Distance Learning (DL) is recognized to be a contemporary mode of education delivery. It is used to respond to the need of human resource development in developing countries. The evolution of Information Communication Technology (ICT) is seen as an opportunity for the development of DL. DL through ICT is perceived as an opportunity for meeting most of the challenges of higher education systems in Sub-Sahara Africa in general, and in Rwanda in particular. Planning and implementing DL as an innovation in the education system of Rwanda are processes which need to be understood if DL is to expand and contribute to human resource development in different sectors. The aim of this study was to analyze the process of planning and implementing DL in tertiary health professional education in the Kigali Health Institute and in tertiary teacher education in the Kigali Institute of Education, in order to understand the dynamics of planning and implementing DL, and to suggest the way forward for the success of those two programs. Concepts taken from innovation Havelock's problem solving strategy (1982) and social system theories in particular Owens's open sociotechnical systems for schools (1998) were combined to form the framework which guided this study. A qualitative case study, using a comparative descriptive approach, was the research design. The participants were drawn from (a) policy makers in the ministry of education, ministry of health, ministry of public services and the Rwanda Information Technology Authority (RITA); (b) management in the participating institutions; (c) the teaching staff, especially those who were involved and/or are still involved in the process; (d) students; (e) and members of professional regulatory bodies. Purposive and theoretical sampling was used to select the participants. Twenty one informants were interviewed. Three focus group discussions of six, four and eight participants respectively were conducted. In addition document review and analysis, and physical artefacts served also as means of data collection. The results showed that systematic planning with a comprehensive document and strategic plan as outcome of the planning process are essential for the successful implementation of distance learning in Rwanda. Supportive and responsive institutions and suprasystems are indispensable to a conducive environment for planning and implementing DL in Rwanda. From the results, recommendations for the progress of the two programs that were part of this study were put forward. A framework of planning and implementing DL in Rwanda was developed based on these results. This framework may be used by policy makers, educators and other parties interested in the development of DL in Rwanda. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Education, 2011

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Corruption has increasingly become a challenging issue that undermines peacebuilding processes. Anti-corruption efforts therefore constitute one of the ways of building and sustaining positive peace. Attempts to combat corruption generally follow one of three strategies which include: developing legal and punitive frameworks, establishing investigative and preventive mechanisms and promoting ethical values-based approaches. The present study has explored corruption in Rwanda and has highlighted the necessity of developing anti-corruption education as a way of combatting corruption. The first part of the study has used focus group discussions and interviews to collect information on corruption in Rwanda while the second part consists of experimental interventions organized to test an anti-corruption education curriculum. It has been realized that Rwanda, if compared with other African countries, has made remarkable progress in terms of fighting against corruption. However, the country still has a long way to go in order to achieve its ambition of building a corruption-free nation. The educational strategies to ensure the promotion of ethical values-based approaches have been found the weakest aspect of the anti-corruptioan campaign in Rwanda. This study has emphasized the necessity of involving children in the combat against corruption. Inspired by the Ubupfura ethical values, which are embedded in Rwandan culture, the study has proposed an anti-corruption curriculum for Rwandan children under the name of Nibakurane Ubupfura. Through the experimental interventions and preliminary evaluation of the curriculum, it has been demonstrated with evidence that the proposed anti-corruption education, applying an Ubupfura model, could significantly contribute to equipping children with the skills needed to disassociate and distance themselves from corrupt practices. With reference to the short-term impact of the experimental intervention conducted in this study, it leaves no doubt that the continous use of this education curriculum will help children to develop attitudes and behaviors that resist corruption. It is argued in this study that an effective campaign against corruption should consider promoting anti-corruption education with the aim of enabling present and future generations to maintain and live out the Ubupfura ethical values. Considering the link between anti-corruption and peacebuilding efforts, as explained in this study, it is underlined that efforts continuously made to raise such generations could undoubtedly move Rwandan society toward sustainable positive peace. / D

This study explored the provision of entrepreneurship education at higher education institutions in Rwanda with special reference to the levels of provision, support mechanisms, course objectives, contents, teaching and assessment methods to ascertain whether they are appropriately developed to prepare students for entrepreneurship as a career option.

This research was conducted in the particular context of the 2009 new language in education policy in Rwanda. The problem examined within this context, concerns the attitudes and motivation of teachers and students from different language backgrounds (both Anglophone and Francophone) as they have experienced the shift from French and/or English as MoI to the sole use of English as medium of instruction (MoI) in education, all the way from the Primary School stage up to and including tertiary institutes. In this unique context where English was being used as MoI whilst simultaneously learning the language, the aim of this study was to investigate an often overlooked psychological aspect of the language policy shift literature, viz., Teachers’ and Students’ Attitudes and Motivation toward learning English; and toward using it for teaching and learning. Through the lens of Gardner’s (1985) second language (L2) motivation construct as a theoretical framework; this study used quantitative and qualitative methods of enquiry in the context of Mixed Methods approach, to ascertain implementers’ reaction amid challenges of policy change. The study established that, in a quasi monolingual society with Kinyarwanda as the national language, Teacher Training College (TTC) teachers and students form a diverse community of language users; that they converge on knowledge and use of English despite this diversity; that they hold positive attitudes toward learning the language and using it as MoI; and that the main reason for these positive attitudes is that the use of English as MoI offers an opportunity to learn the language. This study thus recommends that all stakeholders in the education enterprise in Rwanda be sensitized on the necessity to distinguish between the tasks of learning English and using it for teaching and learning.

This study explored the provision of entrepreneurship education at higher education institutions in Rwanda with special reference to the levels of provision, support mechanisms, course objectives, contents, teaching and assessment methods to ascertain whether they are appropriately developed to prepare students for entrepreneurship as a career option.

Over the past two decades, increasing attention has focused on inclusive education and how it can contribute to improved teaching and learning experiences and thus to the attainment of better learning outcomes for all learners, including those with special educational needs. Initially, attention centred on inclusion in primary and secondary schools, but increasing interest is now being shown to students with special educational needs and their inclusion in tertiary institutions of learning as well. Research on the inclusion of students with special educational needs has largely focused on either one particular group of students, such as students with a particular disability, or on students with disabilities in general, such that these findings are often either only applicable to a specific group or are too general. Not many studies have attempted to compare the experiences of students with different educational needs without being too general. This study explores issues related to the experiences of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students in relation to their inclusion in three Rwandan universities. Inclusive education as an educational policy has a very young history in Rwanda and there is insufficient empirical evidence about its implementation. This study therefore adds to the little knowledge there is about this subject. The study addressed the following questions: what are the experiences of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students in Rwandan universities in terms of educational access and social inclusion in the university environment? What are the similarities and differences between the experiences of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students? What are the underlying causes of these experiences? In what ways do these experiences, either negative or positive, influence the academic performance of these students? How do these experiences influence these students’ perspectives, expectations and hopes for the future? How do the attitudes of students and lecturers in universities with deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students concerning inclusion influence the interaction between these students and lecturers on the one hand and the deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students on the other? The study was conducted using the mixed methods research approach. Triangulation was the research design employed. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were completed by 220 students who were neither deaf/hard of hearing nor visually impaired and 55 lecturers without disabilities from three of the five Rwandan universities with deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students. Interviews were conducted with six deaf/hard of hearing students, nine visually impaired students, and three lecturers from the same universities. The study found that deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students had both positive and negative experiences in their inclusion in Rwandan universities. There were, however, major differences between the perceptions of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students concerning their inclusion in these universities. There were also differences between the deaf students and hard of hearing student about the level of their inclusion. Finally, there were significant differences between the efforts of the three universities to meet the needs of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students. This work concludes by making some recommendations for improving the inclusion of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students in Rwandan universities, recommendations which could be useful to other higher institutions of learning as well in their efforts to include students with special educational needs.

HIV/AIDS Education in Butare- Ville Secondary Schools (Rwanda): Analyzing current Pedagogic Discourse using a Bernsteinian framework. This thesis is concerned with the questions of "the what and how of HIV/AIDS school education". This study is located in three secondary schools in Butare-Ville, Rwanda, which were selected to show the picture of current pedagogic practices of fighting the pandemic in various schools. The first part of the study is concerned with the analysis of National policy of HIV/AIDS education of grade 9. This analysis examines how HIV/AIDS education is planned and integrated in various school subjects and what the Ministry of Education's policy is on how it should be implemented. I examined the instructional and regulative discourses within the national policy. Through curricula of other subjects which integrate into HIV/ AIDS education, I also examined how the knowledge of instruction is organized in terms of vertical and horizontal organization. The second part of the study is concerned with how the National HIV/AIDS Policy of HIV/AIDS education is transmitted in the classrooms in terms of classification and framing. In consideration of how students are educated about the disease, I explored students' grouping in terms of gender for getting knowledge and life skills to protect themselves from the pandemic. The theoretical resources for the analysis are drawn from Bernstein. The contribution of this thesis is two-fold. Firstly, it offers methodological techniques for evaluating of HIV/AIDS discourse with regard to how it is constructed and distributed in the classroom using a Bernsteinian framework. Secondly, the thesis points forward to further research in HIV/AIDS education for change in curriculum and pedagogic practices. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This research study aims to evaluate how the trilingual policy (Kinyarwanda, French and English) is implemented in Kigali City’s nursery and primary schools in terms of facilitating learners’ cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP) development, in both the pre-2008 and post-2008 language policies. It is an exploratory-qualitative-interpretative research study, which analyses the language preference, the age of change-over and the multilingual models adopted and how they contribute to learners’ CALP development. It also analyses the implications of the post-2008 policy. The findings indicated that initial bilingualism, initial trilingualism, early total immersion and gradual transfer models were implemented in the pre-2008 policy; while the post-2008 policy implements early total immersion. The learners’ CALP in both the MT and the AL could be more developed in public schools under the pre-2008 policy due to exposure to Kinyarwanda instruction from the start but it may not be developed fully under the post-2008 policy, because English is used as MOI from the onset of education. / Linguistics / M.A. (Applied Linguistics)