Prioritizing Unity over Diversity in Botswana’s Social Studies Policies and Practices and the Implications for Positive Peace

Summary

This article considers the ways in which education policy and practice in Botswana negotiate tensions between assimilationist and multiculturalist approaches to ethnic diversity.

The authors find that the national curriculum is preoccupied with unity and the avoidance of armed conflict, but is normed around the culture and language of only the Tswana ethnic majority. A multicultural approach could foster conditions of positive peace, including recognition and equality of opportunity across ethnic groups, which is more urgent today given the sustained absence of armed conflict.

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Key Takeaways

We offer the following practical steps and actions based on this research below (click to expand).

+ For Policymakers

INSIGHTS		ACTIONS
Educational practices of assimilation can dominate in times of complex social change or post-conflict settings.	➟	While determining strategies for meaningful inclusion, acknowledge the tension between assimilationist actions and expressed goals of multiculturalism.
Our curriculum and textbook analysis reveals a mainly assimilationist construction of Botswana’s national identity.	➟	Include content drawn from across ethnic groups and a writing style that conveys to learners the equality of these ethnic groups within Botswana.
Across ethnically-diverse regions of Botswana, teachers accepted an assimilationist approach to national identity out of fear of conflict. This approach emphasizes tolerance of ethnic difference and sets aside power imbalances, but it does not create a space where cultural and linguistic differences and ongoing power imbalances can be discussed meaningfully.	➟	To recognize minority ethnic groups in Botswana more fully, introduce a more multicultural approach to policies and curriculum: Make explicit the authorship and perspective of historical narratives. In discussions, openly acknowledge contemporary issues of discrimination and inequalities between ethnic groups that have arisen from historical events. Re-open debate on how schools could include minority languages of instruction as a right for all children and as a resource to foster more equitable learning.

+ For Educators

INSIGHTS		ACTIONS
Positive peace is access to equal opportunities to participate meaningfully in society. Widespread access to resources is only part of positive peace.	➟	In addition to facilitating access to resources through schools, foster equal opportunities for students to harness and benefit from those resources.
Schools can promote or undermine positive peace.	➟	Build on school-based opportunities to engage students and families from ethnically diverse communities in civic activities and application of learning from school. Give particular attention to junior secondary schools, where students are at a developmental stage in which they are exploring their identity in relation to a larger society beyond the family.
Encouraging students to understand differing perspectives as distinct from condemning or accepting them.	➟	Promote discussions and exercises that encourage students to understand differing perspectives through analysis of current events, both local and national. Use newspapers, radio, television, the Internet, and/or community members, with some of these resources available even in the most remote schools.

+ For Researchers

FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO EXAMINE:
How national identity as taught in schools is understood by students; How school experiences and teaching related to national identity affect students’ sense of identity as both ethnic and national citizens and their ability to access learning and opportunities.
Additional reading Teaching character education across the curriculum and the role of stakeholders at the junior secondary level in Botswana (2017)

Citation (APA): Mulimbi, B., & Dryden-Peterson, S. (2018). “There is still peace. There are no wars.”: Prioritizing unity over diversity in Botswana’s social studies policies and practices and the implications for positive peace. International Journal of Educational Development, 61, 142-154.

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