Initial teacher training curriculum for Global Education in Rwanda: Between national and global perspectives and necessities

Abstract

Despite the international political willingness, as framed in SGD 4.7, to integrate Global Education in national policies and curricula, little is known about how this is reflected in initial teacher education (ITE) in the Global South. Through document research with content analysis, the study at hand explores the profile of the ITE curriculum in Rwanda towards Global Education. The results indicated that the ITE curriculum has a threefold faced profile in relation to Global Education – nationalist, instrumentalist, and globalist-dynamist. Beyond its “Rwandocentrist” perspective, the ITE curriculum shows an openness to Global Education (i.e. valuing and respecting the cultural plurality and heterogeneity) in both content and methodological approaches. The study stimulates further scientific, political and practical reflections for the integration of Global Education in ITE in Rwanda and possibly similar educational contexts.