Primary School Leadership in Post-Conflict Rwanda: A Narrative Arc

246 Pages·2018·2.68 MB·English

by  Gilbert Karareba

Gilbert Karareba · Simon Clarke · Thomas O’Donoghue
PRIMARY SCHOOL
LEADERSHIP IN
POST-CONFLICT
RWANDA
A Narrative Arc
Primary School Leadership in Post-Conflict Rwanda
Gilbert Karareba • Simon Clarke
Thomas O’Donoghue
Primary School
Leadership in
Post- Conflict Rwanda
A Narrative Arc
Gilbert Karareba Simon Clarke
Graduate School of Education Graduate School of Education
The University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia
Crawley, Perth, Western Australia Crawley, Perth, Western Australia
Australia Australia
Thomas O’Donoghue
Graduate School of Education
The University of Western Australia
Crawley, Perth, Western Australia
Australia
ISBN 978-3-319-60263-9 ISBN 978-3-319-60264-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-60264-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017947044
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
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C
ontents
1 I ntroduction 1
2 The Broad Context 23
3 Overview of the Literature 61
4 Historical Background to Primary School
Leadership from Colonial Times Until 1994 97
5 Developments in Relation to Primary School 
Leadership in Rwanda Since the Genocide of 1994 123
6 Concerns of School Leaders and Associated
Strategies Adopted by Them 147
7 Overview, Discussion, and Conclusion 185
References 215
Index 237
v
L A
ist of bbreviAtions
DEO District Education Officer
DFID Department for International Development
EDPRS Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy
EFA Education for All
ESSP Education Sector Strategic Plan
ICT Information Communication Technology
IMF International Monetary Fund
MDG Millennium Development Goals
MINEDUC Ministry of Education
MRND M ouvement Révolutionnaire National pour le
Développement
NGO Non-Government Organisation
NYBE Nine Year Basic Education
OLPC One Laptop per Child
PEER Programme for Education for Emergencies and
Reconstruction
PEI Province Education Inspector
PRK People’s Republic of Kampuchea
REB Rwanda Education Board
RPF Rwandan Patriotic Front
SAC School Audit Committee
SAP Structural Adjustment Programme
SEI Sector Education Inspector
SEO Sector Education Officer
SGAC School General Assembly Committee
vii
viii LIST OF ABBREvIATIONS
TEP Teachers’ Emergency Package
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
UNTAC United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia
UNTAET United Nations Transitional Administration in East
Timor
UPE Universal Primary Education
vvOB vlaamse vereniging voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking
en Technische Bijstand (Flemish Association for
Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance)
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
The contingency theories of leadership that gained prominence during the
1970s and 1980s are still relevant to current leadership practice (Bush,
2008; Simpson, 1999). These theories hold that leadership is context-
bound and that “context is the vehicle through which the agency of par-
ticular leaders may be empirically understood” (Gronn & Ribbins, 1996,
p. 454). They are particularly important for yielding insights into leader-
ship as it is understood and practised in such extraordinarily challenging
contexts (Bush, 2008) as post-conflict societies.
Specifically within the realm of educational leadership, some studies have
examined the way context influences school leadership (Clarke & Wildy,
2004; Dempster, Carter, Freakley, & Parry, 2004). There is also growing
evidence that effective school leadership and management are crucial to
school effectiveness and student learning (Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins,
2008; Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004). Nevertheless,
regardless of the importance attributed to school leadership and the work
that has investigated the manner in which situational context and factors
can both constrain and influence it, the relationship that exists between
context and leadership continues to be severely under-theorised (Gronn &
Ribbins, 1996; Vroom & Jago, 2007). This relationship can be elucidated
in relation to Rwanda, a post-conflict country where the education system
was debilitated in the wake of the civil war and genocide that raged during
the 1990s. Along with this, Rwanda is a small landlocked, post-colonial,
and developing country facing multiple challenges. Mindful of these reali-
ties, this book emerged out of a desire to generate an understanding
© The Author(s) 2018 1
G. Karareba et al., Primary School Leadership in Post-Conflict Rwanda,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-60264-6_1
2 1 INTRODUCTION
of the historical background to primary school leadership in Rwanda, of
recent developments in primary school leadership in the country, and of the
current concerns of primary school leaders. Collectively, these consider-
ations have facilitated the charting of a distinctive narrative arc through the
evolution of Rwandan primary school leadership.
Focus oF the Book
The book, which presents an understanding of leadership at the primary
school level in post-conflict Rwanda, has three main foci. First, it provides
an understanding of the historical background to leadership at the primary
school level in Rwanda from colonial times until the genocide of 1994.
This history is interesting not only in its own right, but also because con-
temporary issues are more easily understood and interpreted when the
past is taken into consideration (Aldrich, 1996). Analogously, one cannot
understand school leadership issues and practices in Rwanda without a
clear understanding of how education in the nation has evolved over the
years.
The second focus is on the developments that took place in relation to
leadership at the primary school level in Rwanda from 1994 until 2014.
The year 1994 marked the end of the four-year civil war, which culmi-
nated in genocide throughout the country. It is informative to know what
the Rwandan government did to resuscitate and develop education and, in
particular, to shape primary school leadership from that point onwards.
Accordingly, a description and analysis of policies and activities that have
shaped primary school leadership in post-conflict Rwanda are presented.
The third focus is on issues which are currently of concern to primary
school leaders in Rwanda. These concerns play an important role in guid-
ing the actions of school leaders. Accordingly, it is important to recognise
them since it is likely that not to do so could well result in any attempts to
improve the leadership provided by primary school leaders floundering.
Why Write this Book?
Focusing the book on primary school leadership in post-conflict Rwanda
is important and relevant for both academic and practical reasons. First,
achieving universal primary education in Rwanda requires, among other
factors, that primary schools throughout the country are effectively led. In
this regard, the role of ‘quality’ school leadership in promoting students’
WHY WRITE THIS BOOK? 3
learning and organisational and school success is clear in the educational
leadership research (Leithwood et al., 2008; Marks & Printy, 2003;
Watson, 2009). Good leadership at the primary school level can lay a solid
foundation for the all-round development of children, the alleviation of
poverty, and economic development (Hannum & Buchmann, 2005).
Psacharopoulos (1985) referred to these benefits nearly 40 years ago when
he pointed out that primary school education is one of the most profitable
investment opportunities available in developing countries. Moreover, the
promotion of the all-round development of children has the potential to
lead to the promotion of peace and tolerance in such post-conflict societ-
ies as Rwanda. On this, Paulson (2011b) has pointed out that education
in post-conflict settings is crucial to reconciliation and peacebuilding.
The importance of education in post-conflict societies is also high-
lighted by the World Bank (2005) as follows:
Educational programming in post-conflict societies cannot be business as
usual. Education has a critical role to play in the wider reconstruction of the
society, from building peace and social cohesion to facilitating economic
recovery and getting the country onto an accelerated development track.
(p. 27)
This position indicates that primary school leadership should receive spe-
cial consideration in such contexts. This is especially so in relation to
Rwanda, where primary school education is compulsory.
A justification for studying school leadership in post-conflict Rwanda
also arises from Clarke and O’Donoghue’s (2013) recent call for more
research to be conducted on school-level leadership in post-conflict societ-
ies. They (Clarke & O’Donoghue, 2013) point out that very little empiri-
cal research has been undertaken on this matter. As a result, there are not
enough examples of school leadership practices in post-conflict societies
available for use in developing theoretical models for informing leadership
development in such complex situations. This book provides one contri-
bution to filling the gap by adding to the body of knowledge on school
leadership more broadly in post-conflict societies. In doing so, it is not
being claimed that what is presented is generalisable as in the case of
research conducted within the positivist paradigm. Rather, it can lead to
“reader or user generalisability” (Burns, 1994, p. 327). That is, it is writ-
ten in such a manner that readers should be able to relate to the exposition
in order to understand their own and others’ situations.