Secondary Social Studies Curriculum in Post-Genocide Rwanda as Mediated by UNESCO and Post-Holocaust Education in Germany

Abstract This research examines the interaction between international governmental organizations (IGOs) and national governments around the development of secondary social studies curriculum in post-genocide contexts, with a special focus on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) involvement with secondary social studies curriculum development in Rwanda. This research also explores the existence and development of a set of international norms and expectations regarding the development of curriculum in post-genocide contexts, a model which can be traced back to Germany following World War II, including both post-Holocaust education in Germany and Holocaust education more broadly. UNESCO, which plays a significant role in the redevelopment of the education systems in developing and post-genocide contexts, uses its international position to influence national level education policy development. Using a conceptual framework that draws on previously used approaches to policy borrowing (Leuze, Brant, Jakobi, Martens, Nagel, Rusconi, & Weyman, 2008; Phillips & Ochs, 2003, 2004), this research examines the macro-level interactions between international and national level policies. The mechanisms under examination here specifically include financial support, professional oversight, implementation, accountability measures, and normative beliefs. These mechanisms of institutional interaction provide space for and evidence of discussions between international and national level organizations and policy makers. This research specifically examines these five mechanisms of institutional interaction around the development of post-genocide secondary social studies curriculum in Rwanda, which is informed by post-Holocaust education in Germany, and guided, in part, by UNESCO.