Moncrieffe, Marlon

Mwangi, John

Uwihoreye, Chaste

English

This report shares on how formal and informal citizenship and peace education for teaching and learning with young people in the Changing the Story (CTS) East African region has been transformed by the infusion of Arts Based Methodologies.This comes from analysis and evaluation of the findings from four CTS research projects: 1. Phase 1 Project - Mobile Arts for Peace Project (MAP) (Rwanda) 2. Phase 2 Early Career Researcher Project - Young peoples’ interpretations of civic national values (CNV) (Kenya)3. Phase 2 Early Career Researcher Project - Connective Memories (CM) (Rwanda)4. Phase 2 Large Grant Project - Reanimating Contested Spaces (RCS) (Rwanda)The fusing of project findings serves to advance knowledge and understanding on common themes of learning for peace education through arts-based methodologies, and what may be the future possibilities for the scalability, and sustainability of these projects across Eastern Africa. <br/

University of Brighton Research Portal

Consolidation, Learning and Evaluation in Kenya and Rwanda. A critical review of Changing the Story Projects in Eastern AfricaProject led by Dr Marlon Moncrieffe, (Principal Investigator) University of Brighton, UK.With partners Dr John Mwangi St. Paul’s University, Kenya, and Dr Chaste Uwihoreye, Uysenga Ni Imazi, Rwanda. IntroductionThis report shares on how formal and informal citizenship and peace education for teaching and learning with young people in the Changing the Story (CTS) East African region has been transformed by the infusion of Arts Based Methodologies.This comes from analysis and evaluation of the findings from four CTS research projects: 1. Phase 1 Project - Mobile Arts for Peace Project (MAP) (Rwanda) 2. Phase 2 Early Career Researcher Project - Young peoples’ interpretations of civic national values (CNV) (Kenya)3. Phase 2 Early Career Researcher Project - Connective Memories (CM) (Rwanda)4. Phase 2 Large Grant Project - Reanimating Contested Spaces (RCS) (Rwanda)The fusing of project findings serves to advance knowledge and understanding on common themes of learning for peace education through arts-based methodologies, and what may be the future possibilities for the scalability, and sustainability of these projects across Eastern Africa. Overview of the four connected projectsOverview of the four connected projectsOverarching CTS Consolidation of Learning Questions• a) What do young people, CSOs, and research partners learn about post-conflict issues through CTS activities, and how does this learning take place?• b) How do arts-based and participatory research approaches facilitate this learning?• c) What are the implications of these understandings of learning for epistemic justice and decolonisation of knowledge?• d) What are the implications for change and development at individual, community and policy levels?In speaking to OECD Sustainable development goalsReview of LiteratureOur consolidation of learning from the projects began with the Principal Investigator and Project Partners conducting a critical review of project reports and findings generated by MAP, CNV, CM and RCS. This collation of data enabled a clearer interpretation of the common themes of learning across the projects, and what could be the future possibilities for the collective advancement of our projects. Therefore, the purpose of the critical review was to generate key objectives, key aims and questions of inquiry for shaping our consolidation of learning meetings with stakeholders across all four projects. Our consolidation of learning applies comparative cross-cultural perspectives for providing valuable opportunities to blend findings of the research questions from the four CTS East African projects so as to create new objectives and aims in disseminating and sustaining our work.Consolidation of learning research objectivesTwo key objectives have emerged from our critical review of four projects and their findings:1. To sustain the growth of a dynamic community of practice between Rwanda and Kenyan stakeholders where peace education is at the heart of learning?2. To develop an open access community space of participation where youth-led approaches for peace education is at the heart of learning and development.Consolidation of learning research aimsThree key research aims have emerged our critical review of four projects and their findings: 1. To create the space for cross-cultural collaborations. How… Collation, analysis and sharing examples of best practice with CSOs across the projects for evidencing impact and advancements with peace education teaching and learning in the Eastern African Region. 2. To provide continued opportunity for the voicing of diverse narratives. How…Drawing upon diverse experiences and narratives in approaches to Arts Based Methodologies allowing for comparative evaluation and for seeing its current impact on CSO work and future possibilities with policymaking, decolonising curriculum knowledge, scalability and sustainability. 3. The commitment with narrowing the knowledge gap. How…Empowering the voices of project participants providing them with autonomy and the ability to record their work in progress with young people. Consolidation of learning questionsTwo key consolidation of learning questions have emerged from our critical review of four projects and their findings:1. What does best practice look like from CTS East Africa projects in advancing and sustaining peace education through community values? 2. How can a community of practice for peace education be formed and maintained through a shared learning space? What should this look like? Who are the stakeholders in leading, maintaining and sustaining this? Online Focus Group meetingsIn generating the consolidation of learning aims, objectives, aims and questions, face-to-face seminars were to be held at the University of Rwanda in Autumn of 2020. However, the worldwide COVID19 pandemic prevented these meetings causing the reframing of our approach. A series of Zoom online focus group meetings have been held between Winter 2020/21 and Spring/Summer 2021, facilitated by the Principal Investigator with Project Partners, Directors of Art for each project. These meetings have included younger adults who have engaged with each of the projects over the last two years.The purpose of the online Focus Group meetings being to create space and opportunity for cross-cultural collaborations including the collation, analysis and sharing examples of best practice with CSOs across the projects for evidencing impact and advancements with peace education teaching and learning in the Eastern African Region. Emerging themes from Focus GroupsDiscussion between project stakeholders in relation to the consolidation of learning objectives, aims and questions agreed on three themes as pathways to development1. Community Values2. Establishing safe spaces for dialogue3. Voices of young people at the centre of curriculum dialogueCommunity ValuesMAP, CNV, CM and RCS have identified teaching and learning ‘community values’ through reflections on past experiences, and future perspectives through the voices of young people as being extremely valuable to their empowerment and activism, and as a core aspect of young people’s formal and informal citizenship education. The research project framed by this report applies comparative research lenses for presenting an understanding on the congruent features of MAP, CNV, CM and RCS and particularly the voices of marginalised and hard-to-reach young people and CSOs. New knowledge from learning can be understood from young people’s engagement across the research projects as stakeholders; as researchers; as activists and as curriculum designers. Furthermore, how young people speak to decolonising and transforming epistemological functions of existing national curricula. This is learning which enables possibility for rebuilding current CSO practice and approaches to peace education through formal and informal approaches to education in the East African region, by providing a clear understanding on how CSOs are attempting to deal with the legacy of past violence on the key issues facing young people in East Africa today. This consolidation of learning research project brings to the fore how local agency in diverse contexts is understood, what power relations exist, how might it be strengthened with comparative insights from other contexts and projects across the region. Establishing safe spaces for dialogueThe analysis of MAP, CNV, CM and RCS findings speak to the benefits of establishing safe space for dialogue in teaching and learning through peace education. For example CM findings discussed the project’s success in creating safe spaces for intergenerational dialogue, to reflect on memory and legacies of violence and the use of arts-based methods to enable alternative forms of expression through the Isangizanyankuru. There is a cross over in relates to the goals of RCS in its notions of creating space for young people’s participation in via VR/Oculus and the sharing of diverse narratives. This can also be synthesised with findings generated by MAP where the context of this work in community, schools in new spaces of participation was in effect providing apprenticeship opportunities for young people to show their capabilities of expression in civic engagement for possible future political engagement. A future link with CNV is where young people are empowered to lead the teaching and learning in the school community space, decolonising curriculum knowledge for peace education driven by a scheme of work (Appendix 1) which allows for their reimagined visions of ideal futures.Voices of young people at the centre of curriculum dialogueMAP, CNV, CM and RCS have collectively identified how new knowledge for peace education must be generated by voices of young people at the centre of dialogue. For example, CNV implemented praxis for peace education through child-led participatory arts-based methodologies. CNV was successfully applied in school settings of contrast: rural/urban and state/independent. This provided young people with lead voice in learning and the empowerment in being able to creatively use and apply their lived experiences and voices as part of a collaborative learning process. MAP functioned similarly by empowering young people the ability to take the lead in communicating the issues that they face to policymakers through performance, visual arts and film. The CTS Phase 1 and CTS CNV (Kenya), MAP and CM (Rwanda) are framed by the national curriculum aims and contents. Young people’s pedagogical reinterpretations of these documents were in effect a critical decolonising of dominant curriculum (aims and contents) knowledge through the implementation of arts-based methodologies, allowing a clearer path for two-way communication between young people and policymakers in approaches to peace education. This empowered young people to forge a route to influencing future policies for education and teaching and learning through the national curriculum. CNV via its ‘scheme of work’; MAP via its manual and CM via its PAR toolkit (incorporated as part of the MAP manual) each offer practical frameworks for arts-based approaches to teaching and learning on peacebuilding. Each approach provides a blend of theory and practice for the reinterpretation of macro policy (national curriculum) by the findings of practice and impact at micro level led by the interventions of young people.Development of focus group themes in relation to consolidation of learning questions1. What does best practice look like from CTS East Africa projects in advancing and sustaining peace education through community values? 2. How can a community of practice for peace education be formed and maintained through a shared learning space? What should this look like? Who are the stakeholders in leading, maintaining and sustaining this? Innovation in our consolidation of learning advanced to the possibility of advancing and sustaining a community of practice through a shared learning space via online Virtual Reality - an arts based approach to education and development where all four projects could be brought together as one.Stakeholder StrategyIn speaking to OECD Sustainable development goalsFor engaging further with policymakers this project will seek AHRC FoF for sustainability and scalability in the continued development of this cross-cultural project particularly for advancing:• Continued collaboration and dissemination of best practices understood from CTS findings in advancing Peace Education with teaching and learning across the Eastern African Region with CSOs and via arts based methodologies. This in advancing the consolidation of learning aim - Provide a continued opportunity for the voicing of diverse narratives, Create the space for cross-cultural collaborations.• To develop the digital literacy skills for young people, CSO leaders, teachers in East Africa in the use and application of Virtual Reality arts-based methodology and pedagogy. This in advancing the consolidation of learning aim - Commitment to narrowing the knowledge gap.Key Acknowledgements for support with this project:Siobhan O’Dowd – Project Manager, University of Brighton.Esther Kungu, Director of Art, CTS Civic National Values project, Kenya.Alex Ndibwami, Director of Art,  CTS Reanimating Contested Spaces project, Rwanda.Dr Sylvestre Nzahabwanayo, Director of Art, CTS Mobile Arts for Peace project, Rwanda.Louise Colbourne, School of Art, University of Brighton, UK.Scott McPherson, School of Art, University of Brighton, UK.  

Consolidation, Learning and Evaluation in Kenya and Rwanda. A critical review of Changing the Story Projects in Eastern Africa

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Consolidation, Learning and Evaluation in Kenya and Rwanda. A critical review of Changing the Story Projects in Eastern Africa

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