Teaching Amid Division: Comparative Perspectives from Colombia, Rwanda, and the United States

Countries transitioning from civil conflict, genocide, or uncertain political contexts must reckon with a nation divided by experience, political allegiance, and views for the future. We draw on data from semistructured interviews with 51 secondary school teachers from three different contexts, including politically divided (United States), conflict (Colombia), and postconflict (Rwanda), to analyze the way in which teachers confront difficult narratives about the past and present. Through the application of symbolic interactionism theory and cultural political economy, this research explores how teachers make meaning through interactions with their students, the curricular context, and the broader sociopolitical context. Our findings point to the importance not only of teachers’ own background and positionality but also the politicization of the teaching profession, as well as the broader institutional, policy, and social context, in shaping their approaches, strategies, and comfort level in discussing contentious topics in the classroom.