1. L O O K I N G B A C K T O U N D E R S T A N D T H E
F U T U R E O F M U L T I C U L T U R A L E D U C A T I O N I N
S R I L A N K A
From Tigers to Textbooks
Shiyana Gunasekara
2. Introduction and Context
Education has played a
particularly decisive role in
the beginnings of the war
January 8, 2015: Sri Lanka
elected Maithripala
Sirisena as President
2007/2008 : Education for
Social Cohesion and Peace
framework
4. Purpose
Objectives
Provide
empirical
evidence of the
results of the
demand for a
multicultural
education over
the past five
decades
Contribute to
dialog aiming to
build a national
consensus on
social science
education
reform in this
new era for Sri
Lanka
Offer a single
evaluation of
the impact of
the 2008 ESCP
initiative
5. Two Main Questions
Diversity Management
How do the ethnic and
religious
makeup/segregation of
school environments as
well as extra curricular
activities outside of school
influence what students
are learning about “the
other” ?
Implementation of
“inclusive” education
policy
Do recent textbooks,
classroom experiences and
overall social science
curricula reflect the kind
of social cohesion
education the Ministry of
Education outlined in its
ESCP framework of 2008?
Previous policies mention
“national integration” ?
6. Guiding Theories
Guiding Theories
Cultural Reproduction:
Education systems have
the power to reproduce
the culture of the
dominant group in
order to allow that
dominant group to hold
power (Bourdieu).
School environments
are microcosms of the
greater society
(Parsons).
7. Ministry of Education’s ESCP Framework
Problems to tackle
Intercultural disharmony
Inability to communicate due to language
barriers
Lack of knowledge and respect of human rights
Improper distribution of power
Mistrust among communities
8. Hypothesis According to Existing Literature
Management of diversity: Assimilationist and
Separatist (Smith 2006)
Implementation of the Ministry of Education’s
initiative has not achieved goals of inclusivity (Gaul,
2014)
9. Data Collection - Textbooks
History and Civics (Citizenship Education)
Sample
Books used in government schools
Textbooks and supplementary readers
1960s until after 2008
Grades until O/L (11th)
10. Data Analysis - Textbooks
Content & Storyline
Analysis
Which groups’
narratives are
prioritized? Sidelined?
Proposed Coding
Scheme
Definition of “us/we”,
“them”
Vertical Analysis
Comparing findings and
analysis to that of older
textbooks
11. Qualitative Data Collection– School Environment
Established Field Visits
Colombo
Matara
Jaffna
Ideal Field Visits
Batticoloa
Kandy
Schools
National/Local
Buddhist, Hindu,
Muslim, Catholic
English Medium
12. Data Collection – School Environment (cont.)
Primary Method-
Interviews
Key Informants (Experts)
Teachers
Pupils
School Officials
(Principals)
Parents
Vertical Analysis
Secondary Method-
Observations
On and outside school-
grounds
History and Civics
classrooms
Assemblies
13. Schools have an important role to play…[in]
diminishing social and cultural distances by
building a sense of solidarity among
children through the shared experience of
learning not only about their own culture and
identity but also the cultures and identities of
their classmates
(Andruszkiewicz, 2006)
Thank you
Editor's Notes
These four points informed my decision to take up this project on the role education plays in post-war reconciliation efforts and long-term national security and stability.
-Education played a decisive role in the past and still has legitimate place in reconciliatory efforts, which is why Sri Lanka should look to its past to understand how to best move forward.
Studies reported that educational structure and mechanisms promoted ethnic violence in Sri Lanka (Lang 2012)
School admission policies, organizational structure of educational institutions, training of teachers, content of text books and syllabi have played an instrumental role in fuelling ethno-nationalist violence (Pereira, 1999)
Linguistically divided education system impeded Sinhala and Tamil interaction by hindering inter-communal interaction. Educational curricula furthered the process by strengthening oppositional communal identities and prejudice
Education fostered Sinhalese nationalism (Rothermund & Simon 1986). The Tamils despised the Sinhalese majority government as they held it accountable for discriminatory policies and practices in education and other sectors which restricted their mobility and resulted in their eventual disintegration. (Lang 2012).
-This substantial, yet predicted, budget increase for education has not been discussed in public, and civil society can play a part in encouraging where that extra money goes. One of the things that could be better addressed with a better budget is a proper multicultural education, one that emphasizes the destructiveness of civil war but encourages true democracy, equality and pluralism.
-The initiative recognized the role education plays in rebuilding a divided society. This was done with peace education experts from the NIE and several foreign NGOs. Publications were reprinted with suggestions from this policy from 2008 onward
Quant: I’m looking at numbers describing access and outcomes to education by different ethnic and religious groups in the different parts of the country. It will be interesting to see through these numbers, whether inequalities of power and status correlate with the cultural backgrounds and then I would put it into context with the rest of my qualitative data and see if it matches history’s trends of certain social discrepancies mobilizing prejudice and intolerance (Smith, 2006)
Xx
Contribute to dialog aiming to build a national consensus on social science education reform in this new era for Sri Lanka
*********
I’m interested in social science curriculum and education policy and how they influence students’ perceptions of “the other” in terms of inclusivity, diversity and reconciliation.
I want to use the students’ perspectives and attitudes to help answer the question of whether the MoE’s framework has achieved its goals or not.
I’m interested in both what’s going on with the pupils in regards to their school life and outside of school life, as well whether social science curricula and the policies that tie these two perspectives on education together affect students’ perceptions of reconciliation, inclusivity and diversity.
Existing policy: LLRC segment on education policy, the Ministry of Education outlined in its ESC framework of 2008? Previous policies mention “national integration”
-have notes on what the LLRC says about education policy
Education can be used to promote a particular national identity that includes certain groups and excludes others.
It is widely assumed that education can be a great tool to create an inclusive national identity, but it can create divides within a population as well
It can be used to repress minority culture, Textbooks specifically may manipulate history for political purposes, specifically in regards to when the government defines the “national story”
History & Citizenship Education are assumed to play a key role in nation-building and, particularly for countries affected by civil war, to amend societal division.
Ethnicity is often mobilized and politicized by conflict rather than the presumed notion that conflict is mobilized by ethnicity. -One of the ways ethnicity is mobilized and politicized is through education, which may be intentional or unintentional
These are a few of the guiding theories that provide a base set of assumptions going into this study, however there are plenty more.
These guiding theories helped me design a code for the content analysis I plan to conduct on the longer textbooks as well
ESCP: EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL COHESION AND PEACE
In 2008, the Ministry of Education published the “National Policy and a Comprehensive Framework of Actions on Education for Social Cohesion and Peace (ESCP), with the aim of strengthening the vital role of education in facilitating national cohesion and integration.
These phrases are taken verbatim from the “Comprehensive Framework of Actions on ESCP
-Intercultural disharmony: lack of cross-cultural understanding, lack of tolerance, discrimination, negative attitude towards differences, superiority of the majority, segregation, extremism, mutual fear
-Inability to communicate: Overall problems in communication, or lack thereof.
Alan Smith proposed that the management of diversity should fall into one (or two) of three categories: Assimilationist, Separatist or Integrationist – Integrationist often being the goal.
Assimilationist methods of management: Single institution catering to the dominant narrative; minority narratives are neglected
Separate institutions, which may or may not acknowledge broader diversity outside institution
Textbooks largely ignore the narratives of Lankan minorities, interchanging “Sinhala” and “Sri Lankan”
Assignments of associations/connotations and stereotypes of certain groups
Separate institutions, which may or may not acknowledge broader diversity outside institution
The implementations of the MoE’s ESCP initiative does not look promising for the kind of multiculturalism in the curriculum that the MOE/the country wanted (Gaul, 2014)
Gaul, however, uses a definition of inclusivity that isn’t take directly from the Ministry of Education. I, on the other hand, want to use the Ministry of Education’s definition of inclusivity (which is very close to multiculturalism) and then critique or support their definition which could end up being a more central focus on this study.
Citizenship actually used to be a mandatory subject in the 60’s and before then wasn’t a subject at all, and has now in recent years come back as an elective course for grades 6-9
The oldest textbook being from the 1960s
Coding scheme
Colombo – diverse city capital
Matara – known as the Sinhalese Buddhist stronghold of the South, but has a growing number of minorities
Jaffna – the capital of the northern province, has almost exclusively Sri Lankan Tamils – many of whom have been affected by the civil conflict, and continue to be
Batticoloa is in the Eastern province with large numbers of Muslim Tamil Speakers, also was under the control of the LTTE at one point
For my cross section of schools, an International school will serve as my “control” to compare to state sponsored schools while Secular schools will act as my “control” to better understand Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Catholic Schools
-To travel to all of these cities is my ideal situation, however, I have to be okay with only going to a few of these places for my field work
I’ll be starting in Colombo due to easy accessibility and because of its proclaimed diversity and access to resources
-Since English is the easiest language for me to do research in, I will give first priority to visiting English Medium schools, however if I have a research assistant or a translator then I’ll make sure I visit Tamil and Sinhala Medium schools
Primary Methods (purpose): Open-ended interviews, aiming to get a well-rounded perspective
Secondary Methods (purpose):
Vertical Analysis will consists of speaking to:
Older Teachers
Former School Officials
Alumni
Sri Lankan Education Experts
