Living Together: Education and Intercultural Dialogue

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Suzanne Majhanovich · Christine Fox · Adila Pašalic´ Kreso Editors

Living Together Education and Intercultural Dialogue

Previously published in International Review of Education, Volume 54, Issues 3–4, 2008

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Editors Suzanne Majhanovich Faculty of Education University of Western Ontario 1137 Western Road London, ON Canada N6G 1G7 E-mail: [email protected]

Adila Pašalic´ Kreso Faculty of Philosophy University of Sarajevo F. Rackong No. 1, Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina E-mail: [email protected]

Christine Fox Faculty of Education University of Wollogong New South Wales 2522 Australia E-mail: [email protected]

All rights reserved Library of Congress Control Number: 2009922620 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1 ISBN 978-1-4020-9815-4

eISBN 978-1-4020-9816-1

© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, B.V. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any menas, elec tronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, reocrding or otherwise, without the written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of anymaterial supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for the exclusive use by the purchaser of ther work. springer.com

Acknowledgements The Editors acknowledge with thanks the following for their support in the development of this volume: Harmen van Paradijs, Publications Editor, Springer Christopher McIntosh, Executive Editor, International Review of Education, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning Hannah Mowat, Assistant Editor, International Review of Education, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning Mark Bray, International Institute for Educational Policy, UNESCO Crain Soudien, President of WCCES, University of Cape Town Barry van Driel, International Association of Intercultural Education Bob Adamson, Hong Kong Institute of Education Mark Ginsburg, University of Pittsburgh Terri Kim, Brunel University, UK Jing Lin, University of Maryland Sharzad Mojab, Ont. Inst. for Studies in Educ., Univ. of Toronto Douglas Morgan, University of South Australia Shin’ichi Suzuki, Waseda University, Tokyo Teresa Tatto, Michigan State University We also wish to thank the following reviewers of the paper for the issue: Ali Abdi, University of Alberta Beatrice Avalos, University Alberto Hurtako, Chile Jennifer Chan, University of British Columbia Lynn Davies, University of Birmingham Cecille DePass, University of Calgary Erwin Epstein, Loyola University Grace Feuerverger, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Univ. of Toronto Dominique Groux, Past President, AFDECE Ruth Hayhoe, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Univ. of Toronto Yvonne Marie Hebert, University of Calgary Christian Horst, Danish Pedagogical University Victor Kobayashi, University of Hawaii Wolfgang Mitter, German Institute for International Education Research Giovanni Pampanini, University of Catania Allan Pittman, University of Western Ontario David Radcliffe, University of Western Ontario Nombuso Dlamini, University of Windsor David Turner, Glamorgan University Javier Valle, Spain, Past President of CESE

Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction S. Majhanovich & C. Fox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1–11

The WCCES and Intercultural Dialogue: Historical Perspectives and Continuing Challenges M. Bray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13–31

Bridging Cultures and Traditions for Educational and International Development: Comparative Research, Dialogue and Difference M. Crossley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33–50

Complex Societies, Common Schools and Curriculum: Separate is not Equal J. Gundara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

51–66

The War and Post-War Impact on the Educational System of Bosnia and Herzegovina A.P. Kreso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

67–88

Engaging Youth in Community Development: Post-War Healing and Recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina L. Kasumagic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

89–106

Le «harcèlement entre pairs» ‘á l’école élémentaire tchèque: une question d’interprétation M. Kohout-Diaz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

107–122

Core Elements of the European (Higher) Education Policy: MarketDriven Restructuring or Impetus for Intercultural Rapprochement? E.G. Starkie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

123–139

vi

Contents

Teacher Education and Development Policies: Critical Discourse Analysis from a Comparative Perspective M.E. Pini & J.M. Gorostiaga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

141–157

Towards an indigenous African Educational Discourse: A Philosophical Reflection P. Higgs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

159–172

Nurturing Relationships and Honouring Responsibilities: A Pacific Perspective K.H. Thaman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

173–187

Convergence of Monastic and Modern Education in Bhutan? B.D. Denman & S. Namgyel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

189–205

Frontiers of Education: Japan as “Global Model” or “Nation at Risk”? D.B. Willis, S. Yamamura & J. Rappleye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

207–229

INTRODUCTION SUZANNE MAJHANOVICH and CHRISTINE FOX

Originally published in the journal International Review of Education, Volume 54, Nos 3–4, 287–297. DOI: 10.1007/s11159-008-9097-9 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

The papers in this collection have been selected from over 800 presentations given at the XIIIth World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, held at the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 3 to 7 September 2007. The Congress was hosted on behalf of the WCCES by the Mediterranean Society of Comparative Education and in association with the International Association of Intercultural Education. For such an international gathering, it was appropriate that the theme chosen was ‘‘Living Together: Education and Intercultural Dialogue’’, providing scope for contributions by participating scholars, policy makers and practitioners in education from some 70 countries. The presenters approached contemporary educational issues with knowledge and insights about a world characterized by the tensions and demands of global and local interests, by regional conflicts and post-conflict deliberations, and by the global diaspora, with cultural, religious and linguistic diversity within both small and large states. Only a very few papers could be included for this collection, but they represent some of the key topics under discussion during the Congress. The papers were selected from the recommendations of the convenors of the 13 Thematic Groups, the keynote addresses and several symposia.

Intercultural dialogue Before providing an overview of the contents of this volume, consideration must be given to the nature of intercultural dialogue and the implications for education. This volume provides theoretical insights and practical examples of intercultural dialogue in a variety of educational settings. The Council of Europe has defined intercultural dialogue as follows: Intercultural dialogue is a process that comprises an open and respectful exchange between individuals, groups and organizations with different cultural backgrounds or world views. Among its aims are: to develop a deeper understanding of different perspectives and practices; to increase participation (or the freedom to make choices); to ensure equality; and to enhance creative processes. (CoE 2008)

Aspirations for respectful and tolerant intercultural exchanges are widely held, and yet in the modern globalized world these aims have proven to be elusive and difficult to achieve. As the impact of globalization has expanded with transnational accords and multi-national economic unions, the influence and importance of national states have appeared to diminish. As Randy Kluver comments: ‘‘In a globalized world, the political abstraction known as S. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_1

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Suzanne Majhanovich and Christine Fox

nations are becoming increasingly irrelevant, while the symbolic systems known as culture are continually in flux.’’ (Kluwer 2008: 6) In reaction, perhaps because of a natural anxiety among ethnic groups of loss of identity and fear of being swallowed up in the wake of sweeping global forces, nationalism has been on the rise. It is little wonder then that those groups that have not particularly benefited from the changes brought by globalization feel threatened, and find that values they have always lived by are being questioned, devalued or rejected outright. Manuel Castells claims: The crisis of political legitimacy threatens to undo the democratic system, and with it, the ability to manage the problems and issues of a world in turmoil...There is a growing gap between the space where the issues are defined (global) and the space where the issues are managed (the nation state). (Castells 2005: 10)

Increasingly, ethnic groups have been clamouring for recognition of what they deem to be historic rights of territory and power, often at the expense of their neighbours. Over the last decades of the 20th century various regions of the world have undergone vicious ethnic wars and conflicts, often resulting in the displacement of populations, migration and resettlement in new areas with a resulting increase in the diversity of the cultural, religious and linguistic makeup of the state. The manner in which the state reacts to growing diversity is significant and vital to basic human rights.

Education as a positive or negative catalyst in intercultural understanding and dialogue Peace-building through education was a significant area for discussion at the Sarajevo Congress, exploring strategies to support post-conflict societies. Gallagher found in his study of Northern Ireland education systems that there is a tendency to over-privilege difference rather than exploring common goals (Gallagher 2005: 439). As many of the discussions during the Sarajevo Congress recognized, educational experiences, both inside and outside the formal educational system, can play a role either to exacerbate problems or to mitigate them and to promote an intercultural dialogue of reconciliation and tolerance. Coulby (1997) has cautioned against the practice of states that have responded to diversity in their society by using the educational system to segregate, stratify or naturalize their citizens. Indeed, Coulby and Jones (1995) have demonstrated how education can be organized to differentiate students and often marginalize minority groups. Yet effective cross-cultural communication can be fostered to counteract the ethnic violence that characterized the past. Jagdish Gundara expresses the issue in the strongest possible way: The present century has left a legacy of intolerance and hatred but the dominant voice of the new millennium has to be in relation to systems of reconciliation

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equity and the strengthening of the civic domain. The replacement of class struggles, despite vast levels of destitution, by religious, ethnic and cultural conflicts, heralds even deeper divides – a new barbarism. Human societies will require the pooling of all their ingenuity, resources and technologies to obviate some of the conflicts, exclusions and deep cleavages that may occur. Intercultural education can assist this process, particularly in building a civic culture in the context of a civil society. Such a process can help in the socialization of groups of people, and in developing a common shared value system and social cohesion in diverse communities. (Gundara 1997: 208)

One effective strategy in the field of higher education has been the ERASMUS programme in Europe, which demonstrates a changing role in student mobility. The purpose of Erasmus is ‘‘to improve the quality of higher education and strengthen its European dimension. It does this by encouraging transnational cooperation between universities, fostering the European mobility of students and teachers, and contributing to improved transparency and academic recognition of qualifications and studies throughout the European Union’’ (ERASMUS 2008). The issue of linguistic diversity and how the state deals with it is also of importance. Euan Reid has noted that despite the multilingual reality of most major cities in the world, ‘‘it is striking that [a] ‘monolingual ideology’ is still so powerfully evident in education systems in almost every part of the world’’ (Reid 1997: 27). Reid concluded that ‘‘the promotion of linguistic diversity in general, and in particular as part of ‘national standard language education’, is crucial to any serious attempt to realize intercultural education’’ (36). As Rassool has pointed out, the stability of the monocultural and monolingual metropolitical nation-state ‘‘has been fractured by the polygot...of transmigratory groups’’ (Rassool 2004: 211). He noted that the linguistic repertoires of groups who have undergone multiple transmigrations need to be accessed and celebrated for their ‘‘vibrant cultural experiences across time and space [including the] ongoing maintenance of cultural identities’’ (207). Sociolinguists such as Skutnabb-Kangas and Cummins (1988), and Thomas (1991) have shown that, rather than being a rare occurrence, bilingualism (one might add multilingualism) is quite widespread and common among whole societies. Skutnabb-Kangas, with Garcia and TorresGuzmań (Garcia et al. 2006) have produced a vision for multilingual schools in various political and geographical contexts. Skutnabb-Kangas has consistently promoted the preservation of local languages as a human right, in the face of what she sees as linguistic genocide in the globalized world.

Intercultural dialogue and human rights Many of the papers at the Sarajevo Congress were focused on the role of the UN, and in particular UNESCO, in fostering the human rights dialogue. The United Nations has consistently recognized the need to remind nations

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of their responsibilities to promote human rights through education and the dialogic process of sharing information, understanding and peace. At the UN World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, this responsibility of nations was affirmed in clause 33: 33. The World Conference on Human rights reaffirms that States are duty-bound, as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and in other international human rights instruments, to ensure that education is aimed at strengthening the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The World Conference on Human Rights emphasizes the importance of incorporating the subject of human rights education programmes and calls upon States to do so. Education should promote understanding, tolerance, peace and friendly relations between the nations and all racial or religious groups and encourage the development of United Nations activities in pursuance of these objectives. Therefore, education on human rights and the dissemination of proper information, both theoretical and practical, play an important role in the promotion and respect of human rights with regard to all individuals without distinction of any kind such as race, sex, language or religion, and this should be integrated in the education policies at the national as well as international levels….

The Council of Europe in a follow-up meeting in Vienna prepared a ‘‘Plan of Action on combating racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance’’ in which they acknowledged the diversity of and within European states and committed to launching ‘‘an urgent appeal to European peoples, groups and citizens, and young people in particular, that they resolutely engage in combating all forms of intolerance and that they actively participate in the construction of a European society based on common values, characterized by democracy, tolerance and solidarity’’ (1993). In September 2000, the United Nations Millennium Summit set out a number of Millennium Development Goals related to Education for All among other goals: MDG2 was to achieve universal primary education by 2015; MDG 3 was to promote gender equality and empower women, with the target of eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and in all levels of education by 2015. The MDG agenda involves human rights and capabilities, and agency, making hope real (Unterhalter 2005: 112). The MDG Medium Term Strategy (2002–2007) approved by UNESCO in 2002 has concentrated on the needs of African women, youth, the prevention of HIV/AIDS through national education plans (UNESCO 2002). The Education for All Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO 2007) is the most recent of the annual reviews of the progress of EFA, a significant topic during the Sarajevo Congress. The role of comparative education One of the main goals of the WCCES is ‘‘to advance education for international understanding in the interests of peace, intercultural co-operation, mutual respect among peoples and observance of human rights; and to

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improve education systems so that the right of all to education may be more fully realized’’ (Bray et al. 2007: 2). The triennial WCCES Congresses provide the opportunity to come into contact with comparative educators from many different backgrounds from all around the world. The changing discourses of comparative education have been traced by members of WCCES in a variety of texts over the past decades (e.g. Welch and Masemann 1997, Ross 2002, Stromquist 2005, Welch 2008). The histories of Comparative Education Societies globally are documented in Masemann, Bray and Manzon’s volume produced on behalf of the WCCES (Masemann et al. 2007). In our globalized world, where the tendency is to a world view that is mainly derived from the Western (North American and European) notions and values, organizations like the WCCES remind us that there are other ways of understanding and knowing. Giovanni Pampanini (2008), calling for a critical stance to comparative education cautions us that Western comparative educators must thoroughly understand their own critical traditions, but also be aware of what can be learned from scholars from diverse origins – from Africa, the Arab world, Latin America and the vast Asia-Pacific region. Meetings like the World Congress provide a most suitable venue to practise and engage in comparative education. The theme for the XIIIth Congress of ‘‘Living Together: Education and Intercultural Dialogue’’ had particular pertinence for Sarajevo, a site of post-conflict reconciliation and intercultural interaction. Srebren Dizdar, the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo in his welcoming remarks portrayed very well the historic characteristics of the region that had for centuries been populated by people from a multiplicity of cultures and religions, speaking many languages, who were aware of the need to respect the customs, religious beliefs and cultural identity of local citizens. The Congress theme, he said, was a natural choice for the area since ‘‘Diverse people lived together here for ages. There were times of troubles and hardships, such as the recent war catastrophe in the 1990s, when they were, literally, dying together, but kept as their hope for the future the need to re-establish the broken threads of mutual respect and support’’ (Dizdar 2007). The congress themes Thirteen thematic groups were identified: Comparative Education: Theory and Methodology. Intercultural Education and Human Rights: Theory and Practice. Language. Higher Education. Education for All. Transition, Conflict and Post-conflict Societies.

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Suzanne Majhanovich and Christine Fox Ethnicity, Religion, Secularism and Spirituality. Gendered Discourses. Teacher Education. Educating Professionals. Indigenous Learning. Learning in and out of Classrooms. Cross-thematic Activities and Presentations.

In keeping with the notion of intercultural dialogue, each thematic group typically was convened by two or three experts in the area but hailing from different parts of the world. In addition to the thematic groups, there were also four key-note addresses and several symposia from which a small selection was made. Papers were also nominated for inclusion in this volume by the thematic conveners. Because of space restrictions, ultimately only a small number of the hundreds of fine papers were included in this publication. Mark Bray in his Presidential address, ‘‘The WCCES and Intercultural Dialogue: Historical Perspectives and Continuing Challenges’’ not only provides an overview of the evolution of the World Council since its inception in 1970 but also outlines the longstanding commitment of WCCES to intercultural dialogue. He concludes that through the choice of Congress venues over the years and the efforts to bring together many academic cultures, the WCCES has constantly striven to be true to the vision of the role of education in helping to shape a better world. In ‘‘Bridging Cultures and Traditions for Educational and International Development: Comparative Research Dialogue and Difference’’ Michael Crossley addresses the conference theme from a methodological and theoretical standpoint. He uses the metaphor of ‘‘bridging’’ to illustrate the development of comparative education research over a quarter of a century by referring to a number of studies carried out in the South Pacific, the Caribbean and Africa, and contends that disciplined comparative and international research promotes not only international understanding, but also fosters the advancement of theory, policy and educational practice worldwide. One of the problematic areas of education in modern ethnically diverse democratic societies is how to balance education for tolerance and inclusion with the right of choice and the demands of minorities for the right to send their children to separate schools. Jagdish Gundara’s keynote paper, ‘‘Complex Societies, Common Schools and Curriculum: Separate is not Equal’’, takes up this troubling dilemma. He asks whether separate schools reflect increased respect for the rights of minorities, and assist them in overcoming marginalization, or whether on the contrary they ensure that inequalities will remain and deprive youth of the chance of reaching full potential. As he believes firmly that societies should use schools to cultivate shared value systems and strengthen democratic engagement, he concludes that separate schools are not in the best interest of society nor of its minorities.

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Adila Pasˇ alic´ Kreso, the Convener of the Congress, in her paper ‘‘The War and Postwar Impact on the Education System of Bosnia and Herzegovina’’ provides a fitting follow-up to the Gundara paper when she shows the negative results of a post-war school system in Bosnia and Herzegovina which, rather than encouraging intercultural dialogue and communication, has developed a complex decentralized education system where in the various cantons separate schools exist for the three major ethnic groups, the Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs. Analysis of the curriculum shows bias, prejudice and misinformation. She fears for the future of the new country whose youth are being educated in intolerance. She describes how some courageous educators in the country are working against division or separation, offering programs in schools that include all ethnic groups and teaching for inclusiveness and acceptance of differences. ‘‘Engaging Youth in Community Development: Post-War Healing and Recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina’’, presented by Larisa Kasumagic´, proposes the kind of antidote needed to combat the poisonous atmosphere of the schools described in Adila Kreso’s paper. The projects that Kasumagic´ describes in the innovative curriculum model called Y3CL (Youth Center for Communication and Creative Learning) include three modules: ‘‘Facing History and Ourselves’’, ‘‘Growing up in Cities’’ and ‘‘Nonviolent Communities’’. Young people from the three ethnic groups work together through these modules with a goal of effecting community change. Such projects are in line with the recommendations put forward in the Council of Europe’s Plan of Action articulated in the Vienna Declaration. Magdalena Kohout-Diaz in ‘‘Vivre ensemble a` l’ećole e´le´mentaire tche`que: le ‘harce`lement entre pairs’, une construction socioećonomique opportune?’’ reports on troubled schools in the Czech Republic as it goes through the transformation to a post-communist state. The study she carried out demonstrated that there was bullying in the schools between the students as well as a general lack of respect shown to the teachers. However, her investigation showed that the reported problem was more of a socio-economic construct to explain the liberalizing effects of the post-communist society, where teachers had not only lost some of their previous status but were also experiencing economic problems; they were looking with nostalgia to previous times when their authority would not have been questioned. A paper from the Higher Education thematic group, ‘‘Core Elements of the European Higher Education Policy: Market-Driven Restructuring or Impetus for Intercultural Rapprochement?’’, by Elisa Gavari Starkie, reviews some of the major European educational policies developed in the latter decades of the 20th century to permit transfer of credits among the universities of the European Union. Although the policies seem to offer possibilities for students there is also the concern that the real agenda is one driven by market interests to make those trained in European universities more competitive in world markets. Monica Pini and Jorge Gorostiaga’s paper focuses on teacher education and policy analysis, this time in the context of Argentina and other Latin

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American countries. They argue that the neo-liberal reforms in Latin America have had a negative impact on teachers’ status and work lives. They call for new discourses to critique the influence of marketization and commodification of educational systems in the region. ‘‘Towards an Indigenous African Educational Discourse: a Philosophical Reflection’’, by Philip Higgs, speaks to the need to valorize indigenous knowledge in African post-colonial communities as they undertake educational development. He believes it is necessary to challenge Western Eurocentric hegemony and empower the communities to take charge of change and fulfill their visions of ‘‘learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together as equals with others’’. Konai Helu Thaman, in her keynote address, made a poetic statement speaking to the theme of intercultural dialogue from the perspectives of the Pacific Island populations, using as an example the Tongan concept of vaa related to values and inter-personal relationships. In the paper developed for this publication, ‘‘Nurturing Relationships and Honouring Responsibilities: A Pacific Perspective’’, she challenges her readers of the need for those schooled in Western concepts of knowing and learning to consider that there are many ways of understanding the world. She believes that educators from the Western traditions need to reflect deeply and consider cultural implications before imposing Western pedagogies and curricula on others’ education systems. In this way, her paper is very much in tune with Higgs’ paper. The paper by Denman and Namgyel, ‘‘Convergence of Monastic and Modern Education in Bhutan’’, follows a similar theme of the need to balance local cultural traditions with demands of modernization in their discussion of the implications of the development in Bhutan of the Royal University of Bhutan on the national consciousness of ‘‘Gross National Happiness’’. The authors contend that the new university may provide a locus of convergence for both cultural identity and educational development to assist in the goals of Education for All. The final paper in this collection, ‘‘Frontiers of Education: Japan as ‘Global Model’ or ‘Nation at Risk?’’’, by Willis, Yamamura and Rappleye, reports on restructuring in the Japanese educational system, a system that some believe shows Japanese education is in decline whereas others see the model as exemplary. The authors weigh the reasons given to depict Japan as a nation at risk and balance them against arguments that characterize Japanese education as a global model. They pose the question whether the problems identified in the system, such as violence and bullying, are mere rhetoric to mask other problems of a country not sure how to cope with increasing diversity within Japanese society in the globalized world. Final words The overview of the papers that appear in this issue give a soupçon of the many issues that came to light in a Congress dedicated to the exploration of

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what intercultural dialogue means in our modern globalized world. Delegates spoke both to successful manifestations of intercultural dialogue and to challenges that impede its realization. At the closing session of the Congress, participants approved by acclamation the Sarajevo Declaration, pledging their commitment to continue to strive for the betterment of the world through education: As members of the global education community in our capacity as individual educators, researchers and practitioners, we concur with the goals of the Congress. Education at all levels – from higher education to pre-school education from formal training to non-formal lifelong learning – plays a vital role in fostering values of peaceful intercultural dialogue, respect, social justice and equity, and is a major factor in bringing about reconciliation among diverse communities. Appropriate, relevant education is a fundamental pre-requisite to sustainable human development, creativity and excellence. (from the Sarajevo Declaration, adopted 7 September 2007, cited in Pampanini 2008: 126, and available on the WCCES website, www.wcces.net).

It is hoped that this collection of papers in some small way captures the spirit of the Congress and its intentions.

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the Global and the Local. Third edition, ed. by R. Arnove and C. A. Torres. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

The authors Suzanne Majhanovich is Professor of Languages at the Faculty of Education, the University of Western Ontario, where she teaches theories of education and educational research methods, as well as issues in language acquisition, second-language teaching and learning, and language policies. Her current research interests include the teaching of English as a Foreign Language in international contexts, educational restructuring, decentralisation, and privatisation. She is Editor of the Canadian and International Education Review, and currently chairs the WCCES Standing Committee for Publications. Contact address: Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, 1137 Western Road, London, ON, Canada N6G 1G7. E-mail: [email protected] Christine Fox is a senior academic at the Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, Australia, and since 2005 has been Secretary-General of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies. Her teaching areas include international and intercultural education, social contexts of teaching and learning, and leadership in curriculum and instruction. Her current research interests are postcolonialism, narrative research methodology, and intercultural communication. For many years she has carried out consultancies in educational policy and planning in the Asia-Pacific region with an emphasis on equity in education. Contact address: Faculty of Education, University of Wollogong, New South Wales, 2522 Australia. E-mail: [email protected].

THE WCCES AND INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES AND CONTINUING CHALLENGES MARK BRAY


Abstract – The World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) has been strongly concerned with intercultural dialogue since the Council was created in 1970. Indeed advancement of education ‘‘for international understanding in the interests of peace, intercultural cooperation, mutual respect among peoples and observance of human rights’’ is one of the goals built into the WCCES Statutes. This paper begins with a focus on the origins and goals of the WCCES, noting in particular links with the mission of UNESCO. The paper then considers dimensions of evolution in the work of the WCCES in the domain of intercultural dialogue. It underlines the growth of the WCCES and the continuing challenges for securing balanced representation of voices and perspectives. Re´sume´ – LE CMAEC ET LE DIALOGUE INTERCULTUREL: PERSPECTIVES HISTORIQUES ET DE´FIS CONTINUELS – le Conseil Mondial des Associations d’E´ducation Compareé (CMAEC/WCCES) s’est fortement inte´resse´ au dialogue interculturel depuis la creátion du Conseil en 1970. En effet le de´veloppement de l’e´ducation « pour l’entente internationale dans l’inte´reˆt de la paix, de la coope´ration interculturelle, du respect mutuel entre les peuples et du respect des droits de l’homme » est l’un des objectifs e´tablis par les Statuts du CMAEC. Cet article s’ouvre sur une focalisation sur les origines et les objectifs du CMAEC, notant en particulier les liens avec la mission de l’UNESCO. L’article prend ensuite en conside´ration les dimensions de l’e´volution du travail du CMAEC dans le domaine du dialogue interculturel. Il souligne la croissance du CMAEC et les de´fis continuels pour assurer une repre´sentation e´quilibreé des voix et des perspectives. Zusammenfassung – DER WCCES UND DER INTERNATIONALE DIALOG: HISTORISCHE PERSPEKTIVEN UND AKTUELLE HERAUSFORDERUNGEN – Seit seiner Gru¨ndung im Jahr 1970 hat sich der World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) intensiv mit dem interkulturellen Dialog befasst. Tatsa¨chlich ist die Bildungsfo¨rderung ‘‘fu¨r internationale Versta¨ndigung im Interesse des Friedens, der interkulturellen Zusammenarbeit, des gegenseitigen Respekts zwischen den Vo¨lkern und die Einhaltung der Menschenrechte’’ eine der Zielvorgaben der WCCES-Statuten. Der vorliegende Beitrag konzentriert sich zuna¨chst auf Urspru¨nge und Ziele des WCCES, unter besonderer Beru¨cksichtigung von Verbindungslinien zum Auftrag der UNESCO. Sodann werden U¨berlegungen u¨ber Entwicklungsmo¨glichkeiten der Arbeit des WCCES im Bereich des interkulturellen Dialogs angestellt. Besonders hervorgehoben werden das Wachstum des WCCES und die aktuellen Schwierigkeiten bei der Sicherstellung einer ausgewogenen Repra¨sentanz einzelner Stimmen und Perspektiven. Resumen – EL CMSEC Y EL DIA´LOGO INTERCULTURAL: PERSPECTIVAS HISTO´RICAS Y RETOS PERMANENTES – El Consejo Mundial de Sociedades de Educacioń Comparada (CMSEC) se ha ocupado intensamente del dia´logo cultural S. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_2

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desde la creacioń del Consejo en 1970. Efectivamente, uno de los objetivos que reflejan los estatutos es ‘‘promover, a trave´s de la educacioń, la comprensioń internacional, en favor de la paz, la cooperacioń intercultural, el respeto mutuo entre pueblos y naciones y el respeto de los derechos humanos.’’ Este trabajo comienza haciendo foco en los orı´ genes y objetivos de la CMSEC y realza su fuerte vı´ nculo con la misioń de la UNESCO. Adema´s, el papel considera las dimensiones de evolucioń en el trabajo de la CMSEC en el a´rea del dia´logo intercultural. Subraya el crecimiento del CMSEC y los retos constantes que debe encarar para asegurar una representacioń equilibrada de voces y perspectivas.

Preamble The World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) has been concerned with intercultural dialogue throughout its history. In this respect, the choice of the theme for the WCCES’ 13th World Congress in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ÔLiving Together: Education and Intercultural Dialogue’, fitted very well with the Council’s traditions. This paper comments on the nature of these traditions, and on some of the achievements and tensions that the WCCES has faced during the course of its history. It does this within the context of literature on intercultural dialogue and on the forces which shape the nature and operation of academic and professional bodies. The paper draws extensively on the collection of histories of the WCCES and its member societies of which the author was a co-editor (Masemann et al. 2007). The WCCES: origins and goals The landmark event in the foundation of the WCCES was the First World Congress of Comparative Education Societies held in Ottawa, Canada, in

The WCCES and Intercultural Dialogue

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1970. An International Committee of Comparative Education had been convened in 1968 by Joseph Katz, of Canada’s University of British Columbia (Epstein 1981, p. 261). The WCCES evolved from this body, and brought together the four national societies and one regional society for comparative education then existing. Over the decades further societies were welcomed, and by the time of the 13th World Congress in 2007 the WCCES had 36 member societies (Table 1). Twenty eight were national (for example for Argentina and Greece) or sub-national (for example for Hong Kong); six were regional (for example for Asia, Europe and the Mediterranean); and two were languagebased (for speakers of French and Dutch). Classifying the societies by geography (and placing the language-based societies in the regions from which the societies were administered), the largest groups were in Europe and Asia. Only three societies served countries in South America and the Caribbean, and only two societies were located in Africa. The geographic emphases were allied with linguistic and cultural emphases. The Council’s Statutes (WCCES 1996, Section 2) state that its broad goals are: • to advance education for international understanding in the interests of peace, intercultural cooperation, mutual respect among peoples and observance of human rights; and • to improve education systems so that the right of all to education may be more fully realised. Thus intercultural cooperation, which presumably should be based on intercultural dialogue, is a major element of the Council’s work. The Statutes also specify two professional aims, namely to promote the study of comparative and international education throughout the world and enhance the academic status of this field; and to bring comparative education to bear on the major educational problems of the day by fostering cooperative action by specialists from different parts of the world. The Statutes indicate that to achieve these goals and aims, the WCCES will: • encourage the teaching of, and research in, comparative education; • promote interdisciplinary collaboration in the development of comparative approaches to the study of educational problems; • facilitate cooperation between comparative educationists of different countries and regions, and foster the establishment of professional associations and groups of comparative educationists; • support international programs in education and the agencies responsible for them, by focusing the attention of comparative research workers on the major problems encountered in these programmes; • organise research projects for which there is a particular need; and • improve the exchange of information about research and methodological developments in comparative education.

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Table 1. Member societies of the WCCES 2007 Asociacioń de Pedagogos de Cuba (Seccioń de Educacioń Comparada) (APC-SEC) Association française pour le de´veloppement de l’e´ducation compareé et des ećhanges (AFDECE) Association francophone d’e´ducation compareé (AFEC) Australian and New Zealand Comparative and International Education Society (ANZCIES) British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES) Chinese Comparative Education Society (CCES) Chinese Comparative Education Society-Taipei (CCES-T) Comparative Education Section of the Czech Pedagogical Society (CES-CPS) Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA) Comparative Education Society in Europe (CESE) Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong (CESHK) Comparative Education Society of India (CESI) Comparative Education Society of the Philippines (CESP) Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Comparative and International Education Society of Canada (CIESC) Council on Comparative Education of Kazakhstan (CCEK) Egyptian Comparative Education and Educational Administration Society (ECEEAS) Greek Comparative Education Society (GCES) Hungarian Pedagogical Society (Comparative Education Section) (HPS-CES) Israel Comparative Education Society (ICES) Japan Comparative Education Society (JCES) Korean Comparative Education Society (KCES) Mediterranean Society of Comparative Education (MESCE) Nederlandstalig Genootschap voor Vergelijkende Studie van Opvoeding en Onderwijs (NGVO) Nordic Comparative and International Education Society (NOCIES) Polish Comparative Education Society (PCES) Russian Council of Comparative Education (RCCE) Sektion International und Interkulturell Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft in der Deutschen Gesellschaft fu¨r Erziehungswissenschaft (SIIVEDGE) Sezione Italiana della CESE (SICESE) Sociedad Argentina de Estudios Comparados en Educacioń (SAECE) Sociedad Espanõla de Educacioń Comparada (SEEC) Sociedad Mexicana de Educacioń Comparada (SOMEC) Sociedade Brasileira de Educaçaõ Comparada (SBEC) Southern African Comparative & History of Education Society (SACHES) Turkish Comparative Education Society (TCES)

The WCCES has sought to achieve these aims in various ways. The Bulletin and Newsletter which were published in the early years were in due course replaced by websites as vehicles for dissemination of information. Other WCCES activities have included sponsorship of research and publications. Most prominent among the WCCES activities has been the organisation approximately every 3 years of World Congresses. Table 2 lists the Congresses and their themes between 1970 and 2007. Each of these Congresses has been hosted by one of the WCCES member societies. The


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Table 2. World Congresses of comparative education societies No.

Year

Place

Theme

1

1970

Ottawa, Canada

Education and the Formation of the Teaching Profession; Educational Aid to Developing Countries

2

1974

Geneva, Switzerland

Efficiencies and Inefficiencies in Secondary Schools

3

1977

London, United Kingdom

Unity and Diversity in Education

4

1980

Tokyo, Japan

Tradition and Innovation in Education

5

1984

Paris, France

Dependence and Interdependence in Education: The Role of Comparative Education

6

1987

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Education, Crisis and Change

7

1989

Montreal, Canada

Development, Communication and Language

8

1992

Prague, Czechoslovakia

Education and Democracy

9

1996

Sydney, Australia

Tradition, Modernity and Postmodernity

10

1998

Cape Town, South Africa

Education, Equity and Transformation

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2001

Chungbuk, Republic of Korea

New Challenges, New Paradigms: Moving Education into the 21st Century

12

2004

Havana, Cuba

Education and Social Justice

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2007

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Living Together: Education and Intercultural Dialogue

13th World Congress was hosted by the Mediterranean Society of Comparative Education (MESCE).

The beginnings of WCCES history Joseph Katz, the principal organiser of the First World Congress of Comparative Education Societies in 1970, had been President (1960–61) of what was at that time the Comparative Education Society (CES) and later became the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) of the USA (Sherman Swing 2007, p. 101). Subsequently, Katz became the founding President of the Comparative and International Education Society of

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Canada (CIESC) (Majhanovich and Zhang 2007, p. 178). In 1970 the WCCES brought together these two societies plus the Comparative Education Society in Europe (CESE), the Japan Comparative Education Society (JCES), and the Korean Comparative Education Society (KCES). Thus from the outset the work of the WCCES brought together scholars across several continents and, ideally, a range of cultures. The 1970 World Congress was held during what the United Nations had designated International Education Year. Within the United Nations system, the body with particular responsibility for education was the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Katz had direct links with UNESCO, which also provided some sponsorship for the World Congress. Subsequently, the WCCES was registered as a Non-Governmental Organisation in operational relations with UNESCO. In addition to providing access to information provided by UNESCO, this arrangement gave the WCCES a voice in some UNESCO affairs. UNESCO had itself been established in 1945 in the wake of World War II, and its Constitution (UNESCO 2006) commenced with the evocative statement that ‘‘since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed’’. The State Parties to the UNESCO Constitution, ‘‘believing in full and equal opportunities for education for all, in the unrestricted pursuit of objective truth, and in the free exchange of ideas and knowledge’’, were ‘‘agreed and determined to develop and increase the means of communication between their peoples and to employ these means for the purposes of mutual understanding and a truer and more perfect knowledge of each other’s lives’’. Accordingly, they created UNESCO ‘‘for the purpose of advancing, through educational and scientific and cultural relations of the peoples of the world, the objectives of international peace and of the common welfare of mankind for which the United Nations Organization was established and which its Charter proclaims’’. These clauses from UNESCO’s Constitution are quoted at length because they formed a core of Katz’s vision for the First World Congress and for the WCCES. Katz noted (1970, p. 1) that: for the first time the United Nations have formally declared an International Education Year and in so doing have recognized that education takes its place along with politics and economics in helping to shape a better world. In so doing, too, the United Nations have given the minds of men their rightful place in the scale of human values.

Katz added that: The sentence ... stating that ‘‘wars begin in the minds of men’’ is only partly true. Men enter war with their instincts and seek peace with their minds. The United Nations have in this Year come to recognize that education is the road to the hearts and minds of men and it is this recognition which provides us with our opportunity and our challenge.


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Katz, in line with UNESCO, saw intercultural dialogue as a key instrument for promoting peace through mutual understanding. He pressed for the creation of the WCCES in order to contribute to this goal (Masemann and Epstein 2007, pp. 14–15).

Challenges of definition and conceptualisation The references to intercultural dialogue in both WCCES and UNESCO documents may appear to support world peace and related goals, but can create challenges in the academic arena, which has been the principal domain of activity for the WCCES. The first major challenge is one of definition. Mason (2007, pp. 170–173) outlined what he called ‘‘a genealogy of culture’’ to show how the word has been used in different ways by different commentators over the centuries. Anthropologists, he noted (p. 173), commonly understand cultures as ‘‘shared meanings and ways of life’’. Other academics have elided the distinction between culture and nationhood to create what they consider to be national cultures. Mason (p. 174) quoted Hall (1994, p. 292), for whom a national culture was described as ‘‘a way of constructing meanings which influences and organizes both our actions and our conception of ourselves’’. The elision of the distinction between cultures and nations appeals to many scholars in the field of comparative education, since the nation-state has been a dominant unit of analysis since the emergence of the field as a distinct domain of enquiry (Van daele 1993; Wang 1999; Phillips and Schweisfurth 2006). The WCCES per se has not devoted focused attention to the matter, but the nature of cultures and their impact on education have been a focus for many scholars who have participated in World Congresses and/or been prominent in the affairs of the WCCES member societies (see e.g. Crossley 2000; Kim 2003; Masemann 2003; Morgan 2003; Arthur 2004). Moreover, one of the member societies, based in Germany, explicitly includes intercultural comparative education in its name (Waterkamp 2007). The 13th World Congress was organised in association with the International Association for Intercultural Education (IAIE), which also co-managed one of the 12 thematic groups in the Congress programme (WCCES 2007a). The mission statement of the IAIE (2007, p. 1) begins by declaring its focus on ‘‘the implications of the societal contexts of education and the relationship between society, nation state and the international contexts and the situation of individuals, groups and minorities within them’’. Considerable attention to the concepts and definitions of culture has also been devoted by UNESCO. For example, in 1982 UNESCO organised a World Conference on Cultural Policies, which defined culture (UNESCO 1982, p. 1) as: the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society or social group. It includes not only arts and

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Mark Bray letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs.

Stephens (2007, p. 30) remarked that this definition was useful but that it conceived of culture ‘‘as a feature or component of social life rather than something intimately bound up with what individuals and groups do within a society’’. On these grounds, Stephens advocated a conceptualisation which ‘‘is as much part of the doing as it is the receiving’’. These remarks are relevant to intercultural dialogue as an arena of WCCES work. In addition to cultures which are defined according to broad social configurations are ones within academia. Becher and Trowler (2001) wrote a book entitled Academic Tribes and Territories: Intellectual Enquiry and the Culture of Disciplines. The book remarked on the domain of educational studies only in passing, but nevertheless made observations which are pertinent to this paper. Becher and Trowler defined cultures (2001, p. 23) as ‘‘sets of takenfor-granted values, attitudes and ways of behaving, which are articulated through and reinforced by recurrent practices among a group of people in a given context’’. The book principally focused on ‘‘practitioners in a dozen disciplines whose livelihood it is to work with ideas’’. Becher and Trowler identified differences in the nature and scale of problems on which scholars in different disciplines focused, and also noted different patterns of communication patterns in different disciplines. Turning explicitly to the field of comparative education, Crossley (2000, p. 319) has written about ‘‘bridging of cultures and traditions in the reconceptualisation of comparative and international education’’. Writing in a special issue of the journal Comparative Education at the turn of the millennium, Crossley argued that the history and traditions of comparative education deserved both celebration and challenge in the 21st century. In particular, he focused on ‘‘ways in which bridges can be built or strengthened across disciplinary boundaries and between theoretical and applied studies, policy and practice, micro and macro levels of analysis and studies of North and South’’. In this respect, Crossley was focusing on cultures within the field of comparative education itself, rather than in broader national, regional, religious or other cultural units within which specialists of comparative education were located. For analysis of the WCCES, perhaps both types of culture are relevant. Also worth noting are aspects of organisational culture as evidenced in the governance and operation of the WCCES.

Mechanics of WCCES governance and operation At each World Congress, a General Assembly brings together individual members of the WCCES constituent societies. WCCES officers report on the work of the WCCES during the years since the previous General Assembly, and decisions are taken if necessary on constitutional and other matters. The


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WCCES is a confederation of societies, and individuals can join the societies but not the WCCES itself. Nevertheless, the WCCES of course depends on the work of many individuals. Between General Assemblies, the WCCES is managed by an Executive Committee comprising the Officers (President, two Vice-Presidents, Secretary General, and Treasurer) and Presidents or representatives of member societies, which expects to meet at least once a year. During the early years, the WCCES Presidency was linked to plans for forthcoming Congresses. Since approval of the 1996 Statutes, Presidents have been elected from among nominees identified by search committees. The WCCES has seats for two Vice-Presidents, one being a nominee of the society which hosted the last Congress and the other being a nominee of the society due to host the next Congress. By custom, the Chairpersons of the standing committees are also invited to Executive Committee meetings. In 2007, the standing committees were responsible for admissions and new societies, congresses, publications, research, special projects, and finance and fund-raising. This structure brings with it some opportunities and constraints for intercultural dialogue. In contrast to UNESCO, where the nation-state is the basic unit of governance and dialogue, in the WCCES the basic unit is the comparative education society. The societies have overlapping audiences and are of greatly differing sizes. Individual scholars may choose to join more than one society, with simultaneous membership for example of national, regional and language-based bodies. The CIES is both the oldest and the largest society, with several thousand individual and institutional members, and although it is based in the USA it has attracted many members from other countries. At the other end of the scale are societies with fewer than a hundred members. Within the WCCES, however, each society has equal weight in voting. This pattern resembles the one in UNESCO where large countries sit alongside small ones and, at least in terms of formal voting during statutory meetings, have equal voices. The WCCES, like UNESCO and many comparable bodies, also has to accept as representatives the individuals chosen by the societies. Some intercultural diversity naturally arises from the nationalities, regions and language-groups represented, but the WCCES is not in a position to demand that member societies privilege one gender over the other, or one ethnicity or race over another. The chief domain in which the WCCES can make adjustments is in the chairpersonship and membership of standing committees, which is usually determined by proposal and consensus (Hickling-Hudson 2007, pp. 76–77). The WCCES can also call attention to intercultural and other issues through the projects that it sponsors and through the agendas of its World Congresses. Although the member societies of the WCCES are open to all individuals who meet the societies’ criteria for membership, which are in most cases very broad, in practice the societies, and therefore the WCCES itself, primarily serve academic communities of teachers and researchers. Some individual members of the societies work for international organisations, ministries of

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education and other bodies, but in most societies people in these categories are a small minority. The forces which attract some types of people and do not attract others, and the modes of operation of the groups thus formed, have implications for the nature of intercultural dialogue. One constraint in the operation of the WCCES is that, like its member societies and many similar bodies, it has no salaried personnel and a very limited budget. Individuals have been willing to donate their time to the WCCES because they gain satisfaction and professional development from working with colleagues from a range of cultures in pursuit of common agendas. Most WCCES officers have been academics who have been salaried by universities or similar bodies. The bulk of the WCCES’ modest income comes from financial surpluses generated by World Congresses and from dues paid by its constituent societies. The voluntary nature of much WCCES work shapes the nature of the intercultural dialogue because some individuals and groups are more willing than others to volunteer their time and other resources. Further, the fact that the WCCES is an umbrella body means that it is itself shaped by the existence or otherwise of individual societies. At the outset in 1970, four of the five member societies were national while one was regional. Over the decades, sub-national and language-based societies have joined, and other societies could possibly be added with particular specialisms such as the International Society for Comparative Adult Education (ISCAE) which was founded in 1992 (www.iscae.org), and the International Society for Comparative Physical Education and Sport (ISCPES) which was founded in 1978 (www.iscpes.org). The WCCES has shaped its own membership through the extent to which it has been open to applications and has actively solicited them from eligible societies. In the process, the WCCES has itself fostered formation of societies, while helping to maintain some societies which were in danger of becoming defunct (Manzon and Bray 2007, pp. 343–344). In undertaking this work, the WCCES officers have been aware of various tools. First is the power of World Congresses to stimulate activity in the regions in which they are held. The 10th World Congress, held in Cape Town in 1998 and hosted by the Southern Africa Comparative and History of Education Society (SACHES) is a clear example. This was the first World Congress to be held in Africa, and it greatly increased the prominence of the field in that continent (Soudien 2007, pp. 289–290). Likewise, the 12th World Congress held in Havana and hosted by the Asociacioń de Pedagogos de Cuba – Seccioń de Educacioń Comparada (APC-SEC) did much to stimulate the field in Latin America (Hickling-Hudson 2007, p. 80). When selecting venues for the World Congresses, the WCCES Executive Committee has been keen to move to different world regions and language groups whenever possible. Similarly, the WCCES Executive Committee has been mindful of the impact of the location of its own meetings. The WCCES is unable to provide funds for the participation in the meetings of representatives of member societies, and therefore has a long tradition of holding its meetings not only during World Congresses but also in conjunction with large conferences


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which are themselves attractive to members of the WCCES Executive Committee. The US-based Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) has a large annual conference which has served this purpose well, and the Comparative Education Society in Europe (CESE) has a large biennial conference which has provided an alternative. Recognising that the holding of meetings between Congresses only in North America and Europe disadvantages other regions, in 2005 and 2007 the Executive Committee met in conjunction with the biennial conferences of the Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA). This move also supported that society by bringing participants who would not have attended had the WCCES Executive Committee not met in conjunction with the conferences. Nevertheless, it was still a limited initiative in the sense that it only expanded the location to one more continent, and it suffered from the relatively small number of members of the WCCES Executive Committee attending these meetings. A further element of bias of which the WCCES Executive Committee has been conscious concerns language. Since the formation of the WCCES in 1970, English has been its major language of communication. At the beginning, reflecting the fact that the Council was established in Ottawa, the capital city of a country that is officially bilingual in English and French, and that its early meetings were hosted by the University of Ottawa which was an officially-bilingual institution, French was also given prominence. The role of French was maintained during the 1970s when the WCCES Secretariat was located in UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (IBE) in Geneva, Switzerland; and Michel Debeauvais, who in 1973 had been the founding President of the Association francophone d’e´ducation compareé (AFEC), continued to work in the language as WCCES President from 1983 to 1987. Moreover, the WCCES logo, which dates from the Seventh World Congress in Montreal, Canada, contains both English and French and only those two languages. However, since that time the use of French in WCCES affairs has diminished, leaving English the principal language of communication in WCCES meetings and records. While this trend is understandable within the context of the wider expansion of the dominance of English in international affairs (see e.g. Crystal 2003; Altbach 2007), the WCCES has been mindful that choice of any specific language for its work disadvantages individuals and groups who are not proficient in that language. The WCCES Statutes and By-laws are silent on the matter of languages, and the WCCES does not therefore have an official language per se. French is certainly a widely-spoken language which is a useful vehicle for the work of the WCCES; but so are many other languages, and it is not always seen as justifiable to privilege French over other languages. At meetings of the WCCES Executive Committee, members who have not had competence in English have had to make their own arrangements for colleagues to assist them. The website has also been operated in English, albeit with links to other sites including those of member societies which are operated in other languages. The Executive Committee has not had the resources to operate in multiple languages along the lines of UNESCO or similar bodies.

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Issues of language have also arisen in connection with World Congresses, in which the common pattern has been to give prominence to English supplemented in some cases by French and by the official language(s) of the countries in which the Congress has been held. For example, 59.7% of the 861 presentations registered for the 12th Congress in Cuba were in English, 32.3% were in Spanish, and 8.0% were in French (WCCES 2004). However, this pattern contrasted with the one in the 11th Congress in Korea, in which almost all presentations were in English (WCCES 2001). The programme for the 13th Congress in Bosnia and Herzegovina (WCCES 2007a, p. 6) stated that the official languages were English and French, and simultaneous translation for those two languages was provided for plenary sessions. However, 97.5% of the 674 abstracts in the Congress programme were in English, and only 2.5% were in French. For some sessions, simultaneous translation was also provided into Bosnian, though it was not an official language of the Congress. Bosnian was most prominently used in the symposium entitled ÔThe World for Bosnia and Herzegovina – Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World’ (WCCES 2007a, p. 233). The balance of languages in WCCES affairs and in that particular Congress was remarked upon in Sarajevo during the meeting of the Executive Committee, during the WCCES General Assembly, and during the concluding session of the Congress. Participants recognised that issues were longstanding and required continued attention. Constraints in the use of multiple languages included dependence on sponsorship to cover the costs of translation. Congress organisers have usually been willing to welcome sub-groups that can operate in separate languages if those subgroups have sufficient size, but such arrangements still encounter challenges when colleagues who do not speak the languages in question want to join the discussions and feel excluded.

Cultures within comparative education In the matter of cultures within the field of comparative education, many commentators (e.g. Crossley and Watson 2003; Cook et al. 2004; Massoń Cruz 2006) have observed that the field has loosely defined boundaries and is both eclectic and accommodating. The field mainly attracts scholars who focus on international rather than intranational comparisons, but even within this category is much diversity of both focus and approach. Partly with this in mind, Cowen (2000, p. 333) has referred to the existence of comparative educations, in the plural. Scholars in specific countries tend to work within chosen paradigms that commonly operate alongside each other with little interaction; and further differences arise from the research traditions of different countries and cultures (Psacharopoulos 1990; Paulston 2000). Of particular relevance to this paper are differences which correlate with geopolitical criteria. Such differences of traditions were especially evident to the WCCES during the 1970s and 1980s, and were exemplified by contrasting


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perspectives in capitalist and communist societies. The WCCES, having been founded in Canada with strong voices from Western Europe, Japan, South Korea and the USA, had its roots in capitalist societies. Nevertheless, its leadership reached out to various communist states, and welcomed several during the coming decades. For example the Chinese Comparative Education Society (CCES), which had been founded in 1979, became a WCCES member in 1984 (Gu and Gui 2007); and in 1988 the Presidium of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) formed the Scientific Council on Comparative Pedagogics (SCCP) which became a WCCES member society in 1989 (Borevskaya 2007). During this period, the approaches to comparative education in both China and the USSR were strongly guided by Marxism-Leninism, and in those countries scholars in the field of comparative education were expected to serve the purposes of the state in a much more direct way than their counterparts in capitalist societies. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the ideological shifts of the 1990s, patterns changed in several ways. The Eighth World Congress in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1992 manifested the changing times. As noted by Walterova´ (2007, p. 262): The choice of Prague as the venue of the World Congress not only received the sponsorship of President Vaćlav Havel, but was also meaningful for the theme on Education, Democracy and Development. The theme and location were intended to demonstrate the reopened communication among educationalists from all over the world that resulted from the awakening of the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe on their path to democracy.

The division of the USSR into 15 separate countries opened the way for more national societies to join, and the WCCES in due course welcomed not only the Russian Council of Comparative Education (RCCE) as the direct successor to the SCCP but also national societies in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In official terms, China remained a communist state but underwent radical reorientation which brought strong interest in the sorts of approaches which had long attracted scholars in capitalist countries. The popularity of English among the new generation of scholars in China gave them access to the same types of literature being read by their counterparts in such countries as the Australia, Canada, USA and the UK. Other significant groups of scholars in China were fluent in Japanese and Korean, and were thus able to gain access to the literatures of those countries. In addition, of course, scholars in mainland China were able to read literatures in Chinese published in Hong Kong and Taiwan, both of which had separate member societies in the WCCES. Further elements in the shift over time concerned the countries on which comparative education scholars chose to focus. Language ties created by colonial eras and in some cases by contemporary governments’ continuing foreign policy objectives tended to create global centres of gravity. Thus, many comparative education scholars in the United Kingdom had strong

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interests in Anglophone Africa, while their counterparts in France had strong interests in Francophone Africa. During the 1970s and 1980s, scholars in China were barely interested at all in Africa, instead focusing on the experiences of industrialised countries from which they felt that they could gain more useful developmental lessons. Similar remarks are applicable to Japan, in which scholars commonly investigated the countries of North America and Western Europe. However, this pattern changed significantly as China opened up and as Japan expanded its external aid in the education sectors of less developed countries. The WCCES has facilitated this shift, and to some extent has itself confronted colonial and other legacies (Hickling-Hudson 2007). Other differences have arisen from the philosophical traditions of different countries. For example, during the WCCES’ early decades, US-based scholars tended to approach the field in rather different ways from UK-based scholars, even though they were both working in the English language. Further differences were evident in Europe between scholars working for example in the British, French and German traditions. These differences included the ways in which arguments were presented and the extent to which data were expected to be quantitative. In more recent decades these differences have been reduced by the expanded interaction between scholars not only through the WCCES but also through other channels in the era of globalisation.

Conclusions The WCCES has been specifically concerned with intercultural dialogue and research on intercultural issues since its creation. It has a long history of work in this domain, and has made some contribution to this wider goal. This accomplishment has been couched within Katz’s vision that education should take its place ‘‘along with politics and economics in helping to shape a better world’’. Of course the WCCES has been able to do this only in a limited way. It is a small body which is mainly limited to the international academic community of teachers and scholars who have been attracted to the field and who in this respect are already among the practitioners and advocates of intercultural dialogue. Nevertheless, even small bodies can play useful roles in their own spheres. In its pursuit of its goals, the WCCES has encountered various constraints. With its very limited budget, the WCCES has effectively operated as a voluntary organisation and thus has been heavily reliant on the commitment and ideas of small groups of people. Some types of voices have been heard more loudly than others, particularly scholars able to communicate fluently in English and from institutions which have been able to support their travel. However, structural factors, and particularly the system of ‘‘one society, one vote’’, gave stronger voice to the smaller societies than would otherwise have been the case. Thus for example the US-based Comparative and International


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Education Society (CIES), which had several thousand individual and institutional members, had the same voting rights as the Israel Comparative Education Society (ICES) which had only a few dozen members. Moreover, the WCCES leadership was committed to the goals of reaching out across boundaries, and had many achievements to its credit. The fact that the WCCES has continued to exist over the decades, during changing times which have brought transitions across the generations, is itself significant. With 36 member societies at the time of its 13th World Congress, the WCCES was larger than at any time in its history and yet saw strong potential for further growth and outreach, particularly in Africa and South America. In addition to welcoming scholars from many countries and therefore, by implication, from many macro-level cultures of the type that the founders of UNESCO had in mind when they prepared its Constitution, the WCCES has brought together many academic cultures. The field of comparative education is broad, and welcomes scholars with disciplinary backgrounds in economics, philosophy, sociology and many other domains. As observed by Crossley (2000, p. 319), it is able to build or strengthen bridges between theoretical and applied studies, policy and practice, macro and micro levels of analysis, and studies of the North and the South. These bridges can be built within individual comparative education societies, and the global body with its yet wider vision has even greater scope to do so. Review of the history since 1970 shows changing eras during which different forces have held sway. At one level have been macro-political frameworks which were especially evident during the period of the Cold War between the capitalist and communist states. Also important have been technological factors such as the availability of the internet and of lower-cost international air travel. At another level, different eras have reflected the work of different individuals. As the WCCES has grown, it has gained stronger institutional norms and established traditions, but it has remained very dependent on the skills and enthusiasms of small groups of individuals who have been willing to contribute their time and talents voluntarily. The 13th World Congress, which attracted over 600 participants from 74 countries, was memorable for the way in which it welcomed scholars from around the world to Bosnia and Herzegovina to discuss the achievements and challenges of intercultural dialogue in the field of education. Many scholars in the international community were deeply impressed by the complexities of the experiences in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and left the Congress with more questions than answers on the lessons from the host country. They were also mindful of the constraints in learning from each other during a period of just 5 days. Nevertheless, the raising of questions is among the essential ingredients for the improvement of understanding, and the direct interactions of scholars is among the ways in which the field can advance to new domains. The World Congress provided a forum for discussion and for networking which was followed up by deeper consideration during the processes of revising papers for publication and in other follow-up activities. It remained

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the case that ‘‘wars begin in the minds of men’’; but delegates were convinced that it also remained the case that comparative education in its many forms and manifestations was a powerful instrument for promoting intercultural dialogue and, through that, broader goals of a more harmonious world. One reflection of this was the adoption by acclamation during the General Assembly of the Sarajevo Declaration (WCCES 2007b) which stated that: As members of the global educational community in our capacity as individual educators, researchers and practitioners, we concur with the goals of the Congress. Education at all levels – from higher education to pre-school education, from formal training to nonformal lifelong learning – plays a vital role in fostering values of peaceful intercultural dialogue, respect, social justice and equity, and is a major factor in bringing about reconciliation among diverse communities.

The Declaration continued: As we leave the inspiring city of Sarajevo, and on the basis of the dialogue of this international Congress, we undertake to commit to furthering educational action and research for intercultural understanding. We further intend to implement in our individual area of expertise and influence, one or more of the many significant and profound recommendations and discussions that arose from our dialogue during this historic Congress.

Acknowledgments The author sincerely thanks Vandra Masemann and Maria Manzon for their very helpful comments on drafts of this paper.

References Altbach, Philip G. 2007. The Imperial Tongue: English as the Dominating Academic Language. International Higher Education 49: 2–4. Arthur, Lore. 2004. Bridging Gaps and Clearing Pathways: Towards the Construction of Intercultural Meaning. Paper presented at the 12th World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, Havana, Cuba, 25–29 October. Becher, Tony, and Paul Trowler. 2001. Academic Tribes and Territories: Intellectual Enquiry and the Culture of Disciplines. 2nd ed. Buckingham: The Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press. Borevskaya, Nina. 2007. The Russian Council of Comparative Education (RCCE). In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by Vandra Masemann, Mark Bray and Maria Manzon, 299–307. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Cook, Bradley J., Steven J. Hite, and Erwin H. Epstein. 2004. Discerning Trends, Contours and Boundaries in Comparative Education: A Survey of Comparativists and their Literature. Comparative Education Review 48(2): 123–149.


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Cowen, Robert. 2000. Comparing Futures or Comparing Pasts?. Comparative Education 36(3): 333–342. Crossley, Michael. 2000. Bridging Cultures and Traditions in the Reconceptualisation of Comparative and International Education. Comparative Education 36(3): 319–332. Crossley, Michael, and Keith Watson. 2003. Comparative and International Research in Education: Globalisation, Context and Difference. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Crystal, David. 2003. English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Epstein, Erwin H. 1981. Toward the Internationalization of Comparative Education: A Report on the World Council of Comparative Education Societies. Comparative Education Review 25(2): 261–271. Gu, Mingyuan, and Qin Gui. 2007. The Chinese Comparative Education Society (CCES). In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by Vandra Masemann, Mark Bray and Maria Manzon, 225–239. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Hall, Stuart. 1994. The Question of Cultural Identity. In: Modernity and its Futures, ed. by Stuart Hall, David Held and Tony McGrew, 273–325. Cambridge and Oxford: Polity Press, Basil Blackwell and The Open University. Hickling-Hudson, Anne. 2007. Improving Transnational Networking for Social Justice: 2001–2004. In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by Vandra Masemann, Mark Bray and Maria Manzon, 69–82. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. International Association for Intercultural Education (IAIE). 2007. About the IAIE. www.iaie.org/2_about_mission.htm, accessed 26 October 2007. Katz, Joseph. 1970. The Purpose, Plan and Program for the World Congress of Comparative Education Societies. In: Proceedings of the First World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, Vol. 2. Ottawa: Secretariat, World Council for Comparative Education, pp. 4–5. Kim, Meesook. 2003. Cultural and School-Grade Differences in Korean and White American Children’s Narrative Skills. In: Comparative Education: Continuing Traditions, New Challenges, and New Paradigms, ed. by Mark Bray, 177–190. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Majhanovich, Suzanne, and Lanlin Zhang. 2007. The Comparative and International Education Society of Canada (CIESC). In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by Vandra Masemann, Mark Bray and Maria Manzon, 170–182. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Manzon, Maria, and Mark Bray. 2007. Comparing the Comparers: Patterns, Themes and Interpretations. In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by Vandra Masemann, Mark Bray and Maria Manzon, 336–363. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Masemann, Vandra Lea. 2003. Culture and Education. In: Comparative Education: The Dialectic of the Global and the Local, ed. by Robert F. Arnove and Carlos Alberto Torres, 115–132. 2nd ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

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Masemann, Vandra, and Erwin H. Epstein. 2007. The World Council from 1970 to 1979. In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by Vandra Masemann, Mark Bray and Maria Manzon, 13–19. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Masemann, Vandra, Mark Bray, and Maria Manzon (eds.). 2007. Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Mason, Mark. 2007. Comparing Cultures. In: Comparative Education Research: Approaches and Methods, ed. by Mark Bray, Bob Adamson and Mark Mason, 165– 196. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Massoń Cruz, C. Rosa Marı´ a (ed.). 2006. Educacioń Comparada: Teorıá y Praćtica. Havana: Editorial Pueblo y Educacioń. Morgan, Douglas L. 2003. Appropriation, Appreciation, Accommodation: Indigenous Wisdoms and Knowledges. in Higher Education. In: Comparative Education: Continuing Traditions, New Challenges, and New Paradigms, ed. by Mark Bray, 35– 49. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Paulston, Rolland G. (ed.). 2000. Social Cartography: Mapping Ways of Seeing Social and Educational Change. New York: Garland. Phillips, David, and Michele Schweisfurth. 2006. Comparative and International Education: An Introduction to Theory, Method and Practice. London: Continuum. Psacharopoulos, George. 1990. Comparative Education: From Theory to Practice, or Are You A:\neo.* or B:\*.ist?. Comparative Education Review 34(3): 369–380. Sherman Swing, Elizabeth. 2007. The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES). In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by Vandra Masemann, Mark Bray and Maria Manzon, 94–115. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Soudien, Crain. 2007. The Southern African Comparative and History of Education Society (SACHES). In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by Vandra Masemann, Mark Bray and Maria Manzon, 284–292. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Stephens, David. 2007. Culture in Education and Development: Principles, Practice and Policy. Oxford: Symposium Books. UNESCO. 1982. Mexico City Declaration on Cultural Policies. World Conference on Cultural Policies, Mexico City, 26 July–6 August. UNESCO. 2006. Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. In: Basic Texts. Paris: UNESCO. Van daele, Henk. 1993. L’E´ducation compareé. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. Walterova´, Elisˇ ka. 2007. The Comparative Section of the Czech Pedagogical Society (CES-CPS). In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by Vandra Masemann, Mark


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Bray and Maria Manzon, 256–267. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Wang, Ru-Jer. 1999. Comparative Education. Taipei: Wunan Press [in Chinese]. Waterkamp, Dietmar. 2007. The Section for International and Intercultural Education in the German Society for Education (SIIVEDGE). In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by Vandra Masemann, Mark Bray and Maria Manzon, 139–154. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. WCCES. 1996. Statutes. Manchester: Secretariat of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies. WCCES. 2001. 11th World Congress of Comparative Education: Abstracts. Chungbuk: Korean Comparative Education Society and World Council of Comparative Education Societies. WCCES. 2004. XII Congreso Mundial de Educacioń Comparada: Programa/12th World Congress on Comparative Education: Program/XIIe Congre`s Mondial d’E´ducation Compareé: Programme. Havana: Asociacioń de Pedagogos de Cuba and World Council of Comparative Education Societies. WCCES. 2007a. XIII World Congress of Comparative Education Societies/XIII Congre`s Mondial de Socie´te´s d’E´ducation Compareé/XII Svjetski Kongres udruzˇenja komparativinish pedagoga. Sarajevo: Mediterranean Society of Comparative Education and World Council of Comparative Education Societies. WCCES. 2007b. ÔSarajevo Declaration’. Document approved by the WCCES Assembly, Sarajevo, 7 September.

The author Mark Bray is Director of UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in Paris, France. Prior to taking up this post in 2006, he was Chair Professor of Comparative Education and Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong. From 1996 to 2002, he was Director of the Comparative Education Research Centre at that university. From 2004 to 2007 he was President of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES), having previously been Assistant Secretary General (1994–2000) and Secretary General (2000–2005). He is a pastPresident of the Comparative Education Society of Hong Kong (CESHK), and has been a member of the Boards of Directors of the Comparative & International Education Society (CIES) and Comparative Education Society of Asia (CESA). Contact address: UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP), 7-9 rue Euge`ne Delacroix, 75116, Paris, France. E-mail: [email protected].

BRIDGING CULTURES AND TRADITIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: COMPARATIVE RESEARCH, DIALOGUE AND DIFFERENCE MICHAEL CROSSLEY

Originally published in the journal International Review of Education, Volume 54, Nos 3–4, 319–336. DOI: 10.1007/s11159-008-9089-9 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract – Addressing the central theme of the XIII World Congress, the paper explores a number of contemporary theoretical, methodological and organisational developments in the field of comparative education. In doing so it draws upon the author’s recent work and a selection of studies carried out in the South Pacific, the Caribbean and Africa. It is argued that disciplined comparative and international research can contribute much to the development of theory and methodology – as well as to the improvement of policy and practice in education world-wide. For this to be realised it is maintained that ongoing efforts to challenge and Ôreconceptualise’ the field deserve sustained support – and increased attention to a more effective Ôbridging of cultures and traditions’. This Ôbridging’ thesis is examined in greater depth, pointing to possible ways forward for those engaged in advancing the future of comparative research in education and in the social sciences more generally. Re´sume´ – E´TABLIR UN PONT ENTRE LES CULTURES ET LES TRADITIONS DANS LA RECHERCHE COMPARATIVE EN E´DUCATION: DIALOGUE, DIFFE´RENCE ET CONTEXTE – Abordant le the`me central du XIIIe` Congre`s Mondial, l’article examine un certain nombre de de´veloppements contemporains theóriques, me´thodologiques et d’organisation dans le domaine de l’e´ducation comparative. Ce faisant, il utilise des travaux rećents de l’auteur et un choix d’e´tudes effectueés dans le Pacifique Sud, les Caraı¨ bes et en Afrique. On y affirme qu’une recherche comparative et internationale disciplineé peut contribuer pour beaucoup a` l’e´laboration d’une theórie et d’une me´thodologie – aussi bien qu’a` l’ame´lioration de la politique et de la pratique de l’e´ducation dans le monde entier. Pour reáliser ceci, on maintient que les efforts continus pour de´fier et Ôreconceptualiser’ ce domaine me´ritent un soutien constant – et une attention accrue afin Ôd’e´tablir un pont plus efficace entre les cultures et les traditions’. Cette the`se de Ôl’e´tablissement d’un pont’ est examineé dans le de´tail, et indique des possibilite´s d’aller de l’avant a` ceux qui s’engagent pour l’avanceé du futur de la recherche comparative en e´ducation et plus geńe´ralement en sciences sociales. Zusammenfassung – BRU¨CKENSCHLAG ZWISCHEN VERSCHIEDENEN KULTUREN UND TRADITIONEN IN DER VERGLEICHENDEN BILDUNGSFORSCHUNG: DIALOG; DIFFERENZ UND KONTEXT – Bezugnehmend auf das zentrale Thema des XIII. Weltkongresses bescha¨ftigt sich der Artikel mit verschiedenen zeitgeno¨ssischen Entwicklungen in Theorie, Methodologie und Organisation im Feld vergleichender Erziehungswissenschaften. Bezugspunkte sind neuere Arbeiten des Autors sowie ausgewa¨hlte Studien, die im Su¨dpazifik, der Karibik und Afrika durchgefu¨hrt wurden. Der Artikel vertritt die Meinung, dass die vergleichende internationale Fachforschung einen bedeutenden Beitrag zur Entwicklung von Theorie und Methodologie sowie zu verbesserten Praktiken im weltweiten Bildungswesen leisten kann. Zur

S. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_3

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Michael Crossley

Realisierung dieser Ziele ist es notwendig, die laufenden Anstrengungen im Hinterfragen und in der ÔNeukonzeptualisierung’ dieser Bereiche zu unterstu¨tzen und versta¨rkte Aufmerksamkeit auf einen effektiveren ÔBru¨ckenschlag zwischen verschiedenen Kulturen und Traditionen’ zu richten. Diese ÔBru¨ckenschlag-These’ wird im einzelnen ausgefu¨hrt und mu¨ndet im Hinweis auf die Mo¨glichkeiten zuku¨nftiger Weiterentwicklung in den Sozialwissenschaften im allgemeinen und in der vergleichenden Bildungsforschung im besonderen. Resumen – CREAR PUENTES ENTRE CULTURAS Y TRADICIONES EN LA INVESTIGACIOŃ COMPARATIVA EN EDUCACIOŃ: DIA´LOGO, DIFERENCIAS Y CONTEXTO – Dedicado al tema central del XIII Congreso Mundial, el papel explora una serie de desarrollos contemporańeos teo´ricos, metodolo´gicos y organizativos en el a´rea de la educacioń comparada. Al hacerlo, se basa en el trabajo reciente del autor y en una seleccioń de estudios realizados en el Pacı´ fico Sur, Caribe y A´frica. Seguń argumenta, una investigacioń comparativa e internacional disciplinada puede prestar un gran aporte al desarrollo de la teorı´ a y la metodologı´ a, al igual que a la mejora de las polı´ ticas y praćticas en la educacioń a escala mundial. Para que esto se haga realidad, seguń sostiene el autor, los constantes esfuerzos que se realizan para desafiar y ‘‘reconceptualizar’’ esta a´rea necesitan un apoyo sostenido y una atencioń incrementada para que la ‘‘creacioń de puentes entre culturas y tradiciones’’ sea ma´s efectiva. Realiza un ana´lisis profundizado de la tesis de ‘‘creacioń de puentes’’, senãlando posibles guı´ as para quienes se hayan propuesto adelantar el futuro de la investigacioń comparada en educacioń y ciencias sociales a un nivel ma´s general.

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A case for intercultural dialogue This paper calls for increased efforts to promote diverse forms of intercultural dialogue, in the light of contemporary developments in the multidisciplinary

Bridging Cultures and Traditions

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field of comparative and international education. In doing so, it draws upon recent work on the history and development of the field, and upon a selection of research studies carried out in the South Pacific, the Caribbean and Africa. It is argued that, especially in these increasingly globalised times, disciplined comparative and international research can contribute much to the development of theory and methodology – as well as to the improvement of policy and practice in education worldwide. In turn, such advances are seen to hold considerable potential for improved international understanding and global development. For this to be realised it is maintained that ongoing efforts to challenge and Ôreconceptualise’ the field deserve sustained support – and increased attention to what has previously been identified as a more effective Ôbridging of cultures and traditions’ (Crossley 2000). The core of the presentation examines various dimensions of this Ôbridging’ thesis in greater depth and points to possible ways forward for those engaged in advancing the future of comparative and international research in education and in the social sciences more generally. A central, and deceptively simple, question that is posed – and one that highlights the importance of intercultural dialogue – is how can we best learn from experience elsewhere?

A revitalised field Comparative and international research is currently attracting increased attention within the social sciences, the arts and the humanities. Efforts are also being made to share experience across disciplinary boundaries, to encourage multidisciplinary collaboration and to promote systematic training in comparative methodologies (Schriewer 2006). In the field of law, for example, it has recently been argued that training should include comparative studies and that: Being trained only in national law makes us take things for granted. By looking outside, we challenge our own ways of thinking, learn from our mistakes and are encouraged to do better (Rauxloh 2004: 60).

Underpinning this revitalisation are changing geo-political relations, the intensification of globalisation, dramatic advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) and paradigmatic developments across the social sciences. The revitalisation of the field of comparative and international education has been particularly dramatic during the last decade and a half. This has also been characterised by a strong research orientation and by the creation of comparative research centres in leading universities worldwide. To this we can add the world-wide growth of national comparative and international education societies and the buoyant expansion of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) (Schweisfurth 1999; Bray 2003; Masemann et al. 2007).

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Perhaps the most visible manifestation of the contemporary impact of comparative research in education has emerged in the shape of cross-national studies of educational achievement, and the widespread influence of related league tables. In the 1990s, for example, much public debate in the UK focussed upon the findings of Reynolds and Farrell’s (1996) study Worlds Apart? A Review of International Surveys of Educational Achievement Including England. This, UK Government supported, research highlighted the achievements of Pacific Rim countries, such as Taiwan and Singapore, in international league tables of school achievement. The authors concluded by suggesting that the UK has much to learn from the more formalistic, whole class, approaches to teaching and learning carried out in such contexts. More recently the results of the OECD-led Performance in International Student Achievement (PISA) studies, investigating the abilities of 15-year-old students in 32 countries, has attracted similar worldwide attention from policymakers, practitioners, the media and the wider public (OECD 2001, 2004). Somewhat paradoxically, what is less widely recognised is the fact that it is the comparative and international research community that has been most critical of such cross-national achievement studies. Hannu Simola, for example, Professor of Education at the University of Helsinki in Finland, challenges Finland’s strong results in the PISA survey in an article published in the journal Comparative Education. In this she draws attention to the limitations of overly formalistic pedagogic cultures and practices, and questions whether international surveys: ... really make it possible to understand schooling in different countries, or whether they are just part of the processes of Ôinternational spectacle’ and Ômutual accountability’ (Simola 2005: 455).

The key point being made here is that – as new researchers, research users and audiences have contributed to the revitalisation of interest in comparative and international studies – new dangers and pitfalls have also emerged. Comparative surveys and league tables may be fascinating, but they can also be misleading, damaging and political sensitive, as the following quotation relating to higher education in Malaysia indicates: RANKINGS SPARK DEBATE ABROAD. The Times Higher’s second World University Rankings have fuelled debate in countries concerned about the future of their higher education systems.

The response was especially vigorous in Malaysia, where opposition politicians have used the rankings, published on October 28, to criticise the government for the low international status of the country’s universities. Lim Kit Siang, a Malaysian MP and a leading light in the opposition DAP party, described the rankings as Ôa global blow’. The University of Malaya fell 80 places from 89 to 169, while the other Malaysian university to feature in 2004, Sains, dropped out of the top 200 after being in 111th place last year.


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Mr Kit Siang calls for a Royal Commission to look at the crisis (Martin Ince, Times Higher, 11 November 2005: 3).

Harold Noah’s (1986) classic cautionary advice about the Ôuse and abuse’ of comparative education certainly deserves both an updating and wider readership in days when it is too easily assumed that Ôwe are all comparativists now’. Yes it is good to see boundaries between disciplines and specialisms blurring, and to see new organisations and personnel engaging in comparative and international research – but this is a field with distinguished traditions, an extensive literature, and distinctive insights and perspectives. Recognising both its theoretical and applied traditions and potential, for example, Edmund King (1965: 147) long ago warned that ÔIf we do not pay proper attention to this latter aspect of Comparative Education as a social science, other people will. They may not then call their work Comparative Education, but will nevertheless work over our proper concerns without benefit of our insights.’ There is, therefore, much to be learned by those new to working in such arenas if the mistakes of the past are not to be reworked or repeated. By way of illustration, Konai Helu Thaman’s research at the University of the South Pacific has done much to challenge the imposition (and frequent failure) of western inspired curriculum innovation within the Pacific region. For Prof Thaman, repeated and rapid aid-driven change is part of the curriculum problem throughout the region, and her own work argues, with strong Tongan conviction, for a more culture-sensitive model of curriculum development for the South Pacific (Thaman 1993, 1999). At the heart of many comparativists’ criticisms of international surveys, league tables and externally generated development projects is, firstly, a heightened awareness of the significance of culture and context in understanding and pursuing educational research and educational development (Broadfoot et al. 1993; Crossley 1999). Secondly, theoretically informed approaches to comparative and international research have long emphasised the dangers of the uncritical international transfer of educational policy and practice (Phillips and Ochs 2003). To quote Sadler’s often cited Guildford lecture (delivered at the start of the 20th century) on the theme, How far can we learn anything of practical value from the study of foreign systems of education? We cannot wander at pleasure among the educational systems of the world, like a child strolling through a garden, and pick off a flower from one bush and some leaves from another, and then expect that if we stick what we have gathered into the soil at home, we shall have a living plant ... but if we have endeavoured, in a sympathetic spirit, to understand the real working of a foreign system of education, we shall in turn find ourselves better able to enter into the spirit and tradition of our own national education, more sensitive to its unwritten ideals, quicker to catch the signs which threaten it and the subtle workings of hurtful change (Sadler 1900: 49).

Here it is argued that the dangers of uncritical international transfer have intensified with the advent of modern technologies. Today, for example, new

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policy proposals or research findings formulated in one context can be instantly transferred across the globe where they may find an immediate (if not always appropriate) application. Vulliamy (2004) thus argues how positivistic approaches to social and educational research associated with systematic review methodologies, the evidence-based policy movement and a neo-liberal inspired policy agenda are rapidly establishing a global hegemony. Comparativists, policy-makers and practitioners today also face a potential avalanche of information to evaluate – a far cry from Sadler’s era when access to foreign policy documentation and experience was a major challenge for those working in comparative fields. Transfer can also be seen to operate in other influential ways, including the movement of ideas, models and principles from one sector of life to another – perhaps most controversially in current times, from the world of business to education – bringing with it similar possibilities and dilemmas. Apple (2001: 409) thus challenges the global impact of the neo-liberal project and the dominance of business principles Ôconcerning privatisation, marketisation, performitivity and the ‘‘enterprising individual’’’ – calling for more robust comparative analyses of policy trends that: ... critically examine their class and race and gender effects at the level of who benefits from their specific institutionalisations and from their contradictory functions within real terrains of social power.

These are, therefore, exciting and challenging times for comparative and international research in many fields. Times when innovative developments in theories, methodologies, organisations and substantive issues for investigation are being made – and when the contextually sensitive insights and perspectives of disciplined and critical comparative analysis have much to offer in what has been called our Ôone size fits all world’.

Bridging cultures and traditions In the light of the above, the next section focuses more directly upon the nature of the bridging of cultures and traditions thesis – and upon its potential for the strengthening of comparative research in education and the social sciences. Firstly, the origins, nature and scope of the bridging rationale are outlined, with reference to related organisational developments. Secondly, the paper demonstrates how this theoretical positioning has worked out in practice, in the form of two sequences of related research programmes. The first of these draws upon collaborative work in the arena of research and evaluation capacity strengthening in low income countries. The second is related to cumulative studies carried out by members of the Education in Small States Research Group (see www.smallstates.net for further details) at the University of Bristol, UK.


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In the UK, 1997 saw the creation of the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE). This resulted from the amalgamation of two former societies that previously served separate comparative and international constituencies (Watson 2001; Sutherland et al. 2006). Organisationally, this represented a bridging of two related but distinctive academic and professional cultures – the comparative and the international. As writers such as Wilson (1994) have argued, the Ôinternational’ tradition has most often been characterised by applied, policy related studies carried out in low-income countries; while Ôcomparative education’ has a tradition more directly associated with detached, theoretical analyses of education in more prosperous industrialised contexts such as North America, Europe and Japan. Although this characterisation over simplifies an inevitably more complex situation, it does draw attention to a number of significant polarisations that have had a marked impact upon the history and development of the field. The bridging of these two dimensions of the combined field, it is argued, holds much potential for mutual learning, for the strengthening of policy applications and for theoretically oriented research. Indeed, as a member of the founding National Executive Committee for BAICE, my own work on Ôreconceptualising the field’ played a part in articulating this type of rationale for the new society (Crossley 1999). The bridging of cultures thesis presented here has, therefore, emerged as much from critical reflection upon direct professional practice, as it has from engagement with the diverse theoretical and historical literatures that inform comparative and international education (see Crossley et al. 2007). It draws upon work on research and evaluation capacity in countries that include Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Belize, Kenya and Tanzania. Similarly, it emerges from theoretical scholarship on the nature and future of comparative and international research (Crossley and Watson 2003), and from work published in two special ÔMillennium’ issues of the journal Comparative Education, edited with Peter Jarvis, titled Comparative Education for the 21st Century (Crossley 2000; Crossley and Jarvis 2000, 2001a, b). In these works the contemporary resurgence of the field was acknowledged, but it was also argued that improved research impact and relevance for the 21st century demanded a fundamental strengthening of linkages between many of the cultures and traditions upon which the field has been built. Extending this initial analysis here, it is argued that much can still be gained from a more effective bridging across paradigmatic and disciplinary boundaries; and between theoretical and applied studies; policy and practice; micro, macro and other levels of analysis; specialist and mainstream research traditions; studies of the past and those of the present; the humanities and the social sciences; and research in the North and the South. Much may have already been done in some of these arenas, but translating such intentions into sustainable practice often remains difficult to achieve – and the potential benefits from ongoing dialogue that bridges such divides remain great. Even within societies such as BAICE, what Becher (1989)

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identifies as Ôacademic tribes and territories’ often perpetuate unhelpful divisions and continue to overlook the potential of improved dialogue or collaboration. This should not be surprising to those familiar with the processes and politics of cultural and professional change, but it does highlight the ongoing pertinence of the bridging thesis. Indeed, in many ways such efforts could help to address the challenges raised about the impact, authority and accessibility of educational and social research throughout the last decade (see, for example, Gibbons et al. 1994; Hargreaves 1996; Hillage 1998; Tooley and Darby 1998; Crossley and Holmes 2001). In a different, and more politicised way, Stromquist (2005: 108) has urged comparativists to challenge growing global inequalities, engage in Ôcollective action, and span diverse communities within and between the north and south’. There are, therefore, a growing number of ways in which the bridging thesis can be applied to the advancement of comparative and international research, both within education and beyond (see for example Schriewer 2006). It is to examples of this, in my own collaborative work, that the paper now turns.

Research and evaluation capacity for international development Between 1994 and 2006 a number of linked research and evaluation studies were carried out through collaboration between colleagues in the UK, Belize, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. The first study (1994–1999) was designed to document the nature and quality of teaching and learning in Belizean primary schools – and to help evaluate the impact, in practice, of the DFID funded Belize Primary Education Development Project (BPEDP) (Crossley and Bennett 1997). The second two-phase study consisted of the formative and summative evaluation of the implementation of the Primary School Management Project (PRISM), designed to train head teachers in leadership skills in Kenya (1996–2000). This was combined with a reflective and historically situated analysis (2001–2005) of the theoretical foundations of the project and its associated research and evaluation strategies (Crossley et al. 2005). The third study (2000–2002) examined the implications of globalisation for education and training policies in Rwanda and Tanzania (Tikly et al. 2003). From a research perspective these initiatives can be seen to build cumulatively upon each other. While each had a different substantive focus, all were funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and all prioritised improved stakeholder partnerships and process goals designed to contribute to the strengthening of research and evaluation capacity within the South. From the outset, this was seen to include ways of improving the context sensitivity, and cross-cultural research skills and experience of all involved – including the Northern partners. The key organisational partnerships established for each of the three studies are illustrated in the following chart:


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Research and Evaluation Capacity Partnerships: 1994–2005 Project

Main partner organisations

1. The Belize Primary Education Development Project (1994–1999)

University of Bristol Belize Ministry of Education Belize Teachers’ College University College, Belize National Curriculum Development Unit District education offices Participating schools

2. The Kenyan Primary School Management Project (1996–2000 and 2001–2005)

University of Bristol Kenyan Ministry of Education Science and Technology Kenyatta University Centre for British Teachers Participating schools Other private research agencies and consultants

3. Globalisation and Skills for Development in Rwanda and Tanzania (2000–2002)

University of Bristol University of Bath University of Dar es Salaam Kigali Institute of Education, Rwanda

All projects were funded and supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

The substantive findings of each specific study can be read elsewhere, but here it is more pertinent to explore how they collectively demonstrate different dimensions of the bridging thesis in practice. It is therefore the process goals and associated research strategies that are most illuminating for present purposes. In all three cases it can be seen that the research was carried out by international teams of researchers – emphasising long-term collaboration between organisations and personnel in both the North and the South. This had the advantage of combining insiders familiar with the cultural contexts involved, with outsiders who can bring fresh and challenging perspectives – a strategy much commended in the international literature (Spindler and Spindler 1982; Osborn et al. 2003). In the Belizean and Kenyan studies emphasis was also placed on involving practitioners in forms of participatory or action research and evaluation. This is consistent with Delanty’s (1997) proposal for social research to be conceptualised as Ôdiscursive practice’, whereby problems are democratically identified, defined and examined. In a related vein, Chambers, an advocate of participatory research in development work, calls for the researcher’s role to be transformed in similar ways so that:

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Michael Crossley From planning, issuing orders, transferring technology and supervising, they shift to convening, facilitating, searching for what people need and supporting. From being teachers they become facilitators of learning (Chambers 1995: 34).

In these three studies bridges were thus built between the North and the South, between researchers, policy makers and practitioners, and between insiders and outsiders. In addition, all three studies were multidisciplinary in nature, provided research training that bridged paradigmatic boundaries, incorporated macro and micro levels of analysis and located contemporary policy critique within a thoroughly researched historical framework. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, each of these studies usefully illustrate the possibilities and dilemmas that are encountered when efforts are made to investigate development issues with increased sensitivity to what Arnove and Torres (2003) call the Ôdialectic of the global and the local’. Today the influence and potential of such collaborative approaches to research are being explored further by an international team of colleagues, in the context of a large DFID funded Research Programme Consortium (RPC) (www.edqual.org). This focuses upon studies designed to help improve the quality of education in low income countries, and the mode of operation continues to foreground long-term, international partnerships and research capacity strengthening (Crossley 2006). Translating such collaborative initiatives into successful practice, nevertheless, remains difficult to achieve. Here, therefore, are important priorities for further research – research into the politics and logistics of international collaborative partnerships; into the implications for changing modalities of international development assistance; and for the theoretical literature on intercultural communication. Educational development in small states A second sequence of studies that helps to illustrate the potential of the bridging thesis, draws attention to the University of Bristol’s Education in Small States Research Group, and to cumulative work carried out by a succession of doctoral research students since the group was founded in 1994. The origins of this initiative lie in Bristol partnerships established with Belizean colleagues, with Saint Lucian researchers and with the Commonwealth Secretariat in the early 1990s. At that point in time, many of the small states of the Commonwealth (those with less than 1.5 million people) were increasingly concerned about the dominance of large state perspectives and priorities in the agendas pursued by influential development agencies (Bray and Packer 1993). In Belize, for example, the influence of the World Bank supported Jomtien Conference – and its promotion of basic education – legitimised the Bank’s 1990s investment in the BPEDP. This was despite the fact that many small states, including Belize, argued that primary education was less problematic for them, and less of a priority in their own development planning. The politics of the development process, nevertheless, linked prospects for financial


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support to the acceptance of dominant Ôinternational’ agendas (see King 2007, for a broader discussion of such issues). Part of the rationale for the Small States Research Group was to contribute to the strengthening of research capacity in such contexts, through partnerships and collaboration that would improve their ability to advance locally perceived priorities in international arenas. For this a bridging of world views was essential. As Dame Pearlette Louisy, a founder member of the Research Group and current Head of State for Saint Lucia, has since argued: It is not easy to avoid the dangers of Ôuncritical transfer’ if one lacks the national or institutional capacity to undertake the type of research or investigative inquiry necessary to Ôcustomise’ the experiences of others, however tried and tested ... It has proven very difficult sometimes to persuade development agencies that the contexts and circumstances of sub-Saharan Africa or Latin America, for example, do not necessarily apply to the Caribbean region (Louisy 2001: 435–436).

She goes on to suggest that: More current studies in the economic, cultural, social and political contexts and histories of the region, carried out either by its own scholars and researchers or preferably in collaboration with others from outside the region, would add to the data available for use by the international community (Louisy 2001: 436).

By building up a network of small states’ scholars engaged in education, the Research Group supported such initiatives, generated more critical perspectives on the development priorities of small states, and contributed to improved inter-cultural understanding in this arena. A sequence of doctoral studies on education in Saint Lucia and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) by Louisy (1993), Holmes (2001) and Brown (2006) illustrate this well and show how efforts have increasingly been made to work in collaboration with Saint Lucian personnel, and to explore research priorities collectively identified within the nation and wider Caribbean region. Louisy’s own research combined macro and micro level analyses and examined the potential for stronger regional higher education partnerships within the Caribbean. She continues as an active member of the Research Group to the present day, bridging the research cultures of Bristol and Saint Lucia, and facilitating continuity, field access and collaborative relationships for external researchers such as Holmes and Brown. The study carried out by Holmes built upon Louisy’s call for more effective partnerships and for greater legitimation of local forms of knowledge. In doing so he worked in close collaboration with Ministry of Education personnel, adopted a postcolonial theoretical framework, and developed a critical analysis of the influence of western research and development paradigms in Saint Lucia and the Caribbean. To cite his own words ÔThis raises questions about how knowledge for educational development is produced and whose interests are served’ (Holmes 1999: 1). Brown’s (2006) work

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extended the examination of partnership processes in the OECS, again utilising a collaborative framework that generated insider perspectives and strong support from within Saint Lucia. In considering factors that hinder the effectiveness of many development partnerships, this study built upon a critique of the western pace of change that has emerged from experience in each of the three collaborative research and evaluation projects discussed earlier (see Crossley and Watson 2003: 80–81). My own work on such issues points to the potential for further comparative and international research on differing conceptions and uses of time. This could have significant implications for future development research, for the bridging of cultures thesis itself, for ways of improving intercultural partnerships – and for many organisations and individuals who are currently experiencing the political and professional ramifications of rapid change in our globalising world.

Conclusions What is required is genuine dialogue among partners who not only talk but also listen and hear (Samoff 1998: 24).

Dialogue The first of two broad concluding points relates directly to the core theme of the Sarajevo WCCES Congress, and argues that improved dialogue is central to the conception of bridging that is advocated here. As Reimers and McGinn (1997) suggest in their book Informed Dialogue: using research to shape education policy around the world, because research-based knowledge is constructed within specific value frameworks, policy decisions cannot be based solely on research-based evidence. Instead they call for Ôinformed dialogue’ across cultural and professional boundaries, suggesting that: Research can bring fresh air and new perspectives, but it has to be incorporated into a process of communication so that it informs the meanings of this collective construction of educational problems and options (Reimers and McGinn 1997: 26).

The consideration of alternative policy options they also argue: ... should take place not within the simplified environment of the analyst but in the real world where concrete persons and groups express these multiple interests (Reimers and McGinn 1997: 27).

This resonates well with Gibbons et al’s (1994) view that contemporary modes of knowledge production are increasingly characterised by the collaboration of different stakeholders and by a flow back and forth between the theoretical and the practical. Such bridging is, however, difficult to achieve


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in practice as the various studies in this paper indicate, and as Ginsburg and Gorostiaga (2001: 196) emphasise in reporting that: ... our individual and collective efforts to achieve dialogue between theorists/ researchers and policy makers/practitioners are not likely to be easy. Nevertheless, like the goal of a world characterised by peace, freedom and justice, the goal of dialogue between and among theorists and researchers on the one hand, and policy-makers and practitioners, on the other, is one for which we should struggle.

Difference A second broad conclusion emphasises that the bridging of cultures and traditions envisaged here celebrates and values difference – and applies comparative perspectives and processes to generate new creativity. Bakhtin’s understanding of such processes is helpful in this respect when he suggests that: A meaning only reveals its depths once it has encountered and come into contact with another, foreign meaning ... We raise new questions for a foreign culture, ones that it did not raise itself; we see answers to our questions in it; and the foreign culture responds to us by revealing to us its new aspects and new semantic depths ... such a dialogic encounter of two cultures does not result in merging or mixing. Each retains its own unity and open totality, but they are mutually enriched (Bakhtin 1986: 7).

In this light, while the bridging process may encourage a blurring of boundaries between constituencies, paradigms and personnel – this does not equate in any way to an intellectual or professional compromise or bland search for consensus. Rather, as argued at length elsewhere (Crossley and Watson 2003), it prioritises and values the ongoing creativity and originality that the juxtaposition of different world views may generate – as well as an improved awareness of the implications of cultural and contextual differences. The global implications of this, in our current unsettled times, are considerable. If different peoples and cultures are to live more peacefully together in an increasingly interconnected world, enhanced sensitivity to different world views, to different ways of understanding, and to different forms of knowledge will be essential. In facilitating this, comparative research in education, and across the social sciences, could make an important contribution to international development – not least, by demonstrating how we might better learn from experience elsewhere. Drawing upon her long and distinguished career in China, Ruth Hayhoe (2005), for examples, applies the work of leading Chinese comparativist Gu Mingyuan (2001). He also calls for improved understandings between cultures and acknowledges Ôthe remarkable capacity of Confucian culture to accommodate other cultures and absorb some of their best elements into itself’ (Hayhoe 2005: 582). According to Hayhoe, this is not through the simple copying or borrowing of ideas, but through a critically informed

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dialectic, sensitive to cultural identity and contextual differences. In this light, it is argued here that we can, indeed, learn much from experience elsewhere, but to cite Stenhouse (1979: 5–6) this is best done in ways that help to Ôtutor our judgement’ – recognising that comparative research Ôdeals with insight rather than law as a basis for understanding’. In times where much contemporary policy discourse too often deifies Ôbest practice’, this is a challenging perspective. The research possibilities explored here pursue such challenges, problematise the processes of international transfer (in all its forms) and suggest that context matters more than is often realised, not only by policy-makers, but also by many researchers working in education and across the social sciences.

Acknowledgement This paper draws upon a presentation delivered at the 13th WCCES in Sarajevo in September 2007 and a related professorial lecture delivered at the University of Bristol, UK. My thanks go to all colleagues, students and friends who have contributed in various ways to the collaborative activities reported here.

References Apple, Michael W. 2001. Comparing neo-liberal projects and inequality in education. Comparative Education 37(4): 409–423. Arnove, Robert. F., and Carlos A. Torres (eds.). 2003. Comparative Education. The Dialectic of the Global and the Local. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2nd edition. Bakhtin, Mikhail M. 1986. Response to a Question from Novy Mir editorial staff. In: Speech Genres and Other Late Essays, ed. by C. Emerson and M. Holquist (trans. V. W. McGee). Austin: University of Texas Press. Becher, Tony. 1989. Academic Tribes and Territories. Intellectual Enquiry and the Cultures of Disciplines. Milton Keynes: Society for Research into Higher Education/ Open University Press. Bray, Mark (ed.. 2003. Comparative Education. Continuing Traditions, New Challenges and New Paradigms. Dordrecht: Kluwer. Bray, Mark, and Steve Packer. 1993. Education in Small States: Concepts, Challenges and Strategies. Oxford: Pergamon Press. Broadfoot, Patricia. 1993. Educational Assessment: the Myth of Measurement. An Inaugural Lecture delivered at the University of Bristol, 25 October 1993. Broadfoot, Patricia et al. 1993. Perceptions of Teaching. Primary School Teachers in England and France. London: Cassell. Brown, L. J. 2006. Scalar and Temporal Dimensions of Partnerships: Education, Development and Reform in the Eastern Caribbean. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Bristol: University of Bristol, Graduate School of Education.


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Chambers, Robert. 1995. Paradigm Shifts and the Practice of Participatory Research and Development. In: Power and Participatory Development: Theory and Practice, ed. by N. Nelson and S. Wright. London: Intermediate Technology Publications. Crossley, Michael. 1999. Reconceptualising comparative and international education. Compare 29(3): 249–267. Crossley, Michael. 2000. Bridging cultures and traditions in the reconceptualisation of comparative and international education. Comparative Education 36(3): 319–332. Crossley, Michael. 2006. Capacity strengthening and evaluation within international research collaboration. A consultation paper for the DFID funded Implementing Quality Education in Low Income Countries, Research Programme Consortium. University of Bristol: Research Centre for International and Comparative Studies (5 January). Crossley, Michael et al. 2005. Research and Evaluation for Educational Development. Learning from the PRISM Experience in Kenya. Oxford: Symposium Books. Crossley, Michael et al. (eds.). 2007. Changing Educational Contexts, Issues and Identities: 40 Years of Comparative Education. London and New York: Routledge. Crossley, Michael, and J. Alexander Bennett. 1997. Planning for Case-Study Evaluation in Belize, Central America. In: Qualitative Educational Research in Developing Countries, ed. by M. Crossley and G. Vulliamy. New York: Garland. Crossley, Michael, and Keith Holmes. 2001. Challenges for educational research: international development, partnerships and capacity building in small states. Oxford Review of Education 27(3): 395–409. Crossley, Michael, and Peter Jarvis (eds.). 2000. Comparative Education for the Twenty-first Century. Special Millennium Number of Comparative Education 36(2). Crossley, Michael, and Peter Jarvis (eds.). 2001. Comparative Education for the Twenty-first Century. An International Response. Special Millennium Number of Comparative Education, 37(4). Crossley, Michael, and Peter Jarvis. 2001. Context matters. Comparative Education, 37(4): 405–408. Crossley, Michael, and Keith Watson. 2003. Comparative and International Research in Education. Globalisation, Context and Difference. London and New York: Routledge Falmer. Delanty, Gerard. 1997. Social Science: Beyond Constructivism and Realism. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Gibbons, Michael et al. 1994. The New Production of Knowledge: The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies. London: Sage. Ginsburgh, Mark B., and Jorge M. Gorostiaga (eds.). 2001. The Relationships Between Theorists/Researchers and Policy Makers/Practitioners. Special Issue of Comparative Education Review, 45(2). Gu, Mingyuan. 2001. Education in China and Abroad: Perspectives from a Lifetime in Comparative Education. Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong, Comparative Education Research Centre. Hargreaves, David. 1996. Teaching as a research based profession; possibilities and prospects. The Teacher Training Agency Annual Lecture 1996, London: TTA.

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Hayhoe, Ruth. 2005. Peking University and the spirit of Chinese scholarship. Comparative Education Review 49(4): 575–583. Hillage, Jim. 1998. Excellence in Research on Schools, Research Report No. 74. London: Department for Education and Employment. Holmes, Keith. 2001. Whose Knowledge for Educational Development? Research Capacity in Small States with Special Reference to St Lucia. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Bristol: University of Bristol, Graduate School of Education. King, Edmund J. 1965. The purpose of comparative education. Comparative Education 1(3): 147–159. King, Kenneth. 2007. Multilateral agencies in the construction of the global agenda on education. Comparative Education 43(3): 377–391. Louisy, Pearlette. 1993. Tertiary Education in St. Lucia: Implications for Small Island States. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Bristol: University of Bristol, School of Education. Louisy, Pearlette. 2001. Globalisation and comparative education: A Caribbean perspective. Comparative Education 37(4): 425–438. Masemann, Vandra, et al. (eds.). 2007. Common Interests Uncommon Goals. Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members. Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative Education Research, The University of Hong Kong and Dordrecht Springer. Noah, Harold J. 1986. The Use and Abuse of Comparative Education. In: New Approaches to Comparative Education, ed. by P. G. Altbach and G. P. Kelly. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. OECD. 2001. Knowledge and Skills for Life: first results from PISA 2000. Available online at: http://www.pisa.oecd.org/. OECD. 2004. Learning for Tomorrow’s World: first results from PISA 2003. Available online at: http://www.pisa.oecd.org/. Osborn, Marilyn, et al. 2003. A World of Difference? Comparing Learners Across Europe. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Phillips, David, and Kimberly Ochs. 2003. Processes of policy borrowing in education: Some explanatory and analytical devices. Comparative Education 34(4): 451–461. Rauxloh, Regina. 2004. Times Higher. 3 December, p. 60. Reimers, Fernando, and Noel McGinn. 1997. Informed Dialogue. Using Research to Shape Education Policy Around the World. Westport: Praeger. Reynolds, David, and Shaun Farrell. 1996. Worlds Apart? A Review of International Surveys of Educational Achievement Including England. London: HMSO. Sadler, Michael. 1900. How far can we learn anything of practical value from the study of foreign systems of education?. In: Selections from Michael Sadler, ed. by J. H. Higginson (1979). Liverpool: Dejail and Meyorre. Samoff, Joel. 1998. Education sector analysis in Africa: limitations of national control and even less national ownership. Paper presented to the 10th World Congress of Comparative Education Societies. Schriewer, Ju¨rgen (ed.). 2006. Comparative Methodologies in the Social Sciences – Cross-disciplinary Inspirations. Special Issue of Comparative Education, 42(3).


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Schweisfurth, Michele. 1999. Resilience, resistance and responsiveness: Comparative and international education at UK universities. In: Learning from Comparing: New Directions in Comparative Educational Research. Volume One, Contexts, Classrooms and Outcomes, ed. by R. Alexander et al. Oxford: Symposium Books. Simola, Hannu. 2005. The Finnish miracle of PISA: historical and sociological remarks on teaching and teacher education. Comparative Education, 41(4): 455:470. Spindler, George. D., and Louise Spindler. 1982. Roger Harker and Scho¨nhausen: From the Familiar to the Strange and Back Again. In: Doing the Ethnography of Schooling: Educational Anthropology in Action, ed. by G. D. Spindler. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Stenhouse, Lawrence. 1979. Case-study and comparative education. Particularity and generalisation. Comparative Education 15(1): 5–11. Stromquist, Nelly P. 2005. Comparative and International Education: A journey toward equality and equity. Harvard Educational Review, 75(1):89–111. Sutherland, Margaret et al. 2006. The British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE). In: Common Interests, Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies and its Members, ed. by M. Bray et al. Hong Kong: Centre for Comparative Education Research, the University of Hong Kong, and Dordrecht: Springer. Thaman, Konai Helu. 1993. Culture and the curriculum. Special Issue of Comparative Education on Education in the South Pacific. 29(3):249–260. Thaman, Konai Helu. 1999. Different eyes: schooling and indigenous education in Tonga. In: Education, Cultures and Economics. Dilemmas for Development, ed. by A. L. Little, and F. E. Leach. New York and London: Falmer. Tikly, Leon et al. 2003. Globalisation and Skills for Development in Rwanda and Tanzania. London: DFID. Tooley, James, and Doug Darby. 1998. Educational Research. A Critique. London: Office for Standards in Education. Trahar, Sheila (ed.). 2006. Narrative Research on Learning: Comparative and International Perspectives (Bristol Papers in Education, Comparative and International Studies). Oxford: Symposium Books. Vulliamy, Graham. 2004. The impact of globalisation on qualitative research in comparative and international education. Compare 34(3): 261–284. Watson, Keith (eds.). 2001. Doing Comparative Education Research: Issues and Problems. Oxford: Symposium Books. Wilson, David N. 1994. Comparative and international education: fraternal or Siamese twins? A preliminary genealogy of our twin fields. Comparative Education Review 38(4): 449–486.

The author Michael Crossley is Professor of Comparative and International Education and Joint Director of the Research Centre for International and Comparative Studies at the Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, UK. He is the Editor of

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Comparative Education and was Chair of the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) from 2002 to 2004. He is a member of the Editorial Board for Compare and the International Journal of Educational Development and a founding Series Editor for the Bristol Papers in Education: Comparative and International Studies. Prof. Crossley has published widely in the field and has undertaken teaching, research and consultancy work in numerous countries world-wide. Major research interests relate to: theoretical and methodological scholarship on the future of comparative and international education; research and evaluation capacity and international development co-operation; and educational development in small states. In 2005 he was elected as an Academician (AcSS) by the UK Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences. Contact address: Research Centre for International and Comparative Studies Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. E-mail: [email protected]

COMPLEX SOCIETIES, COMMON SCHOOLS AND CURRICULUM: SEPARATE IS NOT EQUAL JAGDISH GUNDARA

Originally published in the journal International Review of Education, Volume 54, Nos 3–4, 337–352. DOI: 10.1007/s11159-008-9096-x Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract – This paper focuses on the issue of separate schooling. Diverse societies use schools to develop shared value systems, strengthen democratic engagements and provide better educational outcomes. However, in Europe, the United States, Australia and elsewhere groups of parents and communities have been invoking human rights claims to challenge the state, often successfully, to demand separate schools for their children or the right to send their children to a school of their choosing, irrespective of the consequences for society at large. Yet do such separate schools reflect an increased respect for the rights of minorities and a commitment to help them reach their full potential? Do they help remove marginalization and can they ever lead to the establishment of stable and peaceable communities? Or do they undermine societal commitments to intergroup harmony and perpetuate stereotypes, racism and ethnocentric thinking? Do they keep existing inequalities in place and deny young people the opportunities they need to become full-fledged members of society? It is argued here that regardless of location, separate schools are part of the problem, not the solution. Re´sume´ – SOCIE´TE´S COMPLEXES, EĆOLES COMMUNES ET PROGRAMME D’E´TUDES ; LA SE´PARATION N’EST PAS L’E´GALITE´ - Cet article se concentre sur la question de l’e´ducation se´pareé. Des socie´te´s diverses emploient les ećoles pour de´velopper des syste`mes de valeur partage´s, renforcer les engagements de´mocratiques et fournir de meilleurs re´sultats e´ducatifs. Pourtant, en Europe, aux E´tats-Unis, en Australie et ailleurs, des groupes de parents et des communaute´s se sont rećlame´s des droits de l’homme pour de´fier l’e´tat, souvent avec succe`s, pour exiger des ećoles se´pareés pour leurs enfants ou le droit d’envoyer leurs enfants dans une ećole de leur choix, inde´pendamment des conse´quences pour la socie´te´ dans son ensemble. Cependant, de telles ećoles se´pareés refle`tent-elles un respect accru pour les droits des minorite´s et un engagement a` les aider a` atteindre leur plein potentiel? Aident-elles a` supprimer la marginalisation et pourront-elles jamais conduire a` l’e´tablissement de communaute´s stables et pacifiques? Ou bien minent-elles les engagements sociaux a` proce´der a` un regroupement harmonieux, perpe´tuant ainsi les ste´reótypes, le racisme et la penseé ethnocentrique? Maintiennent-elles en place les ine´galite´s existantes et refusent-elles aux jeunes les opportunite´s dont ils ont besoin pour devenir de ve´ritables membres de la socie´te´? On soutient ici qu’inde´pendamment de leur emplacement, les ećoles se´pareés sont une part du proble`me, non sa solution. Zusammenfassung – KOMPLEXE GESELLSCHAFTEN, ALLGEMEINBILDENDE SCHULEN UND LEHRPLA¨NE: GETRENNT IST NICHT GLEICH – Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit getrennter Beschulung. In den unterschiedlichsten Gesellschaften dient das Schulwesen dazu, gemeinsame Wertsysteme zu entwickeln, das demokratische Engagement zu sta¨rken und bessere Lernergebnisse zu gewa¨hrleisten. Jedoch haben in Europa, den Vereinigten Staaten, Australien und andernorts Eltern und Gemeinden den Staat durch die S. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_4

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Forderung in Bedra¨ngnis gebracht, unter Berufung auf die Menschenrechte und oftmals mit Erfolg getrennte Schulen fu¨r ihre Kinder einzuklagen oder um das Recht zu streiten, ihre Kinder auf Schulen eigener Wahl zu schicken – ohne Ansehen der Konsequenzen fu¨r die Gesamtgesellschaft. Beweisen nun solche separaten Schulen eine besondere Respektshaltung gegenu¨ber den Rechten von Minderheiten und das Bestreben, ihnen zum Erreichen ihres vollen Potentials zu verhelfen? Tragen sie zum Abbau von Ausgrenzung bei und ko¨nnen sie zur Einrichtung stabiler friedvoller Gemeinschaften fu¨hren? Oder untergraben sie die gesellschaftlichen Bemu¨hungen um ein harmonisches Zusammenleben verschiedener Gruppen und schreiben bestimmte Stereotypen, Rassismus und ethnozentrisches Denken fest? Sorgen sie fu¨r die Aufrechterhaltung von Ungleichheit und verweigern jungen Menschen die Mo¨glichkeit zur vollberechtigten Teilhabe am Gemeinwesen? Der Autor vertritt die Meinung, dass getrennte Beschulung ein Teil des Problems ist und nicht die Lo¨sung. Resumen – SOCIEDADES COMPLEJAS, ESCUELAS COMUNES Y PLANES DE ESTUDIO; SEPARACIOŃ NO ES IGUALDAD – Este trabajo se centra en el tema de las escuelas separadas. Diversas sociedades usan las escuelas para desarrollar sistemas de valores compartidos, reforzar compromisos democra´ticos y ofrecer mejores resultados educativos. Sin embargo, en Europa, los Estados Unidos, Australia y cualquier otro sitio, grupos de padres y comunidades se han estado remitiendo a reivindicaciones de derechos humanos para instar al Estado, muchas veces con e´xito, a exigir escuelas separadas para sus hijos u otorgarles el derecho de enviar a sus hijos a una escuela de su eleccioń, pese a las consecuencias que esto pudiera tener a largo plazo para la sociedad. Entonces, ¿reflejan las escuelas separadas realmente un respeto incrementado de los derechos de minorı´ as y el empenõ por ayudarlas a aprovechar plenamente su potencial? ¿Ayudan a eliminar la marginalizacioń y pueden, incluso, dar lugar a la creacioń de comunidades estables y pacı´ ficas? ¿O socavan los compromisos de la sociedad en cuanto a armonı´ a entre los grupos, perpetuando estereotipos, racismo y pensamiento etnoceńtrico? ¿Mantienen en su lugar las desigualdades existentes y niegan a la gente joven las oportunidades que necesitan para ser miembros de la sociedad capaces de valerse completamente por sı´ mismos? En este trabajo, el autor argumenta que, independientemente del sitio, las escuelas separadas no son una solucioń, sino parte del problema.

Complex Societies, Common Schools and Curriculum

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Background Hans Kung writes about the need for peace amongst nations being derived from dialogue between religions and between religions and nations. According to this seminal author, the dialogue between religions requires research into their theological foundations and necessitates three basic propositions: No human life together without a world ethic for the nations. No peace among nations without peace among religions. No peace among religions without dialogue among religions. (Kung 1991: 105).

Hans Kung’s suggestion highlights the importance of dialogue, a critical dimension of intercultural understanding. Firstly, such dialogues are nothing new. For example, the Umayyad caliphate, which functioned in the eleventh century in Andalusia, was a society in which there was inter-cultural dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims. It produced scholars like Al Kundi, Averroes and Avicenna, who translated Aristotelian philosophy into Arabic. Secondly, from an educational perspective, a dialogue amongst religions (and non-religious belief systems) and communities is not sufficient to change the consciousness of societies. This requires a more substantive educational engagement. This paper focuses on a dilemma confronting many societies today, which promises to become more pervasive in the future, namely how to reconcile the demands for educational rights on the one hand – whether based on religious, philosophical, ethnic or racial considerations – and the need for common or shared schools on the other hand. Many societies purposefully use schools to develop shared and common value systems, especially to strengthen democratic engagement and to provide higher educational outcomes. Whether these efforts are successful is a matter of debate. In other societal contexts, the state pays less attention to such inclusive democratic ideals and perpetuates a state school system that is doomed to generate educational and social inequalities. In both cases, parents and communities in Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere have been invoking human rights claims to challenge the state, often successfully, to demand separate schools for their children or at least the right to send their children to a

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school of their choice, irrespective of the consequences for society at large. In demanding separate schools, parents may be responding to real and perceived inequalities. Of course, they also want their children to be safe, happy, and raised with certain values, as well as shielded from philosophies and ideas that the parents do not agree with. Ethnicity, race and religion in multicultural contexts This paper aims to deal with these issues especially from an American and British perspective, although these intercultural issues are also relevant elsewhere. For instance, attempts to develop intercultural understanding and common citizenship in Bosnia entail bringing those children who identify themselves as Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian into the same school where they will share the same learning materials. There is, however, no agreement about locally developed curricula and textbooks because the memories of these three groups are very different and they use curricula and textbooks developed by an external agency, the Atlantic College. Work undertaken in Kosovo by Jack Peffers and myself (2005) at the University of London for UNICEF demonstrated similar problems among all the groups in Kosovo, including the Albanian and Serb communities. Political conflicts are still very much in the foreground there. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the educational challenge is to recognize the past suffering of each community with the aim of using such experiences as a starting point, that is not to compare, divide and disassociate, but instead to move towards a sense of constructing shared experiences and a joint path towards a more successful co-existence. We also need to recognize that simply co-existing in the same geographical space does not constitute ‘‘living together’’. Intercultural education implies action – hence key processes of interaction, conversation, engagement, meeting, listening, debate, dialogue and the like. In their absence, Freud’s concerns about the ‘‘narcissism of small differences’’ (1929–30/1989) would deepen the divisions between groups. Lessons from Northern Ireland There are lessons to be learnt from the legacy of separate faith-based schools in Northern Ireland, which have perpetuated the separate social, cultural, and religious identities to the detriment of both Catholic and Protestant groups in Northern Ireland. What can the peoples in South East Europe and Northern Ireland learn from the shared legacy of separate schools? Can separate schools and separate curricula ever lead to living together in stable, safe and peaceable communities? Or are there lessons for building more shared and common values as well as greater levels of educational and consequently economic and social equality? Failure to deal with deeply entrenched institutional racism or to challenge its hold over our consciousnesses has led to renewed demands for a ‘‘politics


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of recognition’’, the term attributed to philosopher Charles Taylor (1994) and debated fiercely since then (e.g., Fraser 1996; Maclure 2003). In many countries third and fourth generations of communities which are a product of decades of structured dominance are described as ‘‘ethnic groups,’’ and which group is not ethnic! Yet, there is little understanding that these terminologies or essentialized categories do not capture the complexity of the lived realities of third and fourth generation descendents of immigrants. These marginalised groups have identities, which may be hybridised or have multiple dimensions but at another level become ‘‘siege communities’’ who have adopted ‘‘siege mentalities’’. To allow such groups to become more separate is an act of deep educational folly. Conversely, to develop an inclusive polity would require a deep educational and political commitment to resolving and accommodating difference. Public and social policies based upon such commitments – by definition, anti-racist and inter-cultural – would have the capacity to tackle entrenched exclusions as well as complex and layered social positions. Knowledge itself is a result of interactions, both co-operative and conflictual, throughout history. This necessitates public spaces among which common schools are key sites, in which forms of interaction can be adequately decoded by teachers and students as well as taught and learnt. The curricula of separate schools might tend paradoxically to make complex knowledge simplistic, superficial and exclusive by creating artificial boundaries in a dynamic, multicultural world. Separate schools perpetuate racialized knowledge production, which in many cases has subtly become part of the dominant canon. Such domination has, in the past, been constructed by the language of colonial anthropologists. They have been replaced by political scientists, who may in turn be replaced by technologists and economists during this period of economic globalization in the rationalizing of control at national and international levels. Hence, Eric Wolff’s (1997) notion of ‘‘people without history’’ is developed, drawing on anthropological, ethnographic, legal, and cultural studies. At a later point in time they become constructed as ‘‘third world peoples’’ within disciplines like political science, political economy, and development and area studies. Subsequently, they tend to be complexly constituted under class, as analysed through urban studies, sociology, or legal and policy studies, thus reinforcing demands for separate schools by subordinated minority groups. Where the focus is on ‘‘living together’’ there ought to be serious discussion about how academic institutions and knowledge systems globally need to develop non-centric forms of knowledge so that no groups are designated as perpetrators or victims of terror, and to avoid demands for separate schools.

How the issue of IQ encourages divisions Another element that has contributed to separation of students from minority cultures and those from established groups is based on IQ ratings and standardized test scores that privilege majority middle class students. The issue of

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ability as having fixed qualities is also important because abilities and intelligence are probably plural in nature (See Gardner 1983, 1997, 1993); hence the psychological models of deprivation and ‘‘defectology’’ inherited from the communist period in Eastern Europe may be totally misplaced. The issue of IQ in other countries continues to rage, and Murray and Hernstein (1994) have further contributed to the deep divides by having their ideas turned into school policies in many places in the US – Ronald Reagan hailed Murray’s work for instance and used it to justify eliminating many social programmes for the poor – so that separations and divides between black and white children have not decreased but rather have increased over the last decades. The classic work by social psychologists Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) showed not only how expectations can influence school performance but even traditional IQ scores. An understanding of multiple intelligences, which goes beyond the limitations of IQ as a sole indicator of intelligence, was articulated by Howard Gardner (1983, 1997, 1993) and the late Stephen Gould (1997), and leads to the opposite conclusions to those of Murray and Hernstein, especially in relation to the educational performances of children from minority communities. The organisation of learning and teaching in cooperative learning programmes can and has in many cases led to higher performance levels of all children. Separate schools can only provide impoverished versions of complex learning and teaching strategies which are part of common, comprehensive mixed ability schools, also because heterogeneous groups are so critical in enhancing cooperative learning. The notions of separate provision on the basis of differential abilities may raise standards (defined in limited ways) in the short term, but test-oriented instruction may not be able to sustain longterm learning (See Kohn 2000; Popham 2001). The above issues are, however, not only relevant to the USA, Britain, and South East Europe, because no region, country or continent is currently free from these separate schools. In modern complex constitutional states (as well as regional entities like the EU, Council of Europe, OSCE and at the international level by institutions of the United Nations), in which human and citizenship rights are guaranteed at national levels, the question is: are demands for separate public institutions compatible with individual and community rights? Robert Puttnam (2000) puts the question very succinctly in his book Bowling Alone. Can and should individuals and groups ‘‘bowl alone’’ and lead lonely, separate, and vulnerable lives? Alternately, should we try to reverse this dangerous trend in all our countries and understand how to use educational processes which nurture ‘‘bonds’’ so that people can ‘‘bowl’’ together again? So, for instance, the liberation and justice for the peoples of African origin in the Americas and in many parts of Europe, including Britain, have been very long in coming. Greater social equality has also been a long time in coming for them and, one could argue, has not been actualized over the centuries. Will people of African origin form a largely imprisoned and a ‘‘permanent, irrevocable underclass’’ as Trevor Phillips (2005) the past Chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality has pointed out in Britain?


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Possibilities for enhancing intercultural understandings High levels of inequality, which thwart ambitions and threaten community and social cohesion, present social systems with at least two possibilities. The first is the possibility for intercultural conflict on the basis of linguistic, religious, racial and social class differences as well as the continued exclusion of non-territorial minorities like Travellers and Roma communities. There is a very powerful legacy of separate schools for these communities in the ex-communist states using the superficial concept of ‘‘defectology’’, which has led to educational and social disaster for many of these marginalized groups. Educators from these states that aspire to be full and effective members of the EU and Council of Europe need to share and discuss the problems of separate schools and subsequently develop systematic policy to address the issues. The second possibility is that of enhancing intercultural understanding. For example, anti-racist policies and strategies can promote more inclusive school communities and also will improve educational outcomes of all children whether black or white. How can educators encourage the creation of CAN DO citizens in poor and disadvantaged communities, people who are academically qualified and who have taken part in learning and educational processes that have provided them with skills to function as effective citizens in complex modern societies? Work being done by Linda King (2006) and the Educational Division of UNESCO should be used by all countries to improve intercultural dialogue. The work carried out under her direction includes Paragraph 126 and 129 under the Programme of Action during the UNESCO’s Decade of Human Rights Education and Cultural Educational programmes to counter racism and bring mutual understanding among cultures and civilisations. The soon to be published report by the OSCE (together with UNESCO and the Council of Europe) on education for mutual respect and understanding, arrives at many of the same recommendations but places them under sections dealing with violence prevention and security. The fact that the world’s largest regional security organisation, OSCE, has taken the initiative to publish a report on education for mutual respect and understanding demonstrates their assessment of the power of this type of education to maintain peace, and the dangers of the alternative. I would now like to turn to the ways in which certain policies and practices on both sides of the Atlantic form the basis of educational initiatives which also require a critical appraisal.

Desegregation in the US: claims and counter-claims Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas: Relevance of issues to Britain and Europe The 54th anniversary of the Brown Decision in the USA provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the different educational conditions and situations

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in the United States and Britain. Half a century later, it is possible to reflect and to re-appraise the way in which we might need to re-connect with the issues differently. In other words, if the impact of ‘‘separate is not equal’’ was based on a misplaced analysis in Britain in 1965 then its current implications may have further unequal consequences and need to be re-assessed. The case of Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka County, Kansas was a legal case decided on 17 May 1954. It declared the fundamental principle that racial discrimination in public education was a violation of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. All provisions of federal, state or local law that either permitted or required such discrimination were to cease. The case involved Oliver Brown, whose daughter had been forced to travel by bus to an all black school even though she lived close to an all-white institution. The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) supported Brown and eventually secured the agreement of the presiding Chief Justice Warren who concluded: ‘‘In the field of public education, the doctrine of Ôseparate but equal’ has no place’’. In ruling segregation unconstitutional, the Brown decision overturned the conclusions of Plessy v Ferguson 1896, which gave rise to the Jim Crow era. States were instructed by the Supreme Court to proceed with ‘‘all deliberate speed’’ to abolish segregation in public schools. While five of the southern states, encouraged by governors, senators, representatives and white Citizen Councils resisted the decision, twelve states and the District of Columbia (DC) immediately began to desegregate. The Supreme Court continued to hand down decisions that heralded further desegregation. In the US this decision entailed the transport of Black and Latino students to ‘‘white’’ schools in the suburbs. This system of ‘‘bussing’’ was intended to ensure that they received the same education as white students. It was hoped that the process of desegregation would improve overall educational performance, erode discrimination and encourage inter-racial understanding. This perception was however, somewhat misplaced – desegregation does not necessarily imply integration. The challenge to desegregate legally is only one step in eliminating class and race-based inequalities; issues of institutional exclusions and discrimination are deeply embedded in unequal communities and societies. However, writers like Samuel Huntington (2004), in the recent book Who are We? argues that inclusion will raise the ugly spectre of a Clash of Civilisations (to quote the title of his other well known book) and miniaturizes the same argument within the American body politic. Now it is the Mexicans who, like Muslims, appear as an alien un-melting presence, refusing to play by American rules. The fact that such communities live in abject poverty is not considered to be a public policy issue. Huntington is ‘‘defending America’’ – by invoking ‘‘traditional’’ American values presented as Protestant small-town values. Such a perspective does not engender intercultural excitement for the vibrancy and dynamism of various and diverse Latino and African-American cultures but rather rouses fear of these groups, who are portrayed as poor, menacing and a threat to the Anglo-Protestant sub-society in America. This


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perspective also fails to take into account the original inhabitants of the country – the American Aboriginal peoples – whose fundamental belongingness and rights are totally ignored. At the present time in Britain there are tensions between the older settled communities who remain poor and the new arrivals comprising refugees and asylum seekers.

British moves to implement mixed schooling In Britain, 9 years after the Brown decision in the US, an attempt was made to increase mixed schooling. While the decision in the USA was seen as being progressive, the notion of bussing in Britain was seen as being racist. The motivation behind the decision in Britain did not come from a progressive desire to bring about greater levels of equality to the subordinated black groups. Rather, the impetus came from white parents in Southall, where the presence of young Asian students was seen by them to be impeding the progress of white young people. Edward Boyle, the Secretary of State for Education, stated that the proportion of immigrant pupils in any one school should not exceed 30%. The Department of Education and Science approved this ‘‘Boyle’s Law’’ in 1965. As a consequence the local authorities in Southall and West Bromwich (in the Midlands) implemented bussing procedures. Pupils from immigrant communities were to be bussed to reassure white parents that the quality of education of their children would not be lowered. However, opponents of bussing, using research from primary schools in London, argued that the ethnic mix had a minimal influence on the level of reading ability attained by pupils. By the late 1970s, the local education authorities were persuaded by this argument and the procedure was abandoned. It is being argued here that bussing was not based on the premise of creating equalities, as it was by the Supreme Court in the United States, but on a deficit construction of the minority communities, their cultures and languages. Hence, while in the United States the decision was seen as being progressive and hopefully a catalyst for equality of opportunity, in Britain it was seen as a way of undermining equality. The same issues are now posed for second and third generations of settled communities in urban areas, and especially for Black boys, and mixed heritage children who are born and socialized there (Tikly et al. 2004). They still continue to experience educational inequalities, and remain marginalised and excluded from mainstream institutions. They therefore become part of an under-class. Their ambitions are thwarted and they meet obstacles not only in public educational institutions but also in higher education institutions. Many do not gain admission to higher education institutions, but those who succeed in doing so are likely to attend the so-called ‘‘new’’ universities. These old polytechnics, now called universities, are seen by employers as not having the same academic standards and prestige as the high-status and research-oriented older universities. Many graduates from

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the ‘‘new’’ universities are either under-employed or remain un-employed. They therefore end up in lower status jobs, their ambitions remain unfulfilled, and they continue to end up working and living in segregated poor inner city neighbourhoods. Those who are able to break away from their disadvantaged backgrounds find that there are glass ceilings for senior positions in all public, private and social institutions. The Race Relations Act (1976) and the Amendment Act (2000) have not made a significant difference in improving the life chances of the marginalized groups within these communities. Thus the question now is whether the issue of separate but equal should not be re-appraised because of the ways in which the principles of comprehensive education have been set back or eroded.

Eliminating racism – a complex equation In addition to the establishment of different and specialized schools, such as city technological colleges, a new issue has surfaced with some vengeance. Although measures to establish greater levels of equality in education and public institutions have been implemented, the elimination of racism has not taken place and the minoritized communities have retreated into what I have referred to as ‘‘siege mentalities’’ and become ‘‘siege communities’’. These communities have replaced their trust and confidence in secular and mainstream institutions with demands for faith-based or separate educational institutions. The question here is: will these separate institutions not lead to greater levels of socio-cultural and economic divides amongst the diversity of groups in American, British and European societies generally? How does membership in the European Union, Council of Europe, OSCE and UNESCO provide a fundamental safety net of common educational rights and future prospects and confirm human rights which cannot be denied? In societies where there are both rich and poor immigrant communities, there is also a complex social class basis of educational realities. These are generally stereotyped by anti-racists who do not examine the substantive differences within and between communities – these include social class differences. There are obvious differences between the rich and professional ‘‘uptown minority’’ communities, which are part of the mainstream society and its institutions, and the ‘‘downtown communities’’, made up of those who remain poor and excluded. One of the problems is that there is no sense of solidarity between poor white communities and poor immigrant communities. In our democratic contexts there are fundamental issues about how to create inclusive public values for and within all public institutions. However, such inclusive values can only emerge when positive intercultural interactions and understandings develop that will negate racism and obviate intercultural conflicts. Educators need to work on developing non-centric or inter-cultural


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curricula that will enhance inclusive and intercultural mentalities by drawing upon more universalised knowledge systems. However, attempts to diminish Euro- and Anglo-centric elements in the curriculum have been dismissed as examples of political correctness. As a result these important curricular issues have been relegated to the margins, as belonging to the realm of so-called ‘‘ethnic studies’’. The role of schools and higher education institutions is to develop conversations across cultural divides and not to entrench enclave cultures. Hence, the role of the curriculum through conversations is to bridge the divides between ‘‘us and them’’. Separate schools, even those sharing a common written curriculum, would institutionalize and perpetuate these communal divides in the realm of the public domain and institutions. The danger of narrowly nationalistic, xenophobic, and exclusive curricula on either side of the ‘‘us and them’’ divide is that they will only reinforce the tendency to legitimize dominant knowledge systems. Younger generations of minority groups have disengaged from the dominant mono-cultural curriculum and many have become disillusioned with the schooling process. Since they do not have a stake in the curriculum and are excluded from it, they are marginalized (or at best represented in token ways) and their educational outcomes have deteriorated. The whole process of schooling and training based on the canon of the majority established culture has negated broader values and understandings which an inclusive educational process and system could help to develop within diverse democratic communities.

Deepening the divides If the middle classes shift to private schools for educating their children and if those established faith-based schools of the Anglican, Catholic and Jewish communities continue to be largely funded by the state to the tune of 75% then the demands from other religious minorities for faith-based schools cannot be denied. However, would the proliferation of such institutions not deepen the current socio-economic and cultural divides and negate measures to lessen divisiveness of institutional racism in mainstream institutions? Is the acceptance of separate schools for other groups mostly a result of the societal power of the dominant and established faiths? The government is then in a greatly weakened position to even consider abolishing all faith-based schools and strengthening comprehensive public education for all, especially in the monarchical and Protestant north European states. One of the current problems during this period in Europe and the United States is the moral panic being created about ‘‘the immigrants’’. This could reinforce notions of identity politics and de-legitimize the work of schools in developing legitimacy for both specific and multiple identities. The real issue here is: what needs to be legitimized in a modern comprehensive school as

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shared public values? How can we avoid the alienation of young people from the school and the communities around them? How are the comprehensive schools ensuring that Black and poor white boys and girls do not remain excluded and can achieve satisfactory educational attainments? What kinds of school policies lead to effective school practices which are monitored and lead to the raising of educational outcomes of these groups? These measures can range from and include targeted separate lessons, co-operative learning initiatives to build on the multiple intelligences of pupils, or the development of a school ethos which promotes learning and negates the devaluation of education. It can be argued that the wrong premise used by Edward Boyle in the 1960s to integrate schools in Britain, in which minority numbers were capped at 30% per school, has led us back full circle into reinforcing an inherently unequal education system based on dominant norms. To establish greater levels of equality in a socially diverse, class-based, and divided but secular society, should we not invoke the call for ‘‘separate is not equal’’ with greater force to establish greater levels of equity in educational terms for children and adults from all communities? In the US it appears that equity of access will be further undermined by the US Supreme Court in its landmark and deeply worrying decision ‘‘Parents involved in Community Schools versus Seattle School l District No. 1 et al.’’ The decision permits de facto segregation by privileging parental choice of schools for their children. Will this Supreme Court Decision of 28 June 2007 set a new international tone that privileges parental choice over social justice issues? Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, in his dissenting argument, commented that the decision: ‘‘undermines Brown’s promise of integrated and primary and secondary education that local communities have sought to make a reality. This cannot be justified in the name of the Equal Protection Clause’’. He also quotes Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, architect of Brown versus Board of Education: ‘‘Unless our children begin to learn together, there is little hope that our people will ever learn to live together’’. These words of wisdom from 1954 seem to be lost on the current US Supreme Court. More in general, parents under certain circumstances may be contravening the Convention of the Rights of the Child by choosing religious schools for their children, especially where girls are concerned. Britain is a signatory to this Convention, but the United States and Somalia remain non-signatories, and therefore children may have different rights in Britain as distinct from Somalia and the US. Essentially, it is only rich parents who can choose education in ‘‘good’’ schools for their children. The rest largely have no options because it is the schools that choose pupils. For those who do not have the wherewithal there is little choice. This leads to continued and deepened inequalities which as I stated earlier lead to greater obstacles that thwart ambitions.


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The need for a good comprehensive education for all children is even more critical because children from settled communities, especially Black and poor white boys and girls are not the only ones who have experienced education inequalities; the historical and contemporary exclusions continue to afflict many other groups. The Travellers and Roma communities remain structurally disadvantaged as well as the poor in rural areas, or those living in the de-industrialised conurbations right across Europe. An educational underclass is being created as a result of the recent arrival of asylum seekers, refugees and other undocumented labourers. The entry into the European Union of ten new and relatively poor member states may also lead to their citizens joining the bottom tiers of this class-based society, at the receiving end of racism. The Kosovars, Albanians and East and Central European Roma communities may escape from discrimination in their countries of origin by migrating, only to be confronted by educational and other inequalities in the richer countries of the European Union. Hence the ‘‘separate is not equal’’ dictum needs to be revisited yet again across all the members states of the European Union. For the much longer settled and deeply rooted communities like the African-Americans in the U.S. and the Black British, high levels of exclusions merit urgent and targeted action and not just further research. The issue of separate is not equal also raises a few other issues. The first is that law has an important role to play in providing access and outlawing discrimination. However, law by itself is only a starting point. The Brown decision took segregation off the statute books at the time, but exclusionary mechanisms and racism have remained a powerful force in society and its institutions on both sides of the Atlantic, even if we leave the most recent US Supreme Court decision out of the discussion. This is partly because the culture of racism has not been tackled effectively. There are underlying systemic problems of residential and social segregation that are replicated even in mixed schools where ghettoized and racialized groups continue to have low educational outcomes. Segregated residential communities also experience separatist employment provisions and high levels of unemployment amongst Black communities. Such communities have limited or unequal access to social policy provision and health care. A reversal of these segregations necessitates integrated educational, social, and public policy. It is also worth mentioning that the recent decision by the US Supreme Court, allowing the re-segregation of US schools through the back door, is not the first attack on Brown versus Board of Education. The 1974 Milliken decision in Detroit, Michigan, delimited the importance of the Brown decision to city boundaries. Hence the ‘‘white flight’’ to suburbs was protected from desegregation because the wider metropolitan areas were excluded from the impact of the Brown decision twenty years after it had been asserted by the Supreme Court. Justice Thurgood Marshall of the Supreme Court dissented in the Milliken case, in another 5–4 ideological decision, and stated

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that ‘‘the Court today takes a giant step backward’’. Perhaps the Court has now taken two steps backward.

21st Century and separate is not equal In the twenty-first century the problem continues of how to substantially reduce inequalities. It is essential that there should be education and training provisions, elaborated within a complex range of social and public policies, which help to create a just and good society. However, many factors militate against the reduction of inequalities and the reversal of inequitable social policies and public institutions. The massive increase of the privatized sectors in our societies and the diminution of the public institutions and public domain continue to increase the inequalities and social distances in racial, social class and religious terms. The existence of winner and loser cultures threatens citizenship rights and undermines the chances of the development of democratic communities. Issues of identities of Black communities in Britain range from hybrid, multiple to reactive ‘‘siege’’ identities and communities. This complexity of identities and its relevance to the educational process and the school system has received scant attention. The official discourse is still couched in terms of ‘‘ethnic identities’’ of subordinated and minority groups. Neither teachers nor schools have an understanding of the role these complexities play in the educational process of young people in educational institutions. The continual focus on difference and diversity as an issue of deficit and disadvantage has not been improved in institutional terms. The positioning of multi-lingual and intercultural education outside the mainstream and as a separatist provision continues to deepen the exclusions of groups with linguistic capital. Linguistic capital itself is viewed in negative terms. Likewise schools, teachers and the educational establishment generally are totally remiss in not educating young people living in neo-liberalised economies to read media messages and images critically, especially since the consumerist culture is particularly pervasive amongst the poorest sections of our societies. In a case of ‘‘blame the victim’’, as long as the focus remains on the problems of statically constructed minority communities and groups, institutions can avoid undertaking corrective measures to change their structures and make them more inclusive and less discriminatory. Issues of institutional exclusion and discrimination are also not helped by the low status which the teaching profession itself suffers from. Hence, while doctors, lawyers and architects are educated and trained, teachers are often described as merely ‘‘trained’’ and not educated. Therefore, the professional abilities and capacities of these teachers to work effectively as anti-racist and intercultural professionals are not optimised. Their knowledge, understanding and skills do not provide them with the professionalism to operate in complex and diverse contemporary societies. This necessitates intercultural


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teacher education at both initial and continuing education levels. There is currently a need for urgent re-affirmation that separate is not equal in order to reverse the qualitative and quantitative increase in inequalities. This requires serious consideration of the types of measures which are needed in multicultural communities to establish greater levels of justice so that mutualities, resemblances and solidarities between communities are based on greater levels of equality. Hence, the targeted initiatives we consider today need to be contextualised within the broader discussion about equality and justice.

References Fraser, Nancy. 1996. Social Justice in the Age of Identity Politics: Redistribution, recognition and participation. Lecture presented in the Tanner Lecture Series on Human Values, Stanford University, California. Freud, Sigmund. 1929–30/1989. Civilization and its Discontents. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. (reissue edition 1989). Gardner, Howard. 1983, 1997. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books. Gardner, Howard. 1993. Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. New York: Basic Books. Gould, Stephen. 1997. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York: Basic Books. Government of Great Britain. 1976. Race Relations Act 1976. ——. 2000. Amendment [to Race Relations] Act 2000. Huntington, Samuel. 2004. Who are We? The Challenges to America’s Identity. New York: Simon and Schuster. King, Linda. 2006. World Programme for Human Rights Education (WPHRE) A Plan for Action. Paris: UNESCO. Kohn, Alfie. 2000. The Case Against Standardized Testing. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann. Kung, Hans. 1991. Towards a Global Ethic? An Initial Declaration. http://www. kusala.org./udharma/globalethic.html. Maclure, Jocelyn. 2003. The Politics of Recognition at an Impasse: Identity politics and democratic citizenship. Canadian Journal of Political Science 36(1): 3–21. Murray, Charles, and Richard Hernstein. 1994. The Bell Curve. Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. New York: Simon and Schuster Adult Publ. Group. Peffers, Jack, and Jagdish Gundara. 2005. Quality Education for All in Kosovo. UNICEF Document. Phillips, Trevor. 2005. Black boys separate classes idea. Reported on BBC News. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4323 979.stm. Popham, W. James. 2001. The Truth about Testing: An Educator’s Call to Action. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervisors and Curriculum Developers.

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Puttnam, Robert. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster. Rosenthal, Robert, and Lenore Jacobson. 1968. Pygmalian in the Classroom: Teacher Expectation and Pupils’ Intellectual Development. New York: Rinehart & Winston. Supreme Court Judgements US. 1954. Oliver Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka. Cit 347 US 483. ——. 2007. Parents Involved in Community Schools vs Seattle School District 4. cit 551 US. Taylor, Charles. 1994. The Politics of Recognition. In: Multiculturalism: A Critical Reader, ed. by D. T. Goldberg. Oxford: Blackwell. Tikly, Leon, C. Caballero, J. Haynes, and J. Hill. 2004. Understanding the Needs of Mixed Heritage Pupils. London: DfES. Wolff, Eric. 1997. Europe and the People without History. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press.

The author Jagdish Singh Gundara is Emeritus Professor of Education at the Institute of Education at the University of London. He holds the UNESCO Chair in International Studies and Teacher Education at the School of Culture and Lifelong Learning. He was appointed as the first Head of International Centre for Intercultural Education in 1979 and retained this position till 2006. He is the founding member and the current President of the International Association of Intercultural Education which is based in Brussels. He was the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Scarman Trust, based in London and following the death of the first President of the Trust Lord Leslie Scarman, he was elected as the second President of the Trust. Professor Gundara is a founding member of the International Broadcasting Trust (IBT), and Vice-Chairman of the Board of IBT and was a Commissioner of the Commission for Racial Equality until its closure in August 2007. He has been the President of Jury of Evens Foundation Intercultural Education Jury since 1997. His research interests include curriculum studies; development studies; comparative education; citizenship education; multilingualism and asylum and refugee issues. He is the author of Interculturalism, Education and Inclusion (Paul Chapman 2000) and co-editor of Intercultural Social Policy in Europe (Ashgate 2000) and has published extensively in the fields of human rights and education in multicultural studies. Contact address: Institute of Education, University of London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H OAL, UK. E-mail: [email protected].

THE WAR AND POST-WAR IMPACT ON THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ADILA PASˇALIC´ KRESO

Originally published in the journal International Review of Education, Volume 54, Nos 3–4, 353–374. DOI: 10.1007/s11159-008-9087-y Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract – Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), much like other eastern-European countries, has faced a brief period of transition from the socialist system to capitalism. However, this was interrupted in BiH by a brutal war lasting four years. Social systems and infrastructure were damaged or destroyed, including education, which was harnessed during the war to divide the country and then perpetuate these divisions. The author deals with some of the strongest and most enduring impacts that the war has had on education, which even now, more than 10 years after the war, pose a serious threat to this young country. The most obvious include the division of youth according to nationality, religion or language, the unequal positions of certain groups in education, and very clear segregation and discrimination. She points out some of the most frequent and overt ways in which intolerance towards other nationalities is displayed through textbooks, especially those used in parts of BiH subject to a struggle for independence during the war. Re´sume´ – L’IMPACT DE LA GUERRE ET DE L’APRE`S-GUERRE SUR LE SYSTE`ME E´DUCATIF DE LA BOSNIE-HERZE´GOVINE – La Bosnie-Herze´govine (BiH), tout comme d’autres pays de l’Europe orientale, a fait face a` une bre`ve pe´riode de transition, du syste`me socialiste au capitalisme. Cependant, celle-ci a e´te´ interrompue en BiH par une une guerre brutale ayant dure´ quatre anneés. Les syste`mes sociaux ainsi que l’infrastructure furent endommage´s ou de´truits, y compris l’e´ducation, exploiteé pendant la guerre pour se´parer et diviser le pays et ensuite perpe´tuer ces divisions. L’auteure traite de certains impacts les plus forts et les plus durables que la guerre a eu sur l’e´ducation, et qui meˆme maintenant, plus de 10 ans apre`s la guerre, constituent une se´rieuse menace pour ce jeune pays. Certains des plus e´vidents comprennent la division de la jeunesse selon la nationalite´, la religion, ou la langue, les positions ine´gales de certains groupes dans l’e´ducation, et une se´gre´gation et une discrimination tre`s claires et e´videntes. Elle souligne certains moyens parmi les plus fre´quents et les plus manifestes a` travers lesquels l’intole´rance envers d’autres nationalite´s se manifeste dans des manuels scolaires, particulie`rement dans ces manuels utilise´s dans les parties de la BiH ayant fait l’objet d’un combat pour l’inde´pendance durant la guerre. Resumen – EL IMPACTO DE LA GUERRA Y POSTGUERRA EN EL SISTEMA EDUCATIVO DE BOSNIA Y HERZEGOVINA – En forma muy similar a otros paı´ ses de Europa oriental, Bosnia y Herzegovina ha tenido que encarar un breve perı´ odo de transicioń del sistema socialista al capitalismo que, sin embargo, quedo´ interrumpido por una guerra brutal que duro´ cuatro anõs. Los sistemas sociales y la infraestructura quedaron danãdos o destruidos, incluyendo la educacioń, que la guerra utilizo´ para dividir el paı´ s y luego para perpetuar estas divisiones. La autora se ocupa de algunos de los impactos ma´s fuertes y duraderos que la guerra produjo sobre la educacioń, y que incluso hoy, ma´s de diez anõs despue´s, representa una seria amenaza para S. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_5

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Adila Pasˇalic´ Kreso

este joven paı´ s. La ma´s evidente incluye la divisioń de los jo´venes por nacionalidades, religiones y lenguas, las posiciones de desigualdad de determinados grupos en la educacioń, y una segregacioń y discriminacioń muy claras. Senãla algunos de los modos ma´s frecuentes y evidentes en los que la intolerancia hacia otras nacionalidades se transmite por libros de textos, particularmente en aquellos que se usan en las zonas de Bosnia y Herzegovina que fueron objeto de luchas de la independencia durante la guerra. Zusammenfassung – DIE AUSWIRKUNGEN DES KRIEGES UND DER NACHKRIEGSZEIT AUF DAS BILDUNGSSYSTEM IN BOSNIEN UND HERZEGOWINA – Bosnien und Herzegowina (BiH) sind, wie andere osteuropaïsche Staaten auch, durch eine kurze U¨bergangsphase vom sozialistischen System in den Kapitalismus gelangt. In BiH wurde diese Phase jedoch durch einen vierja¨hrigen brutalen Krieg unterbrochen, in dem die Sozialsysteme und die Infrastruktur bescha¨digt oder zersto¨rt wurden. Dies betraf auch das Bildungssystem, das wa¨hrend des Krieges fu¨r die Teilung des Landes funktionalisiert wurde und auch anschließend dazu diente, diese Teilung aufrecht zu erhalten. Die Autorin beschreibt einige der sta¨rksten und dauerhaftesten Kriegsfolgen fu¨r das Bildungssystem, die noch heute, u¨ber zehn Jahre nach dem Krieg, eine Gefahr fu¨r das junge Land darstellen. Am auffa¨lligsten ist hierbei die Separierung der Jugendlichen nach Nationalita¨t, Religion oder Sprache, die Ungleichstellung bestimmter Gruppen im Bildungssystem sowie offenkundige Segregation und Diskriminierung. Besonderes Augenmerk gilt der sta¨ndigen, offen gezeigten Intoleranz gegenu¨ber anderen Nationalita¨ten in Schulbu¨chern, vor allem dort, wo es in Teilen von BiH um den Unabha¨ngigkeitskampf wa¨hrend des Krieges ging.

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The War and Post-War Impact on the Educational System

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Geographic and political situation in BiH Bosnia and Herzegovina is situated in the western part of the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe. The Balkans area is, according to its geographic, ethnic, cultural and historical characteristics, a very complex, jagged, multiethnic, multi-linguistic and multicultural area with a very turbulent past and present as well. With the break-up of the former SFRY (Socialist Federal Republics of Yugoslavia) the Balkans became even more complex, especially in the western region. As the SFRY gradually broke up and the UN began to recognise the independence of each individual country, five countries emerged: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR of Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The latter later broke up to form Serbia and Montenegro. A map of the Balkan peninsula is given below, showing a line stretching from the northernmost point of the Adriatic Sea to the northernmost point of the Black Sea1 (Figure 1).

Strengthening the national consciousness in the former SFRY countries Each of the newly-formed small countries, created when the former SFRY crumbled, aspired to strengthen its own specific and individual national characteristics, which would in turn strengthen its sense of being different from the neighbouring countries, and would provide justifiable reasons for the secession from the former unified nation. The formulation of separate educational

Figure 1. Map of Balkan countries.

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systems represented a major means of fostering national characteristics. This meant that the uniform educational system that had formerly been in place in each of the six newly formed countries (although taught in different languages and dialects), was replaced by six systems, each attempting to be different from the next. Creators of such systems focused more on trying to be different than on attempting to assure the quality of the system. The newly formed educational systems led to the ‘‘blossoming’’ of national identities and cultures, which in this part of the Balkans is synonymous with religious faith. Thus, educational systems varied from area to area, depending on the majority population, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has three constitutive ‘‘nations’’ (Bosniac Moslems, Serbian-Orthodox Christians and Croat-Catholics). Together with the economic stagnation, impoverishment, ethnic cleansing and war, refugees and the mass murders that marked the Balkans and Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular in the early to mid 1990s, educational systems like these have had serious and so far irreversible consequences on the education system in BiH and society as a whole.

Stagnation of the educational systems in the new countries Following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism, the former SFRY countries had no opportunity to develop democratic societies, unlike other socialist countries. The six former republics had to face the war that first started in Slovenia following the attack by the Yugoslav People’s Army2 before spreading into Croatia, and then into BiH. The most severe conflict occurred in BiH. The underlying causes of the war and the details of the Balkans conflict are too broad and complicated to be dealt with in this paper, which instead pivots on the impact of the rise of nationalism (which can be claimed either as a cause or an effect of the conflict) on education. One significant detail of the war in BiH was the involvement of the neighbouring states, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia, all of which were also forced to face the effects of the war and suffered infrastructural collapse, significant human casualties, economic stagnation and overall regression compared to the conditions that had prevailed when they were classified as SFRY countries. This regression is closely linked to the new educational systems that have been established over the past decade in the Balkans countries of Serbia, Croatia and BIH and whose key characteristics are outlined below3: • Strong influence of nationalism and politics on education; • Emphasis of the values of Serbian (or Bosnian, or Croatian) culture as opposed to other cultures; • Lack of interest in the educational needs of other nations and cultures, including the Roma population (1 out of 4 Roma is illiterate);


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• Increase of illiteracy (unofficial data show that 12% of population older than 10 are illiterate compared to official data showing a 4–5% illiteracy rate). About 80% of the illiterate population is female; • Low ranking (in PISA 2003, Serbia ranked 33rd and 37th out of 41 countries); • Low proportion of population having attended an institute of higher education (estimated at between 10 and 14%); • Insufficient investment in education; • Strong impact of traditional education; • Schools and teachers are ill-prepared for change; • Institutions ill-prepared for change and incapable of dealing with new educational policies; • Segregation of children (e.g. children with special educational needs, Roma children, children of other nations)4; • Private tutorial teaching common in all countries of the region.

Division of the education system in BiH Before war broke out in 1991, Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of six republics making up the SFRY and was classified as a mid-developed country with a well-developed educational system.5 The quality of the system was reflected in the high school achievement of child refugees who fled to countries throughout Europe, and to the USA, Canada, Australia, etc. to continue their education during the war.6 As mentioned above, a significant population shift took place during the war in BiH. Not only did the population shift from rural to urban areas, but refugees from certain areas had to flee to areas controlled by people of their own nationality in order to escape the ethnic cleansing – in particular of non-Serbian populations – and live in safety. This meant that the three constituent nationalities were being clustered in areas that could either facilitate a geographic division of the country based on nationalities or could create a country based on ‘‘equal but separate’’ principles. This is clearly demonstrated by the two maps below, depicting BiH before and after the war. The first map points to a broad ethnic mix in all of the regions of BiH, whereas the second, post-war map shows concentrations of ethnic groups, particularly in the eastern and northern parts of the country (Figures 2 and 3). Starting in the autumn of 1992, three separate educational systems based on three curricula emerged. One was Serbian, adopted mainly from Serbia to the east. The second was Croatian – ‘‘imported’’ from Croatia to the west and north. The third was Bosnian – a modified version of the earlier, prewar educational system of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (The Bosnian Institute 1998: 4–9). The choice of curriculum in any given school

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Adila Pasˇalic´ Kreso Figure 2. Ethnic map until 1991.

Figure 3. Ethnic map after 1996.

depended on the dominant army (i.e. nationality) in the territory in which the school was located. In present-day BiH, students generally attend separate, mono-ethnic schools. This is a retrograde phenomenon that works


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contrary to all contemporary international aims and the efforts of various organizations to promote educational progress. Instead of growing up in a culturally diverse and rich society, students are separated from one other, often learning to hate those who are ‘‘different’’. Separate curricula, separate ‘‘languages’’, separate history text-books, separate alphabets, separate religious studies… all of these lead to the impoverishment of future Bosnian and Herzegovinian nationals as citizens of Europe. Although BiH is, of course, located in Europe, I am referring here to ‘‘Europe’’ in a broader sense as the European Union, which BiH aspires to belong to in the future. Whether Bosnia and Herzegovina will be able to join the European Union as a unified country, and whether it will succeed in stemming the centrifugal forces that are tearing it apart – forces which are merely strengthened by separate schooling – depends on how long schools will continue to adhere to this system of separation and seclusion. Studying the internal structure and organization of BiH’s educational system leads us to the conclusion that it is both conflicted and contradictory. Education in BiH is complicated, and with reference to theories of education management systems (Bray 1999; Postlethwaite 1995), may be deemed ‘‘unique’’, most likely doomed to failure and particularly unable to function as a unified system for one country. The main characteristics and challenges of the present-day educational sector in BiH can be summarized as follows7: • Highly politicized nature of education; • Large number of laws regulating education; • Insufficient funding for quality education, despite the fact that education accounts for a significant portion of the GDP; • Failure to support science and research in education: lack of a legal framework regulating this important part of the educational process; • Lack of educational standards; • Curricula that fail to conform with European Community requirements; • Outdated and obsolete equipment; • Shortage of teachers with educational backgrounds appropriate for responding quickly and efficiently to the needs of the labour market; • Poorly defined role of the pedagogical institutes: overlapping of competencies between the Ministries of Education and the Pedagogical Institutes; • Curricula at all levels ignore the need to raise environmental awareness; • Inadequate size of learning institutions; • High student-teacher ratios and too few teaching obligations for teaching staff, especially in universities; • Initial teacher training that fails to meet the real needs of teaching practice; • Adult education programs that have not been updated in over a decade; • Lack of appropriate infrastructure for adult training, re-training and acquisition of further qualifications.

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To date, efforts to reform education cannot be deemed a success as children from different ethnic backgrounds continue to attend school at different times in different classrooms to be taught a different version of history by different teachers, and fail to learn that they are all citizens of BiH. Moreover, metaphorically speaking, this is a system that was already ‘‘infected’’ with a division ‘‘virus’’ during the war. This ‘‘virus’’ is a difficult one to ‘‘cure’’, not only because of the lack of appropriate pedagogical ‘‘medicines’’, but also because of the social circumstances that constantly ‘‘feed’’ and strengthen it. Factors that continue to influence educational divisions in BiH The Dayton Peace Accord and its Annex 4, which serves as the Constitution of BiH, reflected the results of the war and divided the country into two entities (later to include the Brcko District formed by means of arbitration). The two entities include: – The Federation of BiH with its predominant Bosniac (Moslem) and Croat (Catholic) populations that occupy over 51% of BiH’s territory and – The Republika Srpska, whose population is mostly Serb (Orthodox) and takes up 49% of BiH’s territory. The educational administration in one entity, the Federation of BiH, is fully decentralized and responsibility for education is delegated to the cantons. In the other entity, the Republika Srpska, a centralized form of administration was preserved. The Federation of BiH is further divided into 10 administrative cantons, each of which is again divided into municipalities and local authorities. The RS, on the other hand, is more centralized and has a central government as well as a series of municipalities (Rado 2004). Thus, from the very beginning, the Constitution created a decentralized, asymmetric, and defective education management system that has undermined unity in educational policies, common educational goals, common values, positive and patriotic feelings for one’s country and homeland, etc. Excuses used to justify the choice of system include the democratic right of each child to be schooled in his or her mother-tongue, according to his or her own cultural preferences, his or her own interpretations of history, and so on. It is only since 2002 that the Ministry of Civil affairs has taken charge of education at the state level, but its real authority is very limited (Figure 4). One of the direct consequences of this decentralized organization was the establishment of 13 constitutions and 13 ministries of education (two entitylevel ministries, 10 cantonal ministries and the ministry of the Brcko District). This has led to an immense increase in educational bureaucracy and is an extremely expensive and inefficient system for such an impoverished

Figure 4. Structure of the BiH educational system. STRUCTURE OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

C O O R D I N A T I O N

BiH

Education Department of Br ko District

Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH Standards and Assessment Agency

Ministry of Education of the Federation of BiH

Ministry of Education of Republika Srpska

Canton 1

Canton 2

Canton 3

Canton 4

Canton 5

Canton 6

Canton 7

Canton 8

Canton 9

Canton 10

Ministry of Education










University of Istocno Sarajevo University of Bihac

Pedagogical Institute

University of Tuzla


University of Zenica


Dzemal Bijedic University


Municipalities

University of Mostar (Sveuciliste)


University of Sarajevo

Institute for School Affairs


University of Banja Luka

Republic Pedagogical Institute


I N T E R M I N I S T E R I A L

Municipalities

Source: OSCE BiH 2007.

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country. So far, practice has shown that these administrative units have unbelievably different, even diametrically opposed, concepts of education and that each conducts its own ‘‘policy’’. In addition, there is a need to address inequalities – unequal pedagogical standards, unequal opportunities for developing educational systems and unequal financial resources – as well as the problem of textbooks that interpret identical historical facts in different ways according to local or national political interests, and a whole host of comparable situations that have influenced educational quality and (non-)patriotic education in BiH both during and after the war. This has enabled each canton and municipality to develop their own ‘‘brand’’ of education, further dividing a small country of less than 4 million inhabitants, with no consideration for the educational implications that this would have on students moving from one canton to another to continue their education. One positive aspect is the fact that diplomas from one part of the country are recognized by local education authorities in other parts of the country. However, this may change.

The impact of war on education in BiH The following examples are included to demonstrate the reality of divided education in BiH. These examples were selected at random from authentic sources accessed over the past 10 years (Pasˇ alic´-Kreso 2004). On 14 September 1992, a woman from Banjaluka, Seima Visˇ ic´-Kurjak, wrote the following in the diary that she kept during the war: Today Neira [her granddaughter] started school. She has no text-books, as they have not yet arrived from Serbia. Her principal, in his welcoming speech, had to stress to the children and parents that this is the first generation of students in the Republika Srpska. Most of the fathers brought their children to school wearing their military uniforms. Guns were not lacking, and many had knives and daggers hanging from the belts of their uniforms. (Visˇ ic´-Kurjak 2003: 48)

On the following page, dated 15 September 1992, she notes: Children are required to write in Cyrillic and the textbooks have not yet arrived from Serbia (ibid:49)

while a few pages further into the book, dated 17 October 1992, she states that: Everything is now called Serbian [and not Bosnian-Herzegovinian]; the radio, the Glas newspaper, the schools have Serbian flags hanging outside and the children are being counted according to their nationality… (ibid:53).8

Something rather similar was to occur some time later in the area known as Herzeg-Bosnia (a designated war-time territory with a majority of Croats


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that, unlike Republika Srpska, was never formally acknowledged).9 The Croat flag is omnipresent, and the curricula and textbooks are imported from the neighbouring Republic of Croatia.10 As a paradigm of educational abuse, a ‘‘tent school’’ was set up in Usora near the city of Tesanj at the heart of BiH; here, teachers held lessons for Croat students in the tent in the school yard in order to separate them from the ‘‘others’’. The students who attended their first year of school in the tent were interviewed by a TV station in the immediate aftermath of the war (1998 and 1999). Their answers indicated that they believed the capital city of their homeland to be Zagreb (the capital city of Croatia) and that their president was Franjo Tudjman (the president of Croatia at that time). This is a clear consequence of using textbooks imported from Croatia (as well as a result of teachers’ unwillingness or inability to provide accurate information in the Bosnian/Herzegovinian context). Croat representatives stubbornly insisted on separate schools with the aim of defending Croat cultural identity and interests in BiH (The Bosnian Institute 1998: 20). Within the territory held by the Army of BiH, the curricula used were mostly identical to those used prior to the war with some additional innovations introduced during the war, but even this section of the fragmented educational system could not withstand the pressure of nationalistic interests. The introduction of Islamic religious classes and greetings typical of religious institutions clearly discriminated against children who were not of BosniacMoslem extraction. Both non-Bosniac national systems attempted (and still do) to separate, withdraw, or gain full autonomy from BiH. One group sees its homeland as Republika Srpska, while for the other it is Croatia, or the now non-existent Herceg-Bosna. The Bosnian educational system (which the students’ ethnic profiles indicate is made up mostly of Bosniacs), strives to build patriotism for BiH as a whole, although the Islamic cultural and religious values that it promotes are difficult for the ‘‘others’’ to accept. Such examples are indicative of the strong influence that nationalistic policies and parties – and even interest groups – have on education and on the emergence of three nationalistic educational systems. As a matter of fact, none of the ‘‘systems’’ mentioned above paid much attention to future citizens’ education needs or helped them to develop a sense of ownership and patriotism towards their country. Of which country are these young people citizens – of the country in which they live or of another to which they are connected by ancestral ties, ethnic identity and religion? This pedagogical dilemma was ‘‘resolved’’ by influential local people and representatives of nationalistic parties by overemphasising the value of writers of their own nationalities, modifying historical facts to suit their own interests, changing the names of the former war (aggression versus civil war versus defence), insisting on the use of one language only, (Bosnian, Croat or Serb), and a single written alphabet (either Latin or Cyrillic), and exaggerating the differences between rather than variations of the same language.

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Shortly after the war, many discussions were held on how the recent war in BiH was going to be interpreted and presented in schools and textbooks. While textbook reviewers concentrated exclusively on recent history, nationalistically-inclined authors used earlier historical eras to help perpetuate hatred and intolerance towards other nations.

An ongoing system of segregation In the aftermath of the war, the educational system in BiH was marked by confusion. Since then, schools have mostly become mono-national, especially in the central parts of the country. Only a few of the major cities are still multi-national (Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zenica, etc.). In the period immediately after the war, particularly between 1997 and 2000, problems with schooling and education increased as more and more refugees returned to their former cities and homesteads.11 Each area had chosen its own curricula and teaching methods and if these refugees were not part of a majority population in that area, their options were limited to choosing between total assimilation and complete rejection. Because of the refugees’ powerful memories of the war and its defined aims, all sides tended to choose complete rejection and segregation over assimilation. Thus, each side organized their own schools and, where possible, they would create two separate schools under one roof. This was made possible by the fact that BiH did not have a single national ministry that could provide a common educational policy to serve the interests of the country and its future. This lack led to the emergence of three educational systems. This would not have been a problem had the curricula not been harnessed to serve nationalistic interests and had the youth had an upbringing that did not encourage misunderstanding and outright intolerance. In the words of one fighter for children’s rights and education in mixed schools (former Bosnian general J. Divjak), when our children complete their education, the only thing that they will only be do in the same manner is to divide, add and subtract, nothing else (Mulic´-Busˇ atlija 2001). For a long period following the war, the educational and schooling system(s) of BiH failed to formulate a common education program for schools. Many attempts have been made to legalize a core curriculum that unites the educational systems and to set up joint aims that could help young people develop a positive attitude towards the country in which they live and receive their education. In November 2002, OSCE – the Office for Security and Cooperation in Europe – published an Education Reform Strategy (see: www.oscebih.org). This document represents a recommendation and that strives to present a unique and joint framework for the educational system in BiH. The First Pledge of the Education Reform Strategy contains the following: ‘‘We will ensure that all children have access to quality education, in integrated multicultural schools, that is free from political, religious, cultural and other bias and discrimination and which respects the rights of


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all children’’ (Education Reform Strategy 2002:9). Even though all of the Pledges contained within the document indicate that our country has no room for school systems that separate, segregate and divide children according to nationality and that our educational system must ensure that all children attend school together in order to learn how to respect and value the diversity of each others’ cultures, these aims still need to be implemented. Despite the fact that this document was signed by all of the ministries of education in BiH, and even though the recommendation and pledges from that OSCE document have been in place for a full 5 years, discrimination and segregation still thrive within our schools, where unfortunately the warnings of progressive pedagogues and education experts, both international as well as the few experts remaining in BiH, have been disregarded. It would appear that in the current political climate, the authorities are content to keep education just the way it is due to its vulnerability and the way in which it can be used for the purposes of political indoctrination enabling teachers, students, and indirectly, the students’ parents to be manipulated. Few have in mind the future that awaits the young people educated in this manner or the fact that they will need to live together in a diverse union of cultures and nationalities, something which may be a practical impossibility following such indoctrination during their time at school. By maintaining the status quo, schools predispose young people towards segregation and engrain in them strongly discriminatory attitudes that lead them to believe that such intolerance represents socially acceptable behaviour. In the meantime, the creators of this educational turmoil claim that each child has a democratic right to education in his or her mother-tongue, although in practice they are stripping others of the same right. A recent study conducted by the NGO ‘‘Fund Open Society’’ (FOS) in BiH analyzed some 145 elementary and high-school school textbooks on the basis of pre-defined sets of indicators that can have a positive or negative effect on young people’s awareness of and attitude towards different life situations.12 The following are examples from textbooks currently in use that have been approved and recommended by the ministries of entities or cantons, ignoring the obligations that they accepted when they signed the OSCE Education Reform Strategy. Division based on geography and population in BiH The following map shows the borders of countries, and the border between the two BiH entities is also shown as a country border. The names of all the neighbouring countries are given with the exception of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Instead, only Republika Srpska is listed, although it is only one of the entities constituting BiH. The alphabet used is exclusively Cyrillic. This map does not represent BiH as a country, but Republika Srpska is clearly defined and is presented to young students alongside Serbia. From studying this textbook, the student will logically conclude that the region is made up of Serbian countries

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Adila Pasˇalic´ Kreso Figure 5. Map showing country borders.

Source: 9th grade elementary school geography textbook (FOD BiH. 2007: 129).

only and that Republika Srpska shares a border with Serbia, a country inhabited by people who have ‘‘fought for the past 200 years for the border between the two Serbian countries to disappear’’ (Figure 5). The following illustrates an example of geography homework intended to develop a sense of belonging to other Serbian regions rather than to the real homeland – BiH: Banja Luka is today considered to be the capital of one part of BiH – Republika Srpska – yet according to the way in which the textbook is written and certain information has been omitted, children are under the impression that it is a part of Serbia. In the geography textbooks, the distances measured from Banja Luka and Belgrade, and the rivers are listed are based purely on whether or not they flow through Serbian land; Bosnia and Herzegovina is not mentioned. On the other hand, in the areas where the population identifies itself mainly as Croatian, the educational system there lists the area as the ‘‘Croatian Belt’’ and the capital city and the nation’s president are ‘‘borrowed’’ from the neighbouring country of Croatia. Diversity is regarded as a problem By pointing out that BiH’s biggest problem is its multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-confessional character, the authors of the majority of history and geography textbooks attempt to emphasize the injustice meted out to one nation only – their own – frequently doing so by drawing on examples from the Ottoman Empire and Medieval times. Here, they tend to emphasize the centuries of suffering imposed on their nation while, according to their


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teaching, the other nations and their neighbours prospered. Islam first entered the Balkans and Bosnia and Herzegovina during the rule of the Ottoman Empire; thus, much of the history contained in these books focuses on this period in order to stress the division between nations and religions. A number of textbooks claim that ‘‘areas where different cultures and civilizations meet are often areas of distrust and conflict’’, consequently teaching children that co-habitation is a dangerous thing. Examples of linguistic divisions The situation regarding languages and the differences between languages in BiH is rather mystifying. Although the peoples of the western Balkans use different names for their languages (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrin), the strict linguistic view would be that there is in fact just one language with a number of variants and dialects. The names of the languages in this region are based on nationalities and politics. It is thus obvious that the strict insistence on separating children be sending them to ‘‘their own’’ schools is politically and not linguistically motivated. This reality is reflected in the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina has three official languages – Bosnian, Serbian and Croat – all of which may be used and are understood by all. However, distinctions are made, especially in the educational systems, and simply substituting one letter for another – using an ‘‘o’’ instead of an ‘‘a’’, for example – can be deemed a nationalistic act and a problem. When international organizations are translating a document from English or another foreign language in BiH, most are required to provide a translation in each of the three official languages. Yet all of the BiH institutions at the state level write their notices, declarations and even plain memos in one of these three languages, according to preference and depending on the nationality of the author. Examples of religious divisions Religious education classes are also frequently a source of conflict between students. For example, students commonly hold their noses as they walk past classmates from ‘‘other’’ nationalities and fights regularly break out to decide which religion is ‘‘better’’ – a phenomenon that is attributable to the fact that schools introduced religious education classes immediately after the war without adequate preparation, sufficient educational provisions or enough trained teachers, and so on. Furthermore, intolerance is inculcated through textbooks that favour a particular faith while disparaging others in order to stress the differences between them by comparison. In mixed cantons populated by Croats and Bosniacs, the practice of housing two schools under one roof has emerged, and there are currently some 56 such schools in existence. Children enrolled in these schools must enter through separate doors, use separate floors of the building or simply attend

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the school in shifts. There is little chance for them to meet each other and become friends. This is not the only instance of a segregative approach to education that encourages a ‘‘them and us’’ mentality in children and will have a long-term effect on the future of this country and its citizens. These effects may be much more complex than we can currently imagine. Meanwhile, a Minister from one of the mixed Bosniac-Croat cantons was asked why children could not attend school together and answered: ‘‘because here we are dealing with apples and oranges and we all know that is not the same thing’’. Many parents accept these divisions and some even insist on them. However, a significant proportion of parents (totalling between 54 and 79% according to recent polls) do not agree with the policy of dividing and segregating schoolchildren, and are facing serious difficulties as they attempt to explain to their children why it exists. In addition, these parents cannot change the educational system unaided. One parent, opposed to divisions based on religion, said: The local authorities should promote protection of individual human rights, not only the rights of groups. What about those from mixed marriages in Mostar [a mixed Croat-Bosniak city that experienced some of the greatest conflict and division between the two nationalities]? How do you promote their right to education and their language when there are only two curricula offered? This simply means that children are divided on an ethnic basis. When we have these two alternatives from which to choose we are forced to select one and to be part either of the one, or the other. What can I say to my child about his ethnicity if I am a child from a mixed marriage and he is a child from a mixed marriage? Children want to know who they are and where they belong. This is why I am against religious classes in schools. Already in the first grade of primary education, children have to say whether they will attend religious lessons, or not. My child came to me and asked whether he should go to these lessons and does he belong there. It was difficult and unpleasant to explain this to a seven- year old boy. Source: presentation by Slad¯ana Cˇurak, OSCE BiH (see: www.oscebih.org)

In the past decade, few countries have received more attention, in terms both of concrete support for post-war reconstruction, and of political and social literature and research, than Bosnia and Herzegovina. However educational issues – above and beyond the issue of reconstructing schools – only began to enter the limelight a few years ago. This is quite remarkable given the fact that since the start of the four-year war, education has consistently been used as a tool, first to divide the country and then to perpetuate these divisions, particularly those rooted in ethnic and religious differences. The after-effects of the situation as a whole are difficult to overcome. According to the results of the 2006 OSCE survey, more than a half of those surveyed (some 52%) consider that the educational system in BiH does not provide all citizens with equal opportunities in terms of education. Over 30% of those surveyed believed that discrimination is linked to one’s nationality. Some 32% of Bosniacs, 42% of Croats and 23% of Serbs believed that discrimination exists, as did 41% of Others.13


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Opportunities for change in the BiH educational system From a political perspective, education during the final decade of the 20th century was seen as a vehicle for creating three separate ethnic systems, with three separate religions, histories, languages and cultures, rather than as a tool enabling the development of a common (BiH) identity. And although there are still very few substantial differences between education policies or practices across BiH, the politics of separation and segregation still make coordination and cooperation extremely difficult. The process of ‘‘further breaking a broken vase’’ is still underway and it is difficult to see how and when it might end. To date, reactions to this unfortunate situation have come from isolated individuals, most of them progressive intellectuals and experts or journalists without the political or legal powers needed to take effective action. Theirs were the solitary voices of reason and awareness. Laws are enacted at the entity and cantonal levels, and are subject to local influences. These and other similar facts and statements have been presented numerous times on many different occasions (International Round Table 1997, UNDP Human Development Report 1998; Pasˇ alic´-Kreso 1999, etc.). The democratic right to education must be implemented through solutions that are based on permanent and universal humanist values, and not through a process of trial and error or as the result of experiments from which the students will emerge scarred for life. Unfortunately, the educational systems in BiH is rife with experiments, and the shadow cast on education by politics and nationalistic ideologies mean that little attempt is being made to find proper, universal solutions. As mentioned earlier, it is entirely possible that many parents and members of the general public are unhappy with the fact that children are attending schools where they are segregated according to nationality, yet do not have the power to influence institutions that are unwilling to adopt a different approach. The institutions, agencies and organizations that determine the makeup of the educational system have made no real attempt to learn from the experiences of other countries that have faced similar problems in their educational systems. These countries, such as the US, France, Germany or South Africa, have succeeded in overcoming issues of division and segregation. Those in charge of creating Bosnian educational policy must include experiences like these, if for no other reason than to remind us, as we attempt to find a solution, that we are not the only country subject to such problems. Almost all European countries and many more besides are multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual entities that have developed and transformed their educational systems in accordance with their own needs and reality. Their efforts have served to engage multi-cultural societies in education and increase their awareness. The Council of Europe and UNESCO alone have published more than a dozen books related to this topic in the past few years (see: Perotti 1994; Differences and Cultures in Europe 1995; Halperin 1997; Byriam 2003; Morin 2001; Leclercq 2003; Sinclair 2004, etc.).

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If the educational authorities in BiH have no other role model focal point enabling them to offer their young citizens and their country a better future, then their work should focus on EU standards in education. EU membership would appear to be the most effective incentive for the advancement of the country as a whole and could improve education by strengthening the country’s administrative capacities across the system. Short, medium and long-term priorities have been identified in separate sectors that would allow immediate and sustainable results to be achieved (Education Reform Strategy OSCE 2002). The Education Program is based on four main priorities: • • • •

Coordination of/political support for reform as required; Legislation; Access and non-discrimination; Civic involvement in the education reform process (i.e. PTAs, student councils, student unions).

In the meantime, it is necessary for BiH to understand and practice a form of pedagogy that is culturally responsive, not only to a single culture of choice and predominance, but also to the cultures that exist alongside us. This idea must guide each and every school, regardless of whether it is mono-national or mixed, public or private. There is a desperate need for culturally sensitive pedagogy that is more responsive towards students, respects the students’ individual backgrounds, traditions, cultures, religions and languages, and addresses the specific learning styles of each student. To rebuild our educational system from the ground up, a long chain of democratic and plural demands reflecting the needs and wishes of each individual and minority member of society must be met. These minorities are the most vulnerable social groups in all areas, including education. Individuals belonging to a majority group are more secure and feel differently towards the society in which they live than those belonging to a minority or a marginalized group. The latter always feel infringed upon, as their options, possibilities and social influence are more limited in their day-to-day existences (Freire 1993; Bourdieu et Passeron 1970; Boudon 1973). As a result, all members of the educational process, be they teachers or pedagogues, need to understand that it is also their constant duty to understand, support and defend the minority in any given social environment. Public primary and compulsory schools must be freed from all types of discrimination. They must be inclusive, multi-ethnic and ready to meet the needs of every child in an equally successful manner. Experienced teachers know very well that students differ according to their learning styles, their emotional and social characteristics, their intellectual potential and their physical appearance. They are also aware that the sum of these individual differences is greater than any one group difference, and that it does not matter whether they are based on gender, race, nationality, religion or any other major characteristic. They should also know that a democratic atmosphere of tolerance in schools and classes must be established patiently,


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gradually and professionally. Educational indoctrination, manipulation and abuse are beneficial to no one in the long-term, as hatred has a tendency to turn back on those that propagate it most vehemently. In BiH there are many examples of incredible achievements by individual institutions. There are also multiple instances of school principals and teachers who have challenged local authorities, nationalistic interests and segregation in order to benefit the children, encourage an appropriate, democratically oriented form of education and foster multicultural development. Schools such as ‘‘Simin Han’’ near Tuzla, ‘‘Osman Nuri Hadzic’’ in Sarajevo and a few others represent a few shining examples of how to oppose harmful educational policies and equip children adequately for life in a democratic society. Finally, it is important to note that this situation is not unique to Bosnia and Herzegovina. A similar state of affairs can be found throughout the Balkans, as this quote from Prof. Predrag Radenovic – one of the few educational critics in Serbia – indicates: Only the open, pluralistic and free educational systems – which the Balkan societies must strive towards – can open up the processes of cooperation and integration, which have already become global processes. Only the richness of cultural and educational differences, without exclusion and forceful ethnic and national identity can allow for complex prosperity of this region.

Furthermore, similar situations have been encountered in other regions of the world. For example, a recently published book edited by Terrice Bassler (2006) cites eleven cases of ordinary teachers working in south-eastern Europe that provide an impressive insight into the individual processes of transformation needed to make them more sensitive and open to the needs of the students. In conclusion, to initiate change in the long chain of educational systems, the best place to start is in all likelihood with the teachers. They are the ones who are in a position to promote change instead of waiting for official instructions from institutions that have become infected by nationalism. However, BiH needs more time to develop a critical mass of pedagogues who share similar views and are capable of carrying out the radical changes to the education system that are needed if children – and with them, the country’s future – are to flourish. Notes 1. 2.

http://commons.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Balkan_peninsula_line.jpg At that time the majority of leading positions in the YP army (colonels and generals) were taken by Serbs. 3. In Learning to Change: The Experience of Transforming Education in South East Europe, (Bassler 2006), published by the Central European University Press, the author describes trends in education in Balkan countries, pp. 165–220. 4. Despite many projects and seminars on democracy and inclusion in education, there has been little real progress in terms of inclusion movements. 5. Dizdar, Srebren. (1998). Razvoj i perspektive obrazovanja nastavnika u Bosni i Hercegovini. Sarajevo: Ministarstvo obrazovanja, nauke, kulture i sporta FBiH.

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7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

13.

Adila Pasˇalic´ Kreso During the war, I visited a number of schools in France, Finland and USA, where all of the teachers had nothing but praise for students that were Bosnian refugees. Other experts and journalists had similar experiences when discussing the achievements of students originally from BiH and the countries in the region, who were being educated outside their homeland. The Bosnian and Herzegovinian Council of Ministers, Unit for Economic Policy Planning and Implementation of the BiH Medium Term Development Strategy. http://www.eppu.ba/english/strategija_engl.html, accessed on 16 April 2007. The woman’s children and grandchildren left Banjaluka in February 1993. The International Red Cross organization helped arrange for them to move to Zurich, where they live today. The population in the ‘‘Herceg-Bosnia’’ area identify themselves primarily as Croats partially because of a Croat majority prior to the war but also through the process of ethnic cleansing that left the area predominantly ethnically Croatian. While the government of BiH was intensively printing school textbooks in 1993 and 1994, Herceg-Bosna imported some 1,000,000 new textbooks from Croatia (Education in BiH – Obrazovanje u BiH 1997: 31). The Bosnian and Herzegovinian Council of Ministers, Unit for Economic Policy Planning and Implementation of BiH Medium Term Development Strategy. http://www.eppu.ba/english/strategija_engl.html, accessed on 16 April 2007. All examples in this paper are quoted from a book published recently and announced at the beginning of November 2007 under the title: FOD BiH. 2007. Obrazovanje u Bosni i Hercegovini: Cˇemu ucˇimo djecu? Analiza sadrzˇaja nastavnih planova i programa i udzˇbenika nacionalne grupe predmeta. Fond Otvoreno Drusˇ tvo Bosne i Hrecegovine. Sarajevo: ProMente. ‘‘Others’’ refers to members of other ethnic groups from the three constitutive nations – Jewish, Roma, Hungarian, Albanian and mixed, and represent less than 4% of the total population.

References Arnove, Robert F., and Carlos Alberto Torres (eds.) 1999. Comparative Education, the Dialectic of Global and Local. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Lanham. Banks, James A. 1994. Multiethnic Education. USA: Allyn and Bacon. Bassler, Terrice. 2006. Learning to Change: The Experience of Transforming Education in South-East Europe. Central European University Press. Birzea, Cesar. 1994. Les Politiques e´ducatives dans les pays en transition. Strasbourg: Conseil de l’Europe. Boudon, Raymond. 1973. L’Ine´galite´ des chances. Paris: A. Colin. Bourdieu, P., and J. C. Passeron. 1970. La Re´production. Paris. Bray, Mark. 1999. Control of Education: Issues and Tensions in Centralization and Decentralization. In: Comparative Education, the Dialectic of Global and Local, ed. by Robert F. Arnove and Alberto Torres Carlos. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Lanham. Michael Byram (ed.). 2003. Intercultural Competence. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. Címic´, Esad.1998. Vjeronauka – Pro et contra (Teaching religion – Pro and Contra). Forum Bosnae, br.1-2. Sarajevo: Med¯unarodni forum Bosna. ISSN 1512 5122.


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Delors, Jacques. 1996. Learning: the Treasure Within. Paris: UNESCO. Differences and Cultures in Europe. 1995. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Press. Dizdar, Srebren. 1998. Razvoj i perspektive obrazovanja nastavnika u Bosni i Hercegovini (Development and perspectives of teacher training in Bosnia and Herzegovina). Sarajevo: Ministarstvo obrazovanja, nauke, kulture i sporta FBiH. Education Reform Strategy. 2002. OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Reform of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Education Sector. Sarajevo. Website: http://www.oscebih. org/education/?d=2. FOD BiH. 2007. Obrazovanje u Bosni i Hercegovini: Cˇemu ucˇimo djecu? (Education in Bosnia and Hrezegovina: What we are teaching our children) Analiza sadrzˇaja nastavnih planova i programa i udzˇbenika nacionalne grupe predmeta. Fond Otvoreno Drusˇ tvo Bosne i Hercegovine. Sarajevo: ProMente. Freire, Paulo. 1993. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum. Gligorijevic´, Jovana. 2004. Obrazovanje u Srbiji: Sˇkola na popravnom, (Education in Serbia: TheFailure of Schools). Vreme 728, 15 December 2004. Halperin, S. Daniel. 1997. To Live Together: Shaping New Attitudes to Peace through Education. Geneva: UNESCO, IBE. Human Development Report. 1998. Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo: UNDP. Kodelja, Z. 2002. Laicˇka sˇkola, pro et contra. (Lay Schools, Pro and Contra). Biblioteka XX vek. Beograd: BIGZ. Leclerq, Jean-Michel. 2003. Facets of Interculturality in Education. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. Lesley, T. J., and T. J. Matczynski. 1997. Strategies for Teaching in Diverse Society, Instructional Models, ITP, USA. Med¯unarodni okrugli stol. 1997. Obrazovanje u Bosni i Herzegovini. (International round table: Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina). Zbornik radova. Sarajevo: Institucija Ombudsmana Federacije BiH. Morin, Edgar. 2001. Seven Complex Lessons in Education for the Future. Paris: UNESCO. Mougniotte, Alain. 1994. Odgajati za demokraciju. Zagreb: Educa. Mulic´-Busˇ atlija, Snezˇana. 2001. Obrazovanje u BiH: zajednicˇko dijeljenje (Education in BiH: Common division), DANI, No. 231, November 2001. Office of the High Representative and EU Special Representative, http://www.ohr.int/ ohr-dept/hr-rol/thedept/education/default.asp?content_id=3519. Pasˇ alic´-Kreso, Adila. 1997. Multietnicˇki i multikulturalni odgoj u sistemu obrazovanja BiH. (Multiethnic and Multicultural Education in the Educational System in BiH). In: Med¯unarodni okrugli stol. 1997. Obrazovanje u Bosni i Herzegovini. Zbornik radova. Sarajevo: Institucija Ombudsmana Federacije BiH. Pasˇ alic´-Kreso, Adila. 1999. Multietnicˇki i multikulturalni odgoj nasuprot getoizaciji (Multiethnic and Multicultural Education against gettoization). Nasˇ a sˇ kola, No. 10. Sarajevo. Pasˇ alic´-Kreso, Adila. 2000. Tolerancija i razumijevanje razlicˇitosti – osnova demokratskog odgoja. (The Tolerance and Understanding of Difference -Foundations of Education of Democracy. Didakticˇki putokazi. No 18. Zenica.

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Pasˇ alic´-Kreso, Adila. 2004. Ustav i obrazovanje u BiH. (Constitution and Education in BiH). Nasˇ a Sˇkola. No. 28. Sarajevo. Pasˇ alic´-Kreso, Adila. 2004a. The virus of division: its permutations and persistance in the education sector. In: Dayton and Beyond: Perspectives on the Future of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ed. by Ch. Solioz and T. Vogel. Baden-Baden: NOMOS. Perotti, Antonio. 1994. The Case for Intercultural Education. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Press. Postlethwaite, T. Neville. 1995. International Encyclopedia of National Systems of Education. Oxford: Pergamon. Rado, Peter. 2001. Transition in Education. Open Society Institute. Budapest: Institute for Educational Policy. Rado, Peter. 2004. Decentralization and the Governance of Education: The State of Education Systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland and Romania. Open Society Institute, Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative, Budapest. Sinclair, Margaret. 2004. Learning to Live Together: Building Skills, Values and Attitudes for the Twenty-first Century. Geneva: UNESCO: IBE. Specificities and Universality: Problems of Identities. 1995. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Press. The Bosnian Institute. 1998. Question of Survival – A Common Education System for Bosnia-Herzegovina. Seminar organized by The Bosnian Institute and held at St Anthony’s Monastery. Sarajevo, April 1998. USTAVI BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE (CONSTITUTIONS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA). 1999. Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine, Republike Srpske, Kantona Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine. Sarajevo: Federalno Ministarstvo pravde. Visˇ ic´-Kurjak, Selma. 2003. Sjecánja na oteti grad. (Memories of the City Taken Away). The 2nd expanded edition. Sarajevo: Graficˇar promet. Zgaga, Pavel (ed.). 2006. The Situation of Education in South-East Europe. Ljubljana: CEPS. Or http://www.ibe.unesco.org/curriculum/SEEpdf/rep_I.pdf

The author Adila Pasˇ alic´ Kreso Ph.D., is a professor of Comparative and International Education at the University of Sarajevo. She specialises in multicultural and family education, which she researches both in her country of origin and cross-culturally. She completed her studies and training in Sarajevo, Belgrade, Paris, Michigan and Ohio and subsequently worked as an education consultant for the OECD. Prof. Kreso was one of the first in BiH to write on the inequality of children and students in the educational system. She has been a guest lecturer at many universities throughout Europe and the USA. She was the president of the Organizational Committee for the XIII World Congress of Comparative Educators in Sarajevo, held from 3–7 September 2007. Contact address: Faculty of Philosophy, University of Sarajevo, F. Racˇkog No.1, Sarajevo 71000, Bosnia and Herzegovina. E-mail: adila.pasalic-kreso@ff.unsa.ba

ENGAGING YOUTH IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: POST-WAR HEALING AND RECOVERY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA LARISA KASUMAGIC

Originally published in the journal International Review of Education, Volume 54, Nos 3–4, 375–392. DOI: 10.1007/s11159-008-9095-y Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract – In the aftermath of the Bosnian war, the country has been challenged with the task of responding to the atrocities that culminated in the killing of thousands of people. Furthermore, the country’s resultant political instability and economic underdevelopment have been complicated by the multiple transitions to which it has been subject since the war. As a consequence, the process of healing and reconciliation remains a challenge. Young people from different ethnic groups still live in separation and struggle to remain hopeful after witnessing many years of stagnation. This paper conceptualizes a participatory youth development framework designed to enhance the educational experience and active civic engagement of Bosnian youths from three ethnic groups in fostering community change and post-war healing through creative learning and Nonviolent communication. The proposed program aims to enable them to explore the stories of their shared history, challenge their shared future by facing up to their personal, wartime, pre-war and post-war experiences and view themselves as legitimate participants in the community development process. Re´sume´ – ENGAGER LA JEUNESSE DANS LE DE´VELOPPEMENT DE LA COMMUNAUTE´: CICATRISATION ET GUE´RISON APRE`S LA GUERRE EN BOSNIE- HERZE´GOVINE – Au lendemain de la guerre de Bosnie, le pays a duˆ se charger de re´pondre au de´fi que repre´sentaient les atrocite´s ayant culmine´ dans le massacre de milliers de personnes. En outre, l’instabilite´ politique en re´sultant et le sousde´veloppement ećonomique du pays ont e´te´ complique´s par les transitions multiples auxquelles le pays a e´te´ sujet depuis la guerre. En conse´quence, le processus de cicatrisation et de rećonciliation reste un de´fi. Les jeunes de diffe´rents groupes ethniques continuent de vivre dans la se´paration et se battent pour conserver l’espe´rance apre`s avoir e´te´ te´moins de nombreuses anneés de stagnation. Cet article conceptualise un cadre participatoire de de´veloppement de la jeunesse conçu pour augmenter l’expe´rience e´ducative et un engagement civique actif de la jeunesse bosnienne de trois groupes ethniques en stimulant le changement dans la communaute´ et la cicatrisation d’apre`sguerre par l’apprentissage creátif et la communication Nonviolente. Le programme propose´ vise a` leur permettre d’explorer les histoires de leur histoire commune, de relever le de´fi de leur avenir commun en faisant face a` leurs expe´riences personnelles, pendant, avant et apre`s la guerre et de se conside´rer comme des participants le´gitimes au processus de de´veloppement de la communaute´. Zusammenfassung – EINBEZIEHUNG DER JUGEND IN DIE ENTWICKLUNG DES GEMEINWOHLS: HEILUNG UND WIEDERAUFBAU NACH DEM KRIEG IN BOSNIEN UND HERZEGOWINA – Nach dem Krieg stand das Land Bosnien vor der schweren Aufgabe, mit den Greueltaten, die in der Ermordung tausender von Menschen gegipfelt hatten, angemessen umzugehen. Daru¨berhinaus wurden die politische Instabilita¨t und die wirtschaftliche Unterentwicklung noch durch S. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_6

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vielfa¨ltige Vera¨nderungsprozesse kompliziert, denen sich das Land nach dem Krieg ausgesetzt sah. In der Folge gestalten sich die Bemu¨hungen um Heilung und Verso¨hnung weiterhin schwierig. Immer noch leben junge Leute aus verschiedenen ethnischen Gruppen voneinander getrennt und ka¨mpfen darum, auch nach langen Jahren der Stagnation nicht die Hoffnung zu verlieren. Dieser Artikel stellt ein mitbestimmungsorientiertes Rahmenkonzept zur Jugendfo¨rderung vor, welches auf die Fo¨rderung von Bildungserfahrungen und auf das aktive staatsbu¨rgerliche Engagement bosnischer Jugendlicher aus drei ethnischen Gruppen ausgerichtet ist. Ziel ist die Unterstu¨tzung des gesellschaftlichen Wandels und der Heilung in der Nachkriegszeit durch kreatives Lernen und gewaltfreie Kommunikation. Das Programm will die Jugendlichen in die Lage versetzen, sich mit Berichten aus der gemeinsam erlebten Geschichte auseinanderzusetzen, ihre gemeinsame Zukunft zu gestalten, indem sie sich ihren perso¨nlichen Erfahrungen aus der Zeit vor, wa¨hrend und nach dem Krieg stellen, und sich selbst als legitime Mitwirkende am gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungsprozess zu begreifen. Resumen – COMPROMISO DE LA JUVENTUD CON EL DESARROLLO COMUNITARIO: CICATRIZACIOŃ DE LAS HERIDAS DE POSTGUERRA y RECUPERACIOŃ EN BOSNIA Y HERZEGOVINA – Como consecuencia de la guerra, Bosnia se tuvo que enfrentar con las atrocidades que habı´ an culminado en la matanza de miles de personas. Adema´s, la inestabilidad polı´ tica y el subdesarrollo econo´mico resultantes se complicaron con las mu´ltiples transiciones que el paı´ s vivio´ desde la guerra. Como consecuencia, el proceso de cicatrizacioń de heridas y reconciliacioń sigue siendo un desafı´ o. Los jo´venes de diferentes grupos e´tnicos siguen viviendo separadamente y luchan por mantener la esperanza despue´s de haber presenciado tantos anõs de estancamiento. Este papel conceptualiza un marco de desarrollo participativo para la juventud, delineado para reforzar la experiencia educativa y el compromiso cı´ vico activo de jo´venes bosnios de tres grupos e´tnicos, fomentando ası´ el cambio en las comunidades y la cicatrizacioń de las heridas de post-guerra a trave´s del aprendizaje creativo y la comunicacioń no violenta. El programa propuesto tiene el objetivo de capacitarlos para explorar los acontecimientos de su historia compartida, desafiar su futuro comuń dando la cara a sus experiencias personales de guerra, previas a la guerra y de postguerra, y verse a sı´ mismos como participantes legı´ timos del proceso de desarrollo comunitario.

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Engaging Youth in Community Development

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The problem in brief In the aftermath of the Bosnian war the country has been challenged with the task of responding to the collective atrocities and destruction that took place from 1992 to 1995. Despite its ethnic and religious communities’ history of intermingling their public and private lives (Bosnian Muslims: 41%, Bosnian Croats: 17%, and Bosnian Serbs: 31%), Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered from a most brutal and destructive war, which was to determine its recent history of violence and genocide. The 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement stopped the killing and initiated peacekeeping and development operations. In 2007, almost twelve years after the official termination of the war, there are still many visible and invisible scars from the recent collective violence. As a result of ethnic divisions, there is little communication between the two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republica Serbska. The country is still politically unstable and economically undeveloped, while the process of healing and reconciliation is a challenge that only very few individuals, civic groups or NGOs are undertaking. The youth – defined by the United Nations General Assembly in the framework of International Youth Year in 1985 as those persons falling between the ages of 15 and 24 years – are playing an increasingly significant role in shaping the future of this ‘‘wounded’’ country and in assuming the responsibility of greater humanity needed in order for its people to survive and become reconciled. Unfortunately, many young professionals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, like their colleagues in most parts of the Balkan region, feel isolated in their desire to contribute in some way to their own society. As a consequence, many of them are leaving the country in search of places that will provide them with more adequate education or, for those already educated, that will acknowledge and appreciate their knowledge and skills. Between 1996 and 2001 alone, some 92,000 young adults left the country, while 62% of those remaining said that they too would leave if they had an opportunity to do so (UNDP 2002). These statistics do not bode well for the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina, given that educated young people are Bosnia and Herzegovina’s only chance to escape from gradually sliding ‘‘down the scale of human development’’ (ibid.). The United

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Nations’ report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (ibid.), cautions that the only alternative to engaging youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina is ‘‘losing them.’’ Post-war context Civil society is often understood to play a critical part in influencing the process of democratization and affecting the political system. Today, Bosnia and Herzegovina is faced with a complex task and responsibility: it must rebuild its civil society if it is to ensure its own survival and growth. Among the core components of any civil society are local institutions and civically engaged young adults, but the readiness and ability of Bosnian youths to act on their civic duties is very much in question. Although the notion of civil society has been greatly theorized by many authors, ‘‘a diverse civil society is often envisaged as an arena where tolerance for others is achieved through exchange, dialogue and compromise... and it can provide the foundation for sustaining a viable post-war democratic transition’’ (Belloni 2000). In Bosnia and Herzegovina, ‘‘civil society, however, remains weak and divided’’ and ‘‘the international community’s idealized conception of civil society differs dramatically from the actual conditions in which Bosnian civic groups and organizations function’’ (Belloni 2000). The groups particularly affected by the war and its post-war effects in Bosnia and Herzegovina are children and youth of all ethnic backgrounds. Having experienced atrocities, violence and pain, along with extremely difficult living conditions, young people have been severely traumatized. A critical step in the process of healing and post-war recovery yet remains: to address the psycho-social needs of young people appropriately, help them to regain self-confidence and confidence in the future of their country, and to support them in envisioning their own contribution to the development of their country. On a community level, the lack of structured opportunities is a dominant theme, hence it is very important to create space for youth development programs and tap into the skills, potential and assets that those young people possess. Youth have also psycho-social needs related to care, support, understanding, compassion and guidance which are particularly relevant as they move from childhood to adulthood. On an individual level, youth often lack positive role models, especially young men in conflict-affected countries (La Clava, Clert and Lytle 2004), a fact that is also very much in evidence in Bosnia. Since youth policy development is in its infancy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as is the development of the country as a whole, the focus of youth programs should be placed on community-based approaches, whereby youth should be regarded as legitimate agents for change and key assets for community development and social change.


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Youth development in Bosnia and Herzegovina Living in turbulent communities During the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a great number of the country’s youth lived in an exceptionally toxic environment: many suffered traumatic experiences such as losing loved ones, living as refugees, being uprooted from their homes and familiar resources, surviving shelling and witnessing violence (Obradovic et al. 1993). Garbarino, Kostelny and Barry’s (1997) study of developmental determinants for children living in disadvantaged or ‘‘toxic’’ environments across the world has shown that many of these youth are at risk for failing to develop ‘‘values that promote hard work, responsibility for one’s actions, respect, compassion and caring for others, tolerance of differences, and responsibility for one’s community.’’ According to a 1999 UNICEF report, following the war, one-third of war-affected youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina exhibited symptoms of posttraumatic stress and other psychological and physical conditions. Living in stressful, turbulent, or conflict/poverty-ridden communities robs youth of the sense of ‘‘safety, security, and hope, leaving little room for long-term aspirations and planning’’ (Bolland 2003). It also robs them of a sense of trust toward adults in their communities, who would otherwise be the ones to protect them from harm, thus adding to a lack of optimism for the future. For youth living in turbulent post-war or conflict-ridden communities, the lack of positive expectations concerning themselves, others, and their future is likely to perpetuate their already strong sense of hopelessness and lack of self-confidence about being able to use their own actions to implement a positive and meaningful change in their communities. Youth in stressful and conflict-ridden communities usually have no grounds for hope, nor do they have access to either resources or skills that would help them attain outcomes judged by the wider society as indicative of successful development (Lorion and Saltzman 1993). In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the sense of hopelessness and the lack of civic involvement among youth might be due in part to the presence of mistrust in the communities and the adults who have contributed to the devastation of the country during the last war. It may also be that youth in Bosnia feel that their ‘‘war wounds’’ may never heal, so their perception of a stable future with peace and tolerance is merely a dream unconnected in any way with the contextual realities of their everyday lives. These young people also believe that the social issues at hand defy solution: they feel no support or encouragement for genuine and spontaneous participation or the articulation of their own needs; and they witness political and cultural subordination to the state and the dominant political platform on a daily basis.

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Youth and education The pre-war educational system in Bosnia and Herzegovina centered mainly on transmission learning and lecturing with very little interaction between teachers and students. The students were passive learners who were to absorb huge amounts of information and facts which were supposed to be memorized and then reflected back to the teachers. The evaluation of knowledge was based on estimating the accuracy of the reflected information. Learning and knowledge was always linked to final results on tests and oral examinations; learning was rarely considered as a process and journey during which one is to explore, find solutions, search for information, think independently and have one’s own opinions and attitudes – principles we would find in the behaviorist and cognitive theories of learning. Free and critical thinking was not encouraged during the process of learning in schools, and was often deemed ‘‘incorrect’’ if it did not correspond with the teacher’s way of thinking. Due to large class sizes of between 30 and 40 students, teachers were rarely able to respond to the individual needs of their students. The curriculum was burdened with an accumulation of facts and figures in many courses. The ideological approach to curricula and textbooks was constantly present in the overall development of the education system as a whole, which was rigid, traditional and conservative. The relation between the teacher and the student was based on authority and fear, and the structure of curricula often insisted on linking ideological and pedagogical issues, with the emphasis being on ‘‘correct’’ interpretations and unquestioning acceptance on the part of the students (Dizdar 1998). The outbreak of war in the newly proclaimed Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 1992 disrupted all aspects of normal and safe life in the country. The educational system was totally destroyed. By mid 1992, the education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina had practically collapsed. Many teachers and students were killed in the shelling and sniping; some were detained in concentration camps and exposed to various forms of denigration and torture. Others were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in 109 countries all over the globe. There was a general lack of basic human provisions, and educational materials were considered a ‘‘luxury’’ in comparison to food, medical supply, clothing, footwear and other such items (Dizdar 1998). Today, almost twelve years after the war, the political landscape is very complex and it is extremely difficult to provide a unified, common educational framework in which young people – the country’s future leaders – can be prepared for their civic roles. The country consists of ten federated cantons, one republic, and one district, each with its own educational system. Within the republic there are two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republica Serbska, each with its own educational


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agenda, making it difficult for youth to learn responsible citizenship and to engage in building a unified country. Young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina have not been taught how to become involved in society, or why it is important to be involved; they were never encouraged to be active and to think critically, nor were they ever informed of their rights and opportunities. Furthermore, their government signally failed to provide any of the conditions and resources needed for them to activate these rights and opportunities. The question arises as to whether anyone has the right to criticize these young people for their passivity and lack of initiative. Can they themselves be deemed responsible for their passive stance and fervent desire to leave the country given that they were never offered any chance to learn differently or to receive the resources to create projects that meet their needs? To what extent will young people be inhibited by the fear of expressing themselves and their ideas in the presence of the external authority if they have not been encouraged to think critically, take initiatives, and were never valued for the ideas and individual knowledge that each of them brought into the classroom? How much time should be spent building their self-esteem and selfconfidence while capitalizing on group dynamics and group learning? How does the shift from the ‘‘old pattern’’ to the new one occur and how long does it take for deeply-embedded messages to change and become accepted? These are some of the questions that should guide the process of developing and preparing youth programs in the Bosnian context, all of which require special attention and consideration. If the educational system has not focused on exchanging ideas but dictating them; if to educate has meant to lecture with no opportunity to debate or discuss; if teaching has consisted of ‘‘working on’’ rather than ‘‘working with’’ students and making them subject to an order to which they must adhere; if learning means silently accepting and storing away formulas and information, then the question is also whether authentic thought or individual critical consciousness is at all possible under such conditions. By trying to understand the causes of youth’s passivity, we may be able to recognize the depth of their problems and the circumstances in which Bosnian youth have lived and developed. We may also be able to recognize their potentials and assets and identify areas of the Bosnian system in which significant and meaningful action may be taken with the aim of meeting the numerous needs of youth.

A framework for fostering post-war healing and recovery by involving youth in community development The major framework dimensions Educational changes are the only reliable means of ensuring quality social cohesion and the country’s ongoing development. It is vital to acknowledge

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that economic recovery alone will not be sufficient to secure the success of the Bosnian transition and post-war healing and recovery. One critical element of the peace-building process and one that can significantly contribute to long-term peace and stability in the country is support that enables young people with the relevant skills, knowledge, and confidence to play an active role in shaping a democratic and peaceful society. Young people can be assisted in developing these skills through a speciallydesigned peace education and civic engagement curriculum, using interactive, process-oriented and youth-centered methods of teaching, and with the ultimate goal of contributing to post-war healing and fostering pluralistic, multi-ethic understanding and dialogue. We need to foster intercultural education as outlined in works such as Batelaan and Coomans (1999), or Council of Europe Document (2003). The proposed framework for engaging youth in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina uses modules from international organizations that have based their programs on the following major conceptual frameworks: community youth development, peace education, civic engagement and participatory action research, all of which will be further discussed in each module individually. MODULE 1: Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO) Facing History and Ourselves is an international organization that has developed a model offering teachers and others in the community opportunities to study the past, explore new ideas and approaches, and develop practical models for civic engagement that link history to the challenges of an increasingly interconnected world and the choices that young people make daily. Facing History students learn that passivity, apathy and indifference stifle hope. They discover how violence destroys families and nations. They seek opportunities to confront the isolation that fuels the misunderstandings, myths, and misinformation they have about the ‘‘other.’’ Facing History helps students find answers to their questions. How can we prevent violence and end racism and anti-Semitism? How do we find the courage to protect human rights so that ‘‘never again’’ truly means that we have learned something by studying the events that led to the Second World War, one of the most violent times in the 20th century? Although the Bosnian students have personally experienced that the precept of ‘‘never again’’ did not apply to the realities of their lives during the recent war, the FHAO approach can challenge them to discuss some of those questions by analyzing their personal histories and stories and by opening up a dialogue that encourages them to compare their own experiences with the histories of other countries. Students learn about the values of democracy by examining a particular historical moment in which democracy crumbled. By learning how society’s demise was caused largely by the choices made by the citizens, students begin to understand the value of making choices. Integrating some of the elements of Facing History and Ourselves


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model helps students think in depth about what constitutes civic participation and democracy, and what responsibilities and choices we have as individual citizens whose decisions affect societal change. The existence of FHAO projects in countries worldwide that were affected by a history of war and genocide (Rwanda, Ireland, South Africa, Germany) will open up opportunities for students in this proposed project to learn from their experiences, establish parallels with recent Bosnian history and to build networks which can strengthen the development and sustainability of this program in future. Students must be aware not only of the triumphs of history, but also of its failures, tragedies and humiliations. Facing History believes that students must be trusted to examine history in all of its complexities, including its legacies of prejudice and discrimination, resilience and courage. This trust encourages young people to develop a voice in the conversations of their peer culture, as well as in the critical discussions and debates of their community and nation. The success of the Facing History program and its impact on students and teachers have been thoroughly analyzed and documented. The program evaluation process has demonstrated that Facing History is a model educational intervention which (i) provides young people with a vocabulary for discussing critical issues while widening perspectives; (ii) increases empathy; (iii) creates an awareness of choices and opportunities; and (iv) prepares students for responsible citizenship. Based on the principle that educators are adult learners who can continue to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding of their roles as teachers over time, the Facing History program also offers a model of successful professional development for teachers whose elements have broad interdisciplinary applications. MODULE 2: Nonviolent Communication (NVC) In light of the importance of healing and peace building in a country that has been devastated by war, Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a vital component in the program design strategy. The purpose of NVC (Rosenberg 2003a, b) is to strengthen one’s ability to inspire compassion in others and to respond compassionately to other people and to ourselves. NVC guides us to reframe how we express ourselves and hear others by focusing our consciousness on what we are observing, feeling, needing and requesting. When we focus on clarifying what is being observed, felt and needed, rather than on diagnosing and judging, we discover the depth of our own compassion. Learning is too precious to be motivated by coercive tactics, and NVC is interested in learning that is motivated by a reverence for life, by a desire to learn skills, to better contribute to our own well-being and the well-being of others. It is like the dialogue that Freire, drawing on Martin Buber, sees as evidence of a new attitude in education and teaching: ‘‘Teaching the purely technical aspect of the procedure is not difficult; the difficulty lies rather in

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the creation of a new attitude – that of dialogue, so absent in our own upbringing and education. The coordinators must be converted to dialogue in order to carry out education rather than domestication. Dialogue is an I-Thou relationship and thus necessarily a relationship between two Subjects’’ (Freire 1973). Through its emphasis on listening to ourselves as well as others, NVC fosters respect, attentiveness, and empathy, while also engendering a mutual and heartfelt desire to give. Its non-intellectualism is highlighted by its emphasis on exploring the emotional aspects of the human experience, and the objective of NVC workshops is also to allow for some kind of ‘‘common ground’’ to be found onto which the tremendous and often contradictory scope of participants’ experiences can be projected. The use of NVC encourages each participant to speak of his or her own hurts and pains without necessarily measuring them against others. As the name implies, this approach to communication emphasizes compassion as the motivation for action rather than fear, guilt, shame, blame, coercion, threat or justification for punishment. This process of sharing one’s human vulnerability can assist in unveiling preconceptions regarding both perpetrators and victims, and can expose at least part of the ‘‘invisible zone’’ of human interaction, thus providing an insight into the complexities and consequences of the war, and the damage it has inflicted on individual people without blurring the larger social realities. The overriding goal of the workshops that teach NVC is to enhance the participants’ awareness of the complexity of the Bosnian issue, and to develop their ability to take a multidimensional view of themselves, others in the group, different identities, and the complexity of emotional responses to the realities we live in. The workshops also aim to develop self-awareness and feelings of self-worth; working through the fears of other people and the feelings of loss that derive from the recent past and the post-war reality. The workshops also aim to provide a significant, ‘‘hands-on’’ opportunity for teachers and students to gain an understanding of and share knowledge about the social and psychological dilemmas that shape their lives in the post-war country. They encourage the compassionate listening that is essential for healing and professional development to take place, whilst simultaneously confirming the legitimacy of each participant’s position by empowering them to tell their stories, share their feelings and know their needs and thereby creating a space where dialogue is possible. The ‘‘border zones,’’ which Gloria Anzaldua (1987, in Feuerverger 2001) describes as ‘‘multicultural spaces, sometimes called ‘‘common ground,’’ where disparate cultures meet’’ are designed to offer ‘‘a non-threatening, non-evaluative setting and to foster a sense of community and respect for differences in the midst of violent conflict. Through the sharing of pedagogical experiences and personal, as well as professional stories, a new paradigm for peacemaking is thus created’’ (ibid.).


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MODULE 3: Growing up in Cities (GUIC) The proposed youth development framework again uses a participatory action research (PAR) approach in planning and implementing the overall program. Participation, in general terms refers to the active involvement of local communities in the decisions that affect them and it is based on the criteria outlined by Driskell (2002) as follows: (a) Development must, first and foremost, be in the interest of local residents, including young people; (b) People who live in the area being planned have the most intimate knowledge of the area and its issues (and young people have the knowledge and perspectives that are different from those of adults); (c) The people who will be most affected by decisions have the most at stake and therefore have the right to participate in making those decisions. The benefits of young people’s participation in the planning and implementation stages of the project are numerous and include: • Participating in creative and challenging activities; • Looking at and understanding the local, post-war community and environment in new ways; • Encountering others and creating a space for remembrance and healing; • Learning about social change, democracy and tolerance through practical experience; • Developing a network of new friends, including community role models and resource people; • Developing new skills and knowledge and applying the skills on NVC in practice; • Helping to create positive change in the local environment and other aspects of the local community, as well as contributing to the process of reconciliation and post-war recovery; • Developing a sense of environmental stewardship, civic responsibility, youth leadership and peace activism; • Developing confidence in one’s ability to accomplish the defined goals; • Strengthening self-esteem, identity and a sense of pride. The participatory methods used in the proposed program are as follows (adapted from Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth, Driskell 2002): • Informal observations – provide valuable information about specific events and activities in the community and are recorded in project journals alongside daily comments on the project’s progress. • Interviews – represent a useful information-gathering tool that offers a systematic means of gaining input from young people, as well as an opportunity for one-on-one interaction.

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Figure 1. Facing history activity on memorials. The students were invited to present their own artistic view of reconciliation and tolerance in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Growing up in Bosnia project, Summer 2006)

• Drawings – provide an insight into what matters most and least to youth; represent a tool for analyzing what young people value and how they perceive their communities; tell a story about the history of the place and participants’ personal lives; build a visual database of youth’s perspective of their histories and local communities; encourage participants to express their emotions through colors and symbols (Figure 1). • Story telling – helps to create a ‘‘safe space’’ for participants’ story by listening to and supporting the person who is speaking. In this regard, ‘‘safety’’ refers to the fact that participants and their stories are afforded a space in which they are not subject to criticism or attacks regarding what they choose to say. In this safe space, participants can talk about their life experiences, memories of the recent war and post-war situation and how these have affected their lives. They are encouraged to explore the emotional aspects of the memories that are still alive within them (Figure 2). • Role-play, drama and puppetry – allow young people to communicate their personal stories, ideas, opinions and perspectives in a non-threatening way; communicate issues and ideas to a larger audience (Figure 3). • Photographs by young people – offer a valuable tool for data gathering and story telling; provide the basis for participants to discuss their local communities and history; are an effective means of initiating communication with the wider community by means of exhibitions of photographs in galleries. • Focus groups and small group discussions – engage a small group in a discussion on local community issues; enables an understanding of


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Figure 2. Sharing our personal histories (Growing up in Bosnia project, Summer 2006)

Figure 3. Making our shared story Theatre performance based on the students’ personal histories and stories (Growing up in Bosnia project, Summer 2006)

community knowledge, ideas, attitudes, and feelings; help to develop a constructive group dialogue and build consensus; enable action to be taken in response to the issues identified. • Creating a group memory – a ‘‘wall graphic’’ for recording a discussion of a larger group allowing everyone to see the summary on the group’s discussion in a single space.

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• Field trips – visiting different historical sites within and outside the country helps young people gain a better insight into some of the local youth initiatives that have made significant contributions to their communities; young people learn from one another by exchanging experiences and stories, thus helping one another understand how recent history has affected their own lives and what they can do to bring about change in the aftermath of the war. • Workshops and community events – gather input from a large cross-section of the community; engage a large group in a discussion on local issues; enables an understanding of community knowledge, ideas, attitudes, and feelings; communicate young people’s views and the information they have developed to a larger community; broaden the dialogue on key issues and potential courses of action that can be applied within the wider community. Making young people’s participation real requires support from adults who have the power to implement change and are genuinely committed to engaging young people in this process. One of the program’s goals is to enable shared decision making, whereby young people are treated as valued partners – maximizing their power to make decisions, express their emotions and bring about change, as well as collaborate with others in the community. The curriculum Figure 4, below, shows the curriculum module of the proposed youth development program. It incorporates three of the international modules discussed above: FHAO (Facing History and Ourselves), GUIC (Growing up in Cities) and NVC (Nonviolent Communication). These modules overlap and complement one another to create the curriculum model used within the framework proposed by the Youth Center for Communication and Creative Learning (Y3CL). This is a framework designed to meet the specific needs of the Bosnian context and will be carefully adjusted to the uniqueness of the post-war communities by applying, remodeling and integrating the models which have been implemented successfully in other international projects with a similar background and set of objectives. Objectives of the program The overall objective of the program is to contribute to community development and post-war healing in the Bosnian communities by recognizing youth as legitimate participants and by empowering them as citizens to participate in the development process and the emerging democracy. The immediate objectives are: • To enable youth to voice their needs and perceptions of their communities; to encourage them to express their individual experiences and share their personal histories through various modes of artistic expression (theater, drawing, story telling, and photography);

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Figure 4. Curriculum module, Youth Center for Communication and Creative Learning (Y3CL) FHAO

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GUIC

NVC

• To enhance youth leadership and civic engagement potential by recognizing youth as legitimate participants in the planning, evaluation and implementation of projects; • To provide a space and an opportunity for youth from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and communities to meet one other; to raise the youth’s awareness of the complex reality of relations between the different ethnic groups and to enable them to express their feelings and stand up to this complexity, thus contributing to post-war healing and recovery; • To encourage youth to participate in designing the curriculum for the proposed and future programs; • To deepen the participants’ familiarity with and understanding of both their own identities and those of the ‘‘other side’’; • To provide rich resource materials and training that will encourage different ways of learning about citizenship, the values of democracy, Nonviolent communication, participation and choices, community development, and participatory action research. The project’s relevance for youth in Bosnia The program discussed in this paper – guided by the community youthdevelopment framework and supported by the conceptual articulations of civic and peace education, and a participatory action research approach – is

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an ongoing process. This paper attempts to highlight the seriousness of youth issues specific to the post-war Bosnian context by revealing the complexity of the youth arena and by presenting the proactive approaches of which adult educators should be aware when working with youth. Engaging youth and harnessing it as a resource involves aiming primarily for an increase in organizational effectiveness and community development and not merely for young people’s personal growth and development. This thus enables their growth and development to become a by-product of the approach rather than its main objective. This paper tries to shed more light on the importance of viewing young people as resources and assets, rather than as problems to be resolved. This perspective can then guide long-term strategies and solutions, while at the same time recognizing and encouraging youth to become fully aware of their own skills, creativity and potential as citizens. Education is founded on faith in mankind and on the belief that young people not only can but should discuss the problems of their country, their school, their world, their families and their work. The community youthdevelopment program proposed herein is based on the premise that education should always have room to analyze reality; it should be able to unfold to full effect in a context free of pain and fear, and it should lead people to adopt a new attitude towards their problems. If we cast off our fears and refuse to close our eyes to the full range of complicated, complex and sensitive issues that Bosnian youth are facing more than a decade after the war, we may be able to respond more proactively to the urgent need to build trust within the Bosnian communities – and working to heal and nurture this damaged trust will increase the likelihood of adults and youth joining ranks to address communal issues together. We could focus initially on the Bosnian communities that are in most urgent need of civic engagement programs, and in which the obstacles to the civic engagement of youth – both at the inter-personal and intrapersonal levels – are likely to be the greatest. For most youth, however, civic engagement first and foremost entails undergoing a process of personal transformation and growth, and Bosnian adult educators need to take responsibility for helping youth through this process. Adults must work to help young people change their negative attitudes towards themselves, voice their needs, and develop their skills as they improve their own lives and the lives of their communities. Adults must also allow the youth to express the desperation and helplessness that they feel with regard to their roles in the local communities, as well as their present and future perspectives. Furthermore, there is a need to challenge young people’s belief system while respecting their forms of self-expression and their ways of viewing and understanding their own past, present and future, as well as those of their communities and the societies within which their own personal histories and lives are embedded.


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Young people in Bosnia should be offered a safe place in which to let their knowledge run free – a place where they can give expression to their stifled voices and thoughts, develop their analytical and critical capacities, vent their emotions, and tear down inner barriers to release their energy and enable them to take action. Although an approach of this kind has a certain artistic quality all of its own that does not permit rigid boundaries and formulas, its sheer creativity and energy impel us to cope with our fear of the unknown in our capacity as adults and educators who are ourselves facing up to our own insecurities and challenging our own sets of values.

References Batelaan, P., and F. Coomans. 1999. The International Basis for Intercultural Education Including Anti-Racist and Human Rights Education. 2nd edn., International Association for Intercultural Education (IAIE) in Co-operation with UNESCO: International Bureau of Education (IBE) and the Council of Europe. Belloni, Roberto. 2000. Building Civil Society in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Human Rights Working Paper. Number 2. Denver: Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver. Bolland, J. M. 2003. Hopelessness and Risk Behavior Among Adolescents Living in High-Poverty Inner-City Neighborhoods. Journal of Adolescence 26: 145–158. Dizdar, S. 1998. A Development and Perspectives of Teacher Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo: Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Driskell, David. 2002. Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth: A Manual for Participation. Paris: UNESCO. Facing History and Ourselves: www.facinghistory.org. Feuerverger, Grace. 2001. Oasis of Dreams: Teaching and Learning Peace in a JewishPalestinian Village in Israel. New York/London: Routledge Falmer. Freire, Paolo. 1973. Education of Critical Consciousness. New York: Continuum. Garbarino, James, Kathleen Kostelny, and Frank Barry. 1997. Value Transmission in and Ecological Context: The High-Risk Neighborhood. In: Parenting and Children’s Internalization of Values: A Handbook of Contemporary Theory, ed. by J. E. Grusec and L. Kuczynski. New York: John Wiley & Sons. International Youth Foundation. 2002. In: What Works in Youth Participation: Case Studies from Around the World, ed. by Silvia Golombek. Available on-line at: http://www.iyfnet.org/section.cfm/31/223. La Cava, Gloria, Carine Clert, and Paula Lytle. 2004. Investing in Youth Empowerment and Inclusion: A Social Development Approach. Berghof Report 10, available on-line at: www.berghof-center.org/uploads/download/br10e.pdf. Lorion, R. P., and W. Saltzman. 1993. Children’s Exposure to Community Violence: Following a Path from Concern to Research to Action. Psychiatry 56: 55–65. Obradovic, B., V. Kanazir, and G. Zalisevskij et al.. 1993. A Threat to Mental Health of Children and Young People in Exile. Psihijat dan 25(1–2): 91–98.

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Rosenberg, Marshall B. 2003a. Teaching Children Compassionately. Puddle Dancer Press. Rosenberg, Marshall B. 2003b. Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. 2nd edn., Puddle Dancer Press. United Nations. Peace Education: Framework and Rationale – United Nations Cyberschoolbus. Available on-line at: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/peace/index. asp. UNDP. 2002. National Human Development 2002 Report: Bosnia and Herzegovina. Accessed on-line at: http://www.undp.ba/publications/NHDR2002ENG.pdf. UNICEF. 1999. Humanitarian Response to Children: Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The author Larisa Kasumagic is an educator from Bosnia and Herzegovina who co-founded the local, non-governmental, non-for-profit organization ‘‘Sezam’’, which provided psychosocial care for war-traumatized children and their families and was to influence her professional development. She graduated from Sarajevo University in 2001 and two years later was awarded the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship to attend Cornell University, in Ithaca, NY. She was to prolong her stay to complete her Masters of Professional Studies in International Development and Education. In the past year, Ms Kasumagic has worked as a Project Manager on the team organizing the XIII World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, and is currently teaching a course on the Methodology of Teaching English as a Foreign Language to students in the Faculty of Philosophy at Sarajevo University. Contact address: Faculty of Philosophy, Department of English Language and Literature, Sarajevo University, Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina. E-mail: lk92@ cornell.edu; [email protected].

LE « HARCE`LEMENT ENTRE PAIRS » A` L’EĆOLE E´LE´MENTAIRE TCHE`QUE: UNE QUESTION D’INTERPRE´TATION MAGDALENA KOHOUT-DIAZ


Re´sume´ – L’article remet en question la pre´tendue expansion du harce`lement entre pairs dans l’ećole e´le´mentaire tche`que, observeé par les adultes. Une enqueˆte sur le climat scolaire a en effet re´ve´le´ que les e´le`ves jugent le climat de l’ećole globalement positif et leurs relations bonnes. Cependant, comparativement a` la France, ils ont un comportement agressif et impoli envers les adultes. Cette contradiction apparente est lieé au conflit entre les normes e´ducatives de l’ancien re´gime (controˆle du comportement et conformisme) et les nouveaux paradigmes socioećonomiques (esprit critique, libre entreprise). L’opinion publique, les me´dias et certaines recherches peu scientifiques amplifient le pheńome`ne du harce`lement entre pairs (sˇikana), lui plaquant une conception importeé (school bullying). Ceci permet d’ e´viter la mise en cause de la responsabilite´ des adultes, de l’ećole et des chercheurs, de justifier la se´gre´gation des e´le`ves socioculturellement ou ećonomiquement de´favorise´s (les Roms) et de faciliter l’insertion socioećonomique du pays dans l’Union Europeénne en de´gageant des proble´matiques e´ducatives consensuelles. Abstract – ‘‘PEER BULLYING’’ IN CZECH PRIMARY SCHOOLS: A QUESTION OF INTERPRETATION—This article questions adults’ reports of an alleged increase in peer bullying at Czech primary schools. A survey on the school climate revealed that the pupils see it as a generally positive one and consider their relationships to be good. However, compared to France, their behaviour towards the adults is aggressive and rude. This apparent contradiction is linked to a conflict between the educational norms carried over from the old regime (behavioural control and conformism) and the new socio-economic paradigms (critical thinking and free enterprise). Public opinion, the media and a number of scientifically-questionable studies have drawn attention to the phenomenon of peer bullying (sˇikana), and applied an imported concept to describe it (school bullying). This makes it possible to avoid questioning the part played by the adults, the school and the researchers; justify segregating pupils from socially, culturally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds (Roma); and facilitate the country’s socio-economic inclusion in the European Union by highlighting educational problems about whose nature there is general agreement. Zusammenfassung – ‘‘KIDSMOBBING’’ IN TSCHECHISCHEN GRUNDSCHULEN: EINE FRAGE DER INTERPRETATION – Dieser Artikel hinterfragt Berichte von Erwachsenen u¨ber die angebliche Zunahme von Mitschu¨lermobbing in tschechischen Grundschulen. Eine Umfrage ergab, dass das Schulklima von den Schu¨lern als im allgemeinen positiv und ihre Beziehungen untereinander als gut betrachtet wurden. Im Vergleich zu Frankreich ist ihr Verhalten Erwachsenen gegenu¨ber allerdings aggressiv und unverscha¨mt. Dieser offensichtliche Widerspruch steht in Verbindung zu dem Konflikt, der durch den U¨bergang vom alten Regime (Verhaltenskontrolle und Konformismus) zum neuen sozioo¨konomischen Paradigma (kritisches Denken und freies S. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_7

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Unternehmertum) hervorgerufen wird. Die o¨ffentliche Meinung, die Medien und etliche wissenschaftlich fragwu¨rdige Studien nahmen das Pha¨nomen Mitschu¨lermobbing (sˇikana) aufs Korn und beschrieben es mit Hilfe importierter Konzepte (school bullying). Auf diese Weise weicht man der Frage nach der Rolle der Erwachsenen, der Schule und der Lehrer in diesem Spiel aus; so rechtfertigt man die Segregation der Schu¨ler mit unterschiedlichen sozialen, kulturellen oder wirtschaftlich benachteiligten Hintergru¨nden (Rom); und so kann man die sozioo¨konomische Aufnahme des Landes in die Europaïsche Union dadurch erleichtern, dass man ein Schlaglicht auf Erziehungsprobleme wirft, u¨ber deren Natur allgemeines Einversta¨ndnis besteht. Resumen – ‘‘ACOSO ESCOLAR INTERPARES’’ EN ESCUELAS PRIMARIAS CHECAS: UNA CUESTIOŃ DE INTERPRETACIOŃ – Este artı´ culo cuestiona informes de adultos sobre un supuesto incremento del acoso entre iguales en las escuelas primarias de la Repu´blica Checa. Una encuesta realizada sobre el clima escolar ha revelado que los alumnos, en general, lo califican de positivo y que consideran que sus relaciones son buenas. Sin embargo, comparado con Francia, su comportamiento frente a los adultos es agresivo y rudo. Esta aparente contradiccioń esta´ relacionada con un conflicto entre las normas educativas aplicadas desde el antiguo re´gimen (control de la conducta y conformismo) y los nuevos paradigmas socioecono´micos (pensamiento crı´ tico y libre empresa). La opinioń pu´blica, los medios y una serie de estudios cuestionables desde el punto de vista cientı´ fico han conducido la atencioń hacia el feno´meno del acoso entre iguales (sˇikana) y aplicaron un concepto importado para describirlo (school bullying). Esto permite evitar el cuestionamiento del papel que juegan los adultos, la escuela y los investigadores; justifica la segregacioń de alumnos con trasfondos sociales, culturales y econo´micos desaventajados (roma), y facilita la inclusioń socioecono´mica en la Unioń Europea realzando problemas educativos sobre cuya naturaleza existe un consenso general.

Le « Harce`lement Entre Pairs » A` L’ećole Ele´mentaire Tche`que

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Le dialogue interculturel et les pays « postcommunistes » Le dialogue interculturel, requis dans la perspective d’une e´ducation au vivre ensemble dans la nouvelle configuration d’une Europe recomposeé, est un dialogue dans lequel chacun des locuteurs se pre´sente avec une identite´ marqueé par un passe´ social et politique spećifique. Dans le cas des pays dits « postcommunistes », les conditions de l’ećhange se pre´sentent a` cet e´gard d’abord comme difficiles, tant le travail de me´moire est source de divisions et de conflits (Mayer 2004). Dans le champ e´ducatif, en particulier, l’impact des fonctionnements totalitaires semble demeurer tabou. D’ailleurs, les pratiques pe´dagogiques et institutionnelles en cours sous le communisme appartiennent-elles reéllement au passe´ ? La recherche locale peine a` y re´pondre, tant les re´sistances sont importantes a` re´flećhir cette question. La situation est pourtant complexe et demande un travail d’analyse prećis, attentif. En effet, il semble que le nouvel acce`s a` des sources d’informations internationales illimiteés vient renforcer ces re´sistances, le passe´ restant inanalyse´, recouvert et masque´ par des orientations theóriques nouvelles, des interpre´tations emprunteés, quelquefois plaqueés, et qui ne font que favoriser la perpe´tuation des fonctionnements anciens (conformisme, se´lection et se´gre´gation). C’est ce que nous avons constate´ a` l’occasion d’une recherche meneé en Re´publique tche`que sur le climat scolaire (Kohout-Diaz 2006). L’ećole y est re´puteé policeé mais, paradoxalement, e´merge depuis les anneés 90, la proble´matique massive du harce`lement entre pairs (sˇikana) a` l’ećole. Nous avons choisi d’en ve´rifier la pre´valence et les mećanismes. Apre`s avoir situe´ chronologiquement l’apparition du pheńome`ne au regard de la chute du communisme, nous nous questionnerons sur la signification prećise du terme de sˇikana et sur son e´tymologie qui en de´montrent les contours flous sur le terrain. Nous distinguerons harce`lement et violence scolaire, nous situant dans une approche climatologique (Gottfredson and Gottfredson 1985; Debarbieux 1996; Grecmanova´ 2003).

Le harce`lement entre pairs, un pheńome`ne nouveau a` l’ećole tche`que ? Lorsque nous voulons nous informer sur la violence scolaire en Re´publique tche`que, le premier terme que nous rencontrons est celui de sˇikana, qui de´signe le harce`lement entre pairs, essentiellement a` l’ećole ou a` l’armeé. Nous assistons, depuis 1985, a` son e´mergence comme objet social, objet d’e´tudes et de recherches, me´diatique, objet d’enjeux politiques et ećonomiques c’esta`-dire a` la construction pluridisciplinaire du pheńome`ne, de´laisse´ avant 1989, comme l’explique le principal spećialiste tche`que : Dans les anneés 70 le pheńome`ne n’existait pas chez nous, ni de manie`re officielle, ni de manie`re non officielle. (...) Je conside`re que le premier repe`re visible est

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l’anneé 1985. C’est alors, pour la premie`re fois, que le the`me de la sˇ ikana a pris une ampleur me´diatique. (...) Ensuite, furent traduits des textes me´thodologiques anglais, intitule´s « Nous luttons contre la sˇ ikana » et, a` la suite, furent publie´s trois ouvrages de nos auteurs portant sur la sˇ ikana : L’agressivite´ et la sˇ ikana parmi les enfants du Dr Rˇı´ cˇan (1995), et Le monde cache´ de la sˇ ikana dans les ećoles (1997, 2000) et La douleur de la sˇ ikana (2001) par le Dr Kola´rˇ [l’orateur]. (...) (Kola´rˇ 2004, p. 10).

La re´ve´lation du pheńome`ne se situe autour des anneés qui ont vu la chute du communisme et l’expansion des e´tudes a lieu suite a` la traduction d’ouvrages anglais sur le harce`lement (Il s’agit essentiellement des travaux de Smith et Sharp 1995) et de´finit donc le pheńome`ne par rapport a` la transformation politique et ećonomique qu’a connue ce pays depuis 1989. Ces premiers constats sont autant de motifs pour la recherche ici pre´senteé : ve´rifier s’il y a de la violence dans les ećoles e´le´mentaires tche`ques et de´terminer la (ou les) forme(s) qu’elle prend. Sa forme pre´valente est-ce vraiment le harce`lement entre pairs ? Si oui, dans quelles proportions et pour quelles raisons ? Sinon, y-a-t’il de la violence et sous quelle autre forme ? Quelles interpre´tations reçoit-elle dans la socie´te´ actuelle ? Sˇikana, un terme importe´ Le terme de sˇikana est e´troitement lie´ a` la situation sociale et ideólogique de la Re´volution de Velours et de la transition. Il a e´te´ employe´ pour la premie`re fois par le psychiatre pragois Prˇ ı´ hoda qui, le premier, « a ose´ e´voquer », avant l’anneé 1989, « ce que tous savaient mais que tous taisaient » c’est-a`-dire l’existence du harce`lement dans l’armeé socialiste (Rˇı´ cˇan 1995, p. 25). Le contexte d’e´mergence meˆle donc une interpre´tation psychiatrique et une analyse politique de l’histoire. Sˇikana de´signe non seulement le harce`lement entre pairs mais aussi la violence institutionnelle de la loi du silence et de la censure. A propos de la violence scolaire, dans les milieux professionnels de l’enseignement, le terme anglais de school bullying ou mobbing est aussi prononce´ fre´quemment. Il est toutefois difficile de prećiser de quels types de victimations il s’agit : psychiques, physiques, morales ? Une certaine confusion re`gne dans les esprits ; le mot tche`que de na´silı´ [violence] n’est pas applique´ a` la situation scolaire. Sˇikana, qui peut aussi eˆtre traduit par brimades, vexations ou intimidations (Vlasa´k 2002), apparaıˆ t comme un terme scientifique, technique, spećialise´ parceque importe´, e´tranger. Il signifie l’ouverture a` l’Occident. Analyse e´tymologique : sˇikana, chicane ? Lorsque nous interrogeons l’e´tymologie de sˇikana, nous sommes renvoye´s au verbe français de chicaner (Rˇı´ cˇan 1995, p. 25, Walterova´ 2004, T2, p. 342), dont l’ideé est de « se disputer pour des ve´tilles (...,) soulever des difficulte´s


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pour embrouiller une affaire judiciaire. (...) Il est passe´ dans l’usage commun avec le sens de se quereller sur une petite chose et (...) se chamailler. » (Rey 1992).Il est inte´ressant de constater que dans certaines publications scientifiques tche`ques, cette e´tymologie est quelque peu ameńageé. Ainsi, Walterova´ ećrit que « chicaner » de´signe en français le fait « d’importuner de façon malveillante, de torturer, de poursuivre mais aussi un attachement bureaucratique a` la lettre des prescriptions lorsque, par exemple, les employe´s laissent les citoyens attendre sans raison, exigent des tampons inutiles etc. » (Walterova´ 2004, T2, p. 342). Na´silı´ [violence] est alors traduit par « agression » [agrese] dont la sˇikana [harce`lement] serait une espe`ce. La violence devient agression et le harce`lement une sorte de persećution bureaucratique et/ou torture, contrastant avec l’usage commun du terme en français. Ainsi, la violence scolaire est re´duite au harce`lement entre pairs et paraıˆ t confuse. Une certaine minoration des faits semble inscrite dans le terme meˆme qui a e´te´ choisi pour la de´signer, si nous nous en tenons a` sa signification française. La violence a` l’ećole, ce ne sont donc que des enfants qui se chamaillent sur de petites choses sans importance ? Nous allons voir qu’au contraire, le concept se charge, dans son nouvel emploi, d’une grande intensite´ et offre une surface de projection a` l’expression de violences morales spećifiques du re´gime totalitaire. Au-dela` de l’invitation a` ve´rifier la situation sur le terrain de manie`re scientifique, la sˇikana pose d’embleé la question de la possibilite´ de comparer les pheńome`nes et les termes choisis pour les de´signer. Il existe une importation significative de termes e´trangers dans la langue tche`que, en particulier dans la langue scientifique (nous trouvons une quantite´ relativement importante de termes français, alors que cette langue n’est pas beaucoup parleé). Est-ce pour des raisons de spećialisation ou par un effet persistant de fascination pour ce qui est appele´ « l’Occident » ? Quoi qu’il en soit, elle comporte des enjeux de pouvoir puisque avec les termes, ce sont des ideólogies et des valeurs qui sont importeés ; cela vaut pour la langue courante mais aussi, de manie`re tre`s significative (en termes de qualite´ mais aussi de quantite´), pour la langue scientifique. Harce`lement entre pairs a` l’ećole, violence et climat scolaire La recherche pre´senteé porte sur le climat scolaire et la victimation a` l’ećole ; elle n’est pas restreinte a` l’e´tude du harce`lement entre pairs mais examine d’autres formes de violence. Qu’entendons-nous par « violence » ? Le proble`me de la de´finition de la violence est lie´ au fait que ce concept est tre`s he´te´roge`ne. Il n’est pas possible d’en donner une de´finition univoque. D’un autre coˆte´, force est de constater que nous travaillons avec une de´finition implicite nećessaire ; sinon, aucune recherche ne peut avoir lieu. Mais le mode`le doit rester ouvert et e´volutif, non seulement relativement au contexte historique et politique ou` s’effectue l’e´tude mais aussi relativement au mode`le theórique choisi suite a` l’analyse des facteurs contextuels. Cela est

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particulie`rement vrai dans les pays postcommunistes ou` la tentation est grande d’appliquer des mode`les theóriques inadapte´s (Mink 2004). La de´finition de la violence a donc, dans ce travail, le statut d’une de´finition provisoire et ouverte. Nous entendons par violence tout usage de la force, psychique et/ou physique. De ce point de vue, elle est nećessairement relative au jugement de ceux qui la qualifient comme telle, c’est–a`-dire les victimes. Je ne peux dire a` la place de l’autre qu’il s’est senti victime d’un abus/de l’usage de la force. La re´duire a` l’observable (re´duit quelquefois au visible), a` l’objectif, au mesurable de l’acte serait nier l’existence de la violence psychique. Nous ne sommes pas sans ignorer les difficulte´s que soule`ve une telle position, en termes e´piste´mologiques, politiques, institutionnels et theóriques (Prairat 2003, p. 106). L’adoption d’une de´finition large nous paraıˆ t pourtant le preálable nećessaire de la construction ulte´rieure par les chercheurs d’une de´finition plus prećise et rigoureuse, ade´quate au contexte spećifique de l’enqueˆte. L’identification de la violence scolaire au harce`lement entre pairs [school bullying] a une histoire (Blaya 2006) qui s’origine en Europe du Nord, avec les travaux de D. Olweus (Olweus 1993). Cette approche s’articule plutoˆt avec une e´tiologie formuleé en termes de facteurs de risques et troubles du comportement ou comportements antisociaux c’est-a`-dire avec une approche psychologique des difficulte´s. Le lien entre violence et climat scolaire s’articule avec une autre approche, e´tablie fondamentalement par Gottfredson and Gottfredson (1985), reliant la victimation a` des e´le´ments conjoncturels comme l’e´tat des relations, la qualite´ des rapports a` la loi et aux grands champs d’action de l’ećole comme la pe´dagogie (Fotinos 2006, p. 25). C’est dans cette orientation que se situe notre interpre´tation. La situation des recherches locales sur la sˇikana : une e´pide´mie inquie´tante ? Parmi les principales caracte´ristiques de l’abord local de la violence scolaire, nous relevons la pre´ponde´rance de l’approche psychothe´rapeutique et spirituelle ou morale ainsi qu’une organisation de la re´flexion collective autour de travaux d’un seul auteur (Kola´rˇ , M.), re´fe´rence omnipre´sente, signe sans doute de la difficulte´ persistante des sciences sociales tche`ques a` se relever de la pe´riode dogmatique du communisme (Mink 2004). L’e´le´ment pivot autour duquel s’organise la construction du pheńome`ne dans l’espace public est un chiffre, avance´ de manie`re inaugurale et rećurrente a` propos du harce`lement scolaire en Re´publique tche`que : 41% des e´le`ves des ećoles e´le´mentaires se dećlarent victimes. Nous allons dećrire cette enqueˆte de manie`re assez prećise car c’est elle qui fonde reéllement l’interpre´tation e´pide´mique. Elle me´rite a` ce titre une e´tude de´tailleé. Dans la seconde moitie´ de l’anneé 2001 s’est en effet de´rouleé en Re´publique tche`que la premie`re enqueˆte nationale concernant le climat scolaire et la


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pre´valence de la sˇikana a` l’ećole e´le´mentaire. Le projet d’enqueˆte e´manait du Ministe`re de l’Education, de la Jeunesse et des Sports (MSˇMT) et son objectif e´tait de « rendre compte du climat dans les ećoles mettant en place le programme europeén « Ecole saine », de comparer les re´sultats avec ceux des ećoles-te´moin et de rendre compte de la pre´valence de la sˇ ikana pour savoir si les ećoles mettant en place le programme « Ecole saine » prote`gent les e´le`ves. » (Havlı´ nova´, Kola´rˇ 2001). L’enqueˆte visait donc a` ve´rifier l’efficacite´ du programme tche`que « Ećole saine », adapte´ a` partir du projet britannique The Healthy School, conçu par I.Young et T.Williams entre 1989 et 1991. Les finalite´s que l’investigation se donne a priori le´gitiment donc, a` elles seules, une remise en cause se´rieuse de son caracte`re scientifique, d’autant plus que les e´valuateurs sont eux meˆmes e´galement concepteurs de programmes de lutte contre le harce`lement (Kola´rˇ 2001). Une approche me´dicale et sociale de la sante´ s’y meˆle dans l’objectif de savoir si le programme « Ećole saine » contribue a` pre´venir les comportements dits « socialement pathologiques ». Pour cela, la recherche compare le climat scolaire dans les 33 ećoles qui le mettent en œuvre et celles qui ne le font pas. Le corpus est constitue´ exclusivement d’e´le`ves du second degre´ [6e`me a` la 3e`me du colle`ge français]. Le principal re´sultat de la recherche a de´ja` e´te´ cite´ : a` la question de savoir si « quelqu’un leur a de´ja` fait mal a` l’ećole », 41% des e´le`ves re´pondent « oui ». Ce re´sultat plaide, selon les auteurs, en faveur d’une « e´pide´mie du harce`lement a` l’ećole e´le´mentaire », au sens d’une augmentation toujours croissante du nombre de groupes et d’individus « malades » du « virus » du harce`lement (Kola´rˇ 2001). Le nombre de victimes dećlareés est geńe´ralise´ a` toute la population de l’ećole e´le´mentaire et du lyceé, sans qu’il soit tenu compte des de´terminants concrets qui peuvent venir modifier cette de´duction. Les auteurs en arrivent ainsi a` la conclusion que « pre`s de 6000 enfants » c’est-a`-dire une « armada de 1,5 million d’enfants de l’ećole e´le´mentaire et secondaire » sont « torture´s » (Havlı´ nova´ and Kola´rˇ 2001). Les auteurs, distinguant harce`lement physique et psychique, montrent que les e´le`ves des « Ećoles saines » sont plus nombreux a` dećlarer n’eˆtre pas soumis au harce`lement physique. Le programme s’ave`re efficace. Mais alors qu’eux-meˆmes conside`rent que le harce`lement admet des formes psychiques dites « mineures », pre´mices de formes physiques « dures », ils les qualifient, lorsqu’elles sont re´ve´leés par les questionnaires, de « tortures », de « traumatismes » ou de « rapports guerriers ». Le programme doit eˆtre poursuivi et intensifie´, l’interpre´tation est ad hoc et le caracte`re scientifique du travail approximatif. A coˆte´ de ces constats, nous soulignons que l’analyse tche`que a recours, massivement, a` une cate´gorisation me´dicale et morale, de type me´taphorique. Comme l’explique Mink (2004), cette pratique est fre´quente dans le contexte e´piste´mologique de la transformation, les sciences sociales tentant de suppleér ainsi aux difficulte´s d’une analyse scientifique prećise, adapteé a`

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la spećificite´ des situations. L’histoire des cate´gorisations du handicap et de l’enseignement spećialise´ (Vial 1990), nous apprend avec quelle facilite´ ces me´taphores geńe`rent l’exclusion.

Contexte de la recherche et me´thodologie Le contexte sociopolitique et ećonomique de la transformation-l’assomption difficile du passe´ Dix-huit ans apre`s la Re´volution de Velours, la Re´publique tche`que est un pays de´mocratique, inte´gre´ dans l’Union Europeénne. La socie´te´ demeure cependant une socie´te´ de transition, caracte´riseé par un rejet ambivalent du passe´ communiste. « D’un coˆte´, donc, des efforts pour ećarter l’E´tat de la position monopoliste qu’il occupait jusqu’alors en matie`re d’ećonomie et dans la socie´te´, et limiter son roˆle au strict minimum. De l’autre, des tentatives visant a` stabiliser ses fonctions et a` reproduire le pouvoir de la bureaucratie e´tatique. » (Vecˇernı´ k 1994, p. 210). Cette ambivalence, nous l’avons entendue, sous-jacente dans le discours des enseignants et des directeurs d’ećole. Le rejet explicite du communisme est une norme de la nouvelle de´mocratie mais laisse les acteurs de l’ećole sans repe`res, d’autant plus que ce rejet n’a implique´ aucune analyse concre`te et approfondie des fonctionnements ante´rieurs mais prend la plupart du temps la forme d’un tabou. Face aux changements sociaux, politiques et ećonomiques, sur quelles valeurs s’appuyer si une re´flexion critique fondamentale n’est pas engageé ? Les acteurs de l’ećole, comme d’autres acteurs sociaux, se trouvent dans une position ambigue¨, malaiseé. Une fascination pour les valeurs de la Premie`re Re´publique peut-eˆtre une re´ponse a` cet embarras et se traduit dans les transformations du syste`me e´ducatif tche`que : « La tendance a` nier le passe´ et a` re´tablir le statu quo ante a perdure´ surtout dans les cercles politiques et universitaires. (…) L’objectif des re´formes fut de corriger imme´diatement les de´fauts de l’enseignement mis en place par le re´gime totalitaire et de re´tablir les conditions du syste`me e´ducatif tche`que tel qu’il e´tait dans la Tchećoslovaquie d’avant-guerre. L’un des exemples les plus marquants de son processus de transformation fut le re´tablissement des gymna´zia (e´tablissement secondaire d’enseignement geńe´ral) qui fonctionnait par se´lection prećoce des enfants a` haut capital culturel. » (Greger 2005) La restauration de la se´lection scolaire proce`de de la difficulte´ des tche`ques a` analyser et a` assumer leur passe´. Le repli sur l’e´litisme et la se´gre´gation, valeurs de l’avant-guerre, semble a` premie`re vue permettre de vivre ensemble tout comme l’appropriation de conceptions et proble´matiques e´ducatives europeénnes [school bullying]. Stigmatiser certains e´le`ves comme agresseurs ou victimes du harce`lement permet de les exclure et d’isoler une


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e´lite. Le refus de prendre conscience de ces processus favorise leur perpe´tuation. Cette assomption difficile du passe´ se traduit e´galement a` l’ećole par une relation complexe a` l’autorite´. Inanalyseé, souvent confondue avec l’autoritarisme, la repre´sentation de l’autorite´ proce`de d’une conception confuse des fonctions de la loi et de la sanction. La plupart du temps, la sanction est envisageé comme uniquement re´pressive et non e´ducative, structurante (Prairat 2003). Il n’est pas conside´re´ que l’inte´riorisation de la loi ouvre a` l’autonomie et a` l’exercice libre de la penseé et de la parole critique. La re`gle n’apparaıˆ t pas comme le pivot central d’une citoyennete´ engageé dans les processus de la construction de´mocratique. De ce fait, la pre´paration et la participation a` la vie de´mocratique du pays reste souvent une apparence obligeé alors que l’homme de la rue continue a` « appliquer servilement toute « la science » venue de l’Ouest, sans critique, sans commentaire (...), continue dans une approche dichotomique et peu since`re des lois : suivant les besoins et l’opportunite´, on se re´fe`re a` la loi d’une façon purement formelle, ou bien on fait comme si la loi n’existait pas (…). [Il] recherche par tous les moyens des gains rapides, des activite´s paralle`les rapportent beaucoup plus qu’une activite´ le´gale ; [il] continue quotidiennement dans les petites corruptions. » (Novotny 1996). Ainsi, la valorisation de l’esprit critique et la clarification des fonctions de la loi apparaıˆ t comme un enjeu central pour vivre ensemble en ayant pris acte des changements sociaux et politiques, non seulement l’ećole mais aussi dans la de´mocratie tche`que. Conditions de la recherche Le travail de recherche sur le terrain s’est de´roule´ en trois temps logiques et chronologiques, au cours desquels nous avons consigne´ observations et entretiens informels dans un carnet de bord. En mars 2004, nous avons participe´ a` la Premie`re Confe´rence Nationale sur le Harce`lement a` l’Ecole a` des fins prospectives et pre´paratoires. En fe´vrier et avril 2005, nous avons fait passer des questionnaires de victimation aux e´le`ves et conduit des entretiens semi-directifs avec les enseignants et les directeurs des ećoles e´le´mentaires ou leurs adjoints. Le corpus consiste dans 1638 questionnaires (recueillis dans 15 e´tablissements d’Olomouc (102000 habitants), de Prague (1,16 million d’habitants selon les donneés du recensement de 2001) et de leurs banlieues, c’est-a`-dire dans 79 classes du premier et du second degre´) et dans 63 entretiens. L’utilisation des questionnaires de victimation pour les e´le`ves, e´labore´s par E.Debarbieux (1996, p. 69), ouvre a` une comparaison avec la France (Debarbieux 2003), notamment concernant les relations aux pairs. Des enseignants, des directeurs ou leurs adjoints ont e´te´ interviewe´s en dehors de la classe, pendant que leurs e´le`ves remplissaient les questionnaires en pre´sence de collaboratrices. La majorite´ des e´tablissements visite´s collaboraient avec

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les Universite´s, ce qui nous a facilite´ l’acce`s au terrain et de´termine le corpus dans le sens d’une aspiration a` une certaine excellence. Le choix d’entretiens peu directifs a e´te´ motive´ par la posture me´thodologique (exploratoire), en reáction a` des re´serves preálables rencontreés de la part des directeurs d’ećoles et eu e´gard a` l’engagement explicite de ne demander aucune information personnelle. Il est a` prećiser que les acteurs de l’ećole ne parlent pas d’agression ou d’agressivite´ de la relation et n’utilisent pas le terme e´tranger d’agrese, re´serve´ pour de´signer la violence dure, physique la plupart du temps. A la place, adultes et e´le`ves parlent de l’impolitesse [neslusˇnost] ou meˆme fre´quemment d’inconvenance [nevhodnost]. L’exigence, en matie`re de comportement, semble e´leveé de par l’emploi de ces termes qui peuvent paraıˆ tre de´suets dans le contexte français. Ils laissent supposer e´galement une e´volution de la norme comportementale que les re´sultats de notre recherche mettent en e´vidence.

Re´sultats essentiels de la recherche : le harce`lement entre pairs n’est pas e´pide´mique Nos re´sultats permettent d’affirmer que le harce`lement entre pairs ne prend pas, en Re´publique tche`que, une forme e´pide´mique. L’argumentation se de´ploie en plusieurs points. Les relations entre pairs apparaissent bonnes ainsi que l’e´valuation globale du climat scolaire. Comparativement a` la France, c’est plutoˆt la mauvaise qualite´ des relations aux adultes, et en particulier aux enseignants, qui se re´ve`le particulie`rement significative. L’apparent paradoxe : une proportion importante de victimes mais de bonnes relations entre pairs A` la question de savoir si on leur a de´ja` fait mal a` l’ećole, 45,3% des e´le`ves tche`ques re´pondent que oui. Apparemment, notre enqueˆte re´ve`le donc une victimation encore plus importante que celle de Havlı´ nova´ et Kola´rˇ (2001), a` partir de la meˆme question. Le nombre de victimes dećlareés est supe´rieur d’environ 4%. Pourtant, comme nous l’avons explique´, cette question a e´te´ inse´reé dans un autre contexte me´thodologique et e´piste´mologique, en lien avec une enqueˆte sur le climat scolaire. Or, l’e´valuation globale de l’ećole est bonne, de manie`re relativement homoge`ne, dans tous les e´tablissements visite´s. L’indice de climat scolaire, construit a` partir des crite`res d’e´valuation globale de l’ećole, de la relation entre e´le`ves, de la relation entre e´le`ves et professeurs, de la relation entre les e´le`ves et les adultes, des lieux mal aime´s, de la violence, du racket et du vol afin de comparer le climat des diffe´rents e´tablissements entre eux, nous avons constate´ que l’e´valuation de la qualite´ des relations entre les e´le`ves e´tait meˆme le seul crite`re a` n’eˆtre juge´ ne´gatif, infe´rieur a` la moyenne, dans aucun des e´tablissements. Autrement dit, selon les


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e´le`ves, la qualite´ des relations entre eux est un domaine particulie`rement pre´serve´. La sˇikana est un objet d’adulte pas d’e´le`ve. Nous aboutissons donc un paradoxe apparent. Comment expliquer le nombre e´leve´ de victimes auto dećlareés dans le contexte d’une relation entre e´le`ves significativement bonne ? Le paradoxe se dissipe naturellement si nous conside´rons qu’il n’y a pas de lien causal entre la qualite´ des relations entre les pairs et le taux de victimation. De`s lors, comment l’expliquer ? Un premier e´le´ment de re´ponse consiste a` interroger la nature de la victimation. La majorite´ des e´le`ves se dećlare victimes d’insultes, de me´disances, de moqueries et autres violences psychiques. Ils sont e´galement nombreux a` dećlarer, en marge du questionnaire, que ces violences sont normales. Ce paradoxe nous conduit donc a` re´flećhir sur ce qui, pour les e´le`ves et pour les enseignants de l’ećole tche`que paraıˆ t conforme a` la norme ou pas, eu e´gard au nouveau contexte socio-ećonomique et comportemental. Dans des e´tablissements plutoˆt favorise´s, la nouvelle norme n’est-elle pas la dećlaration de la victimation ? Les relations entre pairs ne sont pas repre´sentatives du climat scolaire tche`que La construction a posteriori d’une variable indiquant la spećificite´ du rapport a` l’ećole en Re´publique tche`que et la comparaison avec celui de la France permet de donner d’autres e´le´ments de re´ponse. Alors que nous pouvons dire que la principale caracte´ristique de l’ećole française est la bonne qualite´ du climat dans le premier degre´ (Debarbieux 2006), ce qui caracte´rise l’ećole tche`que est la mauvaise qualite´ de la relation des e´le`ves aux adultes. Le reste du questionnaire permet en outre de prećiser que le rapport a` la sanction n’est pas directement mis en cause. Il exclut l’hypothe`se selon laquelle l’autoritarisme des adultes de l’ećole expliquerait la mauvaise qualite´ de leurs relations avec les e´le`ves. Les re´sultats concernant la fre´quence, la nature ou bien l’auteur de la punition et la fre´quence des fe´licitations indiquent d’ailleurs que comparativement a` la France, la sanction est peu pratiqueé et la fe´licitation tre`s fre´quente (80%). Les entretiens avec les enseignants confirment ces donneés-ils disent eux-meˆmes pratiquer tre`s peu la sanction de crainte d’eˆtre condamne´s par les parents, les colle`gues, la direction et e´ventuellement d’eˆtre licencie´s. De ce fait, la sanction est fre´quemment institutionnelle (avertissements, remarques, re´primandes, annotations). Son caracte`re formel culmine dans l’abaissement de la note de comportement-dont les e´le`ves signalent a` la fois l’injustice et l’inefficaciteínfligeé par le directeur. La mauvaise qualite´ de la relation aux adultes, nouvelle caracte´ristique de l’ećole e´le´mentaire tche`que Plus particulie`rement, 61% des e´le`ves tche`ques interroge´s dećlarent qu’a` l’ećole e´le´mentaire, il y a de l’agressivite´ envers les professeurs. Comme nous

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l’avons explique´, nous traduisons ici par agressivite´ ce qui, plus exactement, apparaıˆ t dans le questionnaire tche`que sous le terme d’impolitesse. Autrement dit, ce qui caracte´rise l’ećole e´le´mentaire tche`que c’est que les e´le`ves se dećlarent impolis, incorrects, inconvenants avec leurs enseignants. Ce manque de respect peut eˆtre argumente´ mais doit aussi eˆtre replace´ dans le contexte discursif ou` il se situe. Les autres e´le´ments du questionnaire ainsi que les entretiens avec les enseignants permettent de prećiser que, comparativement a` la France, les e´le`ves mettent surtout en cause la qualite´ de la relation pe´dagogique (au sens de la qualite´ de l’apprentissage/enseignement) et la qualite´ du savoir transmis (fre´quemment qualifie´ d’inutile) pour expliquer ce qu’il appellent leur manque de correction envers les professeurs. Les enseignants eux-meˆmes re´ve`lent par exemple que la pe´dagogie de groupes, bien que prećoniseé, reste une pratique tre`s rare ainsi que leur propre travail en e´quipes pe´dagogiques. D’un autre coˆte´, nous pouvons nous demander ce que de´signe, dans ces conditions, l’impolitesse. L’expression de l’esprit et de la parole critique ? De´sobeíssance ? Les de´finitions proposeés par les enseignants eux-meˆmes vont dans ce sens. Dans quelle mesure le discours des e´le`ves est-il lui-meˆme, pour une part, une reproduction de celui des adultes de l’ećole et/ou des parents, qui apprivoisent les nouvelles possibilite´s critiques ?

Discussion : comment expliquer l’impolitesse des e´le`ves envers les enseignants et pourquoi mettre alors en avant le harce`lement entre pairs ? Les re´sultats preće´demment e´voque´s aboutissent donc a` deux re´sultats principaux quant a` l’ećole e´le´mentaire tche`que. Ils re´futent l’hypothe`se e´pide´mique du harce`lement entre pairs et mettent en avant l’incorrection des e´le`ves envers les enseignants. Ils signifient non seulement un de´saccord sur les normes comportementales entre les e´le`ves, les parents et l’ećole mais aussi une mise en question se´rieuse des savoirs et des savoir-faire pe´dagogiques. Dans ce contexte, nous relevons aussi une volonte´ de focalisation opportune de l’attention publique et scientifique sur les e´le`ves, en lien avec une reínterpre´tation des proble´matiques europeénnes de l’e´ducation. Comment expliquer l’impolitesse des e´le`ves envers les enseignants ? La re´ponse a` cette question est complexe. Les questionnaires re´ve`lent un certain conformisme chez les e´le`ves, trait suppose´ typique de la population tche`que (Strmiska 1994), qui reproduisent le discours des adultes. Ils ont inte´gre´ les normes e´ducatives de l’ancien re´gime, dont la politesse est une valeur fondamentale, articulant une morale de la Premie`re Re´publique et un comportement norme´, exige´ pendant la pe´riode communiste. Cependant, la mise en cause des pratiques pe´dagogiques par les e´le`ves est reélle. Les adultes, quant a` eux, dont ce jugement traduit le malaise, se montrent confronte´s a` des situations difficiles, lieés a` l’embarras de ne plus devoir perpe´tuer les anciennes normes e´ducatives comme l’obeíssance et l’absence


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d’expression critique. Ils expriment cependant un regret du temps ou` leur fonction e´tait une fonction de re´fe´rence, respecteé et meˆme crainte puisqu’ils e´taient les agents de la propagande de l’Etat (Pru˚cha 2002), sur l’autorite´ duquel ils se soutenaient. Le nouveau contexte socio-ećonomique, celui de la libe´ralisation de l’ećole ou` l’e´tablissement devient une entreprise comme une autre, soumise a` la loi de la concurrence, geńe`re en outre une instabilite´ nouvelle de la profession mais aussi une prećarite´ ećonomique tre`s importante pour les enseignants, qui modifie profonde´ment leur statut social. Certains enseignants expriment ainsi une position nostalgique, de manie`re voileé, puisque la condamnation explicite du communisme est une norme fondamentale de la nouvelle de´mocratie. Il y a de`s lors plusieurs enjeux a` mettre en avant une e´pide´mie de sˇikana a` l’ećole e´le´mentaire. Cela permet d’orienter l’interpre´tation vers le comportement des e´le`ves, avec e´ventuellement des appuis me´dicaux ou moraux, qui peuvent servir des mećanismes d’exclusion des plus de´favorise´s et de de´tourner ainsi l’analyse de la question de l’e´volution des postures enseignantes dans le contexte de la transformation. Bien entendu, une telle analyse demeure difficile et sensible (Pru˚cha 2002) dans la mesure ou` elle signifie une nouvelle confrontation a` un passe´ proche et douloureux. Cela permet donc de laisser inanalyseé la question de l’ambivalence de ces relations au passe´ et au pre´sent. Certains enseignants regrettent une de´valorisation de leur profession et la libe´ralisation du fonctionnement de l’ećole et de la socie´te´ mais s’engouffrent en meˆme temps dans les nouveaux fonctionnements libe´raux : se´lection et se´gre´gation ouverte des e´le`ves socio-culturellement ou ećonomiquement de´favorise´s (Greger 2005) sous pre´texte qu’ils sont agresseurs ou victimes de harce`lements, creátion d’ećoles priveés, sponsoring de l’ećole. Cela permet enfin apparemment de faciliter l’insertion socio-ećonomique du pays dans l’Union Europeénne en plaquant des interpre´tations theóriques importeés qui semblent faire consensus. La vision mythique (Prokop 2003) d’une Europe-providence est ainsi favoriseé. Il semble au contraire que pour favoriser le de´veloppement de´mocratique, une recherche scientifique rigoureuse et adapteé a` la spećificite´ de la situation doive se de´velopper. Le harce`lement entre pairs n’est pas la difficulte´ essentielle de l’ećole e´le´mentaire tche`que qui doit avant tout se poser la question de la qualite´ de la relation pe´dagogique et du rapport au savoir.

Conclusion Le concept de sˇikana, fortement promu sur la sce`ne publique tche`que dans les dernie`res anneés, correspond donc moins a` des faits reéls de harce`lement entre pairs qu’a` une construction sociale opportune qui permet, semble-t-il, de vivre ensemble dans le contexte difficile de la transformation socio-ećonomique.

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Nous avons vu qu’il pre´sente beaucoup d’avantages. Il permet et le´gitime la se´lection scolaire, de´tourne l’attention des pratiques pe´dagogiques des enseignants et questionne l’e´volution des normes comportementales dans les conditions de la libe´ralisation ećonomique. Nous pouvons cependant le conside´rer comme le symptoˆme d’un malaise e´ducatif qui nous ećarte, au premier abord, de pistes de re´flexion plus fondamentales. Sociologiquement dećonstruit, le harce`lement entre pairs a` l’ećole e´le´mentaire tche`que se re´ve`le riche d’enseignements quant aux conditions reélles d’une ame´lioration de la vie de la communaute´ scolaire dans une socie´te´ postcommuniste. Le dialogue interculturel ne signifie pas une importation non critique des concepts et des theóries mais suppose des diffe´rences circonscrites et assumeés. Dans les socie´te´s de transition postcommunistes, cette assomption est indissociable d’un de´veloppement significatif des recherches scientifiques. Autrement dit, pour vivre ensemble, il faut travailler, dans les pays de l’Europe post-communiste, a` la construction une d’une identite´ qui ne recule pas devant une analyse historique rigoureuse, devant une re´flexion sur les conditions d’une restauration de la confiance sociale et d’une clarification des fonctions de la loi.

Bibliographie Blaya, Catherine. 2006. Violences et maltraitances en milieu scolaire. Paris: Armand Colin. Debarbieux, Eric. 1996. La violence en milieu scolaire. T1, Etat des lieux. Paris: E.S.F. Debarbieux, Eric. 2003. Les micro violences et le climat scolaire : e´volution 1995–2003 en ećoles et en colle`ges. Recherche commanditeé par le Conseil Re´gional d’Aquitaine et le Ministe`re de l’Education Nationale (DESCO2) – M.E.N. Debarbieux, Eric. 2006. Violence a` l’ećole : un de´fi mondial ? Paris: Armand Colin. Fotinos, Georges. 2006. Le climat scolaire dans les lyceés et les colle`ges. Etat des lieux. Analyse. Propositions. Paris: MGEN. Gottfredson, Denise, and G. D. Gottfredson. 1985. Victimisation in Schools. NewYork: Plenum Press. Grecmanova´. Helena. 2003. « Klı´ ma soucˇasne´ cˇeske´ sˇ koly. » [Le climat de l’ećole tche`que actuelle.] In Klı´ma soucˇasne´ cˇeske´ sˇkoly. Sbornı´k prˇı´speˇvku˚ z 11 Konference CPdS. 14–15 ledna 2003. Olomouc. [Le climat de l’ećole tche`que actuelle, Actes de la onzie`me confe´rence de la Socie´te´ Pe´dagogique Tche`que.] Brno : Konvoj. Greger, David. 2005. « De´veloppement et de´bat autour du mode`le de colle`ge unique en Re´publique tche`que et dans d’autres pays d’Europe centrale et orientale. » Communication pre´senteé au colloque « Construction/dećonstruction du colle`ge unique », Universite´ de Paris VIII (Saint-Denis), le 28 octobre 2005. Havlı´ nova´, Miluse, et Michal Kola´rˇ . 2001. Socia´lnı´ klima v prostrˇedı´ za´kladnıćh sˇkol Cˇeske´ republiky. [Climat social dans les ećoles e´le´mentaires de la Re´publique tche`que]. Rapport au Ministe`re de l’Education et des Sports tche`que. Prague : MSˇMT CˇR.


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Kohout-Diaz, Magdalena. 2006. Violence scolaire en Re´publique tche`que : sˇikana ? The`se de doctorat n1360, mention Sciences de l’Education, Bordeaux, l’Universite´ V. Segalen, Bordeaux 2. Kola´rˇ , Michal. 2001. Bolest sˇikanovańı´. Cesta k zastavenı´ epidemie sˇikanovańı´ ve sˇkolaćh. [La douleur du harce`lement. Pour arreˆter l’e´pide´mie du harce`lement dans les ećoles.] Prague : Porta´l. Kola´rˇ , Michal. 2004. « Otevrˇ enı´ proble´mu sˇ kolnı´ ho sˇ ikanovańı´ v CˇR a ve sveˇteˇ. » [Ouverture du proble`me du harce`lement scolaire en Re´publique tche`que et dans le monde.] In Sˇkolnı´ sˇikanovańı´. Sbornı´k prˇı´speˇvku˚ prvnı´ celosta´tnı´ konference. [Le harce`lement scolaire, Actes de la Premie`re Confe´rence nationale sur le harce`lement scolaire en Re´publique tche`que, Olomouc, 2004.] Prague : Spolecˇenstvı´ proti sˇ ikaneˇ. [Association nationale de lutte contre le harce`lement scolaire]. Mayer, Françoise. 2004. Les tche`ques et leur communisme. Me´moire et identite´s politiques. Paris: Editions de l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. Mink, Georges. 2004. « Les sciences sociales a` l’e´preuve de la grande transformation post-communiste. » In Forest, M., G. Mink (Dir.). Post-communisme : les sciences sociales a` l’e´preuve. Paris : L’Harmattan. Novotny, David. 1996. Une dangereuse me´prise. Ou comment la re´publique tche`que, le meilleur e´le`ve de Moscou, est devenue le vrai-faux meilleur e´le`ve de l’occident. Paris: Gil Wern Editions. Olweus, Dan. 1993. Bullying in Schools : What We Know and What We Can Do. Oxford: Blackwell. Prairat, Eirick. 2003. « Du respect et de l’hospitalite´. » In Prairat, E., B. Andrieu (Dir.). Les valeurs : savoir et e´ducation a` l’ećole. Nancy : Presses universitaires de Nancy. Prokop, Jiri. 2003. « Kritika a my´ty soucˇasne´ sˇ koly. » [Critique et mythes de l’ećole actuelle.] In Chra´ska, M., D. Tomanova´, et D. Holousˇ ova´ (Dir.). Klima soucˇasne´ cˇeske´ sˇkoly. [Le climat de l’ećole tche`que actuelle, Actes de la onzie`me confe´rence de la Socie´te´ Pe´dagogique Tche`que.] Brno: Konvoj. Pru˘cha, Jan. 2002. Ucˇitel. Soucˇasne´ poznatky o profesi. [L’enseignant : connaissances actuelles sur la profession.] Prague : Porta´l. Rey, Alain (Dir.). 1992. Le Robert, dictionnaire historique de la langue française. Paris: Ed. Dictionnaires Le Robert (2000). Rˇı´ cˇan, Petr. 1995. Agresivita a sˇikana mezi deˇtmi. Jak da´t deˇtem ve sˇkole pocit bezpecˇı´. [L’agressivite´ et le harce`lement entre les enfants. Comment donner aux enfants a` l’ećole le sentiment de sećurite´.] Prague : Porta´l. Smith, Peter, and Sharp Sonia. 1995. School Bullying. Insight and Perspectives. London: Routledge. Strmiska, Zdenek. 1994. « Cultures socio-politiques et attitudes dans les conditions actuelles de transformation ećonomique en Europe centrale et orientale. » Les cahiers du C.E.F.R.E.S, n3f, Transition politique et transition ećonomique dans les pays d’Europe centrale et orientale. Prague : C.E.F.R.E.S. Vecernik, Jan. 1994. « La formation d’une nouvelle re´gulation sociale en Tchećoslovaquie. ». Les cahiers du C.E.F.R.E.S, n3f, Transition politique et transition ećonomique dans les pays d’Europe centrale et orientale. Prague: C.E.F.R.E.S. Vial, Monique. 1990. Les enfants anormaux a` l’ećole. Aux origines de l’e´ducation spećialiseé-1882–1990. Paris: Armand Colin.

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Vlasak, Vaclav. 2002. Francouzsko-cˇesky´, cˇesko francouzsky´-slovnı´k. [Dictionnaire français-tche`que, tche`que-français.]. Praha : Leda. Walterova, Eliska (Dir.). 2004. U´loha sˇkoly v rozvoji vzdeˇlanosti. [Roˆle de l’ećole dans le de´veloppement de la culture.] T1 et T2. Brno: Paido. Young, I., and T. Williams. 1989. The Healthy School. WHO Report. Edinburgh: Scottish Health Education Group.

L’ auteur Magdalena Kohout-Diaz est Professeure de philosophie a` l’IUFM d’Aquitaine et experte en formation des enseignants se consacrant a` la pre´paration des certificats d’aptitude du premier et second degre´ en matie`re d’aides spećialiseés, d’enseignements adapte´s et de scolarisation des e´le`ves handicape´s. Les enseignants, la comparaison en e´ducation (en particulier dans un contexte postcommuniste), l’enseignement spećialise´ et les e´volutions conceptuelles de ce domaine constituent ses sujets principaux de recherche et d’e´tude. Contact address: DASH (De´partement de l’Adaptation scolaire et de la scolarisation des e´le`ves handicape´s), IUFM. d’Aquitaine-Universite´ Bordeaux 4, Antenne de Gironde 49, rue de l’Ecole Normale, BP 219, 33021 Bordeaux Cedex, France. Courriel: [email protected].

CORE ELEMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN (HIGHER) EDUCATION POLICY: MARKET-DRIVEN RESTRUCTURING OR IMPETUS FOR INTERCULTURAL RAPPROCHEMENT? ELISA GAVARI STARKIE


Abstract – For many years there has been a debate about the existence or not, of a common European education policy. In this article I argue that there has been a real European education policy since the approval of the Maastricht Treaty, with a proper content and which offers many new possibilities to students. The core of this policy is the setting up of the European Higher Education Area, designed not only for attendance-based universities, but also for distance and virtual universities. However, the policies, expected to be in force by 2010, have not been without problems and a critique of the implications for European higher education institutes is offered following an outline of the development and evolution of the policies. Re´sume´ – E´LE´MENTS CENTRAUX DE LA POLITIQUE EUROPEÉNNE D’ENSEIGNEMENT (SUPE´RIEUR) : RESTRUCTURATION ORIENTEÉ SUR LE MARCHE´ OU IMPULSION POUR UN RAPPROCHEMENT INTERCULTUREL ? – Depuis plusieurs anneés une discussion a lieu au sujet de l’existence ou non d’une politique europeénne commune d’e´ducation. Dans cet article, je soutiens qu’une vraie politique europeénne d’e´ducation a e´te´ appliqueé depuis l’approbation du Traite´ de Maastricht, avec un contenu propre et offrant de nombreuses possibilite´s nouvelles aux e´tudiants. Au cœur de cette politique figure l’e´tablissement de l’Espace europeén d’enseignement supe´rieur, conçu aussi bien pour les universite´s reposant sur le principe de pre´sence, que pour les universite´s virtuelles et a` distance. Cependant, les politiques censeés entrer en vigueur d’ici 2010 n’ont pas e´te´ sans proble`mes et, apre`s un aperçu du de´veloppement et de l’e´volution de ces politiques, une critique des implications pour les instituts europeéns d’enseignement supe´rieur est de´veloppeé. Zusammenfassung – KERNELEMENTE DER EUROPAÏSCHEN (HOCHSCHUL)BILDUNGSPOLITIK: NEUSTRUKTURIERUNG UNTER MARKETINGASPEKTEN ODER IMPULS FU¨R INTERKULTURELLE ANNA¨HERUNG? – Seit vielen Jahren gibt es eine Debatte u¨ber die Existenz oder Nichtexistenz einer gemeinsamen europaïschen Bildungspolitik. In diesem Artikel vertrete ich die Meinung, dass es seit dem Vertrag von Maastricht eine reale europaïsche Bildungspolitik gibt, die Schu¨lern und Studenten angemessene Inhalte und viele neue Mo¨glichkeiten bietet. Der Kern dieser Politik liegt in der Einrichtung des Europaïschen Hochschulraums, der nicht nur Universita¨ten mit Anwesenheitspflicht, sondern auch Fernuniversita¨ten und virtuelle Universita¨ten umfasst. Diese Politik soll bis 2010 vollendet sein, dies hat hat sich jedoch als teilweise problematisch erwiesen. Anhand einer Richtlinie zur Durchfu¨hrung und Weiterentwicklung der Bildungspolitik werden in diesem Artikel die Implikationen fu¨r Hochschulen in Europa kritisiert.


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Elisa Gavari Starkie

Resumen – LAS CLAVES DE LA POLI´TICA EDUCATIVE EUROPEA DE EDUCACIOŃ (SUPERIOR): INFLUENCIAS DEL MERCADO O DEL ENFOQUE INTERCULTURAL – Durante anõs se ha debatido intensamente acerca de si existe una polı´ tica educativa europea. En este artı´ culo sostengo que desde la aprobacioń del Tratado de Maastricht sı´ que existe, con un contenido claro, que ofrece nuevas posibilidades a los estudiantes. El nućleo de esta polı´ tica reside en la construccioń del Espacio Europeo de Educacioń Superior, disenãda no solamente para las universidades presenciales sino tambień para las que imparten docencia a distancia. No obstante, las polı´ ticas, que deben ser implementadas para el anõ 2010 no han estado exentas de pole´mica, por lo que tras la exposicioń de las lı´ neas de desarrollo y de las evolucioń de las polı´ ticas, se ofrece una crı´ tica de las implicaciones para las instituciones Europeas de Educacioń Superior.

The roots of European education policy The Second World War is a clear starting point from which to analyse European (higher) education policy. This paper explains why, in the new millennium, there is already a European education policy in force that requires universities to adopt European guidelines. These guidelines refer not only to attendance-based universities, but also to the building of a Virtual Higher Education Space, based on the possibilities that the new technologies offer to study at distance universities and through student virtual mobility. Thus, European education policy is already a reality at least in these guidelines. This education policy is now being designed and it will start to be put into force in the next few years, not only in the attendance-based universities but also in Europe’s virtual universities. However, a mere description of the elements of the European Union education policy is not enough, as the implementation of them in the different European national education systems has created friends and enemies of the whole process. This is why, in

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the final section of this article, following a historical review and a presentation of the policy components, a critique of the difficulties and limitations of the policy is included.

European education after the Second World War In the first half of the 20th century, the European map was very different from the present one. In general terms, the different European States allied in order to defend their own national and particular interests. When, at the beginning of the 20th century, a reference was made to Europe, it was to emphasise national divides and the superiority of one country over another (Ryba 1993). The period between the wars was the time during which nationalist and chauvinist identities peaked. In political terms, the end of the Second World War is an important reference point. New constitutions were approved in a great number of European countries which became democracies and followed Keynesian economic principals. The State became more interventionist, quite different from the laissez-faire policy typical of the Liberal state, and assumed the obligation to guarantee the basic rights of citizens, among them, education. The education system under this new form of State now had new functions such as the consolidation of a democratic political system, the levelling of social classes and the eradication of social inequalities. However, some circumstances, such as the instability of the governments, parliamentary debates and the intervention of trade unions, prevented the approval of significant measures in favour of the democratisation of education. Most of the European states continued to follow the tradition of education that had been in use in that country prior to the Second World War. At the European level, important changes were introduced in the field of international law. These led to the foundation of the European treaties that regulated cooperation between the sovereign states and established the European Community. With the exception of the proposal for a European common vocational training policy, these texts did not refer to education or to other political aspects, such as citizenship.

European education in the 1960s and 1970s In the late 1950s, the countries that belonged to the European community enjoyed strong economic growth and this trend continued into the 1960s. In the context of European institutions, this favourable situation fostered extended cooperation between the European member states in other matters such as policy, education and culture. There was an increasing awareness of the importance of creating an identity and a sense of belonging to the European endeavour, as well as of providing European citizens with a number of

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political rights. One of the most advanced documents in this field from this period was the Tindermans Report, which contained a specific chapter referring to ‘‘the Europe of the citizens’’ and proposed several actions, such as the unification of passports and the abolition of border controls. At the time, this report had little support from governments, but with the passage of time, many of the proposed measures have been realised. This is evident in examples such as the introduction of the Euro and the European passport. At the beginning of the 1970s, the first proposals were made for a common European educational policy. However, there was a strong feeling that this education should not interfere with the education provided by national education systems. The European authorities started to use the expression ‘‘European Dimension in Education’’ to refer to education measures that had to be adopted, on the condition that the traditions and diversity of the national education systems were respected. In 1971 the ministers of education gathered together for the first time, to promote a cross-community education cooperation policy. By 1974, European education ministers were able to agree on the measures to be taken in order to foster the European dimension. In comparing the education policy with other policies adopted at the time, the impression is that it was very timid. The following lists the objectives to be achieved at the European level (Etxeberria 2000: 21): • • • • • •

improve the correspondence of European education systems across Europe; gather documentation and statistics in the European education system; intensify cooperation among higher education centres; recognise freedom and mobility of teachers, students and researchers; improve instruction of foreign languages; and improve academic recognition of qualifications and periods of study.

These proposals were collected in the European Community’s first programme of action, which also allowed for many study exchanges involving primary and secondary school students and teachers and for the incorporation of some European content into the curricula and school activities. These efforts allowed citizens to obtain a better knowledge of Europe and other European cultures and had very positive results. However, no advances were made in establishing a definition of European education and no concepts or essential values for a pan-European education policy were adopted. European education in the 1980s The second phase of European integration started in the 1980s when the European Community shifted its priorities from the economy to favour political objectives in the context of the European Union. Cooperation theories were overshadowed by theories of interdependence and the move to integrate European states. In 1984, the first Union Treaty project was presented


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in which, for the first time, citizenship of the Union was promoted. This project was not approved but the importance of citizenship continued to be debated, as in the 1985 Adonnino Report (Fernańdez de Soto Blas 1997). This document called for the eradication of the distance between the citizens’ wishes and the actions of the European institutions, and advocated to make the European Union construction process more democratic. In addition, it called for a move to approve measures fostering a positive image of Europe amongst its citizens. The debate surrounding the transition of the European Community to the European Union and citizens’ rights led to cultural and educational proposals. This is the period in which Jean Monnet claimed that were he to have a second chance to build the European project, he would start by promoting European culture. This interest in developing culture and education was visible in the numerous contemporary recommendations, resolutions and declarations that demonstrated the laudable intention of European institution bureaucrats to advance still further in the field of education. Unfortunately, from the legal point of view, there were no visible advances as such proposals were not adopted by the Member States. These documents included the 1983 Stuttgart Declaration, the Fontainebleau text of 1984 and the Conclusions of the Ministers of Education in 1985. These texts did not contribute to the definition of a European culture or a European identity for the citizens of Member States. The European education policy continued to maintain the idea of fostering the knowledge of other cultures through exchange programmes and cooperation between centres, and through student and teacher visiting schemes. In the 1980s, the number of European exchange programmes and projects promoting European identity increased substantially. In addition, the 1988 Council of Ministers Resolution expanded the idea of the European dimension and established some values to be fostered amongst young people, including: identifying themselves as Europeans; valuing European civilization; having knowledge of the community and its Member States; being aware of its historic, cultural, economic and social aspects; and understanding the concept of cooperation between the European Community Member States and other countries in Europe and across the world.

Education for European citizenship in the 1990s The third conceptual phase in the creation of a union between European states started in the early 1990s at a time when important historical events were taking place; events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, the reunification of Germany, the disintegration of Yugoslavia, and so on. At the same time, a series of nationalistic and xenophobic movements swept through Europe, affecting its citizens and its political parties. Given

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the sensitive circumstances, European citizens felt a strong need to create a Europe made up of a federation of different peoples. In this context, the European institutions opted for a federalist approach which became a reality through the approval of the Maastricht Treaty. This treaty has become the reference point for European education policy for at least two main reasons (Garcı´ a Garrido and Garcı´ a Ruiz 2006): (1) the possibility it offers of applying the subsidiarity principle to education and (2) the fact that it represents ‘‘a specific policy, adopted by an authority with education powers, targeted at solving a specific matter’’ or as a ‘‘result of the activity of a public authority in the education field’’ (Pedro´ and Puig 1998: 21–23). The cross-community policy has all the elements contained in these definitions, as well as including some others besides: • content: the aim to bring together the different strands of European education policy; • a programme based, in the first years of the 21st century, on knowledge and the fostering of employment policies; • a normative orientation, as is usual in legislative documents; • a coercive factor, political power that seeks normatisation with public authority and legitimacy; and • a social competence element, specific measures that apply to a social collective. This historical review cannot be concluded without some reference to the educational priorities of the European Union since the Lisbon Summit in 2001, during which a plan of action was adopted to transform the EU into the world’s most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy by the year 2010. This agreement was phrased in neo-liberal language that supports market demands and focuses on a knowledge economy centred on human capital and education. Now more than ever, the level of education and skills in Europe is considered to play a key role in securing social cohesion, prosperity and sustainability in the long term. In this sense, lifelong learning has become the umbrella for all European education and training programmes and initiatives between the years 2007 and 2013.

Core elements of European higher education policy This paper has thus far argued that the development of a common basic education policy has been one of the European Union’s goals. Below, it goes on to analyse some elements of this policy as defined by the EU for the benefit of its citizens. In particular, the paper will refer to the right to lifelong learning; the content of education provisions designed to foster a European identity; a common culture of teaching and learning; and a common method to achieve European education objectives.


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The right to lifelong learning In 1999, Ministers of Education from 29 European countries signed the agreement known as the Bologna Declaration. This underlined the specific need to ‘‘look at the objective of increasing the international competitiveness of the European system of higher education’’ (Joint Declaration 1999: 2). Since this text was approved, one of the roles of education has been to prepare European citizens for international competitiveness. In this connection, two priorities have been established for the European Higher Education Area: the professional training of students and the incorporation of a lifelong learning approach. The promotion of lifelong learning is explicitly recognised in the 2001 Prague Declaration, which considers lifelong education essential to the competitiveness of European institutes of higher education because it involves improving social cohesion in order to help create equal opportunities and a better quality of life in Europe as a whole. The creation of the European Higher Education Area means that, for the first time, the objectives established for the field of higher education must be adopted by the universities of the different Member States belonging to the European Union. This entails a thorough restructuring of the national education systems. As has already been noted, one of the most important changes involved is the incorporation of the principle of lifelong learning, which aims to increase competitiveness, employability and the social inclusion of citizens, as well as support the development of active citizenship. This also implies developing a new approach to all levels of education, based on the key competences, namely reading, foreign languages and new technologies, and which should also include active citizenship. The right of individuals to education and access to permanent professional education and training is recognised under the section entitled the European Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Constitutional Treaty, in particular in article II-74 of the Charter. However, the proposed constitutional text was rejected in 2004 by countries such as France and the Netherlands. Thus, in legal terms, although the right to lifelong learning is strongly recommended, it has yet to be formalised. A common European education for the creation of European citizens In 1988, the Economic and Social Committee established that ‘‘the Community’s economic policies would only be efficient if they were accompanied by adequate policies in the field of education, that would foster the European culture model in line with European integration and which should be conceived in their ‘economic, social, political and cultural dimensions’’’. This would only be possible by preparing young people intellectually, psychologically and professionally so that they are equipped to participate in the building of the European Union (Pedro´ and Puig 1998: 5). In response to the content of the 1988 resolution entitled Enhanced Treatment of the European

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Dimension in Education, the various members published reports for their respective countries, which appeared as a single document in September 1991. In general terms, the different Member States belonging to the European Union have since been pursuing three different ideals in order to build European identity and citizenship (Lewicka-Grisdale 2002: 56): 1. the ideal of a Community, to be achieved through the development of concepts such as a feeling of belonging, a sense of identity and integration; 2. the humanistic ideal that entails the promotion of peace values, human rights, freedom, democracy and understanding; and 3. the international ideal of citizenship, and the fostering of multiculturalism, solidarity and intercultural education. The 1992 Maastricht Treaty encompassed the notion of European Union citizenship, and placed a stronger emphasis on education, enshrining it as part of the Community’s policy. The European Parliament and the Commission have ratified it on several occasions and it documents the notion of European identity as fundamental to the advancement of the concept of European citizenship. It seems that for some authors, however, ratification has been limited to illustrating the need to promote both realities, local and European, without providing a deeper analysis of the theoretical basis which sustains them both. In the same way, the implementation of the European identity is predominantly being introduced in a cognitive and uncritical way, limiting genuine debate and reflection on the nature of fundamental European values, hampering students’ ability to identify with Europe and undermining the will to contribute actively to its construction (Lewicka-Grisdale and Mc-Laughlin 2002: 57–59). The weak theoretical foundation on which European identity is based has led to a widespread denial of the existence of a European society equipped with the social and cultural resources (Sobisch 1997) to support the values on which European cultural heritage relies. Neither the respect for democratic principles nor the fight for social justice are to be understood as culturally specific to Europe, but rather as characteristic of a broader Western culture. The promotion of a European identity must rely on at least two principles: • a precise definition of what constitutes a European identity; and • the development of a concept of European citizenship that should be constructed through a process of critical reflection. European citizenship will at the very least have to cover civil, political and social rights. Civil rights refer to individual freedom, the freedom of expression and belief, and the freedom to own property and to have access to justice. The political rights of citizenship refer to the right to participate in the execution of political power. Social rights refer to a wide range of economic, welfare-related and security rights, as well as the right to share a


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social heritage. With regard to a European identity, there are still many issues to be resolved in connection with all three categories of rights.

A common teaching and learning approach The status of universities play within their respective education systems and their role in adopting the lifelong learning principal are decisive. One of the most important transformations to take place in the field has been the extension of the universities to reach a new and wider audience. The use of distance education methods and new technologies has been an important development and helped increase the flexibility of the system. Until now, graduation signalled the conclusion to a student’s university studies. Now, however, the completion of a degree is merely the starting point for a process of lifelong learning. Thus, universities have had to reorganise their curriculum in order to motivate their students to learn not only in formal contexts, but also within the community. Universities must provide their students with learning environments and experiences that enable them to discover and to build knowledge on their own. The construction of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) requires significant changes within the existing European education systems and the introduction of three elements: a new structure of qualifications on two levels (graduate and postgraduate); a new way to acknowledge the skills acquired by students; and the introduction of European credits. The introduction of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) is designed to facilitate student mobility, the development of an internationally homogeneous curriculum, and the transfer and comparability of studies abroad or in other institutions. The introduction of credits into the new framework of European education has entailed redefining the relationship between teachers and students. The credit scheme is a revolution in the higher education sphere that has not merely been limited to renaming courses and diplomas, but has also transformed the teaching and learning processes. Credits are used to evaluate several areas, including students’ work, learning outcomes and overall attendance. In addition to the methodological changes in the teaching learning process, there has also been the need to promote and adopt new technologies, flexible learning methodologies and increased opportunities for innovation, amongst others. In the European Higher Education Area, the process of teaching and learning relies less on the knowledge acquired than on the lifelong learning skills that students develop. This ECTS-based system has its origins in the European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS) exchange programme, which has to date proven to be the most successful education policy measure to be implemented by all of the European states. The programme was established in 1987 and since then,

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students from 31 European countries have been able to take part of their degree in another country with course accreditation being provided by means of ECTS. The principles of ECTS that purport to demonstrate a common way of measuring students’ academic achievements are as follows (Gavari 2005: 35): • ECTS is based on the principle that a student enrolled in a full-time course will gain 60 credits in the course of one academic year. The total hours of study for European university courses total around 1500–1800 h per annum. One credit represents between 25 and 30 h of work; • ECTS credits may only be obtained after the work has been completed and received a positive evaluation. The learning outcomes are defined in terms of the skills (knowledge, understanding and ability to take action) that a student should have acquired by the time the learning process is over; • ECTS measures students’ work in terms of the time that they have to complete all their degree course requirements, in terms of their general attendance, the seminars they must take, periods of private study, the preparation of projects, examinations, and so on; and • ECTS credits apply to all elements of the study programmes (including modules, courses, practical work, dissertation work, etc.) and reflect the workload involved in each case. For the European Higher Education Area to succeed, teachers must adopt and respond to the new teaching processes that it requires. In the knowledge society, teachers’ and students’ roles are undergoing a process of change. Teachers must be able to: • • • • • •

master processes that generate and use knowledge; incorporate new technologies in learning; instil interest, motivation and pleasure in learning; foster students’ curiosity, creativity and analytical abilities ; learn and interact with others; correct attitudes in order to foster interpersonal communication and group work; and • exert moral authority. European university programmes should enable students to become autonomous learners. As such, they should be capable of learning: (a) (b) (c) (d)

about learning; to co-operate as an efficient means of acquiring new knowledge; to communicate knowledge and opinions; to analyse arguments, data and evidence that allow them to make judgements and decisions; and (e) self-motivation to enable them to formulate and express opinions.


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A common coordination method for achieving the European education objectives In 2001, an Extra-ordinary European Council of Heads of State and Government meeting was held in Lisbon. It represented the Union’s first major attempt to come to grips with the transition to a knowledge-based economy. The Lisbon Summit was characterised by a remarkable degree of consensus among national leaders as to both the strengths and weaknesses of the European economy and the measures that needed to be taken. A far-reaching strategy was established for economic and social reform that would ensure that the Union would derive maximum benefit from new technologies in terms of growth and employment. In the field of education, the Member States agreed on a method of achieving the transition to a knowledge-based economy, which was termed the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). Its aim was to enable a process of convergence that would bring together the Member States. To achieve this, shared objectives have been defined and methods for evaluating the progress of each country have been established. Furthermore, good practice is disseminated and has been made mandatory without stipulating the means by which it must be achieved. OMC is guided by five principles: subsidiarity, based on the balance between the European and national level; convergence, based on the search for common results; mutual learning, based on the exchange of good practice; policy implementation, based on parallel actions in different fields; and management by objectives, targeted at establishing common objectives for all Member States. In the field of education, there are three main objectives to be achieved by 2010, namely to: improve the quality and efficiency of European education systems; facilitate universal access to education; and open up training and education opportunities to a wider audience. In order to follow and evaluate the progress of these objectives, a series of descriptors and levels of reference (benchmarking standards) has been adopted. This means that all States must progressively undergo a learning process in the course of which – in the short, medium or long term – the stipulated objectives will be achieved. The EU explicitly states that the educational objectives can only be achieved through co-operation between the Member States. Hence, the defined indicators not only serve to evaluate the progress made by each State, but also represent a mechanism for comparing good practices and a means of exerting pressure on countries that are slow to achieve these objectives. Once the common objectives and benchmarks for Member States have been established, each country must develop its own plan of action in line with the goals and processes established by the Union. Each State is nominally free to develop its own plan of action; however, recommendations are provided for each State as to the most appropriate means of implementing the defined measures (Bonal and Tarabini 2006:131).

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The European Virtual Higher Education Area The convergence of university policy involves both attendance-based universities, and institutions of distance and open learning that together form a European Virtual Higher Education Area. Of particular significance in this regard was the European Commission’s political initiative known as ‘‘e-Europe’’, launched in 2000, which for the first time emphasised its awareness of the social and educational importance of incorporating new technologies into the field of education (European Commission 2000). This initiative is designed to foster the application of ICTs in all areas of European society and the establishment of a European Virtual Higher Education Space at the university level (Dumort 2002: 295). The European Union has stressed that the main strategies for establishing a European Lifelong Learning Space should incorporate the new information technologies (COM 2001). As a result, digital literacy has been recognised as a key element for enabling permanent participation and learning in the current information and knowledge society. The e-Europe concept refers to the incorporation of new technologies in all European policies while also covering other areas such as e-government, e-health, e-business, e-inclusion and, in the field of education, e-learning. Indeed, e-learning has in the past constituted a programme in its own right (2004–2006). A combination of lifelong learning and new technologies are needed to foster the European policy. It is up to the oldest institutes of higher education to lead the way by establishing ‘‘virtual European campuses’’ and ‘‘transnational virtual campuses’’ as a first step towards creating a European Virtual Higher Education Area.

A critique of the building of the European Education Area The following offers a critique of the Brussels discourse on the European Higher Education Area presented above. It starts by mentioning some peculiarities of the overall process and goes on to refer to the difficulties facing academics and students as a result of the implementation of the European guidelines. Creating a supranational policy: a peculiar process Early on in this article, reference was made to the sovereignty maintained by national ministries during the construction of the European Union. With the start of the new millennium, there is a need for radical changes to take place as the European Higher Education Area is established. The most peculiar characteristic of this process is that it requires Ministers of Education to sign two texts, each two pages in length (the Sorbonne and the Bologna Declarations). The Sorbonne Declaration was initially signed by the Ministers of


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Education of four countries (France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy) and represented the first attempt to establish a common university studies structure. It is important to bear in mind that when the first steps were being taken to construct the European Higher Education Area, none of the major stakeholders – the European Commission, the European parliament, academics and students – were involved. In addition, the very brief texts that were published initially in connection with the European Higher Education Area defined it in purely geographical terms. No consideration was given to establishing a ‘‘typical’’ European identity that would enable institutes of higher education to compete with their international peers on their own terms. Instead, the Anglo-Saxon model – itself derived in part from the American model of higher education – was favoured (Boerma 2007: 105). Another peculiar aspect of the European Higher Education Area in the wake of the 2001 Lisbon Summit is the European Union’s drive to promote the construction of a European knowledge society in which universities must adopt new roles. The new challenges involved were specified in a 2003 document entitled The role of universities in the Europe of knowledge published by the European Commission. If these new university goals are analysed in a global context, it becomes clear that European universities are being asked to fulfill an agenda laid down by governments and the industrial sector. Indeed, it appears that European higher education has no choice but to adapt to globalisation and a market-driven agenda. In brief, the new missions and functions of the European higher education institutions comprise: • social change together with excellence in teaching and research: universities must offer broad, fair and democratic access; • innovation: close and efficient cooperation between the university and industry must be promoted while universities must in turn commercialise their research and focus on its practical applications; • internationalisation and creation of European networks of excellence, and the development of an interdisciplinary academic focus. A thorough analysis of these roles could lead to the assumption that they would, in the long term, alter the historical characteristics and functions of the various European higher education systems (i.e. the German research model, the French vocational model and the British humanistic model). In addition, a further contradiction in policies influencing European higher education has emerged since the 2001 Lisbon Summit in the shape of a new strategic goal that the Union has set itself for the coming decade: to become the world’s most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy, offering sustainable economic growth, as well as increased, improved and more coherent job opportunities. This highly ambitious goal can be analysed from two perspectives (Valle, Javier 2007a: 58). From an integrative perspective,

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Europe is striving for social cohesion and citizenship; hence in this context, individuals are viewed as citizens with rights, and the guiding principles are equal opportunities and equity. However, from another perspective, it is equally possible to argue that the European Union’s ultimate goal is to maximise employability and competitiveness. This concern could be seen to overshadow the traditional interests of higher education institutions as they are increasingly pushed towards supporting the achievement of governmental targets related to employment and the labour market. This contradictory analysis has resulted in many European academics and national bodies rejecting the process wholesale. In Italy, for example, academic teaching staff went on strike to voice their belief that education should not merely serve the purposes of the economy but rather enable individuals to develop as human beings. A critique of the teaching methodology The introduction of the credit system poses many challenges and is causing much confusion among European academics and students, particularly in those countries whose universities have a very strong theoretical tradition, e.g. Spain. As Valle (2007b: 12) has noted, teachers are expected to master a variety of active and virtual teaching methods: problem-solving, seminars, interdisciplinary projects, etc. Yet at the same time, university teacher training does not appear to be one of the Spanish government’s priorities. Consequently, academics are expected to change their teaching methods, yet have no access to specific guidelines for each discipline that would safeguard educational quality. In addition, academics are expected to organise group tutorials in order to foster autonomous learning by the students. This is practically impossible in a university system that is already as huge as Spain’s. By contrast, students are required to become much more involved in the learning process, which in turn demands a higher level of motivation and greater responsibilities on their part. Students in the early stages of their degree courses are accustomed to being supervised and ‘‘sheltered’’ by their teachers, and this can sometimes encourage them to adopt a passive attitude towards their studies. Although students may show a desire to express their ideas, these are often little more than mere opinions that they are incapable of defending or of expressing by means of a consistent, constructive and well thought-out academic discourse. Students must thus develop their ability to seek out and integrate information, else risk facing a decline in the overall quality of education. A critique of changes introduced in higher education curriculum Reference must also be made to the emphasis that curriculum places on the practical and professional dimensions of education designed to increase employability. One of the direct consequences of emphasising vocational values over academic concerns is the negative impact that this has on the


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humanities and social sciences. Measures must be taken to prevent our social fabric from damage, for in these postmodern and relativist times, it is more important than ever before for universities to act as society’s ‘‘guiding light’’ and not merely as an instrument for the economy or the labour market.

Conclusions The implementation of a common European education policy is now a reality, and started with the Maastricht Treaty. This policy will be fully implemented once the European Higher Education Area becomes a reality and students and professors start to participate in it. If one analyse thoroughly the common content that defines the European education policy, one would have to say that it relies mainly on developing certain basic skills that are defined by the European institutions and to which the lifelong learning paradigm applies. This simple idea implies a new culture of teaching and learning in which students’ mobility and the use of new technologies are promoted. The gap between the reports of European ministries and the actual situation at university level is huge, and European education policy will only be achieved provided that both teachers and students make a major effort to facilitate its implementation. One must also ask whether the new policy is really in the best interests of higher education and to what extent it should be implemented. Another example of the disparity between educational policy texts and the real education process is illustrated by the effort required of professors and students in order to implement a new teaching methodology that aims to encompass a practical dimension through the inclusion of ECTS. This involves preparing updated didactic materials and new techniques for evaluating students. The 2010 deadline that the Lisbon strategy sets for implementing these new academic courses in line with the European guidelines might appear unrealistic in view of the massive changes involved. Furthermore, one should not forget that for European countries with a strong theoretical tradition, this new teaching methodology may represent both a challenge and a risk. Due to government pressure on universities in general and academics in particular, some have been vociferous in their disagreement and discontent regarding the process as a whole. However, the whole process of adapting the higher education programs to the ECTS systems would appear to have reached the point of no return, and European academics have not been able to present an alternative proposal. The reality at European universities is that there is a need to revise study plans and align them with European guidelines, and this bureaucratic burden is currently overshadowing other, more academic concerns. In some cases, staff meetings focussing on the adoption of new academic plans are seemingly more concerned with discussing skills than with emphasising the importance of content. This means the skills approach is necessarily benefiting some courses more than others.

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I should like to end this article by mentioning the possibilities that university education affords students in terms of improved critical capacities and the ability to think conceptually by means of critical analysis and debate. In order to continue developing their characteristic ethos, universities must insist on maintaining their traditional autonomy. Universities should strive to maintain a certain distance from the biased or marketdriven interests of government and industry, and respond instead to their own aims and priorities.

References Boerma, Edzard. 2007. The Bologna Declaration and Binarity in the European Area of Higher Education. In: Education Policies in Europe. Waxmann: Mu¨nster. Bonal, Xabier, and Aina Tarabini. 2006. Globalizacioń y polı´ tica educativa: cambios de escala y consecuencias metodolo´gicas. In: El derecho a la educacioń en un mundo globalizado, Actas del X Congreso Nacional de Educacioń Comparada en San Sebastiań. Erein: San Sebastiań. —— . 2005. Digital Divide Forum Report: Broadband Access and Public Support in Under-Served Areas. Brussels. Council of the European Union. 2000. Presidency Note on Employment, Economic Reforms and Social Cohesion: Towards a Europe based on Innovation and Knowledge. Lisbon, 23–24 March 2000. Dumort, Alain. 2002. New Media and Distance Education. EU and US Perspectives. In: Digital Academe. The New Media and Institutions of Higher Education and Learning, ed. by William H. Dutton and Broan D. Loader. Routledge, London. Etexeberria, Felix. 2000. Las Polı´ticas educativas en la Unioń Europea. Barcelona: Ariel. Fernańdez de Soto Blas, Marı´ a Luisa. 1997. Utopıá y realidad de la condicioń de ciudadano en la Unioń Europea. PhD Thesis. San Pablo Ceu University . Garcı´ a Garrido, Jose´ Luis, and Marı´ a Jose´ Garcı´ a Ruiz. 2006. La educacioń europea en el contexto de una sociedad sostenible. In: Sostenibilita` in educazione, by Roberto Albarea and Alessandra Burelli. Forum 2006: Udine. Gavari, Elisa. 2005. Estrategias para la observacioń de la praćtica educativa. Barcelona: Ramoń Areces. Joint Declaration (1999) of the European Ministries of Education Convened in Bologna on 19 June 1999. Accessed online at http://www.cepes.ro/information_services/ sources/on_line/bologna.htm. Lewicka-Grisdale, Katarzina.. 2002. Education for European Identity and European citizenship. In: Education in Europe: Policies and Politics, ed. by Jose´ Iban˜ez-Martı´ n and Gonzalo Jover. London: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Pedro´, Francesc, and Irene Puig. 1998. Las reformas educativas. Una perspectiva polı´tica y comparada. Barcelona: Paido´s. Ryba, Raymond. 1993. La incorporacioń de la dimensioń europea al currı´ culum escolar. Revista de Educacioń 301: 7–24.


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Sobisch, Andreas. 1997. The European Union and European citizenship: issues for lifelong learning. In: Developing European Citizens, ed. by John Davies and Andreas Sobisch, 73–95. Sheffield: Sheffield Hallam University. Valle, Javier. 2007a. La nueva polı´ tica de la Unioń Europea: elementos para un ana´lisis crı´ tico. In: Libertad, calidad y equidad en los sistemas educativos (buenas praćticas internacionales): IV encuentros sobre educacioń en El Escorial (UCM). Madrid: Consejerı´ a de Educacioń. ——. 2007b. Retos, luces y sombras de la convergencia universitaria europea. Educacioń y futuro: revista de investigacioń aplicada y experiencias educativas, 16. Madrid: Centro Ensenãnza Superior Don Bosco. The author Elisa Gavari Starkie is Professor of Comparative Education at UNED (Universidad Nacional de Educacioń a Distancia), the Spanish Open University. She completed her PhD on European education policies from the Second World War to the present day. Since then, she has been the recipient of a range of ministry grants and has participated in many official programmes funded by the European Union and the Inter-American Development Bank. Additionally, she has participated in many international conferences in the field of comparative education field and is currently researching the impact of Spanish foreign education policy. She is also the Treasurer of the Spanish Comparative Education Society. Dr Gavari Starkie has published widely on European education policy topics. Contact address: Department of History and Comparative Education, 7, Paseo Senda del Rey, Despacho 217-A, 28040 Madrid, Spain. E-mail: [email protected].

TEACHER EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES: CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS FROM A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE MOŃICA E. PINI and JORGE M. GOROSTIAGA

Originally published in the journal International Review of Education, Volume 54, Nos 3–4, 427–443. DOI: 10.1007/s11159-008-9094-z Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract – The purpose of this study is to explore teacher education policies in different countries of Latin America and North America through the comparison of policy documents. The training of teachers, a key component of education, faces educational challenges as a result of various reform policies in different countries. Critical discourse analysis offers the possibility of illuminating certain aspects of educational policies in specific historic moments. A comparative perspective allows researchers to explore similarities and differences between political statements from a number of governments and agencies, in order to characterize general elements and particularities of teacher education policies in the context of late capitalism. The corpus of this study consists of a selection of recent educational policy documents at national and international levels. This study continues a line of previous studies which apply critical discourse analysis to the research of educational policies. Re´sume´ – POLITIQUES D’E´DUCATION DES ENSEIGNANTS. ANALYSE CRITIQUE DU DISCOURS A` PARTIR D’UNE PERSPECTIVE COMPARATIVE – le but de cette e´tude est d’explorer les politiques d’e´ducation des enseignants dans diffe´rents pays d’Ame´rique latine et d’Ame´rique du nord en comparant des documents politiques. La formation des enseignants, une composante cle´ de l’e´ducation, fait face aux de´fis e´ducatifs re´sultant de diverses politiques de re´forme mises en œuvre dans diffe´rents pays. L’analyse critique du discours offre la possibilite´ d’ećlairer certains aspects des politiques e´ducatives a` des moments historiques prećis. Une perspective comparative permet aux chercheurs d’explorer les similitudes et les diffe´rences subsistant entre les eńonce´s politiques d’un certain nombre de gouvernements et d’agences, afin de caracte´riser les e´le´ments geńe´raux et les particularite´s des politiques d’e´ducation des enseignants dans le contexte du capitalisme tardif. Le corpus de cette e´tude se compose d’un choix des documents rećents de la politique d’e´ducation au niveau national et international. Cette e´tude est dans la droite ligne d’e´tudes preće´dentes appliquant l’analyse critique du discours a` la recherche de politiques e´ducatives. Zusammenfassung – WEGE DER LEHRERBILDUNG. EINE KRITISCHE DISKURSANALYSE AUS VERGLEICHENDER PERSPEKTIVE – Diese Studie erforscht Wege der Lehrerbildung in verschiedenen La¨ndern Lateinamerikas und Nordamerikas, indem sie verschiedene Grundsatzpapiere vergleicht. Aufgrund verschiedener Reformpraktiken in den unterschiedlichen La¨ndern unterliegt die Lehrerausbildung als Schlu¨sselkomponente der Bildungspolitik gro¨ßeren Herausforderungen. Die kritische Diskursanalyse ermo¨glicht eine Inaugenscheinnahme bestimmter bildungspolitischer Aspekte in besonderen historischen Bedeutungszusammenha¨ngen. Aus vergleichender Perspektive werden A¨hnlichkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen den Grundrichtlinien einiger Regierungen und Bildungstra¨ger untersucht, um so allgemeine und besondere Elemente der Lehrerbildung im spa¨tkapitalistischen Kontext zu charakterisieren. Als S. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_9

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Mońica E. Pini and Jorge M. Gorostiaga

Grundlage dienen der Studie neuere bildungspolitische Dokumente auf nationaler und internationaler Ebene. Diese Studie bildet die Fortsetzung eine Reihe fru¨herer Studien zur Bildungspolitik mit der Methode der kritischen Diskursanalyse. Resumen – POLITICAS DE FORMACION Y DESARROLLO DOCENTE. ANALISIS CRITICO DEL DISCURSO DESDE UNA PRESPECTIVA COMPARADA – El propo´sito de este estudio consiste en explorar las polı´ ticas de formacioń docente en diferentes paı´ ses de Ame´rica Latina y en Estados Unidos mediante la comparacioń de documentos de polı´ tica educativa. La formacioń de docentes, un componente clave de la educacioń, enfrenta retos educativos resultantes de varias polı´ ticas de reforma en diferentes paı´ ses. El ana´lisis crı´ tico del discurso ofrece la posibilidad de iluminar determinados aspectos de las polı´ ticas educativas en momentos histo´ricos especı´ ficos. La perspectiva comparada permite a los investigadores explorar similitudes y diferencias entre propuestas polı´ ticas de gobiernos y agencias, a efectos de caracterizar elementos generales y particularidades de las polı´ ticas educativas para los docentes en el contexto del capitalismo tardı´ o. El corpus de este estudio consiste en una seleccioń de documentos sobre polı´ tica educativa reciente, a nivel nacional e internacional. El estudio continuá una serie de estudios anteriores que aplican el ana´lisis de discurso a la investigacioń de polı´ ticas educativas.

Schools in a changing policy environment The demand for education to address the needs and configuration of present societies, and the variety and pace of changes related to knowledge are features common to different countries and regions. Internationally, we have witnessed decades of educational reforms that are assumed to be the answer to the so called ‘‘school crisis.’’ Overall, this ‘‘crisis’’ is a consequence and a reflection of uncertainties and conflicts that go far beyond schools.

Teacher Education and Development Policies

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Many of the policies for school reform have been dictated by neoliberal– neoconservative agendas promoted by internacional agencies (especially the World Bank and the Internationally Monetary Fund). During the 1990s, several countries of Latin America developed policies such as the decentralization of the school system, promotion of school autonomy and managerialism, and the establishment of national evaluation systems. These policies converged with the insufficient funding of schools and the elimination of State regulations that preserved the equality of educational opportunities. With the new century and in the context of a post-neoliberal scenario in which the state plays a more active role, Argentina and other Latin American countries, have shown some important changes in the political context. Nevertheless, there are still continuities and deep social consequences that are hard to remove. As part of a wider study, the purpose of this paper is to explore teacher education and development policies in Latin and North America through the comparison of policy documents. Teachers are key agents in educational processes, but they hardly ever have any participation in reforms. Teachers are today in the eye of the storm because they are in part blamed for students’ deficits. The issue of teacher training and professional development is among the priorities of political decisions in education, including policies that define what kind of institutions should educate teachers and under what professional and labor conditions. Since the theme transcends national limits, this work explores and compares different perspectives and specific proposals in recent documents from different agencies and countries. The idea of studying relevant educational policy documents from North and Latin America, is based on our interest in exploring continuities and discontinuities in policy trends among countries. Typically, policy trends emerge in the USA and other developed countries and define economic and educational policies in Latin America and other peripheral regions (see Ball 1998; Steiner-Khamsi et al. 2006). This study continues a line of previous research that applies critical discourse analysis to policy think tanks and other sources of educational policies (Pini 2004, 2005; Pini and Vales 2005), and to mapping educational policy debates as inter-textual fields (Gorostiaga and Paulston 2004). In previous studies we had registered the ideological consistency between the strategies of marketization and privatization of education in the USA and those that were being promoted in Latin America (Pini 2005). This trend in the US seems to have shifted its focus to public-private partnerships and outsourcing of services (Burch 2005). However, Educational Management Organizations and Charter Schools are still popular, in part, because of the power of some corporations that look at education as a fertile field to colonize. Despite the fact that the political climate and the economic model have changed since the 1990s, democracies in Latin America continue being constrained by inequity and the lack of legitimacy of politicians. The dominant groups remain the same, but the era of the ‘‘just one discourse’’ has

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seemingly ended (Munck 2003). In this study, we aim at contributing to the public debate on the role of education in building a more just society by providing an analysis that increases understanding of teacher education policies. As Cochran-Smith (2005, p. 182) points out, ‘‘the rhetoric of reform is not a simple matter of semantics. It is a vital part of understanding the politics of teacher education.’’

Methodology This is a qualitative study based on critical discourse analysis (Fairclough 1989, 1995; Chouliaraki and Fairclough 1999) within the broader context of current hegemonic ideologies. Fairclough (1989) uses the term discourse ‘‘to refer to the whole process of social interaction of which a text is just a part. This process includes in addition to the text, the process of production of which a text is a product, and the process of interpretation, for which the text is a resource’’ (p. 24). Both, the process of production and interpretation are socially determined. Thus the analysis of the text is only one part of critical discourse analysis, since it also includes the social conditions of production and interpretation of the text. Critical analysis of documents located in their context of production offers the possibility of illuminating certain aspects of educational policies in specific historical moments. In addition, a comparative perspective allows researchers to explore similarities and differences among political statements from a variety of governments and agencies, in order to characterize general elements and particularities of teacher education policies in the context of late capitalism. The corpus of this study involves a selection of recent documents of educational policies at national and international level (we detail them below). The criteria for selection were pertinence and relevance for teacher education policies. We have taken into account the presence of common aspects which allow for comparison, as well as differentiation of elements in the context, type of discourse, and topics. The sample of documents includes different kinds of texts. Even though the Argentine Law is the only official and mandatory text included in the analysis, the other two documents are relevant because they were elaborated by agencies very close to governments, that have an important role in building agendas of educational policies. Another aspect to highlight is that teacher education and development is not the exclusive focus of any of the documents, although in all three documents teachers are defined as a key actor for improving education. The following table summarizes relevant information for each document included in the analysis (Table 1): The National Education Law from Argentina was enacted in December 2006 (Republica Argentina 2007). Its sanction was result of a political decision from the Argentinean National Government to show signs of meaningful


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Table 1. Selection of documents Title

Geographic focus

Year Author

1. Ley de Educacioń Nacional No. 26.206 (National Education Law)

Argentina

2006

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Argentina

2. Educacioń de Calidad para todos: un asunto de derechos humanos (Education of Quality for Everybody: a Human Rights Issue)

Latin America

2007

UNESCO, Oficina Regional de Educacioń para Ame´rica Latina y el Caribe, Santiago, Chile

3. Tough Choices or Tough Times

USA

2007

National Center on Education and the Economy, USA

change with reference to the 1990s educational reform. A previous initiative in the same direction was the sanction of the Law of Education Funding in 2005. The second text, from the UNESCO office in Santiago, Chile, is a document prepared for its discussion at the II Intergovernment Meeting of the Regional Project of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean, organized in Buenos Aires in March 2007. It was produced in collaboration with the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) and with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The document from USA was elaborated by the Skills Commission for the National Center on Education and the Economy. The new commission1 on the skills of the American workforce released this report in 2007 after 2 years of research in the USA and other countries. The commission’s work and research received the support and funding of several private foundations.2 The context The context of production is one important element for the interpretations of texts. In the USA, the prevailing perspectives on education have been built for many years around the ‘‘crisis’’ of public education. These perspectives blame public schools for the declining of USA international competitivity, rarely taking into account how social inequality impacts student learning. At the same time, the system has grown and created more opportunities for social groups that traditionally had no access to school. This expansion has increased heterogeneity and generated resistance from conservative groups to the democratization of education. Based on this ‘‘crisis,’’ since the early 1990s the main strategy of conservative groups has been to turn the administrations of public schools to private corporations. Nowadays, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, China and India seem to be ‘‘the new menace,’’ since their

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highly qualified workers could replace American technicians receiving much lower salaries. Again, responsibility for this situation is falling onto the educational system. During the last decades, one of the main concerns regarding teacher education policies in the US has been the shortage of teacher applicants (Collinson and Ono 2001). At the same time, numerous American reports have affirmed that one of the reasons for public school failure is the poor quality of teachers and curricula (Apple 2000). According to Apple, the social pressure that this judgment implies has consequences for the way teachers’ ‘‘complicated labor process’’ develops (p. 115). Pre-structured curriculum determines the first consequence, the ‘‘separation of conception from execution,’’ when teachers have to follow fixed class plans. The second is closely related to the first, the ‘‘deskilling’’ that occurs when any worker loses control over his/her work (p. 116). Professional skills atrophy due to lack of use. Apple (2000) calls this ‘‘degradation’’ of labor, which represents the increasing power of conservative ideologies and pressure to reduce teaching to the requirements of the tests. In Latin America, teachers have experienced similar pressures with the establishment of evaluation systems and performance measurement (Gajardo 1999). The context of economic reforms including privatizations of public services, unemployment, reduction of domestic consumption, and regressive income distribution, became critical in Argentina at the end of the nineties. As a consequence of the last economic recession period (1998–2002), the Argentinean population had experienced a continuous growth in levels of poverty. The end of 2001 accelerated this process with the collapse of the Argentinean peso which had parity with the dollar.3 On the other hand, even though educational reforms established the extension of compulsory basic school,4 and the increased enrollment at this level, the educational gap between poor and non-poor became deeper, at all age groups.5 In Latin America, and particularly in Argentina, international agencies promoted since the end of the 1980s recipes to reform educational systems with similar orientations than those proposed for the economy: decentralization, evaluation systems, back to the basic education and development of work skills, efficiency as the main criterion for managing funds, and different ways of privatization. The regulation of teachers’ work was through salary incentives and different mandatory training programs (Gajardo 1999). Related to teachers’ professional development, the Red Federal de Capacitacioń Docente (Federal Network of Teacher Training), created by the Argentine Ministry of Education in 1995, was the device through which the State tried to develop a policy on knowledge, abilities and practices of teachers. As a consequence, a more heterogeneous scenario of institutions and actors involved in teacher’s training was configured in our country, in which the National State has tried to have a leading role (Ministerio de Educacioń 2001).


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Currently, there is an important switch taking place, at least in what relates to the political climate and to the economic model of the 1990s. As changes take place in the fields of human rights and citizenship, different conceptions of economics, politics, and education can be developed if society appropriates and follows the struggle for meanings in the public spaces. However, the social consequences of neoliberal policies are still profound, and democracies remain constricted by different forms of inequality.

The texts The National Education Law legislates on all the topics related to the organization, government and components of educational system, except universities. The law is organized in 12 titles. Title IV includes two chapters about teachers and their formation. Chapter 1 on ‘‘teachers’ rights and obligations’’ and Chapter 2, ‘‘teacher education.’’ In general, the Law stresses the need for education to contribute to building a more just society, and to overcome inequalities and different forms of discrimination. The UNESCO document has five parts related to: education as a right, equal access and quality, teachers, funding, and policy recommendations. It is noteworthy in its critique of neoliberal economic policies previously implemented by Latin American countries, the recognition of the social exclusion that groups of Native and African descendance as well as women have suffered, as well as the stress on the dramatic inequalities and the percentages of people living in poverty that characterize the region. The Skills Commission’s text starts by arguing the necessity to change the school system, and it develops ten steps to follow in order to accomplish educational change. The steps mainly refer to: teacher recruiting, training and compensation; creating a set of Board examinations; improving efficiency in the use of resources; developing curriculum and evaluation systems; providing universal early childhood education; giving ‘‘strong support to the students who need it the most’’ (p. 17); and providing new literacy skills for adult workforce. As our goal is to focus on teacher education policies, we analyze and compare the documents’ sections that place special attention on the definitions of education and teacher education, and the sections that propose policies of teacher education that involve market conceptions of education.

Education: public good or market device? The National Education Law establishes that ‘‘education is a public good and a personal and social right, guarantied by the State’’ (art. 2). The UNESCO document defines education as a ‘‘human right and public good,’’ as a ‘‘proposal of quality education longlife for everybody’’ (p. 7). The Skills

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Commission’s text explicitly states that improving education means developing high international standards, as the condition to successfully compete in the world market: ‘‘It [the United States] would have to adopt internationally benchmarked standards for educating its students and its workers, because only countries with highly skilled workforces could successfully compete in that market.’’ (p. 1). The two first definitions in the previous paragraph only differ on the qualification of ‘‘right,’’ personal and social right in the first definition, and human right in the second. Document 3 does not elaborate conceptual definitions. Instead, it pragmatically addresses the issue of the purpose of education, and how it could be achieved. The document reflects the main values of market ideology assuming that individual and national competitiveness and high performances are the main objectives of education. This stance expresses an instrumental conception for which investment in education is only valid if it yields high returns. Both the Skills Commission document and the Argentine Law acknowledge the national relevance of education, but in the first one it appears linked to competitiveness, efficiency, and the primacy of market defining educational contents, since ‘‘a swiftly rising number of American workers at every skill level are in direct competition with workers in every corner of the globe’’ (p. 5), and in the second is related to social rights, public goods, and the State. The Skills Commission text adopts an economic and technocratic perspective, which is illustrated, among other elements, by the vision of ‘‘fixing’’ disadvantaged students through the provision of eyeglasses, hearing aids or therapy for dyslexia (p. 18), and diminishing the influence of social structures inside and outside the school that maintain or reinforce inequality. On the other hand, the document proposes two measures that could have a positive impact in terms of equity: establishing a system of state funding instead of local funding of schools, and providing universal early childhood education.

The meaning of teacher education The Argentine Law defines teacher education as a key factor for improving the quality of education (art. 73), since its goal is to prepare professionals who are able to teach, generate and transfer knowledge and values that are needed for the integral formation of each person, for national development and for building a more equal society. Teacher education will promote the construction of a teacher identity based on professional autonomy, in the context of contemporary culture and society, team work, commitment with equality, and trust on students’ learning capabilities (art. 71). Before the broad statement of professional expectations, the previous enumeration of teachers’ rights (art. 67) – free and in service professional development and


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worthy work conditions and salary, among others – appears as very pertinent, since without the right conditions better results are not possible.6 The UNESCO text specifies that the quality of teachers and the learning environment they generate is one of the most important factors that explains students’ learning results. The implication is that the policies oriented to improving educational quality could only be feasible if the efforts concentrate in transforming, not only teachers but also the culture of schools. Besides, it is emphasized that no reform would be successful without teachers’ participation (p. 10). The document remarks the importance of teachers’ quality for learning and for safeguarding the right to education. Different forms of participation are also included among teachers’ rights in the Argentine law. The American text affirms that: it is simply not possible for our students to graduate from our schools by the millions with very strong mathematical reasoning skills, a sound conceptual grasp of science, strong writing skills, world-beating capacity for creativity and innovation, and everything else we talk about in this report unless their teachers have the knowledge and skills we want our children to have (p. 12).

The quality of teacher education is determined by students’ results, according to standards and general examinations. The wider debate about this lineal connection between teaching-learning- and tests’ scores is not taken into account in the document. Nevertheless, the authors recognize other factors which can influence results. They are especially worried about the problem that most teachers are recruited from the less able of the high school students who go to college (p. 12). The Commission relates this situation to the wider opportunities for women and minorities in American workforce.

Teacher education policies The objectives established by the Argentine law for teacher education policies (art. 73) are aligned with the aim mentioned above oriented to prepare professionals who are able to teach, generate and transfer knowledge and values that are needed for the integral formation of each person, for national development and for building a more equal society. The objectives seem to respond to the law’s definition of education and of teacher training. These objectives are: to upgrade and revalue teacher education; to develop the required capacities and knowledge for teaching work; to provide incentives for educational research and innovation linked to teaching tasks; to offer a variety of in-service training programs and mechanisms that favor professional development; to promote further studies in university institutions; to plan and develop the pre-service and in-service teacher education system; to implement accreditation processes for education institutions and programs which license for teaching; to coordinate and articulate academic

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and institutional cooperation actions between teacher training institutes, universities and other educational research institutions (art. 73). Some of these general objectives could represent a qualitative leap if they were implemented in a collaborative manner with teachers and students, and educational institutions. In contrast to these very general guidelines, we find in the same Law more concrete regulations that establish a two-cycle structure for teacher education, the extension from 3 to 4 years of training for primary and initial education teachers, and the requirement of face-to-face encounters in distance education (a rare case in teacher education) (art. 75). In addition, the Law indicates that the National Ministry of Education and the Federal Council of Education should build agreements upon teacher training policies, guidelines and actions (art.74). This is a very important decision for a federal country. At the same time, the Law creates the National Institute of Teacher Education which is responsible for implementing many of these policies and actions (art. 76). The Institute, which started to operate in May 2007, has very broad functions and counts with an advisory board that includes representatives of different sectors. While the Argentine Law mentions other factors related to teacher education, the UNESCO document addresses this policy through an approach that integrates the three basic issues that are considered to affect teaching practices: Achieving a good professional performance demands addressing in an integral manner a group of elements that are fundamental for the development and the strengthening of teachers’ cognitive, pedagogic, ethic and social capacities. Three of them require priority attention from national governments: an articulated system of permanent education and professional development; a transparent and motivating system of professional career and teacher evaluation; and an appropriate system of labor conditions and welfare (p. 10).

Moreover, this text stresses the importance of recruiting qualified candidates, making reference to studies that show the increase in the number of students coming from impoverished social sectors, but it frames this issue within a explicitly political logic: In order to attract well qualified candidates, retain the best professionals and guarantee their permanent development, it is not enough to implement partial or occasional actions; what is required is state public policies, integral and systemic, and with an inter-sectoral perspective. For the viability of these policies it is essential that they are formulated with social and political consensus that guarantee long term solutions, encourage a culture of joint responsibility, and translate into concrete agendas and commitments (p. 12).

As we have already pointed out, the issue of candidates’ qualifications has a prominent place in the Skills Commission document: ‘‘recruiting, training, and deploying a teaching force … recruited from the top third of the high school students going to college’’ (p. 12) is one the three priorities in which


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the savings resulting from a more efficient use of available resources would be used.7 As in the other documents, the topic of teacher education is linked to other issues such as: changing the compensation system toward increasing salaries of beginning teachers and introducing incentives, in some cases tied to teacher productivity in terms of student achievements. In addition, we find some distinctive elements in the US document: (a) a rigorous evaluation of teaching performance; and (b) opportunities for teachers to form their own organizations for the operation of schools (p. 14). We further elaborate on these issues below. With regard to specific policies on teacher education, the document proposes a radical shift from the current situation in which teacher education takes place in universities. In this proposal, each state would create a Teacher Development Agency in charge of recruiting, training, and certifying teachers. These Agencies would contract out among different public and private agents: ‘‘the state would launch national recruiting campaigns, allocate slots for training the needed number of teachers, and write performance contracts with schools of education, but also teachers´ collaboratives, school districts, and others interested in teacher training’’ (p. 14).

Professionalism and evaluation All three documents define teachers as potential professionals in different ways. While the Argentinian law promotes a ‘‘teaching identity based on professional autonomy’’ (art. 71), the US document calls for a better salary for teachers ‘‘willing to work the same hours per year as other professionals typically do.’’ (p. 13). Nevertheless, it is the text by UNESCO which makes the strongest and detailed call for advancing toward professionalization, including under this conception the development of rational competencies, pedagogic techniques, responsibility and commitment toward student learning, which would allow teachers to exercise their ‘‘citizen right in decisions about education, the school and their own practices’’ (UNESCO 2007, p. 51). In discussing the issue of professionalism, we need to consider that professions typically develop strategies for minimizing the intrusion of nonprofessionals into definitions and routines of work (Esland 1980). Therefore, the professionalization of teaching may imply restricting the participation of other actors like community members in educational policy and practice (see Ginsburg and Gorostiaga 2003). On the other hand, during the last decades there has been a visible growth of control over teachers (Apple 2001) in different countries, which may be seen as undermining the conception of teachers as professionals. Even though we need to acknowledge that historically teachers were conceived as agents who were part of a bureaucracy and lacking any autonomy (Tenti Fanfani 2006), the change from ‘‘licensed autonomy’’ to ‘‘regulated autonomy’’ occurred since ‘‘teachers’ work is more highly standardized,

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rationalized, and ‘policed’ .... Under the growing conditions of regulated autonomy, teachers’ actions are now subject to much great scrutiny in terms of process and outcomes’’ (Apple 2001, p. 51), a phenomenon also present in Latin America where it has led to the expansion and intensification of tasks in precarious and deteriorating working conditions (Andrade Oliveira 2006). Furthermore, the three documents consider the establishment of evaluation systems that include assessing teacher’s performance. The Argentinian Law does not specify much about this, while the UNESCO document stresses the need for making teachers accountable for student performance, linking the evaluation of teachers to their professional development and their career ladders (p. 56). According to the proposal of the Skills Commission document, every teacher would have to pass a ‘‘rigorous teaching performance assessment.’’ In the United States, educational evaluation at all levels (from classrooms to central offices) is based on standards. These standards imply uniform results to be reached that are established by each state and, in most cases, evaluated through tests implemented by big private companies. This form of evaluation, which quantifies complex processes, has been criticized as an application of economicist models that reduce knowledge to its measurable aspects and limits learning processes to the contents that can be assessed through these procedures (Anderson 1998; Apple 2000). Although it is recognized that examinations and assessments need to be improved in order to measure qualities like creativity, innovation and self-discipline, the text stresses that ‘‘it all starts with the standards and assessments’’ (National Center on Education and the Economy 2007, p. 15).

Marketization The proposal made by the Skills Commission for the formation of teachers’ organizations to manage schools looks like a euphemism of charter schools. In the document, Step 5 explains that in the new governance and organizational scheme for creating high performance schools and districts, public schools ‘‘would be operated by independent contractors, many of them limited-liability corporations owned and run by teachers’’ (p. 16). As previous research (Pini 2000, 2004) explains, during the past 10 years there have been many attempts to impose the charter school’s model, in the USA. This trend has opened public education to market by allowing private companies, including big corporations, to manage schools and districts. The reasons behind the arguments in favor to increase autonomy for better performance, and to provide freedom of school choice among parents, are: • There is a large amount of money moving around the educational system that attracts business people.


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• Teachers find difficult to manage complex administrative procedures and controls so they end up contracting private companies for these tasks. • An ‘‘educational industry’’ specialized in schools has developed following the logic of any other industry. This model is the one proposed by the Skills Commission document for teaching education, allowing state Agencies to openly contract in the market, following a logic of profit that is opposed to the logic of education as a right and as a public good.8 The Argentine Law and the UNESCO document seem to espouse the perspective of education as a public good, but there are aspects of the realities of education and teaching in Latin America that may question to what extent those general guidelines are translated into practices. We need to be aware of the increasing participation of private companies, through different organizations and negotiation mechanisms, in the decisions about educational policy. There is a silent advance of companies and corporations promoting different kinds of educational projects, sometimes in association with universities and other private institutions.9 This advancement includes programs and actions for teacher education and training implemented by big companies and their foundations, both local (Noble Foundation; Argentine Banks Association) and multinational (Microsoft Argentina; Coca Cola; Santillana; Fundacioń Telefońica, etc.).

Final comments The comparison shows similarities among the discursive features of the National Education Law (Argentina) and the UNESCO document, related to the definition of education and the meaning of teacher education. The policy discourses in these two texts are very different from the USA document, because they emphasize education as a social right, but in the light of educational and social realities in Latin America, their implementation is not guaranteed. In the case of Argentina, the text of the law is too generic and the Institute that has been created concentrates too many functions for a federal country. At the same time, the power of big companies and the huge social inequalities have not disappeared, in spite of changes in the economic model. The findings that emerge from the comparative analysis of educational policy documents are significant. Even though each context is different, the ideological influence of the USA policy context and financial agencies has been traditionally important for the development of policies in Latin America. Regarding teacher education policies, a first look shows very different approaches. However, the general character of the Argentinean Law statements, as well as the current social and educational scenarios for Latin America, demand a constant struggle for achieving policies that respond to the right to a quality education for all.

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During the last decades, in almost every Latin American country, including Argentina, evaluation systems have promoted the ‘‘regulated autonomy’’ of teachers’ work. They have not produced better students’ learning, but more pressure and worse labor conditions for teachers. For both the American and the Latin American cases, the recommendations and policies that the three documents express do not seem to foster the development of teachers as intellectuals nor to acknowledge their political role. Corporations in the US have profited from education through the provision of auxiliary services, textbooks, tests, training, evaluation, and even instructional programs (Molnar 1996; Spring 1997; Boyles 2000). Meanwhile, the neoliberal agenda has found a fertile field for marketoriented practices in education in Latin America. In addition to changes in the role of the state, corporations have developed expansion policies increasing their capacity to influence regulations for their own benefit. This is the case of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and with the naturalization of the idea of education as a private good. As Ball (1998) has pointed out, ‘‘education is not simply modeled on the methods and values of capital, it is itself drawn into the commodity form’’ (p. 126). Education as a public good can be claimed and lived as a right, while as a private good it is just a right for those who can pay for it. Education as a public good is potentially inclusive, it brings social benefits, and helps to build a society of active citizens who are capable of participating in political life. Instead, education as a private good, generates individual advantages, contributes to the formation of elites, and casts citizens as passive consumers. While the State does not guarantee good teacher education for every teacher nor adequate regulations for those who prepare teachers, corporations expand their power and provide a good image to the public while saving taxes at the same time. In unequal societies such as those in Latin America, the laws themselves are not enough to ensure the universal right of education. The power of big corporations is strong and the huge social inequities continue, in spite of changes in the economic model moving away from neoliberalism. Neoliberal educational reforms in Latin America produced a restructuration of teachers’ status and work lives (Andrade Oliveira and Feldfeber 2006). The expansion of access to school was accomplished off the backs of teachers, eroding their already battered professional and social role. Counter-hegemonic initiatives are needed to defend and improve public institutions. These initiatives should seek a redefinition of the social goals of those institutions, criticizing and challenging growing instrumentalization from the private sector and promoting an authentic participation of teachers and students (Anderson 1998). New discourses are needed to critique the growing influence of marketization in Latin American education systems. This also requires new social networks of communication (e.g. think tanks, bloggs, etc.) and solidarity among those working for a more just and democratic society.


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Notes 1. The first commission released a report in 1990, called America’s Choice: high skills or low wages! 2. Annie E. Casey Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Lumina Foundation for Education. 3. According to SIEMPRO (2003), by the last 4 years, more than 27% of the Argentinean population became poor by income. Between 1998 and 2001, 8.6% became poor, and between 2001 and 2002 another 18.6% of the population descended under the poverty line. The loss of home equity, higher prices, and increasing inequity of income are the main factors that have contributed to the growth of poverty. 4. It includes K-9. 5. Children, adolescents, and adults. 6. Art. 2 inc. i of the Law of Education Funding establishes as one of its priorities improving work conditions and teachers’ salaries, as well as professional career and teacher education. 7. The other two would be: building a high-quality early childhood education system and giving disadvantaged students the resources they need to reach international education standards. 8. This is not to say that schools organized by teachers, parents and/or community members may not have, in some cases, a progressive character. Whitty and Power (2002) argue that ‘‘The Kura Kaupapa Maori in New Zealand and some of the ‘alternative’ US charter schools provide examples where self-determination by communities and professionals has brought about innovative and potentially empowering educational environments’’ (pp. xiii–xiv). 9. ‘‘Universidad y empresas: el nuevo romance’’, Clarıń Econo´mico, 16/5/04.

References Documents National Center on Education and the Economy. 2007. Tough Choices or Tough Times [Electronic Version]. Washington DC: National Center on Education and the Economy. Republica Argentina, Ministerio de Educacioń, Ciencia y Tecnologı´ a. 2007. Ley de Educacioń Nacional No. 26.206/06. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Educacioń, Ciencia y Tecnologı´ a. UNESCO, Oficina Regional de Educacioń para Ame´rica Latina y el Caribe. 2007. Educacioń de Calidad para todos: un asunto de derechos humanos [Electronic version]. Santiago, Chile: UNESCO.

Bibliography Anderson, Gary L. 1998. Toward Authentic Participation: Deconstructing the Discourses of Participatory Reforms in Education. American Educational Research Journal 35(4): 571–603. Andrade Oliveira, Dalila. 2006. El trabajo docente y la nueva regulacioń educativa en Ame´rica Latina. In: Polı´ticas educativas y trabajo docente. Nuevas regulaciones ¿Nuevos sujetos?, ed. by Dalila Andrade Oliveira and Miryam Feldfeber. Buenos Aires: Noveduc.

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Apple, Michael. 2000. Official Knowledge. Democratic Education in a Conservative Age (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Apple, Michael. 2001. Educating the ‘‘Right’’ Way. Markets, Standards, God, and Inequality. New York and London: RoutledgeFalmer. Ball, Stephen. 1998. Big Policies, Small World. Comparative Education 34(2): 119–130. Boyles, Deron. 2000. American Education and Corporations. The Free Market Goes to School. New York and London: Falmer Press. Burch, Patricia E. 2005. The New Educational Privatization: Educational Contracting and High Stakes Accountability. Teachers College Record, Published: December 15, 2005 http://www.tcrecord.org ID Number 12259, Accessed: 1/21/2006 11:21:20 a.m. Chouliaraki Lilie, and Norman Fairclough. 1999. Discourse in Late Modernity. Rethinking Critical Discourse Analysis. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press. Cochran-Smith, Marilyn. 2005. The Politics of Teacher Education and the Curse of Complexity. Journal of Teacher Education 56(3): 181–185. Collinson, Vivienne, and Yumiko Ono. 2001. The Professional Development of Teachers in the United States and in Japan. European Journal of Teacher Education 24(2): 223–248. Esland, Geoff. 1980. Professions and Professionalism. In: The Politics of Work and Occupations, ed. by Geoff Esland and Graeme Salaman. Milton Keynes, England: Open University Press. Fairclough, Norman. 1989. Language and Power. London and New York: Longman. Fairclough, Norman. 1995. Critical Discourse Analysis: The Critical Study of Language. London and New York: Longman. Gajardo, Marcela. 1999. Reformas Educativas en Ame´rica Latina. Balance de una dećada. PREAL/Documentos. No. 15, Online: http://www.preal.cl. Ginsburg, Mark, and Jorge Gorostiaga. 2003. Dialogue about Educational Research, Policy, and Practice: To What Extent is it Possible and Who Should be Involved?. In: Limitations and Possibilities of Dialogue among Researchers, Policy-makers and Practitioners: International Perspectives on the Field of Education, ed. by Mark Ginsburg and Jorge M. Gorostiaga. New York: Routledge Falmer. Gorostiaga, Jorge, and Rolland Paulston. 2004. Mapping Perspectives on School Decentralization: The Global Debate and the Case of Argentina. In: Re-Imagining Comparative Education: Postfoundational Ideas and Applications for Critical Times, ed. by Peter Ninnes and Sonia Metha. London: Routledge Falmer. Ministerio de Educacioń. Unidad de Investigaciones Educativas. 2001. La polı´tica de capacitacioń docente en la Argentina. La Red Federal de Formacioń Docente Continua (1994-1999). Informes de Investigacioń/8. Buenos Aires: Autor. Molnar, Alex. 1996. Giving Kids the Business. The Commercialization of America’s Schools. Colorado, USA & Oxford, UK: Westview Press. Munck, Ronaldo. 2003. Neoliberalism, Necessitarianism and Alternatives in Latin America: There is no Alternative (TINA). Third World Quarterly 24(3): 495–511. Pini, Mońica. E. (2000), Lineamientos de polı´ tica educativa en los Estados Unidos. Debates actuales. Significados para Ame´rica Latina. Educational Policy Analysis Archives 8(8).


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Pini, Mońica. 2004. Escuelas charter y empresas. Un discurso que vende. Buenos Aires: Minõ y Da´vila. Pini, Mońica. 2005. Ana´lisis crı´tico del discurso como perspectiva de investigacioń de polı´ticas educativas. Ponencia presentada en el Primer Congreso Nacional de Estudios Comparados en Educacioń. Buenos Aires: SAECE, 18 and 19/11/05. Pini, Mońica, and Alicia Vales. 2005. A Critical Discourse Ana´lisis of Political Discourses About Education: Public Education for Everybody? Annual Conference of the American Education Research Association, Montreal, Canada. Spring, Joel. 1997. Political Agendas for Education: From the Christian Coalition to the Green Party. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Steiner-Khamsi, Gita, Iveta Silova, and Eric Johnson. 2006. Neoliberalism Liberally Applied: Educational Policy Borrowing in Central Asia. In: World Yearbook of Education 2006, ed. by Jenny Ozga, Terry Seddon and Thomas Popkewitz. London: Routledge. Tenti Fanfani, Emilio. 2006. Profesionalizacioń docente: consideraciones sociolo´gicas. In: El Oficio de Docente: Vocacioń, trabajo y profesioń en el siglo XXI, ed. by Emilio Tenti Fanfani. Buenos Aires: Siglo Veintiuno Editores. Whitty, Geoff, and Sally Power. 2002. The school, the state and the market: The research evidence updated, Currıćulo sem Fronteiras 2(1): i–xxiii.

The authors Mońica E. Pini is Professor at the School of Graduate Studies at the Universidad Nacional de San Martı´ n, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, she is the Director of the Center of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, Culture and Society and also of the Master in Education, Languages and Media. She earned a Master in Public Administration from the Universidad de Buenos Aires and a Ph.D. in Educational Thought and Sociocultural Studies from the University of New Mexico. Contact address: Escuela de Posgrado, Universidad Nacional de San Martı´ n, Belgrano 3563, San Martı´ n, CP 1650, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: [email protected] Jorge M. Gorostiaga holds a PhD in Social and Comparative Analysis in Education (University of Pittsburgh). He is an Associate Professor of Education Reform and the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Graduate Studies of Universidad Nacional de San Martıń (Argentina). His research focuses on different aspects of educational reform in Latin America. He is the co-editor (with Mark Ginsburg) of Limitations and Possibilities of Dialogue among Researchers, Policy-makers and Practitioners: International Perspectives on the Field of Education (New York: Routledge Falmer, 2003). Contact address: Escuela de Posgrado, Universidad Nacional de San Martı´ n, Belgrano 3563, San Martı´ n, CP 1650, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: [email protected]

TOWARDS AN INDIGENOUS AFRICAN EDUCATIONAL DISCOURSE: A PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION PHILIP HIGGS

Originally published in the journal International Review of Education, Volume 54, Nos 3–4, 455–458. DOI: 10.1007/s11159-008-9088-x Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract – The liberation of Africa and its peoples from centuries of racially discriminatory colonial rule and domination has far reaching implications for educational thought and practice. The transformation of educational discourse in Africa requires a philosophical framework that respects diversity, acknowledges lived experience and challenges the hegemony of Western forms of universal knowledge. In this article, the author argues that indigenous knowledge, as a system of African knowledge, can provide a useful philosophical framework for the construction of empowering knowledge that will enable communities in Africa to participate in their own educational development. Re´sume´ – LE MANDAT E´DUCATIF DU SAVOIR INDIGE`NE COMME E´PISTE´MOLOGIE AFRICAINE – la libe´ration de l’Afrique et de ses peuples de sie`cles de loi et de domination coloniales discriminatoires sur le plan racial a des implications de grande envergure pour la penseé et la pratique e´ducatives. La transformation du discours e´ducatif en Afrique exige un cadre philosophique qui respecte la diversite´, reconnaıˆ t une expe´rience većue et lance un de´fi a` l’he´ge´monie des formes occidentales du savoir universel. Dans cet article, l’auteur soutient que le savoir indige`ne, en tant qu’il est un syste`me du savoir africain, peut fournir un cadre philosophique utile pour la construction d’un savoir renforçant les communaute´s en Afrique et leur permettant de participer a` leur propre de´veloppement e´ducatif. Zusammenfassung – EINHEIMISCHES WISSEN ALS BILDUNGSAUFTRAG UND AFRIKANISCHE ERKENNTNISTHEORIE – Die Befreiung Afrikas und seiner Vo¨lker von jahrhundertelanger rassendiskriminierender Kolonialherrschaft hat weitreichende Folgen fu¨r die Theorie und Praxis des Bildungssystems. Die Transformation des Bildungsdiskurses in Afrika macht philosophische Rahmenbedingungen erforderlich, die die bestehende Vielfa¨ltigkeit respektieren, Lebenserfahrungen anerkennen und die Hegemonie westlicher Formen universellen Wissens hinterfragen. In diesem Artikel vertritt der Autor die Meinung, dass das einheimische Wissen – im Sinne eines Systems afrikanischen Wissens – nu¨tzliche philosophische Rahmenbedingungen zum Aufbau einer Wissenserma¨chtigung bereitstellen kann, welche die afrikanischen Gemeinden in die Lage versetzt, an ihrer eigenen Bildungsentwicklung mitzuwirken. Resumen – EL MANDATO EDUCATIVO DEL CONOCIMIENTO INDI´GENA COMO UNA EPISTEMOLOGIÁ AFRICANA – La liberacioń de A´frica y sus habitantes de las normas y la dominacioń colonial con discriminacioń racial de varios siglos, dio lugar a importantes consecuencias para el pensamiento y la praćtica educativa. La transformacioń del discurso educativo en A´frica requiere un marco filoso´fico que respete la diversidad, tenga en cuenta la experiencia vivida y desafı´ e la hegemonı´ a de las formas occidentales de conocimiento universal. En este artı´ culo, el autor argumenta que el S. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_10

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conocimiento indı´ gena, como sistema del conocimiento africano, puede proveer un praćtico marco filoso´fico para comenzar a construir un conocimiento fortalecedor que permita que las comunidades en A´frica participen en su propio desarrollo educativo.

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African history and the colonial influence Much of the history of Africa has been dominated by colonial occupation. Colonialism in Africa provided the framework for the organised subjugation of the cultural, scientific and economic life of many on the African continent. This subjugation ignored indigenous knowledge systems and impacted on African people’s way of seeing and acting in the world. In fact, African identity, to all intents and purposes, became an inverted mirror of Western Eurocentric identity. This state of affairs gave birth to numerous attempts to reassert distinctively African ways of thinking and of relating to the world. Such attempts find expression in that spoken tradition and body of literature referred to as African philosophy. In this paper I attempt to contextualise the problem of an African educational discourse in the call for an African Renaissance. By an African educational discourse, I mean those forms of teaching and learning which are inclusive of African philosophy, African lived experiences, and the teaching and learning which uphold this philosophy. I then go on to discuss what I argue are the main tenets of African philosophy and the consequences that these might have, for African educational theory and practice. The African Renaissance and educational discourse The call for an African Renaissance has been present in the period marking the nearly four decades of African post-independence. The process of decolonisation that unfolded during this period saw Africa assert its right to define itself within its own African context in the attainment of independence. Wa Thiango (1993: 17) claims that independence was about people’s

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struggle to claim their own space, and their right to name the world for themselves, rather than be named through the colour-tinted glass of the Europeans. In the context of education, Hoppers (2001: 1) describes this continuing struggle in the following way: ‘‘The African voice in education at the end of the twentieth century is the voice of the radical witness of the pain and inhumanity of history, the arrogance of modernisation and the conspiracy of silence in academic disciplines towards what is organic and alive in Africa. It is the voice of ‘wounded healers’ struggling against many odds to remember the past, engage with the present, and determine a future built on new foundations. It invokes the democratic ideal of the right of all to ‘be’, to ‘exist’, to grow and live without coercion, and from that to find a point of convergence with the numerous others. It exposes the established hegemony of Western thought, and beseeches it to feel a measure of shame and vulgarity at espousing modes of development that build on the silencing of all other views and perceptions of reality. It also seeks to make a contribution to the momentum for a return of humanism to the centre of the educational agenda, and dares educators to see the African child-learner not as a bundle of Pavlovian reflexes, but as human being culturally and cosmologically located in authentic value systems.’’ What is meant by the African Renaissance in educational discourse is, therefore, founded on the perception that the overall character of much of educational theory and practice in Africa is overwhelmingly either European or Eurocentric. In other words, it is argued by advocates of an African Renaissance in educational discourse, such as, Teffo (2000), Vilakazi (2000), and Seepe (2001b) that much of what is taken for education in Africa is in fact not African, but rather a reflection of Europe in Africa. The African Renaissance has also, taken on a much greater significance in recent days with the call for the recognition of indigenous knowledge systems by scholars such as Hoppers (2001a, b, c) and Seepe (2001a, b). The inference here is the distorted view that Africans possess little or no indigenous knowledge of value that can be utilized in the process of educational transformation. This same inference also presupposes, it is argued by protagonists of an African Renaissance in educational discourse, that the norm for educational achievement and success for African children and students is that of Western European capitalist elitist culture, where the English language is sacralized, and the internalization of bourgeois European values is seen as the index of progress. And it is in response to this state of affairs that the call for an African Renaissance in educational discourse goes out, a call which insists that all critical and transformative educators in Africa embrace an indigenous African world view and root their nation’s educational paradigms in an indigenous socio-cultural and epistemological framework. This implies that all educational curricula in Africa should have Africa as their focus, and as a result be indigenous-grounded and orientated. Failure to do so, it is argued,

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will mean that education becomes alien, oppressive and irrelevant, as is seen to be the case with the legacy of colonial and neo-colonial education systems in Africa. The call for an African Renaissance in educational discourse, therefore, seeks to demonstrate, how indigenous African philosophies can be tapped as a foundational resource for the socio-educational transformation of the African continent, and also how indigenous philosophies can be politically and economically liberating. This means that by virtue of assuming the indigeneity of culture, the call for an African Renaissance in educational discourse does not connote a detachment from political radicalization and mobilization. In short, it would claim that the influence of Western Eurocentric culture on Africans needs to be forcefully arrested by all critically conscious African educators in the struggle for the establishment of an African identity in educational discourse. I now turn my attention to the contribution made by African philosophy to the establishment of such an African identity, and explore the possible framework that African philosophy can provide for the construction of empowering knowledge that will enable communities in Africa to participate in their own educational development.

African philosophy and the problem of an African identity The question of an indigenous African knowledge system, that is, of an African philosophy with a distinctive African epistemic identity is not unproblematic. In the light of Africa’s colonial legacy, African philosophy is confronted with the problem of establishing its own unique African order of knowledge. The attempt to establish a distinctively African epistemic identity within the discipline of philosophy has brought into question what it means to be ‘an African’, and what it means to be ‘a philosopher’. The question of what meaning we attach to the adjective ‘African’ when we talk about ‘African philosophy’ is a crucial debate in attempts at establishing a uniquely African order of knowledge. Some African philosophers, for example, Mudimbe (1988) and Hountondji (1983, 1985), regard an intellectual product as African simply because it is produced or promoted by Africans. They, therefore, adopt a geographical criterion in their definition of the term ‘African’ in ‘African philosophy’ in that they regard African philosophy as the contributions of Africans practising philosophy within the defined framework of the discipline and its historical traditions. But then another criterion, referred to as the cultural criterion, is also used to determine what is meant by ‘African’ in African philosophy. According to this criterion, a philosophical work is ‘African’ if it directs its attention to issues concerning the theoretical or conceptual underpinnings of African culture. Such a view is clearly presented by Gyekye (1987: 72) when he writes: ‘‘Philosophy is a cultural phenomenon in that philosophical


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thought is grounded in cultural experience.’’ According to this view then, the study of the traditional African world in terms of views, ideas, and conceptions represents the unique substance of African philosophy and legitimizes reference to what is referred to as African philosophy. With regard to the term ‘‘philosophy’’, two conceptions of philosophy have become prominent in debates about the idea of African philosophy. First is the definition of philosophy as a rational, critical activity. Those who adopt this definition of philosophy, for example, Appiah (1989a), Oruka (1990), Bodunrin (1985), Oladipo (1989), Wiredu (1989, 1996) and Hountondji (1983, 1985), frown at the attempt to equate African philosophy with traditional African world-views. In doing so, they make a distinction between philosophy in the popular sense, and philosophy in the academic sense. In the first instance, philosophy is regarded as being concerned with traditional African world-views whereas, in an academic sense, philosophy is a theoretical discipline like, for example, physics, algebra and linguistics with its own distinctive problems and methods. Scholars in Africa who view philosophy in this academic sense are referred to as universalist African philosophers because they emphasise reason as a universal human phenomenon. There are, however, other African philosophers such as, Anyanwu (1989), Gyekye (1989, 1997), Mabogo (1996), Motshega (1999), Mbiti (1970), Kaphagawani (1998) and Kwame (1992) who maintain that traditional African world-views constitute an authentic African philosophy. They insist on a definition of philosophy that is broad enough to accommodate these worldviews. Recourse to traditional African world-views is taken up in the practice of what is called ethnophilosophy. The two conceptions of philosophy that have become prominent in debates about the idea of African philosophy are thus marked by: • those who insist on a strict definition of philosophy on a purity of form; they are out to defend the professional integrity of their discipline against the popularisation by cultural nationalists; • those who give a rather broad definition of philosophy and emphasise the specificity of the content of whatever is produced by African philosophers in the practice of ethnophilosophy. However, the concern with definitions, be they definitions of ‘African’ or ‘philosophy’, is considered by some, for example, Oladipo (1992) and Appiah (1989b) to be misguided and distracting. Oladipo (1992: 22) argues that there are no definitions that capture the essence of either the terms ‘African’ or ‘philosophy’. No one definition can be credited with a universal application, because both these terms are linked with a social history that impacts upon their meaning. In responding to the preoccupation with definition Appiah (1989b: 12) points out that: There are other issues for philosophers in Africa to explore now, which require not preliminary anxieties as to whether our work fits existing labels

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but confident examinations of some of the questions for which our training happens to have equipped us. In the light of these remarks it would seem that the problem surrounding African philosophy is not the problem of anything meeting the criteria for being both ‘African’ and ‘philosophical’. Rather it is the problem of the extent to which African philosophers have been able to put their intellect in the service of the struggle and destiny of Africans. In other words, the issue is not that of whether a contributor to a debate is African-born or whether the question under consideration is authentically African in the cultural sense. It is not even the issue of whether what they are doing is pure philosophy, applied philosophy, ethnophilosophy, social criticism or whatever. Rather it is in the words of Oladipo (1992: 24): ‘‘… it is the issue of the extent to which African philosophers have been able to use whatever intellectual skills they possess to illuminate the various dimensions of the African predicament.’’ This sentiment is taken up in part by African scholars, such as Serequeberhan (1994), who adopt a hermeneutical perspective on African philosophy. Rooting themselves in what is traditional to Africa, these scholars seek to escape an enslavement to the past by using that past to open up the future. They contend that philosophy properly construed must move beyond a preoccupation with universalist abstractions and ethnological considerations and call into question the real relations of power in Africa. In this regard, Serequeberhan (1994: 43) states that: ‘‘The discourse of African philosophy is indirectly and historically linked to the demise of European hegemony (colonialism and neocolonialism) and is aimed at completing this demise. It is a reflective and critical effort to rethink the indigenised African situation beyond the confines of Eurocentric concepts and categories.’’ To appreciate the distinctive features of African philosophy, it is also helpful to compare its method and execution with other systems of philosophy. Appiah (1992: 144) elucidates the difference between African and Western philosophy being mindful of the condescending attitude of the West towards Africa. For Appiah, the West considers the issue of what philosophy is ‘for’ – that is, its social meaning and relevance – with intellectual and academic contempt. Undoubtedly, the West does philosophize in a different style and method from Africa, although this may be attributed to enormous resources and funding. The West is concerned with perfecting philosophical discourse for its own sake, while Africa wants to use philosophy in a particular sense to address social issues, including the nature of a distinctively African education discourse. Central to the issue of philosophy in Africa is the question of relevance and usefulness. Africa, perhaps owing to its level of development at this point, wants philosophy to contribute towards the political, economic, ethical and general upliftment of the people. In Africa, philosophy is expected to be pragmatic and to render a ‘service’. It must contribute


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effectively towards the amelioration of the human condition, the lived and existing human condition. Wiredu (as quoted by Anyanwu 1989: 127) concludes: ‘ … we will only solve our problems if we see them as human problems arising out of a special situation’. Thus, Anyanwu (1989: 127) affirms that African philosophy ‘invites people to take a stand on the issue of reality as experienced’. This experience of an African reality gives rise to a sense of commonality in an enunciation of an indigenous African knowledge system which finds expression in certain general themes in African philosophy.

General themes in African philosophy Despite the diversity and extraordinary dynamism of the African continent as emphasised by Appiah (1997: 47), it is argued by many (see, for example, Gyekye 1997: 158) that there are commonalities that unite the African experience. In the words of Diop (1962: 7), ‘‘ … there is a profound cultural unity still alive beneath the deceptive appearance of cultural heterogeneity present in Africa which gives rise to the contents of an indigenous African knowledge system.’’ What, then, has African philosophy to say about a distinctively African experience of life? Letseka (2000: 181–187) highlights the following commonalities in the African experience of life that are addressed as general themes in African philosophy: African communalism and the notion of ubuntu. According to Letseka (2000: 181) the importance of communality to traditional African life cannot be overemphasized. This is because community and belonging to a community of people constitute the very fabric of traditional African life. Unlike the Western liberal notion of the individual as some sort of entity that is capable of existing and flourishing on its own, unconnected to any community of other individuals, not bound by any biological relationships or socioeconomic, political and cultural relationships, obligations, duties, responsibilities and conventions that frame and define any community of individuals, the communal conception of the individual in most traditional African settings is described by Mbiti (1970: 108) in the following way: Whatever happens to the individual happens to the whole group, and whatever happens to the whole group happens to the individual. The individual can only say: ‘‘I am, because we are; and since we are, therefore I am.’’

This, Mbiti (1970: 109) claims, is a cardinal point in the understanding of the African view of man. Commenting on traditional life in Kenya, Kenyatta (1965: 297) echoes similar views: ‘‘According to Gikuyu ways of thinking, nobody is an isolated individual, or rather, his uniqueness is a secondary fact about him; first and foremost he is several people’s relative and several people’s contemporary.’’ Menkiti (1979: 158) concurs: ‘‘A crucial distinction thus

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exists between the African view of man and the view of man found in Western thought: in the African view it is the community which defines the person as a person, not some isolated static quality of rationality, will or memory.’’ One is, therefore, a biological relative of a broad family; is linked to a broad network of other people through marriage; associates with others through community roles, duties, obligations and responsibilities, and is several other people’s contemporary or neighbour. In traditional African life a person depends on others just as much as others depend on him/her. Letseka (2000: 182–184) also observes that, traditional Africa morality is known for its concern with human welfare, hence ubuntu, which means humanness. Gyekye (1997: 158) argues that: … if one were to look for a pervasive and fundamental concept in African socioethical thought generally - a concept that animates other intellectual activities and forms of behaviour, including religious behaviour, and provides continuity, resilience, nourishment, and meaning to life - that concept would most probably be humanism.

Humanism is used here to refer to a philosophy that sees human needs, interests and dignity as of fundamental importance and concern. Letseka (2000: 182) points out that the expression: ‘umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’ captures the underlying principles of interdependence and humanism in African life. It translates to ‘‘a person depends on others just as much as others depend on him/her’’. It illuminates the communal embeddedness and connectedness of a person to other persons. It also highlights the importance attached to people and to human relationships. As Sindane (1994: 8–9) suggests: ‘‘Ubuntu inspires us to expose ourselves to others, to encounter the difference of their humanness so as to inform and enrich our own. In other words, to be human is to affirm one’s humanity by recognizing the humanity of others. The underlying concern of ubuntu is with the welfare of others. In fact, Letseka (2000: 185) argues that individuals who strive for and fully embrace the notion of ubuntu as their goal are driven by a humanist concern for treating others with fairness. They are probably hoping that they in turn will also be treated with fairness, should they find themselves in similar circumstances. Fairness and humanness are, according to Letseka (2000: 185), crucial to personal well-being. A fulfilled and flourishing life ought to be one in which persons are reasonably well fed, well clothed and housed, in good health, loved, secure, and able to make a conscious effort to treat others with fairness and humanness because they in turn are treated that way. These commonalities in African experience, namely, a sense of communality and ubuntu (humanness) would indicate, as Teffo (2000: 108) argues, that there is a way of thinking, of knowing and of acting that is peculiar to the African. For Africans, what they know is inseparable from how they know it in the lived experience of their African culture. This sense of Africanness is, in other words, born out of a deep socioethical sense of cultural unity


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that provides the African identity with its distinctiveness. What this may mean for the nature and content of an African educational discourse is our concern in what follows.

African philosophy and educational discourse In the light of such a sense of Africanness, what then are the implications for the construction of an African discourse in education? What ought to be the purpose of education in an African context and within the framework of African philosophy? And how does traditional African educational practice seek to educate the child? Notwithstanding the diversity inherent in an African knowledge system, I have identified two general themes in African philosophy, namely, African communalism and the notion of ubuntu. These two themes can be said to be pervasive to African philosophical thought in a socioethical sense in that they transcend the cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity of African peoples. In the light of this, it might be proposed that educating for communal life and ubuntu would be crucial to indigenous African educational discourse. Educating for life in the community would be rooted in, as Mkabela and Luthuli (1997: 18) note, a welfare concern, where the basis of communalism is giving priority to the community and respect for the person. It also involves sharing with and helping persons. Educational discourse within this African frame of reference would help African people function in relation to one another in their communal tradition. Such a functioning would promote a collective effort directed ultimately at the good of the community. This collective effort in turn, would be characterised by a spirit of ubuntu which sees human need, interests and dignity as of fundamental importance and concern. For educational endeavour this would mean that indigenous African educational discourse would be directed at fostering humane people endowed with moral norms and virtues such as kindness, generosity, compassion, benevolence, courtesy and respect and concern for others. In short, an African educational discourse would be fundamentally concerned with ubuntu in the service of the community and personal well-being. Letseka (2000: 188–189) is of the opinion that such an educational concern can be promoted through a pragmatic approach in which youngsters learn and acquire such an educational concern by example. The condition for such a pragmatic approach would be that youngsters live in communities that fully embrace and value humanism, understood as ubuntu. It is assumed that persons in such communities would strive to treat others with a sense of ubuntu, which entails treating them with fairness. A reciprocal expectation would be that those who are treated with fairness will also return the favour and treat others with fairness. As a normative concept fairness is taken to be a desirable virtue on account of its concern with humane relationships.

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The emphasis on communalism and ubuntu in indigenous African thought and experience also requires education in the African context to pay attention to interpersonal and co-operative skills. In this regard Letseka (2000: 189) argues that: ‘‘Certainly interpersonal skills have been shown to be an integral part of educating for ubuntu and the promotion of communally accepted and desirable moral norms and virtues.’’ The development of cooperative skills in younger people will, therefore, play a crucial role in promoting and sustaining the sort of communal interdependence and concern with the welfare of others that is encouraged by ubuntu. This sort of interdependence highlights the fundamental principle governing traditional African life, namely, that persons depend on others just as much as others depend on them. Indigenous education in the African context has sought to instil desirable attitudes, dispositions, skills and habits in children by means of recounting the oral traditions of the community. A great deal of philosophical and educational material is, as Okeke (1982: 15) notes, embedded in the oral traditions and customs of the people. An important aspect of indigenous African education discourse is, therefore, concerned with teaching children the oral tradition as well as helping them to learn to use language creatively and effectively. According to Boateng (1990: 117) and Fajana (1986: 45), such learning is in essence a central feature in the education of the African child, because it is through oral traditions that much of the history of the community, as well as its values and beliefs is passed on from one generation to the next. Oral traditions, therefore, played an active part in the African’s everyday life and were a vital educational force in supplying accounts of a group’s origin and related precedents to present-day beliefs, actions, and codes of behaviour. An educated person in an African context will, according to Fafunwa (1974: 20), therefore, be an individual who is ‘‘ … honest, respectable, skilled, cooperative and conforms to the social order of the day.’’ In this sense, indigenous African educational discourse is characterized not only by its concern with the person, but also by its interweaving of social, economic, political, cultural, and educational threads together into a common tapestry. And as a result, indigenous education in Africa is distinguished by the importance attached to its collective and social nature, as well as its intimate tie with social and communal life. Education, then, in the indigenous African setting cannot, and indeed, should not, be separated from life itself. It is a natural process by which the child gradually acquires skill, knowledge, and attitudes appropriate to life in his or her community – an education inspired by a spirit of ubuntu in the service of the community.

Conclusion The centuries-old subjugation of Africa to colonial exploitation, ranging from slavery, to the creation of socioeconomic structures during the colonial


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era which were singularly designed to achieve maximum extraction and exportation of raw materials, wreaked serious damage that remain palpable years after the demise of colonial rule. This was accomplished as Nkomo (2000: 49) notes, by a whole range of arrangements including educational philosophies, curricula and practices whose context correspond with that of the respective colonial powers. In order to address this state of affairs, indigenous African educational discourses would have as their mandate the goal of recovering the humanistic and ethical principles embedded in African philosophy, and more particularly, in the notions of communality and ubuntu. Such indigenous African educational discourses would also, as Hoppers (2000: 6) points out, constitute an attempt to develop both a vision and a practice of education that goes beyond schooling, because it is about empowerment, laying the basis for African people to participate in mastering and directing the course of change and fulfilling the vision of learning to know, learning to do, learning to be, and learning to live together as equals with others. Educational discourses of this kind, view knowledge and minds not as commodities, not just human resources to be developed and exploited, and then cast aside, but as treasures to be cultivated to improve the quality of life of both individuals and societies. In such an educational dispensation, educational endeavour is directed, not at human resource development but rather, at the development of resourceful human beings in the service of their communities. African philosophy, therefore, provides a framework for the transformation of educational discourse in Africa, in that it respects diversity, acknowledges lived experience and challenges the hegemony of Western Eurocentric forms of universal knowledge. As such African philosophy contributes to the construction of empowering knowledge that will enable communities in Africa to participate in their own educational development.

References Anyanwu, K. C. 1989. The Problem of Method in African Philosophy. In: The Substance of African Philosophy, ed. by C. S. Momoh. Washington, DC: Brooking Institute. Appiah, Kwame Anthony. 1989a. Necessary Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy. Engelwood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Appiah, Kwame Anthony. 1989b. Thought in a Time of Famine. Times Literary Supplement July 29–August 4. Appiah, Kwame Anthony. 1992. In My Father’s House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture. New York: Oxford University Press. Appiah, Kwame Anthony. 1997. The Arts of Africa. The New York Review of Books 44(7).

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Boateng, Felix. 1990. African Traditional Education: A Tool for Intergenerational Communication. In: African Culture: Rhythms of Unity, ed. by M. Asante and K. Asante. Trenton: Africa World Press. Bodunrin, Peter O. 1985. Philosophy in Africa: Trends and Perspectives. Ife: University of Ife Press. Diop, Cheikh Anta. 1962. The Cultural Unity of Negro Africa. Paris: Pre´sence Africaine. Fafunwa, Aliu Babtunde. 1974. A History of Education in Nigeria. London: Allen & Unwin. Fajana, A. 1986. Traditional Methods of Education in Africa: The Yoruba Example. In: The Arts and Civilization of Black and African Peoples: Volume 6, Black Civilization and Pedagogy, ed. by J. Okpaku, A. Opubor and B. Oloruntimehin. Lagos: Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization. Gyekye, Kwame. 1987. An Essay on African Philosophical Thought: The Akan Conceptual Scheme. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gyekye, Kwame. 1997. Tradition and Modernity: Philosophical Reflections on the African Experience. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hoppers, Catherine A. 2000. African Voices in Education: Retrieving the Past, Engaging the Present and Shaping the Future. In: African Voices in Education, ed. by P. Higgs, N. C. G. Vakalisa, T. V. Mda and N. T. Assie-Lumumba. Cape Town: Juta. Hoppers, Catherine A. 2001a. Indigenous Knowledge and the Integration of Knowledge Systems: Toward a Conceptual and Methodological Framework. A Comparative Study of the Development, Integration and Protection of Knowledge Systems in the Third World. Discussion Document Prepared for the Human Sciences Research Council: Pretoria. Hoppers, Catherine A. 2001b. Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Academic Institutions in South Africa. Perspectives in Education 19(1). Hoppers, Catherine A. 2001c. Poverty, Power and Partnerships in Educational Development: A Post-victimology Perspective. Compare 31(1): 21–38. Hountondji, Paulin J. 1983. African Philosophy: Myth and Reality. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Hountondji, Paulin J. 1985. The pitfalls of being different. Diogenes 131: 46–56. Kaphagawani, Didier N., and Jeanette G. Malherbe. 1998. African Epistemology. In: Philosophy from Africa, ed. by P. H. Coetzee and A. P. J. Roux. Johannesburg: Thompson Publishers. Kenyatta, Jomo. 1965. Facing Mount Kenya. New York: Vintage Books. Kwame, Safro. 1992. How not to Teach African Philosophy. APA Newsletter 91(1). Letseka, Moeketsi. 2000. African Philosophy and Educational Discourse. In: African Voices in Education, ed. by P. Higgs, N. C. G. Vakalisa, T. V. Mda and N. T. AssieLumumba. Cape Town: Juta. Mabogo, P. More. 1996. African Philosophy Revisited. Alternation 3.1: 109–129. Mbiti, John Samuel. 1970. African Religions and Philosophy. London: Heinemann. Menkiti, Ifeanyi. 1979. Person and Community in African Traditional Thought. In: African Philosophy: An Introduction, ed. by R. A. Wright. Washington: University Press of America.


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Mkabela, N. Q., and P. C. Luthuli. 1997. Towards an African Philosophy of Education. Pretoria: Kagiso Publishers. Motshega, N. 1999. The Dawn of the African Century: The African Origin of Philosophy and Science. Halfway House: Kara Publishers. Mudimbe, Valentin Y. 1988. The Invention of Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Nkomo, Mokubung. 2000. Educational Research in the African Development Context. In: African Voices in Education, ed. by P. Higgs, N. C. G. Vakalisa, T. V. Mda and N. T. Assie-Lumumba. Cape Town: Juta. Okeke, A. 1982. Traditional Education in Igboland. In: Igbo, Language and Culture, ed. by F. Ogbalu and E. Emenanjo. Ibadan: University Press. Oladipo, Olusegun. 1989. Towards a Philosophical Study of African Culture: A Critique of Traditionalism. Quest: Philosophical Discussions 3(2). Oladipo, Olusegun. 1992. The Idea of African Philosophy: A Critical Study of the Major Orientations in Contemporary African Philosophy. Ibadan: Molecular Publishers. Oruka, H. Odera. 1990. Sage Philosophy: Indigenous Thinkers and Modern Debates on African Philosophy. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Seepe, Sipho. 2001a. Towards an African Renaissance: The Role and Vision for Higher Education. Unpublished paper delivered at the Philosophy of Education Seminar, held at UNISA, 19 August 2001. Seepe, Sipho. 2001b. Indigenous Knowledge Systems can Benefit Everyone. Mail and Guardian 21 October 2001. Serequeberhan, Tsenay. 1994. The Hermeneutics of African Philosophy: Horizon and Discourse. New York: Routledge. Sindane, Jabu. 1994. Ubuntu and Nation Building. Pretoria: Ubuntu School of Philosophy. Teffo, Lesiba J. 2000. Africanist Thinking: An Invitation to Authenticity. In: African Voices in Education, ed. by P. Higgs, N. C. G. Vakalisa, T. V. Mda and N. T. AssieLumumba. Cape Town: Juta. Vilakazi, H. W. 2000. The Problem of Education in Africa. In: African Voices in Education, ed. by P. Higgs, N. C. G. Vakalisa, T. V. Mda and N. T. Assie-Lumumba. Cape Town: Juta. Wa Thiongo, Ngugi. 1993. Moving the Centre: The Struggle for Cultural Freedom. London: James Currey. Wiredu, Kwasi. 1989. On Defining African Philosophy. In: The Substance of African Philosophy, ed. by C. S. Momoh. Washington, DC: Brooking Institute. Wiredu, Kwasi. 1996. Cultural Universals and Particulars: An African Perspective. Indiana: Indiana University Press.

The author Philip Higgs is currently Research Professor at the University of South Africa’s School for Graduate Studies in the College of Human Sciences. He is a past President of the

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South African Association for Research and Development in Higher Education and Editor-in-Chief of the South African Journal of Higher Education. His academic interests focus on African philosophy and education, and his most recent major publications are entitled, Rethinking our World (Juta 2007) and Rethinking Truth (Juta 2007). Contact address: School for Graduate Studies, College of Human Sciences, University of South Africa, P.O. Box 392, 0003 Pretoria, South Africa. E-mail: [email protected]

NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS AND HONOURING RESPONSIBILITIES: A PACIFIC PERSPECTIVE KONAI HELU THAMAN


Abstract – This essay contributes a Pacific Islands perspective to the global discussion of ‘‘Living Together: Education and Intercultural Dialogue’’. Through poetry and prose, this essay traces the impact of the Tongan concept of vaa (values/valued relationships) on learning and language. By invoking UNESCO’s mandate to build peace through education, the concept of vaa is shown to be a key to promoting peace. The challenges and prospects of nurturing peace through international cooperation in education are discussed with examples drawn from the Pacific. Specifically, Tonga’s social and linguistic histories provide avenues for interpreting Pacific educational ideals in relation to Western concepts of knowing and learning. Reflection on cultural literacy in the Pacific context raises deeper questions about the role of educators when working interculturally. Lessons to be learned include the oft-quoted maxim that educators must first learn about their own culture before learning about others’, and before imposing their own pedagogies and curricula on others’ education systems. Re´sume´ – CONSOLIDER LES RAPPORTS ET RENDRE HONNEUR AUX RESPONSABILITE´S : UNE PERSPECTIVE SUR LE PACIFIQUE – cet essai contribue, avec une perspective sur les ıˆ les du Pacifique, a` la discussion globale de « vivre ensemble : E´ducation et Dialogue Interculturel ». En poe´sie et en prose, cet essai trace l’impact du concept tongien du vaa (valeurs/rapports e´value´s) sur l’apprentissage et le langage. En e´voquant le mandat de l’UNESCO pour e´tablir la paix par l’e´ducation, le concept du vaa s’ave`re eˆtre une clef favorisant la paix. Les de´fis et les perspectives de la consolidation de la paix par le biais d’une coope´ration internationale dans le domaine de l’e´ducation sont discute´s avec des exemples tire´s du Pacifique. De manie`re spećifique, les histoires sociales et linguistiques du Tonga fournissent des voies d’acce`s pour interpre´ter les ideáux e´ducatifs du Pacifique par rapport aux concepts occidentaux du savoir et de l’apprentissage. La re´flexion sur l’instruction culturelle dans le contexte du Pacifique soule`ve des questions plus profondes au sujet du roˆle des e´ducateurs lorsque ceux-ci travaillent interculturellement. Les leçons a` apprendre incluent la maxime souvent citeé que les e´ducateurs doivent d’abord apprendre de leur propre culture avant d’en apprendre d’autres, et avant d’imposer leurs propres pe´dagogies et programmes d’e´tudes aux syste`mes d’e´ducation des autres. Zusammenfassung – BEZIEHUNGEN PFLEGEN UND VERANTWORTUNG U¨BERNEHMEN: PAZIFISCHE PERSPEKTIVEN – In die globale Diskussion zum Thema ‘‘Zusammenleben: Bildung und interkultureller Dialog’’ bringt dieser Artikel die Sichtweise der pazifischen Inseln ein. In Poesie und Prosa beschreibt der Beitrag die Auswirkungen des tonganischen Konzepts der vaa (Werte/wertscha¨tzende Beziehungen) auf Lernen und Sprache. Es wird gezeigt, dass das Konzept der vaa, ganz im Sinne des UNESCO-Mandats der Friedensschaffung durch Bildung, ein Schlu¨ssel zur Friedensbildung ist. Anhand von Beispielen aus dem pazifischen Raum werden Herausforderungen und Zukunftsperspektiven der Friedensfo¨rderung durch S. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_11

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internationale Zusammenarbeit im Bildungswesen diskutiert. Insbesondere ko¨nnen Aspekte der Sozial- und Sprachgeschichte Tongas Wege der Interpretation pazifischer Bildungsideale in Relation zu westlichen Wissens- und Lernkonzepten aufzeigen. Die Reflexion kultureller Alphabetisierung im pazifischen Kontext wirft tiefergehende Fragen u¨ber die Rolle der Lehrer im interkulturellen Arbeitsprozess auf. Zu den Lektionen, die zu lernen sind, geho¨rt die vielzitierte Maxime, dass Lehrer zuna¨chst etwas u¨ber die eigene Kultur lernen mu¨ssen, bevor sie etwas u¨ber fremde Kulturen lernen und bevor sie fremden Erziehungs- und Bildungssystemen die eigene Pa¨dagogik und die eigenen Lerninhalte aufzwingen. Resumen – NUTRIR RELACIONES Y RESPETAR RESPONSABILIDADES: Una O´PTICA DESDE EL PACI´FICO SUR – Este ensayo aporta una o´ptica de las Islas del Pacı´ fico al tema global de ‘‘Convivencia: Educacioń y Dia´logo Intercultural’’. A trave´s de la poesı´ a y la prosa, este ensayo dibuja el impacto que vaa , un concepto tongue´s (valores/valorar relaciones), tiene sobre el aprendizaje y la lengua. Invocando el mandato de la UNESCO, de construir la paz a trave´s de la educacioń, el concepto de vaa aparece aquı´ como una clave para la promocioń de la paz. Los retos y las perspectivas del fomento de la paz a trave´s de la cooperacioń internacional en la educacioń se tratan aquı´ usando ejemplos extraı´ dos de las Islas del Pacı´ fico. En particular, la historia social y la historia lingu¨ı´ stica de Tonga proveen vı´ as importantes para interpretar los ideales del Pacı´ fico Sur en relacioń con los conceptos occidentales de saber y aprender. La reflexioń sobre lectoescritura cultural en el contexto del Pacı´ fico Sur plantea interrogantes ma´s profundos sobre el papel de los educadores en su trabajo intercultural. Una de las conclusiones que deben sacarse de este ana´lisis incluye la ma´xima, frecuentemente citada, de que los educadores deben conocer los trasfondos de su propia cultura antes de estudiar culturas forańeas, y antes de imponer sus propias pedagogı´ as y planes de estudio en otros sistemas de educacioń.

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Multiple approaches to building intercultural understanding Your way objective analytic Always doubting the truth Until proof comes Slowly quietly And it hurts My way subjective gut-feeling Like always sure of the truth The proof is there Waiting And it hurts (Thaman 1987) The three terms ‘‘living together’’, ‘‘education’’ and ‘‘intercultural dialogue’’ are all interconnected. In Tonga, each of these terms involve ako (learning) where it is believed that we must first learn to know who we are; then we learn about other people; and, finally we learn to live together with them as members of a society. In terms of education, the educated person in my culture is the one who is poto – one who knows what to do and does it well. Educated people use knowledge, skills and values or ‘ilo (values), acquired through learning in beneficial ways. Ako, ‘ilo and poto are the basic concepts of Tongan education and beautifully resonate with the connected themes of this publication. Through poetry and prose, this paper traces the impact of a convergence of these basic concepts – that is, the Tongan concept of vaa, loosely translated as values/valued relationships, on learning and language. By invoking UNESCO’s constitutional mandate to build peace globally as a key value in education, the concept of vaa is shown to be a vital clue to building peace. From a global perspective, educating for intercultural understanding is often perceived as a pre-requisite for peace and thus form part of UNESCO’s constitutional mandate to build peace ‘in the minds of men’, and presumably women (UNESCO). Many international instruments, declarations and plans have been promulgated to provide frameworks for promoting the concept of education for peace and intercultural understanding. They include: the 1974 (Paris) Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Cooperation and Peace Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ((UNESCO 1974); the1993 (Montreal) World Plan for Action on Education for Human Rights and Democracy (UNESCO 1993); the 1993 (Vienna) Declaration and Program of Action of the World Conference on Human Rights (United Nations 1993); the 1995 (Paris) Declaration and Integrated Framework of Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy (UNESCO 1995)); the 1995–2000 Plan of Action for the UN Decade for Human Rights (United Nations 1995); the 2000 Year for the Culture of Peace (UNESCO 2000); the 2001 UN Declaration on Cultural

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Diversity (United Nations 2001) ; and the 2001–2010 Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non Violence for the Children of the World (UNESCO 2001). Despite all of these, peace and intercultural understanding continue to be elusive in our own communities, nations, and indeed the world at large. That education for intercultural understanding is commonly regarded as an important contribution to the achievement of a culture of peace is based on the belief that preventing cultural conflict contributes to furthering a culture of peace (UNESCO 2001). However, some very real challenges for peace and intercultural dialogue exist everywhere. These include the fact that access to education is a necessary but not sufficient condition for learning to live together or engage in intercultural dialogue. A more comprehensive system of education for all groups at all levels and forms of education is also necessary. Educators need to develop a holistic approach to education based on participatory processes and methodologies, at the same time taking into account various notions of such terms as: peace and non-violence; human rights; democracy; international and intercultural understanding; and cultural and linguistic diversity.

Oceania: a culturally diverse region Culture is the way of life of a people, including their language, values and knowledge systems. Oceania is arguably one of the most culturally diverse regions on earth, with hundreds of distinct cultures and languages most of which had existed for thousands of years with many in danger of extinction. Once colonized by European powers and later by Japan, USA, Australia and New Zealand, most Pacific Island Nations (PINs) are now politically independent although economically dependent still on former colonial masters. Today the region is characterized by increasing conflicts and violence on grounds of ethnic, and/or land and other resources disputes, financial, economic and digital divides, transitional economies, deteriorating social systems giving rise to ethnic and other tensions and a serious need for peace, good governance, human rights and democracy. This makes the need to re-think education a major development challenge for all PINs. Although perhaps not as serious as in many parts of Asia, an increasing number of children do not have access to clean water, health or education services. An increase in school dropout rates, together with increasing poverty (a cause as well as a symptom of violence), are real worries for many Pacific governments (Yari 2004). Because poor people are usually deprived of fundamental rights to education and health, they lack the resources and institutional support to strive for their rights; powerful groups often oppose cultural literacy and intercultural education as undermining business and scientific research and enquiry (UNESCO 1995). Aside from increasing hardship, other reasons have been advanced for the increasing incidences of conflict in a once peaceful region. These include


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attempts to redress historical injustices; the continuous marginalization of indigenous and aboriginal peoples, often seen by government and business authorities as barriers to modern development; and, more recently inappropriate development and structural violence resulting from economic globalization and the demand for market driven economies (Firth 2000). A range of responses to these conflicts has included foreign military intervention (such as in Solomon Islands), inter-faith dialogue, legislating for national unity, tolerance and reconciliation, specifically the controversial Reconciliation and National Unity Bill in Fiji (Fiji Times 2005), and a call from the region’s indigenous educators to re-think formal education and make it more culturally inclusive. with a vision to provide Pacific people with more ownership of their education after three decades of educational reforms (Taufe’ulungaki et al. 2002). These attempts at building peace notwithstanding, it is crucial that learning is recognised as a universal treasure that every human being has. How can learning be nurtured and progressed towards an objective that is larger than all of our own communities and nations’ aspirations – learning for intercultural understanding? In order to achieve this, our education needs to be underpinned by the values of our cultures – respect and ofa (compassion) – not those of the global market place. For intercultural understanding it is necessary to look towards our own cultural roots for inspiration in order to reclaim our conversation with one another about our education and about living together as a human family. Educators in small Pacific Island Nations are not alone in believing in the critical importance of the learning process underpinning the values of vaa, respect and compassion. One clear comparison arises from Buddhist teachings, where the concepts of compassion, mindfulness, consciousness and respect are built through an awareness of learning from within. Some have also argued that the messages of inter-cultural acceptance through a convergence of Western and indigenous ways of knowing are related values. It is less clear, however, whether cultural learning inspired through nationalist movements or state monotheistic inspiration is comparable. For example, the newly constituted, multi-ethnic country of Indonesia post–1949 consciously fostered unity through education in order to create a convergence of several indigenous cultures with the East/West elements of culture (Radcliffe 1971). The Indonesian Taman Siswa school movement founded by Ki Hadjar Dewantara in the 1920s (Radcliffe 1971), was conceived as supporting a positive attitude towards religion and the nation state, a convergence of ethnicity and cultural background. The concept of vaa on the other hand, is concerned more with a state of being, a state of relationship with an ‘‘other’’, a knowing of place and time that is neither nationalistic nor based in Eastern or Western religion. The concept of vaa or wha, a Proto-Polynesian notion of an interval of space and time, is commonly found in Pacific Island countries such as Tonga, Samoa, Uvea, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and among the indigenous people of New Zealand and Hawaii. In Tonga, vaa is more

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commonly used in a metaphorical sense and implies certain behavioural expectations among persons who are involved in different relationships in different contexts.

Derivative of Vaa In Tonga, vaa is believed to be derived from the term vaha’a. Ha’a traditionally refers to a set of genealogically related titles whose relationships are ranked and defined in terms of their original ties to the divine rulers of ancient Tongan dynasties. In the context of contemporary Tongan social organisation ha’a relationships continue to be significant and are evident during special occasions such as the installation of a chiefly title when the holder may seek the assistance of those regarded as part of a particular ha’a or lineage. Flexibly this may include all those who live in a particular locality (kin and non-kin) as well as those who live in other localities if they are descendants patrilaterally and matrilaterally from former titleholders. Usually the more resourceful members of a ha’a are sought out first. Today, younger members of a lineage or those descending from female lines may assume important roles on some occasions. This is usually due to recently acquired material wealth and/or (western) education and therefore perceived by some relatives to have particular advantages. The flexibility in applying rules of kinship is characteristic of Tongan society and does not seem to create too many problems as long as the relationships are intact or the relationships (vaa) among the different lineages (ha’a) remain intact and group goals and aspirations realised. With modernization, however, new groupings or ha’a seem to have emerged, mostly based on money and influence rather than kinship relationships (Marcus 1980). The importance of vaa in its various guises also translates internationally among migrants to the United States (Ka’ili 2005). In terms of current usage, vaa is used to describe inter-personal relationships, which may either be positive (good) or negative (strained). When vaa is used to denote interpersonal relationships, there are behavioural expectations involved. The bases for these relationships may be kin related, work related or friendship related. Nevertheless, the persons involved understand their roles in the relationships, which are generally contextual, and act appropriately. The contexts for their actions vary whether they are between individuals, families, villages, governments and even nations. When vaa is preceded by the enabling prefix ‘faka’, as in fakavahavaha’a, competitive behaviour is implied, thus connoting negative consequences since the behavioural expectation is for separation (of spaces), often leading to conflicts rather than unity and harmony. The importance of vaa as the basis for Tongan social interaction is reflected in the high regard people place on rules governing different kinds of interpersonal relationships and social interaction. They range from those


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based on kinship relationships to those relating to royalty and the government. It has been claimed for generations that social interaction is still the most resilient aspect of Tongan culture, as described some 35 years ago by Morton (1972: 21) in his unpublished doctoral dissertation. Vaa requires constant protection and this is reflected in the notion of tauhi vaha’a (to look after or protect the spaces between two or more persons or groups who are related to each other in some way). Protecting vaa is seen as desirable for maintaining harmonious relations and minimizing conflicts among those involved. However, the nature and scope of vaa in modern Tongan society continue to be dependent on the context in which relationships exist and are played out. At the level of the extended family vaa has to do with how one is genealogically positioned vis a vis other family members, past and present, which, in turn, is generally determined by age and sex. Implied in the notion of nurturing vaa is knowledge and understanding of the relationships among people or groups that are involved as well as mutual respect and responsibilities for keeping vaa intact. It follows therefore that the value of vaa lelei (good relationships) underlies the complex and oftenunwritten codes of conduct and appropriate behaviour expected of the ideal Tongan person. The concept of vaa needs to be examined in terms of much other work on indigenous knowledges, postcolonial literatures, and research on intercultural communication theory. Nevertheless, the concept stands on its own as a contribution to these endeavours to create peaceful dialogue where otherwise conflict and confrontation may occur. Vaa becomes a way of dissolving boundaries between insider/outsider, subject/object, and colonizer/colonized.

Vaa and language use Tongans use of language also reflects the importance of vaa where normally direct personal attention is preferred to indirect, written, impersonal communication and interaction. In language use, it is important that people do not risk confrontation and thus ‘harm’ their vaa with others. Such avoidance often leads to what some Westerners regard as imprecision and/or indirectness in Pacific people’s use of language. The significance of social characteristics of language for developing peaceful negotiations in the wider global arena is a particularly challenging concept (Gal 2006). As an example of language use, Tongan vocabulary reflects the complexities of behaviour in the way pronouns denote a language of respect. Like those of other Polynesian languages, Tongan is characterised by the multiple forms and complex usage of personal pronouns which distinguish singular, dual and plural forms together with inclusiveness and exclusiveness forms with respect to the speaker. For example, ‘we’ meaning you and I is kitaua; ‘we’ meaning all of us is kitautolu; ‘we’ meaning someone else and me is

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kimaua and ‘we’ meaning myself and two or more people but excluding you is kimautolu. This is in contrast to English where number, exclusiveness or inclusiveness is ambiguous and not specified by specific pronouns. In all cases the highly differentiated and elaborated use of pronouns is closely related to their function of identifying concretely the (social) vaa or the relationship of a person to another person or his/her possession. Tongans use the social language of respect in numerous ways both within and outside Tongan society, demonstrating particular care when addressing visitors ,especially those who represent foreign groups and/or countries such as members of the diplomatic corps or visiting dignitaries. In the Tongan context, the notion of faka-tapu (salutation) is important. There are two ways in which faka-tapu is commonly used. The first is found in the beginning of a public speech or address, a kind of salutation and acknowledgement of the presence of different ha’a or lineages especially those concerned with the processes associated with the occasion. The other use of fakatapu may be evident during a religious speech or sermon. In each case, the community is aware and ready to acknowledge and respect the other. In western sociolinguistic terms, speakers are encountering and interacting with each other and creating ‘publics’ once a message starts to circulate (Gal 2006). Speakers participate in publics by such means, sometimes aligning themselves with what they repeat, thereby authorising it; at other times distancing themselves from public messages, thereby de-legitimating the texts and their erstwhile speakers. (Gal 2006:174)

Social institutions remain a focus of the legitimating nature of vaa in Tonga.. Kinship and ‘api (loosely translated as households) ties and relationships remain the most important bases for people’s daily activities as well as those related to emerging social institutions such as the church and the school after colonization. These relationships are often extended to kinsfolks who may not live in Tonga as a way of strengthening and enhancing their social influence at home. For example, overseas remittances feature prominently in family, church and school fund-raising activities and serve to enhance people’s relationships with those living in Tonga. These relationships are important markers of identity as well, and recognizing them helps bind those people who are not physically present in Tonga to the spirit of the land as well as the complexities of their various social relationships. Some writers have commented on the extent to which these relationships could be maintained in the face of the rapid globalization of individualism. Many Tongans have agreed that their western-based education has brought about the development of a strong individualizing tendency among many people. The validity of such speculations would depend largely upon what is meant by ‘‘individualising tendencies’’. In Tonga, a person is often said to be individualistic if s/he is seen to be consciously striving to achieve something for himself/herself. However, what needs to be understood is that individual


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success needs to be acknowledged and validated by the group(s) with whom an individual identifies and/or relate to, since the sanctioning of people’s behaviour in Tonga is still largely dependent on social rather than individual considerations.

Collective vs individual considerations in education In Tongan classrooms, teachers place significant emphasis on the behaviour of the students as group rather than each individual child. Non-conformity is immediately noticed and steps are taken to bring the deviant child into line. This aspect of teacher-students interaction led one foreign observer 50 years ago to conclude that Tongan teachers do not see their pupils as individuals to the extent that Europeans do; rather they were more concerned with behaviour deviation than with any of the other items (of information he was seeking) (Lovett 1958: 4–5). Despite two generations more of western style education and curriculum, the tendency for Tongans to continue to de-emphasize individuality remains, reflecting a relational theory of personhood and the importance of vaa in defining and giving meaning to people’s behaviour. Another example comes from (school) prize giving or award ceremonies, when prizewinners are often seen (by most people in the audience) not as individuals but as successful members of extended families, villages or in the case of the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, different Pacific countries. Similarly, many Tongans who live overseas (and there are now more of them than those who live in Tonga) commonly view their accomplishments as enhancing collective identities in their respective communities and countries of origin, a view that is shared by their constituencies back home in Tonga. Over the past 50 years or so, formal education together with the global mass media have generally emphasized the importance of the individual and his/her rights over group or collective rights. Many Western educationists writing about the role of teachers often offer advice that is in direct conflict with the perceptions of Tongans about the ideal teacher or faiako who is primarily a role model and whose main concern is to develop poto among their charges. Poto, the ultimate aim of Tongan education is the positive and beneficial use of ‘ilo or knowledge, gained through ako or learning. To put it simply, poto is knowing what to do and doing it well in the context of Tongan culture (Thaman 1988). Poto persons understand their vaa and behave appropriately.

Curriculum for cultural literacy The majority of Tongan children continue to learn their different relationships mostly informally as part of their socialisation into Tongan society.

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However, in 1986, Tongan Studies was added to the school curriculum being a combination of studies in Tongan culture and language. Before this, only the Tongan language was part of the school curriculum. The assumption behind the introduction of the new subject was that if children were taught important cultural knowledge, skills and values, they would learn to display appropriate behaviour that would in turn enhance cultural identity, improve inter-personal communication and understanding, and create a more peaceful and harmonious society (Taumoefolau 1985). As well as knowledge of various aspects of Tongan life such as social organisation, occupations, flora and fauna, agriculture and ways of making a living etc., Tongan Studies require students to learn about important cultural values, normally emphasized by Tongans and/or used to explain and justify their behaviour – these valued contexts include emphasis on spirituality; rank and authority; formal conformity; inter-personal relationships (vaa) and social responsibility; ‘ofa (compassion); and restrained behaviour (Thaman, 1988; Johansson-Fua, 2006). Another reason for the introduction of Tongan Studies relates to the impact of globalization and how these values might facilitate Tongan people’s coping strategies, both in their adopted homes as well as in the country of birth. A curriculum for cultural literacy, as Tonga Studies is supposed to be, is an important vehicle for learning about different types of relationships, thus fostering inter-personal as well as inter-group understanding, seen as an important foundation for living together and understanding one another. In relation to schooling in general, Pacific people continue to see teachers as important role models of ideal behaviour in different cultural contexts. Recent research on Tongan people’s conceptualizations of sustainable livelihood reveal community expectations of teachers as people who are able to prepare children for external examinations as well as teach them appropriate behaviour, values and cultural knowledge of the many webs of relationships needed for living worthwhile lives (Johansson-Fua 2006). School education on the other hand emphasizes individual effort and achievement and deemphasizes vaa . This trend is fuelled by much propaganda for Western consumerism and individualistic life styles in contexts many people still value their relationships and are defined by them. As long as Tongan culture and language survive, an identity that is divorced from the group or from other people may take a while to evolve, a fact that many business people as well as politicians know only too well. Equivalent concepts, values and principles exist in other Pacific societies and their identification and description are tasks worth undertaking. For a long time there has been a call for interdisciplinarity, for decolonization, of intellectual spaces (Hviding, 2003, p. 44). This call has implications for inter-cultural dialogue, of being able to apply a Polynesian concept to a global context, without having to compare, or defer, to a Western worldview, but instead accept the concepts as globally and intellectually instructive. Hviding uses a study of a group of Solomon Island people to illustrate a


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concept of knowledge and valuing that resonates with Tongan cultural understanding. He talks about a transition from knowing that, to verification and believing for oneself, to trust, and then to a state of being wise (Hviding, 2003, p.53). This deep knowing is related to time and space, and place, and goes beyond practical, scientific knowing to an inner source of sensitivity. He comments on moments of epistemological ‘convergence’, giving the example of the understanding reached between the Polynesian navigator Tupaia and the British navigator, James Cook, over 200 years ago (ibid. 58). The crucial point here is that in order for intercultural understanding to occur, people must first learn about their own culture before learning about others’. Just as knowledge of vaa is vital for interpersonal and intergroup relations in Tonga, so knowledge of other cultures is vital for intercultural and international understanding. Knowledge and understanding of the different cultures that exist in a society is a pre-condition of cultural literacy and must be an important goal of school education from a very early stage. It would also contribute to the decolonization of the school curriculum in the Pacific region, a process that has been slow given the intellectual and financial dependence of many island states on ex-colonial masters.

Rethinking Pacific education There have been some modest attempts by Pacific educators to reclaim their education through re-thinking many aspects of Pacific education systems. The Re-thinking of Pacific Education Initiative (RPEI) is a movement that is gaining momentum among Pacific researchers and educators. Born out of frustration with the failure of education systems to provide quality learning environments for the majority of Pacific students a small group of the region’s indigenous and local educators met in 2001 to discuss the likely causes of the education crisis that was being experienced by many PICs. They concluded that the two main barriers to educational progress in the countries they represented were lack of ownership of educational reforms and development initiatives and a blurred vision of an ideal society and the role of education in such a vision (Taufe’ulungaki et al. 2002). It was also agreed that curriculum planners and teachers needed to step up their efforts to better contextualise their work and took on board more culturally inclusive content, pedagogies, and assessment methods and techniques in an effort to ensure that more students benefit from their formal education. At the regional University of the South Pacific, some work has been carried out through collaboration between the UNESCO Chair in teacher education and culture, the Pacific Association of Teacher Educators (PATE) and the Institute of Education (IOE) in relation to producing and distributing materials for awareness raising among teacher educators about the importance of the cultural contexts of schools as well as the relationship between culture and education. In an interesting paper, through advocacy,

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teaching, research and publication, the UNESCO Chair continues to work towards the acknowledgement and promotion of Pacific cultures and their knowledge systems in the curriculum of schools and universities in our region. This is important for three reasons. (i) it will make the curriculum and learning environments of formal education more culturally democratic, thus helping students to learn more effectively and succeed in school; (ii) it will help improve students’ understanding of their own cultures and enable them to better appreciate others’ cultures; and, (iii) studying Pacific cultures and languages in Pacific schools and universities is something that is worthwhile in itself. In 2003 the publication Educational Ideas from Oceania, a collection of essays about indigenous and vernacular educational ideas authored by people from different Pacific Island Nations was welcomed by many teacher educators who were trying to help their students appreciate their own cultural knowledge systems and better contextualize their work. Enhancing intercultural understanding through educating for cultural literacy and intercultural understanding is fraught with challenges not least of which is a belief that schools already have enough (subjects) to teach without having to deal with yet another concern of stakeholders. This may be so but the consequences of NOT dealing with cultural literacy, as a matter of urgency may be worse if action is delayed. There exist now many opportunities and ways in which the task may be approached. For example, new ICTs offer many opportunities with which to disseminate information to far away and out-of-reach clients (although the pros and cons of using different media must also be seriously considered), and perhaps this is the appropriate time for schools to shift their focus from teaching subjects to teaching students.

Conclusion I have tried to suggest that learning to live together requires understanding of the different cultures that make up a society. For us in Oceania, a strategy for educating for intercultural understanding can be found in the panPolynesian notion of vaa – metaphorical spaces between and among people and groups that recognize the importance of and give meaning to interpersonal and inter-group relationships and responsibilities. Perhaps vaa can be globalised and taught in schools since acknowledging and nurturing it through education will go a long way towards improved intercultural understanding among people and communities. This is a dream worth following.

Different eyes This global life Gives us light and love But it also gives us death


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Because living inside a dream Is like being buried alive Like turning into grass A heilala hidden Amidst our lost salusalu Its soft fragrance drowned In the strenuous sounds Of our rational minds You came, took away Our fears, heard our Silent songs Felt our pain of not being Able to go back You asked questions We never pondered, noticed What we took for granted Now we see tomorrow With different eyes The truths about us Weigh us down

References Fiji Times. 2005. Promotion of Reconciliation, Tolerance and Unity Bill 2005. Suva: Fiji Times. Firth, Stewart. 2000. The Pacific Islands and the Globalization Agenda. The Contemporary Pacific 12(1): 178–192. Gal, Susan. 2006. Contradictions of Standard Language in Europe: Implications for the Study of Practices and Publics. Social Anthropology 14(2): 163–181. Hviding, Edward. 2003. Between Knowledges: Pacific Studies and Academic Disciplines. The Contemporary Pacific 15(1): 43–73. Johansson-Fua, S. 2006. SLEP Report. Suva: IOE/USP. Ka’ili, Tevita O. 2005. Tauhi va: Nurturing Tongan Sociospatial Ties in Maui and Beyond. The Contemporary Pacific 17(1): 83–114. Lovett, L. W. 1958. A Study of Tongan Children. Unpublished Dip. Ed. Thesis, Massey University, NZ. Marcus, G. 1980. Nobility and the Chiefly Tradition in the Kingdom of Tonga. Auckland: Polynesian Society. Morton, K. L. 1972. Kinship, Economics and Exchange in a Tongan Village. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA. Radcliffe, David. 1971. Ki Hadjar Dewantara and the Taman Siswa Schools: Notes on an Extra-Colonial Theory of Education. Comparative Education Review 15(2): 219–226.

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Taufe’ulungaki, A., C. Benson and F. Pene. 2002. Tree of Opportunity. Suva: IOE/USP. Thaman, Konai. 1987. Hingano. Suva: MANA Publications. Thaman, Konai. 1988. Educational Ideas, Cultural Values and Teachers’ Role Perceptions in Tonga. Unpublished PhD thesis, USP, Suva. UNESCO. 1974, 1980. Recommendation Concerning Education for International Understanding, Cooperation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. World Congress on Disarmament Education. UNESCO 18th General Conference. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. 1993. World Plan of Action on Education for Human Rights and Democracy. International Congress on Education for Human Rights and Democracy, Montreal, Canada, 8–11 March 1993. Convened in Montreal (Canada) from 8 to 11 March 1993, by UNESCO and the United Nations Centre for Human Rights, in Collaboration with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO. UNESCO. 1995. Declaration and Integrated Framework of Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy. International Conference on Education. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. 1996. From a Culture of Violence to a Culture of Peace. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO. 2001. Universal Declaration of Cultural Diversity. General Conference of UNESCO. Paris: UNESCO. United Nations. 2000. International Year for the Culture of Peace. Launched in Paris 1999 by the UN Secretary-General. Paris: UNESCO. United Nations. 2001. The International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (2001 to 2010). UN resolution 53/25. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 1993. Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. Vienna: World Conference on Human Rights. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 1995. Report on the Plan of Action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education (document A/50/698). Geneva. Yari, Marin. 2004. Beyond ‘‘Subsistence Affluence’’: Poverty in Pacific Island Countries. Prepared for Poverty and Development Division, ESCAP. Bulletin on Asia-Pacific Perspectives 2003/04. Bangkok: ESCAP.

The author Konai Helu Thaman, originally from Tonga, is currently Professor of Pacific Education and UNESCO Chair in Teacher Education and Culture at the University of the South Pacific (USP). In her latter capacity, she is a member of the Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the 1966/1997 Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers (CEART), as well as a member of the UNESCO Asia Pacific Scientific Committee on Research and Knowledge in Higher Education. She has been a staff member of USP since 1974 and held several senior administrative positions, including Director of the Institute of Education, Head of the School of Humanities, and Prof. Vice Chancellor. She has published widely in the field of education, especially in the areas of curriculum research and development, teacher education, women in higher education management and indigenous education and research. Five collections of her


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poetry have been published. Her writing is studied by school and university students throughout the Pacific region. Contact address: School of Education, Faculty of Arts and Law, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji. E-mail: [email protected]

CONVERGENCE OF MONASTIC AND MODERN EDUCATION IN BHUTAN? BRIAN D. DENMAN and SINGYE NAMGYEL


Abstract – In the 1960s, the Royal Government of Bhutan began developing its modern educational system. Over time, a strategic plan was formulated to meet Education for All and Millennium Development Goals. In 2003, the Royal University of Bhutan, the country’s first university, opened its doors. This paper uses comparative analysis to describe and explore the impact on the development of The Royal University of Bhutan of the national consciousness termed ‘Gross National Happiness’. It is proposed that the university is likely to become a catalyst for development, and an influential representative of and for a cultural identity. Will it become an elite institution? Will the institution offer formal degrees for all who qualify? It is suggested that the issues considered in Bhutan may be of significance for other new universities attempting to establish themselves in the developing world. Re´sume´ – CONVERGENCE DE L’E´DUCATION MONASTIQUE ET MODERNE AU BHOUTAN? – Dans les anneés 60, le Gouvernement Royal du Bhoutan a commence´ a` de´velopper son syste`me d’e´ducation moderne. Avec le temps, un plan strate´gique a e´te´ formule´ pour reáliser l’E´ducation pour Tous et les Objectifs du Milleńaire pour le De´veloppement. En 2003, la premie`re universite´ du pays, l’Universite´ Royale du Bhoutan, a ouvert ses portes. Cet article se sert de l’analyse comparative pour dećrire et examiner l’impact de la conscience nationale appeleé ‘le Bonheur National Brut’ sur le de´veloppement de l’Universite´ Royale du Bhoutan. On propose que l’universite´ devienne susceptible de devenir un catalyseur pour le de´veloppement et un repre´sentant influent d’une et pour une identite´ culturelle. Deviendra-elle un e´tablissement d’e´lite? L’e´tablissement offrira-t-il des grades universitaires conventionnels pour tous ceux qui veulent se qualifier? On sugge`re que les questions prises en conside´ration au Bhoutan puissent eˆtre d’importance pour d’autres universite´s nouvelles qui tentent de s’e´tablir dans le monde en voie de de´veloppement. Zusammenfassung – ZUSAMMENSCHLUSS VON MONASTISCHER UND MODERNER BILDUNG IN BHUTAN? – In den 1960er Jahren begann das regierende Ko¨nigshaus von Bhutan damit, ein modernes Bildungssystem zu entwickeln. Im Laufe der Zeit wurden strategische Pla¨ne zum Erreichen einer ‘Bildung fu¨r alle’ und von ‘Jahrtausend-Entwicklungszielen’ formuliert. 2003 o¨ffnete die Ko¨nigliche Universita¨t von Bhutan, die erste Universita¨t des Landes, ihre Tore. Dieser Artikel erforscht und beschreibt mithilfe der vergleichenden Analyse den Einfluss der Ko¨niglichen Universita¨t von Bhutan auf das nationale Bewusstsein unter dem Namen ‘Gross National Happiness’. Es wird die Meinung vertreten, dass die Universita¨t dabei ist, zum Entwicklungskatalysator und zur einflussreichen Repra¨sentanz kultureller Identita¨t zu werden. Wird die Universita¨t eine Eliteeinrichtung werden? Wird sie die Mo¨glichkeit zur Erlangung formaler Abschlu¨sse und Grade ero¨ffnen? Nach Ansicht der Autoren


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ko¨nnten die thematischen U¨berlegungen, die in Bhutan angestellt werden, auch fu¨r die Bemu¨hungen anderer neuer Universita¨ten um Etablierung in einer sich weiterentwickelnden Welt von Bedeutung sein. Resumen – ¿EXISTEN EN BHUTAŃ UNA CONVERGENCIA DE EDUCACIOŃ MONA´STICA Y MODERNA? En los anõs sesenta del siglo XX, el Gobierno Real de Bhutań comenzo´ a desarrollar su sistema educativo moderno. Con el transcurso del tiempo, se formulo´ un plan estrate´gico que respondiera a los Objetivos de Educacioń para Todos y Desarrollo del Milenio. En 2003 abrio´ sus puertas la Universidad Real de Bhutań, la primera universidad del paı´ s. Este trabajo emplea un ana´lisis comparativo para describir y explorar el impacto que produce el desarrollo de la Universidad Real de Bhutań sobre la conciencia nacional denominada Felicidad Nacional Bruta. Se proyecta que la Universidad se convierta en algo ası´ como una catalizador del desarrollo y un representante de influencia de y para la identidad cultural. ¿Se convertira´ en una institucioń de elite? ¿Ofrecera´ la institucioń tı´ tulos oficiales para todos los que reuńan las condiciones necesarias? El trabajo sugiere que los problemas considerados en Bhutań pueden ser importantes para otras nuevas universidades que traten de establecerse en el mundo en desarrollo.

From myths and legends to the pursuit of truths In a landlocked country known by its people as the ‘‘land of the thunder dragon’’, Bhutan’s tradition of oral communication is as central as the country’s determination in building a modern education system. In common folktales such as Meme Hayhay Hayhay and proverbs such as ‘‘...a confederation of frogs can kill even a tiger’’ (Penjore 2005: online), the values are such that they justify Bhutan’s interest in preserving its history and customs. As Michael Aris, private tutor to the Royal Family of Bhutan between 1967 and 1972, said: ‘‘amidst all the legends, there is a grain of truth’’ (Aris in Norman 1981: 897). Yet the task of separating fact from fiction is not so much the subject of this paper as the proposition that both the traditional monastic system and

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the modern education system, despite their differing approaches, may offer useful insights for Bhutan and its people. In Aris’ view, Bhutan was: to produce scholars who combine a knowledge and appreciation of its traditional heritage with the new perspectives and methodologies of our own age (Aris 1990: 27).

Aris’ objective may have been that of helping to preserve Bhutan’s culture but also to assure that higher learning should evolve over time, a progressive, culturally relativistic notion. A monastic education encourages individuals (monks and anims1) to dissociate themselves from a world alien to them in order to seek inner enlightenment, while the university ‘‘...is supposed to capture and present the deeper philosophy of the nation, the worldview of its people, their dreams and aspirations, their imagination of perfection and goodness, the principles of national and social life, and their attempts to understand and use the possibilities opened up by science and mathematics’’ (Powdyel 2005: 6). Phuntsho (2000) provides a good illustration of the differences between traditional monastic education and modern education. Bhutan’s traditional training may best be characterised by its focus on ‘‘introverted spirituality’’ as opposed to Bhutan’s modern education, which focuses on ‘‘...the extroverted pursuit of worldly happiness’’ (Phuntsho: online). The following list of differences in traditional training and education is provided by Phuntscho (Table 1).

Table 1. Illustration of differences between traditional training and modern education in Bhutan

Purpose Content Approach Perspective Medium Methodology

Traditional training

Modern education

Mainly introvert spiritual; Training culminating in omniscience Religion or regligious oriented, liberal Mostly passive reception; static; conservative Faith, reverence, sanctity; for religious edification

Mainly extrovert skills for human development

Cho¨key/Dzongkha Buddhist monastic methods of memorization, debates, contemplation, exposition, etc.

Secular and scientific; technical Mostly active innovation; creative; progressive (aspirational) Interest, curiosity, rationality; for acquiring knowledge and skills English Systematic Western educational techniques of critical scrutiny, statistics, experiments, etc.

Source: Phuntsho, Karma (2000). ‘‘On the Two Ways of Learning in Bhutan’’. Retrieved 19 July 2007, http://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/journal/vol2no2/v2/n2. learning.pdf, p. 5.

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A basic question may be whether there is a common thread or complementarity in these two approaches to the pursuit. Our investigation identifies a possible convergence of traditional and modern educational orientations in the openness of both to participation. Furthermore, given that Bhutan has not been tarnished by colonization or invasion throughout its history, there is a refreshing sense of mutual respect and compatibility between both systems at present. This sentiment is expressed in Bhutan 2020: A Vision for Peace, Prosperity, and Happiness: ‘‘Our religious history and monastic institutions have played a decisive role in the evolution of our nation’’ (1999: 70).

A brief historical overview of Bhutan In its earliest stages of development (circa 746 CE), ‘‘Padma Sambhava’’, from the Swat Valley of modern day Pakistan, ‘‘...probably made the first major influence on the social and cultural life of Bhutanese people, particularly in Bumthang through his teachings’’ (Dorji 2005: 2). Around that time, Bhutanese students such as Monmo Tashi Kheudron and Mongom Haminatha are said to have followed Padmansambhava [Padma Sambhava] to Tibet to learn dharma (Phuntsho: online). Moreover, legend has it that around 750 CE, Denma Tsemang, a translator and one of the twenty-five disciples of Padmasambhava, may have designed the now national script (druk yig) (Ibid: online). Bhutanese monks were continually sent to Tibet to learn from lama masters only to return years later to develop monastic centres (Mackey 2002: 1) or to teach dharma in their own ways (Dorji 2005: 3). The most notable monasteries during this period include: Nyoe Demchog (1179–1265 CE), Phajo Drugom Zhigpo (1208–1275), Longchen Rabjam (1308–1363 CE), Barawa Gyalshen Palzang (1310–1391 CE), and Moen Drubdey (c. 1540 CE) among others (Dorji 2005: 3; Phuntsho: online). Despite some gaps, the key historical events both written and oral seems to suggest (1) a strong traditional link to Tibet and (2) a continuing expansion of Buddhist philosophy within the region. Circa 1616 CE, Bhutanese legend relates that Zhabs-drung (Ngawang Namgyal) established a traditional theocracy to avoid the political strife taking place in Tibet establishing his rule as both King and Chief Lama of Bhutan (Norman 1981: 897). Saints, gurus, and lamas continued to stream into the fledgling country and, in a number of cases, taught different forms of Buddhism to their respective disciples resulting in various sects. The Nyingmapa and Kagyupa sects are the most popular at present, but the Drukpa Kagyupa sect is officially recognised as the national religion. According to Dorji (2005: 4), formalised monastic education did not begin until 1622 CE when Zhabs-drung established the first Monk Body at Chari, Thimphu where thirty monks were ordained. While the Third King, His Late Majesty Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (1952– 1972), gave the Bhutanese people a greater say in running the country


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(Bhutan’s Royal Family: online), he is also credited with propelling the nation out of isolation, asserting that it could no longer prosper in the old traditional fashion (Dorji 2005: 9). The Fourth King, His Majesty (HM) Jigme Singye Wangchuck (1972) is credited with initiating the current movement toward constitutional monarchy and the concept of ‘Gross National Happiness’.

Gross National Happiness The objective, ‘Gross National Happiness’ was introduced in the 1980s as a means of achieving a better society. It has been the touchstone for a number of initiatives including valuing sustainability over materialism (The Economist 2007: 50) and development of a culture that fosters a learning society (Powdyel: online). It is perhaps best known from His Majesty’s comment: ‘‘Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product’’ (Wangchuck in Ura and Galay 2004: iix). The notion of the economics of happiness has since brought about a flurry of scholarly activity even though psychologists have been studying the subject for years (Graham 2005). Internationally, Gross National Happiness has helped form reassessments of the Easterlin Paradox, which refers to the fact that happiness levels are typically stationary in spite of considerable increases in income (Di Tella and MacCulloch: online). Understandably for Bhutan, however, further investigation may be necessary in order to understand the connection between human, social, and intellectual capital. If Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is an imperfect measure of progress and development according to Bhutan 2020 (1999: 46), it is often used elsewhere as the standard measure of comparison for a country’s material standard of living. It is meant to facilitate comparisons over time or between countries at any given point-in-time. Gross National Happiness, on the other hand ‘‘...resides in the belief that the key to happiness is to be found, once basic material needs have been met, in the satisfaction of non-material needs and in emotional and spiritual growth (Bhutan 2020 1999: 46). It is believed that the commitment of Bhutan’s leaders, their organizations, and their prominence and acceptance both locally and globally will be key to meeting the challenge of Gross National Happiness (see Nahapiet and Ghoshal 1998). Whatever one’s view, of Gross National Happiness, it must be admitted that the concept appears to be succeeding in Bhutan: according to White (online), the nation currently ranks eighth in the world in ‘‘subjective well-being’’. It may also have wider application, at least according to His Majesty, who writes: I believe that while Gross National Happiness is inherently Bhutanese, its ideas may have a positive relevance to any nation, peoples or communities – wherever they may be. I also believe that there must be some convergence among nations

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on the idea of what the end objective of development and progress should be. There cannot be enduring peace, prosperity, equality, and brotherhood in this world if our aims are so separate and divergent – if we do not accept that in the end we are people, all alike, sharing the earth among ourselves and also with other sentient beings, all of whom have an equal role and stake in the state of this planet and its players (Wangchuck in Ura and Galay 2004: xii).

Monastic versus modern education In Bhutan, from a general monastic education perspective, ‘‘education is to be viewed as a process of edification, while knowledge is considered a tool for benefiting the world’’ (Phuntsho: online). Emphasis is placed on developing a kind of ‘liberal education platform’ in which training is steeped in Buddhist philosophy (morals, values). While monks and aristocratic families are privileged to learn under Buddhist masters, it is the dratshangs, lobdras, and shedras that serve ‘the masses’ as the formalised monastic institutions that introduce, cultivate, or maintain a presence in Buddhist learning and scholarship. Shedras are of particular importance, as they represent monastic institutes of higher studies that grant degrees.2 Monastic institutions offer an alternative, traditional approach to education and they preserve and promote Bhutanese culture. Although there are different forms of Buddhist teachings, in general, a monastic education attempts to offer an appreciation of life and simple moments of being, and of preserving a sense of self for self-knowledge and acceptance. Modern education, by contrast, is viewed as focussing on human development and improving living conditions in the world [and] ...for the purpose of obtaining happiness and material comfort for oneself (Phuntsho 2000: online). Public monastic entities and institutions include the following: Monastic University Committee This national entity has been in existence for the last 20 years and is represented by the Monastic Commission, the Monastic Bodies, and the University Secretariat. The main functions of the committee are to review policies, plans, and programs pertaining to higher learning in the monastic order and to review membership of the committee. The committee also makes policy decisions and appoints tutors in the Shedras. Dratshang Lhentshog (Monastic Commission) The highest policy making body for the monastaries is the Commission which was constituted in 1984. The Chief Abbot is the Chairperson of the Commission, and it includes representatives from distinguished bodies including the National Assembly. Two of the eight Royal Advisory Councillors are


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representatives of the monastic body. In addition, the National Assembly is represented by the monastic body. Zhung Dratshang (Central Monastic Body) This entity is considered primary in terms of its position relative to Bhutan’s central government. Punakha (winter residence) and Thimphu (summer residence) are the seats of Zhung Dratshang. As of 2006, it has 1600 resident monks. Rabdey (Dzongkhag Monastic Body) Each of the 18 Dzongkhags has a Rabdey with a Lam (Priest). The number of monks ranges from 50 to 400. The size of the enrolment is dependent on the interests of the individuals and the age of the institutions in a particular Dzongkhag. Dratshang/Rabdey Yenlag (Dzongkhag Monastic Branch) These bodies are branches of the Dzongkhag Monastic Body. Few Dzongkhags, however, have branches in remote villages as a result of low student enrolment. Drubdey (Meditation Centres) The number of these centres are limited in the sense that they are located in isolated parts of Bhutan. Drubdeys are either managed by central or Dzongkhag monastic bodies. 2006 statistics show that the country has 31 such centres and some 422 individuals, usually adults or elderly, practicing meditation of different levels and types. Lobdra (Schools) These are institutions where young novices – either monks or lay children – are enrolled where elementary learning of monastic order takes place. They are too young to be included in other institutions. Some of these schools are physically located with some Rabdeys or Dratshangs, but graduants usually enrol in Rabdey or Drubdey. Gomdey (Lay Clergy Body) These are associations or groups of clergy usually located in the communities who are married. These clergies are married and have families. Their daily learning activities can be different from monk order. Their focus is the practical and ritual performance aspect of Buddhism. Services of the clergy

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of the Gomdey are vital as the communities need them to perform ceremonies. Each Gomdey has a Lam (priest). Aney Dratshang (Nunneries) Nunneries are considered equivalent to any other institutions of the monastic order. Because the learners and disciples are women, these centres are known in English as nunneries. Despite the fact that there are a significant number of private nunneries registered with the government, they are not provided with government support. Shedras (Colleges) These are the institutions within the monastery where the study of philosophical texts are the main curriculum. This orientation differentiates Shedra from other centres where chief activity concerns the training in ritual and tantric ceremonies. Bhutan currently hosts 15 Shedras in various regions. A Shedra is structured systematically as Zhirim (Elementary), Dringrim (Middle) and Thorim (Higher). These levels equate to higher secondary school (4 Years), bachelors (2 Years) and masters (3 Years) and are identical to Buddhist higher learning institutions in India and Nepal. The main Shedras (or Monastic Higher Education Institutions) are: Tango Buddhist College (Thimphu) In 1988, the Fourth King of Bhutan authorised Tango monastery to become an institution of higher learning and it currently offers graduate and postgraduate studies in Buddhism. In 1997–98, the first group of students graduated with Master’s Degree in Buddhist Studies (Rinchen Wangyal and Tashi Gaylay, graduants of Tango via personal communication, 15 March 2007). Sang Chokhor Buddhist College/Institute of Higher Learning (Paro) Sang Chokhor (Paro) was established in 1765 CE by Choglay Trulku Sacha Tenzin (Wangchuk 2003: 46). It became the seat of Sungtrul (Speech reincarnation) of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and thus has a significant religious importance. It is linked to Bhutan’s Royal Family in that Yab, Dasho Ugyen Dorji, the father of the queens of the Fourth King of Bhutan is the nephew of the fifth Speech reincarnation, Choglay Yeshi Ngedrup (1851– 1917) (Tshewang 1994). Yab Dasho Ugyen Dorji renovated and upgraded the monastery and established it as Buddhist College in 1991. The college offers Buddhist studies at the postgraduate level. The current (2007) enrolment is 110 students and 14 tutors. The principal of the college is a member of the University Council of the Royal University of Bhutan.

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As noted above, only Tango Shedra (Thimphu) and Sang Chokhor Shedra (Paro) offer bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes. Their geographic locations are significant because of limited accessibility within the country. In permitting students to specialize in a field of Buddhist study, Sang Chokhor Shedra adopted its student-centred curricula from the Nalanda University model (c. 5th Century BCE) in Bihar, India, which is considered one of the first universities established in the world. A similar model was attempted during the time of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century, but it did not become operational until it was re-introduced by Sang Chokhor Shedra in 1991. Once the student is awarded a master’s degree – equivalent to an M(Phil) – he is permitted to teach his subject of specialization for two years as a ‘specialized tutor’. During this period, the candidate may enrol for the PhD in the same field, a course of study which requires an additional three years of study, including the writing of a thesis. Historically, Sang Chokhor Shedra has only admitted monks as students to its institute. However, in 2005 – very significantly – the college was authorized to enrol non-monastic students. Moreover, the first group of 25 Dzongkha lecturers of the Colleges of the Royal University of Bhutan and officials from the Ministry of Education were enrolled in a Master’s Degree program through distance mode. The program is expected to continue, and efforts are currently underway to include a PhD program, which would be attractive to foreign students, civil servants, and monks alike. Current enrolment according to type of monastic institution are as follows (Table 2).

Bhutan’s current education system Much of the present interest in education concerns educational achievement in the developing world. In the case of Bhutan, modern educational achievement has been significantly delayed, due in part to the geographic isolation of the country. Current educational attainment levels are still minimal, with some 84% of all persons aged 25 and above as having had no schooling at all. As cited in a 2003 ADB report, only 8% of household heads have experienced some primary education, 7% secondary education, and only 1% college Table 2. Monastic institutions and beneficiaries of financial support (2006) Institution Dratshang/ Shedra Lobdra Drubdey Gomdey Gomdey Lams Nunneries types branch Rabdey Total 1 + 18 Enrolment 4892

15 887

58 1236

31 422

57 1593

Source: Kinley (personal communication, 15 March 2007).

169

3 88

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Brian D. Denman and Singye Namgyel Figure 1. Bhutan’s general education structure. Basic Education Age 6 to 16

PP - VI

VII - X

Higher Secondary Age 17 to 18 (HS) Vocational Education Age 17 plus (VTI) XI - XII

Tertiary Education Age 19 to 22

Degree course

Voc. TI

Labour Force

Source: UNESCO Bangkok (2006). ‘‘Bhutan Presentation’’. Retrieved 25 July 2007, http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/efa/EFA_MDA/SEA_MDA_workshop_ Nov06/bhutan_presentation.ppt

level (Asian Development Bank 2005: 104). Attainment is low because of problems of access and accessibility. Although education is free to all, in some communities primary students must still walk for two to three hours each way to reach the nearest school (ADB 2005: 93). Only 11 schools existed in 1960, but this had increased to 512 in 2006 (UNESCO Bangkok: online). For basic education, which is a national priority, 81% of primary school gross enrollment has been achieved (Asian Development Bank 2005: 49). There is little debate about Bhutan’s intention to build a formidable modern educational system. Nevertheless, with its success in addressing basic education to grade ten, there are still challenges ahead. For example, as a result of external pressures to meet Education-for-All (EFA) targets, an ever-increasing number of Bhutanese students are moving through the system, which has resulted in a critical shortage of secondary school places as well as a lack of adequately qualified teachers (Education Sector Strategy 2003: 7) (Figure 1). While general school education is completed after Grade XII or 13 years of schooling (as shown above), the Royal Government has defined completion of Grade X as the attainment of a basic education. This means that the school education policy allows students to exit the system at two points. The first exit point permits students – the majority – to join technical and vocational institutes for training and further education ranging from a few months to two years. The second – after grade XII – permits qualified matriculation into university programmes. Challenges yet to be faced are related to Bhutan’s capacity to provide for vocational education and training and higher education. In relation to the former, ‘‘at present, there is a very


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limited capacity for vocational education and training in the country. This is because until a few years ago, school leavers have always found a government job (Education Sector Strategy 2003: 31). With regard to the latter, the Royal University, formally established in 2003 after more than twenty years of deliberation, is only now beginning to make available opportunities in higher education. (In 1983, Sherubtse College, the only official institution of higher education in the country at that time, had gained authorization to confer degrees under an affiliation with India’s Delhi University. That affiliation terminated when the Royal University of Bhutan opened its doors on 2 June 2003).

The Royal University of Bhutan The first policy document relating to the establishment of a university in Bhutan dates back to 1976. It states: The sooner we set up our own [higher] education system the better. This would enable us to adapt the syllabi of other educational systems to fit in with our own culture and manpower requirements. It is, therefore, recommended that the Ugyen Wangchuk University should start functioning with a Three-Year Degree Course in 1978. (Royal Government of Bhutan, 1976, p. 6).

According to Bhutan 2020, ‘‘The university should link Bhutan to the international world of learning and its establishment should be guided by the need to establish recognized ‘centres of excellence’’’ (1999: 54). A previous UNESCO Report (30 Nov 1982) indicated that the university was to be established to reduce educational costs (presumably due to sending students abroad for higher education) and to provide an appropriate educational milieu and curricula consistent with the national socio-economic and cultural objectives of the country (Dukpa nd: 11). At present, all university education programmes at the Royal University of Bhutan have been streamlined into a distributed education-learning model (Rennie and Mason 2007). This model uses various technologies to deliver courses to students so that they do not need to re-locate in order to access higher education (Rennie and Mason 2007: 1). Because travel is extremely difficult because of the terrain and the absence of transport, electronic access to a network of nine specialist institutes physically located in various areas of the country offer a way to handle the needs of students and staff. The following table presents an overview of the member institutes of the Royal University and their areas of specialisation and spectacular growth in enrolments (Table 3). A number of associated degree programs are offered by member colleges of the Royal University. As an example, the two Colleges of Education offer pre-service Bachelor of Education (BEd) Degrees, which provide initial training. The BEd includes primary and secondary emphases. Primary includes a number of combinations such as Primary English, Primary Mathematics,

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Table 3. RUB’s member institutes, students and programme specialisation

1. Institute for Language and Culture Studies 2. Paro College of Education 3. Samtse College of Education 4. College of Natural Resources 5. National Institute of Traditional Medicines 6. Royal Institute of Health Sciences 7. College of Science and Technology 8. Royal Institute of Management 9. Sherubtse College Total

Student numbers projection

Concentration areas of study

2005

2006

2008

2010

2012

268

278

280

716

750

837 598 231 24

888 671 186 29

1083 803 364 31

1128 988 397 30

1128 1068 400 540

Humanities & Social Sciences, Visual Arts, Design & Communication Teacher Education Teacher Education Agriculture and Allied Sciences Health

191 460 183 1073 3865

269 506 204 1117 4148

349 655 319 1273 5157

429 850 404 1543 6485

955 464 1762 7067

Engineering, Technology Business & Management Business & Management, Humanities & Social Sciences, Computing & IT


Institutes


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Primary Dzongkha, and History, etc. Teacher graduates are qualified to teach at the primary levels and they are expected to teach their subject at the secondary level. Secondary graduates are qualified in two subjects at the secondary school level. In-service, award-bearing professional courses are offered at the Colleges of Education. The Royal University of Bhutan is in a good position to receive adequate funds necessary for building its infrastructure, academic programmes, and student support services if support reflected in a year 2000 report carries forward: in that year, expenditures for higher education totalled some 20% of all government outlays. This statistic matched that of India and exceeded that of China (16%) and Nepal (12%) (Royal University of Bhutan Strategic Plan 2005–2015: 2005: 11). Another critical element in its support base; linkages with the Universities of Delhi (India), New England and La Trobe (Australia), New Brunswick and Halifax (Canada), Highlands and Islands of Scotland (UK), and Yale (USA). The Royal University of Bhutan is clearly in a strategic position to have an extended network of alliances which will help it ‘‘establish logical pathways into the world of work’’ (Education Sector Strategy 2003: 23).

Observations It is clear that what we know as higher education was present in the monastic order prior to the establishment of secular institutions and that graduate and postgraduate levels of studies in Buddhism were in progress as early as the 1970’s when the Royal University of Bhutan was being proposed. This means that Bhutan’s educational system predated vernacular school systems based on Western models. Graduate and postgraduate levels of studies in Buddhism were already established well before the establishment of the Royal University of Bhutan, which suggests that their contribution has been largely overlooked by external agencies. Challenges still to be addressed include those of convergence and quality of teaching and learning. Convergence – that is, the coming together of the approaches of the monastic order and those of modern education – has formally occurred at Sang Chokhor Shedra, and Bhutanese society has apparently embraced the idea that both are equally beneficial in their own right. Perhaps of greatest significance is the fact that the development of Bhutan’s current educational system has stimulated the development of literacy in traditional learning, as proposed by Phuntsho (Phuntsho: online). The first evidence of convergence of monastic and modern education developed as early as 1991 at Sang Chokhor Shedra – even as early as 1983 if one were to accept Sherubtse College’s legitimacy via its affiliation with Delhi University. Many believe that Bhutanese society has long embraced the idea that both traditional and modern education are equally beneficial. Reflecting this notion, Ekman et al. (2005:60) argue that ‘‘the [Buddhist]

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ideal here is not simply to achieve one’s own individual ‘happiness’ in isolation from others, but to incorporate the recognition of one’s deep kinship with all beings, who share the same yearning to be free of suffering and to find a lasting state of well-being.’’ Not all scholars agree, of course. Vervoorn (2002), for example, holds that the two systems meet not so much in an embrace of convergence as a reluctance to question. One must admit that in Bhutan has a history of a succession of well-received kings who have ruled with an authority that has rarely faced dispute. As Vervoorn (2002: 44) puts it: How people regard a given set of rules or principles, and their reasons for heeding them or not, is influenced to a large extent by where the rules come from. If they are persuaded, for example, that rules are the result of divine decree, then they are unlikely to question their authority.

Addressing teaching and learning, educational reform in Bhutan has demonstrated that the country’s dual system – monastic and modern – is evolutionary, not revolutionary. Unlike other educational systems that are heavily influenced by privatisation, competition, standardisation, and a user-pays system, Bhutan has developed a unifying approach that allows for greater access, equity, and co-operation. This is supported by a ‘nation-culture’ identity3 that is uniquely preserved by its ruling class, although the privileged may receive the bulk of its educational benefits. Carnoy and Samoff may be correct that in transitional countries like Bhutan ‘‘...the state, not economic institutions, is the principal shaper of social structures’’ (Carnoy and Samoff 1990: 12). Their comments build on observations of other scholars such as Diener et al. who write that: Money...is a means to an end, and that end is well-being. But money is an inexact surrogate for well-being, and the more prosperous a society becomes, the more inexact a surrogate income becomes.

The Bhutan model suggests that social capital can contribute to creating human capital. Unlike Western societies and their drive for human capital, identified by Schultz as ‘useful’ skills and knowledge (Schultz 1961: 1), the pursuit of truth in Bhutan is related to how its people view its collective society as a ‘nation-culture’. The evolving educational system mirrors the social norms, rules, and obligations of the nation (Coleman 1988: S95).

Notes 1. ‘‘Anims’’ (anems) are lay female who practice dharma. Some are celibate; others are not. 2. As the case in other parts of the world (i.e. International Association of Universities), institutions that are theologically based are generally omitted from governmentauthorised university listings (See IAU’s World List of Universities).


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3. Hutt refers to this as the development of ethnic nationalism which is subsumed in Bhutan’s sixth Five-Year Plan, ‘‘one nation, one people’’ (1987: 92). Hutt makes it clear, however, that there are many ethnic communities in Bhutan who, as a collective whole, represent ‘the people’ which are not privy to the upper strata of society (Hutt 1996: 398).

References Aris Michael. 1990. On the Revival of Traditional Scholarship in Bhutan. In: IndoTibetian Studies: Papers in Honour and Appreciation of Professor David Snellgrove’s Contribution to Indo-Tibetan Studies. ed. by Tadeusz Skorupski, 23–27. Tring: The Institute of Buddhist Studies. Bhutan 2020. A Vision for Peace, Prosperity, and Happiness (1999). Planning Commission Secretariat, Royal Government of Bhutan. Bhutan’s Royal Family. Retrieved 24 July 2007, http://www.raonline.ch/pages/bt/visin/ bt_royalfam01d2.html. Carnoy, Martin, and Joel Samoff. 1990. Education and Social Transition in the Third World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Coleman, James S. 1988. Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital. In: The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 94, S95–S120, Supplement: Organizations and Institutions: Sociological and Economic Approaches to the Analysis of Social Structure. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Dargye, Y. 2001. History of the Drukpa Kagyud school in Bhutan (12th to 17th century AD. India: Omega Traders. Di Tella, Rafael, and Robert MacCulloch. 2005. Gross National Happiness as an Answer to the Easterlin Paradox? Retrieved 8 August 2007, http://ideas.repec.org/p/ wpa/wuwpma/0504027.html. Diener, Ed, and Martin E.P. Seligman. 2004. Beyond Money. Toward an Economy of Well-Being. In: Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 5, No. 1, 1–31, American Psychological Society. Dorji, Jagar. 2005. Quality of Education in Bhutan, 2nd ed., Thimphu: KMT Publishers. Dukpa, Zangley (unpublished). Higher Education: Factors Associated with the Establishment of a University. Bhutan: Sherubtse College. Ekman, Paul, Richard J. Davidson, Matthieu Ricard, and B. Alan Wallace. 2005. Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being. In: Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 14, No. 2, 59–63. American Psychological Society. Evans, A. S. 2007. An Analysis of Meme Haylay Haylay and His Turquoise Using Joseph Campbell’s Model of the Hero’s Journey. In: Journal of Bhutan Studies, Vol. 15. Thimpbu: Centre for Bhutan Studies. Graham, Carol. 2005. Insights on Development from the Economics of Happiness. The World Bank Research Observer, 20(2): 201. Retrieved 23 July 2007, http://wbro. oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/20/2/201.

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Hutt, Michael. 1996. Ethnic Nationalism, Refugees, and Bhutan. In: Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 9, No. 4, 397–420. Oxford University Press. Mackey, William. 2002. How it all Began. In: The Call: Stories of Yesteryears, 1–5. Paro: Centre for Educational Research and Development (December 2002). Nahapiet, Janine, and Ghoshal Sumantra. 1998. Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and the Organizational Advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(2): 242–266. Non-Formal Education in Bhutan (online). Retrieved 25 July 2007, http://www.accu. or.jp/litdbase/pub/dlperson/97nw/97NW_08.pdf. Norman, K. R. 1981. Book Review: Bhutan: The Early History of a Himalayan Kingdom. Modern Asian Studies 15(4): 896–898. Penjore, Dorji. 2005. Folktales and Education: Role of Bhutanese Folktales in Value Transmission. Paper presented at the conference, Rethinking Development: Local Pathways to Global Wellbeing, St. Francis Xavier University (20–24 June 2005). Retrieved 20 July 2007, http://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/admin/pubFiles/12–3.pdf. Phuntsho, Karma. 2000. On the Two Ways of Learning in Bhutan. Retrieved 19 July 2007, http://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/journal/vol2no2/v2/n2.learning.pdf. Powdyel, Thakur S. 2005. The University as an Instrument of Gross National Happiness: Some reflections. Retrieved 20 July 2007, http://www.gpiatlantic.org/ conference/papers/powdyel.pdf. Royal Government of Bhutan. 2003. Strategic framework for the Royal University of Bhutan. Thimphu: Royal University of Bhutan. Royal University of Bhutan. 2006. Staff and Students Statistics: October 2006. Thimphu: Royal University of Bhutan. Royal Government of Bhutan. n.d. Syllabus of Bachelors and Masters Degrees. Thimphu, Bhutan: Tango Buddhist College. Royal University of Bhutan. 2005. Strategic Plan 2005–2012 (Draft June 2005). Schultz, Theodore W. 1961. Investment in Human Capital. American Economic Review 51(1): 1–17. The Economist. 2007. 28 April 2007. Tshewang, P. 1994. History of Bhutan. Thimphu, Bhutan: National Library. UNESCO Bangkok. 2006. Bhutan Presentation. Retrieved 25 July 2007, http:// www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/efa/EFA_MDA/SEA_MDA_workshop_ Nov06/bhutan_presentation.ppt. Ura, Karma, and Karma Galay (eds.). 2004. Gross National Happiness and Development. Proceedings of the First International Seminar on Operationalization of Gross National Happiness. Thimphu: The Centre for Bhutan Studies. Vervoorn, Aat. 2002. Re-Orient. Change in Asian Societies, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wangchuk, R. 2003. A Brief History of Densa Sangchen Chokhor. Phuentsholing, Bhutan: KMT. White, Adrian G. 2007. A Global Projection of Subjective Well-Being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology’’. Retrieved 8 August 2007, http://www.le.ac.uk/pc/aw57/world/ sample.html.


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World List of Universities. 1997. 19th Edition. International Association of Universities. Paris: Stockton Press.

The authors Dr. Brian D. Denman is President of the Australian New Zealand Comparative and International Education Society (ANZCIES) and Editor-in-Chief of the International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives. He lectures at the University of New England in public policy and educational leadership with academic pursuits in the areas of international higher education, social policy, and comparative and international education. Contact address: School of Business, Economics and Public Policy, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia. E-mail: [email protected] Singye Namgyel is Director of Sherubtse College, Royal University of Bhutan. He teaches educational research modules to students taking the Master in Educational Leadership and Management. His research interests include socio-linguistics, culture and education. He is a recipient of the ‘‘Druk Thuksey’’, the highest civilian award of the country for his innovative contributions to education. Contact address: School of Business, Economics and Public Policy, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

FRONTIERS OF EDUCATION: JAPAN AS ‘‘GLOBAL MODEL’’ OR ‘‘NATION AT RISK’’? DAVID BLAKE WILLIS, SATOSHI YAMAMURA and JEREMY RAPPLEYE


Abstract – The Japanese educational system is undergoing extensive change, affecting all stages from pre-school programmes to higher education. As Japan has moved from a nation at the top to ‘‘A Nation at Risk,’’ certain dichotomies have been highlighted. Viewing Japan as either educational super-power or educational tragedy, depending on the era of research or background of the researchers, has been especially provocative for educators and policy-makers. At the same time, the controversies in America surrounding the report A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education) are well known, a major impetus for the report of course being Japan. Central to the question of whether Japan is best understood as a Global Model or A Nation at Risk are themes of cross-national attraction and educational transfer. What can the world learn from Japan? What does Japan need to learn from the world? The answers to these questions have particular significance for Japanese higher education, which we take up as a case study here, with its urgent task to innovate in the face of a steep demographic downward trend. For those in Japan who feel that Japanese education is in a dismal state, what are the origins of this serious decline? For observers in other national contexts who envisage Japan as a model, how do the calls to ‘learn from Japan’ reflect genuine attempts to improve practice at home? Or are they simply rhetorical tools in support of domestic political projects? Re´sume´ – FRONTIE`RES DE L’E´DUCATION: LE JAPON EN TANT QUE ‘‘MODE`LE GLOBAL’’ OU « NATION EN DANGER » ? – le syste`me d’e´ducation japonais est entre´ dans une e`re de large changement. Lorsque le Japon est passe´ d’une nation au sommet a` « une nation en danger », certaines dichotomies s’en sont trouveés accentueés. Voir en lui une superpuissance e´ducative (mode`le global) ou une trage´die e´ducative (une nation en danger) a e´te´ particulie`rement provocateur pour les e´ducateurs et les personnes de´finissant la politique, et les the`mes d’une attraction transnationale et d’un transfert e´ducatif sont au centre de cette discussion. Que peut apprendre le monde du Japon? Que doit apprendre le Japon du monde? Les re´ponses ont une signification particulie`re pour l’enseignement supe´rieur japonais, que les auteurs prennent ici pour faire une e´tude de cas. A` ceux qui au Japon estiment que l’e´ducation japonaise est dans un e´tat lamentable, l’on pourrait demander : qu’ont creé´ et qui a creé´ ces ideés? Pour les observateurs d’ailleurs qui voient dans le Japon un mode`le, les appels pour « apprendre du Japon » refle`tent-ils des tentatives ve´ritables pour ame´liorer la pratique chez eux ou ne sont-ils que de simples outils rhe´toriques a` l’appui de projets politiques inte´rieurs? Zusammenfassung – GRENZLINIEN DER BILDUNG: JAPAN ALS ‘‘WELTVORBILD’’ ODER ‘‘RISIKONATION’’? – Das japanische Bildungssystem ist in eine A¨ra umfassender Vera¨nderungen eingetreten. Im Zuge der Wandlung Japans von der Spitzennation zur ‘‘Risikonation’’ sind bestimmte Dichotomien deutlich geworden. Die Sichtweise als entweder bildungspolitische Supermacht (Weltmodell ) oder bildungsS. Majhanovich et al. (eds.), International Review of Education. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-9816-1_13

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David Blake Willis et al.

politische Trago¨die (Risikonation) erweist sich als starke bildungspolitische Provokation, zumal in dieser Debatte Fragen der zwischenstaatlichen Attraktion und des Bildungstransfers von zentraler Bedeutung sind. Was kann die Welt von Japan lernen? Was muss Japan von der Welt lernen? Die Antworten sind besonders fu¨r die japanische Hochschulbildung von Bedeutung, u¨ber die die Autoren hier eine Fallstudie vorlegen. Diejenigen Personen in Japan, die das Bildungssystem in einem beklagenswerten Licht wahrnehmen, ko¨nnten fragen: Durch wen oder was sind diese Vorstellungen zustande gekommen? Außenstehende Beobachter, die Japan als Vorbild sehen, ko¨nnten fragen: Spiegeln die Aufrufe ‘‘von Japan zu lernen’’ wirklich eigensta¨ndige Herangehensweisen zur Verbesserung der eigenen Praxis wider oder sind sie schlicht rhetorische Mittel zur Untermauerung binnenpolitischer Projekte? Resumen – FRONTERAS DE LA EDUCACIOŃ: ¿ES JAPOŃ UN ‘‘MODELO GLOBAL’’ O UNA ‘‘NACIOŃ EN PELIGRO’’? – El sistema educativo japone´s ha ingresado en una era de cambios extensivos, donde se realzan ciertas dicotomı´ as con el paso de Japoń desde la cumbre hacia una ‘‘Nation at Risk’’. Su calificacioń, ya sea de superpotencia educativa (Global Model ) o de tragedia de la educacioń (A Nation at Risk), supone una provocacioń muy especial para educadores y responsables de polı´ ticas de la educacioń. El debate se centra en temas de atractivo entre paı´ ses y transferencia educativa. ¿Que´ puede aprender el mundo de Japoń? ¿Y que´ debe aprender Japoń del mundo? Las respuestas revisten especial importancia para la educacioń superior japonesa, que los autores han tomado aquı´ como un estudio de caso. En cuanto a quienes tienen en Japoń la sensacioń de que la educacioń japonesa se encuentra en un estado desolador, habrı´ a que preguntar: ¿que´ y quień han dado lugar a estas ideas? Y en cuanto a los observadores de cualquier sitio que ven a Japoń como modelo, los requerimientos de ‘‘aprender de Japoń’’ ¿realmente reflejan intentos genuinos de mejorar la puesta en praćtica en su propio paı´ s, o son simplemente herramientas reto´ricas que soportan proyectos polı´ ticos a nivel nacional?

Japan as ‘‘Global Model’’ or ‘‘Nation at Risk’’

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Japan as ‘‘global model’’ or ‘‘nation at risk’’? Our Nation is at risk. Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world…The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people. (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983: 6–7)

We are now in an era of extensive change in the Japanese educational system. From pre-school programmes to higher education there are serious transformations underway. As Japan has moved from a nation at the top to ‘‘A Nation at Risk,’’ certain dichotomies have been highlighted. Viewing Japan as either educational super-power or educational tragedy, depending on the era of research/reportage or the background of the researchers, has been particularly provocative. Yet the oppositional nature of this discourse has often told us more about ideological disputes than actual realities. What have the many discourses describing Japanese education meant when they are examined in the larger picture and broader context of these transformations? Moving beyond dichotomies such as achievement and chaos, tradition and modernity, and other oppositions, to new approaches to Japanese education is the theme of this paper. We chose the title, Frontiers of Education: Japan as ‘‘Global Model’’ or ‘‘Nation at Risk’’? because it seemed to us that it addressed issues of general concern in Japan today, particularly in the media, alarmist as it may be, and also among the general public (Table 1). There is a great, general social unease today with where Japanese society is going. Much of the blame for these problems is falling on schools, on teachers, and on students. The late 20th century celebration of Japanese educational achievement and the accomplishments of Japanese society, often attributed directly related to a successful educational system by the mainstream media and by scholars of education (Rohlen 1983; Duke 1986; Bennett 1987; White 1987; Leestma and Walberg 1992; Stevenson and Stigler 1992; Lewis 1995; Rohlen and LeTendre 1998, are some examples), has been betrayed by the recent flood of news regarding the dissolution of order and plunging test scores. Moreover, there have been concerns about the rising class gap between haves and have-nots in the education system as well (Kariya 2001). What do recent developments presage in light of the former picture of the seemingly omnipotent power of the Japanese education system? This paper examines historical, cultural, and political dimensions of achievement and success in Japan as seen from the inside and the outside as a new era begins for this powerful society. Dilemmas of Japanese society and education in an era of change The recent deep criticism in the Japanese media and society of the education system includes talk of gakkyu h okai (classroom collapse), gakuryoku teika

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Table 1. Landscapes for comparative education: a graphic presentation Japan as ‘Global Model’ or ‘Nation at Risk’? ‘Nation at Risk’

‘Global Model’

1. Collapse of academic achievement PISA tests and other measures

1. Top performer in international tests exceptional math and science skills

2. Increasing class divisions/stratification

2. Safe, healthy society as a result of the educational system

3. Exclusion and discrimination Failure to recognize diversity in Japanese society (Gender, race or ethnic discrimination)

3. Educating the ‘whole’ child

4. Bullying, violence, drop-outs

4. Excellent teachers

5. Loss of national identity

5. Neo-liberal reform package/New public management trends

6. Slide back towards militarism

6. Equality of educational opportunity

7. Lack of resources/need for smaller classes

7. Equal facilities and resources spread throughout the system

8. Lack of patriotism

8. Small number of drop-outs

9. Not preparing young workers for work (For any type of work and/or especially for the new global economy)

9. Excellent preparation for civility and polite/civil discourse in society; Socialization is admirable

10. Lack of moral education

10. Respect for others, including elders

11. Lack of creativity

11. Discipline

12. ‘Exam Hell’

12. Accountability and equality in exams

How is it that Japanese education can be on the ‘Frontiers of Education’ as a ‘Global Model’ and yet ‘A Nation at Risk,’ especially at home, as well? We have listed some of the major arguments on both sides in this graphic presentation, which we include here as a framework of common points of reference for the diverse range of scholars, topics, and approaches concerned with Japanese, American, comparative, development, and global education. Willis, Yamamura and Rappleye 2008.

(tumbling academic achievement, lazy/poor/uncommitted teachers, continued ijime or bullying, increasing tok o kyohi (school refusals; 130,000 in Japan last year and growing), and other problems. This is merely the tip of a social crisis that extends far and wide. In the society at large there is increasing crime, social disorder, irresponsibility, poor manners, business scandals, and of course weaker economic performance. The number of school days in the year has been reduced dramatically, particularly with the ending of school on Saturdays, once a hallowed tradition. Lack of creativity and imagination,


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not to mention the dearth of Nobel prizes, a point of wounded national pride, has people seriously worried. On top of this has been the steady procession of reports documenting falling scores in international tests of educational achievement. A report from the OECD in 2004, for example, showed dramatic drops in mathematics literacy (2000: 1st place; 2007: 6th place) and reading ability (2000: 8th place; 2007: 14th place). The Ministry of Education released a statement at the time that Japan was no longer in the top rank of nations educationally (Asahi 2004), although a more recent report from the first national achievement tests in 43 years revealed high marks for basic knowledge at the same time as lower marks for the application of knowledge (Kyodo 2007), a mixed bag which may not justify the policy surge for a wholesale change of the education system (Tsuneyoshi 2004). These concerns contrast greatly with the image of Japan from the outside, which at least in terms of education, still carries the glow and feeling that Japan can do no wrong. Yet there is another dichotomy that should not be overlooked either. Along with the increasing commentary on problems in the education system, important developments have been taking place, including an assertive individuality and a serious questioning of traditional values; gender, race, class, and cultural differences; and educational purpose (Okano and Tsuchiya 1999; Sato 1999; Cave 2001; Tsuneyoshi 2001; Kariya 2003; Willis 2007). There is questioning at all levels of the Japanese educational system, something that would have been unheard of 10 or 15 years ago (Table 2). The Japanese educational system, its concepts, and its philosophies are now in an especially high state of flux after many years of extraordinary growth and discipline. Trading places At the same time, the controversies in America that swirled around the highly contested, deeply politicized report of A Nation at Risk are well-known, the reverberations still being felt (viz recent revisiting of this report by Gerald Bracey 2003; Diane Ravitch 2003, and others). One of the main reasons for A Nation at Risk was, of course, Japan, seen at the time as the up and coming competitor and even the potential enemy of the United States, mired as it was in its economic doldrums of the 1980s. How ironic that today the situation is very much reversed. The celebration of global achievement internationally continues to herald nations like Japan and Korea at the forefront. But are these really global achievements? Questioning the meanings, structures, and practices of hegemony, resistance, and definitions in the context of achievement in Japan is how we would like to approach this topic. We follow here the spirit of previous scholars who have questioned the received wisdom of the government and conservative political figures concerning the need for and direction of change (Cummings and Altbach 1997; Aspinall 2001; Kariya 2002; Cummings 2003; Kariya 2003). Unlike many other countries where research and practice reveal deficit models (what does not work, how and why it does

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Table 2. Japan’s educational frontiers: identifying the challenges and opportunities Minus

Plus

Social/Cultural Malaise: loss of national goals

Cohesive nat. polity, educ. polity comfortable life-course

(Economic downturn, global isolation/ Competition)

(Econ return, global role increased: Iraq, UN, etc)

Educational turmoil: classroom collapse

Classroom collapse: small numbers

Dumbing down of curriculum

Uniform national curriculum

Crisis of higher education: collapse of traditional system

Widespread access to higher educ

Examinations and entrance to universities/Higher education

Steeper pyramid, higher yield easier access, pool expanded

Job recruitment and job placement Globalization and higher education

More self-starters, job mobility 100,000 + foreign students

The professor – changes and challenges

Most respected job in Japan, bonds with students, salary high

Pursuit of perfection: strengths were in sciences and mathematics a) Collapse of test scores Collapse relative – Jpn still near top b) Loss of interest/Effort by students Student interest up (related to jobs) c) Fewer school days More freedom d) New curriculum, new texts Streamlined curriculum, texts Weakness in creative/Expressive work/ Languages

Rising english lang. ability (?)

Weakness in critical thinking

Jpn. ingenuity, project X achievements

Diversity: weak recognition/Acceptance (Esp. Gender/Others)

Social harmony

National Loss of a shared vision for Japan Lack of patriotism: Kimigayo, Hino Maru

Individualization of Japan Core Japanese values retained

National anthem, National flag disputes

Article 9 (Change? ‘Normal Nation’?)

Increase of juvenile delinquency

Stable youth (relatively speaking)

Brain/Talent drain Lack of talent education

Japan high tech, high-end creativity Moves toward talent education

Yutori Kyoiku (Education time freed for exploration, creativity) School days, number in school year decreased

Freedom for individual Freedom for society


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Table 2. continued Minus

Plus

English language education and exam-oriented english Widening class gap in schooling

Elem. school english, JET program Diversity of opportunity

Global/International Falling international test scores (TIMMS, PISA, Others)

Fall in scores is Cf. Japan 95/99 Japan still higher than others (and towards top of the list)

Questions of public and international behavior

Polite nation Japan

Questions of IT commitment/Usage (47/60 Countries net usage 2000)

Cell phone use highest in world widespread text messaging Home computer use up, fees down

English language skills –Communicative and expressive skills? –Among lowest ranked in world in TOEFL

Much better than 1970s Most Japanese don’t need english

Irrelevance/Credibility/Authority gap as a nation

UN Security Council Member, ODA

Global isolation

ODA, global business presence SONY #2 most known word in world

China/Korea: competition and political tensions

‘‘Normal Nation,’’ ‘‘Beautiful Nation’’

(Or English Communicative Skills)

Willis, Yamamura and Rappleye 2008.

not work), the example of Japan is usually studied in the light of a polar opposite. What do we actually mean by achievement? This is a question raised by the example of Japan (Kariya 2003). Some indicators of the risk are falling test scores, but by whom and relative to which other nations? The borrowing of crisis discourse from America by Japan, to the point that Japan is now seen as ‘‘A Nation at Risk’’ within Japan (Nishimura 2001; Nishimura and Tose 2001), is one example of how politics has become entwined with policy-making (Takayama 2007), although there have been plenty of previous examples in the 1980s, as reported by Schoppa (1991a, b) and Linicome (1993). What is different in the former example is the borrowing of rhetoric, not just examples of achievement from outside, but rhetoric meant to pressure policy-makers to adjust reforms in certain directions. This borrowing of rhetoric is stark in its irony, with conservative and neoliberal policy-makers in Japan depicting America as a nation to follow, because of the success of its reforms, despite the continuing reports of cross-national achievement such as PISA or TIMMS placing Japan

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in the top five or ten nations compared to the US, which is in fact dismally low with scores ranking it between 18th and 29th. Hope and frustration both exist, powered by particular political agendas. Excellence in education may in the Japanese case still exist in certain areas, but the definitions are shifting as larger questions concerning the public’s commitment to education are raised. Expectations have risen just as content has been seemingly dumbed down for most of the student population, elites being an exception. Equality of rights and opportunities in Japan, an important aspect of any society, have of course formally existed since the American Occupation reforms following World War II, related directly to the high standard of living and a safe, secure society. The social contract is now shaky, however, with a national sense of drift and loss of control. Educational accomplishments in terms of test scores and a comfortable, secure society only tell part of the story. There are other stories, of groups that have historically been shut out of the mainstream. The rigid socio-economic class barriers of ‘‘us and them’’ in Japan (Kariya 2001) are reminiscent of former colonial eras in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere. This is true as well with regard to issues of gender. The celebration of the contributions of women and non-mainstream groups has been largely invisible in Japan just as the mainstream of Japanese society has been visible and successful in the world’s media. Comparative educational studies of Japan and other countries, especially in the US, have found deficits in other countries, while, generally, much to celebrate about Japan. The general feeling in Japan, however, at the beginning of the 21st century, is one of questioning and uncertainty regarding educational accomplishments and what is needed in the global context. We would like to bring Japan into this global dialogue, especially concerning issues of educational borrowing and higher education. We are particularly interested in illuminating structural and cultural challenges to Japanese society as seen through these key educational transformations. Japan has a great tradition of hybridity and eclectic creolization in education that reaches beyond dichotomies often portrayed in the mass media. Where can we locate the ground for this new set of hybrid, creolized transformations?

On educational borrowing: transferring solutions, transferring crises Central to the question of whether Japan is best understood as a Global Model or Nation at Risk are themes of cross-national attraction and educational transfer because the central question becomes either (1) what the world can learn from Japan or (2) what Japan needs to learn from the world. Here a rich literature in the field of comparative and international education helps point out the most relevant issues. Phillips and Ochs (2004) point to the multiplicity of motivations and ‘impulses’ behind cross-national attraction. Among these the most relevant here are the legitimate attempt to use the foreign example to improve practice in the home country and the illegitimate abuse of the foreign


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example to scandalize practices in the home country. Beech (2006) presents numerous cases that show how legitimate borrowing of practices from abroad were vital to the formation of national systems of education. Steiner-Khamsi (2000, 2004) on the other hand shows how scandalization is the more frequent driver of cross-national attraction today. So what then is happening in the case of Japan? What is happening in the countries that are attracted to Japan? To answer those questions, this section briefly examines Japanese attraction to foreign educational models over its modern history followed by a review of Japan as the object of educational attraction from abroad. It reveals that the question of whether Japan is a Global Model or Nation at Risk depends largely on the values and standpoint of the observer. Uses and abuses of educational borrowing ‘‘Japan’s steep learning curve, shown twice in its modern educational history, had been driven by the attraction of the Japanese government and leading educators toward foreign educational patterns.’’ (Shibata 2004: 161)

The formation of Japan’s modern education system owes much to processes of legitimate educational borrowing, usually triggered by genuine fears that Japan was A Nation at Risk. At the outset of Japan’s modern history, the arrival of Admiral Perry’s Black Ships forced the end of Japan’s self-imposed isolation from the world, making Japan painfully aware of the very real danger that it could be colonized. In response, the Meiji leadership launched the Iwakura Embassy that sent almost the entire Meiji government on a 21-month voyage to ‘learn’ the sources of Western civilization (Shibata 2004). Leaders such as Mori Arinori, Tanaka Fujimaro, and Fukuzawa Yukichi brought back ideas and models of schooling that they then refashioned to serve the Japanese context. The first steps towards a westernized school system began in 1872. Enrollments and literacy rates spiraled upwards in the thirty years of a hectic trial and error effort by the government that followed, helping Japan quickly master Western science, engineering and military technology. Borrowed educational ideas thus become central to the ‘compression’ (Sato 2007) of Japan’s modernization. By the beginning of the 20th century a modern education system was driving Japan’s emergence as a major player on the world stage. Similarly, as Japan looked to rebuild after the devastation of the Second World War, Japanese leaders on the Japan Education Reform Council (JERC) worked closely with the United States Education Mission (USEM) to implement policies that would ensure that education would no longer be manipulated for nationalist and militarist aims (Shibata 2005). Features of the American education system such as decentralized administration and local school boards were an effort to introduce more local, democratic control into the Japanese system. Perhaps more importantly, co-education, a single 6-3-3-4 track, and the expansion of higher education opportunities – all loosely modeled on the US system – created an extremely egalitarian structure (Schoppa 1991a, b). While many of these ‘transferred’ ideas were reformed, reworked,

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and improved in the years following the end of the Allied Occupation in 1947, those policies, together with the strengths of the pre-war system, provided Japan with a competent and highly-skilled workforce that contributed greatly to Japan’s phenomenal economic growth in the four decades following the war. As in the Meiji period, what began with feelings that Japan was on the brink of collapse – A Nation at Risk – led to the import of educational ideas that in turn contributed to Japan’s strength in the next generation. Today, Japan is in the midst of yet another major educational reform whose depth and breadth is so great that many have begun to refer to it as ‘‘Third Great Educational Reform’’ in a direct juxtaposition to the Meiji and Postwar reforms (Fujita 2000; Hood 2001). Here again we find the pervasive feeling of A Nation at Risk coupled with the apparent desire to ‘learn’ from abroad. In Japan today, despite PISA scores that rank among the highest in the world, there is a perception that the education system is seriously failing. Reforms initiated in the 1980s that aimed to foster creativity and individuality (yutori ky oiku), relieve the pressures of examinations, and internationalize and rejuvenate the higher education system are finally being realized, but seem only to have stoked a sense of crisis (Tsuneyoshi 2004). In recent response to this, some intellectuals and leaders have emphasized the need to ‘learn from abroad’ to bring Japanese education more in line with (supposed) global standards. On the surface it appears to be Japan’s classic response to education and social problems. Yet, a closer examination reveals that the nature of borrowing and transfer in Japan’s ‘‘Third Great Educational Reform’’ are markedly different. Takayama (2007) describes how conservative intellectuals have actually borrowed the rhetoric of American’s Nation at Risk to create their own crisis discourse in Japan, not with the aim of ‘learning’ anything but simply to obstruct the current reforms. He shows clearly how these conservative figures ‘‘compared the current state of Japanese education under the 2002 yutori reform to the alleged crisis experienced by American education…and argued that solutions could be derived from American’s ‘‘successful’’ school reform since 1983’’ (151). Likewise, former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo advocated a policy of ‘learning from England’ in his widely read vision for Japan, Towards a Beautiful Country (2006). Despite these repeated and frequent pronouncements to ‘learn from abroad’, recent, high-profile education reform attempts such as the Education Rebuilding Council show no sign of actually taking steps to engage in careful study of a foreign education system. Instead, it appears that leaders in Japan are implementing policies that had already been decided upon under the guise of the foreign example: four recent education bills proposed by the Education Rebuilding Council were approved in June 2007 reorienting the system along neo-liberal lines that that had been decided upon nearly a decade before. Clearly, educational ‘borrowing,’ which has produced such important benefits for Japanese education and society, has become a political strategy in Japan today (Rappleye 2007a). In an interesting inversion, the foreign model has become the source of, rather than the solution to, A Nation at Risk in


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present-day Japan. The implications for education as a source of Japan’s strength in the next generation are less than clear given this scenario. Equally fascinating is the history of Japan as an object of attraction: (what) can the world learn from Japan? Japan’s powerful economy, dominant industries and cutting-edge technology have made it the source of much interest over the past two decades in many parts of both the developed and developing world (McCormick 2006). Moreover, Japan’s rapid social and economic development following the Meiji Restoration, which manifests itself as the only developed country not built upon Western cultural foundations, has made it, and continues to make it, an attractive model in many parts of the developing world. Even within educational circles, Japan’s education system is the source of much fascination and envy as it perennially ranks among the top performers in the fields of math and science in international achievement exams such as TIMMS and PISA studies. Indeed, at many points in Japanese history observers have come to ‘learn from Japan’ with the hope of borrowing the secrets to Japanese success. Highlighting a few of the most salient examples provides insight into the question of whether Japan can or should be considered a ‘Global Model.’ China was one of the first countries to see Japan as a model for its own educational and economic development. Following China’s total defeat at the hands of Japan in the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), China – somewhat paradoxically – became highly attracted to Japan, sending 13 scholars from the Qing Imperial Court to study in Japan in 1896 (Abe 1987). Upon their return, nearly the entire Chinese system was restructured along Japanese lines, including the establishment of a Ministry of Education and Imperial University that mirrored Japan. By 1905, the traditional Imperial exam system that underpinned the classic Confucian education ceased to exist, being replaced with reforms modeled closely on Japan (Pepper 1996). What was behind this Chinese attempt to ‘learn from Japan’ the first instance of Japanese education as a ‘Global Model’? It appears that Japanese education became attractive to Qing leaders because it strove to create students who were instilled with neoConfucian cultural values, but equipped with an understanding of western science and technology. This combination fit well with the uneasy political alliance in Qing China: conservatives who wanted to preserve the Confucian values system and reformers who urged modernization along Western lines (Rappleye 2007b). Doing nothing was not an option after crushing military defeats revealed China as A Nation at Risk, but neither was wholesale ‘borrowing’ of Western values and educational practice. With the sides drawn, one of the only things Chinese leaders could agree upon was the Japanese model. The recent foreign attraction to Japanese education and the politics of borrowing More recent examples of foreign attraction to Japanese education reveal similar pattern of developments in the ‘home’ country as much stronger drivers

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of attraction than any actual changes in Japanese education itself. The American attraction to Japanese education in the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, for example, is almost legendary. Government officials and scholars flocked to Japan to attempt to learn the secrets of Japanese economic success. A whole range of works suggested Japan as a model for America. The Japanese School: Lessons for Industrial America (Duke 1986), The Japanese Educational Challenge (White 1987), Japanese Educational Productivity (Leestma and Walberg 1992), The Learning Gap: Why are Schools are Failing and What We Can Learn from Japanese and Chinese Education (Stevenson and Stigler 1992) are some examples. A focus on outcomes, the importance of a core curriculum, high expectations and discipline were cited by some as the source of Japanese educational success (Bennett 1987). What is important to realize is that this rush to ‘learn from Japan’ came directly following America’s publication of A Nation at Risk (1983). Although the Japanese economy was dominant at the time, there were no real changes in Japanese education that should have sparked American attraction, revealing that American attraction had more to do with political developments within America than realities within Japan itself (Rappleye 2007b). In fact, this ‘Nation-at-Risk’-cum-constructed attraction becomes more evident when we consider that during the height of American attraction, Japan was so concerned about the (supposed) failing state of its own education system that it too launched a high profile reform council, the Ad Hoc Council on Education (Schoppa 1991). This paradox led to a comedy of errors such as when the US Secretary of Education, upon meeting his Japanese counterpart, declared his intent to borrow the concept of ‘cram schools’ (juku), which the Japanese were desperately attempting to wean themselves away from (Goodman 2003). The litany of such misunderstandings is as impressive as it is troublesome (Ichikawa 1989). Rather than a voyage from two extremes to a common middle ground (Fujita 2000), this was more akin to ‘two ships passing in the night’ (Green 2000) with political leaders at the helm who navigated not by the bright illumination of balanced research and attention to historical, social, and cultural contexts but rather more by the dim light of ideology and political expediency. Other studies of the recent attraction to Japanese educational models further support the idea that Japan’s status as a ‘Global Model’ is really about the larger political dynamics in the country of the observer. Shibata (2006) has detailed the case of Malaysia, for example, where the government actively promoted a Look East Policy (LEP) that sought to learn from Japan. Malaysian leaders advocated that much could be learned from Japan, especially in the realm of ‘Asian Values,’ that would create a safer, more consensual, trust-based society. In fact however, as Shibata concludes, ‘‘Look East as well as learning from Japan were political metaphors for antiWestern and pro-Asian region based policies’’ that were used by Malaysian politicians to gain political support by ‘‘echoing the sentiments of pan-Malay nationalism’’ (655). Likewise, an increasing attraction to Japanese educa-


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tional models in the 1990s among some academics in China reveal a similar attempt to use the Japanese ‘model’ as a means of pointing out the need to break from purely Western models of development and preserve cultural traditions (Rappleye 2007b). Thus, we find that Japan’s status as a potential ‘Global Model’ is something that can only be understood with some view of what is happening politically in the countries which find Japan attractive. This is not to say that Japan is without problems or that the world has nothing to learn from Japan, but simply to make the case for unpacking one’s own assumptions before embarking on the important question of what Japan can contribute to the global conversation on education and what this same conversation has to offer Japan. An exploration of the recent transformation of Japanese universities in the next section points the way as to how this might be done.

Transformations of Japanese higher education in a global world Today’s intensive discussion on the urgent task to bring innovation to Japanese higher education has been intensified by the downward demographic trend of the Japanese population. The rapid decline of the number of children has created a critical situation for the educational system as well as for the economy and society. Higher education is now in a stage of what can be seen as virtually universal access. While on the surface this might seem a blessing, in reality this has created a difficult situation that finds universities and junior colleges scrambling to fill seats in a increasingly competitive higher education market wrought by a rapidly declining prospective student population. This is especially so for private institutions. About 84% of the three million university students now belong to 988 private universities and colleges, including 468 junior colleges. Comprising 83% of all institutions of higher education in Japan as of 2006, the future of these private institutions is indeed in jeopardy. Since the fate and trajectory of these private higher educational institutions will have a great impact on the society, there is much concern about their future. Already, for example, nearly 40% of four-year colleges and universities and close to 60% of junior colleges fail to get the projected number of students they plan on in order to maintain an adequate financial status (The Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan 2007). This is, indeed, a serious problem with implications for the entire education system. Under these conditions, many of these institutions have to transform themselves into financially sound organizations, appealing to the public through their school mottos and curricula and demonstrating their uniqueness and strength. It is especially essential for academic communities to overcome the traditional vertical value system of Japan that has not questioned much about the ranking of schools of higher education. Within this value system it is quite difficult for many institutions to escape from the

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psychological and cultural temptation to imitate institutions socially and academically ranked above them. This has produced in Japan a large number of analogous higher institutions that are different only in quantity, neither in character nor in form. Business sectors began addressing what they saw as the crisis of Japanese higher education in the early 1980’s, indicating their belief in the incompetence of universities and colleges in educating college students with a global and creative mind along with orderly, trained knowledge. Nikkei Business (Feb. 21, 1983), one of the leading business magazines, for example, severely criticized Japanese higher education as inadequately training students for the business sector, forcing the business world to purchase ‘‘failing merchandise.’’ Moreover, universities and colleges were seen as doing poor work to get rid of the mentalities of ‘‘groupism’’ and ‘‘famous brand name-orientation’’ among students, failing to nurture either a creative or global mind (see McVeigh 2002 for an interesting, if somewhat different tack on this). This was all occurring as global conditions had changed, as indicated in this comment in the report of A Nation at Risk: Developments signify a redistribution of trained capability throughout the globe. Knowledge, learning, information, and skilled intelligence are the new raw materials of international commerce (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983: 6–7)

Japan’s business sector, which since the 1960s had accumulated international activities and the ability to compare talents and abilities of college graduates internationally, then began to demand educational innovations along with ‘‘deregulation’’ in many areas of Japanese society from the 1980s. The business world proposed to introduce concepts like ‘‘service’’ and ‘‘market’’ into the education sector, with claims that this deregulatory and market-incentive policy would be the most efficient way after all to achieve a better ‘‘quality’’ of education in the Japanese higher education. Although the quality of education is a hot topic currently among business, education and government sectors, it is repeatedly mentioned that the academic world in general is far behind business in sharing the sense of the crisis. An illustration that demonstrates this situation is that the Japanese Government initiated and enacted a national law in 2004 that requires all universities and junior colleges to receive a third-party evaluation on its overall performance. This is a Japanese-style accreditation system. The government-initiated regulation of this kind over the educational system naturally contradicts the deregulatory idea of ‘‘market and service’’ oriented policies of the present Japanese Government and business sectors. It is hard to see how such a ‘‘regulatory’’ policy nurtures a ‘‘deregulatory or self-innovative’’ mind inside the circle of Japanese higher education institutions. Why has it been so difficult for Japanese colleges and universities to transform themselves in a timely manner while they have been clearly informed of


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the social, educational and institutional crises certainly to come? This question prompts us to examine a cultural value system that prevents a society from launching innovative ideas and movements, providing ‘‘culture’’ as a norm of a community (a norm being a principle of right action binding upon the members of a group and serving to guide, control, or regulate proper and acceptable behavior). Business and the central government, especially the national government run by elites, are on the side of favoring ‘‘globalization’’ tied with the economic concepts of ‘‘efficiency,’’ ‘‘achievement’’ and ‘‘service’’ while the academic world of higher education is dubious about discussing the quality of education in economically oriented terms such as these. On the other hand, we could say that the academic world has consciously or unconsciously clung to the following cultural values that we have observed among administrators and professors of higher education and that are prevalent in the Japanese society at large: 1. The more trustworthy and respect-worthy sector of society is the government, rather than the private or business world 2. The bigger, the better – a belief that quantity decides quality 3. The higher, the better These cultural frameworks have produced a vertical ranking structure in the higher educational system in Japan that has had a penetrating influence upon the whole spectrum of the educational system. An authoritarian culture with elitism as a driving force in the academic world has at the same time frequently revealed an inability to educate students on campus during this age of ‘‘universal access’’ to higher education in Japan. Plural criteria needed Some socio-educational factors provide us with additional explanations for the situation described above. The age-old centralized system of the country has been deeply challenged since the wave of deregulation began in the early 1990s (Muta 2006). This socially and mentally centralizing force strongly matched the modernization process beginning in the Meiji Restoration, and the mental boundaries between the state and the individual were expected by the central government to be as transparent as possible. Any intermediate sectors like families, villages, and cities, counties, prefectures, and so on, were organized as subsidiary organs for the centralized system of the State. Individuals came to face the State directly in their mentality. This process grew and became solidified with an accumulation of events reflecting the process of political and economic conflicts and decisions of Modern Japan. The initial gears to move the masses toward this centralized mentality were the school system and the conscription system, implemented one after the other within half a year, in 1872, only five years after the Meiji Restoration. Resistance to this powerful process leading toward a centralized mentality

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could still be spotted among the peasantry in the late 1920s, as revealed by this statement issued by a group of young peasants: We want to build the peasant school on the foundation of traditional customs of children’s company (kodomo-gumi) and youth company (wakamono-gumi). They are the spiritual community that peasants in Japan have made for themselves when they educate their children in a village community and fulfill their wish in it. The landlords are not members of the village community. Peasant children have been forced to go to school by the Government. We find nothing but enforcement there. We want to have a new spiritual community of peasants to make it the spiritual foundation for the peasant school. The educational idea by Noguchi and others is for city dwellers, but not for peasants. We must acquire knowledge in our daily labor and utilize the knowledge for it.

The grave question for citizenship education in Japan today, especially in the context of higher education, is what social element can work as a catalyst to recreate the mentality for an active community life. The Japanese social sentiment today realizes that an active community life is indispensable for effective citizenship education for children and that school education alone cannot handle this matter (see a detailed discussion in Yamamura 2002). This is a challenge against the ‘‘center-conscious’’ culture, which still has a long way to go to become considered, much less embedded, within academic circles. The eye-popping expansion of the Japanese economy domestically and internationally after World War II has augmented the sense of trusting in a quantity-oriented framework of life. Trust in scores and size in the educational sphere has also become powerful. Larger universities in size are often regarded as better in quality than smaller ones. This concept is naturally strong in the business sector. The business sector has demanded innovation in Japanese higher education but they fundamentally share the same cultural values. Universities and colleges in Japan have been eager to have graduate schools because they figure they could therefore impress the public with a better image in terms of the quality of education. The cultural value placed on ‘‘The higher, the better’’ has worked powerfully even among small colleges that have only a few departments or disciplines, but the expansion of graduate schools from the 1990s has now brought to the society a mass of M.A. students. Constituting a huge unemployment bottleneck, named the ‘‘20,000 Refugees of Unemployment’’ by Junko Hamanaka (Ronza June 2007), this is a situation not dissimilar to that of India, China, and other nations that have produced huge numbers of graduate students with nowhere to go in the world of employment. The number of current Master’s students is about 156,000 as of 2006. What will happen to these students when they graduate? Universities and colleges in Japan are now forced to cope with social and economic trends that risk their institutional survival. It is quite important for them to understand that they have to analyze not only political and economic factors for their survival but also cultural ones that have made possi-


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ble their elitist status in the past and would endanger their survival in the age of ‘‘universal access’’ to higher education. This may be the only path that could create a social climate that takes it for granted that the most effective way to evaluate educational institutions is by their individuality, uniqueness and quality of education itself. Overcoming the ruins that World War II inflicted on every sector of Japanese society were educational ideas and systems directed to a completely different path from the previous age. The mass-oriented form of education has now arrived at the stage of ‘‘universal access’’ to higher education and achieved its purpose in that sense along with the economic growth of the nation after the war. The political role of Japanese universities was severely questioned by the student movement in late 1960s and 1970s in the Cold War structure of the world system, and now higher education institutions in Japan are challenged with cultural questions that are even more formidable and fundamental. They have been influenced by the economic ups and downs and political sways of the moment, depending on who is in power and what their agenda is for the nation. Questioning this cultural transformation within the interplay of economic and political factors now means the Japanese universities have finally and irreversibly set forth to become unique in terms of their own individual institutional culture and strong financially by exploring multiple ways of financial support. This is the path to further growth for higher education institutions if they wish to join the global community.

Cultural identity, globalism and essentialism Discussions on globalism, we should note, are often tied up with the concept of cultural relativism, partly because the ‘‘growth’’ of a child is tied up with the concept of ‘‘cultural identity.’’ Intellectuals of developing countries are often dubious about the concept of ‘‘globalism’’ and how it might or might not protect ‘‘ethnicity’’ and ‘‘cultural identity’’ from the invasion of economic and cultural capitalism. Intellectuals in developed countries tend to present their understanding towards the importance of ‘‘cultural identity’’ by holding the concept of ‘‘cultural relativism.’’ ‘‘Cultural relativism’’ has certainly contributed to challenge the Westerncentered mind-set theoretically and socially, but at the same time it has long dragged behind it the shadow of ‘‘nation state’’ as the categorizing unit. On the other hand the issue of ‘‘cultural identity’’ has a long way to go if we are to be aware of the danger of ‘‘essentialism’’ in Japan. The ‘‘essentialism’’ has temptingly suffused the Japanese with the dualism of ‘‘pureness’’ against ‘‘being mixed or polluted’’ and generated such concepts as ‘‘pure ethnicity’’ and ‘‘pure Japanese,’’ which have often been used as powerful jargon in politics. The concept of ‘‘cultural identity’’ demands, in fact, a highly careful handling of the concept of ‘‘culture.’’

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The dualism of ‘‘pureness’’ and ‘‘being mixed or polluted’’ must be studied also together with the concepts of ‘‘specific’’ and ‘‘universal’’ to avoid a specific concept from gaining a universal position. This will prevent cultural essentialism from prevailing in our consciousness. Ludwig Wittgenstein’s concept of ‘‘family resemblance’’ is a useful concept here for discussing ‘‘pluralism’’ and ‘‘otherness,’’ key words for interpersonal and intercultural dialogue. This concept encourages educators to help students sustain a mind-set that can look at and live with similarities and differences not clearly defined and to stand against ethnic (cultural) and racial essentialism (see also Horio 2005 and Ninomiya 2007). In the Japanese context will the society and conservative educators be able to get over their unconscious mind-set of racial and cultural homogeneity and nurture insight toward real ‘‘dialogue’’? This, perhaps, is where Japan is really ‘‘A Nation at Risk’’ and where the opportunity lies to become at least in some ways a ‘‘Global Model’’ for our common future humanity.

Conclusion Let us return briefly then to the question of whether Japan is best understood as a Global Model or A Nation at Risk. We have seen that themes of educational borrowing and transfer are central to this question, but instead of providing a clear response to the central questions posed at the outset, we instead suggest the need for a more complex answer: Japan is both a Global Model and A Nation at Risk, depending upon the standpoint of the observer. In this way, the central question also becomes an appeal to the importance of critical self-reflection. Instead of learning more about the nuts-and-bolts of Japanese education, we might begin with reflection about what political processes have created our notions of Japanese education in the first place. For observers who feel that Japanese education is in a dismal state, one might ask: what and who has created these ideas? Are problems such as bullying, corporal punishment (Miller 2007), and school violence, for example, really problems or simply rhetorical devices that direct attention away from other problems such as the increasing class gap or lack of acceptance and support for increasing numbers of Others within Japanese society (Willis and Murphy-Shigematsu 2007). For observers who envisage Japan as a model, are calls to ‘learn from Japan’ genuine attempts to improve practice at home or discursive tools for wider political projects at home? The example of higher education in Japan may lead us to some of the answers to these questions in ways that are more empowering and productive than merely bowing to and accepting the inevitable. It is here that we find the real ‘‘Frontiers of Education’’ referred to in our title, frontiers where educators are the pioneers, not ceding the territory of change to the business or political world and their control of the mass media. Themes of


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——. 2004. The New Japanese Educational Reforms and the Achievement ‘‘Crisis’’ Debate. Educational Policy 182: 363–394. Wada, H. 2003. Gakuryoku hokai –’’yutori ky oiku’’ ga kodomo o dame ni shita [The Collapse of Academic Achievement: Relaxed Education Has Failed the Children]. Tokyo: PHP Kenkyuujyou. White, Merry. 1987. The Japanese Educational Challenge: A Commitment to Children. New York: Free Press. Willis, David Blake. 2007. A Nation at Risk: Globalization and Diversity in Japanese Education, WCCES 2007 (World Congress of Comparative Education Societies), Sarajevo, September 4. Willis, David Blake and Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu (eds.). 2007. Transcultural Japan: At the Borderlands of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity. London: Routledge. Willis, David Blake and Satoshi Yamamura. 2002. Japanese Education in Transition 2001: Radical Perspectives on Cultural and Political Transformation, Adelaide, Australia: Shannon, South Australia (WCCES Commission 6 Special Congress Issue, International Education Journal, Volume 3 Number 5 October 2002, Published Online and Hardbound, http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/iej/articles/v3n5/CONTENTS.HTM). Yamamura, Satoshi. 1980. Politics and Education in Early Meiji Education: The Modern Military System and the Formation of ‘‘Gakusei,’’ University Microfilms International (TX428–061), Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. ——. 2002. The Origins of State-oriented Mentality: National Education Policy and the Masses in Modern Japan – A Long Detour to a New Form of Citizenship Education. International Education Journal, 3(5): 5–15. ——. 2007. Japanese Higher Education: Transformation in Japanese Universities, WCCES 2007 (World Congress of Comparative Education Societies), Sarajevo, Bosnia, September 4. The authors David Blake Willis is a Professor of Anthropology and Education in the Department of Contemporary Societies at Soai University in Osaka, Japan, where he has taught since 1986. His research interests include comparative and multicultural education, citizenship education, international schools, transcultural communities, transnational diaspora, Dalits and liberation movements in South India, and creolization. He taught classes at the Nissan Institute and was Senior Associate Professor at the University of Oxford 2006–2007. Contact address: Soai University, 4-4-1 Nanko-naka, Suminoe-ku, Osaka, 559-0032, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]. Satoshi Yamamura is a Professor of Education and President of Seiwa University in Nishinomiya, Japan. His research and writings on peasant rebellion and education in the Meiji and Taisho eras began when he was completing his PhD at the University of California-Berkeley. A comparative educator, he has been responsible for the creation of combined graduate and undergraduate Faculties of Education of two merging universities. His work with JICA and development education includes two years working in Thailand. Contact address: Seiwa University, 7-54 Okadayama, Nishinomiya-shi, Hyogo 6620827, Japan. E-mail: [email protected].


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Jeremy Rappleye is a researcher at the University of Oxford. His research focuses primarily on educational policy making processes and the dynamics of educational transfer. His recent book Exploring Cross-national Attraction in Education compares American and Chinese attraction to Japanese education. He is currently at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Education after being awarded a Japanese Ministry of Education research fellowship to further develop that line of research. Contact address: Faculty of Education, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Education, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. E-mail: [email protected].

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