Reflecting on Anti-Colonialism in International Research Partnerships: Learning from Rwandan Strategies of Support

The pedagogies of helping professions (psychology, social work) around the world continue to be strongly influenced by Western professional practices. Previous literature reveals “the continued colonial dominance of Western forms of knowledge and teaching.” This includes professional standards that demand homogeneity, and the internalized colonialism of devaluing one’s own knowledge. This paper reports on results from a SSHRC funded Rwandan/Canadian project documenting Rwandan knowledge and practices in the area of emotional support and helping. The project aimed to identify strategies for integrating local knowledge into international pedagogies, in this case in the area of Social Work, but the model has clear relevance for counseling and psychology. Data included 18 individual interviews with practitioners, regular small group discussions with a local advisory group, and three annual workshop discussions held with various stakeholders in Rwanda. The findings revealed themes of strengthening social networks and connections to local resources; the importance of approaching and accompanying those in need; erhapand building capacity for mutual support networks. The process of moving from individual to collective reflections on local knowledge and practices with a range of stakeholders revealed how these themes were an extension of Rwandan values and history, and how they are embedded in existing social welfare policies. This knowledge sharing process created opportunities for building explicit connections between Rwandan practices and knowledge to existing international pedagogy and may be a useful model for anti-colonial international pedagogies more broadly