Rwandan teachers as educational researchers: why it matters

Abstract

Teachers have generally been conceptualized as passive adopters of policies articulated in high educational and political offices, which has limited their reflection, creativeness and independent decision making. This situation is a challenge for effective teaching because teachers are supposed to critique the way education outcomes are currently defined, to push for the redefinition of what happens in classroom spaces and to adapt to the ever-changing class-room contexts. One way to achieve this is to engage in educational research, allowing a critical view on educational policies and practices. This article explains the necessity for teachers to play an active role in research and reflects on the very limited and mostly passive role which Rwandan teachers have played in research. It then suggests possible ways of increasing the visibility of teachers in educational research in order to increase the likelihood of class-room practices and 'insider perspectives' informing education policies in Rwanda.

Keywords: Research, teachers, teacher research, educational research, classroom practices, educational policies