social justice' framework) that was used to analyse the role of teachers as agents of sustainable peace, social cohesion and development. The second paper titled 'Teachers as agents of change: promoting peace-building and social cohesion in schools in Rwanda' was presented by Eugene Ndabaga, Jane Umutoni, and Barthelemy Bizima, College of Education of University of Rwanda. Their paper examined how teachers have been positioned to promote peace-building and social cohesion in Rwandan schools in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide. The third paper titled 'Teachers and Social cohesion in South Africa presented by Azeem Badroodien, Yusuf Sayed, Yunus Omar, Lorna Balie. CPUT, South Africa. In their paper, they examined the support given to education for peace-building and social cohesion in respect to government policies and the training of teachers in South Africa. It considers how teachers are framed as agents of change in post-Apartheid South Africa. The presenations were followed by the question and answer session. In addition to the symposium, the research team members gave two further paper presentations at the conference. The first paper titled 'Curriculum texts for social cohesion in post-conflict contexts: Insights from Rwanda and South Africa' was presented by Naureen Durrani, Yusuf Sayed and Mario Novelli, University of Sussex. In this paper, they explored the ways in which the curriculum and textbooks in two post-conflict countries-Rwanda and South Africa-facilitate or hinder teachers as agents of social cohesion. The Second paper presentation titled as 'Teacher-Pedagogies For Peace-Building In Poor Rural And Urban Township Schools In Post-Apartheid South Africa' was presented by Azeem Badroodien Yusuf Sayed Yunus Omar Tarryn de Kock (the research partners from South Africa. Drawing on the empirical evidence gathered from a recent study with case-studies in nine South African schools, located in two provinces, their presentation considers how teachers are framed as agents of change in post-Apartheid South African education by analysing how teachers' pedagogic practices are influenced by educational policies and intended outcomes. The UKFIET conference provided an important platform for the dissemination of the research findings with the academic and non-academic audiences (NGOs, International donor agencies, government officials and students). Question and Answer sessions followed by the presentations allowed Audiances to engage in debate about the finding of the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.ukfiet.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Abstracts-for-Pedagogies-for-Sustainable-Developme... |
| Description | Validation Workshop SA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A validation workshop looking over the report and research findings so far provided input into gaps and important considerations for policy makers in particular. The Country Report-South Africa was first sent to UNICEF Country office and reference group members involving policy makers, academics and civil society members for review. This reference group consists of: Granville Whittle, Department of Basic Education, Saadnah Panday, UNICEF, Kate Angier, The University of Cape Town, Stanley Henkeman, The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and Adele Gordon (Reviewer). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Violence, Social Cohesion and Schools in the western Cape- Paper presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Stimulated an interesting debate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Western Cape Final Dissemination Colloquium: Roundtable discussion on ' Teachers and Social Cohesion', 19 October 2017, Cape Town/ South Africa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Research partners at the Centre for International Teacher Education (CITE) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) South Africa organized a roundtable discussion on teachers and social cohesion as an end of the research dissemination event in in partnership with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation at the Independent Journal Review (IJR) Centre on the 19th March 2017. Research team members from South Africa, Rwanda, the United Kingdom as well as international academics from the USA were present at both dissemination events, with Prof Joel Samoff from Stanford University serving as key discussant and critical reader. Besides this, most CRG members participated in or attended the Western Cape Colloquium event. Critical reference group participants included key national partners like Prof Robbie Van Niekerk, Rhodes University, Dr Granville Whittle from the Department of Basic Education, Dr Saadnah Panday from UNICEF, Dr Vanessa Watson from DBE, Ms Berenice Daniels from WCED, Ms Lynne Herrmann from teacher union NAPTOSA, Mr Jonovan Rustin from SADTU, Dr Kate Angier from the University of Cape Town, Stanley Henkeman from the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, Prof Crain Soudien CEO of HSRC, and Dr Adele Gordon as an external reviewer (along with 5 other practitioners). The event was addressed by speakers and comprised participants from CPUT, universities, teachers' unions, NGOs and other civil society, policy-makers, various academics and independent researchers, the national Department of Basic Education, as well as Lucretia Arendse; Education For Reconciliation Project Leader at IJR. The Teachers and Social Cohesion Roundtable aimed to disseminate research findings of how teachers in South Africa have demonstrated their agency amidst various external and internal constraints, including an unequal education system and traumas from the past and present. The event opened by Prof Yusuf Sayed giving an overview to the research project. Following this, Dr Granville Whittle (DBE) gave an opening speech to the event. At the event, the research partners at the CITE of CPUT, drawing on the data collected for the research revealed that teachers in South Africa are located and navigate through starkly different contexts with various amounts of resources. Teachers, however, exercise their roles as agents of social justice and cohesion within the particular constraints of their diverse contexts and often need to disrupt inherited patterns of exclusion and injustice in those contexts if they are to make a difference. They also shared the research finding with those that attended. The research team members from University of Rwanda gave a presentations on the Rwanda Perspectives on teachers and social cohesion. Beside this, there was two panel sessions: one on the Insight on social cohesion from diverse constituencies by the representatives from The Human Rights Commission, NAPTOSA, SADTU, IJR and second one was on the Government Perspectives on teachers and social cohesion presented by Dr Serote (DAC). The full agenda of the day can be seen here: http://bit.ly/2DN0uWp The event was very well attended and received positive feedback by the audiences. The debate sessions through out the day allowed audiences to engage and share their views. The full recording of this event 'Teachers and Social Cohesion Roundtable' (Oct 19th, 2017) is available on CITE channel here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOUB5ebkGqJDnCdaYDtUMfIg4BPxeksxQ A blog on this event written by Ayesha Fakie under the title of 'Teachers as Agents of Social Change in South Africa' can be found here http://www.ijr.org.za/2017/11/07/teachers-as-agents-of-social-change-in-south-africa/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOUB5ebkGqJDnCdaYDtUMfIg4BPxeksxQ |
| Description | Workshops with Rwandan in-country partners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshops were held with country patners over two weeks during February 2016 to help the partners to consolidate their research plan and dissemination strategy for 2016. The workshops helped to prepare and arrange a Critical Reference Group in Kigali with attendance form policymaker, international organisations and study participants organisations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/104441226502353567871/albums/6256045977333725617 |
| Description | Workshops with Rwandan in-country partners 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Dr Angeline Barrett travelled to Rwanda in 2015 to hold workshops with in-country partners to work on the methodology and instruments for the research, including the interveiw schedules, and questionaire and the data maps for 2015-2016. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Workshops with Rwandan in-country partners 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Professor Sayed travelled to Rwanda in July 2015 to hold workshops with in-country partners to work on the plans and arrangements for the research, including meeting with a number of governement officials to explain the nature of the research and to plan for 2015-2016. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | World Bank Group Fragility, Conflict and Violence Forum 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Yusuf Sayed (Principal researcher) gave a paper presentation on panel titled 'The role of Education in peacebuilding - Foundation, Findings and Future' at The World Bank Group Forum on 'Fragility, Conflict and Violence' in Washington DC on March 2016. Over 100 organisations and 600 participants gathered over three days to focus on the challenge of pushing forward the sustainable development agenda in a world affected by fragility conflict and violence. The panel on which Prof Sayed outlined and shared the preliminary finding from the Teachers and Peacebuilding research programme in Rwanda and South Africa aimed at the role of education in sustaining peacebuilding in conflict affected context. Sayed's presentation shed light on the role of teachers and teacher governance in peace building and social cohesion in the context of Rwanda and South Africa. The presentation received positive responses by the participants and raised important questions on the topics discussed and contributed greatly on the debate on education and conflict. See photos of the event at https://www.flickr.com/photos/cite_cput/sets/72157665136370232/ |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2015/07/30/world-bank-group-fragility-conflict-and-violence-forum... |