LANGUAGE WARS? LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AND THE IVORIAN POST-CONFLICT TRANSITION  By  Michelle Lilly Solorio                     A DISSERTATION  Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of   Educational Policy – Doctor of Philosophy  2020  ABSTRACT LANGUAGE WARS? LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AND THE IVORIAN POST-CONFLICT TRANSITION  By Michelle Lilly Solorio  Education plays a role in promoting or limiting conflict, and researchers who have established this posit that language may be a contributing factor. However, this has not been widely explored. Drawing upon literature in horizontal – or between-group – inequalities, conflict and education, and language regimes, I make the case that language of instruction (LoI) and sociopolitical conflict interact in a complex manner. Through a comparative case study of policy discourse analysis and narrative analysis of interviews with parents and teachers in two communities in Côte d’Ivoire, I seek to answer the question, in multi-lingual Côte d’Ivoire, how do LoI policies and practices interact with socio-political conflict as the nation continues the transition from conflict state to a post-conflict state? I use across-event discourse analysis and narrative analysis techniques to generate evidence that the ways in which LoI policies have evolved over time and the ways that these policies are perceived reflect larger social power structures in a conflicted society thus reinforcing or breaking down existing inter-group inequalities that are known to lead to conflict. In the Ivorian post-conflict setting, my findings focus on the potential of LoI policies and practices to reinstate pre-conflict horizontal inequalities, attempt to remedy pre-conflict horizontal inequalities, or lead to the development of new horizontal inequalities which all have an impact on the complete transition to an Ivorian post-conflict state. By focusing on the perspectives of parents and educators and contrasting those perspectives to the official language regime developed via education policies, I find tensions surrounding notions of belonging and questions about whose languages deserve a place   in education. I explore these tensions and the perceived horizontal inequality related to access to local language of instruction practices that extends beyond urban-rural divides. iv  Dedicated to the parents and teachers in Côte d’Ivoire who shared their lives with me.  Vous m'avez accueilli dans votre vie, donné de votre temps et partagé votre nourriture. Vous m'avez montré le vrai sens de "akwaaba." Je vous chérirai toujours.  This dissertation is also dedicated to my husband, David.  Thank you for supporting me through this long endeavor. You are my partner in everything. I love you. v  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS   I would like to thank the following people, without whom this dissertation would not have been possible.  First and foremost, thank you to the parents and teachers who shared of their time and selves to make this possible. Thank you for participating and opening your lives up to me.  I am grateful to the College of Education and the Graduate School at Michigan State University, and the African Studies Association and Royal Air Maroc, for the funding that made this dissertation possible.  There are many at MSU who helped me along the way. My advisor and dissertation chair, Dr. Amita Chudgar, thank you for your dedication to my academic growth. All your advice, input, editing, and listening played an important role in making sure I got to this point. And thank you for the smiley-faces in your emails, they reminded me of my humanity and gave me a boost even when you didn’t know I needed one. My dissertation committee members, who were all willing to read my very long pieces. Dr. Lynn Paine, thank for your incredible generosity of time. You always made me feel like I was the only thing on your mind even when your schedule suggested otherwise. Dr. Vaughn Watson, thank for being a champion of the Ivorian voices. You showed me how to frame my analysis using Ivorian voices, and I am deeply grateful for that. I would especially like to thank Dr. Madeline Mavrogordato. You went above and beyond, giving me advice for things not even related to the dissertation. You have shaped the way I think and the approach I take to my work in ways that I may never be able to express. Thank you for being a great mentor. And of course, thank you for sharing your wonderful writing buddies, Kika and Derby. vi   Many others at MSU have come together from day one of graduate school to help shape me as a scholar. Dr. John Metzler, Dr. William Schmidt, Dr. Bryan Beverly, and [soon-to-be] Dr. Jacqueline Gardner, thank you for supporting me through everything else that happens in graduate school. To Angela Card, thank you for knowing who I am each time I walk into your space. It was a great comfort to know that I’m not always just another faceless email address. Joni Burns, thank you for being the strongest guidepost and most patient helper I have ever encountered. I would have been lost without you!  I would like to thank those in Côte d’Ivoire who made this research possible. Without them, I would have failed miserably. Dr. Azoh, thank you for being a mentor, introducing me to your Ivorian research community, helping me establish necessary contacts, being my visa sponsor, and opening your doors to me. Your generosity is something I aspire to. Arianne Ndjore, you were invaluable in helping me navigate Ivorian bureaucracy, and you helped with language and cultural barriers. I hope we can work together again. Richard, you welcomed me with open arms into your family and your life. Thank you for showing me your country, introducing me to so many delicious foods, and including me when you were invited to weddings and other traditional celebrations.   To my family and friends, who provided an endless supply of emotional support, thank you for putting up with my craziness. I would especially like to thank David, my husband, for all your support. I uprooted you and sometimes ignored you in the name of getting a doctorate degree, and you stood by my side through it all. You listened through all the tears and celebrated all the successes. You reminded me to take breaks, you were my constant cheerleader, you fed me, you made me laugh. Thank you for your love and your goofiness. Even if it felt like you came second to the dissertation, you always come first. I love you. Mom and Dad, thank you for vii  your unconditional love. Dad, I called you at all hours of the day and you were always ready to talk about nothing, everything, the Broncos…and the sky. Thank you for always being there. Mom, you edited everything I wrote in graduate school. I cannot thank you enough for being patient enough to read yet another page of research and editing this beast of a document (you know, my dissertation). And thank you for your little respite emails filled with fun things to take my mind off dissertating. Thank you to my siblings, Havilah and Joe, and my sister-in-law, Steph. Each of you supported me in your own way, and I am deeply grateful for that. To my in-laws, Steve and Terri, thank you for welcoming me into your family and asking after my studies. You always seem genuinely interested, and for that I thank you. And of course, Shelby dog and Jude cat. Shelby, you sat by my feet from day one of this journey and you have yet to leave my side. Thank you for your dedication and protecting me from the mailman. Jude, you motivated me to fix my typing errors by including some of your own. Thank you for your energy and your unique perspective on computers.  Thank you to my friends near and far who have supported me throughout. Lindsay, you are more like a sister than a friend. Thank you for a life of friendship and monkey butts. Sasha, thank you for sending me silly things and coffee and chocolate. Shannon, you understood the pain. Thank you for giving me perspective when I needed it. Ashley, thank you for your constant cheerleading. And for the Moleskine notebooks you gave me before I moved to Michigan – they lasted exactly until the end of graduate school!   To my MSU peeps, my comrades-in-dissertating, Jessica and Rachel, from our writing groups to our Zoom hangouts during the Great Lockdown, I couldn’t have made it through without you both. You supported my writing, helped me work through ideas, listened to me vent, made me laugh, shared crafting time with me…the list goes on. Thank you. viii  TABLE OF CONTENTS   LIST OF TABLES                  x  LIST OF FIGURES                 xi  SECTION I. LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AND CONFLICT IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY                1  Chapter 1. Introduction                  2  Chapter 2. Literature and Framework               11 2.1 Language of Instruction Policy and Practice Research in Africa          11 2.2 Conflict and Education Scholarship             16 2.3 Horizontal Inequality-based Conflict Literature            19 2.4 Language Regimes               23 2.5 Summary of the Literature              26 2.6 Using the Literature to Justify my Research Agenda           28 2.7 Conceptual Framework               34 2.8 Conceptual Hypothesis               37 2.9 Research Questions               37  Chapter 3: Data and Methods for the Whole Study             39 3.1 Context                 39 3.2 Position Statement               44 3.3 Methodology                48 3.4 Methodological Considerations in Studying Language of Instruction Policy Enactment                 52 3.5 Description of Analytical Methods             54 3.6 Data and Methods for Question 1: Language of Instruction as a Reflection of a Language Regime                55 3.7 Data and Methods for Question 2: Language of Instruction as a Mechanism by which Language Regimes Contribute to or Mitigate Horizontal Inequalities         57 3.8 Tying the Questions Together              61 3.9 Trustworthiness in the Data              63  SECTION II. RESEARCH QUESTION 1, LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AS A REFLECTION OF A LANGUAGE REGIME: THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE REGIME EXPRESSED VIA IVORIAN POLICIES AND LAWS            68  Chapter 4. Education Policies and Laws as a Map to the Language Regime          69 4.1 Data and Methods for Section II              70 4.2 Mapping the Language Regime in Education Policies: Across-Event Discourse Analysis                 82 ix  4.3 Conclusion: Evolving into the Current Official Ivorian Language Regime and Implications               111  SECTION III. RESEARCH QUESTION 2, LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AS A MECHANISM BY WHICH LANGUAGE REGIMES CONTRIBUTE TO OR MITIGATE HORIZONTAL INEQUALITIES: INEQUALITIES UNCOVERED THROUGH PARENTS’ AND TEACHERS’ PERCEIVED AND IDEAL LANGUAGE REGIME[S] IN IVORIAN EDUCATION              115  Chapter 5. Introduction and Background to the Parent and Teacher Data        116 5.1 Data and Methods for Section III            118 5.2 Contextual Frame: Ways of Speaking to Inform the Section III Analysis      134 5.3 Remaining Chapters in Section III           139  Chapter 6. Parent Perceptions: Parents’ Perceived and Ideal Language Regime[s] in Ivorian Education                141 6.1 Parent Perceptions of Social Relations and [In]equalities Relative to Les Crises    153 6.2 Parents’ received Language Regime[s] in Education         156 6.3 Parents’ Ideal Language Regime[s] in Education          178 6.4 Parent Perceptions: Discussion            203  Chapter 7. Teacher Experiences: Teachers’ Perceived and Ideal Language Regime[s] in Ivorian Education                208 7.1 Teacher Perceptions of [In]equalities Relative to Les Crises        216 7.2 Teacher Experiences with PEI and their Perceived Educational Language Regime[s]               224 7.3 Teachers’ Ideal Language Regime[s]           242 7.4 “The Machine of Ivorian Teaching:” Discussion of Teacher Experiences      255  SECTION IV. FINAL WORDS             260  Chapter 8. Conclusion               261 8.1 Review of the Dissertation            261 8.2 Themes Across the Chapters            263 8.3 Implications              268  APPENDICES               277 Appendix I. Interview Protocols            278 Appendix II. Definition of Terms in Across-Event Discourse Analysis       282 Appendix III. Discursive Segments from Policy Documents         285 Appendix IV. Endnotes             296  REFERENCES               308    x  LIST OF TABLES   Table 1 Select primary education statistics in Côte d'Ivoire, 2016-2017 academic year.  43 Table 2 Map of research questions to data sources and analytical techniques.        52 Table 3 Policy and legal documents comprising data for chapter 4.          73 Table 4 Section III data overview.            130 Table 5 Interview logistics.             131 Table 6 Participant and interview details.           133 Table 7 Overview of teacher experience.           134 Table 8 Teachers' experiences at their current school.         134 Table 9 Discursive segments from policy and legal texts, translated.        286 Table 10 Discursive segments from policy and legal texts, in original French.      291    xi  LIST OF FIGURES   Figure 1: Different Relationships Between Conflict and Education           17 Figure 2: Relationship Between Three Research Agendas            28 Figure 3: Comparative Case Study of LoI Policy and Sociopolitical Conflict in Côte d'Ivoire   48 Figure 4: Template for a Mapped Narrated Event             77 Figure 5: Template of a Diagramed Across-Event Discourse Analysis Map          82 Figure 6: Simple Ivorian Language Regime              85 Figure 7: Diagram of the 1960 Constitution Narrating and Narrated Events          87 Figure 8: Diagram of the 2000 Constitution Narrating and Narrated Events          88 Figure 9: Diagram of the 1995 Education Policy Narrating and Narrated Events         89 Figure 10: Across-Event Discourse Analysis of the Foundational Policies          97 Figure 11: Foundational Official Language Regime             99 Figure 12: Diagram of Across-Event Discourse Analysis for all Policies        100 Figure 13: Map of the Evolution of the Official Language Regime         110 Figure 14: Current Official Language Regime           112 Figure 15: Coding Example for Narrative Analysis           128 Figure 16: Parent Perceptions about the State of Social Relations in Côte d'Ivoire Relative to Les Crises                 155 Figure 17: Parents' Baseline Perceived Language Regime in Education        159 Figure 18: Rural Parents' Perception of the Educational Language Regime, Accounting for PEI Awareness Compared to PEI Access             162 Figure 19: Parents’ Perceived Educational Language Regime, Refined        163 Figure 20: Parents' Perceived Educational Language Regime Complicated by Whose Languages are Accessible                166 xii  Figure 21: Parents' Perceived Educational Language Regimes Indicating Horizontal Inequalities                174 Figure 22: Parents’ Baseline Ideal Educational Language Regime         179 Figure 23: Difference between the Parents' Perceived and Emerging Ideal Educational Language Regimes                185 Figure 24: Parents' Revised Ideal Educational Language Regime to Strengthen Entente      188 Figure 25: Comparing the Role of Culture between the Official Language Regime and the Parents' Ideal Language Regime in Education           192 Figure 26: An Alternate Version of the Parents' Ideal Language Regime in Education      195 Figure 27: Parents' Ideal Educational Language Regime Accounting for Global Languages    196 Figure 28: Comparing the Official Language Regime to Different Parent Ideal Language Regimes, with Global Languages Included            198 Figure 29: Official and Parents' Perceived Educational Language Regimes        205 Figure 30: Difference Between the Official, Parents' Perceived, and the Majority Parents' Ideal Educational Language Regimes             206 Figure 31: Teachers' Perceptions of the State of Social Relations in Côte d'Ivoire Relative to Les Crises                 217 Figure 32: Teachers' Experience with the PEI Model of Education         225 Figure 33: Teachers' Baseline Perceived Educational Language Regimes        226 Figure 34: Comparison of the Official to the Traditional Teachers' Perceived Educational Language Regimes               234 Figure 35: Teachers' Perceived Educational Language Regimes Complicated by Resource Allocation                237 Figure 36: Teachers' Perceived Language Regimes in Education Indicating Horizontal Inequalities                241 Figure 37: Contrasting Ideal Educational Language Regimes of the Teachers       247 Figure 38: Traditional Teachers' Ideal Educational Language Regime Indicating Burden of Responsibility for Learning French             251 xiii  Figure 39: The PEI Teacher's Ideal Educational Language Regime Bolstered by Government Support                255   1  SECTION I. LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AND CONFLICT IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY   2  Chapter 1. Introduction  The language used to teach has the power to start war. Education plays a role in promoting or limiting conflict, and researchers who have established this posit that language may be a contributing factor. Yet language of instruction (LoI), or the language used to teach, has been absent from investigations surrounding conflict and education. Drawing upon literature in horizontal inequalities (or inter-group inequalities), conflict and education, and language regimes, I make the case that language of instruction (LoI) and sociopolitical conflict interact in a complex manner.   My dissertation merges these three bodies of scholarship – scholarship on language regimes, on conflict and education, and on horizontal (between-group) inequalities – to present a comprehensive perspective on how conflict, education, and language interact. I use LoI policy and practice as the specific element of education in which the conflict-education nexus occurs, doing so by incorporating language regime scholarship and sociolinguistic scholarship on language and power to provide a framework for why and how language can be the mechanism driving horizontal inequalities. Language regimes are a multi-disciplinary way of defining the power structures between and among languages and provide insight into how these linguistic power structures impact language users. They use formal regulations of language use and informal language rules that are displayed through language practices to create a diagram of the complexity of language power structures in all language environments – from the seemingly monolingual environment where there are still ideas about what is considered to be “proper” language to multilingual environments where different languages compete for space in society. I argue that LoI is a mechanism by which language regimes establish and perpetuate inter-group or horizontal inequalities that the scholarship argues may promote conflict. In keeping with the 3  traditions set forth in the conflict and education scholarship which allows for the relationship between education and conflict to be complex and multidirectional, I also argue the alternative/counter: namely that this mechanism may challenge/reduce existing horizontal inequalities to limit conflict. Following the research from both the horizontal inequality-based conflict and the conflict and education fields, this argument can be extrapolated into post-conflict settings wherein these mechanisms, depending upon the LoI policy and practice set forth during post-conflict transitions, may reinstate the pre-conflict between-group inequalities, attempt to remedy the pre-conflict between-group inequalities, or lead to the development of new between-group inequalities which all have an impact on whether the transition to a post-conflict state is successful.   Based upon the literature and the argument I develop from that body of literature, in my study I seek to answer the broad question, in multi-lingual former French colony, Côte d’Ivoire, how do LoI policies interact with socio-political conflict as the nation transits from an active civil war to a post-conflict state? I set my case study in Côte d’Ivoire due to its recent history of conflict and its history of elevating French at the expense of the 60+ indigenous languages actively used in the country. Although official policy designates French as the LoI in public schools, the Ministry of Education has implemented local-language curriculum in rural schools. I chose an urban setting and a rural setting to represent the country’s diverse social and education structures. Due to the fact that some rural areas have both local language-medium public primary schools operating alongside French-medium public primary schools, I decided to include participants from both types of public primary schools in the rural setting to provide depth to the data. My study stresses the complexity of socio-political conflict in multilingual contexts by linking language in education to conflict. 4   For my study, I drew on my advanced proficiency in French and my previous research in Côte d’Ivoire to conduct a comparative case study comprised of policy document analysis and participant interviews with teachers and parents. I collected historic and current education policy documents as well as historic and current versions of the Ivorian Constitution. Over the course of 8 weeks I interviewed a total of 18 parents and 3 teachers affiliated with three public primary schools in two locations in Côte d’Ivoire. In the commune of Kwéi located within the large urban city of Dyapo, I interviewed five parents and one teacher from a French-medium public primary school. In Konvi, a rural village in Côte d’Ivoire, I interviewed thirteen parents: five who have students in the French-medium public primary school, five who have students in the Brafé-medium public primary school, and three who have students in both the French- and Brafé-medium public primary schools. I also interviewed one teacher from the French-medium and one teacher from the Brafé-medium public private school in rural Konvi.   With the document data, I conducted across-events discourse analysis in order to trace the evolution of the power structures between languages, or the evolution of the official educational language regime. With the interview data, I conducted narrative analysis to explore how teacher and parent perceptions reflect the official stance on language. These narratives uncover the perceived educational language regimes as well as the ideal educational language regimes of the participants. All three of these educational language regimes identify the existence of language and education based between-group inequalities; I compare all three in order to better understand which inequalities are perceived and, most importantly, which are perceived to be socially unacceptable.   These analyses highlight tensions that exist within these power structures, namely the tension between the colonial legacy which privileges only the French language and an interest in 5  promoting respect for local languages in a conflicted society. I find that teachers and the official policy documents are struggling to find a balance between the formally recognized and colonially imposed official language (French) with attempts to build the status of some of the 60+ local languages. Comparatively, I also find that the existing inter-group inequalities that are known to lead to conflict are being challenged by parents. By allowing for some local languages to have limited authority in education, the policies make minimal effort to break down some existing between-group inequalities while ignoring other between-group inequalities. Teachers, as the enactors of these policies in schools, interpret these efforts based upon their personal experiences and own linguistic backgrounds to highlight the challenges of using language of instruction as a means to reduce between-group inequalities. Alternately, parents provide insight into the local desires to valorize local languages as one of many ways to promote between-group respect.   With the across-events discourse analysis of the policies, I create a diagram of an official language power structure – or regime – as it has developed over time using the historic and current policy documents; with the narrative analysis of parent interviews I diagram perceived and ideal language regimes; and with the narrative analysis of teacher interviews, I diagram a perceived regime which is a reflection of the practiced version of the official regime. I compare the diagrams of the official, perceived, practiced, and ideal language regimes in education to compare how between-group inequalities exist in official discourse and practiced schooling compared to how parents perceive between-group inequalities to exist. I focus on the perception of between-group inequalities in order to link the language power structures back to conflict using theory. The literature on conflicts that are rooted in between-group inequalities argues that it is not enough for an inequality to exist but rather it is important only that an inequality is 6  perceived – or believed to exist – in order for a conflict to result; thus I intentionally focus on identifying whether or not different communities feel a language-based or education-based between-group inequality relative to their access to and experiences with local language of instruction practices.   By inserting language of instruction into the conflict and education research agenda using language regimes and horizontal inequality-based conflict as a foundation for my work, my dissertation provides deeper understanding of the roles language(s) and education play in conflicted societies and in societies transitioning to post-conflict states. By studying the voices of educators who experience language of instruction realities each day alongside the voices of parents who are making sense of the different language of instruction practices that their children can experience, I link language of instruction practice with the perception of between-group inequalities. Using the policy documents alongside the interview data, I outline the creation and solidification of a language regime in the country. When taken together and grounded in the literature, my dissertation provides evidence to support my hypothesis which says that language regimes are enacted through LoI policies, which in turn situate schools as sites in which LoI policies become mechanisms to reinforce or mitigate horizontal inequalities; this, per the literature on conflict, has potential to initiate or allay conflict.   I continue the background to my study in section I with chapters on literature and methods. To ground my research in the relevant scholarship, I first provide a robust literature review in chapter 2 covering research from the fields of language of instruction in Africa, conflict and education, horizontal inequality-based conflict, and language regimes. Once I address the literature, I then make a note of the three scholarly bases from which I developed my conceptual framework – conflict and education, horizontal inequality-based conflict, and 7  language regimes – to provide an outline of my research agenda. Then I move into my conceptual framework and my conceptual hypothesis, before concluding the chapter with my research questions. In chapter 3, I provide relevant contextual background for Côte d’Ivoire before detailing my research methodology. After going into detail about these methods, I speak to my data and data collection procedures. My positionality is addressed in the final section of chapter three.   Sections II and III focus on my data and findings. In section II I take a close look at the official language regime in education in chapter four. I start by outlining how language of instruction policies develop a specific language regime in Côte d’Ivoire. I focus on the way the documents create a hierarchy of languages, from the language of highest power (French) down to languages granted no formal power or recognition. I argue however that even within this hierarchy, the ways in which the policies lay out the expected roles of these different languages – in particular, the ways in which languages are associated with notions of citizenship and are tasked with the role of pedagogical tool in order to teach and promote the French language – reinforces the official notion that there is one authoritative language supported by a handful of secondary languages that are granted limited authority in specific social realms such as education. I explore how the policies are simultaneously reinforcing the official power of French while also elevating certain languages to mitigate some of the existing between-group tensions in the country; although there are certainly steps to shift the power structure away from the colonial model, the policies are set-up in such a way that the local languages that are elevated are still tools to reinforce the French language above all others. Through this policy analysis, I explore the tensions of developing a new post-conflict national identity, being a global player, and acknowledging the country’s diversity in a way that does not reignite pre-conflict group tensions. 8  It is within this power structure where I identify existing between-group inequalities that are both reinforced and challenged by the language power structure.   I return to these between-group inequalities in section III where I compare the inequalities uncovered via the official language regime to the perceived regimes uncovered by parents and teachers. Section III focuses on the interview data I collected from parents and teachers in urban Kwé Dyapo and rural Konvi. In chapter five, I start by providing an overview for the data and methods that will be used in the rest of the section. Then, I move into a contextual framework that I developed based upon the conversations I had with parents. I found that the parents spent considerable time defining the notion of entente – or a type of listening that is rooted in humanness above diversity and is used to develop mutual respect and understanding across ethnolinguistic boundaries. Based upon these parent conversations, I develop a contextual frame for the notion of entente to ground my understanding of parent and teacher perceptions of social relations in Côte d’Ivoire. The notion of entente is deeply embedded within both the parents’ and teachers’ perceived and ideal language regimes in education due to their experiences living in a conflicted society, and thus the contextual frame gives me a good lens through which to understand how parents and teachers think about conflict and peacebuilding relative to language and education.  Continuing section III I move into chapters six and seven, which are focused on the data from parents and teachers. Chapter six explores the parents’ perceptions of language of instruction policies grounded in their experiences with conflict in the country and the frame of entente. As I dive deeply into the parents’ perceived and ideal educational language regimes in chapter six, I look at how parents perceive language-based between-group inequalities. I demonstrate not only that parents do believe that language-based between-group inequalities 9  exist, but I look at how they speak about these inequalities in terms of access to language, education, and national identity. In particular, I highlight how parents view differential access to different languages as a factor in their notions of belonging – belonging both in terms of being part of the official citizenry and in terms of belonging to a respected group within the country.  I find that even when parents identify groups of relative linguistic privilege, they are also willing to discuss ways that language and education may support entente.  In chapter seven I explore the teachers’ experiences with and perceptions of language of instruction policies, also grounded in their experiences with conflict and the frame of entente. I look closely at the teachers’ perceptions of the language of instruction policies relative to their experiences in the classroom. I find that their perceptions of which languages have a place in the classroom are deeply embedded with their own personal teaching experiences and language identities. I explore how their personal experiences shape how they talk about what languages they believe are the best for their students’ development compared, while attending to how the official policies and the resources allocated to the schools to help teachers enact those policies set the stage to reinforce the colonial legacy where French is elevated above all other languages. I focus on how teachers interpret the policies and resource allocation to create their own ideas of language hierarchies inside and outside the classroom. I find that it is overwhelmingly experience with rather than exposure to or knowledge of different language of instruction practices that shape how teachers perceive the language power structures in schools. I use this analysis to diagram a language power structure that teachers report enacting in the classroom, and find competing structures based upon the type of school and classroom with which the teacher is affiliated.  10   I conclude the dissertation in section IV, chapter eight. After providing a general overview of the dissertation, I contrast the parent perceptions with the teacher perceptions, where notions of linguistic privilege relative to language of instruction are deeply embedded within the teachers’ own experiences of the language of teaching compared to the parents’ preferences for a more locally relevant language of learning. I bring together the educational language regimes that I diagramed in chapter four with the perceptions of linguistic between-group inequalities to conclude that language of instruction policies are perceived as both contributing to and having the potential to mitigate between-group inequalities in the country. I conclude with some implications about how the language-based horizontal inequalities uncovered by the official, perceived, and ideal language regimes in education relate to social relations particularly in relation to how Côte d’Ivoire navigates the journey to a post-conflict state. I incorporate the ideas about entente and cohesion that the parents and teachers discussed to provide local insights into how language of instruction fits in the history and future of Ivorian conflict or peace.    11  Chapter 2. Literature and Framework  As I explore the relationship between language of instruction and conflict, my study is situated in the scholarship in conflict and education, focusing most explicitly on inter-group (horizontal) inequality-based conflict literature as it pertains to the conflict-education nexus. Thus, I ground my study in the research about language of instruction policy and practice in Africa, conflict and education, horizontal inequality-based conflict, and language regimes. I will explore this literature in this section, then use the literature to develop a conceptual framework and conceptual hypothesis. I conclude the chapter with my research questions. 2.1 Language of Instruction Policy and Practice Research in Africa  Overview. In a highly diverse and geographically large continent like Africa, any section dedicated to providing an overview of the linguistic practices in education must begin with the caveat that this is by no means comprehensive nor is the situation identical from one country, sub-region, or town to the next. However, there are some overarching trends across sub-Saharan Africa that make it possible to provide an overview that is pertinent to the remainder of this section. The trend is nicely summarized by Ayo Bamgbose, Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at the University of Ibadan (Nigeria) and prolific researcher of language of instruction on the continent: Despite many studies that show that it makes good sense to begin a child’s education in his or her own language, the age-old tradition of teaching a child in a language other than the first language or teaching in a child’s first language only in the lower classes of primary school still persists in many African countries. (2009, p. 13).   As Bamgbose (2009) highlights, the language of instruction in many countries in the region remains the former-colonial language regardless of research that speaks to the negative academic consequences of such practices. The origins of this trend stem from colonial practices that promoted education in the language of the colonial power to pursue a “civilizing” and 12  assimilating agenda or promoted education in local languages to promote an intentionally hierarchical society that limited local access to the privilege of colonial services (Albaugh, 2014; Prah, 2009).   Academics and economics of LoI. The consequences of these language of instruction policies and practices are wide ranging. As a tool for communication, language is used in education to teach students the academic subjects needed not only for academic success but also for economic and life-long use and social communication. Since former colonial languages remain the official languages of most countries, including in Côte d’Ivoire, and the de facto languages associated with employment and access to government social services, these languages carry a lot of social power and are still taught as subjects in cases where mother-tongue instruction is used. Thus, much of the research surrounding language of instruction in Africa focuses on academic outcomes and parental preferences. In essence, these research foci derive from LoI policy outcomes and preferences. Academically, local language LoI is preferable due to the propensity of local languages to better help students grasp academic concepts and even learn another language better. Research consistently shows that students who learn in their own language perform better academically and become more communicatively proficient in a second language that is taught as a subject (Brock-Utne, 2001; Yohannes, 2009).  On the other hand, a colonial language LoI seems to be economically preferable since the colonial languages are associated with more job opportunities particularly in the civil service and government sectors (Brock-Utne, 2001; Muthwii, 2004). Finally, socially there is tension between learning the language of power – that used in government and employment – and retaining cultural knowledge associated with local languages. Parents continue to express 13  concern about their children’s cultural alienation and loss of language ability when they attend a colonial language LoI school (Amadi, 2012; Awedoba, 2009; Evans & Cleghorn, 2014).  Parent LoI preferences. Parents draw upon their understanding of these academic and economic outcomes as well as their own perception of social desirability in expressing which LoI policies they prefer, ultimately seeking to ensure that the education that their child receives is in their best long-term interests. Despite the consistent findings about academic achievement and communication skills that students develop dependent upon the LoI, research findings about parent preferences are much less consistent.   Three distinct studies help illustrate the complexity of parent LoI preferences. In an in-depth case study in one primary school in Ghana, (Awedoba, 2009), researchers find that community members and teachers are strongly opposed to using the local language in the classroom due to a common misconception that local languages are not equipped to handle academic topics; in this same study, though, parents initially shared the same opinions until the researchers explained the benefits of using a local language in the classroom to support student learning, at which time parents supported the use of local languages in instruction while English language acquisition was developed. In a study of all public schools in one rural Kenyan community (Muthwii, 2004), researchers uncovered parent preferences for strict colonial language only LoI due to concerns that using a local language would be detrimental to student success in school, especially since national exams are only given in the colonial English. Alternately, in a South African survey-based study of parents in a school that has recently shifted from an Afrikaans medium instruction policy to an English-only medium instruction policy (Evans & Cleghorn, 2014), researchers found parental interest in local language inclusion in the curriculum due to parental recognition of the cognitive benefits of using a local language in the 14  classroom. Interestingly, in all three studies the colonial language was associated with high-status jobs particularly in civil service and government, yet in all studies parents lamented an associated loss of cultural knowledge and respect they felt was a direct result of colonial language LoI. The tension between the perceived economic benefit of colonial language LoI and the cultural benefit of local language LoI is clearly important to parents, one that is not easily resolved in the minds of Kenyan and Ghanaian parents. South African parents, however, preferred that local languages are included in the curriculum in part due to their expectations of the government. These parents specifically discussed their understanding that the South African government has an obligation to treat local languages with equal respect and status to English in all aspects of social, economic, and government life.   Parents in these studies also expressed LoI preferences based upon the role that language can play in student academic achievement albeit not in a manner consistent with the research on actual academic outcomes. Instead, parents in Kenya and Ghana were concerned that their children would not take education seriously unless it was conducted in English, and that they would not spend as much time on their schoolwork if there was not an added challenge of using a language they were less familiar with. Muthwii (2004) and Awedoba (2009) both argue that a parent’s preference for stronger academics can be leveraged to develop parent support for local language LoI by explaining the academic benefits of local language instruction. Evans’ and Cleghorn’s (2014) study reinforces this argument since parents were keen to include local languages in the curriculum to boost students’ grasp of academic material.  While parent preferences are mixed based upon the economic and social benefits that parents expect their student will derive from learning in different languages, the one aspect that remains the same is that parents prefer language of instruction practices that they associate with 15  potential social mobility in order to better the lives of their children (Yohannes, 2009). In certain cases, parents’ preferences are based upon the perceived power structures – particularly structures that link colonial languages to economic and government access – despite research that demonstrates negative outcomes of colonial language of instruction practices which may even hinder rather than enable student chances to access those structures (Albaugh, 2014). This suggests that perceived power structures play a strong role in language of instruction preferences, perhaps more than the actual linguistic and academic outcomes of language of instruction practices.   LoI policy and power. The studies about LoI policy and practice in Africa highlight a tension between academic benefits of local language LoI, the economic benefits of colonial language LoI, and an uncertainty of how language can best support communal and social structures. Thus, as my dissertation intends to further explore, the consequences of any language of instruction policy in Africa is more complicated than simple impact on academic achievement or second language acquisition; there are also perceptions of access to social mobility and concerns about how language challenges other socially accepted structures to take into consideration which leads to a broader question about social power as embodied in the complex relationship between LoI policy and LoI practice.   The question about power extends to questions of policy versus practice. While policy is determined from the top down, thus following the formal social structure of a state, the practice on the ground, or how the policy is actually enacted in the classroom, speaks to local social structures. These distinctions complicate the question of how language of instruction mimics social power structures since policy and practice are not always the same (Alidou, 2009; Honig, 2006; Spillane, Reiser, & Reimer, 2002). The language of instruction models at the policy level 16  and in the enactment of the policy on the ground vary in each location, with the intensity of mother-tongue instruction generally ranging from no local language use in schools to local language use in primary school settings prior to switching to the former colonial language in lower secondary school; however, in some cases (particularly in regions within countries that have decentralized language policies or in experimental schools) schools have begun to emerge that rely entirely on mother-tongue instruction for the duration of the academic trajectory (Albaugh, 2014; Brock-Utne, 2001; Prah, 2009). Since former colonial languages remain the official languages of most countries in the region and the de facto languages associated with employment, these languages still carry a lot of social power and are still taught as subjects in cases where mother-tongue instruction is used (Prah, 2009).  2.2 Conflict and Education Scholarship  The relationship between conflict and education. The field of conflict and education emerged in the early 2000s as an extension of the established peace education field (Harris, 2004; Novelli & Cardozo, 2008; Paulson & Rappleye, 2007). Conflict and education researchers challenge the notion maintained by peace education researchers that the relationship between education and conflict is binary, where education is either an architect of peace or a victim of war (Fountain, 1999). Conflict and education scholars do not dismiss these notions but expand upon them to expose a more complex and nuanced relationship. This complexity is suited to attending closely to context in studies that focus, for example, on the role of curriculum in developing tolerance or promoting ethnic tension (Bush & Saltarelli, 2000; Sany, 2010) or on differential access to education as a resource (Dabalen & Paul, 2012; McCoy, 2008).   Figure 1 illustrates the spectrum of the conflict-education nexus. In conflict and education scholarship, “conflict” refers to “conflictual division” (Paulson & Rappleye, 2007, p. 17  342) or a divisive society that acts on the social divisions and “no conflict” refers to “peaceful pluralism” (Paulson & Rappleye, 2007, p. 342) or a diverse society that is capable of coexisting peacefully. Conflict may be violent or armed conflict, but it may also refer to a repressive society that seems peaceful but is symbolically violent and contains other symbolic conflicts.  Figure 1: Different Relationships Between Conflict and Education  As figure 1 shows, researchers posit that there are five potential relationships between conflict and education that I will elaborate upon. I will do so moving from left to right on the spectrum of conflict in figure 1, with the left representing a lack of conflict and the right side representing complete conflict. First, education may help prevent conflict. The research suggests this is accomplished through equal distribution of educational resources, the use of contextually-relevant curriculum, and developing interpersonal skills and tolerance in students through targeted school programs (Fountain, 1999; Harber & Sakade, 2009; Paulson & Rappleye, 2007; UNESCO, 2011; Williams, 2004). Moving away from lack of conflict but still within the peaceful side of the spectrum, education may ease the consequences of conflict. Researchers argue this is possible through peace education efforts that develop reconciliation curriculum, make appropriate textbook revisions, and implement community education programs, as well as by ensuring equal access to educational resources (Bar-Tal & Rosen, 2009; Bird, Higgins, & McKay, 2010; Sany, 2010; UNESCO, 2011).  18   Moving to the conflict side of the spectrum, education may promote on-going conflict. This may occur through nation-state actions that provide unequal distribution of educational resources, school-level actions where curricular or text materials that enhance existing intolerances are used, or other school-level actions such as using educational materials as conflict propaganda (Dabalen & Paul, 2012; McCoy, 2008; Sany, 2010; UNESCO, 2011; Williams, 2004). Next, education may prompt new conflict for many of the same reasons it promotes existing conflict (UNESCO, 2011; Williams, 2004).   Finally, education may fall victim to conflict. Researchers argue that this occurs through destruction of infrastructure, particularly attacks on schools and the destruction of school buildings, loss of teachers, or recruitment of child soldiers (Dabalen & Paul, 2012; Paulson & Rappleye, 2007; UNESCO, 2011; Williams, 2004). These different relationships point to the complexity in conflict and education interactions. As many researchers point out, it is hard to tease out any single causal relationship or claim that the relationship is unidirectional due to the sociopolitical, historical, and otherwise contextually dependent nature of both education and conflict as well as the impact that both have on the sociopolitical context (e.g., Agbor, 2015; Novelli & Cardozo, 2008; Williams, 2004).    Challenges to the field. The field is currently limited by the tendency for researchers to either ignore group identity or focus exclusively on ethnic divisions and their role in the conflict-education relationship (Matsumoto, 2015). As a result, Matsumoto argues, researchers in conflict and education ignore interdisciplinary debates on root causes of conflict – of which education is one – and limit their work to shallow and un-comparable case studies rather than delving into the broader picture about the complex conflict-education relationship.  19   Although Bush and Salterelli (2000) use modern conflicts from Kosovo, India, Rwanda, Turkey, South Africa, the USA, Israel and Palestine, and Nazi Germany to explore both positive and negative effects of education on society, Matsumoto pushes back on their argument specifically by claiming that they focus exclusively on ethnic conflicts to demonstrate how ethnically divisive curriculum fuels conflict. Matsumoto’s biggest contention is the lack of attention paid to the diversity of root causes of conflict despite the attention paid to the diversity of roles of education in conflict. Matsumoto’s challenge to the field, therefore, is to continue to build upon the tradition of attending to complexity in the conflict-education relationship by acknowledging the complexity of group identity as well. Interestingly, Matsumoto’s critiques mirror earlier calls by Bush and Salterelli (2000) who called for a research agenda that explored many more aspects of education and identity as they relate to conflict, including refugee education, language in education, and a deeper understanding of group inequality in access to quality, contextually-relevant education.  2.3 Horizontal Inequality-based Conflict Literature  Bounding conflict research in identity. Horizontal inequalities are inequalities between groups of people that share an identity; inequalities may be along political, cultural, social, and/or economic lines, and group membership is defined by any salient identity marker such as nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, or any other socially or culturally relevant grouping. Researchers in conflict studies who specialize in horizontal inequality-based conflict theorize that these between-group inequalities are the main drivers of conflict (Stewart, 2008). Scholars draw upon conflict theory which includes among the root causes of conflict economic grievances, political rivalries, and ethnic tensions (Collier et al., 2003; Hewston & Cairns, 2001; Huntington, 1997; Kaufmann, 1999). Mainstream conflict researchers like Collier and his peers 20  argue that individually measured inequalities (such as wealth distribution) do not systematically relate to conflict. The mainstream conflict studies that find that the relationship between wealth distribution and conflict is statistically insignificant (Collier & Hoeffler, 2004; Fearon & Laitin, 2003). Horizontal inequality-based conflict researchers, on the other hand, challenge these findings and argue that a group-based action such as conflict must be the result of group-based grievances not individual-based grievances; on this fundamental basis, scholars that examine group inequality and conflict find the relationship to be strong (Øtsby, 2008; Stewart, 2008).   Types of inequalities, types of identities, and their relationship to conflict. Various researchers demonstrate statistically significant relationships between horizontal inequalities and conflict (e.g., Øtsby, 2008); a key strength of this scholarship lies in scholars’ dedication to exploring different types of inequalities along different group identity lines to establish this relationship. Researchers thus highlight that different salient identity groupings determine whether horizontal inequalities are perceived by groups or lead to conflict. For example, ethnic identity is important to understand conflict in Myanmar (Cederman, Weidmann, & Bormann, 2015) but ethnicity, regional identity, and rural/urban identity groups are important in understanding how perceived and actual inter-group inequalities relate to conflict in Vietnam (Dang, 2018).   The relationship between identity groupings, inequality, and conflict is further complicated when researchers explore different types of inequalities that are related to conflict in different ways. Economic versus educational horizontal inequalities provide a strong example: in Vietnam, economic horizontal inequalities have a statistically significant relationship to conflict whereas education horizontal inequalities do not (Dang, 2018). Alternately, in Øtsby’s (2008) multi-country study, social between-group inequalities such as access to education is statistically 21  significantly related to conflict whereas economic horizontal inequalities are not. Importantly, it is the perception of these between-group inequalities that researchers find to be the most important in the relationship to conflict. In all the studies highlighted above – and in many others – the inequality between different salient identity groups must be perceived (and perceived to be socially unacceptable) by groups, in order to be acted upon (Fukuda-Parr, Langer, & Mine, 2013). In other words, whether an inequality exists is not important, but if an inequality is thought to exist and be unacceptable by a group, then the horizontal inequality will be related to conflict.  Policy in horizontal inequality-based conflict studies. Policies that establish horizontal inequalities are the focus of many studies including post-conflict studies. Stewart (2000; 2008), as one of the key researchers in horizontal inequality-based conflict literature, tends to look at policies over time with an eye for specific policy components that speak to country-specific horizontal inequalities. In this way, she is able to use previously identified between-group inequalities to make policy recommendations (2000), or to compare how historical knowledge of conflict matches with stated policy measures and theorize why certain policies may have reinforced horizontal inequalities related to those historical conflicts (2008). In other policy analyses, Langer, Stewart, and Venugopal (2012) link historical conflicts with previously identified horizontal inequalities and historical policy documents to document what policy mechanisms they believe to be linked to different inequality outcomes.   Challenges to the field. Several quantitative studies make it clear that there is no single horizontal inequality-conflict relationship nor are identity groups that experience these inequalities defined by the same cultural boundary. However, researchers acknowledge that measurement is an issue: proxies must be used for group membership and group inequality, both 22  of which are key to measuring horizontal inequality. As the state of research in horizontal inequality-based conflict moves forward, there is a call to pay more qualitative attention to understanding identity markers that define groups across which inequalities are perceived and what different types of inequalities relate to conflict (Brown & Langer, 2010). Brown and Langer (2010) systematically remind readers that different types of inter-group inequalities interact with each other to strengthen their relationship to conflict; further, they make a case for allowing identity markers to follow more fluid boundaries. In this manner, horizontal inequality-based conflict researchers focus on the aspect of identity that is important in developing a group bond rather than limiting their research to ethnic identity groups.  What horizontal inequality-based conflict scholarship provides is a way to think about the consequences of inequality by addressing what mechanisms lead from inequality to conflict and why. This is complicated by the acknowledged lack of unidirectional causality (Stewart, 2000), since horizontal inequalities lead to conflict, but conflict may also lead to the creation of new horizontal inequalities (Langer, Stewart, & Venugopal, 2012; Woodward, 2012). Despite this lack of unidirectional causality, however, most of the research in this scholarly agenda focus on horizontal inequalities leading to conflict. Even in literature dedicated to post-conflict development, researchers identify pre-conflict horizontal inequalities that they propose should be attended to during post-conflict policy creation (Langer, Stewart, & Venugopal, 2012). However, this scholarship provides an important way to think about inequality and its consequences even in situations where teasing out the exact mechanisms is challenging. This enables researchers to focus on policies rather than solely on group mobilization. 23  2.4 Language Regimes  The notion of a language regime. Language regime scholarship focuses on the complex notions of language and its political, economic, historic, and social pertinence. The research is rooted in the idea of language rules, language practices, and language conceptualization (Coulmas, 2005; Moormann-Kimákoyá, 2015; Pool, 1996; Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015). Moorman-Kimákoyá (2015), drawing upon previous definitions by Pool (1996) and Coulmas (2005), defined language regimes as, constellations with specific relations between the languages and language groups in place in terms of the possibilities of mutual communication, status as well as institutional arrangements and sets of rules implicitly or explicitly regulating the use of languages in specific areas of life (p. 9).   Language regimes thus refer to relationships between language ideology, language use, and groups of language users where formal and informal regulations about language use impact groups of language users.   As Pool (1996) explored the language regime challenges of the multilingual European Union (EU), he highlighted the tension between political and economic rationales for the selection of official language choice: choose one language, which is economically efficient, or choose multiple languages, which is politically sensible. His analysis provides insight into the complex nature of language regimes through a cost-benefit approach to different language regime options in the EU, but it is the political versus economical tension in local and global language regimes that highlights the foundational thinking about language in a language regime framework.    Language regime as an extension of sociolinguistics. Language regime scholarship incorporates and expands upon key concepts in sociolinguistics: the concept of language regime extends that of language ideology (attitudes and beliefs about toward different languages 24  including the appropriate role of and place for languages) to incorporate language practice (use) and language hegemony (wherein language groups maintain power through culture and ideology, focusing on power relations through ideologies) to include “institutional and administrative mechanisms and policy instruments” of power maintenance (Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015, pp. 8). Sonntag and Cardinal point to a research agenda that endeavors to bridge policy with practice. By incorporating language ideology and exploring language use as a component within a language regime, this body of scholarship draws upon sociolinguistic traditions (e.g., Bourdieu, 1991; Fairclough, 2001) to bridge the political level of official language status with the social level of individual language use that is shaped by official, social, and personal beliefs.   Language regimes and conflict. Recently, scholars have begun to incorporate conflict into language regime research (e.g., Moormann-Kimákoyá, 2015). In studies that focus on language-based conflict, a language regime reflects conflict through various linguistic groups’ attempts to influence or resist decisions of language regimes (Moormann-Kimákoyá, 2015). Examples of language-based conflict include a linguistic group acting to establish a language regime by neutralizing or eliminating another language, or linguistic groups feeling increasingly marginalized in a society where certain languages are privileged over other languages, or linguistic coalitions working together to change regimes due to a mismatch between the expected and proffered status of a language (Baker, 2015; Moormann-Kimákoyá, 2015; Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015). In these examples, language policies are tools that drive conflict by acting either as a mechanism to change the language regime or as a signal to indicate linguistic power within a language regime.    Language-based conflict research in the language regime scholarship reinforces sociolinguists theories of language as symbolic power and symbolic violence by explicitly 25  demonstrating how these symbolic notions are “visible” in a society. In a language regime frame, language has the ability to be an instrument in maintaining or challenging power structures through exclusion (Kroskrity, 2000; Moormann-Kimákoyá, 2015), by empowering or disempowering language groups through their ability to make “political claims” on the nation-state via language use (Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015), or by offering languages different statuses in a society which signals the appropriate use and status of both languages and identities (Moormann-Kimákoyá, 2015; Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015). These provide specificity to sociolinguists’ broad claims that language is a component of social power structures (Bourdieu, 1991; Fairclough, 2001).   Challenges to the field. There is scholarly tension between studying the creation of national languages as a unifying force in identity construction as opposed to the ways that dominant languages impose or reinforce social inequalities (Kroskrity, 2000). The challenge is that the two states of language operate simultaneously in language regimes, yet researchers tend to look at only one of the two. Kroskrity (2000) argues that researchers should be careful to attend to the role that identity plays in developing language ideologies, thus making the case that language regimes are not top down only but also bottom up. However, as researchers struggle to reconcile or even recognize this tension, the research is limited in understanding the complexity of a language regime.  Language regimes as an academic analysis of language use and ideology tends to focus on micro-topics of specific language use such as patent language in the EU (Gazzola & Volpe, 2014) and political language in different settings (Coulmas, 2005; Horner, 2015; Gazzola & Grin, 2013; Molina, 2017). The research is also increasingly dominated by interest in global language regimes (Gazzola & Grin, 2013; Gazzola & Volpe, 2014; Klinkenberg, 2016) rather 26  than deeply exploring language regime consequences in any context. Sonntag and Cardinal (2015) argue that language regimes as a scholarly body have the potential to support research in education, public policy, and sociology, but researchers need to extend the notion of where a language regime may exist or how a language regime might impact a group of language users. While language regime scholarship has begun to broach language conflict as a new sub-topic, the domain is dominated by studies in global political language use, cross-country language use, and intercultural communication arenas which focus more on globalization as a phenomenon driving language regimes rather than on the local impact of language regimes.  2.5 Summary of the Literature  The review of literature provided insights into the state of research on language of instruction policy and practice, conflict and education, horizontal inequality-based conflict, and language regimes.   The research on language of instruction in Africa highlighted the tension between academic outcomes versus social and economic preferences of what language should be used in schooling. However, the typical focus of LoI studies on economic and academic outcomes or parental preferences highlights an opening for a new type of LoI study that explores other social implications of LoI policies and practices.  The conflict and education research demonstrates the sheer complexity of the relationship between conflict and education, and the challenges of trying to pinpoint directionality of said relationship. At the same time, the well-noted focus on ethnicity as the main identity grouping is problematized by contemporary researchers of conflict and education, which provides an opening to include new elements in the research. In particular, the call by Bush and Salterelli (2000) to incorporate language of instruction as an element in the research in conjunction with 27  Matsumoto’s (2015) challenge to incorporate different identity groupings, of which language may be one, together provide a great chance for me to extend the field by incorporating language of instruction.  The horizontal inequality-based conflict research provides strong support for the hypothesis that perceived group-based inequalities lead to conflict, and different social policies can exacerbate or mitigate these perceived inequalities. The scholarship recognizes the multi-directionality of this relationship, yet the focus on the perception of between-group inequalities that lead to conflict suggests that field is ripe for studies that extend to post-conflict settings, exploring how post-conflict policies interact with pre-conflict inequalities to support post-conflict or (re)introduce conflict.   Finally, language regime scholarship is rife with research surrounding language regulation and language attitudes, linking the sociolinguistic notions of language and symbolic power to the political notions of official mechanisms such as nation-state regulations or policy enactment related to language use. Although the introduction of language conflict into this field is a clear link to my research, there is also a clear opening to address the limited amount of scholarly work linking the formal top-down language regulations with the informal bottom-up language practices and perceptions.  Drawing upon these rich research backgrounds and the potential to extend these bodies of work, I use LoI policy and practice as the specific element of education in which the conflict-education nexus occurs, doing so by incorporating language regime scholarship and sociolinguistic scholarship on language and power to provide a framework for why and how language of instruction can be the mechanism driving the perception of horizontal inequalities. 28  2.6 Using the Literature to Justify my Research Agenda  Conflict and education, horizontal inequality-based conflict, and language regimes, as bodies of scholarly work speak broadly to sociopolitical and historical phenomena. In certain ways, these bodies of work overlap, as seen in figure 2 below. In other areas, there is a distinct deviation in the literature. It is in the area of overlap where I see the potential to incorporate language of instruction policy research, as I will elaborate briefly below.   Figure 2: Relationship Between Three Research Agendas  Figure 2 reveals that the areas of overlap and divergence are not clear cut; areas where the conflict and education literature intersects with the language regime literature do not perfectly align with areas where it intersects with the horizontal inequality-based conflict literature, and the same goes for all combinations of the three bodies of work. There are trends 29  that can be noted where all bodies of scholarship intersect, and where they are more isolated. Since it is in the area of complete overlap where I situate research on language of instruction, I will elaborate why those areas overlap and how I intend to take advantage of that overlap in my research.   Proof of overlap. There are four key areas where an overlap is present, as seen in figure 2. These include the use of identity-based groups as a defining factor of the research, policy as a presence in some of the research, the focus on identifying what is related to conflict and why, and the emphasis on access to different types of resources.  The first area of overlap that all three bodies of work share is the use of identity-based groups to define who the research is about. While scholarly emphasis is placed on groups that are defined by a common identity rather than on individuals, there is some variation in the literature on what identity component defines the group boundary. It is only horizontal inequality-based conflict literature that allows for salient identity groupings to be determined by the groups themselves, thus allowing a group to be defined by ethnicity, region, language, or any other identity marker (or group of identity markers). In language regimes, it is only language that defines a group, and in conflict and education ethnicity remains the main group identity marker although this is increasingly challenged.   The second area of overlap is the role that policy plays in the research question. While language regime literature is very explicit about the role of policy, where policy defines the official rules governing language and thus creates a language regime (Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015), the other two bodies of work are less explicit about the role of policy. In conflict and education, policy is an implied feature in the relationship, but the scholarly emphasis is placed on policy enactment. In horizontal inequality-based conflict, policy is not entirely a focus of the 30  research so much as it is a motivating factor behind the research. Regardless of the direction that the research takes, policy is a factor in all three research agendas.   The final two areas of overlap are closely related: while all three include research on what is related to conflict and why, the what refers specifically to differential access to types of resources. Thus, I explore the final two points of overlap together. The what and why of conflict in a language regime frame is differential access to resources proffered by language and the effort to change that. In horizontal inequality-based conflict, the what is any resource that is perceived to be differentially distributed thus creating a perceived inequality across group boundaries while the why is the desire to rectify the inequality or preserve the status quo when the dominant group feels threatened. Finally, in conflict and education, the what is education and the why is based upon the role that education plays in conflict. The what and why of conflict in question does not necessarily refer to what causes conflict and why. Instead, the what may also refer to the consequences of a conflict that lead to a new language regime (Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015) or destroy access to education (Williams, 2004). Although the what and why are different in their specific focus, for all three bodies of literature the what and why of conflict relates to resource access.  Briefly addressing the deviation and other limitations. It is clear that conflict and education, horizontal inequality-based conflict, and language regime scholarship do not entirely map onto each other. However, it is possible to account for much of deviation due to the context-dependent nature of research addressing language, identity, conflict, and education. Thus, while it is not possible to link a language regime study with no interest in conflict to a conflict and education study, or position a horizontal inequality-based conflict study in a language regime where no inter-group inequality is perceived by the language groups in question, as two 31  examples, the reason for this inability to account for the scholarly deviation is due to the context in which the studies occur. It is not that language regimes do not exist in horizontal inequality-based conflict, it is that the language regime being studied is not in a context where inter-group inequalities are relevant.   The deviations that exist within the overlapping use of identity to define group membership is pertinent yet also addressable by attending to context. Conflict and education and language regime researchers tend to limit what constitutes a group boundary while horizontal inequality-based conflict literature allows any identity marker that is deemed important to the group in question to define group membership. Therefore, any framework using all three literatures will be limited in group definition by conflict and education and language regime definitions which define groups by ethnicity and language, respectively. Although the two definitions can overlap, since language is often closely linked to ethnicity (Baker, 2015), this is not always the case. It is plausible that a language may be shared among ethnic groups but divided across geographic borders, just as it is plausible that ethnic identity may not be easily defined. Further, neither language nor ethnic identity may be a salient identity marker in a group experiencing a horizontal inequality. Researchers exploring a language, education, conflict relationship using a framework derived from these three scholarly traditions will need to attend to the contextual relevance of each potential identity marker carefully to assure that language and ethnicity are closely related and salient identity markers in defining group membership.  The different approaches to the direction of the relationship with conflict cannot be accounted for by context. However, it is possible to account for this deviation. Although horizontal inequality-based conflict literature acknowledges that conflict can also cause inter-group inequalities, the lack of attention paid to this direction is striking. While the other two 32  research agendas make it possible to attend to the role that conflict plays in altering language regimes or education structures, attending to horizontal inequalities in such a relationship is harder to tease out using the existing literature. But, since researchers in this line of work do recognize the role of conflict in creating or reinforcing such inequalities, it is possible to include in future research as an element of inquiry. It is just important that researchers make clear what direction of the relationship is being examined in the research and that researchers acknowledge the complication introduced into the research by the lack of unidirectionality.   Using the overlap as a research agenda. I previously highlighted four specific areas as “overlapping” in the literature: the use of identity-based groups as a defining factor of the research, the inclusion of policy in the research, the focus on identifying what is related to conflict and why, and emphasis on access to different types of resources in the research agenda. These four areas will shape an agenda from which I derive a conceptual framework and a conceptual hypothesis of language-education-conflict.   Defining the identity-based group. Horizontal inequality-based conflict work allows for any common identity marker to define group membership (Dang, 2018; Stewart, 2008), conflict and education literature focuses on ethnic identity membership (Matsumoto, 2015) and language regimes focus on linguistic groups (Moormann-Kimákoyá, 2015); however, the conflict and education literature acknowledges that ethnicity is not the only group identity worth exploring and on occasion has called for defining group membership by language (Bush & Saltarelli, 2000). Further, in some contexts, ethnicity and language are intricately linked which makes it possible that group membership by ethnicity may be the same as group membership by language (Baker, 2015). To the latter point, it is very important that researchers understand the context in which the language-education-conflict nexus is being studied, however, since this is not always 33  the case. Based upon these guidelines, the common identity factor that defines group membership in this emergent framework will be language groups since it is the common denominator of the definitions provided by each body of work.  Identifying the role of policy. Since the conflict and education research points to the role of decisions made regarding curriculum, textbooks, resource distribution, and access (e.g., Paulson & Rappleye, 2007), it is easy to consider any type of education policy as part of the decisions made in education that have an impact on conflict. In the language regime literature, language policies in any arena, education included, are part of the regulations that define the regime boundaries (Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015) which ultimately interact with other social factors in the language regime. Horizontal inequality-based conflict literature takes a broader perspective on the role of policy: any policy that creates differential access to any resource is a policy of interest (Stewart, 2008). Thus, since language of instruction policies are both education policies and language policies, LoI can be conceived of as a language regime that is enacted in education and LoI policy is the mechanism that catalyzes a language-education-conflict relationship.  Defining the what and why of conflict and access to different types of resources. Since these final two areas of the agenda are intricately linked, they will be addressed together. The what and the why of conflict which all bodies of work seek to uncover works in conjunction with the other three components to build a better skeleton of the agenda. In all three literatures, the what is differential access to resources: language in language regimes, education in conflict and education, and any resource in horizontal inequality-based conflict. All three literatures elaborate that the why of conflict is the desire to change (or protect, if the dominant group feels threatened) the status quo – the desire to change the language regime, to change access to education or a 34  specific type of education, and the desire to access any resource. The horizontal inequality research does not act as the defining body of work but instead provides the empirical link between inter-group inequality and conflict. If we argue that language of instruction provides access to the curriculum based upon languages the students know, and LoI provides access to the larger social resources based upon what languages students are learning relative to what languages are used in the broader regime, we can identify the resources of interest as language and education. LoI has already been established as the policy which meets the requirements in all three bodies of literature, and this policy is now established as providing differential access to resources to the what of conflict. Why LoI is related to conflict is because perceived horizontal inequalities deepen social divides that groups seek to rectify.   Therefore, the scholarly overlap between conflict and education, horizontal inequality-based conflict, and language regimes provide a space to incorporate language of instruction policy in the research. Thus, from the research agenda I develop above, I propose a conceptual framework and conceptual hypothesis.  2.7 Conceptual Framework  Drawing upon the rationale I presented in my research agenda, I develop a conceptual framework which extends sociolinguistic language and power theories about how language communicates social hierarchies, to incorporate research traditions in language regimes and horizontal inequality-based conflict. I argue that language is key to the delivery and reception of both education and social structures. In line with language regimes traditions (Moormann-Kimákoyá, 2015), I define the nature of language as follows: language either (a) communicates the social structure by demonstrating a speaker’s social standing in relation to listeners, or (b) changes the social structure by enabling a speaker to alter their social standing in relation to 35  listeners. Following the line of thinking from horizontal inequality-based conflict literature, I focus on group rather than individual experiences of the social structure. From these ideas, I derive the following language regime-horizontal inequality conceptual frame:  • The choice of language used in social settings represents social power structures: by identifying which groups have authority to make language decisions to develop a language regime; and  • There are social implications of these decisions which exacerbate inter-group or horizontal inequities: a. Some languages are valued: some languages hold capital and power, and these languages are privileged thus creating a linguistic elite; and b. Some languages are not valued: languages that are alienated from power and are not privileged create a marginalized language group who experience a language-horizontal inequality. I identify two themes in the conflict and education literature to incorporate LoI using the above framework: (a) the school as an institution of power; and (b) the role of resource allocation in conflict. I will outline those themes as they currently exist then propose a way to use the language regime-horizontal inequality framework to introduce LoI to the conflict and education literature.  Schools as institutions of power. The school, as the institution of education, has internal power structures that often mirror and reproduce those in the larger society (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977). A multitude of social power structures exist within schools, such as the hierarchical teacher-student relationship or the deference paid to specific curricular measures or materials that paint a specific social reality (Bar-Tal & Rosen, 2009; Bush & Saltarelli, 2000; 36  Paulson & Rappleye, 2007). To understand the role that curriculum plays in conflict, conflict and education researchers ask what is taught, who decided the curriculum and why these decisions were made or what the intended outcomes of the curriculum were.   Using “schools as institutions of power” to introduce LoI to the conflict and education literature. I extend the literature about schools as institutions to incorporate LoI by asking what language is the medium of instruction, who decided what language should be used and why this language was selected. These specific LoI extensions amount to exploring what a language regime looks like in education and how it is enacted through LoI policy and practice.   Resource allocation. Differential access to resources, including education, based upon group identity (HIs) is one driving factor of conflict (Dabalen & Paul, 2012; Langer & Stewart, 2015; McCoy, 2008; Sany, 2010). Different types of capitals - including money as economic capital, education or style of speech as cultural capital, and the networks to which an individual or group belongs as social capital - are resources as well as a means by which other resources may be accessed. Language and education act as symbolic capitals since they signal individual or group placement in and their ability to move up the social hierarchy (Bourdieu, 1986, 1991).  Using “resource allocation” to introduce LoI to the conflict and education literature. I argue that LoI is a layered resource, in that it may simultaneously signal who has access to education and who has access to social and economic capitals: on the one hand, LoI determines who has access to the curriculum based upon who knows the LoI. On the other hand, whether the language of power is taught as a subject in school determines whether students are provided access to linguistic capital that may allow them to obtain jobs and communicate with those in power. When this layered resource is denied or provided to groups, this reflects the potential of education to extend or mitigate horizontal inequalities, which in turn may spark conflict.  37  2.8 Conceptual Hypothesis   Based upon my framework, I propose the following conceptual hypothesis about the relationship between language, education, and conflict: Language of instruction policies create a specific language regime in education. This language regime in education positions schooling as a site where LoI may become a mechanism for language regimes to contribute to or mitigate horizontal inequalities; the perception of these inequalities, which are nuanced by peoples’ experiences with and understanding of conflicts, may in turn encourage, exacerbate, or alleviate conflict.   Since language regimes also contribute to or mitigate language-based inequalities, and since directionality is not one-way in a conflict relationship, this is not a simple relationship. However, by teasing out the role of the language regime that exists in education in contributing to the perception of horizontal inequalities, it is possible to look more closely at the relationship between language of instruction and conflict as a sub-factor in the conflict and education nexus.  2.9 Research Questions  My dissertation derives from my conceptual hypothesis to present a comprehensive perspective on how conflict, education, and language interact. I argue that LoI is a mechanism by which language regimes establish and perpetuate inter-group or horizontal inequalities that may promote conflict depending upon how different groups perceive the language regime and its associated horizontal inequalities. I seek to understand how LoI policies and the perception of LoI practices interact with socio-political conflict as the nation transits from an active civil war to a post-conflict state in the multi-lingual former French colony, Côte d’Ivoire. Specifically, I seek answers to the following research questions tied to my conceptual hypothesis:  38  1. Language of instruction as a reflection of a language regime: a. What language regime(s) are expressed through education policies in Côte d’Ivoire?  b. How has this shifted from pre-conflict (circa 2000) to post-war (present)? 2. Language of instruction as a mechanism by which specific language regimes contribute to or mitigate the perception of horizontal inequalities: a. How are perceptions of horizontal inequalities revealed through parent perceptions of and teacher experiences with educational language regimes that exist due to different language of instruction policies? How are these perceived horizontal inequalities nuanced by perceptions of conflict(s) and peace (past, present, and theoretical)?   39  Chapter 3: Data and Methods for the Whole Study  In my dissertation, I employ a comparative case study to look at the diverse experiences of language of instruction in Côte d’Ivoire. Within this comparative case study, I work with policy document data and interview data comprised of conversations with teachers and parents. I also incorporate some classroom observation data as a means to support the policy and interview data. I employ narrative analysis to examine the parent and teacher interview data. To examine the policy document data, I use an across-events method which gives me the means to map the creation and solidification of a language regime across policy documents. In this chapter, I detail the data collection and analytical methods I employed for both of my research questions. I first provide a brief context of conflict, post-conflict, language, and education in Côte d’Ivoire in order to ground my research.  3.1 Context  Conflict and post-conflict in Côte d’Ivoire. Civil war erupted in Côte d’Ivoire in 2002 following building tensions surrounding a 1999 military coup and the rise in Ivoirité – a xenophobic definition of Ivorian national belonging and rights that became part of the official and governmental discourse in the mid-1990s (Akindès, 2003). The war – referred to locally as la crise – stemmed from many social divides. A geographical north-south divide often highlights the other social divides and was accentuated by unequal resource allocation between the two regions. However, the conflict was also driven by issues of ethnic tensions and immigration trends that illuminated ethnic rifts that existed across the north-south divide. These rifts were enhanced by debates about who can be a citizen and claim Ivoirité identity based upon family ethnic and immigration histories. The violence officially ceased in 2004 and peace accords were signed in 2007, but 2011 brought renewed conflict during highly contentious elections. Although 40  this second civil war, or la crise électorale, was shorter lived and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission commenced work in 2011, the country is still dealing with the aftermath of war even in 2019. As Côte d’Ivoire continues to work toward developing a cohesive state in the peacebuilding process, Bah (2012) argues that cohesion is only possible through policy decisions that restore the public’s faith in institutions, promotes an inclusive Ivorian identity, and draws on the country’s own cultural roots to use indigenous reconciliation tactics such as “joking cousins,” a cultural technique that uses humor and cross-ethnic relationships to break ethnic tension. However, Bah’s 2012 call to use a cultural technique highlights one of the many challenges facing the trajectory toward building a cohesive state: “joking cousins” is a cultural tool to only some of the 60+ different cultural identity groups in the country. Despite this challenge, Bah’s argument that indigenous reconciliation tactics would provide longer lasting results during the peacebuilding process stands.  Language and education in Côte d’Ivoire. Since the French first colonized Côte d’Ivoire in 1893 and continuing after Ivorian independence in 1960, French has held the highest status of languages in the country. The 60+ indigenous languages that are intricately tied to ethnic identity are vibrantly used but in unofficial social arenas. French overrides all other languages as the official language in the constitution (Djité, 2000), and official policy designates French as the LoI in public schools. Despite the LoI policy, an estimated 43.91% of the population over the age of 15 is illiterate in French (UNESCO, 2017).   Since 2000, there have been moves to incorporate local languages into education in areas where French is less commonly used at home creating interesting comparative study opportunities. The Projet École Integrée (PEI) under the Ministry of Education works with rural schools to develop and implement local-language education. PEI schools may use as the medium 41  of instruction one of ten local languages for which educational materials have been developed. In these schools, French is taught as a subject in school. The PEI schools are purely primary schools and operate similar to subtractive (or early-exit) multilingual schools where students start school learning in their native language and learning French as a subject before they switch to learning entirely in French (Brou-Diallo, 2011). Specific to the PEI model, the local language is the only language used during lower primary school until the second year of instruction. In CP2 (the second year of primary school instruction), French is introduced in an oral French as a Second Language (FSL) curriculum and developed in year three to include a written FSL curriculum. In CE2 (the fourth year of lower primary instruction) the medium of instruction switches to be entirely conducted in French and the local language is dropped from the curriculum.   The PEI schools are only open in select rural areas in Côte d’Ivoire, although the number of PEI schools has been increasing since after les crises (Brou-Diallo, 2011; Akissi Boutin & Kouadio N’Guessan, 2013). In fact, while opening a PEI school was originally initiated by the Ministry, rural communities have increasingly asked the Ministry to open a PEI school for their students (Mme Diaby, personal communication, 06/21/2017). As of April 2019, there are 26 PEI schools in 10 rural départements (official regions with DREN (Direction Régionale de l’Éducation Nationale) – or directorates of regional education – which are the local education authorities under the direction of the national Ministry of Education), using 10 local languages as LoI (Mme Diaby, personal communication, 05/02/2019). The presence of PEI schools that operate under Ministry guidance, and therefore are under the Ivorian education policy umbrella, signal a shift in the LoI policy at the national level, while the increasing demand for PEI schools by rural communities signals a similar shift in LoI ideology of rural residents – both of which speak to the possibility of a larger language regime shift. 42   This overview highlights the language of instruction policy landscape in Côte d’Ivoire, especially the shifting policy landscape and changing parent preferences toward local language instruction compared to traditional colonial language instruction. The shift in LoI attitudes and policies raises questions about how these shifts relate to longstanding language regimes in Côte d’Ivoire. The shifting LoI policy also provides an opening to explore the impact on educational outcomes broadly and education-based inequalities more specifically.   Education in Côte d’Ivoire. Education in Côte d’Ivoire is rife with disparities, though these disparities do not follow a clear-cut regional or rural-urban dichotomy. Access to primary education ranges from 32.6% in Grands Ponts to 87.5% in rural Bafing (MENET-FP DSPS, 2017). Nationally, 83% of students transition from primary to secondary school, though 11.5% of primary students repeat and 4.7% of primary students drop-out of school (MENET-FP DSPS, 2017). Although these statistics are not available at the regional level, the Ministry of Education statistics arm (MENET-FP DSPS, 2017) reports that the primary student repetition rate is 9.6% in urban areas as opposed to 13.1% in rural areas. Across the country, gender parity in school is mixed at best. Gender parity for primary school access in the 2016/2017 school year, measured by the net intake rate to primary education (Taux Net d’Admission or Taux Net d’Acces – these terms are used interchangeably by the Ministry of Education) range from 0.92 (girls have lower access to primary education relative to boys) in Indénié-Djuablin to 1.13 (girls have higher access to primary education relative to boys) in Tchologo (MENET-FP DSPS, 2017). To put this in perspective, as a country the 2016/2017 gender parity index in net intake rate to primary education is 0.97, where the net intake rate was 70.5% for girls and 73.1% for boys (MENET-FP DSPS, 2017). Other issues in education disparities are numerous, including whether or not primary schools are in completely constructed buildings, whether there are functional hand 43  washing stations, bathrooms, or water fountains in the schools, and whether primary schools have electricity. This speaks very broadly to the quality of the schooling infrastructure disparities, but there are also disparities in education completion and myriad other statistics. Table 1 provides a brief look at some statistics to highlight the differences between urban and rural Côte d’Ivoire.   The educational disparities in terms of educational access, educational quality, and other educational experiences are mixed, meaning there is not simply a north/south or rural/urban divide in educational quality. Despite the common narrative that the Ivoirian conflict was a result of educational disparities across the north/south divide (Sany, 2010) and that the conflict led to increased north/south educational disparities (Dabalen & Paul, 2012), the statistics paint a much more complex picture. This does not mean that there are not longstanding north/south divides Table 1IndicatorUrban: AbidjanUrban: Bouake (Gbeke)Rural: Sud ComoeRural: BafingGender Parity Index (GPI), enrolment0.9410.970.99Net Rate of Access (TNA)59.10%69.30%70.20%87.50%Gross Enrolment Rate (TBS)104%112%109%110.17%Schools in complete buildings93%79%80%50%Classrooms in good condition82.40%69.90%80.90%74%Schools with functional hand washing stations44%15%30%74%Schools with functional bathrooms80%64%64%40%Schools with functional water fountains79%49%61%14%Schools with electricity86%36%57%9%CEPE (primary school exam) pass rate83.96%-90.89%72.73%-75.65%82.14%88.80%Select primary education statistics in Côte d’Ivoire, 2016-2017 academic year.Note. Source: Ministère de l’Education Nationale, de l’Enseignement Technique et de la Formation Professionnelle, Direction des Stratégies, de la Planification et des Statistiques (MENET-FP DSPS), 2017.44  that led to and resulted from conflict. Instead, it raises questions about the longer-term impact of post-conflict policies aimed at reconciliation. In direct relation to the purpose of this dissertation, it also raises questions about the impact of different types of LoI policies – either a strict colonial language policy as is typical in the country or a local language policy as seen in PEI schools in selected rural areas – on educational inequalities. As we saw in this section about the state of education more broadly and in the section about the state of LoI policies in Côte d’Ivoire, both the shifting LoI policy landscape and mixed education disparities raise questions about the role of LoI in altering or promoting regional inequalities along different identity lines. 3.2 Position Statement As a white American Ph. D student, I hold an identity of privilege. I am also an outsider who will never be fully aware of the complex details of cultural and linguistic nuance. As a female, I also cross gender barriers at certain points in my study particularly in relation to the nature of my traveling solo – something that is not culturally common in Côte d’Ivoire. As an outsider holding a privileged identity, my position always has the potential to encourage participants to respond in a particular way, whether to paint their community in the best light possible or to try to please me with responses they believe I want to hear (Bernard, 2011; Spradley, 1979). There are similar issues related to teachers who might be concerned that my purpose is to report their opinions to their superiors for punitive measures (Bernard, 2011; Creswell, 2014; O’Connell, 2017). These issues speak to performance of participants, where the parents and teachers with whom I interacted may be influenced by my presence to perform in a certain way through the stories they tell or responses they give. There is also the potential that the presence of my assistant, Arianne, plays a role in the ways that the parents and teachers perform in our conversations, as Arianne’s presence reinforced my position as an outsider and as 45  an authority figure (as Arianne’s “boss”) to the parents and teachers. I am aware that Arianne’s presence in the interviews played a role in highlighting those aspects of my positionality.  As an outsider whose native language is English not French or any of the 60+ languages native to Côte d’Ivoire, I also faced an additional barrier to translate not just the culture but the language in my analysis – both of which can tinge my understanding of what I see or hear. Although my French skills are strong, my local language skills are intermediate in only one of the languages and non-existent in the remaining languages; therefore I needed to attend carefully to translation from French to English during the analysis while also relying upon native speakers and my local research assistant to provide translations from the local language used in my rural interactions to French. I also needed to rely upon locals to verify my interpretation of the more cultural terms used. I was also someone that people tried to understand in my position as an outsider. As a researcher, I was someone trying to understand, yet as an outsider I was also being studied by those living in the communities I was observing and in which I was living. This added nuance to my interactions with parents and teachers as they also asked me questions about what life is like for me in the United States and that mirrored the questions that I asked them. This created a tension in classrooms as students would try to sneak a glance at me or touch my skin as they filtered in and out of the room during break time. It also granted me access to community members, as one mother told me she came to participate in interviews because she had never seen a white person before, and she wanted to know what we were like.  As noted by other scholars who study positionality in educational research, my positionality continuously shifted during the research process (Roegman, et al., 2016). My position shifted regularly throughout the research process in ways that shape my thinking about 46  the data and participants and therefore shade my analytical interpretations. While I was always an outsider, I shifted from being a visitor to being a foreigner. As a visitor, I was someone to be welcomed, and someone that was shown the best of what exists in Côte d’Ivoire. This initial visitor status shaded initial understanding as well as the introductions I made to parents and teachers since they felt they could only speak about the positive. However, as time went on and I asked questions that demonstrated a strong desire to understand the realities of life in Côte d’Ivoire, I became a foreigner. As a foreigner, I was someone to be greeted, which is culturally important in Ivorian society. My faux-pas in greetings as a visitor were laughed at, but my faux-pas in greetings as a foreigner were corrected. In this phase of my positionality, parents and teachers were willing to open up about the less-positive realities. There were certainly times when my positionality opened doors, as I could ask questions that an Ivorian could not due to my assumed ignorance and many participants were eager to share their opinions with a person of status that they thought could incite change. However, those benefits were balanced by the many limitations that my positionality created, from interview responses that were overly positive to my own limited understanding of the context. I tried to mitigate the limitations as best as possible, but I acknowledge that they could never be and were not fully eliminated.  My continually shifting positionality throughout the research impacted my data collection, data analysis and interpretation, and presentation of the findings (Roegman, et al., 2016). While my own cultural background and experiences in Côte d’Ivoire and other sub-Saharan African countries certainly shaped the way that I understood the data, my continued interactions with African scholars and participants of this project as well as regular interaction with the data made it so that my positionality continued to evolve even during the analysis and 47  writing stages of this dissertation. One way that this played out was in the challenges I faced in deciding how to include and present the voices of the parents and teachers who participated in this study. The process of editing the quotes I selected to use as illustrative examples was fraught with challenges I did not anticipate, due in part to my desire to allow each participants’ genuine voice to shine while needing to balance readability for my audience. Though this is a common challenge (Roegman, et al., 2016), I realize that my own positionality influenced how I chose to select, edit, and present each of the quotes even as I worked to honor the participants’ voices based upon my own understanding and interpretation of the conversations I had with each parent and teacher.  Although I worked to acknowledge the messiness of the data in discussions of data collection and analysis, by presenting a clean version of the data in my manuscript was a decision strongly influenced by my training as a policy student. This part of my positionality, where I am a student of policy, influenced my decision to present the data in a more “neutral” manner, that is to say cleaned and written as a quote transcript rather than as a vignette that illustrates the social and physical setting in which the quote was originally spoken. This decision to present “neutral” and edited quotes speaks to the power that I will always hold as a researcher and as a white American, wherein I have the ability to decide how quotes appear and what is considered “readable”. I tried to balance this power I hold by centering the voices and experiences of the parents and teachers in my study, but this power dynamic cannot be fully erased.  3.3 Methodology I used a research design proposed by Bartlett and Vavrus (2016) called the comparative case study (CCS) which was specifically designed to study interactions between practice and 48  policy. CCS incorporates three axes: the vertical (between different levels such as government-local), the horizontal (a focus on a specific context or contexts), and the transversal (linking the vertical with the horizontal by grounding the study in contextually relevant history). Figure 3 shows the different axes of my CCS. My research refers to “horizontal inequality,” a conception of “horizontal” that is similar to the concept of “horizontal” proposed in the CCS approach in that both refer to distinctive sets or groups of something. Although the two concepts are similar, from this point forward I will use “horizontal” in reference to inequality and social groupings while I will use “homologous” to refer to the axis in my CCS for the sake of clarity.   Figure 3: Comparative Case Study of LoI Policy and Sociopolitical Conflict in Côte d'Ivoire I use the CCS design in my study to explore the nuances of the relationship between sociopolitical conflict and language of instruction policies in Côte d’Ivoire paying attention to community perceptions in two different contexts within the country along the homologous axis, looking at official policy on the vertical axis, and using historical elements for the transversal axis. I incorporate discourse analysis of policy documents and narrative analysis of semi-structured interviews of parents and educators. I chose both an urban and rural setting to 49  represent the country’s diverse social and education structures. Since the presence of PEI schools only in rural areas will make it hard to tease LoI effects from rural effects and other deeply entrenched social differences, I included interviews associated with a PEI rural school and a neighboring non-PEI school. These two rural schools are both located within the same rural Groupe Scolaire – a campus of public schools for a given neighborhood or village that share the same school yard. Although this does not completely disentangle the rural effects from my analyses, it strengthens my study by allowing me to explore perceived language-based and education-based horizontal inequalities within a single community alongside similar perceived horizontal inequalities between rural and urban communities. Case study methods. In the CCS research design, a “homologous” case study refers to the selection of multiple case sites which hold some type of similar unit (such as a school or an office) yet pay attention to how distinctive socio-cultural, political, and historical differences have shaped the individual contexts surrounding the site (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2016). A homologous case study intentionally explores how the selected study sites are defined differently based upon location, groups, institutions, social movement, or some other tangible difference. In my study, the equivalent unit of each case is a school, focusing in particular on the educators and parents nested within the school, while the differential factors are the different ethnolinguistic group makeup, different LoI policies, and different geographical contexts (specifically urban/rural). These differences were intentionally chosen to highlight the role of horizontal inequalities in different interpretations of the LoI policy in relation to a sociopolitical conflict that is still relevant in Côte d’Ivoire.  Since the purpose of my study is not to understand the case unit (the school) itself but rather to understand something else (policy in relation to language regimes and perceived 50  horizontal inequalities) by focusing on the case as an example, my homologous axis is considered an instrumental case study (Baxter & Jack, 2008; Stake, 1995). An instrumental case “provides insight into an issue or helps to refine a theory. The case is of secondary interest; it plays a supportive role, facilitating our understanding of something else. […] The case may or may not be seen as typical of other cases” (Baxter & Jack, 2008, p. 549). A collective case study is a study of multiple instrumental cases, because “each case study is instrumental to learning about the effects […] but there will be important coordination between the individual studies” (Stake, 1995, p. 3-4). Thus, my multi-sited homologous axis is similar in nature to a collective case study. Site selection. In CCS, the homologous axis is similar to a traditional multiple case study that looks at multiple sites or cases (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2016). I chose a multi-sited study to respond to the need to account for multiple contexts as they relate to my research questions. The multi-site study of two contrasting locations in Côte d’Ivoire were selected to provide intentional variation of data. This enabled me to compare the different ways that LoI and conflict interact while accounting for the diversity of local contexts in relation to ethnolinguistic diversity and differing LoI policy enactment methods.  Specifically, I selected sites in the Kwé neighborhood of urban Dyapo and in rural Konvi to account for the horizontal inequalities that, prior to the war, were documented to occur between rural and urban regions and continue to be of interest to the Ministry of Education (Langer, 2004). The second and main reason that I selected these two sites was to provide intentional variation in language of instruction policy. The rural areas that have PEI schools have inherently different LoI policies than the urban areas that do not have any PEI schools. This allows me to explore how local language policies and French-only language policies are 51  perceived among populations who have differential access to these types of policy environments. Furthermore, since rural areas with PEI schools also have traditional French-only public schools, I am able to explore how differential access to language of instruction within a single setting complicates the perception of language-based horizontal inequalities. For these reasons, I can more fully explore how the language regime in the country is experienced by different identity groups that experience different status levels within this structure of horizontal inequalities. Mapping the research questions onto the methods. Since CCS is a design used to get to the heart of complex relationships, it intentionally draws upon a multiplicity of methods. This affords researchers using this design the chance to deeply examine social phenomena while accounting for complexity by using different data sources and analytical methods. However, it also requires organization to keep track of what data source or analytical method is being applied to answer which question(s). Thus, I include table 2, which outlines how different methodological choices, data sources, and analytical procedures map to my different research questions. I also include what CCS axis (or axes) each question is designed to explore and which branch of LoI policy (actual policy, observed enactment, perceived enactment, ideal policy) the research question is meant to explore. Since mine is a study of perceptions, the observed enactment branch of LoI policy research is not included in my dissertation research. 52   3.4 Methodological Considerations in Studying Language of Instruction Policy Enactment  I intentionally conflate the concept of language of instruction (LoI) practice with LoI policy enactment to account for the role that both the LoI policies and LoI practices play in the enactment of a language regime. Since language regimes are comprised of official policies, actual practices, and social beliefs – or ideologies about appropriate language use – I view LoI Table 2      Map of research questions to data sources and analytical techniques. Theme from Hypothesis RQ Axis/Axes Relation to LoI Policy Data Analysis LoI as a reflection of a language regime 1a. What language regime(s) are expressed through education policies in Cote d'Ivoire? Vertical Actual policy Current Ivorian education policy documents Discourse analysis 1b. How has this shifted from pre-conflict (circa 2000) to post-war (present)? Vertical & Transversal Actual policy Historical Ivorian education policy documents Discourse analysis LoI as a mechanism by which specific language regimes contribute to or mitigate horizontal inequalities 2. How are perceptions of horizontal inequalities revealed through parent perceptions of & teacher experiences with educational language regimes that exist due to different language of instruction policies?  How are these perceived horizontal inequalities nuanced by perceptions of conflict(s) & peace (past, present, and theoretical)? Homologous (Horizontal) & Transversal Perceived policy enactment & ideal policy Interviews with CP1 (equivalent to U.S. 1st grade) teachers at each school, & interviews with parents of students in each teachers' class Narrative analysis  53  policy enactment as one way that LoI policies and ideologies merge to implement a language regime (see chapter 2 for a more detailed discussion of language regimes). Since my conceptual framework focuses on perceptions of inequalities and of language practices as the central part of the language of instruction-conflict relationship, I focus on the perception of LoI policy enactment. This focus on perception is also part of the scholarly tradition in LoI practice research, as I will detail in the following section. In order to collect data on the perception of language of instruction (LoI) policy enactment, I drew upon the work of scholars who have collected this type of data in a variety of ways.   LoI methods: An outline to link policy with practice. LoI practice is typically operationalized as initial policy implementation and long-term policy enactment. In general, LoI policy enactment studies tend to focus on (a) in class, what languages are used for what purposes, and (b) how those classroom linguistic practices compare to what the policy requires. To compare different LoI policy enactment techniques with actual LoI policies, and to make those comparisons in relation to language ideologies and social structures that may enhance the complexity of the LoI policy-practice relationship, researchers focus on three broad categories of LoI policy enactment which I classify as the following three branches of LoI enactment: the observed/reality of LoI practice (or policy enactment), the actor perceived LoI policy enactment, and the actor’s ideal LoI policy. The observed/reality branch refers to what researchers observe happening in the classroom and what LoI policy enactment looks like in practice. The perceived branch refers to how educators (or actors) think they are enacting the LoI policy. Finally, the ideal policy branch refers to what educators and community members consider the best LoI policy for their students and schools. All of these branches are linked back to a fourth branch, the actual policy, which refers to the policy document(s) that outline the official LoI expectations. 54   The typical research methods support uncovering LoI policy enactment as follows: interviews or focus groups allow researchers to identify the perceived and the ideal branches, and classroom observations allow researchers to identify the observed reality. Finally, referring to the policy documents themselves link the practices to the policies. In my study, I will focus on the perceived, ideal, and actual policy branches by employing interviews with parents and educators and exploring the policy documents.  3.5 Description of Analytical Methods  What follows is an overview of the different types of analytical methods that I used in the different components of my dissertation.  Discourse analysis. Discourse analysis is a method that “provides systematic evidence about social processes” by examining various texts and studying how language is used to do things (Gee, 2011; Wortham & Reyes, 2015, pp. 1). Since language regime scholarship now attends closely to “path dependency and critical juncture analysis” to see how a regime is developed or changed over time (Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015), across-events discourse analysis as designed by Wortham and Reyes (2015) will provide a language-based method to identify such pathways of language regime development and change through LoI policies over time. When there are multiple “narrated events,” or multiple discourse points such as different policies in history, trends begin to emerge between what the signs mean (or “signal”), and they can solidify to indicate lack of change over time if the analysis uncovers such a state.   Narrative analysis. Where discourse analysis is looking at a macro-level picture of how language is used to do things considering broad social and power structures, narrative analysis takes a micro-level look at individual uses of language. Narrative analysis focuses on how people use narrative (language) to make sense of and represent their own experiences (Bernard, 2011; 55  Chase, 2005; Esin, Fathi, & Squire, 2014; Souto-Manning, 2014). The focus in narrative analysis thus lies in exposing the meanings of worlds and experiences that participants generate themselves and how they use narratives to express their own understanding of these experiences. Narratives in this line of analysis provide insight into how things work and why they work that way from the perspective of those experiencing the phenomena in question (Webster & Mertova, 2007). Johnstone (2008) claims that discourse analysis is capable of addressing both the micro- and macro-levels, but analysts select a single perspective and focus on one or the other rather than incorporating the two. Others (e.g., Ochs, 2011) argue that narrative analysis is a type of discourse analysis that is focused on the micro-level.   Analytical methods conclusion. In section 3.5, I presented an overview of the main analytical methods I used in my dissertation. I used across-events discourse analysis and narrative analysis for the diverse data I collected to answer my research questions in a manner that lines up with my conceptual hypothesis and three of the four branches of LoI policy and practice research. Next, I will explain exactly what methods I used to address both of my research questions. 3.6 Data and Methods for Question 1: Language of Instruction as a Reflection of a Language Regime My first research question, which is made up of three sub-questions (a) what language regime(s) are expressed through education policies in Côte d’Ivoire?, and (b) how has this shifted from pre-conflict (circa 2000) to post-war (present)?, lines up with the component of my conceptual hypothesis which states that LoI policies are a reflection of language regimes. The first sub-question corresponds to the vertical axis of my comparative case study, and the second sub-question incorporates the transversal axis of my comparative case study. Since both parts of 56  research question 1 line up with the actual policy branch of LoI policy research trends, I examined the policy documents and used across-events discourse analysis techniques to answer this question. Through this method, I was able to understand the language ideology within the formal social structure and to diagram a language regime as expressed in the policy documents.  Question 1 policy data. The historical and current educational policy documents in Côte d’Ivoire generated qualitative textual data related to the official stance about language use in education as decided by government officials and ministries. To collect this data, I worked with my research sponsor at the École Normale Supérieur (college of education) at Université de Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Cocody Abidjan to identify and obtain copies of the relevant historical and current policy documents. The exact documents used will be elaborated in chapter four, where I address question 1. Question 1 policy analysis. Language policies can be understood as documents that provide legitimacy or public validity to specific languages, cultures, or power structures (Wodak, 2006). Discourse analysis as a tool for policy analysis explores the policy as a representation of reality and as a dialogue with society to inform beliefs related to validity (Wodak, 2006). Through the dialogue function of discourse, policies play a role in conveying power structures through selected discourse. These discourses can be analyzed through across-events discourse analysis techniques which are suitable for exploring the complexity of language and power within a given policy document as it relates to other policy documents (Wortham & Reyes, 2015).  Discourse analysis of educational policy documents allowed me to explore how policies reflects larger social structures and political agendas in relation to ethnolinguistic diversity in the education system based upon the textual evidence in the documents. I relied upon the mapping 57  techniques in across-event discourse analysis (Wortham & Reyes, 2015) to link the different discourses across time and into the present. Across-event discourse analysis allowed me to explore how the language regime, through official LoI policy, has shifted or remained the same to establish social structures in relation to ethnolinguistic diversity in the education system. 3.7 Data and Methods for Question 2: Language of Instruction as a Mechanism by which Language Regimes Contribute to or Mitigate Horizontal Inequalities The second research question driving my dissertation is a connecting point in my conceptual hypothesis as it maps onto the section that states “LoI is a mechanism by which specific language regimes contribute to or mitigate horizontal inequalities.” For this research question, I ask (a) how are perceptions of horizontal inequalities revealed through parent perceptions of and teacher experiences with educational language regimes that exist due to different language of instruction policies?, and (b) how are these perceived horizontal inequalities nuanced by perceptions of conflict(s) and peace (past, present, and theoretical)? This research question is linked to the perceived policy enactment and the ideal policy branches of LoI policy research. Parent and educator interviews, analyzed using narrative techniques, allowed me to tease out how perceptions about conflict, inequalities, education, and language have changed over time to reflect shifting language regimes and perceived inequalities. Since this part of the study relied upon human participants, I sought and received IRB exempt status from the Michigan State University IRB office. Question 2 interview data. I conducted semi-structured interviews with teachers and parents. This style of interview enabled me to cover all the topics necessary to answer my research questions while simultaneously granting me room to explore new leads or follow up on aspects of the interview that were unique to the participant or otherwise important for depth in 58  the interview (Bernard, 2011). Conducting semi-structured interviews with a variety of teachers and parents relevant to the population allowed me to prompt participants to talk about their experiences with conflicts in Côte d’Ivoire, their experiences with language use in the community, their LoI preferences, and their expectations of the educations system. Through semi-structured interviews, I elicited responses about perceived inequalities in the country. Examples of the types of questions I asked include (but are not limited to): questions about language attitudes, i.e. what languages are appropriate to use when and why; questions about conflict framed through the lens of social cohesion, since that is the culturally-appropriate way that the conflicts are currently discussed; and questions about the purpose of education and the role of various languages in education. I incorporated questions about parent and educator perceptions of how inequalities, social structures, and language use have changed over time to elicit an historical element from these interviews. The teacher interviews also included questions about their experiences using different languages of instruction. Examples of questions that I asked only the teachers included (but are not limited to) questions about what LoI practices they employ in their classroom, their opinions on the LoI policy, and their preferred LoI policy. Appendix I provides the loose interview protocols (in English), but these are vague protocols since I used a loose semi-structure and each interview was unique. The interviews generated rich data on parents’ and educators’ self-reported experiences and understandings of the social context in which they experience conflict and linguistic use and in which they understand the role of schooling, which were supported by the thick descriptions of the context of social behaviors from the different participant observations in the teachers’ classrooms that I collected for triangulation data (Bernard, 2011; Blaikie, 2009; Candappa, 2017). 59  Parents were given the option to participate in joint interviews rather than individual interviews. This option was provided mainly to ease any discomfort the parents might experience due to my presence as a white woman with Ministry-granted and education leader-granted status, but also served a theoretical purpose as well. Since the literature on horizontal inequality based conflict focuses on group experiences of inequality and conflict rather than individual experiences, allowing parents to participate in joint interviews provided a conversational element to the data which helped parents speak about their experiences from a broader, group-oriented perspective at times. This style of interview also encouraged parents to be in active conversation with their fellow community members, resulting at times in debates that helped parents actively shape their thoughts in a more explicit narrative format.  Participants. I interviewed three teachers, one from each school that I was granted permission by the Ministry of Education and the local DREN (Direction Régionale de l’Éducation Nationale, or the Regional Education Authority) to interact with. These teachers were selected for me by the school principals, based upon the bureaucratic protocols that granted me access to the schools themselves. The first principal that I met with, the principal of the rural PEI school, granted me access to the CP1 class; based upon this, I requested and was granted access to a CP1 class at both of the non-PEI schools. I obtained permission from the teachers and provided them with IRB-approved consent documents and made sure they knew their rights as participants. Following the literature about appropriate sampling sizes in qualitative research, I aimed to interview 5-10 parents per case (Bernard, 2011). I used voluntary sampling methods for the parent participants, where the parents self-selected into the study but were screened to ensure they fit the main criteria: they had a child in one of the CP1 classrooms (Bernard, 2011). To 60  recruit parent participants, I worked with COGES (Comité de Gestion des Établissements Scolaires, a parent-teacher group which operates at each school), the school principals, and the participating teacher to spread the word among parents who met my recruitment criteria. In total, I interviewed 18 parents: five parents from the urban school, five parents from the rural non-PEI school, five parents from the rural PEI school, and three parents who have students in both the PEI and non-PEI school in the rural location. Consent was obtained orally from each parent at the start of their interview, and the parents were provided consent documents. All interviews were recorded. To help with language barriers when speaking with parents in Konvi who may not be comfortable conversing in French, I hired a research assistant. The research assistant, Arianne, is a graduate student at the École Normale Supérieur who is a native speaker of Brafé and familiar with the local customs. Arianne accompanied me to all interviews, even in Kwé, to ensure that any response alterations that occurred due to her presence were not only experienced in Konvi.   Question 2 interview analysis. Narrative analysis explores how language is used by people to understand their surroundings and focuses on how what is said provides insight into participants’ worlds (Bernard, 2011; Johnstone, 2008). Narrative analysis systematically uncovers the consistent way that stories and/or theories about lived realities are told across and within cultures, focusing specifically on shared themes and narrative structures (Dei, 2005a; Livholts & Tamboukou, 2015). Narrative analysis also allowed me to privilege the voices of the parents and teachers in my study by attending to what and how these participants chose to share about their lived realities. By intentionally centering participant voices over the dominant discourses in my narrative approach, I am following what Dei (2005b) terms an “anti-colonial approach” (p, 274). This approach is useful in both giving local participants a place to vocalize 61  and potentially problematize the social structures of schooling as they understand it while also exposing perspectives which may be hidden. Dei (2005a; 2005b) argues that this narrative approach will open the possibility for reincorporating diversity into the dominant narratives of a single national identity typically found in official educational spheres in Africa.  In my narrative approach, I relied upon inductive coding to identify narrative techniques and motifs, from which I was able to identify shared and contrasting themes that shed light on teacher and parent perceptions of language of instruction, education, and conflict as well as teacher experiences in the classroom. Using a narrative analysis approach that allows space for participants to share their opinions and theories rather than limiting their responses to telling stories, I came to understand how educators and community members view their social roles and the roles of language and education (Bernard, 2011; Chase, 2005; Dei, 2005a). Narrative analysis was a key analytical technique that gave me the tools to explore how the teachers and parents negotiate their roles and identities in Ivorian society through their language use and how these insights reflect back to my larger research questions relating language of instruction and conflict (Johnstone, 2008; Livholts & Tamboukou, 2015).  3.8 Tying the Questions Together  In my comparative case study (CCS) of how language of instruction (LoI) policies and practices interact with socio-political conflict in Côte d’Ivoire, my homologous axis focused on two distinct settings where LoI polices are enacted. This extended the vertical axis study of the policies themselves to look at how the policies are practiced in the country. When all three axes are considered together, my comparative case study explores the nuances of the relationship between sociopolitical conflict and language of instruction policy and practice in Côte d’Ivoire. 62   Historical context and intertextuality. Through the historical context approach championed by Wodak (2006) and the across-events technique developed by Wortham and Reyes (2015), I explicitly incorporate previous policy documents into the policy analysis to provide the foundation upon which I build my transversal axis analysis for the CCS. Drawing upon a common definition of intertextuality used by discourse analysts, where intertextuality is an explicit incorporation of the social context of discourse production and interpretation (Johnstone, 2008), I link the policy analyses with my interview analyses.   Across-event discourse analysis. Using across-event discourse analysis provides a greater depth of understanding about the pathways that cultural models travel across events such as from policy to practice to local understanding (Wortham & Reyes, 2015). I incorporate the transversal axis through the discourse analysis across events by intentionally looking at historical policy documents in light of the historical presence of sociopolitical conflict.   Finally, using the techniques of across-event discourse analysis as the specific discourse analytical method made it possible to specifically define how pathways between policy discourse and local policy perceptions are developed and solidified over time, thus enabling me to analyze what a language regime looks like in Côte d’Ivoire. By analyzing multiple policy documents over time, I diagrammatically map out the path by which a language regime has either been reinforced or challenged via education policy. By adding in parent and educator perspectives, I create a more complete map of how a language regime is developed over time in direct relation to how horizontal inequalities are perceived.  3.9 Trustworthiness in the Data  Trustworthiness in qualitative data and research refers broadly to assuring that the data is saying what a researcher claims, or that they are true, dependable, confirmable, and transferable 63  (Guba, 1981; Shenton, 2004); establishing trustworthiness is similar to establishing validity, reliability, objectivity, and generalizability in quantitative research (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Guba, 1981; Shenton, 2004). In order to establish and ensure that my analyses and the associated conclusions I drew from my interpretations of the data I collected are credible and trustworthy, I followed recommendations from other notable qualitative researchers such as Guba (1981), Lincoln & Guba (1985), Shenton (2004), and Williams & Morrow (2009). Based upon the growing traditions and standards in establishing trustworthiness in qualitative inquiry that these researchers have developed, I used the following techniques in my dissertation: triangulation and establishing referential adequacy; peer debriefing and member checking; and establishing structural coherence. In this section, I will elaborate on the techniques I used in a discussion about the different elements of trustworthiness, namely credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability.   Credibility. Credibility in qualitative research means that the data and the interpretation of the analyses are truthful, and it is established by testing the analyses against various sources (Guba, 1981). Similar to internal validity in quantitative research, credibility is meant to assure researchers and readers that the findings of a qualitative study line up with reality (Shenton, 2004). Establishing credibility is a key component in assuring the trustworthiness of qualitative research and is often considered the most important component (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Shenton, 2004). As the main component of trustworthiness, most of the trustworthiness techniques that I employed were targeted toward establishing credibility. These include triangulation, establishing referential adequacy, member checks and peer debriefing, and establishing structural corroboration. 64   To triangulate my data, I relied on some classroom observations. However, most of my triangulation techniques included historic archival research and other official document research – such as looking at policy documents alongside other legal documents. I also collected referential adequacy materials, such as photos of the classroom setup and photos of textbooks and other teaching materials that were used, in order to establish a referential adequacy by holding my interpretations of data against official statements such as policies and conference proceedings.   Another key element to establishing credibility is balancing my own interpretations as the researcher with what the meaning that the participants wanted to convey. This requires acknowledging the subjectivity of my research as well as my own biases, accounting for and identifying my own positionality as influencing my research and balancing that with “reality” through member checks and peer debriefing (Williams & Morrow, 2009; Guba, 1981; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). I regularly participated in “peer debriefing” during data collection and analysis through conversations with Dr. Azoh and Mme Diaby, as well as through email communication with my dissertation committee to check that my understanding of the data was based on reality, grounded in the context, and grounded in the literature. I also had regular debriefing conversations with my assistant, Arianne, with local doctoral candidates and junior researchers with whom I shared workspace in the ROCARE (Réseau Ouest et Centre African de Recherche en Education, also referred to as ERNWACA or the Educational Research Network for West and Central Africa in Anglophone West and Central Africaii) offices in Côte d’Ivoire, and with members of COGES – the parent groups at each of the schools. I also had many conversations with the school leaders and parents over meals that were not part of the “formal” interviews but 65  allowed me to member check my emerging comprehension of the patterns in the interview data with the participants themselves.   These member checks and peer debriefings also served to make sure that my understandings and subsequent interpretations were not influenced by my desire to find something but instead providing an accurate interpretation and remaining true to the participant meanings. I also used these conversations as “sounding boards” to discuss my emerging interpretations of the data, and these conversations led to a generation of potential explanations. In this way, I was beginning to establish structural corroboration, or making sure that what I claim in my findings is an accurate interpretation of the data (Guba, 1981; Shenton, 2004). To further establish structural corroboration, I engaged in what Shenton (2004) refers to as negative case study analysis, where I tested my interpretations against other possible explanations, accounted for alternative possibilities and held my interpretations against the literature. I made sure that I was not searching for conflict in the data, so that I was not finding conflict where it did not exist; instead, during my analyses I focused on what was being said by the parents, the teachers, and in the policy documents related to language, education, and identity but instead focusing on what is being said about language and education and identity and allowed conflict to either emerge or not emerge in the patterns.   Identifying and limiting performance – or eliminating instances of deliberate untruths – is also part of the credibility component of qualitative inquiry trustworthiness (Shenton, 2004). One way to do this is to establish rapport with participants at the start, and encouraging open conversations in which participants feel comfortable. In my interviews, on top of the IRB-approved script outlining participant rights that I read and provided each participant at the start of each interview, I regularly reminded the parents and teachers that they did not have to respond 66  to any question, they could remove themselves from the study at any point, and assured their anonymity. I also made it clear in our conversations and interviews that my intentions were to learn from them. I also used an iterative questioning technique (Shenton, 2004) in order to identify performance in responses, where I would return to something the participants already said and request clarification, more details, and expansion on the subject at a later point in an effort to detect potential performative or less-than-truthful responses through contradictory statements. I also used my member checking and peer debriefing conversations that I described earlier to check on potentially performative responses.   Dependability and confirmability. These two elements of trustworthiness in qualitative research tend to go hand-in-hand, as they refer to being transparent about research processes and decisions (Guba, 1981; Williams & Morrow, 2009). To ensure both these aspects, I was intentional about documenting each of my decisions during each phase of my research through journal entries, personal memos, and memos to my dissertation committee. I also elaborated on the processes during the writing phase of my dissertation in order to make sure that my readers have access to this information, and can follow the same steps in their own studies of the relationship between conflict and language of instruction. Finally, while I clearly acknowledge the messiness of my raw data and the data collection, I selected appropriate examples from my data, thus allowing my readers to “see” the evidence alongside my analysis and interpretations.  Transferability. Although it is not possible to generalize as in quantitative data, the transferability of findings to other contexts may be possible if the findings are presented in such a way that situates them within their very specific context, which makes it possible for readers to extrapolate or relate the findings within one context to possibilities in other contexts (Williams & Morrow, 2009; Shenton, 2004). This means being very clear about the context and the bounding 67  of the study, which I included throughout the writing of my dissertation. I intentionally grounded my analyses and interpretations in the context, and made this clear in my writing by explicitly linking my analysis to contextual elements derived from my own knowledge and experience of the Ivorian setting, referring back to the thick descriptions I made in my field notes and incorporating those details as applicable, referencing historical and other Ivorian documents, and included instances where I received confirmation from local sources about the context. To the latter point, I would seek out contextual confirmations during my debriefings with Dr. Azoh, Mme Diaby, Arianne, and researchers associated with ROCARE (see section about “credibility” above). I intentionally included some of these contextual confirmations in my writing so that I could better establish a contextual bounding for my findings. By acknowledging contextual factors which influenced my study, I was providing a way for readers to connect the findings from my study to their research in different contexts.    68  SECTION II. RESEARCH QUESTION 1, LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AS A REFLECTION OF A LANGUAGE REGIME: THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE REGIME EXPRESSED VIA IVORIAN POLICIES AND LAWS   69  Chapter 4. Education Policies and Laws as a Map to the Language Regime  Language regimes are a theoretical lens to look at the status, or power structure, of multiple languages within a given society. These regimes are developed over time, and policy documents which assign specific roles to languages help design these regimes. As patterns of language hierarchies are strengthened through multiple policy documents, language regimes become established; alternately, when language hierarchy patterns are broken through formal policy discourses, language regimes shift. In this chapter, I answer my first research questions, what language regimes are expressed through education policies in Côte d’Ivoire?, and how has this shifted from pre-conflict (circa 2000) to the present? To answer these questions, I look at the texts of official policies and laws that are related to language and to education to identify how the official governing bodies in Côte d’Ivoire construct a language regime. I do so by using across-event discourse analysis, which allows me to see how the official text positions different languages in the Ivorian society over a quarter century.   The across-event technique gives me the tools to look at how the social positioning of languages shift over time. Through this methodological technique, I highlight the patterns that emerge and disappear to provide historical foundations for the current language regime. I find that even within what initially appears to be a stable language hierarchy, the policies lay out different roles for languages in ways that suggest that policy makers are trying to address colonial legacies and use language in education to create specific language social structures in the country. In so doing, the policies are subtly shifting the language regime to elevate some of the local languages while also maintaining the French status at the top of the hierarchy. 70  4.1 Data and Methods for Section II  For this portion of my study, I used a discourse analysis technique called “across-event discourse analysis.” Across-event discourse analysis allows me to trace the evolution of official discourses surrounding language and education to develop a map of the official language regime as it exists now but contextualized through its development (solidification as well as evolution). Throughout this chapter, I will use some technical terms that are specific to the across-event discourse analysis technique. In order to ease the burden for the reader in understanding each of these terms, I created a “Definition of Terms” specific to across-event discourse analysis terminology that may be referenced at any point in reading. The “Definition of Terms” may be found in appendix II at the end of the dissertation.  Using across-event discourse analysis techniques that were developed by Wortham and Reyes (2015), I investigate the ways in which language and education are written about in policy texts to identify the pathways developed and eliminated across the different policies and over time. Under the across-event discourse analysis framework, each connected discursive event (section within the policy text) contains its own set of participants who are assigned a social position within the event; the social positions are assigned to each participant by the “speaker” – or the producer of the discursive event. A social action within the discursive event is accomplished through the way that the message is organized by the speaker. As an analyst of the discourse, I must identify the signs within a segment of the discourse that establishes the relative position of participants and accomplishes a social behavior.   Using across-event discourse analysis to analyze policy texts allowed me to uncover the evolution of a language regime through discursive evidence that establish social positions of speakers of various languages. The discursive evidence refers to the signs that demonstrate the 71  social act of creating a specific language regime (or social power hierarchy) across the different policy documents. Using this method gave me the techniques needed to discern a language regime and to provide evidence that illustrates how the language regime developed over time. I will elaborate on the exact steps I took to conduct this analysis, but first I will speak to the data I used and how I collected that data.  Data and data selection. The data for this portion of my study consists of the policy and legal documents that are related to language and education in Côte d’Ivoire between the years 1995 and 2019. In order to add depth to my analysis, I also included all versions of the Ivorian constitution. Although the temporal boundary of my research question is between the years 2000 and 2019, the data includes a policy document from 1995 since this was the education policy in effect during the year 2000 and is still an active policy. The data also includes the first Ivorian constitution from the year 1960 in order to provide a broader contextual foundation to the analysis. Although language events are wide ranging and diverse and may be taken up by any number of actors in a given social setting, I focus exclusively on official policy and legal texts for this portion of my study. Focusing on policy and legal documents as the discourse allows me to uncover the language regime as it is conceived of in the official and governmental spheres of Ivorian society. This in itself can illuminate the national values assigned to various languages, and it can also act as a foundation to studies about local perceptions of the official stance on language.   To collect the data, I first compiled a list of relevant policy documents based upon the semi-regularly updated exhaustive worldwide language policy resource Aménagement linguistic du monde (LeClerc, 2018), the language of instruction policy list compiled by Ericka Albaugh (Albaugh, 2014), and the UNESCO portal for education plans and policies (Planipolis). I scoured 72  the Journal Officiel via Abidjan.net, the official website for all legal documents in Côte d’Ivoire via the Secretariat Generale du Gouvernement (sgg.gouv.ci), and the official Ministry of Education website (education.gouv.ci) for copies of the documents and for any other official policy or legal document not included on my initial list of relevant documents. I also worked with my research sponsor, Dr. Azoh, at the École Normale Supérieur of the Université de Felix Houphoët-Boigny (Université de Cocody) to obtain copies of each of the educational policy documents that I was unable to get through other means and to request verification that there were not any other overlooked documents. Finally, I downloaded copies of the constitutions from the digital database of legal documents at the Université de Perpignon, France (https://mjp.univ-perp.fr/mjp.htm) and the Journal Officiel. Table 3 provides an overview of all the documents included as data in this portion of my study. 73   Table 3     Policy and legal documents comprising data for chapter 4. Year Title Timeframe Origins/Author(s) Main Contents 1960 Constitution du 03 novembre 1960 1960-2000 Présidence de la République Fundamental principles, rights, responsibilities, and laws 1995 Loi n° 95-696 du 7 septembre 1995 relative à l’enseignement 1995-2015 Présidence de la République (Le Président, adopté par l’assemblée nationale) General education policy: definitions of education, education provisions required by law, schooling details, expectations of schooling 2000 Constitution du 1er août 2000 2000-2016 Présidence de la République Fundamental principles, rights, responsibilities, and laws 2005 Décret n° 2004-564 du 07 octobre 2004, portant organisation du ministère de l’Education nationale 2004- Présidence de la République (Le Président, sur rapport du ministre de l’Education nationale) Organization of the Ministry of Education: offices in the Ministry, responsibilities of each office, focus of each office 2012 Décret n° 2012-625 du 06 juillet 2012, portant attributions des Membres du Gouvernement 2012- Présidence de la République (Le Président, sur proposition du Premier Ministre)  Responsibilities, expected actions, directions, and expected agenda of every governmental office, including the ministries of education 2015 Loi n° 2015-635 du 25 septembre 2015, portant modification de la loi n° 95-696 du 7 septembre 1995 relative à l’enseignement 2015- Présidence de la République (Le Président, adopté par l’assemblée nationale)  Modification of general education policy of 1995 2016 La troisième constitution du 8 novembre 2016 2016- Présidence de la République Fundamental principles, rights, responsibilities, and laws  74   Data analysis. For the analysis of the policy and legal documents I listed in table 3, I followed the procedures and techniques laid out by Wortham and Reyes (2015) in their framework for conducting across-event discourse analysis. As I will outline in greater detail below, I identified the relevant textual evidence within each document in my data, I created a skeleton map of the narrated events, I selected indexicals, I configured and construed the indexicals, then I linked all the events together to trace the pathways of cross-event actions. I chose to analyze the data in its original French, in order to maintain the original meaning of the language, but the textual evidence that is presented in this paper is translated to English for the benefit of the readers. I translated all the textual segments using my knowledge of French and verifying technical terms with a French dictionary (Le Robert, 1994 edition edited by Legrain) and a French-English dictionary (LaRousse-Chambers, 1999 edition edited by Brockmeier), and online resources including Linguee.com, wordreference.com, and, in a pinch, translate.google.com.  Identification of relevant textual evidence. I first identified the boundaries of each discursive event within the textual data. I identified the sections within each policy and legal document that are related to language and education as a way to engage in the segmentation of discursive interaction – the way that analysts determine where discursive events start and finish. Since there are many discursive events that occur within an interaction – whether a conversation, a media broadcast, a classroom interaction, or a written document – it is important to establish the relevant segments in order to bound the analysis. This process of segmentation, with the goal to determine where events begin and end, is based upon both the goals of the analysis and the relevant context of the data. I chose to segment the documents based upon the criteria “related to language” and “related to education” as those criteria also align with my research question: what 75  language regimes are established via education policies. I bound the discursive events based upon the following criteria: text that is directly related to language, text that is directly related to education, and text that is directly related to both language and education.   To find the relevant segments of data, I read each document in depth and coded the segments first which included the following words: éducation (education), formation (training, teaching, etc.), enseignement (instruction), langue(s) (language(s)), élève(s) (student(s) or pupil(s)), étudiant(e/s) (student(s)), éducer (to educate) and associated conjugation of the verb, former (to train, to mold) and associated conjugation of the verb, enseigner (to instruct) and associated conjugation of the verb, apprendre (to teach, to learn) and associated conjugation of the verb, français (French), langues nationales (national languages), langues locales (local languages), langues maternelles (mother tongues), and any other term directly related to education, teaching, learning, and language. To ensure that the resulting segments were relevant to the data, I then re-coded each segment according to their broad legal purpose. For example, if a segment of text that mentions français in a constitution is about presidential candidate qualification, I coded it as “political, non-education.” The segments that are not directly relevant to language and education together were not selected as the main segments of data for analysis yet were kept readily available to provide additional context as necessary. This process was repeated until every relevant segment was identified. I then re-read the text surrounding each identified segment in order to verify that the appropriate beginning and ending points for the discursive events were marked. This process resulted in 16 discursive segments for analysis. Tables 9 and 10 in Appendix III shows the text for each discursive segment, the segment’s text of origin, and the location within the text. Table 9 is the table with the translated text and table 10 is comprised of the corresponding original text. 76   Once the discursive segments were selected, I began the process of creating the maps or diagrams for each segment. These steps of the across-event discourse analysis are iterative and dialectical, meaning that each step influences each other step, and the process is repeated and refined based upon each of the other steps. Although it is not a linear process, I describe the steps I took in an ordered manner while referring to the refinement along the way. These iterative steps are as follows: create a skeletal map of the narrated events; select indexical signs; and configure and construe the indexical signs.  Skeleton mapping of the narrated events. After bounding the data by selecting the appropriate segments, I “mapped” the narrated events diagrammatically. The first step that I took to develop the diagrams and continue with the analysis, following the methodological recommendations to conduct across-event discourse analysis (Wortham & Reyes, 2015), was to identify and map the narrated events. Broadly speaking, this refers to diagramming the roles of the discursive participants in the narrating event (or the whole policy or legal document) and identifying the characters of the narrated event (or what is being said within a discursive segment).   To map the narrated event for each discursive event that I previously identified (refer to Tables 9 and 10 in appendix III for a full list of discursive events), I sought to answer the following question: “what characters, objects and events are referred to and characterized as the narrated contents of the discursive interaction?” (Wortham & Reyes, pp. 42). Figure 4 offers a template for what this type of discursive “map” diagram looks like. 77   Figure 4: Template for a Mapped Narrated Event  As seen in the diagram above, each narrated event – or significant discursive theme – within each document is made up of different signs. A “sign” is the language used (vocabulary, grammar, linguistic elements) in the text which points to a larger meaning which the analysis will uncover. Other important elements within each map include the participants – the “speaker” or “author” of the language event, the “audience” who consumes the language event directly as either a participating listener or intended reader, and the “audience” who indirectly consumes the language event. The audience is often more complicated to identify than the speaker, as an audience is made up of both the direct recipients of the language event and the indirect recipients of the language event. The direct audience can include people who are in the room during a speech, recipients of actual documents, or the intended audience that a document is meant to impact. The indirect audience can include unintended listeners or recipients of documents, people who are not intended to be impacted by the language event but still are through a third-party, or even researchers such as myself who are consuming a language event that is not 78  intended for them. In this study, while the language event will always be a document and therefore the audience will not be made up of listeners, the audience can include a myriad of other document consumers or people who may not even know of the document’s existence yet are still impacted by its contents.   The steps I took to create a skeleton map or diagram of the narrated events were to identify the relative participants and to determine the different themes of each discursive segment which were to act as potential narrated events for the final analysis. To identify the participants, I relied upon textual evidence as well as contextual knowledge. I identified the participants of the event, including the authors of the text and the intended audience as well as any people mentioned in the text. As needed, I also included participants of the entire narrating event – or policy or legal document. I then determined the roles of each participant in order to place the participants in the appropriate location on the diagram. In a notebook, I created a skeleton diagram based upon the template (figure 4) with each of the participants for each document and for each discursive segment.   Next, I determined the subject matter of each discursive segment based upon the themes I identified within the text. I coded each discursive segment (see tables 9 and 10 in appendix III) based upon the themes discussed. In my notebook with the skeleton diagrams, I added a list of each theme found in each of the policy documents. These thematic labels acted as a way to keep track of the emerging narrated events I was finding within each document. They were also added to the skeleton diagrams as the labels of potential narrated events.  Selection of indexicals. The next step in the analytical process was to select indexical signs. Indexical signs are components of the discursive segments which may point to the social actions that occur within an interaction. This is a highly systematic process which required 79  reading through each textual segment to identify specific types of signs common in discourse analysis. These include what Wortham & Reyes (2015) refer to as deictics, reported speech, and evaluative indexicals. Each of the indexical signs, as defined below and in the “Definition of Terms” in appendix II, play a different linguistic role in the text and provide evidence for the steps that follow.   Deictics act as referential indexical signs, either creating or presupposing specific elements of the discourse including spatial (place and location), temporal (time), person (speakers, subjects, and audience), and discourse (words that point to other discourses). Reported speech, which may be either direct or indirect, is a type of indexical sign that is a reference to discourse that the author claims to have occurred previously. Reported speech as an indexical may also refer to reported thoughts, actions, or displays, meaning that in a discursive segment the phrase “he built a house” counts as a reported speech indexical. Finally, evaluative indexicals are signs that direct the reader to context in such a way that characters, participants, subjects, and actions may be assigned a character or evaluation.  I used the tools presented by Wortham and Reyes (2015) to conduct the systematic selection of indexicals. Specifically, within each discursive segment (see tables 9 and 10 in appendix III) on printed copies of each document, I identified each word or phrase that could be an indexical and added a label above the word(s) to indicate whether it was a deictic, reported speech/action, or evaluative indexical. These labels were initials, based upon both the type of indexical and the type of sub-category of indexical.   For example, in Loi no. 95-696 du 7 septembre 1995 relative à l’Enseignement, take the first line of the second article:  Le service public de l’Enseignement / The public service of Education. 80  Above “service public” I added the label “EIP” for “evaluative indexical – predication”, and above “de l’Enseignement” I added the label “EIR” for “evaluative indexical – reference”. The first refers to a sign that points to an evaluation of the subject at hand, while the latter is a direct reference to the subject at hand which may also provide an evaluation based upon the term used to classify the subject. In other words, using the word enseignement (education) instead of formation (training) is an evaluation of the subject of education, and classifying the term enseignement (education) as a service public (public service) is an evaluation of the term used to indicate the subject at hand.   When all the textual segments were coded according to their indexical signs, I then repeated the process for the text of each of the policy and legal documents. This step ensured that I was appropriately identifying indexicals within the textual segments that refer back to other discursive segments within the documents and to verify that I was not omitting other relevant segments from the analysis.   Configuration and construal of indexicals. With the indexical signs identified, I then configured (combined) and construed (interpreted) them. To configure the indexicals, I intentionally looked for patterns of how different signs work together to point to context and themes. To construe them, I began to identify the meaning of the signs while attending to the context illuminated through configuration. These two processes occurred simultaneously and iteratively and enabled me to interpret the signs. For these two combined and interconnected steps, I examined how the indexicals combine to create specific social positions of topics and of actors. I then attended to how the evaluative indexicals positioned topics and actors relative to other topics and actors. I documented my interpretations on paper and in draft diagram sketches by noting how different hierarchies were emerging alongside their group of indexical evidence. I 81  then identified which themes remained relevant after these initial diagrams were created and subsequent drafts were worked through, thus configuring the indexicals to point to a potential interpretation of the narrated events. This process occurred over months, and many versions were rejected as I continued to re-select, re-construe, and re-configure the indexicals within each textual segment.  Once I was satisfied that I had exhausted all possibilities of the process, I had a final draft of narrated events for each policy and legal document. I created (or “mapped,” to use the methodological terminology) a diagram of the narrated events within each narrating event – or policy document – following the template seen in figure 4.   Analysis across narrated events and resulting diagrammatic maps. This process of mapping the narrating and narrated events for each policy document initially results in individual maps for each narrating policy event. The next step is to connect all the mapped events to uncover patterns across events that are somehow linked. To do this part, the process is very similar (and similarly inductive). The first step is to identify events that are linked. I did this as part of my data selection phase, wherein I collected all policy and legal documents deemed relevant to my research question.  Next, using the already selected indexicals, I identified context that is relevant across multiple discursive events (or policy segments). To do this, I focused on reported speech and action that pointed to other policy documents explicitly and searched for parallelism – or similarities in themes, narration techniques, or other language tools – across the documents. I also attended to how similar themes were discussed differently or assigned a different set of indexicals. These similarities and differences were noted in my sketches of how the initial narrated event diagrams interact, through a process called pathway tracing. I continued to 82  explore these patterns or divergences until I was satisfied that I had exhausted the possible interactions. The final result was a map of how the narrated events shifted over time to solidify my understanding of how a language regime in education was portrayed through policy. In this diagram, dashed lines indicate a new or developing connection across events while a solid line indicates an established connection. Figure 5 shows a simplified template for this final type of map diagram.  Figure 5: Template of a Diagramed Across-Event Discourse Analysis Map  I applied the across-event discourse analysis process that I just described to the discursive segments I selected from the Ivorian policies and laws between 1995 and 2019. In the next section, I will elaborate on the findings of this process. 4.2 Mapping the Language Regime in Education Policies: Across-Event Discourse Analysis  Using the across-event discourse analysis technique described in the previous section, I will explore how the text in the Ivorian policy and legal documents from 1995 until 2019 have resulted in different official language regimes in the country. While each individual document presents a unique language regime through the text used, together they work to establish some 83  elements of an official language regime which favors the French language. At the same time, these documents together demonstrate how the official language regime has changed over time to incorporate local languages in unique and educational ways. In this section, I will first define the concept of a language regime and explain how these regimes change over time. Then I will elaborate on the official language regimes that I uncovered through across-event discourse analysis.  Defining a language regime. Language regimes are reflections of broader power structures in a society, where notions of appropriate language use as well as the status granted to different languages provide insight into how a particular society is structured relative to its various language users. However, language regimes are not formed in isolation or instantaneously (Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015). Instead, language regimes are solidified or challenged over the course of multiple language events (Sonntag & Cardinal, 2015). A “language event” can be broadly defined as any act or instance of communication, written or spoken. For instance, a policy dictating an official language for a country is a linguistic event which in itself does not create a language regime. However, a policy which is adapted and reinforced through a separate mandate which dictates that fluency in the official language is a pre-requisite for candidacy in any political election, alongside an unchallenged action wherein all media broadcasts are produced in the same official language, all provide linguistic events which map the solidification of a language regime which places one official language in power over all other potentially spoken languages in the country. However, this language regime may be challenged, causing it to shift based upon other linguistic events. Some examples of such a challenge-based shift include a community movement to celebrate local languages or a push by parents or even international donors to include a select few languages as subjects in school.  84   The simple version of the official Ivorian language regime. The obvious official language regime in Côte d’Ivoire positions French above all other languages in terms of which languages have power in the country. Based purely upon each iteration of the Ivorian constitution (1960, 2000, 2016) this seems to be a clear Ivorian language regime: French overrules each of the 60+ local languages and holds all the power. Evidence of a francophone dominant yet simple language regime may be found in the five following constitutional phrases which explicitly mention language: 1. The official language is Frenchiii (1960); 2. The official language is French. The law sets the conditions of promotion and development of the national languages (2000); 3. No one may be privileged or discriminated against for the reason of his race, his ethnicity, his clan, his tribe, his skin color, his sex, his region, his social origin, his religion or belief, his opinion, his fortune, his difference of culture or language, his social situation, or his physical or mental state (2016); 4. The official language is French (2016); and 5. the law sets the rules concerning: […] the conditions of promotion and development of the national languages (2016). Based upon across-event discourse analysis techniques, these phrases contain evidence that would map a simple hierarchical official language regime which would look like the official language regime mapped in figure 6 below. Each version of the Ivorian constitution also elaborates very specific uses for the French language, such as French fluency as a prerequisite for participation in the government; these spheres of activities as indicated in figure 6 provide context to the understanding of the official stance on expected French use in Côte d’Ivoire. 85   Figure 6: Simple Ivorian Language Regime  As figure 6 shows, the simple official language regime clearly lines up with a simple hierarchy: the French language as the official language is positioned as in authority and power over the national languages. In this figure, the domains and privileges associated with the languages are listed to the left, demonstrating how much privilege French is granted relative to the national languages in Ivorian society. This official regime grants the French language the greatest importance in the formal spaces and official domains in the country and positions it as the preferred language if not the only language to use in certain circumstances.   Although this might be a technically valid map of the official Ivorian language regime and is useful in providing a starting point for analysis, it erases the nuance of linguistic power that exists between those 60+ local languages while elevating French to the status of absolute power, which I argue is not supported in the policy discourse. Not only is this simple official regime not grounded in context beyond the colonial history of Côte d’Ivoire, the regime as diagrammed in figure 6 does not explicitly define “national languages,” which does not allow an analysis of all 60+ local languages. Without a definition of “national languages,” there is no way to know what languages are considered “national” and which are not, if any. While none of the 86  constitutions explicitly define what constitutes a “national language,” I bring in contextual knowledge including and beyond the colonial history as well as other policy documents to define “national language” and add in the boundaries which illuminate which of the 60+ local languages are included and/or excluded from the language regime power structure. As I will demonstrate in the next two sections, the official language regime is more complex than the two-tiered hierarchy of languages favoring French that I set up as an illustration of how language regimes operate, and this has developed in such a way that the absolute authority of French has been slowly challenged and strengthened at the same time.   Mapping the evolution of the official Ivorian language regime. As previously mentioned, language regimes are not formed instantly. Since I am looking at how the official language regime has shifted since just before the first crise to form the current official language regime, I specifically look at how the policies set up an initial official regime circa 2000 and how aspects of that initial official regime have either been solidified or altered over 19 years. To do so, I used the different language events within the official documents I identified that highlight how event pathways have either been developed, altered, or eliminated over time.   The first step to tracing the evolution of this language regime is to identify the foundational official regime. To do this, I looked at both the historical constitutions as well as the education policy that marks the start of the historical period relevant to my questions. These documents – which are discursive events – include the 1960 Constitution, the 2000 Constitution, and the Loi no. 95-696 or the 1995 education policy. For each of these foundational documents, I used the bounding criteria of “related to language” and “related to education” to identify the discursive segments important for this analysis as I explained the methods section for this chapter. As previously mentioned, all the discursive segments that I used for this analysis may be 87  found in appendix III. Using these segments to bound the narrated events, I used the Wortham and Reyes “mapping” technique to diagram the narrated events for each of the foundational documents and link them. Figures 7 through 9 each show the “map” or the diagram of the narrated events for the foundational documents.  Figure 7: Diagram of the 1960 Constitution Narrating and Narrated Events 88   Figure 8: Diagram of the 2000 Constitution Narrating and Narrated Events 89   Figure 9: Diagram of the 1995 Education Policy Narrating and Narrated Events  The diagrams above illuminate the multiplicity of narrated events and their associated signs for each foundational document. I included the interpretation of each sign in the diagram, and in the following sections I will lay out the evidence for my interpretations.   Foundational document analysis 1: 1960 constitution. In the 1960 constitution, the narrated event is language. In this narrated event, the textual sign comes from article 1: “the official language is French.” As demonstrated in the diagram, I interpret this sign to symbolize the power of the French language: French holds exclusive linguistic power in Côte d’Ivoire. To get to this interpretation, I was able identify the indexicals (or discursive signs) that are evaluative based upon the sentence structure. “The official language” clearly acts as a reference 90  and acts as an enregistered emblem since it is referring to a recognizable social meaning: when a language is “official” the public understands that this language has an authorized use within the formal setting. People living in spaces with official languages are assumed to understand the official language, and they can expect the official language to be used publicly and for all public purposes. Since the predication of the referenced indexical reads “is French,” French becomes defined by the definition of an official language. Since evaluative indexicals broadly provide a clear hierarchical structure, I interpret the sign “the official language is French” as granting French social power, economic power, and political power. Further, since this narrated event does not refer to any other languages, I argue that this is setting the stage for French to have the sole linguistic power at the baseline.   Foundational document analysis 2: 2000 constitution. The next baseline narrating event is the 2000 constitution. In this discourse, the narrated event is also language, yet there are two signs rather than just one. These signs are found in article 29: “the official language is French” followed by “the law sets the conditions for the promotion and development of the national languages.” The analysis of the first sign, as it is verbatim the same as the sign in the 1960 constitution’s language narrated event, uses the same evaluative indexicals to define French as official. However, since there is another sign in this narrated event, the interpretation of French as the official language will be influenced by the analysis of the second sign.   The second sign uses multiple types of evidence: deictics, reported actions, and evaluative indexicals (refer to the “Definition of Terms” in appendix II). Within this sign, there are discourse deictics which refer to unexplained context that can be a person (or group of people), a time, or a place. In this case, the discourse deictic is “the law,” which is referring to an unexplained authoritative body. I identify “the law” as the discourse deictic since it is performing 91  an action – thus it is personified in the discourse yet not fully defined. I also identify “national languages” as a discourse deictic as it stands in for a group of unspecified languages which can ground the sign in a context that better explains it.   The evaluative indexicals are also related to the national languages: “the promotion” and “[the] development” act as references, while “of the national languages” is the predication of those references. Recall that evaluative indexicals use references to label and characterize the predication thus providing a social structure. Both “promotion” and “development” label the national languages as languages that are not fully formed in some way; they require help to be developed, and they need someone or something to promote them. In other words, the policy treats these national languages as languages which are not fully formed, thus inferring that they are not the highest quality of languages available.  Finally, this sign uses reported actions. Reported actions are analogies that describe someone’s actions; they are especially powerful tools in positioning social actions within the discourse, which means that they can be used to better understand how a policy is positioning something with respect to society. “The law sets the conditions for” is the actor and action in the reported action: “the law,” which I established as standing in for some authoritative body, is taking the action of creating terms for something. In this case, it is creating the terms for supporting national languages. Specifically, it is creating the terms to promote, strengthen, support, and develop those languages. As a reported action, this positions the national languages as needing authoritative help in society; yet, the fact that these languages are identified as worthy of authoritative help suggests that they have some relevance. This sign is thus symbolizing that national languages need support but have some importance in society. 92   However, since both French and the national languages are in the same narrated event, the next step is to interpret them together to understand how both types of languages are positioned in society per the 2000 constitution. Based upon the previous analyses, I argue that French remains the language with the most power, but the addition of national languages means that it does not hold all of the linguistic power in Côte d’Ivoire in 2000. The national languages are positioned as important yet in need of help, which keeps them subordinate to French, but the lack of definition in this constitution of which languages are national requires external context. The constitution assumes that Ivorians know which languages are national, a point which I will elaborate on in the proceeding discussion about how many languages are classified as national.   Although there is no indication that there are only 10 national languages and the remaining 50+ local and non-local African languages are not part of the group of national languages, there is evidence that suggests 10 languages are recognized by government officials as meeting the unspecified requirements to be classified as “national.” For example, the Institute of Applied Linguistics (L’Institut de Linguistique Appliquée, ILA) at the Université de Cocody, which is the body tasked with all things related to national and local languages (LeClerc, 2018), selected 10 languages to develop orthographically, meaning they developed the writing and grammar rules for these languages (Brou-Diallo, 2011). Further, ministry officials often refer to “the 10 national languages” when discussing literacy and language of instruction (Mme Diaby, personal communications, 06/21/2017 and 05/02/2019; Dr. Koné, personal communication, 05/02/2019). Thus, the difference between a “national” and a “local” language is not defined nor agreed upon, yet the assumption in the constitution is that Ivorians know the difference. Finally, since the narrated event does not mention any other languages, I infer that this relegates the 93  immigrant (or non-Ivorian African) languages along with the remaining yet unspecified Ivorian languages to subordinate to French and the national languages.  Foundational document analysis 3: 1995 education law. The other foundational narrating event, which is chronologically situated between the 1960 and 2000 constitutions, is the 1995 education law. Relative to language, there is one narrated event: the general principals of education. Within this narrated event, there are multiple signs but not all of them speak directly to language; instead, they speak to how language is referred to in the narrated event as I will demonstrate.  The first sign is about the national languages in article 3:  The teaching of the national languages, artistic education, technological education and manual activities, physical education and sport contribute to the formation of citizens.   On its own, the sign points strongly to assigning a civic purpose to teaching of national languages. Teachers are assumed to be taking the action of teaching national languages to the overtly stated person deictic of “citizens.”   Through metapragmatic discourse, which is how language is used to perform actions or using language to demonstrate social actions, this sign claims that it is the action of teaching national languages that molds the citizens. “La formation de” in French translates to forming, molding, teaching, instruction, and training; thus, by using “la formation” as metapragmatic discourse the policy discourse is pointing to the need to create a specific type of citizen as is implied in “training,” “molding,” and “forming” – each of which suggest that there is a model to follow. I argue that this sign represents a limited purpose granted to national languages: strictly to mold citizens. However, it is not positioned as a pedagogical tool; instead it is positioned as a subject to be taught for a civic purpose. In this sign, it is also interesting to note the other subjects that serve as subjects to be taught in order to mold citizens: artistic education, 94  technological education, manual activities, physical education, and sport. When the other subjects within this sign are included in the analysis, it becomes more apparent that national languages are being assigned a functional purpose similar to a subject such as “sport.” As subject matters in school, arts education (to take one example) is often treated as part of developing a well-rounded student or citizen but rarely is there a standard expectation for minimum competence in arts or sports. Exposure to these subjects is considered important, but there is no requirement or expectation that this exposure translates into learning. Contrasted against the traditionally academic subjects such as mathematics and language arts, which are not mentioned as part of the subjects necessary to form the citizenry, the decision to position national languages alongside arts and sports implies that national languages are not being assigned a comprehensive purpose – meaning that it is not necessarily important for everyone to attain full mastery of the subject matter. Thus, unlike mathematics which is to be taught throughout the duration of a students’ academic trajectory in order to assure full success by all students, national languages can be assumed to be treated as an elective option beyond a few obligatory baseline classes in the early years.   Since neither the official language nor the remaining local and immigrant languages are mentioned in this policy, another implication may be that only national languages need to be learned. Implied by the constitutional foundation (1960) and yet not stated in this policy document is that French is the language of instruction (Djité, 2000), which suggests that students who enter school are expected to already have basic French language skills. Although this does not mean that French is not also taught as a subject, it shifts the nature of the type of language education given for the French language. Instead of introductory French language classes, French (such as writing and grammar) is taught to improve upon foundational communication skills that 95  students are assumed to already have. The policy document is written in French, implying that French is a language that the Ministry of Education views as the language of authority in educational matters. Further, the implied status of French as the language of instruction points to an assumption that students entering school will already know French enough to begin their schooling in the French language.  Next, heavy reliance on “citizens” not only in this sign but in the discourse surrounding this sign implies persons to whom the 1960 constitution is relevant. The assumption can then be drawn from knowledge of the constitution that French, as the official language, is relevant to the students being formed. This brings me to the second sign in this narrated event which is not directly related to language but provides nuance to help me interpret the signs:  the right to education is guaranteed to every citizen in order to enable them to acquire knowledge, to develop their personality, to raise their level of training, to integrate into the social, cultural and professional life and to exercise his citizenship (article 1).    Using the same techniques, I identify the person deictics as “citizens,” the implied discourse deictic as the government or the ministry of education, the reported action is guaranteeing education to those citizens, and the “right” is evaluative of “education.” When education is labeled as a “right,” it elevates its social standing. Now, it is not a privilege, but it is a right, something that any citizen can expect and can hold the implied government accountable for. Further, the government is reportedly taking the action to guarantee – or make completely certain – this right. What is more interesting, though, is the metapragmatic discourse in this sign. Specifically, education is used “to enable” citizens to do specific things culminating in doing what citizens do: “exercise his citizenship.” The other things listed are important, yet this repetition of all things related to the citizenry points to the relative weight placed on the notion of “citizenship” in this narrated event. This weight placed on notions of citizenship and the 96  citizenry works with the national languages sign to lead me to the following interpretation: education is for citizens in order to mold citizens, and teaching national languages as a subject in the education system is an important element to mold those citizens. By referring so heavily to citizens, as I stated earlier, the narrated event is implying a linguistic social structure that privileges French first then the national languages. By positioning the national languages as an important element to forming citizens, the national languages are gaining power relative to the non-national local languages yet remain subordinate to the official language which the citizenry is assumed to know already. Since the 1960 constitution already granted official status to the French language, the policy document does not need to mention French to privilege the language above the national languages. At the same time, since the policy document itself is written in French and there are no versions written in other languages, the policy continues to reinforce that French privilege. Too, the teaching of national languages implies the need to teach these languages to the citizens, reinforcing my interpretation that the national languages are not as powerful as the official French language.  Across-event discourse analysis to map the evolution of the foundational official language regime. In order to establish an official language regime at the baseline, I can now apply the across-event discourse analysis by looking at each of the narrated events I outlined and determining which events are linked to illuminate cross-event social actions. Figure 10 is a diagram of the across-event analysis, which I describe below. 97   Figure 10: Across-Event Discourse Analysis of the Foundational Policies  I link the events as follows: the 1960 constitution acts as the starting point, with a language narrated event that establishes French as the language of power; the 1995 education law, as next in chronological order, is linked to the 1960 constitution through a reliance on prior knowledge. Specifically, the assumption that citizens know and use French and must be taught other languages links back to the interpretation of “French is the official language” where official languages are assumed to be known and spoken by people who officially reside in Côte d’Ivoire. This link is reinforced by seeking out discourse related to citizenship in the 1960 constitution, which implies a relationship between the official governing body, the citizens, and the French 98  language. However, the link remains tentative, as the pattern is only beginning to emerge and there is not enough evidence to claim a solid link yet. The addition of the 2000 constitution then becomes the key event in determining whether this link solidifies or changes entirely. There is a clear link from the 1960 constitution to the 2000 constitution between the French signs granting power to French, and there is a clear link from the 1995 law to the 2000 constitution between the national languages signs which both point to the need for national languages to be supported and aided. Thus, the emergence of a pattern across-event discourse analysis points to a shift in the social role of language, where initially only French is positioned as a language with social power yet the national languages slowly gain power through their position as a civic tool. However, the continued positioning of the national languages as needing aid maintains the French-as-dominant pattern seen across all three events.   Based upon this analysis, the initial official language regime in Côte d’Ivoire in 2000 is one where French has the most social power while national languages have some power through their civic role, while all other languages are limited in power as implied in their absence from all three documents. This is portrayed in figure 11. 99   Figure 11: Foundational Official Language Regime  Across-event discourse analysis mapping of the evolution of the official language regime after the foundational official language regime. The analysis leading to figure 11, the foundational official language regime, provides a baseline for tracing the evolution of the official language regime, therefore establishing what I refer to as the foundational official language regime in the year 2000 for Côte d’Ivoire. The steps to trace the evolution from the foundational official language regime to the current official language regime are similar, though this will be done across the remaining policy documents in order to identify patterns that appear or disappear across these same events. Figure 12 shows the diagram of across-event discourse mapping for all the policy documents. 100   Figure 12: Diagram of Across-Event Discourse Analysis for all Policies 101   I used the same process to identify evidence for the across-event discourse analysis of all policies as I did for the foundational analysis. I will describe this in the order in which the documents were ratified, while attending to relevant previous narrated events in order to establish the patterns throughout rather than at the end.   Analysis of the 2004 education policy. Following the foundational analysis at the year 2000, the next policy is the 2004 education policy which defines the functions within the Ministry of National Education. Within this policy, the narrated event related to my research question is the event describing the Direction (office) of Pedagogy and Continuing Education in article 16. Three signs that are clearly related to language are immediately present:  • The Direction of Pedagogy and Continuing Education (DPFC) is responsible for: […] the elaboration, experimentation and promotion of programs of education in national languages;  • The Direction of Pedagogy and Continuing Education (DPFC) is responsible for: […] the coordination of the activities of the Projet des Ecoles Integrées (PEI); and  • It comprises four sub-divisions: the Department of Educational Programs and Integrated Schools (PEI) […].  The DPFC is the named person deictic and the implied discourse deictic, indicating that this office within the Ministry of National Education is being spoken about in the event. In the first two signs, the DPFC is reported as taking a specific action, while in the third sign the DPFC is being evaluated as being made up of other sub-groups.   Interestingly, there is a clear similarity between the first sign and the 2000 constitutional sign referring to the national languages which subtly shifts the way that national languages are positioned in society. Again, there are evaluative indexicals for the predicated “national 102  languages” that characterize these languages. Specifically, they are characterized as requiring “elaboration,” “experimentation,” and “promotion.” “Promotion” is a carry-over characteristic from the 2000 constitution, but “elaboration” and “experimentation” replace and extend the previous “development.” Although all of these references characterize national languages as needing support in some way, there is an important addition to the predication which shifts the meaning of the sign: these reference terms are not characterizing “national languages,” they are characterizing “programs” and the programs are further characterized by “education in national languages.”  This complex evaluative indexical qualifies the program as national language of instruction program, and characterizes the programs as needing to be tested (“experimentation”), expanded (“elaboration”), and supported (“promoted”). Through this evaluation, the 2004 education policy shifts the position of national languages from its position in the 2000 constitution, but it also shifts its position from the 1995 education policy in an important way. In 1995, national languages were taught; in 2004, national languages are being used to teach albeit in experimental settings.   The next two signs provide evidence to support this interpretation. In the second sign, “the Direction of Pedagogy and Continuing Education (DPFC) is responsible for: […] the coordination of the activities of the Projet des Ecoles Integrées (PEI),” a reported action (“is responsible for […] the coordination of”) formalizes the action related to the experimental programs using national languages of instruction. Simultaneously, by giving a title to those programs (“Projet des Ecoles Integrées”), the sign turns the experimental programs from an implied discourse deictic in the previous sign (“programs of education in national languages”) into a person (or personified) deictic that refers to a specific entity.  103   In the final sign, “it comprises four sub-divisions: the Department of Educational Programs and Integrated Schools (PEI) […],” the status of the PEI is reinforced through the introduction of yet another person(ified) deictic: a named department in charge of PEI. These two signs work to symbolize the formalization of education programs that teach in national languages, and thus support my interpretation of the first sign as continuing to elevate the national languages.  Analysis of the 2012 presidential decree. The 2012 policy adds important context to the across-event analysis as it is neither an education policy nor a constitution. It is a presidential decree that outlines the duties of the members of government, all members of the government. Within this policy, there are two relevant narrating events: The Ministry of National Education (article 12) and The Ministry of Culture and Francophonie (article 21).   In the first event related to the Ministry of National Education, there is one sign:  The Minister of National Education is responsible for implementing and monitoring the Government’s national education policy. In this capacity, and in liaison with the other ministerial departments concerned, he has the initiative and responsibility for the following actions: […] elaboration, experimentation and promotion of programs of education in national languages.  First, I note that “programs of education in national languages” is the last among a long list of items referenced within this narrated event, implying that not only are national languages of instruction programs not top priority for the Ministry, they are in fact the last legally designated priority. I note this because it adds important context: national languages may be gaining status, but the priority for this to occur should not be overstated. However, this sign implies that education in national languages is a policy, and further reports the expansion, testing, and supporting of such programs as an action item to be “implemented.” In other words, through the use of a reported action in the document, the policy signals that these types of programs have 104  once again shifted from merely a “responsibility” to an actual action-item to be done. Although the programs remain classified as experimental and in need of support, the reported action adds a sense of authoritative urgency to them thus adding to the pattern of the increasing albeit mitigated social power of national languages.  The second narrated event brings the official French language back into the across-event analysis in an explicit manner. Whereas the French language has been implied in previous policies except for the constitutions, this narrated event is clear about the social position of French and the social position of national languages relative to French. There are four signs, each of which start with, The Minister of Culture and Francophonie is responsible for implementing and monitoring the government’s culture and francophonie policy. In this capacity, and in liaison with the various ministerial departments concerned, it has the initiative and responsibility for the following actions […].   This introduction to each sign provides the discourse and person(ified) diectics and reported actions that position this Ministry as tasked with specific actions. The four signs are as follows: • In the field of Culture: […] Promotion of national languages;  • With regard to Francophonie: Representation of Côte d’Ivoire in the organs of La Francophonie;  • With regard to Francophonie: […] Strengthening cultural relations with French-speaking embassies and organizations in Côte d’Ivoire; and  • With regard to Francophonie: […] Promotion and popularization of the Francophonie among the populations. The first is the only sign that falls under the “cultural” jurisdiction of the Ministry, so it will be analyzed alone while the remaining three signs under the “Francophonie” jurisdiction will be analyzed together. 105   First, “In the field of Culture: […] Promotion of national languages.” Implied in this sign are the actions outlined at the start of this section, that the Ministry is tasked with this task, namely the “promotion of national languages.” The first part of the sign is evaluative, assigning the jurisdiction (“field”) the label of “culture.” This is important as it signals that the function of what follows is cultural. The implication is that it is cultural rather than belonging to the duties of any other type of Ministry, such as educative (for the Ministry of National Education), economic, or judicial, to provide a few examples. The implication is that the tasks of this Ministry are less functional, and their benefit is less tangible, which does not necessarily imply a value judgement but does imply a lack of clarity. Since the action assigned to this cultural jurisdiction is the “promotion” or support of national languages, this provides evidence that national languages are in need of help to become socially accepted. The initial interpretation of this sign is that national languages are positioned as less than the official French language. The next three signs help me determine whether this social positioning is an accurate interpretation.  Each of these signs are “with regard to the Francophonie”, thus positioning the following discursive elements as relating to the French language in a global sense. Identifying “Francophonie” as an index of “global French” requires contextual knowledge of the term and the associated Organisation. The term itself refers very broadly to all things related to the French language but is strongly associated with L’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), an international French organization made up of French-speaking countries. The OIF’s main objective is to promote the French language and position it as a globally competitive language while simultaneously positioning French as a value-laden language. For example, in 2019, the “About Us” section on the OIF’s official webpage stated, “[The members] also share the humanist values promoted by the French language” (n.d.). The actions the Ministry is tasked 106  with under the jurisdiction of the Francophonie include acting as a national (Ivorian) representative to other Francophonie countries, improving relations with other Francophonie countries, and increasing the popularity of Francophonie in Côte d’Ivoire. Interestingly, the last example uses “the populations” to define those living in Côte d’Ivoire rather than “citizens.” Together, these signs highlight the importance granted to French by the government especially as the government is positioning the Francophonie as an international body – important to international relations. This serves to elevate the French language above its official status into an internationally relevant status, while the first sign served to slightly diminish the national languages status.   In this 2012 policy, when both narrated events are taken together, the previously identified pattern wherein French was stable in the official status but national languages were being elevated incrementally takes a shift. Now, French is elevated beyond official to be relevant outside the boundaries and populations of Côte d’Ivoire, and the strength of the national languages is starting to be questioned. Although this is a sudden elevation in terms of official policy discourse – meaning this is the first time that official texts have added an international element to the French language – this is not necessarily sudden in terms of the broader context. Given the colonial history of Côte d’Ivoire and the country’s active membership in the OIF since 1970 (OIF, 2019), French has long been associated with economic, political, and social importance at an international level. However, the inclusion of an explicit reference to an international organization, the OIF, shifts the official language regime being developed via policy and legal texts to document the elevation of the French language.  Analysis of the 2015 education policy. The 2015 education policy adds another interesting twist to the cross-events discourse analysis, since it is a revision of the 1995 education 107  policy. However, the way the revision was written is such that the original 1995 policy is the implied text, though not actually written out, and a few additions to the policy are included. None of these additions speak to language or citizenship, which suggests that the 1995 analysis should stand in for the narrated event. This would imply that national languages are once again subjects to be taught in schools as the 1995 policy explicitly stated; however, this does not necessarily mean that they are not also languages to teach in. While the 2015 policy is a direct revision to the 1995 policy, which means that much of the analysis of the 1995 policy still applies to the 2015 document, the 2015 policy text does not refer to any of the policies that were ratified between 1995 and 2015. This means that the 2015 policy is not meant to revise or revoke the 2004 and 2012 policies which built space for national languages to be used as languages of instruction, although support for those policies is implied rather than explicitly stated. The implication is that teaching national languages remains associated with molding citizens as stated in the 1995 policy, while teaching in national languages still has not been established as a link to being a citizen. Ultimately, this reinforces the positioning of national languages as subordinate to the official French language especially following a policy which elevated French even further. By using the 1995 policy as the implied text for this 2015 policy, this positioning is reinforced.  Analysis of the 2016 constitution. The final document in the across-event discourse analysis is the 2016 constitution for which there are three narrated events: rights of Ivorians, language, and the role of law. The sign in the rights of Ivorians event (article 4) says, all Ivorians are born and remain free and equal in law. No one may be privileged or discriminated against because of his race, ethnicity, clan, tribe, skin color, sex, region, social origin, religion or belief, his opinion, his fortune, his difference of culture or language, his social situation or his physical or mental state.    The first thing to note is that the person deictic does not refer to “citizens,” but instead refers to “Ivorians,” implying anyone who can claim an identity associated with the Côte 108  d’Ivoire nationality. Further, the discourse deictic “in law” implies again that there is an official but un-defined governing body that is the law, which is positioned as labeling all Ivorians as both “free” and “equal” through implied metapragmatic discourse. This is an important classification of persons being spoken about in this sign considering the weight given to identity in both crises, where the ability to claim an Ivorian identity or access citizenship was strongly contested (Akissi Boutin & Kouadio N’Guessan, 2013; Sany, 2010). These tensions still exist, though this discourse points to a constitutional effort to rectify those identity issues.   The next thing to note is the person deictic “one” refers back to “Ivorians,” and this group is positioned as holding a large set of identities through voicing – or social identification. These identities include “language,” suggesting that speaking “different” languages serves to signal a different identity of an Ivorian. In other words, language is an identity. The multiplicity of identities implied in “different language” are positioned as socially equal through the metapragmatic discourse “no one may be privileged or discriminated against.” In this discourse, the personified languages may not be positioned as having more social power relative to any other personified language; alternately, personified languages may not be excluded when other languages are included. This narrated event suggests that the 2016 policy may have completely leveled the established language regime; however, as I will demonstrate this interpretation is reconstrued when the other two narrated events are considered, and the new meaning suggests that all of the non-national local languages are equal at a social position that is lower than the national and official languages.  The next narrated event is that of language, in article 48, where the sign says, “the official language is French.” This sign follows verbatim the positioning of French in the previous two constitutions, thus reinforcing the social status of French as having the most power in Côte 109  d’Ivoire. The final narrated event, the role of law (article 101), is also a similar sign for national languages as in the 2000 constitution though the sign reads slightly longer:  the law sets the rules concerning the conditions for the promotion and the development of the national languages.   The addition of “rules concerning” between “the law sets” and “the conditions for” strengthens the analogy I previously described by making it clear that these terms are strict – they are rules. Now that national language support is regulated rather than loosely conditioned, I argue that this strengthens the position of national languages and decreases the power differential between them and French, although minimally.   Across-event mapping of the evolution of the language regime. Using the across-event discourse mapping, I translate this into a diagram of the evolution of the official language regime. Figure 13 shows the evolution of the mapped official language regime.   110   Figure 13: Map of the Evolution of the Official Language Regime  As can be seen in figure 13 above, the existing education policy from 1995 alongside the constitutions of 1960 and 2000 set up an “initial” official language regime where French holds the most social power, the national languages are granted some social power though it was limited since they were positioned as needing support. Further, the national languages’ role in molding citizens who are assumed to know French reinforces the social power gap between French and the national languages. Local languages, due to their absence from the foundational policies, are assumed to be positioned as the languages with the least social power.  As demonstrated through the across-event discourse analysis, new education policies and constitutions were ratified, and the official language regime shifted subtly. While the 1995 education policy remains intact, thus solidifying an official language regime in Ivorian education 111  which continues to privilege French, the new policies and constitutions subtly elevated the national languages over the unnamed 50 remaining local languages, and the official regime evolved to elevate French even further as it became associated with a global social standing. Further, the discourse surrounding national languages fluctuated, alternating between an elevation of their status and a slight diminishing of their status. By continuing to be associated with citizenship via the 1995 education policy and the 2015 education policy, national languages play a role in continuing to elevate French despite their own fluctuation in status. 4.3 Conclusion: Evolving into the Current Official Ivorian Language Regime and Implications  In this section, I will draw upon the across-event discourse analysis that I conducted to identify the current official Ivorian language regime. I will then explore the implications of the official language regime shifts and the current official language regime on the post-conflict transition that Côte d’Ivoire is undergoing as a country.  The current official Ivorian language regime. Recall that the simple/obvious official language regime positions French above all other 60+ Ivorian languages. Although this would seem to be the case based upon the constitutional designation of French as official language, I argue that a more accurate map of the official Ivorian regime looks like this: 112   Figure 14: Current Official Language Regime  Figure 14 shows the current official Ivorian language regime, where there is a less clear hierarchy than in the simple regime mapped in figure 6 and local languages are given more attention than in the baseline regime mapped in figure 11. In this version, while French is still positioned as the language holding the most authority, the national languages are consistently positioned as languages that should have social status as well. Although the exact social standing has fluctuated as the regime has evolved, their continued positioning as socially relevant points to a broader narrative of policy goals. Specifically, the across-event analysis makes it clear that policy makers are trying to find a way to elevate the status of national languages, a policy that is a clear shift from colonial policies which only recognized the social status of French. However, the inclusion of national languages under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and Francophonie speaks to a tension between national intentions and colonial legacies which are 113  complicated by the strong presence of a former-colonial influence. On the one hand, associating national languages with molding citizens speaks to efforts to build a specific national identity that recognizes plurality in a national linguistic identity. On the other hand, designating the role of supporting national languages to a government body that is affiliated with a French international organization dedicated to promoting all things French reinforces the notion that national languages are ill-equipped and require support compared to French. Finally, the absence of all other local languages, of which there are at least 50, in the policy documents except for the 2016 constitution, where these languages are positioned as an identity marker that should not be privileged, almost erases the social standing of these local languages.   Conclusion: Implications of the evolution of the official language regime. In Côte d’Ivoire, a shallow analysis of the official language regime would suggest that it is a regime which privileges French above all other 60+ local languages. Such an interpretation of the language regime risks ignoring the nuances of how other languages are positioned relative to each other; in this study, I intended to uncover the more nuanced language regime that has been developed since pre-conflict. By using an across-event discourse analysis of policies and laws that are relevant to education within the country since 2000, I was able to explore the nuances of the official language regime within one realm in Ivorian society: education. Through this analysis, I find that educationally relevant policies are especially pertinent to historical tensions in the country due to the way that education is positioned as a right granted to citizens while simultaneously being a tool through which the ideal citizen is argued to be formed. Both education and language are talked about in these policies as important mechanisms to form citizens yet also in ways that set language up as a marker of official identities of belonging in the country. Given the nature of both crises (2001 and 2011) in which the right to access to 114  citizenship and the right to claim an official Ivorian identity were highly contested, questions of citizenship and belonging become especially pertinent in this analysis.    115  SECTION III. RESEARCH QUESTION 2, LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION AS A MECHANISM BY WHICH LANGUAGE REGIMES CONTRIBUTE TO OR MITIGATE HORIZONTAL INEQUALITIES: INEQUALITIES UNCOVERED THROUGH PARENTS’ AND TEACHERS’ PERCEIVED AND IDEAL LANGUAGE REGIME[S] IN IVORIAN EDUCATION   116  Chapter 5. Introduction and Background to the Parent and Teacher Data  In chapter 4 I analyzed the policy documents to uncover the language regime in education as it has been established through official discourse. In this section, I will look at the language regime in education from the point of view of the parents (chapter six) who are affected by the policies and the teachers (chapter seven) who enact the policies. I seek to answer my second set of research questions, how are perceptions of horizontal inequalities revealed through parent perceptions of and teacher experiences with educational language regimes that exist due to different language of instruction policies? How are these perceived horizontal inequalities nuanced by perceptions of conflict(s) and peace (past, present, and theoretical)? To answer this question, I explore the narrative ways that parents and teachers talk about language of instruction to uncover their perceived educational language regimes. I attend to areas within the perceived language regimes that signal the perception of horizontal inequalities based upon how the parents and teachers talk about language, schooling, and social relations in the country. I also examine the parent and teacher narratives to illuminate their ideal educational language regimes, which allows me to uncover horizontal inequalities that parents and teachers are willing to accept as part of their society – or alternately which horizontal inequalities they believe are unacceptable and must be changed. As it is relevant, I compare the official language regime in education as described in chapter 4 to the perceived language regime to better understand where horizontal inequalities are perceived relative to where they exist, and I include these comparisons when uncovering the ideal language regime to better understand which perceived horizontal inequalities may be of social importance to the parent and teacher participants.   Although participant knowledge about the local language of instruction model, the PEI, is directly related to whether they live in a community associated with a PEI school, the majority of 117  the parents expressed support for the PEI model and the use of local languages in school more broadly. The teachers, on the other hand, were inclined to support the model of education with which they had direct teaching experience. In other words, teachers with no experience teaching in a local language did not support the PEI model whereas the only teacher with experience teaching in a PEI school supported the model.   Throughout the analysis, I find that the perceived educational language regimes vary based upon the rural/urban status of the parents while the ideal educational language regimes vary based upon the parents’ nationality. Conversely, the teachers’ perceived and ideal educational language regimes differ based upon the teachers’ experiences using different languages to instruct in the classroom. In both cases, the difference between the ideal and perceived educational language regimes indicated that there are language-based and regional horizontal inequalities that parents and teachers perceive to be socially unacceptable.   Issues of social relations relative to les crises as well as the larger ideal peaceful society were woven into the ways that language and education were narrated. The parents spoke at length about the notion of entente – or a specific component of communication which builds mutual understanding and respect across diverse populations, which both parents and teachers used as a tool to bound the roles of language and education in building cohesive societies. Although parents centered their narratives about language of instruction, education, and social relations around their own children’s learning while teachers centered their narratives around their experiences and perceived roles as teachers, the notion of entente was central to how all participants connected language to education to peacebuilding. Entente enabled the participants to imagine an ideal peaceful world with an ideal educational language regime. Further, the use of entente and conversations which linked PEI with peacebuilding potential indicate that language 118  of instruction has a role to play in the post-conflict transition, even if that role is minimal and highly complex. 5.1 Data and Methods for Section III  The data for this section was collected through parent and teacher interviews about language of instruction and I used a narrative analytical approach to analyze the interview data. In this section, I will detail the steps I took for this process. I will first describe the data collection process then I will explain my data analysis process. Finally, I will detail the data itself.   Note about pseudo naming conventions. In order to protect the identity of the parents and teachers who were so willing to speak with me about personal and often sensitive information, especially in a country with a history of conflict that has not been fully resolved, I chose to apply pseudo names not only to each individual but also to their locations and languages. I made the conscious decision to use a pseudo name for every village or city that is associated with a participants’ upbringing or current living situation. However, I opted to retain the actual country names as it is hard to identify a person based upon a country of origin. I also opted to use the actual name of a village or city that was mentioned during an interview if that village or city was not a location of origin or current locale associated with any person in the room during the interview. In this case, if a parent mentioned by name a village that their dyadic parent used to live in or was born in, that village received a pseudo name; however, if a parent mentioned a village that neither they nor their dyadic partner had ever lived in, I retained the original name of the village.   I also chose to apply a pseudo name to languages mentioned with the exception of French. This is due to the close relationship between languages and ethnic identities; in a country 119  where ethnic identities were closely linked to specific sides in les crises I wanted to protect the participants from any potential backlash related to an assumed ethnic identity. I also made this decision due to the limited ethnolinguistic diversity in the rural village of Konvi. Although Konvi is a pseudo name for the village in which I conducted my study, I wanted to ensure that even if a reader figured out the true name of this village they would not be able to identify the non-native Konvi participants in the study based upon their ethnolinguistic identity. While this was not an issue for the rural Kwé Dyapo participants due to the multilingual diversity in the city of Dyapo, I chose to apply these rules for all participants as extra precaution and to maintain consistency.  The process of selecting and applying pseudo names is important as it provides insight into the identities that each of the participants placed on themselves and how they chose to position themselves relative to me in their introductions. Each parent and teacher chose how they would tell me their name, and in order to honor their chosen naming convention I followed it closely when applying a pseudo name. Here are three distinct examples to illustrate: Kaati, a mother in urban Kwé Dyapo, told me her first name, so I pseudo named her with only a first name; Dandou Ourfama, a father in rural Konvi, told me both his first and last name, so I pseudo named him with both names; and Madame (Mme) Djere, a traditional teacher in rural Konvi, told me only her last name preceded by “Madame” (or Mme, French for “Mrs.”), so I pseudo named her last name and retained the Mme.   For all pseudo names, including languages and villages or cities as well as first and last names, I chose words and names from the original ethnolinguistic and religious identity associated with the true name in order to respect the cultural background associated with the name. For example, Sabu is a common male Muslim name across West Africa; as the participant 120  pseudo named Sabu is a Muslim man, the name was appropriate. When a participant introduced themselves using a “Western” name, I selected a “Western” name commonly used in Ivorian cultures. For example, Elodie, the urban teacher, introduced herself using a Western name so I selected Elodie. For languages and places, words derived from the original language were selected. For example, Dandou Ourfama’s native language from Niger was pseudo named “Ihanno,” a word in his language which means “nice.” Another example is urban mother Nsia’s home in the village of “Kpuka,” which in Nsia’s language Ago means “coconut tree.”   With all of these pseudo named languages and locations, I ran a Google search as well as a Yahoo and Bing search to double check that none of the locations or languages could be easily associated with their actual languages or locations. In this way, I ensured that the parent and teacher identities which are entwined with their ethnolinguistic identities, current address, and home villages could not be teased out to identify who these participants are.  Data collection. I interviewed parents and teachers of students living in rural and urban areas in Côte d’Ivoire, specifically in rural Konvi and urban Kwé Dyapo. Prior to commencing the study, I obtained IRB exempt status from Michigan State University. Upon arrival in Côte d’Ivoire, I sought research permissions from the Ministry of National Education and the Director of the Programme des Écoles Integrées (PEI). Once their permission was granted, they each indicated locations in Côte d’Ivoire where I would be allowed to collect data, providing multiple urban and rural options. Based upon the locations available in urban Dyapo, I chose to request permission to collect data in the Kwé neighborhood due to its reputation as a diverse and conflicted neighborhood in Dyapo (Dr. Azoh, personal communication, 05/01/2019). Based upon the available rural areas where PEI schools are located, I chose to request permission to collect 121  data in the rural village of Konvi due to the presence of both a PEI school and a traditional French school in the village (Mme Diaby, personal conversation, 05/02/2019).   Once I selected locations, I was then provided contact information for the Direction Régionale de l’Éducation Nationale (DREN) – or the local directors of education – for Kwé Dyapo and for Konvi. I met with each director, provided an overview of the study, copies of the IRB and the official permission letter from the Ministry of Education, and obtained permission from each director to conduct research in their districts. The directors then provided me with contact information for principals of each primary school in their district.  Once official permission from the Ministry and the DRENs were obtained, I met with the principals to explain the study and to request an introduction to teachers of grades CP1, CP2, and CE1 (the equivalent to U.S. grades 1-3) since those are the grades in which the PEI school uses a local language as medium of instruction. I met first with the principals of the Konvi PEI school and the Konvi traditional school in a joint meeting, and they said that the CP1 teachers had already agreed to participate in the study but that I could meet with all the teachers of all the schools to explain the study further. Based upon this teacher selection, when I met with the Kwé Dyapo traditional school principal, I requested to be introduced to the CP1 teacher.   I met with each of the teachers individually to request permission to study their classrooms. Once permission was granted, I first asked to interview each of the teachers and indicated that I would be available to interview them at a time and location of their choice. Each teacher requested that I interview them at the end of the school day, and the teachers provided their preferred date for me to return after the school day for an interview.  I then asked the teachers for help notifying parents and recruiting parent participants. The teachers and I met with the principals to request a meeting with Le Comité de Gestion des 122  Établissements Scolaires (COGES), or the parent committee. I provided information about the study to the COGES, including a letter to provide to parents with study details and participant rights. The COGES helped spread the word about my study to the parents and helped me set up times for interviews. Based upon the COGES’ recommendations and parent requests, I identified full days to be available at each location so that parents could show up to meet with me at their availability. The principals of each of the schools offered me space in the school to conduct initial interviews, and I set a schedule of time when I would be at the school so that parents could come meet with me as they were available. In the case that a parent was not available or willing to meet on the school grounds, I offered to meet the parent when and where they were comfortable. Parents were given the study information and information about when I would be at the ready to meet with them and were invited to come see me at their convenience. The parent and teacher interviews took place over the course of three weeks following the initial project set-up described above.  In order to accommodate parent requests, I gave the parents the option to participate in dyadic interviews – or interviews with two people at a time. This helped balance the interview setting as my research assistant, Arianne, accompanied me in case there were any language barriers. Parents who chose to participate in dyadic interviews were allowed to choose their interview partner, but most parents who participated in dyadic interviews opted to interview with any parent who showed up at the school at roughly the same time. Thus, the interviewees were paired based upon availability rather than relationship. Using a dyadic method allowed the interviews to be structured more like a conversation, thus producing more narrative data when the parents spoke with each other rather than solely with me. Compared to an individual interview, a dyadic interview technique allows participants to recall information that might 123  otherwise have been forgotten based upon something the other participant says, while also providing the opportunity for both participants to explore new ideas that are introduced by other participants in an organic nature (Morgan et al., 2013; Morgan et al., 2016). The self-selection process allowed the parents the chance to make their interview experience comfortable based upon their own preferences, and the fact that the dyadic participants were not intimately connected provided the opportunity for parents to be introduced to ideas that they have not already heard from a close friend or family member. However, the dyadic interviews also increase the potential for parents to limit their responses out of a desire to present only information that they believe would be socially acceptable or for some voices to be silenced depending upon the participant dynamics. In the case of these parents, most treated the dyadic interview setting as an individual interview and did not interact much with their dyadic partner. As a result, many of the dyadic interviews produced qualitative responses structured similar to individual interview response structures. In some cases, as the interviewer I had to re-ask a question after one parent responded in order to encourage the second parent to also respond. In other cases, after one parent responded to a question, the second would repeat the question back to me before providing their own thoughts. Since the parents were given the choice to participate in dyadic interviews, some parent interviews as well as all teacher interviews were individual rather than dyadic interviews. Thus, I had to be prepared to include both dyadic and individual interview data in my analysis.  I used semi-structured interviews in order to be sure that I asked all questions I thought would be relevant but to allow room for the conversation to evolve and shift organically. I asked questions about the participants’ opinions on local languages in education, their awareness of the PEI model of education, their thoughts on the PEI model of education, and their experiences with 124  the PEI and traditional models of education. In the teacher interviews, I also included questions about their teaching experiences generally and their pedagogical techniques in multilingual classrooms.  At the start of each interview, I obtained consent using an IRB approved script and requested permission to record the interview. All interviews were recorded then transcribed. The interview segments that were in Brafé rather than French were transcribed and translated by my research assistant, Arianne. Transcriptions of the French segments of interviews were done using MaxQDA software. All the segments that were translated from Brafé to French were inserted into the corresponding transcripts at the appropriate location.  After receiving their consent and obtaining permission to record the conversations, I would start the interview by explaining briefly that I was studying the PEI program in Côte d’Ivoire compared to the ordinaire – or traditional – education system while also trying to understand social relations in the diverse country. In rural Konvi, all parents and teachers knew basically what the PEI school was and that it existed next-door to the école ordinaire (traditional school). In the Kwé neighborhood of urban Dyapo, however, the parents and the teacher were not acquainted with the PEI model and needed a brief introduction, which led myself and my research assistant to provide the following overview: We are studying schools where they use different languages. In Côte d’Ivoire there are schools where different languages are used. For example, there is one in an Agni area where they use Agni; there is one in a Nzema zone where they use Nzema; there is one in a Djula area where they use Djula, et cetera. In these schools, the children there, they learn mathematics in the language of the zone. They learn history in the language of the zone, all that. So, we want to compare with an ordinary school, a normal school, as we can say, with these schools.iv 125  For participants in both Kwé and Konvi, after initially prompting their thoughts about the PEI model, I would then explain the program in greater depth to elaborate the parameters of the program as it currently exists: I will explain a little more about these integrated schools, those schools that use different languages. Here in Côte d’Ivoire, there are schools like that. There are 26 schools across the country that use 10 languages. These schools are only in rural areas, like villages. They are not in big cities like Abidjan, Bouake, Dyapo, or others.v  By initially asking about the parents’ and teachers’ thoughts on the PEI model without elaborating that these schools are not available in all 60 languages or in all areas of the country, I was able to get a base idea of how they think of local language schooling without introducing the idea that there may be unequal access to this type of education or introducing the notion that some languages may be privileged over others. By then elaborating on the extent of the program in Côte d’Ivoire, I was able to get a deeper sense of how parents and teachers think of these schools, especially in relation to whether they believed these schools would be beneficial to students who are not simply their own children. In my analysis, I looked at these elements together to develop a broader understanding of the ways that parents and teachers conceptualize the PEI model regardless of and including their knowledge of the program’s boundaries.  In my conversations with the parents and teachers, apart from local language schools and language of instruction we also discussed social relations broadly. The goal of this broad topic was to dive deeper into the parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of conflict and peace in Côte d’Ivoire. Due to recommendations by my assistant, Arianne, and researchers at the Université de Felix Houphouët Boigny, the subject was broached in terms of “social cohesion” and “social relations” rather than in terms of the recent wars and the conflict-post-conflict transition. The purpose of approaching the questions from a frame of “social cohesion” and “social relations” was to introduce the notions of peace and conflict in a less-jarring way by using terms that are 126  commonly used by politicians to discuss the repercussions of les crises with the populous. In this way, I was able to encourage conversations about sensitive subjects by using the terminology that is culturally appropriate at this time thus gaining the parents’ and teachers’ trust to open up about their perceptions on conflict and long-term peacebuilding. By using the term “social cohesion,” I was able to introduce the idea of post-conflict transition without ignorantly or insensitively asking about “life after the war” without appropriate lead-up.   Data analysis. The data analysis technique I used was a narrative analysis. Narrative analysis is a technique used to explore how people use language – or narrative – to understand and present their personal experiences with a phenomena, topic, or experience, (Bernard, 2011; Johnstone, 2008). This method allows researchers to uncover the meaning that participants ascribe to their social worlds by focusing on what participants say and how they choose to say it. The goal of narrative analysis is to identify consistency in how “stories” are told within and across cultures (Bernard, 2011) by searching for overlap and contrast, or repetition and differences, in the themes and narrative structures that are used by the people telling the “stories” (Bernard, 2011; Livholts & Tamboukou, 2015). In the narrative tradition, “stories” are not restricted to tales of events such as in a literary tradition; instead, a “story” or a “narrative” refers to a type of discourse which are expressions of an individual’s constructed reality (Livholts & Tamboukou, 2015). These may be “stories” in the more common use of the phrase, but they are not limited to that. The true focus on the narratives in this type of analytical method is to understand the “stories” of how things are rather than “stories” about what happened. In the attempt to uncover how things are, narrative analysis acknowledges the messiness of how people speak and explores how people use speech to get from point A to point B in the stories they tell. The indirect and often contradictory components that come up in a narrative provide depth and 127  nuance to understanding how people understand their realities, and a narrative approach uses the messiness to better understand how things are.  All narratives are made up of at least two narrative clauses which cannot be re-ordered without altering the meaning and the implied order of narrative events (Johnstone, 2008). A narrative segment spoken by Zuma, a parent living in urban Kwé Dyapo who is originally from Burkina Faso, provides a good example: Original: When at school one must [use] French. Wousso is [used] even more at home. That is for me, [so] I can understand.  Re-arranged: When at school one must [use] French. That is for me, [so] I can understand. Wousso is [used] even more at home.  The original quote from Zuma explains how her children use French at school and Wousso (her native language) at home so that she can understand, which implies that she does not understand French. By switching the narrative phrases “Wousso is used even more at home” and “That is for me, so I can understand,” Zuma’s altered quote suddenly implies that she does understand French.   I conducted the analysis on the French transcripts of the interviews. I chose to analyze the transcripts in their original French in order to maintain the integrity of what participants said. The transcripts which were originally in Brafé then translated to French by my research assistant, Arianne, were also analyzed in their French version as I am unable to read or understand Brafé. By analyzing them in French rather than translating them into English prior to analysis, I eliminated the possibility that even more of the original nuance is lost in translation prior to the analysis; however, I recognize that some of the original integrity of language was lost from the Brafé sections due to my lack of language skills. 128   To analyze the data, I first determined the narrative boundaries within each participants’ responses by identifying all the thematic subjects being addressed within a transcript. These were coded inductively using MaxQDA software. Once these narrative segments were bounded, I coded each individual narrative segment based upon the narrative structures identified by Johnstone (2008). I first looked for and coded the orientation, which identifies temporal context, narrated characters, physical settings, plots, and/or situations. I then looked for and coded any complicating actions, which are specific moments in the narrative that create a tension or set up a challenge to the main point of the narrative. I also looked for and coded resolutions of any existing complicated actions, which as the label indicates provide a solution to the complication. I also coded any narrative evaluations, which are ways in which the speaker explicitly or implicitly applies their own assessment of something included in their narrative. Below is a brief example of this process using a narrative from the data in this chapter. The example is from Seka, a rural parent whose child attends the traditional school.  Figure 15: Coding Example for Narrative Analysis  In this example, I identified a narrative plot that Seka was telling about his own schooling experience. The complicating action, “studies were like the trickster,” was resolved when he said 129  “it was necessary to return to or know how to bend to the culture,” yet he continued to refer to his experience to provide evaluations of the PEI schooling compared to his own schooling experience.   Once this coding process was complete, I then used the original theme-based codes to group the narrative segments. Within each thematic grouping, I then used the narrative structure codes to find overlap and contrast in the ways in which participants spoke about the theme. In this step, I paid closer attention to the language choices made by each participant. The remainder of the analysis comprised of interpreting the meaning behind the language choices made in the narratives, paying attention to areas where the vocabulary and linguistic structures were similar and therefore provided evidence of overlap, and to where they were different and therefore provided evidence of contrast. I included knowledge of the French language as well as contextual knowledge during the analytical process. The quotes that I selected to use as evidence in this chapter were translated into English by me. I edited these English translations for general readability and occasionally for brevity, but the original French quotes which have not been edited for readability or brevity are included in the endnotes.  Data and participant details. The data that I collected over the course of three weeks consisted mainly of joint interviews with parents and individual interviews with teachers and some parents. The CP1 teachers of each of the three schools and parents who had a child in the CP1 classrooms were included in my sample. I intentionally requested an equal number of parents with children in the PEI CP1 classroom as in the traditional CP1 classroom in rural Konvi as well as an equal number of parents in the urban CP1 classroom. This resulted in an original sample size of three teachers and five parents from each classroom for a total of 15 parents. In addition, three rural parents with children in both CP1 classrooms requested to 130  participate, expanding the parent sample size to 18. Table 4 provides an overview of the data collected. Table 5 lays out the logistics of the interviews.  Table 4     Section III data overview. Participant Type Total Sample Size Interview Duration Urban Sample Details Rural Sample Details Parents 18 5h10m37s 5 parents, 2 of whom are not Ivorian 13 parents: 5 parents who only have children in the French school, 5 parents who only have children in the PEI school, and 3 parents whose children have been in both types of schools; 2 parents who are not Ivorian Teachers 3 1h21m53s 1 CP1 Teacher 2 CP1 Teachers: 1 PEI teacher; 1 traditional teacher  131    The urban sample was more diverse than the rural sample, which is reflective of the differences in urban and rural demographics in Côte d'Ivoire more broadly. However, there was still diversity among the rural sample that is important to note, particularly associated with nationality of origin. Among all 18 parents and all three teachers that participated in the study, four participants were not originally from Côte d’Ivoire: these parents were born in Burkina Faso, Guinée, Niger, and Ghana. Two of the non-Ivorian parents currently reside in Kwé Dyapo and two currently reside in rural Konvi. Although those four can be classified broadly as foreign, six other participants did not originate from the location in which they currently reside. For example, rural mother Ama was born and raised in Osansa, not in Konvi. None of the teachers were originally from the places where they currently teach, only one parent is originally from urban Dyapo although he is from a different neighborhood than Kwé, and only one native Ivorian parent living in rural Konvi is not originally from Konvi. 10 different African languages Table 5     Interview logistics. Participant Type Location Dyadic/Individual School Type Language of Interview Parent Urban (Kwe Dyapo): 5 Parents Individual Traditional French Dyadic Traditional French Dyadic Traditional French Teacher Urban (Kwé Dyapo): 1 Teacher Individual Traditional French Parent Rural (Konvi): 13 Parents Individual Traditional French, Brafé Dyadic PEI French Dyadic Both French Dyadic Both French Dyadic Both French, Brafé Dyadic Both French, Brafé Dyadic Both French Teacher Rural (Konvi): 2 Teachers Individual Traditional French Individual PEI French  132  comprise the native languages spoken by the participants. In terms of religious affiliation, most urban parents were Muslim, most rural parents were Christian, and most teachers were Christian. Notably, only one urban parent was Christian, two rural parents were Muslim, and one teacher followed a Traditional religion alongside Christianity. Of these participants who provide intracultural variation for the sample (Bernard, 2011), it is interesting to note that the rural Muslim parents were non-Ivorian whereas the urban Christian parent was from Central Côte d’Ivoire; all four of the non-Ivorian parents were of Muslim affiliation. Table 6 provides the details about each participant broken down by interview – thus, when a parent participated in a dyadic interview, the name and details of their interview partner is also included. 133    The teacher participants warrant further description related to their teaching experiences. The teachers have differing amounts of experience, ranging from 2 years to 37 years teaching. All three of the teachers have taught in more than one school, while only the least experienced teacher has only taught CP1 (the first year of school, equivalent to 1st grade in the United States). The other two teachers have taught multiple grades, although the PEI teacher has only taught  Table 6        Participant and interview details. Location Interview Type Name Sex School Type Origin Native Language Religion Urban Parent Dyad Kaati F Traditional Sejen Fobala Muslim Sabu M Traditional Dyapo Wolde Muslim Urban Parent Dyad Nsia F Traditional Kpuka Ago Christian Zuma F Traditional Burkina Faso Wousso Muslim Urban Parent Individual Fatimatou F Traditional Guinee Wolde Muslim Urban Teacher Individual Elodie F Traditional Oleme Gai Traditional & Christian Rural Parent Dyad Kouassi M PEI Konvi Brafé Christian Sopie F PEI Konvi Brafé Christian Rural Parent Dyad Seka M Traditional Konvi Brafé Christian Kofi M PEI Konvi Brafé Christian Rural Parent Dyad Dandou-Ourfama M Both Niger Ihanno Muslim Konan M PEI Konvi Brafé Christian Rural Parent Dyad Mawuli M Traditional Ghana Chame Muslim Afia* F Both Konvi Brafé Christian Rural Parent Dyad Abena-Yvonne* F Traditional Konvi Brafé Christian Ama* F Both Osansa Brafé Christian Rural Parent Dyad Thema F Traditional Konvi Brafé Christian Esi F PEI Konvi Brafé Christian Rural Parent Individual Aya* F Traditional Konvi Brafé Christian Rural Teacher Individual Baako M PEI Abolo Mizi Christian Rural Teacher Individual Mme. Djere F Traditional Obuno Enyo Christian *Interview conducted in Brafé 134  CP1 at his current school in rural Konvi while the teacher in urban Kwé Dyapo has taught three grades in her current school. Tables 7 and 8 provide an overview of the teachers’ differing teaching backgrounds. Table 7 gives a general overview of each teachers’ entire teaching history, while table 8 gives an overview of each teachers’ history at their current school.   5.2 Contextual Frame: Ways of Speaking to Inform the Section III Analysis  In a narrative study, it is important to have an understanding of common ways of speaking that are contextually relevant yet do not directly relate to the overlap sought in a narrative analysis. There is first the broad overlap of cultural ways of speaking which I will Table 7 Overview of teacher experience. Name Sex Current School Total Years Taught Total Locations Taught Total Grades Taught Specific Grades Taught Elodie F Urban Traditional 13 6 5 CP1, CP2, CE1, CE2, CM1 Baako M Rural PEI 37 12 All All Mme. Djere F Rural Traditional 2 2 1 CP1  Table 8 Teachers’ experiences at their current school. Name Sex Current School Years Taught Grades Taught Specific Grades Taught Elodie F Urban Traditional 8 3 CP1, CE1, CE2 Baako M Rural PEI 3 1 CP1 Mme. Djere F Rural Traditional 1 1 CP1 Note. Each teacher is currently a CP1 teacher.  135  outline, but there is also a more specific overlap related to the subject matter of interest in the research.   Cultural ways of speaking: West African ways of speaking. West African ways of speaking are often studied in relation to oral literature and other oral traditions. While this is not a study of oral traditions, a basic understanding of West African ways of speaking is an important foundation for better understanding the narratives each participant shared. In general, West Africans use speech patterns that are less direct. These ways of speaking rely upon circular and indirect speech, such as talking around a topic or inferring the subject; using proverbs as an educative tool or to respond to a question; poetic idioms and metaphors; and cultural references such as in sinakounya or joking cousins where culturally-derived teasing is used to lessen social tensions (Bennett, 2002; Kouyaté, 2009; Kyiileyang et al., 2017). One way of speaking, using proverbs, is especially interesting to this study due to its role in education. Proverbs are often a way for community elders to impart the wisdom of their ancestors and can act as frameworks to understand local notions of lifelong learning and character development (Avoseh, 2013). While there are many well-known proverbs, the concept of a “proverb” in West African ways of speaking is less about the actual phrase – which is fluid and can change depending upon the context – and more about the knowledge it imparts. In fact, Avoseh (2013) argues that proverbs are encoded wisdom, and the process of decoding the meaning from a proverb is part of developing a critical and deep understanding of values. Similar to sinakounya or joking cousins, the use of proverbs also plays a role in conflict resolution (Avoseh, 2013). The purpose of using proverbs is to use oral means to teach culturally acceptable behavior and criticality. It is important to note that proverbs are contextually dependent, and both their oral presentation (or the words and metaphors used) as well as their meaning cannot be separated from that context. 136   Topic-specific ways of speaking: Les crises, social relations, and the notion of entente. The biggest overlap was the hesitancy to speak of les crises directly. Only in very few instances were les crises mentioned directly and attributed to challenges in social relations; more often, they were alluded to with terms such as before and after, challenges, and political dilemma. There were some instances when a parent or teacher would refer to la crise (singular) or les crises (plural), but this was the exception rather than the rule. However, in their hesitancy to directly reference les crises, the parents in particular spoke at length about the notion of entente, and the notion of entente was central to the ways that both parents and teachers spoke about language and social relations in Côte d’Ivoire. Due to this centrality, the notion of entente acts as a cultural frame for this chapter, providing contextual understanding as well as a boundary for what language is relative to the broader social fabric in the country. What was privileged in conversations about the state of the country were the notion of entente, descriptions of changing social relations, the need for between-group understanding, community, and integration. The notion of entente will be central to this chapter as it both encompasses many of the other elements mentioned and was often used as a way to frame conversations about schooling.   Although the notion of entente was discussed among the teachers, it was not discussed nor defined as clearly as in the parent conversations. Instead, entente was a word used in the conversations to bracket the general concept of peace (or lack thereof), in and out of school, while the teachers focused their attention to other details. Thus, while the parents spend considerable time defining and explaining entente, the teachers used entente as a starting point and took it as a given that everyone in the conversation understood the concept. Due to the 137  importance placed in the conversations with both parents and teachers on the notion of entente, I will explore how parents define the term to build this contextual frame.  Notions of entente. Entente is a key component in how the parents conceptualized social relations, language use, and the transition to a post-conflict state. Though it is not a proverb in the western understanding of the term, it can be viewed as a proverbial component from Avoseh’s (2013) perspective in that the use of entente is meant to evoke a critical understanding of conflict resolution in the current Ivorian context. It was one oral element that parents used to talk about what is necessary to complete that post-conflict transition and have a peaceful and equal society, while also describing language use and the role of education in the development of social relations. Entente was defined in terms of mutual understanding, casual chats (causerie), meetings (reunions), sharing things and knowledge – you can see from these quotes the different ways that entente is explained: Sabu: Where there is peace, we listen. I would add harmony, dialogue. Understanding that, it’s all good. How we learn all that, it’s good. When we take away education, that’s bad. When we are not educated, we have nothing good, there is no entente.vi   Sabu (urban) links the notion of entente directly to peace, where entente is about harmony and dialogue. At the same time, he believes that entente is part of being educated. Sabu’s comment is supported by the conflict and education literature which argues that education plays a role in building and sustaining peace (Bush & Saltarelli, 2000; Fountain, 1999). At the same time, in the same body of literature, education can play a role in promoting conflict (Bush & Saltarelli, 2000; Dabalen & Paul, 2012), and Sabu’s comment highlights that an educational foundation for peace could pose problems in a country where education is not accessible by everyone (Ministère de l’Education Nationale, de l’Enseignement Technique et de la Formation 138  Professionnelle, Direction des Stratégies, de la Planification et des Statistiques [MENET-FP DSPS], 2017); this is also important given the role that differential access to education played in the first crise in 2002 (Sany, 2010).  Nsia: Okay, I see [entente] as – to have a little tolerance. We see each other as an integrated society. One society. That is what I see. The promotion of tolerance and permitting the integration of all. Entente.vii   Simliar to Sabu (urban), Nsia (urban) associates entente with tolerance – an idea that is not too far from Sabu’s “harmony.” She applies this idea to all of society, arguing that it is important to think of people as coming from the same society rather than from different sub-groups. Indirectly, Nsia links entente to a society where there are not rifts caused by horizontal inequalities. Seka: Entente is necessary, to learn, to learn everything, to care. And then talk together. It is everyone speaking with each other by grasping and understanding, speaking together. To see the same goal. Without that, the idea- I do not believe, we cannot succeed in fact. Entente is being human, to sit at the same table, and speak together. To be social. And cover.viii   Seka’s (rural, traditional school) narrative is rich with ideas about what entente is and how it relates to social relations, going so far as to argue that it is necessary for success as a society. Similar to Nsia (urban), who argues for one integrated society, Seka takes that notion a little further to claim that entente is simply being human. It is through those social actions of listening to each other and caring that you acknowledge your humanity and the humanity of others. By humanizing the notion of entente in a conversation about peace and conflict, Seka is subtly reminding us that those affected by conflict and in need of peace are not any different than himself. It is a question of humanness above all. Kofi (rural, PEI), Seka’s dyadic partner, agreed with Seka and added yet another element to the notion of entente in his argument that entente is necessary for peacebuilding: 139  Kofi: Everything that we must find, it’s entente. When there is not entente, we will never work. We will never work because it becomes “I am against, I am annoyed.” Someone needs something but he doesn’t ask me. I need something and I don’t ask anyone, we think that it will work out. But when we laugh at ourselves- it's done, or it’s supported, we can then see what one does not have in society, to see what does not- to see what's wrong in society. If there are no steps, there will be some- it is necessary to equalize, it is necessary to meet, to help according to entente.ix  This idea of helping others was shared by Afia (rural, both schools):  Afia: Entente I believe, when we give each other advice, we are talking about entente, and the fact that we share things with each other. What I know, I teach you as well. They can meet each other, have meetings. In their differences, if everyone brings a little for someone, we can listen to each other, with each other. There are no problems. I ask you what is yours. You show me what is mine. There is no difference but the fact that we are together to share, that is what makes cohesion. It’s like that.x   Kofi (rural, PEI) and Afia (rural, both schools) both bring in the idea of helping others and sharing with others in their discussions about entente. While Kofi mimics his dyadic partner, Seka (rural, traditional school), in expressing the idea that entente is vital to succeeding as a people, he also looks at it as a way to see society broadly. To him, entente leads to asking for and giving help, thus bolstering others to help society succeed. For Afia, entente leads to a cohesive society through the necessity of sharing.   Each of these explanations about entente help develop a clear idea of what entente is and the role it plays in social relations and building peace. Entente is the act of listening and hearing, yes, but it also goes beyond that to include acting on what is heard. This includes helping others and sharing, and above all respecting others as humans. With entente, the tolerance and harmony lead people to recognize that different groups are actually the same as they share the basic elements of humanness. 5.3 Remaining Chapters in Section III  In chapters six and seven, I will rely upon the data collected from parent and teacher interviews as I described in this chapter. Chapter six will focus exclusively on the parent data, 140  and chapter seven will center around the teacher data. I will use the analytical techniques I described in this chapter and ground my analysis in the entente framework that I developed in the previous section to uncover perceived and ideal language regimes in education as expressed by the parents and teachers in my study.   141  Chapter 6. Parent Perceptions: Parents’ Perceived and Ideal Language Regime[s] in Ivorian Education  The 18 parents that I interviewed were willing to discuss their ideas about local language use in education broadly, their thoughts on the PEI model of education more specifically, and their perceptions of social relations and inequalities in Côte d’Ivoire. Although none of the parent narratives were exactly the same, representing their individuality in experiences, identity, and perspectives, there were some broad areas of narrative overlap which provided a general sense of how these parents were framing their discussions. In these general terms, the parents living in rural Konvi were aware of the PEI model of education while the parents living in urban Kwé Dyapo were unaware of the PEI model of education. Despite the rural-urban divide in awareness of the PEI model of education, the majority of parents expressed support for the PEI model and for using local languages in education more broadly. However, there was intercultural variation – or contrasting narrative perspectives – among two of the non-Ivorian parents which indicate that linguistic identity and national identity may complicate the supportive nature of the broad narrative overlaps.   Another narrative overlap which paints a picture of the parents was the lack of direct reference to les crises or inequalities in general, as previewed in the contextual frame. Both topics were implied in many of the narratives, yet the parents did not explicitly state “during les crises” or “there is an inequality” during any of the conversations. It was through conversational context that these two topics were implied. This is not surprising given the typical Ivorian and West African ways of speaking, such as relying upon indirect speech and idioms. The lack of direct reference to both topics however did not limit narrative overlap or narrative contrast on parent perceptions of both les crises and inequalities – or social relations more broadly. The 142  narrative overlap pointed to a general consensus that things were better prior to les crises, although there were some contrasting parent perceptions. By “things” I mean social relations and inequalities, based upon descriptions and examples provided by the parents in their narrative explorations of social relations in the country. The narrative overlap also illuminated the role that parents believe language plays in building positive social relations and reducing inequalities, particularly as it relates to entente between diverse populations. The role that education and language of instruction play in inequalities was also explored in the parent narratives, though the overlapping narratives were full of subtle contrasts which provide deep nuance into how parents relate language of instruction to entente and inequalities, indicating that there is a role for language of instruction in the peacebuilding process yet it is highly complicated.  These generalizations which emerged from the narrative overlaps and contrasts are useful in having a better sense of who these parents are beyond their demographic details which describe their diverse ethnolinguistic and national backgrounds, their religious identities, and their current residence. These generalizations tell us that the 18 parents view their worlds as inequal worlds where social relations are often worse than they used to be, yet the social relations are improving and can continue to improve with the help of entente. These generalizations tell us that parents see language as playing a role in entente, and that they see a place for local languages in the education of their children and future generations. Yet the contrasts tell us that ethnolinguistic and national identities complicate the generalizations, and that language, inequality, and education are viewed as complex issues. In the analysis of the parent narratives that follow, I will explore these complexities in greater depth to better understand how parents perceive language of instruction and the educational language regime, and how those perceptions relate to horizontal inequalities and social relations.  143   Note about data messiness and the edited parent quotes used as evidence. As I mentioned in the previous section about data analysis for this chapter, narrative analysis relies upon the messiness that naturally occurs in speech to uncover how people understand their worlds, and this messiness can provide insight into the nuance and depth of how things are in the participants’ lived realities. At the same time, since this messiness can be hard to read, I chose to present the evidence to support my narrative analysis in this dissertation through cleaned and edited English translations of quotes which emerged from the conversations I had with the parents. While this represents one way in which I exercised my power, as I discuss in my “Position Statement” (chapter 3, section 3.2), it was also an intentional decision that I made in order to make sure that the parent voices and their meanings were not lost-in-translation by my readers. I include two examples of this messiness as vignettes below.  Vignette from a dyadic parent interview in urban Kwé Dyapo. I start with an excerpt from my field notes, made on May 28, 2019:  “The principal’s office was a tight fit – his desk took up most of the space, but Arianne and I were able to move in chairs that were sitting outside in the school yard and set them up in a circle. On the wall of the office are the rosters – each classroom with pictures of each teacher and the students’ names for each room. A few of the classrooms don’t have any teacher listed. I asked the principal why that was, and he said there weren’t any teachers for those rooms because there wasn’t any money to hire teachers. Community members take turns volunteering to teach those classes. Before leaving to teach one of the classes, the principal turned on a radio that was sitting on his desk. ‘It will keep the parents at ease’, he explained. ‘They will feel like their conversation is more private this way, since I don’t have a door to shut. But you can turn it off if 144  you like’. Arianne agreed, but said she would turn off the radio if she thought it was too distracting. The radio stayed on all morning.  “After the interview with Kaati and Sabu ended, Arianne and I were debriefing in the principal’s office. We had time – we made it clear during recruitment that we would be in the area for the entire morning and the principal was still teaching his class. He wouldn’t be back until lunch break, so I knew we could debrief while waiting to see if other parents showed up. If they don’t, on our next visit to the Kwé neighborhood I will need to find another location to be available. Maybe being at the school is not as inviting for this group of parents as it was for the parents in Konvi – but I won’t know until I’ve been here for a few tries. I was very happy that two more parents showed up this morning – so the next visit can at least start in the same way.   “So, as I was debriefing with Arianne, and trying to understand how Kaati went from shy to slowly opening up and being vocal, but only looking at me (I asked if there was a gender dynamic, but Arianne said it was more likely because it is Ramadan – I made a note to continue this conversation tomorrow when we meet at the ROCARE offices) when a woman knocked on the door frame (there is no door, just a frame in the wall which allows a passage between the building and the school yard). Just as the woman asked, ‘I heard that a white woman is looking for parents’, another woman peered through the door and exclaimed ‘I heard that too’!  “I invited both women in and explained that I wanted to speak to parents with children in Elodie’s classroom. Both said ‘bon’ (good or okay, depending upon the context. Both translations seem to work well here) and came in. ‘Make yourself comfortable, please sit where you like’, I said, and as the women sat down in the chairs that Arianne and I had brought in from outside I asked if I could record our conversation. ‘I don’t want to forget what we talk about’, I began, before Arianne launched into her usual explanation about how researchers want to be 145  accurate and recording helps them. ‘I will not include your names, your children’s names, or where we spoke’, I added, and both women agreed. Then I launched into the IRB-approved script about the study, their rights, requesting consent, etc., as I set up both the recorders and placed them strategically around the room. ‘Two, just in case one breaks,’ I say, and the women laugh and nod.  “I noticed in this conversation that Zuma was very eager to share her thoughts even though she was fasting for Ramadan. Yet another reason to remind myself to continue debriefing with Arianne about her initial theory that Kaati was quiet-turned-chatty due to Ramadan. Nsia was calm but had a lot to say. Both women spent most of their time looking at me and speaking directly to me, even when Arianne addressed them. I found this interesting and wonder if this is due to their perception of me. After all, Arianne introduced me as a researcher from the US and introduced herself as my assistant. Just that simple introduction positioned me as the person in charge, even if I would have preferred to be positioned as a learner. Yet both Nsia and Zuma seemed like they wanted to explain things to me, like they understood that I was trying to learn and understand rather than be viewed as an expert, so maybe they were responding to their perception of the dynamic between myself and Arianne rather than only their perception of me as a person in power? I will need to reflect on this, and maybe even include this in my debriefing conversation later.”  To illustrate the conversational dynamics between the four women in the room (Zuma, Nsia, Arianne, and myself), here is an excerpt from our long and dynamic conversation. Although I have kept most of this segment in it’s entirety and did not edit it for clarity, there is one section that I chose to cut in order to place the emphasis on our interactions rather than what 146  was said. I made a note of it in the except. I included notes that I took about behaviors and thoughts I had during the interview. Michelle: My colleague earlier described the schools that use local languages, the integrated schools. So now, I want to hear about your ideas on those types of schools. What do you think about a school that uses a local language?  Arianne: If one has a school like that with ethnie (local language). One has a school where the children learn math in ethnie, they learn uh, they uh…how do you say…writing in ethnie. How do you see that? Zuma: Think it’s good. Michelle: Why? Zuma: Why. It’s a, when uh – speak Wousso, don’t have to understand what was said. But French, oh that, often understand but say, one must speaking [sic] Wousso but not understand. Uh, it’s French it must understand a lot.   There was a silence while Zuma looked around and shrugged. I looked at her and at Nsia and noticed Nsia glanced at Zuma while taking a deep breath. Nsia then looked at me, which corresponded to when she started to speak. Nsia: I say that – okay. I relearn the language. Disappeared. Michelle: Oh really? Nsia: [laughing] Oh good, well to pronounce. There you go. Okay, there are a lot of…of of these places of us, practically a bar of African gold. Cultural, eh. Must understand them. Important. And more than integrated, my language, at school. Michelle: Thank you. That’s, uh. Well, I also want to explain just a little more about these schools before we continue. Like Arianne said, there are 10 languages used. There are 26 schools that use these languages.   Zuma and Nsia nod affirmative. I think this means they understand.  Michelle: All are in rural areas, not in large cities. I would like to know, first, what would you think about having a school like that here? Arianne: Or in Bouake. Michelle: Well, yes, maybe, but more – Arianne: [interrupting me] Or in Korhogo, or other large cities –  Michelle: [interrupting Arianne] Yes but for the most part I’m interested in the idea of expanding the integrated schools, here in Kwé in particular. But elsewhere too, though mostly here. To start.   I am looking at Arianne, trying to get her to stop explaining so much without saying so, since I don’t want to be rude in this conversation. I don’t want the women to think they can’t say what 147  they want because it looks like I am silencing Arianne – so I take the strategy of saying “yes but” and looking at the women to encourage them to speak. Arianne: Because they had, they had these experiences in the small areas. Konvi is a small village, it’s Brafé in that area. At, at, another area. But if one can have this type of school, maybe not generalized but, to create a little in Dyapo or a little in another city. What do you think of that? How do you see that? Michelle: Yes but here in Kwé, how would do you see that?   I used Arianne’s phrasing, “how do you see that”, to see if this will stop her from trying to explain and rephrase my question before the women have a chance to respond. I’ve noticed that the women continue to look at me, even while Arianne is speaking. There is a small silence, which is great because it means that the women have a chance to speak. Nsia: Often a little – complicated.  I notice that Zuma is looking at me as I take notes and listen to Nsia. Nsia continues to explain, and her full explanation is in the endnotes, but I am skipping over it here to continue painting a portrait of the interpersonal interactions. Zuma: I have not sure [sic]. Arianne: What? You have no intent? [Arianne laughs] But imagine it’s in Burkina that this is –  Michelle: [interrupting Arianne] No, it’s okay. Zuma, you have the right not to respond. [I look at Arianne] She has the right not to say anything. It’s okay. [I look back at Zuma] Maybe you would like to think about it a little?  Zuma nods. I make a note to have a chat with Arianne about the interview process, just to remind her that no one is obligated to say anything, and that sometimes silence brings out fascinating answers as the participants feel the need to fill the silence. We had this conversation before the interviews started, so I just need to find a polite way to bring it up again. Arianne: Ok. To help with the reflection, maybe if one chooses Wousso as an example – your language, one has schools like that where they speak Wousso to teach. How do you see that? It’s good, not good, or something else? Zuma: And only…was child at the home it’s not well spoken in Wousso on must understand. Speak school, there better understand French, in country. But if at school one 148  must have French, uh Wousso also more at home Wo – Wousso there. That, it’s me I must understand. But if the home they speak Wo- say understand and then at school one goes the French there, finally can, can understand a lot the ground. The children know. Must think French there.  Nsia: You know that’s good [laughing]. Michelle: Ok, so you said once that it is complicated here in Kwé, in Dyapo. Nsia: Yes, in Dyapo. Michelle: Ok, can you explain that a little for me? Why is it complicated? Nsia: It will be possible. Michelle: What? Nsia: What, what?  Michelle: Uh, if it is complicated to have a language…uh to have a school with a local language here, but it will be possible? [Nsia nods in agreement]. But how is that? Nsia: Okay, maybe there is a choice. [Nsia continues to explain, the full text of which is in the endnotes and included in the analysis].xi   Although this conversation continued for much longer, and there is one section that I cut short in order to continue with the example, this segment of the dyadic interview interspersed with the notes I took during the interview shows how the conversational and personal dynamics played out during this conversation.   Vignette from a dyadic parent interview in rural Konvi. I start with an excerpt from my field notes, an entry made on May 17, 2019:   “It is the second day of parent interviews in Konvi. I didn’t have time to make many field notes between interviews, because there was just a constant stream of parents! When we arrived this morning, even before we greeted the Principals there were parents sitting on chairs outside the Principal building.   “The Principal lent me his office since he teaches too, which was nice of him. He does a lot, actually. He is also president of COGES, and he offered to welcome the parents and have them sit to wait (he was doing, but I wonder how much time he is able to dedicate to teaching if he is regularly in and out like that? Am I taking him away from his class – and how do I let him know this is not necessary? I will make sure to bring this up when we have a moment.) The 149  downside was that he would pop in occasionally to tell me people were waiting to be interviewed by me. I would rather have time to interview, not feel rushed. But this is how things get arranged. Parents are mobilized, and they show up, and then if they wait too long, they leave because they have work. But then they say they will come back – they pop their heads into the room where I am speaking with other parents just to let me know. This way of recruiting seems to be prolific, at least!  “Most of the interviews were 2 at a time or dyadic because, again, everyone was really conscious about time. It is interesting that there is this anxiety around time when time is also perceived differently here. Initially I had to do two at a time because last time I was here a village elder wanted his interview that way, and to deny him the request would have been a huge mistake that would end my relationship with the village. But it also set a precedent that signaled I was okay doing 2 at a time, which made everyone else feel more à l’aise or at ease. I made it clear that this was up to the parents – so if a parent wanted to be alone, they could be – but the parents seemed very happy to simply just come in pairs. And in pairs of strangers, too. The parents introduced themselves to each other each time, which I found interesting.   “Anyway, today was interview after interview, with a break for lunch when the Principals, teachers, and some of the parents joined me at a restaurant owned by a parent that I interviewed at the end of the day. Well, ‘joined me’ is a loose term – I invited the Principals to lunch, and they took charge. They chose the place, and everyone we saw while walking to the place was invited to join by the Principals. And then, I was not allowed to pay. To be fair, Arianne warned me this would happen. As we were walking to lunch, Arianne pulled me aside to say that it would be culturally unacceptable to allow me to pay, so when I offer payment and get refused, I must be gracious about it.  150   “I will go back to the lunch later. The interviews were very dynamic. The Principal’s office did not have a door, and sometimes a student would walk in only to be chastised by the parents in the room and told not to stare at the stranger. The power went out after the first interview, but really the only issue from that was the lack of a fan. At least everyone seems to find great amusement at my constant sweating. There was no lack of light, since there are many windows (really, cut outs – there are no screens or glass) and the door is really only a doorway with no door, meaning that plenty of natural light flooded the room.”  Below is an excerpt from the dyadic interview with Mawuli (father from Ghana) and Afia (mother from Konvi). Since Afia only spoke Brafé, this interview provides a little insight into how I interacted with a parent through a translator – my Arianne, Arianne. This excerpt also includes the Principal of the PEI school, as he often entered the room to update me on the waiting parents or to get something from his desk. As his presence was regularly in and out of my interactions with parents in Konvi, I wanted to include an example of how that impacted the interpersonal dyadic interview dynamics in my Konvi interviews. Michelle: Thank you. So, continuing with this notion of social cohesion or entente that we have been discussing. In general, here in Côte d’Ivoire, how has the cohesion changed in your life?   The parents are thinking, and the principal walks in, strides toward his desk.  Principal: Oh what is this eh? [laughing]  Afia: Ah I need to think about that. Principal: What is it? Arianne: The cohesion, entente. Principal: To live, to live together. How to do it, to live together. Eh, that will take time! [laughing]  The principal leaves, having grabbed a notebook from his desk. Neither of the parents seem phased that he entered suddenly or that he left so quickly. 151  Mawuli: How we already live together. Here in Côte d’Ivoire. Okay, the feeling that…eh, no. Who is in Côte d’Ivoire, in place of…well, if you see, uh, okay. In place it’s not, uh, all that, it’s what they said. And he did not say that, he did not say that, we don’t say those things there. Indifferent – okay. We have, we placed, we had another baby, in any case, and that could help us live together. Must not listen. Must see your, um, that which, or at least by who, uh..like that you see what you must do, where you must go. But those who say don’t do this, don’t do that, in any way name it and all is good. Not that we can live together even. Not problem in the rain a little. Those who do must establish that it’s necessary that no one, who we are also, that we do the work. That is necessary then, that your way of that there, that’s what. It’s work also. It’s good, that. Me, it’s at least to see. That is needed. To call someone.  Mawuli is working through something, this is interesting. I make a note to follow up on this, to ask if he thinks that having more children is part of changing social cohesion? Or maybe he is saying that things are okay. “Not that we can live together” – “we do the work” – “It’s at least to see” – “it’s work”. Clearly it takes work, but what else?  Arianne: [in Brafé] How is it for you?  Arianne is conversing with Afia in Brafé. When I ask a question, she translates it for Afia, and Afia replies. She looks at Arianne initially, but then looks at me while speaking even though I don’t know the language. Arianne will give me a quick translation of what she said. I watch Afia, to see her reaction to Arianne’s translation even though I know her French is limited, but I see her nodding before speaking again. I will ask Arianne to provide me an exact Brafé-to-French translation of each of the Brafé parts in the recordings after all our interviews are done. Afia: [in Brafé] It’s the same as he said.  I pause here. In my notes, I write that I need to get clarification. Ask in a different way, so I decide to focus on whether things have changed or not. Michelle: Okay so, if we speak about social cohesion in Côte d’Ivoire in general, but I want to understand how it has changed, really. If it is the same, or –  Arianne: When you see, [in Brafé] before and now, is it the same? Before and now, have things changed? Is there better entente or worse, or the same? Afia: Okay, [in Brafé] before and now, it is not the same. Before and now, things have changed. 152  Arianne: [in Brafé] what has changed how? For good or bad? What? Afia: [in French] The cohesion is not like a child. The good, it was. Michelle: Can you- Arianne: [interrupting] You can explain. Michelle: What? Afia: [Afia said something very quietly that neither Arianne nor myself heard and was not picked up on the recording.] Arianne: [in Brafé] What did you just say? Afia: [in Brafé] Before, when a woman was pregnant, you gave her traditional medicine and she did it. There were no problems, she took them and she gave birth easily. Today it’s complicated. One two three, you are sick. The world has changed, for the worse, before it was better. Before people lived a longtime and someone who does not have their age could die easily – it was not like that before. Before there was longevity, people were more at ease, that is to say there wasn’t, in fact there was all of that but today it has become worse.  Arianne gave me a short translation of what Afia said here. I write that I need to refocus the conversation, because how did health and pregnancy get brought up?  Michelle: Why have things changed? Afia: [in French] Now,…the world. Mawuli: Okay, a better process for those who …said there is a function. Arianne: At her home? Mawuli: That’s it. That’s why. Michelle: What? I’m sorry, I don’t understand. I’m thinking about what has been said. Why have things changed? Mawuli: Well, for what’s good, it has changed, and really before, before we saw at least, we were, we are not like that. Now we are a lot. There are many of us. It was, is that about twenty had to share before, to erase things was easier. In fact, here. Michelle: It’s that there are a lot of people, it’s that? Mawuli: Mm hmm [nodding in agreement] Michelle: And that is a problem? Mawuli: That’s it.xii   These vignettes were selected to give the readers some insight into the messiness of the data as well as the ways in which my presence and the presence of Arianne influenced the data. These examples are also meant to provide a better picture of how the parents interacted with each other and with the environment in which we spoke. While this back-and-forth was accounted for in my analysis, and my analysis intentionally focuses on the messiness of the data as a narrative 153  approach should, the remainder of the examples in this chapter about parent narratives are cleaned and edited for clarity and, occasionally, brevity. 6.1 Parent Perceptions of Social Relations and [In]equalities Relative to Les Crises  Not surprisingly given typical West African ways of speaking, the parents did not speak about inequality in the most direct manner – meaning that no parent said, “there is this inequality.” Instead, it was highlighted through what parents believed should exist compared to what actually exists. Some of these inequalities will be highlighted and discussed in direct relation to the parent perceptions of language of instruction as the analysis continues, but this section seeks to provide a contextual background that shapes the parents’ perceptions given their histories vis-à-vis the ongoing post-conflict transition in Côte d’Ivoire. In this section, I will illuminate the broad between-group inequalities that were discussed relative to Ivorian social relations and then provide greater detail about the perceived between-group language and education inequalities or lack thereof that emerged from their narratives. This analysis will be referred to throughout the remainder of the parent section as I uncover the parents’ perceived and ideal language regimes in education, but this section is meant to strengthen our understanding of the parents’ background which is shaping their ways of thinking about language, education, inequality, and peacebuilding broadly. By so doing, the following analysis will be better equipped to illuminate how perceived inequalities in the past and present relate to language in education and the potential impact on the post-conflict transition.  Broad conversations about inequalities were typically linked with conversations about changes in social relations in Côte d’Ivoire, where parents would describe how things were prior to les crises compared to now. In these conversations, descriptions about whether there are currently between-group inequalities would often be linked to whether the situation is better or 154  worse than before. In other words, if a parent perceives things in Côte d’Ivoire to be better now than they were prior to les crises, that parent would highlight inequalities that existed before les crises which they believe no longer exist. Alternately, if a parent perceives things to be worse than they were prior to les crises, they would support their statement by discussing new inequalities. For example, Ama (rural, children in both schools) said “when Gbagbo was here, we were tranquil. In any case, it was peaceful.”xiii In other words, Ama felt that things were good during Gbagbo’s presidency, which occurred during les crises.   Two illustrative examples on opposite ends of the spectrum are Nsia (urban) and Thema (rural, traditional school). First, Nsia believes that things were better before les crises: Nsia: Before it was better. Before there were not too many disagreements. Before, before it was good. It was a little carefree. Let's talk about the worries, there weren’t any. […] There are not too many and there was a little harmony. The problem, the disagreements, they came. So we can say that cohesion before was solid. Now it’s less solid. With all that has happened in the country, les crises, we feel that there is less cohesion. It was getting better, but it is a fact that there was a little distrust, intolerance, and then a lot of other negative things. I think les crises were about being non-tolerant. That had an impact on cohesion. Now things are okay, but only okay.xiv   In Nsia’s (urban) narrative, it is clear that she believes things used to be good prior to les crises because life was “carefree,” and people lived in “harmony.” However, les crises brought about “distrust, intolerance, and then a lot of other negative things,” meaning that things got worse. Nsia is careful to conclude that things “are okay,” but she makes it clear that things are only okay and not better, reinforcing her perception that things were better prior to les crises.  In contrast, Thema (rural, traditional school) provides an example for parents who believe that things are better than they were before les crises: Thema: Good, things have evolved to be good. Things are evolving to be good. Before, in our grandparents’ time, they offered judgement of others. Of children too. What our grandparents did before, we see that it creates a lot of problems. In other families too. Often there had even been between us Ivorians, we said that we didn’t like each other. We didn’t like foreigners. I saw that, it was not good. But now there is progress. Things 155  are going well. Things are okay. Because today, there are even more foreigners and they can go places and have things and it's okay. It's okay.xv   In Thema’s (rural, traditional school) narrative, she explains how in her grandparents’ days people did not like foreigners and passed “judgement,” yet now things are better due to “progress.” She also adds that now there are many foreigners who are comfortable enough in Côte d’Ivoire to freely move about, indicating that things have gotten better since les crises as far as tolerance is concerned.  In these conversations, parents fell into one of four narrative structures: those who perceive things to be better now, post-crises; those who perceive things to be worse now, post-crises; those who claim that things are the same; and those who did not wish to elaborate on these matters. Figure 16 provides an overview of where each parent lies on this spectrum.   Figure 16: Parent Perceptions about the State of Social Relations in Côte d'Ivoire Relative to Les Crises 156   Although the parents did not exclusively elaborate on education- and/or language-based between-group inequalities in the narrative segments used to identify their place on the spectrum in figure 16, this provides insight into larger questions about how parents perceive the country. Specifically, it shed light on whether parents perceived between-group inequalities or not, regardless of what type of inequality they were discussing. This is important in light of the broader theoretical argument that it is the perception of between-group inequalities that is related to conflict (i.e., Fukuda-Parr et al., 2013), as this theoretical link underlines where there is potential for continued conflict and where there is potential to support a full transition to post-conflict status. The parents who fall on the end of the spectrum where “things were better before les crises” and “things were better during les crises” are more likely to believe between-group inequalities currently exist, although the parents who believe that things are better now post-crises were careful to qualify the current state of social relations as just okay, meaning that they still believe there are issues that need to be resolved. The general perception that there are still challenges to be addressed is therefore an underlying sentiment that shapes the ways that parents conceive of their worlds and therefore is a factor shaping how they think about language, education, and social relations. In the following sections, I will explore whether any of these challenges are part of the parents’ perceived educational language regime, attending to areas where parents’ perception of the educational language regime indicates a felt existence of between-group inequalities related to language or education. 6.2 Parents’ Perceived Language Regime[s] in Education  As I explained in chapter 4, the status of local languages relative to French and other non-local languages in the language regime is complex and has changed over time through policies, laws, and other official discourses. These official discourses which provide space for local 157  language use in lower levels of education indicate that some local languages are gaining power in the educational language regime, although these same official discourses maintain the overall power and status of French above all other languages in this regime. At the same time, the existence of a PEI model of school alongside the French-only model of school indicates the existence of a language regime in education where the 10 local languages used in PEI schools may have a position of power relative to the remaining 50+ local languages and all other non-Ivorian languages. The use of these languages is relegated to grades CP1, CP2, and CE1 (or grades 1-3) while French is taught as a second language prior to assuming the role of sole language of instruction starting in CE2 (grade 4), which limits the power gained by the 10 local PEI languages and maintains French’s place at the top of the language hierarchy. These official and existing educational language regimes are key elements to understanding language power in education in Côte d’Ivoire, yet to better understand the relationship between the educational language regime and conflict via horizontal inequalities it is important to explore the perception of the educational language regime. Parent narratives provide insight into how parents perceive this language regime and any resulting perceived between-group inequalities. In this section, I will explore the parents’ perceived educational language regime in order to understand where parents believe language and educational inequalities exist.   Awareness and access. Awareness of and access to the PEI model of education provides a starting point to uncover the parents’ perceived language regime in education as both speak to the way that parents think about how language is currently used in Ivorian public schools. Awareness acts as the foundation for my analysis since it stands that access to a PEI school will only be sought out if there is already an awareness that PEI schools exist.  158   Awareness. Parents’ awareness of the PEI model of education was directly linked to their experiences and geographical location. As was expected, all rural parents were aware of the existence of the PEI model of education. This was mainly since the PEI school and the traditional school are physically located in the same Groupe Scolaire, or school campus. Although the schools did not share buildings, all the buildings for both schools surrounded a shared yard where students of both schools intermingled during recess as well as before and after school. While all the rural parents were aware that a PEI school existed, their knowledge of how the model worked was linked to whether they had ever sent a child through that system. On the other hand, none of the urban parents with whom I spoke knew about the PEI model of schools despite the Ministry of Education’s use of sensibilization campaigns to increase awareness and support of the PEI model. The Ministry is outspoken about their awareness campaigning which was originally intended to increase support but has evolved to acknowledge increasing public demand for more PEI schools (Mme Diaby, personal communication, 6/21/2017).  Based upon these levels of awareness of the different types of language of instruction policies in existence in Côte d’Ivoire, I argue that the foundation to the parents’ perceived language regime in education is as follows: urban parents view French as the only language of power in education, while rural parents view local languages – especially their local language, Brafé – as having some power in education albeit less than French. I diagrammed this foundational perceived language regime for the parents in figure 17 below. 159   Figure 17: Parents' Baseline Perceived Language Regime in Education  Access to local language of instruction. Of all the reasons that parents give for sending students to a traditional, French-only school, lack of access is the most shared. Although it was not explicitly stated in their interviews, parents in urban areas do not send their children to a PEI school since there are no such schools in any urban areas in Côte d’Ivoire and therefore they are unable to access the PEI model of school. The rural parents who have greater potential access to a PEI school still faced barriers to taking advantage of their proximity to the school. Thema (rural, traditional school) explains that it isn’t as simple as choosing the PEI school rather than the traditional school: Arianne: But why did you not put your child there [in the PEI school], if it is better? 160  Thema: Well, when you go to do the enrollment there, it’s where-, we got a place there. That is where we put our child. That is where our child is.xvi   Arianne, my research assistant, asked this particular question of Thema (rural, traditional school) because Thema had just described how she thought the Brafé school is better than the French school. Thema’s narrative situation is the lack of availability in the PEI school, with a complicating action that her desire is to send her daughter to the PEI school. In the narrative resolution, Thema was not able to choose what school her daughter attends, regardless of her preferences for the PEI school.   On its own, Thema’s narrative makes the point that parents have no choice in where they send their child to school. A rural parent who participated in a different dyadic interview group, Seka (rural, traditional school), provides more detail in the process although he also says that there is no choice in school. His narrative overlap reinforces the lack of choice and therefore the lack of uniform access to the PEI school while adding an element of hope:  Seka: My children are not yet at the Brafé [school]. I don’t know how they do that school but mine are already in the French schools in Konvi. They are not at the Brafé school. We hope that next year there will be places in a [PEI] school. Arianne: They are not in preschool then? Seka: No, they are not in preschool. There are two in CE1 (year 3), the little one is in CP1 (year 1).  Arianne: Oh, so they started the program.  Seka: They are not yet in the program, they started [at the] French [school]. Okay, [I] wish that they will be [there] next year. Michelle: How do you choose the school? Do you have the right to say, “I want my child to go to that school?” Seka: Choice, it’s not what you hear a lot. It’s not done like that. xvii   Seka’s (rural, traditional school) narrative overlaps with Thema’s (rural, traditional school) narrative situation that parents are not granted the choice of where to send their children to school even if a PEI school is a potential option. However, Seka’s narrative uses both the present and the future as the temporal context, compared to Thema’s strict use of the present. By 161  adding in a future temporal context, Seka’s desire which overlaps with Thema’s desire takes on a more hopeful element which acknowledges the possibility for greater access to the PEI school by his younger children in the next year.   The narrative overlap indicating that rural parents do not have uniform access to PEI schools adds nuance to the perceived language regime in education specifically for rural parents. While the urban parents continue to lack access to the PEI model of education, reinforcing their perceived language regime as French holds all the power in the education system, the rural parents lack of consistent access to PEI schools refines the rural perceived language regime to indicate that local languages do not have as much power as the original perceived regime indicates. Simple awareness of the model suggests that local languages are perceived to have some power relative to French in the education system, yet a lack of uniform access to PEI schools limits how much power they hold. 162   Figure 18: Rural Parents' Perception of the Educational Language Regime, Accounting for PEI Awareness Compared to PEI Access  In figure 18, we see that if awareness of the PEI model is the only factor considered in understanding the rural parents’ perception of the language regime, the local languages would seem to hold more educational power relative to French than may be the case. However, when their acknowledged differential access to the PEI model is considered, we see that parents perceive a constricted limit to how much educational power local languages have relative to French.  However, the hope that access will continue to grow, as expressed by Seka (rural, traditional school), indicates that parents perceive the possibility for changing this educational language regime. Since Seka does not express confidence that his children will definitely be able 163  to attend the PEI school, and Thema only expresses a desire to send her children to the PEI school, this perception of possible change is relegated to a slow change in the educational language regime where local languages are gaining power in education. This shift is shown in figure 19, where the arrows indicate how the new narrative evidence further refines the parents’ perceived educational language regime.   Figure 19: Parents’ Perceived Educational Language Regime, Refined  In figure 19, the adjustment made to the rural perception is an indication of what the rural parents perceive to be within the realm of possibility for the next few years as their younger children continue to enter and move through the education system. Although this is not rooted in 164  the parents’ experiences, Seka’s hope indicates that this is a perceived educational language regime that they believe is within the realm of possibility in the future.  Contrasting perception: Access to what/whose languages in the PEI model. Of the parents with potential access to a PEI school, or rural parents, only one parent was not interested in sending his children to the PEI school: Mawuli (rural, traditional school, non-Ivorian). As a stateless man born in Ghana living in rural Konvi, Mawuli is aware of the PEI model since the traditional French school that his children attend is next door to a PEI school. Although he acknowledges that his children speak Brafé and use it with their peers, he focuses on the role of language in education from the perspective of who speaks what languages. In the narrative that follows, you can see how Mawuli’s thinking about the PEI model of education shifts. His evolution of this stance is interesting, since he starts from a purely personal perspective before broadening out to look at why he does not support the model for other students as prompted by my explanation of the model’s boundaries. Mawuli: In fact, all my children are in the ordinary [French] school. The Brafé language, we do not speak it. That's not our language. Even what little we understand, that is enough. That's not our national language. So, if school teaches French, it’s good anyway. I think that [PEI] is pointless for me. And if we use English, [since] ours is an English-speaking country. If our children, if they understand French and our language, then they can do service in Ghana for me. The French school can educate the child. Michelle: Even though it's not your language, Brafé is not your language, if there is a school in another language, what do you think of that? Mawuli: It's good, it's good. But also, I want our children to learn as well. We are not here to learn a different language. Our national languages are not used. You see, no, that is something that must not be done, but it is done. But if they go to that school, if they do studies it’s in the national language. It’s that there [PEI] that does not teach them, it's not good. That's not good.xviii   Mawuli’s narrative situation states that his children are at the French school to learn because Brafé is not their language. Mawuli evaluates the PEI model as a poor choice for his children, expressing the idea that the PEI school is pointless (“nulle”) for him because Brafé is 165  not his language. As he continued to speak about the PEI model in his narrative, the complicating action arose wherein he expressed support for a school that would teach in a language that is more directly relevant to his own background: English. He said that a school teaching in English would be beneficial to his children although he previously told me that neither he nor his children understand English. His rationale was directly related to his own national background as a Ghanaian, as he argued that learning in English would provide an important link for his children to his home country.  Mawuli’s (rural, traditional school, non-Ivorian) narrative continues to add nuance to the rural perception of the language regime by introducing an element of national identity: in Mawuli’s perceived language regime, the local languages which are granted power in education are not only not relevant to him, they highlight the lack of other languages represented in the regime. Adding Mawuli’s narrative in to the perceived language regime adds this third layer of languages without power: at the top of the regime is French, while some local languages in some rural areas for some students are gaining power, and all other local and non-Ivorian languages are excluded from having power in education.  166   Figure 20: Parents' Perceived Educational Language Regime Complicated by Whose Languages are Accessible  Horizontal [in]equalities illuminated by the perceived educational language regime. The more nuanced language regime in education that rural parents perceive as shown in figure 2 indicates that some rural parents perceive an inequality between languages as they are used in education. While this perception has been illuminated thus far by one contrasting narrative from the stateless non-Ivorian father Mawuli whose children attend the traditional French school in rural Konvi, it begins to shed light on the potential for parents to perceive linguistic inequalities or other between-group inequalities. Exploring their narratives further did just that, shedding light on the between-group inequalities that the 18 parents perceive relative to their post-crises 167  realities in Côte d’Ivoire as I will elaborate in the following sections. The overlapping ways that language and education were discussed broadly by the parents highlighted the following themes relative to between-group inequalities: equal access to French; differential access to other languages; [in]equal access to education; and differential access to PEI.  Equal access to French. There were quite a few parents who spoke about the French language in such a way that indicates that they don’t perceive any inequality when it comes to access to the French language. There were parents who noted that French, as the official language and the typical language of instruction, was a language accessible to all. For example, Dandou Ourfama (rural parent, PEI, non-Ivorian) said that everyone speaks French and Fatimatou (urban, non-Ivorian) stated that “even the elderly, even they understand a little French.”xix Dyadic interview partners Thema (rural, traditional school) and Esi (rural, PEI) even have a small back-and-forth on the topic: Thema: French is the national language. Everyone- Esi: Everyone knows how to understand [it].xx   Among this perception that everyone speaks French, Fatimatou (urban, non-Ivorian) was an interesting case with unexpected contrast. Immediately prior to stating that even the elderly understand French she says that she does not speak very much French – that her French is “really not good.” This could suggest that Fatimatou does not believe there is an inequality in Côte d’Ivoire related to access to French even though she herself struggles with the language. Alternatively, it could be a type of self-protection, trying to gloss over her own foreign identity – she is from Guinée – and instead focus on what she perceives as a positive in her new country. In either case, Fatimatou’s argument alongside the other parents who claimed that everyone speaks French indicates that the official language regime uncovered in chapter four and the perceived language regime thus far uncovered are correct in placing French at the top. 168   Differential access to languages. Apart from the overlapping parent perspective that there is equal access to French, there were parents who spoke about inequalities along the lines of other languages and education. Narrative overlaps underline the value that parents place on local languages, where those languages were perceived as a richness. Nsia (urban) compared languages to goldxxi, Afia (rural, both schools) and Kofi (rural, PEI) referred to local languages as a richnessxxii, with Kofi specifically referring to resources available in his own Brafé as a type of wealthxxiii. The clear underlying theme in the parent narratives was that local languages hold a lot of value and deserve to be, as Seka (rural, traditional school) said, “valorized.” By expressing their support for local languages in such a way that the parents felt the value of their languages must be explicitly stated suggests that parents perceive a linguistic inequality, specifically an inequality that exists between French and local languages.   Although this is not an inequality between specific groups per se nor is it an inequality that can be immediately translated into education, further examination of the parent narratives demonstrate ways that this could become an inequality between specific groups through the perceived educational language regime. To elaborate further, it is important to remember that the parents were told that the PEI model only uses 10 of the 60 local languages. The urban parents who supported the model spoke about being interested in having a similar school in their own languages, and the rural parent Mawuli (traditional school, non-Ivorian) did not support the Brafé school because it was not in his own language. In other words, parents are expressing interest in “valorizing” their own languages when that has not yet been done in education.   To take this even further, consider Nsia’s (urban) narrative: Nsia: Often it’s a little complicated. We are in a big city. With a lot of ethnicities. When I say complicated, we must privilege an ethnic language, common ones over others. There will be a little compromise. Because there are those who already speak their language and French with their parents. Now, if we bring a coordinated – one – language, to school, 169  that’s good. That will allow a little bit, it will permit the others to understand you, [permit you] to form your opinion, [to form] your name. Then it’s good. There are some who already learn the language at home, some think that way [at home] will bring more, but that way can be a little blocked. I think PEI can bring something to help you. In my opinion.xxiv   Nsia (urban) starts by arguing that it is important to use local languages in education, even in her home in urban Kwé Dyapo. Although she begins by acknowledging how complicated this is in such a diverse city, she argues that it is important because using a local language in school allows students to understand each other better (“it will permit the others to understand you”) while also paving the way for students to understand themselves (“to form your opinion, to form your name”). She argues against delegating all local language instruction to the parents, claiming that that method is “a little blocked.” Whether she means that relegating local languages to the home limits (“blocks”) local language acquisition, limits academic growth, or limits personal development is not clear. What is clear, however, is that Nsia strongly believes that local languages should be used in schools, even in a multilingual environment such as Kwé Dyapo.  As she continues, she challenges the dominant use of French in schools. In the next section of her narrative, Nsia’s plot imagines a world where local languages become part of schooling by privileging some languages – elevating some more common local languages above the other local languages by bringing a single “coordinated” language into the school. She also elaborates on the social benefits of having Ivorians learn other Ivorian languages: Michelle: Should it be possible?  Nsia: It will be possible.  Michelle: How?  Nsia: Maybe we have a choice. Among the languages that are most spoken, in the cities, perhaps Peule, maybe Baoule. We can discuss Djula, because it is a commercial language. It can be said that just about everyone understands Djula. Then after [Djula], maybe Baoule […]. It is a function of the languages that are most spoken, as we see in big cities. The languages of the ethnic groups, except French. It’s depending on that, 170  make a choice and then impose it, and we can do that in school. It can be Djula, maybe Baoule. It can be a language. We do not know. In fact, those are only 2 languages, the 2 most Ivorian ethnic groups. There are others, too. I think that if we use languages in school, we can see ourselves add a little cohesion because we can see. We can better explain things. With languages one can explain [things] well. We made time in French, but zero [time] is enough. French often leaves our languages behind, but it can work out. I think it's a positive agreement. If we have- if everyone has the opportunity to see, to learn the languages from their neighbor or from their parent or colleague. If they were at school too, I think that's it, that will bring something. Because if the children start to speak the language of their classmates, it will be a bit interesting and good. We will find that we do not see the differences too much.xxv   Although the conversation has shifted to talking about social relations, Nsia (urban) again talks about language in relation to education. However, she does so in a way that challenges the idea that French must be privileged. In her opinion, French has had its time as the central language (“We made time in French”) and this was detrimental to other languages (“French often leaves our languages behind”). Now the time has come to teach Ivorians other local languages that are not their own. In particular, Nsia calls for local languages to be used in schools and for people to learn the languages of their neighbors from their neighbors then society could become a little more cohesive. This is especially because when Ivorians learn the languages of other Ivorians, they will “not see [their] differences.”  Nsia (urban) also identifies the way forward – past privileging French – through the elevation of some languages over others. By so doing, she is developing an imaginary future where a between-group linguistic inequality exists. At the same time, she blames existing inequalities on the elevation of French (“We made time in French, but zero [time] is enough. French often leaves our languages behind”), and she suggests that creating space for all languages in school can help reduce the focus on otherness thus reducing the between-group inequalities that she is alluding to. In this example, between-group inequalities related to language are intricately intertwined with education. Thus, for Nsia, there are existing language-171  based horizontal inequalities that are causing social tensions which could be remedied via education, yet at the same time the realities of linguistic diversity make it hard to imagine a world where language-based inequalities don’t exist. To the latter point, Nsia is finding a compromise – elevating some languages – to suggest that there are some language-based horizontal inequalities which are acceptable as long as local languages gain status and the French power is reduced.   Zuma (urban, non-Ivorian) provides a strong overlapping narrative to Nsia (urban) in her discussion about linguistic inequalities and the danger of elevating French yet does so relying heavily upon the notion of entente. Recall that the notion of entente frames parents’ narratives, where entente is about building intergroup comprehension, dialogue, and cohesion. Language is the part of entente that refers to comprehension in a direct way, although some parents’ narratives highlight how complex this is in a multilingual country as they struggle to figure out how to build entente without privileging some languages over others. Zuma: I speak Wousso, and my neighbors are interested in the language. If you tell me something, you must ask me in Wousso because we do not understand French. Wousso is in the neighborhood and you need to understand it, my language [Wousso]. And for peace, well, languages can help. They make it so you can understand others for peace. […] I can understand some other languages like Baoule. But French, you must be educated to understand it. With me, there is not that understanding. I'm going to bring up the neighborhood again. You need to include French in the neighborhood or have someone who can speak your own language. Or maybe someone who speaks Djula, since it is commonly understood. It’s better to understand so that you can follow along, so you can understand. We need to talk so everyone understands. The problem is that. It’s not just about the different languages, but it also takes into account not being able to explain, or whether you can understand.xxvi   Zuma’s (urban, non-Ivorian) narrative about social relations, entente, language, and being educated acts as a good example for the overlap found in other parents’ narratives. She is talking about how others understand her language, and she is glad about that because she does not speak French as well. Although this is another contrasting narrative to the previous discussion about 172  the perception that there is non-differential access to French in Côte d’Ivoire, this contrast is useful to setting up the inequalities perceived by Zuma that are both linguistic and educational, highlighting that the educational language regime is perceived as a mechanism by which other non-language-based inequalities are created.  She also expresses the communicative challenges she has with people who do not speak Wousso before bringing in the idea that Djula as a common language could help remedy those challenges. This is not an uncommon idea since Djula is considered to be the language of the markets and commerce (Djité, 2000). However, it is also a political idea in the context of the Ivorian crises. Even post-crises, there are ongoing tensions surrounding the Djula language, where on the one hand it is viewed as a common language despite evidence suggesting the contrary, and on the other hand it is a language with strong identity associations linked to the north-south divide and identity politics of les crises. Djula is a Mande language (Eberhard et al., 2019), meaning that it is associated with an ethnolinguistic group belonging to northern parts of Côte d’Ivoire and with immigrants originating from Mali and Burkina Faso (Akissi Boutin & Kouadio N’Guessan, 2013; Eberhard et al., 2019; Sany, 2010). Immigrant populations, especially of Mande descent, were not considered to be deserving of Ivorian citizenship regardless of how long their families had lived in Côte d’Ivoire under the Ivoirité laws that pre-dated the first crise (Akindès, 2003). Both immigrants and northern populations were considered rebels in les crises (Akindès, 2003; Bah, 2012; Sany, 2010), and the post-conflict transition is focused on remedying those divides and reinforcing the notion that all inhabitants are equal despite lingering distrust of foreigners.   Zuma’s (urban, non-Ivorian) narrative also addresses the official language, French. She begins to say that French is important, but then classifies French as a language for the educated, 173  which she does not believe herself to be. In her narrative, you can see how she is grappling with the idea of communication when she is not within her community of fellow Wousso speakers. She knows that it is important to “speak so that you understand,” but she is also unsure how to take into account different languages or different levels of French and Djula comprehension. In her accounting of lack of French access – despite the broader parent narrative that everyone speaks French – Zuma expresses concern that all languages are not accessed by everyone which limits entente and intercultural communication. In this way, Zuma uses entente to underscore the danger she perceives in linguistic inequalities due to the inherent challenge of developing entente when languages are not shared, understood, or widely spoken. At the same time, she also argues against using French as the language to build entente because that is the language of the educated, thus indicating that Zuma perceives an educational inequality that is connected to an inequality of linguistic access.  Based upon these parents’ narratives about differential access to languages, particularly the focus on the need to “valorize” these local languages alongside Zuma’s and Nsia’s discussions about the challenges in a multilingual country that has led to a strong power of French, there are clear patterns in the perception of language-based horizontal inequalities. These are shown in figure 21 below. 174   Figure 21: Parents' Perceived Educational Language Regimes Indicating Horizontal Inequalities  Access to education: Education as equalizer or as an inequality? The perception of whether or not access to education is a perceived inequality between groups was an overlapping narrative theme among the parents, yet the details of these perceived inequalities were more contrasting than overlapping. Some parents do not perceive an inequality in education since 175  education is also part of the home, as Nsia (urban) says. Among these parents, some consider education to be a remedy to other perceived between-group inequalities – or what I term an equalizer. Alternately, some parents perceived a clear between-group inequality in access to education, such as dyadic interview partners Seka (rural, traditional school) and Kofi (rural, PEI) who speak about resource inequalities. Both contrasting perspectives will be explored in the following subsections.  Education as equalizer. Education as an equalizer arose in narratives about both equal access to education and the potential for education to act as a remedy to Ivorian conflict. Nsia (urban) and Zuma (urban, non-Ivorian) as dyadic interview partners referred to both, where they describe how a common education is the way to build peace, as long as everyone is given the same opportunities. The way that Nsia comes to that conclusion is interesting, as she makes a great effort to differentiate between education and school, thus making a conscientious effort to remove the stigma of “uneducated” for that those who did not receive a formal schooling:  Nsia: But everyone has a base of an education. Everyone has a basic education even before going to school. Before everyone goes, before we put them in school or don’t. They have an education. A base. Therefore, for those who did not go to school, they have this education taken in life, at home, with the parents, and then it’s good. […] You must have the same results for those who did not go to school.  Michelle: So they are still educated, it’s that. Nsia: Yes, I want to say they are educated. So, for long term peace, with all that we have said already. Nothing is impossible. Michelle: Really? We have an optimist [laughing]. Nsia: [laughing] Yes yes, nothing is impossible. I think that one has to try. To try to have an education. If one takes the base of an education, [that was] received at home, and one tries to add to it, with the common education. What you have at school, I think that as long as there is something good [then] it’s good that we do that. Everyone will have that place. As long as there are not-, you must say that there will not be marginalization, or the good will leave. It’s not because you did not go to school that you did not have- in any case the question is what can be done for those who did not go to school and with those who were at school? Education can provide some type of patience, and at least school can give something positive. If it takes account of everyone. If we give everyone their opportunity. It’s not easy. Therefore that’s, that can- everyone can be happy. And then that’s good. 176  Zuma: I agree with everything she said. Nothing else to add, she said everything.xxvii   For Nsia (urban) and Zuma (urban, non-Ivorian), education has the potential to be an equalizer as long as everyone is given the same opportunity and there is attention paid to reducing marginalization; however, there was great weight given to highlighting that everyone is educated even if they do not attend school. In this case, education seems to act as an additional layer of aid in remedying between-group inequalities when done correctly, rather than a main factor in supporting entente and peacebuilding.   Fatimatou (urban, non-Ivorian) describes how prior to la crise she was harassed as a Muslim woman living in a Christian neighborhood and denied access to religious resources by some Christian men who would follow her when she left the house. She explains how this felt between-religious-group inequality has been reduced through education: Fatimatou: Before, for example, we are Muslim. There is a Christian. One time from my house, I left for prayer in the morning with another. But she returned home. There was a Christian who hunted me, just before prayer time. He tried to initiate something. I can’t say if there were other men. I cried, even now. We weren’t all involved. We prayed and so did they. We were grasping. But it’s the same prayer that exists [at church and at the mosque]. It’s the same thing. Now, we don’t see that. There are people who go to church, some who go to other places of worship. They followed me then but- there were problems. Now there is not that any longer. It’s okay. Now we don’t see that.  Michelle: Thank you for sharing. So, things have changed? Fatimatou: Things changed for good. Michelle: Why did it change? Fatimatou: It is the behaviors that changed, if not really changed. It’s changing. If we go to school and others go to school, with good teachers for example, schoolteachers who teach, explain things. Isn’t that it, then.xxviii   In Fatimatou’s (urban, non-Ivorian) narrative, where her plot is her own experience as a Muslim woman being “hunted” by Christian men, she views education as the resolution to her harassment and her felt inequality. For Nsia (urban), it was more complicated since her plot described how everyone is educated in their own way at home, although the complicating action in her narrative was that she felt a common education can help remedy between-group 177  inequalities. The overlap reinforces the idea that education is an equalizer, yet the contrast makes it clear that equal access to education is only one piece to the post-conflict puzzle.  Inequal access to education. Contrasted with the notion that equal access to education is an equalizer which may aid in peacebuilding, there were parents who perceived education itself to be a source of felt inequalities. Thema (rural, traditional school) describes her perception that there is a distinct inequality between urban and rural groups in terms of education: Thema: The children of the city, they are advanced, more than the children of the village. Whatever the child of the city tries, he does in his French. Even when you ask questions, ask me questions, he knows. He is strong. In French they are very strong, the children of the city, more than the village. So, it’s strength that the children of the city have in French, truly strength of language.xxix   Thema (rural, traditional school) is clearly arguing that urban children are ahead of rural children in matters of education and French acquisition. However, when this element of her narrative is taken in light of her earlier narrative about the PEI program in her hometown of Konvi, there is a subtle addition to the meaning: Thema: To teach them at the Brafé school, it's easy. Often when they are at school but they do not speak French, it is Brafé they speak. When they go to class, when it's in Brafé, in any case it works.xxx   The broader context is that Thema’s dyadic interview partner, Esi (rural, PEI), just finished saying that the PEI school helps her children advance because they also learn math. Thema agreed, then went on to say that going to school in a language that you know simply works. This prelude to Thema’s claim that urban students are more advanced educationally than rural students suggests that, to Thema, the PEI model is helping to fix this educational inequality between urban and rural students that she perceives with the aid of local languages. This is a partial overlap to Fatimatou’s narrative resolution that education broadly is remedying other felt 178  inequalities between religious groups, suggesting that for parents, education broadly and relative to language of instruction has a role to play in remedying horizontal inequalities.  Access to PEI. Except for Mawuli (rural, traditional school, non-Ivorian), all the rural parents in Konvi expressed concern that the PEI model is not available in urban areas and spoke about it in such a way that highlighted concern that access to PEI should not be a privilege for which there are inequalities. While Thema (rural, traditional school) felt that the PEI was rectifying a horizontal inequality against rural areas (Esi agreed with nonverbal nods and a few “mm-hmms”), the other parents would often lament with questions like “but why isn’t it in urban areas?” and “why can’t it be everywhere?” A broad interpretation of this overlap is that rural parents perceived a rural-urban inequality in education quality that favored their own students while disadvantaging urban students due to their access to schools that use local languages as the medium of instruction. However, Thema’s contrasting perception of the rural-urban inequality challenges that narrative, instead presenting the PEI model as a way to remedy already felt inequalities. 6.3 Parents’ Ideal Language Regime[s] in Education  Regardless of whether parents were aware of or had access to the PEI model of education, each parent expressed opinions on the role that language should play in education, thus enabling me to understand their ideal educational language regimes. The purpose was not to uncover 18 different ideal educational language regimes, although possible; instead, by analyzing the narratives with an eye for overlap and contrast I uncovered more generalized ideal language regimes in education where the overlap revealed patterns, focused on key variations uncovered via contrast, and asked how these patterns and variations complicated the perceived horizontal inequalities that began to emerge in the perceived language regime analysis. 179   Interestingly enough, while I did expect to uncover 18 very different ideal educational language regimes due to different levels of support for the PEI model of education, I was surprised to find that the majority of parents supported the PEI model of education which made it easier to uncover a generalized base ideal regime with some exceptions. The base ideal regime starts like this:  Figure 22: Parents’ Baseline Ideal Educational Language Regime  Based upon the overwhelming support for the PEI model of education coupled with their continued perception that everyone can and should speak French, the parents’ ideal educational language regime was one where local languages were granted educational power alongside French, as seen in figure 22. Although I initially approached my analysis by asking who supports the use of local languages in education and who doesn’t, based upon this initial finding I had to shift to look more in depth at who partially supports the use of local languages in education. While I found that support for the PEI model of education is widespread generally, the nuances illuminate a much more complex ideal language regime for education in Côte d’Ivoire. In this section, I will refine the baseline ideal regime based upon the parent narratives about PEI support and their notions of the value of various languages. As the ideal regime continues to be refined through these narratives, I will also address the areas where lack of PEI support provide nuance to the ideal educational language regime. The ideal regime emerges through the narrative themes 180  of valorizing local languages, the role that language plays in connecting education to culture, and the role of language in learning.   Language valorization. The ideal language regime that emerges in the parent narratives is one where local languages are strengthened in power relative to French. There were different ways that parents expressed this ideal regime, though the main way was through PEI expansion which requires increasing respect for local languages. Although we have seen that access to a PEI type of school is not uniform – it is not available in urban areas, and in the rural areas where a PEI school exists there are not enough student places to meet parent demand – parents spoke about ways that the program could be expanded. Thema (rural, traditional school) and Mawuli (rural, traditional school, non-Ivorian) argued that it was not possible or necessary; Aya (rural, traditional school), Kaati (urban), and Fatimatou (urban, non-Ivorian) simply said it would be important albeit complicated due to the “mixed” nature of large cities; and other parents felt that it was important to expand the program into urban areas and offered ideas ranging from choosing a widely spoken language like Djula to launching large sensibilization campaigns.   Parent ideas about how to expand PEI. While Sabu (urban) and Dandou Ourfama (rural, students in both types of schools, non-Ivorian) both argued for using Djula since it is widely spoken, Sopie and Kouassi (rural dyadic interview partners, both with students in the PEI school) argued for conducting a study to identify which languages are the most used in different neighborhoods. Seka (rural, traditional school), Esi (rural, PEI), and Nsia (urban) provide narratives explaining the responsibilities of the government and the communities to expand the program. Due to the length of these narratives, I only provide a small piece of the relevant discussions below, but the full French may be found in the endnotes.  181   I start with Seka’s (rural, traditional school) narrative, as it is illustrative of the themes I found in other parents’ narratives. In his narrative, his thoughts on expanding the PEI model of education become clearer and more urgent as he continues to speak: Seka: In fact, it will be necessary that we import it [PEI] far. Import that [type of] education in big cities like Abidjan, Bouake, Dyapo, where children have no chance to know their village and all that comes with it. If the government puts a program in place, puts this education in place, I think that we must transfer all of this. It is necessary, I do not know how to tell you, it is necessary. It is necessary that the Ivorian state of teaching administers it. It's obligatory. It should be compulsory education in the big cities. It's a campaign that the Ivorian state must do. I think we need to launch an awareness campaign. To start a big campaign, a campaign that is launched and put in place at the levels, and we must value it. We must value the mother tongue. That's the word in fact. We must valorize the mother tongue. The Minister of Education and the government must valorize the mother tongue. And that's a campaign to do. Any ethnic group has the right to speak. Where there are schools. We must valorize that. It’s very important. It’s very important. It’s very important. Must valorize, make a campaign of substance. We must value it a lot. The others who were there since the year 2000, they offered us a study, they are full of ideas. But it's up to us, who are here, to do this work, to help as I said. To help you make this campaign. We are ready, I'm ready as a parent, I'm ready to help make this campaign.xxxi   As Seka (rural, traditional school) is working through why expanding access to local language education is important and how it could work, he starts by placing the onus on the government to “import” the model, making it seem like a foreign but necessary concept. However, as he continues, he then begins to talk about how the government should also “launch a sensibilization campaign” and inform parents about the importance of using local languages in education. During this thought, he stumbles upon a word that he suddenly feels summarizes exactly what needs to happen: “valoriser” – a French verb meaning “to add value” or “to valorize.” With the use of this verb, Seka’s narrative plot becomes the need for local languages need to be valued, an action that must occur via government channels. Seka’s complicating action that the burden of language valorization is also on the parents to help with the campaign, to help spread the word, reinforces the importance he places on the process. In his evaluation, 182  languages need to become respected and hold more value, so much so that everyone is responsible for making sure this happens. As a result, it would become possible to expand the PEI model of education which he strongly believes is necessary due to the importance of local languages.  However, other parents such as Esi (rural, PEI) and Nsia (urban) offer both overlapping and contrasting narratives to Seka’s desire to expand the PEI model through language valorization. Although they also strongly support expanding the PEI model of education, they provide an evaluative narrative that describes a tradeoff between valorizing some languages and imposing others. Both these narrative analyses follow.   Although Esi (rural, PEI) previously argued that a PEI model should be everywhere, including big cities, in her narrative plot the expansion should be imposed – a mandate from above that is decided for the schools: Esi: Because in Abidjan and Dyapo and other cities, like Konvi, a lot of people speak different languages. Here in Konvi, it's Brafé we speak. Brafé and then French. If you are not an elderly in the city, then you do not speak your language. In Abidjan too, there are many people. It's necessary to impose that [PEI]. If it was imposed, if that [PEI] was imposed, then, well…here in Konvi there is only one language that we speak, we must do Brafé and then French, everyone knows that. But as long as they go to 6th grade we know- who knows what to do. If it is imposed there, we will know that it is imposed. But it can be imposed, it is then that it will come a little. A little so they pass CP (grades 1 and 2).xxxii   As she speaks, Esi introduces a complicating action by wavering between whether an imposed PEI model of education is a good idea or not, since it will be recognized as an imposition rather than an initiative desired by the inhabitants of large cities. Although she never quite makes the case that it should be imposed, Esi resolves her narrative by defining the goal of the PEI model in terms of students succeeding in school: “it can be imposed, [because] it is then that it will come a little. A little so they pass CP (grades 1 and 2).” 183   Unlike the ideas brought forth by Seka (rural, traditional school) and Esi (rural, PEI), Nsia (urban) proposes a plan for expanding the PEI model that requires a strong linguistic compromise: Nsia: We must privilege an ethnic language, common ones over others. It will compromise a little. […] Now, if we bring a coordinated – one – language, to school, that’s good. […] Well maybe we have a choice. Among the languages that are most spoken, in the cities, perhaps Peule, maybe Baoule. We can discuss Djula, because it is a commercial language. It can be said that just about everyone understands Djula. Then after maybe Baoule. It is a function of the languages that are most spoken, […] except French. It's more depending on that, make a choice and then impose it, and we can do that in school. It can be Djula, maybe Baoule. It can be a language. Well, we do not know. In fact those are only 2 languages, the 2 most Ivorian ethnic groups we see. There are others, too.xxxiii   Nsia’s (urban) narrative covers a lot of the other ideas brought forth by the parents: providing choices of languages in education, selecting a language that is spoken by more people, choosing the commercial language Djula, and imposing languages in school. In contrast to Seka’s desire to add value to local languages, Nsia’s plot to expand the PEI program requires some languages to be “privileged” over others. She calls for a “compromise,” but in the end she feels that this compromise would still allow people to understand each other better.   In the partially overlapping and contrasting parent narratives outlining PEI model expansion, there is a tension between valorizing and privileging local languages. The tradeoff between valorizing local languages and feeling like a few languages must be privileged over other languages could be taken to mean that there are some parents who feel like all languages are important while others feel only some languages are important. This tradeoff however could also be a difference between discussing an ideal world compared to discussing a more realistic approach. Regardless, all ways of looking at the issue indicates that parents want local languages – whether all or some – to be valued in formal spaces such as education. 184   Nsia’s (urban) narrative also brings up issues of [in]equality of language. She acknowledges that there are some languages that could have greater value than other languages – they could be “privileged.” As the ideal language regime in education is beginning to emerge through Nsia and other parent narratives, the perception of inequality to local language education access in the perceived language regime is becoming clearer. 185   Figure 23: Difference between the Parents' Perceived and Emerging Ideal Educational Language Regimes  The emerging ideal regime thus far has one main sticking point: although the parents express the desire to increase the power of local languages through their inclusion in education, there remains a question as to how many of the 60+ Ivorian languages this should encompass. Nsia (urban) called for a compromise by elevating some languages, yet in so doing she 186  acknowledges that not all languages will be “valorized” as Seka explicitly desires. When Mawuli’s (rural, traditional school, non-Ivorian) perceived regime is taken into account, where he points to the felt devaluation of non-Ivorian languages, this adds another complicating question: should other languages beyond Ivorian languages be valorized in the education language regime as well?   These complications to the ideal language regime continue to highlight perceived language in education horizontal inequalities while bringing into focus only one known in the ideal regime, namely that local languages in education should be expanded to reduce the inequal power of local languages relative to the power of French. The tensions between the perceived and ideal regimes begin to highlight differentially acceptable between-language inequalities as seen in figure 23.   When entente is added into the analysis, perceived inequalities become clearer yet. Afia (rural, both schools) and Nsia (urban) both link language to entente in a way that not only acknowledges the linguistic diversity in Côte d’Ivoire but does so in a positive light. Afia: Entente. Cohesion, contribution. It’s like languages are a richness for us. When there is a worry, I can communicate with someone and say, “there is your son or your daughter, they did this,” and then we can communicate with one another. We understand each other and then [can] identify the shootings, for example. Language is important.xxxiv    Afia’s use of the violent possibility of a shooting underlines the context in which she is living, where this type of violence is within the realm of her possibility and is a reflection of the history of conflict in Côte d’Ivoire influencing her perspective. While Afia’s (rural, both schools) violent language provides strong context, it is not the main plot in her narrative. Instead, the plot is the plurality of languages as a lived reality which she defines as a wealth and therefore as a benefit. She contrasts the plot – the wealth ascribed to linguistic plurality – with a violent complicating action – the possibility to address violence – which makes it clear how beneficial 187  Afia considers the linguistic diversity to be. As such, although she is not directly describing her ideal educational language regime, she is supporting the ideal where local languages (emphasis on the plurality of languages) are elevated while also indicating that inequalities between languages are unacceptable. Nsia (urban) also speaks about languages in the plural: Nsia: I think that if we use languages, often we can see ourselves add a little cohesion because we can see. We can better explain things. With languages one can explain well. We made time in French, but zero [time] is enough. French often left our languages behind. But it will work out. I think it's a positive agreement, if we have- if everyone has the opportunity to try, to learn the languages from their neighbor or from their parent or colleague. If we were at school too, I think that's it, that will bring something. Because if the children start to speak the language of their classmates, it will be a bit interesting and good. We will find that we do not see the differences too much.xxxv   Compared to Afia’s (rural, both schools) strong support of the plurality of languages in Côte d’Ivoire, Nsia’s (urban) conversation around languages seems to be more muted. What stands out is that she explicitly refers to languages as plural prior to arguing that Ivorians gave a lot of time to French at the expense of the local languages (again, plural), implicitly arguing that the time to valorize local languages is now. Then, although we were having a conversation about entente and long-term peace, Nsia turned the conversation back to language in education by arguing that it would be beneficial for students to learn the languages of their neighbors. Nsia links social relations, education, languages, and peacebuilding via entente, connecting the learning of other languages to making it so that we no longer focus only on differences. By using the social relations platform and a conversation about entente to make a case for incorporating a multiplicity of languages in education, Nsia uses entente as a way to frame her ideal educational language regime. Her narrative strongly reinforces the ideal educational language regime uncovered in this chapter where a plurality of local languages become elevated, and takes it further to argue that French should be downgraded to look like this: 188   Figure 24: Parents' Revised Ideal Educational Language Regime to Strengthen Entente  In this instance, Nsia’s (urban) refined ideal educational language regime also serves to highlight horizontal inequalities that she perceives as both existing and being relevant to the post-conflict transition process. By arguing for the language regime shift in figure 24, she is also arguing that she sees an unacceptable inequality between students who have access to learning local languages and students who do not.  Culture and [dis]orientation. Compared to the official language regime identified in chapter four, where local languages’ association to culture and other non-academic subjects was one way that local languages were devalued relative to French, it is noteworthy that one of the main parent arguments for elevating local languages in their ideal educational language regime is due to its cultural relevance and strength. A few parents expressed the idea that using a local language as the medium of instruction removes the disorienting nature of schooling: Thema 189  (rural, traditional school) claimed that a local language education “organizes” the students; and Seka (rural, traditional school) claimed that a French-only education was “dépaysant,” which translates directly to “exotic” and “disorienting” with roots in “country” (pays) and “peasant” (paysan). In Ivorian French, pays or country also refers to different regions within the country, and is used to identify different ethnolinguistic territories. Using the term “dépaysant” thus seems to suggest that education has been homogenized to the point that it is lacking something uniquely Ivorian or something unique to different ethnolinguistic groups. Seka in rural Konvi used the term “disorienting” when explaining why he would like to send his children to the Brafé school even though they are in the French school, using the plot of his own schooling experience to define traditional school as dépaysant: Seka: Choice is not what we hear a lot, it's not how we do it. But, if it’s me, my choice is that my children go to the Brafé school. Why, I will explain. Because, in my day, me, I- when we went to school-, it is disorienting in fact. There was not this culture, this primary school in Brafé. And it is like studies were the trickster, my bag was reduced. We were lost in this history at the time when people and our-, base. It was necessary to return to or know how to bend to the culture, or it is, and that is why I support it. Every time, we are already learning more. It is necessary that what you want, does not pass-, that it does not lose a child. This is not disorienting, this way, this situation. So, what, if we make a choice, we need the choice of school, what is called Brafé in fact. Because I am in a Brafé area, and you if you were Senoufo you must have Senoufo. But to me, this is a vehicle for kids to learn at school if it's supported. Culture comes, in the head. There you go. If it is enforced in the United States but [they] do not know it, they omit [their] roots. They speak, they are able to. They make it, they make the riches since. But when you already use roots, I think it's a base, and we will push.xxxvi   I chose to highlight Seka’s (rural, traditional school) words because they capture many of the overlapping reasons why parents support the use of local languages in education such as providing a knowledge base for students to build upon, and grounding school in the students’ cultural backgrounds. Seka’s explanation about using local languages in education as a way to limit the disorienting effect of starting school – already a new experience which requires learning new cultural norms and expectations – goes into great detail about these other reasons why 190  parents support this type of schooling. By grouping culturally grounded education and student learning under the umbrella of removing the “disorienting” effect of school, and by adding in the notion that a school should put in effort not to “lose” any student, Seka introduces the idea that the PEI school is about more than local language representation in school. He adds in the complicating action where studies become “tricksters” contrasted with PEI as a learning technique to propose the resolution that the PEI model can aid in student learning. Seka’s evaluation is that schooling will be effective if it is culturally rooted using a local language, thus indicating that the PEI model ensures student successes in terms of academics and cultural respect.   Where Seka (rural, traditional school) spoke about the importance of a culturally grounded education to limit the disorienting nature of school, other parents argued that local languages are important in school because it relies upon their “roots” and their “heritage.” Sopie (rural, PEI school), Nsia (urban), and Kofi (rural, PEI school, Seka’s dyadic interview partner) vocalized the importance of using local languages in education to incorporate the students’ roots into their education. Sopie: Why don’t children even understand a word of their language. He does not have a mother tongue, only French. It’s normal that their father is not the same ethnicity as their mother, but then it's only French that the child speaks. And it's very dangerous. Because the child does not even differentiate from these two types of languages from his mom and his dad. The dad who is the Brafé, for example, he does not speak any Brafé to his son. Now what type of bad is the father asking of his son.xxxvii   Sopie (rural, PEI) laments that there are children who cannot even tell the difference between different types of languages now that ethnicities are increasingly mixed. Although she is not arguing that mixing ethnicities is bad – she calls this “normal” in fact – she is arguing that when a father does not speak his language to his son he must be asking something “mal” (bad, evil) of his son. Sopie later goes on to say that a child’s customs, traditions, and history must be 191  part of their base education. Through her plot where children are losing their own languages, Sopie qualifies local languages as the opposite of “mal” (bad) – or good – in their ability to ground children in their own histories.   Sopie (PEI), Kofi (PEI), and Seka (traditional school) are all rural parents expressing the link between PEI and culture. Nsia was the only urban parent who used culture directly as a reason why she supports the PEI model. Nsia: I am taking back the language. It disappeared. It’s good to pronounce in it. There you go. There are a lot of our places. It’s practically a bar of African gold. Cultural. One must understand them. It’s important. And even more than integrated, my language in school.xxxviii   Nsia (urban) starts out by explaining that she is reclaiming her own language, a very direct plot line that she chose to use to explain why she supports the PEI model. She evaluates local languages not only as important but as a uniquely African cultural capital. That she compares it to a “bar of African gold” highlights just how much importance Nsia places on local languages; and that she uses “languages” in the plural while discussing African culture suggests that the multiplicity and diversity of local languages adds to their value. Further, Nsia calls for more than an “integrated” model, or something that goes beyond the PEI model of education; although she does not explain what that might be, it is interesting that she supports a model that she also does not necessarily think goes far enough in valorizing local languages.  Although these narratives continue to uncover the ideal language regime, they also provide an interesting contrast to the official regime as I alluded to earlier. In this case, where the official regime uses culture as a way to mitigate the power of local languages in education, the parents use culture as an argument for why local languages should have greater power in the educational language regime, as seen in figure 25. 192   Figure 25: Comparing the Role of Culture between the Official Language Regime and the Parents' Ideal Language Regime in Education  Contrast to the culture and [dis]orienting argument: Language and national identity. Thus far, an overwhelming support for the expansion of PEI schools and the valorization of local languages in education in order to remove the disorienting effect of a French-only education has been used to uncover the parents’ ideal educational language regime. In figure 25, we see that this ideal regime differs from the official regime due to the differing value granted to the cultural aspect of language. Nuance was introduced when parents began to think about the need to compromise when selecting languages from the multitude of options. However, this nuance does 193  not fully represent a key challenge to valorizing local languages in education: the question about language and identity, particularly for those of non-Ivorian heritage.   The two parents whose narratives provided contrast to the overall parental support of the PEI model were Zuma, an immigrant mother from Burkina Faso living in the Kwé neighborhood of urban Dyapo, and Mawuli, a stateless father who was born in Ghana and now lives in rural Konvi. Zuma initially supports the PEI model then shifts to support of French-only, as seen in her narrative:  Zuma: Schools with [local] languages. [I] think it’s good.  Michelle: Why?  Zuma: Why. When I speak in Wousso, no one must understand what is said. But French, often we must understand [it]. We might speak Wousso but no one has to understand it. It's French we must understand a lot [of].xxxix   In this narrative, Zuma (urban, non-Ivorian) starts by saying that she believes that schools that use local languages are good. The reason she gives is that no one understand Wousso, her native language. However, she qualifies her statement that no one speaks Wousso with an evaluation of French: she is positioning French as a language that needs to be understood and often is, whereas Wousso is being left in a position where no one else understands it. She continues to discuss this difference between French and Wousso by broadening the location of language from school to the home: Zuma: Except if the child was at home, it's not good to speak in Wousso, because we will have to understand. Speaking [at] school, there [it’s] better to understand French, in this country. When at school one must [use] French. Wousso is [used] even more at home. That is for me, [so] I can understand. But if at the house one speaks Wousso, and then at school one does French, finally one can understand a lot. The children know. [They] must think [in] French.xl   In this continuation, Zuma illustrates how she thinks about the use of local languages in education through the use of her children as an example. Once she looks at the issue from her children’s perspective, her original support for the PEI model shifts into support for traditional 194  French schools. This is not a complete shift, though, as she continues to position Wousso as a language that she understands and that has a place in the home, although she places the burden of responsibility on herself to make sure that she can understand other people including her children, while French is now given value as the language that belongs in the school and as the language that is important to think in.   Zuma’s (urban, non-Ivorian) narrative about her thoughts on local languages in schools is interesting. While she initially says that the idea is a good one in general, she focuses on the frustration she has with her own children who do not want to speak their own language (Wousso). Even though Wousso is not one of the PEI languages or an Ivorian language, she translated the PEI concept broadly to mean education in all native languages. Yet she concludes her thoughts about the PEI model by saying that home is for local languages and school is for French because it is necessary to think in French. In her narrative redirection, Zuma expresses uncertainty about the role of local languages in education. Since she does not have experience with a PEI school, her hesitancy could reflect the hesitancy that parents in other countries have toward local language education as well – a concern that schooling in a local language would come at the cost of learning the official language (i.e., Awedoba, 2001; Djité, 2000; Muthwii, 2004). This places a new twist on the ideal language regime in education, where local languages are important yet only in the home, while French holds value in education due to its perceived value beyond education. 195   Figure 26: An Alternate Version of the Parents' Ideal Language Regime in Education  Mawuli (rural, traditional school, non-Ivorian), as we have already seen, argues against the PEI model of education in his narrative where he describes the PEI model as “nulle” (pointless) for his children. We already saw how Mawuli perceived the language regime in education as devaluing non-Ivorian languages. In this same narrative, he also says that he would be supportive of the PEI model if a language that is relevant to his home of Ghana were used, especially if it was the colonial English, as this would enable his children to serve his home country. Mawuli’s ideas overlap with the basic idea behind Zuma’s (urban, non-Ivorian) ideal regime, that French should be granted the highest power, yet at the same time it introduces something new in the form of a global language: 196   Figure 27: Parents' Ideal Educational Language Regime Accounting for Global Languages  What is especially intriguing in Mawuli’s (rural, traditional school, non-Ivorian) narrative is how he incorporates the PEI-supportive narrative of his dyadic interview partner, Afia (rural, both schools). Afia is a Konvi native with children in both the PEI and the traditional school. Thus, she was not only directly interacting with Mawuli but she also provided a contrast to him in that their backgrounds and sense of Ivorian belonging differ. Afia argues that that the PEI model of education is good because it provides a better foundation of knowledge for the students: Afia: It's good that there is this kind of school because when children are told something in their native languages they can easily find a way to explain it, compared to other children.xli 197   After mentioning how many different nationalities and associated languages are present in Dyapo, Mawuli indirectly responds to Afia: Mawuli: Well if we say our children learn the Brafé language anyway, you see that they learn quickly or else [they] take what is here. Who says, eh? So that's the fact that in big cities they do not see that.xlii   Although Mawuli’s thoughts here are not immediately after Afia’s, he is indirectly responding to Afia’s claim that students learn better and more quickly when they are taught in their own languages upon arriving at school. Mawuli’s response, “who says, eh? So that's the fact that in big cities they do not see that,” is not only speaking to the fact that the PEI model is not used in large cities. He is also referring indirectly to his own children, who were sent to school in a language that they did not speak (French) while living in a community that uses a language they do not speak (Brafé). He is standing up for his own children’s learning by indicating that just because a student attends a school where they do not speak the language does not mean that they won’t learn quickly, while also speaking about the situation outside rural Konvi.   These differences between Ivorian and foreign parent ideas about local languages in education are subtle, and not universal as only two of the four non-Ivorian parents expressed limited support for the PEI model of education compared to the remaining two non-Ivorian and all 14 native Ivorian parents’ strong support of using local languages in education. However, the two non-Ivorian parents who expressed limited support point to social tensions in Côte d’Ivoire relative to identity and belonging: who is Ivorian, and how do you become Ivorian? This could point to an ideal language regime which uses languages for the purpose of nation building and integration, as supported by the official language regime, while also adding in an element that extends beyond the Ivorian borders to incorporate a more global view: 198   Figure 28: Comparing the Official Language Regime to Different Parent Ideal Language Regimes, with Global Languages Included  Compared to the other ideal regime that has been emerging, this contrasting ideal regime points to yet another potential horizontal inequality: not only is there a perceived inequality between access to local languages in education, the tension surrounding the choice of languages to elevate indicates that non-Ivorians perceive an inequality in their access to a language which: would enable them to become more Ivorian; allow them to connect to their own histories and home communities; and/or enable them to be more globally compatible. The latter point is reflected more in the official regime exposed in chapter four, where some policy discourse broached the conversation of languages of international importance and where international 199  actors such as UNESCO were mentioned in policy documents. However, the rationale provided by Mawuli – who was the only parent to mention English or any global language in his narrative – was directly linked to the second point wherein he was seeking a connection to his home country of Ghana rather than a more broadly global language. This does not discount the global nature of his argument, yet it does provide some boundaries for the nature of “global” in his narrative that are important to note when comparing the ideal educational language regimes of parents to the official educational language regime set up via policy discourse.  Language in learning. In the official language regime (see chapter four), the limited power of local languages is derived from its pedagogical role, where local languages are used to teach French and therefore also boost the power of French. Parents used the role of language in learning as a way to describe their ideal educational language regime, focusing on ways that language can support their child’s learning broadly. In this way of expressing their ideal language regime in education, they also shed light on their perceived inequalities of educational quality. “Because when they learn in their language there, they know a little more.”xliii   Ama (rural, students in both PEI and traditional schools) neatly sums the idea that some parents support education in local languages because they recognize that it helps their children develop academically and it aids in their motivation at school. The literature is clear about this, showing that students who are taught in their native language are more academically successful, grasp academic concepts quicker and more fully, and even learn a second language better than students who are taught in a language that is not their own (Ajayi et al., 2016; Alidou, 2009; Yohannes, 2009). In Côte d’Ivoire, the PEI schools outperform their traditional French-only counterparts in their national exams for all academic subjects including French language (Akissi 200  Boutin & Kouadio N’Guessan, 2013; Brou-Diallo, 2011; Mme Diaby, personal communication, 06/21/2017; Dr. Koné, personal communication, 5/2/2019). Despite the documented strength of local language of instruction in aiding student academic development, the scholarship is also clear that many parents fear that local language schools are academically inferior (Amadi, 2012; Djité, 2000). And yet, the parents in this study – both rural and urban parents – pointed to academic success and academic motivation as a reason why they support the concept of the PEI model. The parents that provide the most robust narratives whose themes overlap those discussed in other parent narratives are Dandou Ourfama (rural, PEI school, non-Ivorian), Nsia (urban), and Thema (rural, traditional school).   Dandou Ourfama stands out because he is not a native Ivorian, Brafé is not his native language nor does he believe that he speaks it well, and his children attend both the PEI and the traditional school in the village. Compared to the other parents who support the PEI model in their own language for academic reasons, he believes that the school is still academically beneficial to his children even though the school operates in a language that is not their own.  Dandou Ourfama: When children enroll in the Brafé school, I think that it [PEI] is very good. They take Brafé. It is normal that you speak more than you understand in Brafé, but understanding is important. I think we do not know that language [Brafé]. When you are here, if you understand Brafé- We send them to the school where there is Brafé, to understand it [Brafé]. But at the Brafé school, it also brings an element to go to terminale (final year of high school). It is also so that you can understand. To understand things, [to understand] when you work somewhere, [to understand] when there are Brafé’s here or others there, it [PEI] easily does the trick.xliv  Dandou Ourfama’s narrative is tricky due to his West African way of speaking, that is indirect and circular, but he alludes regularly to a few things: first, although Brafé is not his language he wants to send his children to the Brafé school because that enables them to understand their peers; second, it doesn’t matter what ethnolinguistic background a person is from, there is still something about any PEI school that can help students succeed in school. 201  Here, he directly references “la terminale,” the final year of secondary school associated with the “terminale” exam which determines whether you earn the equivalent of a high school diploma. The PEI model only uses local languages in years 1-3 of primary education, gradually incorporating more French through pedagogy where students learn French and are exposed to more academic lessons where they learn in French. Despite the strict cutoff, where PEI ends after year three, Dandou Ourfama views this type of schooling as giving students something intangible that pushes them to make it past those first three years and all the way to “la terminale.” In his narrative, Dandou Ourfama believes that using Brafé, a local African language that is not his own language, is still an instrument for learning that his own children need: it is an instrument for their learning to understand their peers and their new communities; it is a learning instrument for their future work lives; and it is an instrument for learning academics.  Thema’s (rural, traditional) narrative comparing the urban lack of PEI schools to the rural PEI schools overlaps with some of what Dandou Ourfama (rural, both schools, non-Ivorian) is trying to say while mimicking other parents’ themes: Thema: The Brafé school, when children do it, it has a swiftness. They are Brafé. But there are things in Brafé they don’t know at school. The way they do the Brafé school, in any case it orders the children. And it’s easier for them even. It’s so they know in Brafé, if they know it in French it’s already good. Therefore, truly it [PEI] can facilitate a lot of things. The schools are in French in the large cities. Yes, it’s good. It’s good because even in the city, the way the guys do French there. In any case the children are…oh I don’t know, they are motivated. The children are alright. Because when you see a child in the city, they can go to the village. Their development is there. With a child of the village it is not the same thing. Because the children of the city, at home it’s only French that the parents speak to their children. [And] at school. Often there are some parents who take children and put it [French] in their homes. To teach to their children. So, the children of the city, they are advanced, more than the children of the village. What the child of the city tries, he does it in his French. Often even when you ask questions, he knows. He is strong. In French there [in the city] they are very strong, the children of the city, [more] than the village. So, it’s strength that the children of the city have in French, truly strength of language.xlv  202   For Thema (rural, traditional school), local languages provide a quick way for rural children to learn. Further, local languages inspire student motivation, something that Thema believes is missing in rural students compared to their urban counterparts. At the same time, she argues that local language education “organizes” the students, overlapping Seka’s (rural, traditional school) notion that education in French is “disorienting.” Like Dandou Ourfama (rural, both schools, non-Ivorian), Thema’s argument to support PEI schools relies on the intangible: there is something about using a local language that motivates rural students and helps them succeed. Further, it is beneficial because it organizes the students, limiting the “disorienting” nature of attending school in an unknown language. However, she makes these arguments through the illustration that she believes there is an inherent difference between rural and urban children.   Nsia (urban), in two separate narratives, incorporates the notion that using a local language in school encourages children to be able to think while also building upon their prior knowledge as they learn: Nsia: It’s a good thing. It will permit the child to – to speak, to say all that you know in your own language. Besides French, it [local language] is important.xlvi  and:  Nsia: Now, if we bring a coordinated – one – language, to school, that’s good. That will allow a little bit, it will permit the others to understand, to form your opinion, your name, and then it’s good. Sometimes there are those who learn the language at home. One thinks that way [learning at home] will bring more, but that way can be a little blocked. I think PEI can bring something to help you. In my opinion.xlvii   These three parents provide an interesting insight into the perceived role of language in learning, namely that local languages enable learning and are important for improving academic outcomes. While Thema (rural, traditional school) also establishes a perceived rural/urban inequality in access to quality education negatively impacting rural students, these parents’ 203  overlapping narrative themes which focus on the academic benefits of using local languages establishes an ideal language regime in education as well. In this ideal regime, local languages are valued due to their ability to motivate students, help them learn academics and the French language, and enable them to learn other intangible skills that are important for their futures. 6.4 Parent Perceptions: Discussion  A few parents such as Sopie (rural, PEI) and Seka (rural, traditional school) explicitly link long-term peace with PEI. Most do not do so directly, yet their links between peace, language, and education provide an inferred link between peace and language of instruction. Again, I highlight Nsia’s (urban) narrative as she clearly linked both education and language to promoting tolerance. But it is also in the other ways that parents spoke about both language of instruction and social relations that demonstrate how they conceive of language of instruction in entente and peacebuilding. We have seen how the parents talk about the benefits of the PEI model to develop respect and value for African cultures, and how they grapple with ways to expand the PEI model in a linguistically diverse country. We have also seen how parents perceive the educational language regime relative to differential access to various local languages. The parent narratives also provided insight into the ideal language regime, where local languages should have greater power due to their ability to strengthen academic learning, provide a culturally grounded education, and increase communication. Add in the parents’ perceptions of the role that language can play in peacebuilding, and there is an implied link between how languages develop entente through aiding in understanding and the way that the PEI model is perceived as developing a respect for diversity while valorizing local languages.   At the same time, parent narratives about language, education, and social relations provided insight into the role they see languages playing in building entente. For example 204  Dandou Ourfama (rural, both schools, non-Ivorian) and Fatimatou (urban, non-Ivorian) blatantly grant French the label as being the language that can bring peace while Esi (rural, PEI) and Thema (rural, traditional school, Esi’s dyadic partner) argue that it is a combination of French and their own native language that builds entente. This is interesting for a few reasons. First, it does seem to point to a difference between the local and the foreign perspective, where some foreign parents view French as language of entente. In this instance, there are one of two things that might be occurring: potentially, the foreign parents recognize that their own languages will not be elevated to the level of any local language and therefore could not be part of building entente in Côte d’Ivoire, thus acting as a barrier for their participation in entente; or, these two foreign parents view French as a necessary component to belonging to Ivorian society, and in their integration journey they are embracing the official stance in order to validate their status as belonging in the country.  Dandou Ourfama (rural, both schools, non-Ivorian) acknowledges that entente is difficult for those who do not speak French, though he then qualifies this by arguing that everyone in Côte d’Ivoire except for those who live in the bushxlviii or who are from elsewhere speaks French.xlix The idea that everyone speaks French is not unique to Dandou Ourfama, but the fact that he allows for foreigners and people living in the remotest locations to have a different level of French is a unique contrast in light of the fact that he is a foreigner from Niger.   Second, this divide is reminiscent of the power gaps between languages seen in the official, perceived, and ideal educational language regimes. Based upon the analyses in this chapter and in chapter four, we know that the perceived and official educational language regimes look something like this: 205   Figure 29: Official and Parents' Perceived Educational Language Regimes  In figure 29, the comparison between official and perceived language regimes highlights areas where official and perceived language-based between-group inequalities exist. When the official and the ideal language regimes are compared, another layer is added to the understanding of where inequalities are considered to be inappropriate: 206   Figure 30: Difference Between the Official, Parents' Perceived, and the Majority Parents' Ideal Educational Language Regimes  In figures 29 and 30, the presence of perceived language-based inequalities compared to the inequalities set up by official discourse demonstrate which inequalities are most felt, while in figure 30 the lack of language-based inequalities in the ideal language regime presented here indicate that none of the inequalities are considered to be socially acceptable. When the parent 207  notions of entente which attach peacebuilding actions to French and local languages indicate that perhaps the parents are developing their ideal language regime based on more than the previously ascribed academic and cultural purposes of language. By adding that both French and local languages have the ability to build entente and therefore aid in the post-conflict transition, the ideal language regime contrasted with both the official and perceived language regimes becomes even more important to understanding the role that language of instruction plays in this process. If it is the ideal language regime which will help in the post-conflict transition, yet that does not match the official language regime, then there is the possibility that the official language regime is negating some of the post-conflict work being done, especially if the perceived language regime suggests that the official language regime is closer to the felt reality than the ideal language regime.    208  Chapter 7. Teacher Experiences: Teachers’ Perceived and Ideal Language Regime[s] in Ivorian Education  The three teachers who were interviewed tended to center their narratives around their own experience in the classroom, thus elaborating on their language preferences and perspectives on social relations through the lens of classrooms in which they have taught. Their narratives shed light on how their experiences with using (or not using) local languages in the classroom shapes their perceptions of the PEI model of education and local language use in education more broadly. Since this data is only comprised of interviews with three teachers, the analysis found in this chapter is not generalizable across all teachers in the country. However, it can be used to provide insight into how these three teachers view issues of language of instruction and social relations in Côte d’Ivoire. These insights, which I present as trends that emerge from overlaps in the narrative or as variation that emerges from a lack of overlap in the narrative, are meant to provide a starting point to understand some teacher experiences as well as to contextualize the trends that emerged in both the policy and parent analyses in chapters four and six, respectively. These teachers, as the intermediary between the policies and the parents that I interviewed, play a unique role in helping me better understand the nuances uncovered in the official, perceived, and ideal language regimes in Ivorian education. They also help me understand ways that the official language regime may differ from the actual – or enacted – language regime in education.  Similar to the parent narratives, no two teacher narratives were identical. However, the areas of narrative overlap and contrast developed an understanding of how these teachers’ experiences shape their perceptions of language of instruction and social relations in Côte d’Ivoire. Although the teacher perceptions are developed through only three teachers’ narratives, one theme that clearly emerged in the teacher analysis was that direct teaching experience 209  contributed to these teachers’ own thoughts about the role of languages in the classroom. The way that this theme emerged is vastly different to the way that the parent narratives demonstrated support for local languages in education and the PEI model; in the parent narrative analysis, it was through overlap in the narrative plots and situations, desires, and evaluations which pointed to strong parental support of local language use in education and the PEI model specifically. In the teacher narratives, it was the overlap in narrative temporal context where the teachers directly refer to their own experiences as teachers in different linguistic contexts to evaluate the PEI model of education and the use of local languages in schooling which uncovered the relationship between teacher experiences in a PEI school and their support for using local languages in education. While two out of three of the teachers did not support the PEI model, all three used their own experience or lack of experience teaching in a local language to evaluate the PEI model. The parent and teacher language preferences contrast both in general support for local language of instruction and in the narrative tools that were used to demonstrate support or lack thereof.   The other main narrative contrast between the parent and teacher analyses was the teachers’ willingness to directly address les crises in their conversations about social relations in Côte d’Ivoire. Similar to the ways that teachers spoke about language use in school, there was a narrative overlap in their discussions about social relations via plot and temporal context, where the teachers relied upon their experiences in the classroom and with the education system in Côte d’Ivoire to illustrate larger social issues in the country. In some cases, this was done by explaining their roles as teachers in diverse classrooms to mitigate country-level social tensions, and in other cases it was done to describe the role of education in peacebuilding initiatives. In all cases, the narrative overlaps and contrasts provide a nuanced look at the teachers’ perceived and 210  ideal educational language regimes as they are shaped by the teachers’ experiences with teaching and ethnolinguistic diversity in a conflicted society. The comparison of the perceived and ideal educational language regimes illuminates horizontal inequalities perceived by the teachers in relation to language of instruction, similar to the ways that the differences between perceived and ideal regimes shed light on the parents’ perceived horizontal inequalities in Côte d’Ivoire.  Note about data messiness and the edited teacher quotes used as evidence. In the parent chapter (chapter 6), I provided some illustrative vignettes to demonstrate the messiness of the parent interview data and the resulting narratives. I explained that narrative analysis intentionally explores the messiness of narratives and oral data since it can grant a researcher insight into how participants perceive their worlds and how they come to those understandings. I further explained that I chose to exercise my power as a researcher to present the majority of evidence related to the narrative analysis of interviews in an edited form in order to relieve the reader of the burden of making sense of messy narrative. Below, I have included two illustrative vignettes of the messiness of the teacher interview data.  Vignette from a teacher interview in urban Kwé Dyapo. From my field notes on May 23 2019:  “Today I was able to observe the CP1 classroom in Kwé Dyapo. I observed the class in the morning and interviewed the teacher, Elodie, in the afternoon when she was done with her teaching day. The teacher was fantastic. I made a lot of notes in my observation journal, so I won’t go too much in depth, but it was incredible to see her style. She had so much energy and patience and she made sure she checked on every student and checked that every student understood the concept before moving on. Contrast to the rural non-PEI teacher in Konvi, who seemed to be going through the motions, and followed a strict timetable and only seemed to pay 211  attention to part of the class – there was just a different energy in the teaching. The PEI teacher and the urban teacher were similar in their patience and attending to each student. Both non-PEI teachers were similar in their insistence that those who don’t understand French come to understand it quickly. I can’t wait to look through the observation notes and the structured observation schedule to see how the differences really were – not just based on these memories. The Kwé students were also eager to look at me – and touch me! More so than the students in rural Konvi, although they were eager to look at me too, just a little shyer about it. I doubt my presence would ever become normal, except maybe if I had the luxury of a year-long ethnographic study. But a few weeks or months – unlikely.  “The interview with Elodie was great. She was very friendly, laughed a lot, and did not act like she was in a rush. I’m sure she had plenty more to do – grading, planning for the day, and all those teaching tasks that happen after class gets out – but she didn’t let that come across in her behavior. It’s as if she had nothing to do except to explain Ivorian education to me, and like she wanted nothing more than to help me understand Ivorian education.  “Arianne was quieter during this interview, though a few times she did contradict Elodie to get her to elaborate more. But it wasn’t as needed as in the parent interviews I’ve had so far – Elodie would answer immediately when I asked a question and was very expansive in her replies. Similar to my experiences interviewing the teachers in Konvi – teachers seem to be much more open when it comes to having these somewhat odd conversations with me. By ‘odd’ I mean interview – because let’s face it, as hard as I try, no interview can ever seem completely natural. In what world would I walk up to a complete stranger and ask ‘what do you know about the integrated schools’? But all three teachers acted like it was the most common thing in the world and needed less cultural translating or intervention from Arianne”. 212   In this interview excerpt, Elodie just finished explaining that French is the only language used in her classroom. Michelle: Only French? Elodie: Only French. More that, that is…I can say a lot of nationalities, a lot of ethnies (ethnicities and languages) or countries there. Most of the time, there are Malians, Guinéens, Ivorians are also there but not as numerous as that. So, it’s French.  Michelle: Do the students speak French always? Elodie: Yes, they speak French always.  Elodie is completely focused on me. She nods vigorously to indicate that only French is ever used in the classroom. I need to continue to pry, to get to if her students actually know French or need to learn it.  Michelle: And if someone –  Arianne: But no, at the start when they arrive, they speak, they all speak French? Elodie: No, at the start there are some who speak their ethnie (language). Peule, there are others, there is Djula, only with time more…they started with writing, learning, we all come to speak it. And the languages, all that, that, that…and there are some who grow…in French so that they have it. Michelle: But at the start, how do you do it with all those languages? What are your, your techniques? To teach a class like that? Elodie: Okay. To teach at the start when there are, when you start in French, there are some who understand and others who don’t understand. More than here in CP1, it’s…we start to re-teach them. There that makes them even learn if in French they don’t follow so you call a very…to make them repeat, repeat, to follow in French no that’s a very…because they are from there. More than when you do that, say no, that it is time. That, there are some vague ways. More, uh, all that can permit us to to to teach them all their letters. So you run, children, first it is difficult. But after children adapt themselves. And it passes.  I need to return to the idea of teaching techniques. Elodie is having a hard time elaborating – is she trying to explain or does she think I only want to get a general idea? [Although not indicated in this excerpt, I did return to this question, after a few subject changes, and Elodie gave me more examples of how she teaches French to her students]. Michelle: And you find that now all your students understand French? Elodie: Yes, all my students understand French well. Yes. 213  Michelle: That is so difficult! Elodie: Yes it is [laughing]! But that’s just the machine of Ivorian teaching [laughing]!   Elodie continues to laugh about this and explain that the students eventually learn French, but I am skipping forward to give better illustration of the interpersonal interactions in the room. Michelle: Do you know about the schools that are…the PEI? The integrated schools? Arianne: Yes of course she knows about the integrated schools! She’s heard about the schools we call integrated. Elodie: No, not at all actually. Michelle: They are schools in rural areas, in villages, that use local languages to teach. What do you think about that? Elodie: Okay. Me, I did the village. I was under supervision in a village. When I arrived, it was completely smeared. The children were only doing what they can. I do not understand Baoule for example. To do the courses, they were in French. At first it was difficult, they managed to write what I wanted. And after everything, all the children could speak French. So, it's a bit like that. Because, if you take me to a similar area, if you take me to my home region, I can speak my language there. I can say- no, I can do anything. If you take me to an area where Baoule is spoken, I do not understand Baoule. So that's it, difficult. It's a bit like that? Michelle: No but that’s true, it’s interesting. Didn’t you have a choice, where you had to teach?  I am curious about this process, so I chose to make this conversational shift – but I make a note to return to the topic of PEI schools and what she thinks of them. Elodie: What? Michelle: Did you – Arianne: [interrupting] Did you have the choice about where you taught, or was it, how do you say, was it the state who chose? Elodie: My first post it was assigned by the state.l   Vignette from a teacher interview in rural Konvi. From my field notes on May 17, 2019:  “I have a few moments between interviews. I just finished interviewing Baako, in the principal’s office again like with the parent interviews the other day. Baako’s interview was interesting, it took hours which is fantastic! I would ask a question, and instantly he would start speaking without thinking about the question, and as I would make notes about things to come 214  back to or that I didn’t understand he would seemingly take a right turn in his speech, then just as I would be about to ask a follow-up for something he said he would circle back to another part of his response and elaborate more. His responses were long, but thorough, but very very indirect. Winding, almost. It’s going to take a lot to work through those responses. Arianne did not participate much in this interview, I wonder if she will be more vocal during the interview with Mme Djere in a few minutes?  “The principal came in and out many times, even asking ‘are you done yet’? on multiple occasions. But Baako did not notice, or he did not seem to notice. He did not stop speaking for these interruptions. It seems like Baako has a lot of authority – he is older than the principal, and I know age plays an important role in Ivorian society. It also seems like Baako has a lot of thoughts, and he won’t stop sharing those even if I attempt to refocus the conversation or ask for clarification. This is all very good in terms of data, but I need to process this in terms of my own position in this interaction too. I’m not sure what to make of it. At the least, Baako’s actions and the way he was intent on guiding the conversation leads me to believe that my perceived position as someone with privilege is not perceived the same way by him, but my perceived position as an outsider who needs and wants to learn and understand is a shared perception. Arianne’s position, however, is odd. Baako is not even bothering to address her, even when she speaks or tries to clarify something that I’ve said”.  Below is a brief excerpt from my interview with Baako. I do not provide a long excerpt, as many of his quotes in the remainder of this chapter are kept fairly long and do a good job of illuminating his very specific, flowery way of speaking and his reliance on circular speech and proverbs (see the section on “West African Ways of Speaking” for more information). Instead, I selected this to demonstrate the dynamics I wrote about in my field notes, especially Baako’s 215  lack of attention to Arianne. I had just asked him to explain the difference between teaching in a French school and teaching in a local language school. Baako: The difference? It’s that, in French,…there at least I had materials. But in Brafé, mother tongue, in any case we don’t have any any documents. So, uh, okay it’s a little bit worse quality fact, uh with the methods of, of, of noises. So when I teach reading, okay myself I am disappointed and then I do with the demands that are pedagogical, the different lessons. Whether in math, uh in reading, and then the teaching is in Brafé for all. Only language we do in French. Michelle: And how do you make do, to do this? What are your techniques to do this teaching in Brafé even without the, the –  Baako: [interrupting] the documents. Arianne: Yes, without –  Baako did not stop as Arianne tried to add to my question. He didn’t even look at her, he just continued to respond. He did not break eye contact with me, and even leaned forward in his chair to decrease the space between us. Baako: Okay, so without the support. Like I already told you. Uh, like I said. Like it has been a longtime since I started teaching, therefore uh, pedagogically I try to, to do…uh, in fact the pedagogical approach in French, to see how to teach in Brafé. Because there is only that to follow. Like today for example, we did “lecture 4”. It requires a revision, of of of of the syllables of the sound of the letters. Make write, because okay, go by the questions, so that a child sees the words of the 30th, of uh uh uh the sound “et”, and then he writes the syllable, “les”. Et then it’s through that that the children, they find Attie, Pluie Arianne: Attie is a word that-  Baako: And in that way, once the children found it, they wanted more to find this word, in their language.li  Baako continued to give an example from the lesson of the day, using Brafé words as examples, and not allowing Arianne the time to translate those to me. He looked at me the entire time, never once even glancing at Arianne even as she tried to help me understand the Brafé words. When she did manage to provide one, Baako did not stop speaking. Instead, he continued with his example, so it was as if she was talking over him.   I chose these examples to give the readers a view of the messiness of the teachers’ narratives as well as the ways in which my presence and the presence of Arianne influenced this 216  data. These examples are also meant to help the reader better imagine the teachers in the remaining examples, picturing them in and interacting with the settings in which we spoke. My analysis of the teacher narratives accounts for the messiness of the data and the interactions between the teachers, myself, Arianne, and the context; however, just as I did with the parent narratives, I present edited versions of the remaining examples in this chapter about teacher narratives. 7.1 Teacher Perceptions of [In]equalities Relative to Les Crises  Although the teachers did not contribute to defining the notion of entente and the contextual framing was developed solely based upon the parent definitions, the teachers did use the term entente as a way to discuss social relations, les crises, and as a way to elaborate on what would be necessary for peacebuilding broadly. In this section, I look closely at teacher narratives of social relations and les crises through the entente lens in order to provide a base for how teachers view their Ivorian realities. This provides the background necessary to better understand how teacher experiences have shaped their perceived and ideal language regimes in education.   Recall from chapter five in the discussion about data collection that the term “social cohesion” was a term that I used to introduce the topic of post-conflict transition and peacebuilding relative to current social relations in Côte d’Ivoire. Although the teachers used this term often, and did so in a way that demonstrated their comfort with the term, they would occasionally include clues in their narratives to indicate that the definition of “social cohesion” is similar to the parents’ definition of entente. For example, Baako (rural, PEI teacher) says explicitly that “It’s perfect ethnic entente, to understand, that’s social cohesion.”lii Mme Djere (rural, traditional teacher) links social cohesion with peace directly, stating that “social cohesion must bring peace.”liii Elodie (urban, traditional teacher), on the other hand, did not discuss social 217  cohesion or entente, yet chose to focus our conversation on the social relations that she sees in her classroom.  Figure 31: Teachers' Perceptions of the State of Social Relations in Côte d'Ivoire Relative to Les Crises  As figure 31 shows, the teachers’ discussions about les crises provided insight into whether they perceive things to be better or worse now in terms of social relations and between-group inequalities. It is pertinent to mention at this time that the teacher narratives provide a strong contrast to the parent narratives surrounding social relations in that the teachers were more direct in their references to les crises, compared to the parents who preferred to allude to les crises rather than mention them directly. For the two rural teachers, Baako (rural PEI teacher) and Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher), les crises informed the way they chose to speak about social relations in Côte d’Ivoire. For Baako, les crises were central to his understanding of how things are now, while for Mme Djere it was less so. 218   Baako does rely heavily upon West African ways of speaking, using circular speech, metaphors, poetic idioms, and metaphors which are loosely related to proverbs. For example, his “harmony of the monkeys” was a phrase that he casually inserted in his long dialogue without any pause or explanation, indicating that the metaphor of a “monkey” is so familiar to him that not only does he not need to explain what he means but he might not even realize that he included the metaphor. In so doing, Baako’s narrative becomes more steeply rooted in Ivorian histories that extend beyond the modern history of the country. At first he describes how social relations were strong prior to les crises (which he calls “X”) but there were issues of greed: Baako: In Côte d’Ivoire, since before, that event, it was felt that we had social cohesion. But there was a moment where, I prefer to call it “X.” We found that others were fed up. To me that was clear. We saw there was misunderstanding. Otherwise we lived well. So, the plan for workshops followed, and we had the plan for more. Education dared me here. We are here to frame the solution. A lot of people who frame are here. Our parents we had to weld together. With our frames, our parents were the worst at constructing help, but they could belong before. But that’s because there used to be money. Everything used to work, along the lines of cacao, having food. Not in terms of palaver. Everything that you can regulate, it was a palaver. But we saw that the country had money. But it was the solutions that were not grown. And other parts, other corners of Côte d’Ivoire, felt marginalized. Yet I take the brothers who cannot be here. They were in this region here, to develop it. We must have some thoughts to help. But when you are the seller for people, you sell what you take to provide for yourself. You take people to work, you say “that’s that, no that’s it.” It’s not it, it’s the harmony of the monkeys. They had a lot of fields. Because we were cohesive, we even gave them a lot of plantations, forests. This one said, “we are here to help those who are stateless because of cacao.” We made children with them, we handled them like Brafés. But, when they said they were Toman, it’s those who spoke Brafé that must belong ethnically. So, we had to understand each other [s’entend]. Everyone erases this bad idea. Before, it was bad, but now things are changing. People speak to each other, there is communication. It’s not like before. Where everyone knew to be aware of each other. Now it’s okay. But the other part, it’s not okay 100 percent. But we are some percent. We know that, therefore it will grow.    As Baako (rural PEI teacher) begins his narrative, he spent little time elaborating how things used to be prior to les crises although he does perceive those times as better. Instead his narrative plot is centered around how strong social relations were soured by greed which led to a war that is not fully resolved. Although the complicating action of Baako’s narrative is les crises 219  which he alludes to by calling it “X,” in his narrative resolution he clearly states that things are starting to be okay – and only okay, which is not to say good so much as it is to say that things seem to be moving in the right direction or just that things are not as bad as they were. He makes a point to make sure that we know that while there used to be marginalization in the country related to les crises, things are starting to slowly improve: Michelle: Okay so first, it was okay, and then – Baako: after  Michelle: after, there are people who are marginalized Baako: according to need Michelle: And then now, it continues to change. Baako: Marginalization?  Michelle: Yeah? Baako: I don’t think so, I don’t think so. I don’t think there is cohesion. But I don’t know what others might think. For me, in a global manner, I see that things are okay. Because people alone are easy to overcome. Those who were hunting those fields, they were poorly situated. Now people see, easily see, they can go north. Oh before that, he could not leave this corner to go north. And the north cannot go to the west. Now it's okay. But there is a certain amount of futility.   Though at different points he does elaborate on what he considers to be the importance of communication and the role of language in aiding in peacebuilding, in the midst of those portions his narrative serves as his way of elaborating exactly how important he thinks education is, and local language education in particular. We saw him refer to programs of peacebuilding, or “workshops,” and he even mentioned that “education dared him here,” meaning that the entire reason that he is in Konvi is education – as a teacher. Yet he takes it further to link education directly to social cohesion and peacebuilding, and especially the role of local languages in education for developing tolerance:  Baako: Education, with the program we subscribe to here [PEI], it’s trying to evolve [even] more the programs, lessons, some ideas to try. We recently did it. That one must know the other, doing PEI in CP2, but it's at the level of children. But it [les crises] had to do with adults. And it is in fact awareness that is very lacking in our country. It takes a lot to add ability. Yet when the parents are literate, you are talking about social cohesion, 220  it was that it is in speaking the mother tongue you help, and then you will understand. So eh, it should be- it's a world of opportunity to have this idea [PEI] available to everyone. If the children are educated, it would be necessary that their parents are also. We can benefit, so that they themselves can educate their children.liv   Baako’s full narrative, which I split up into pieces above, goes in many directions. He discusses les crises albeit indirectly, then he moves to focusing on how solutions are being worked through, places some blame on older generations for a lack of tolerance and excessive greed, then shifts back to speaking about education and the current state of social relations. Interestingly, he talks about the process of finding solutions through workshops which are intended to provide frameworks. While this could be a reference to an official peacebuilding meeting, the lack of context around this notion highlights that it is less important to Baako whether there were official peacebuilding sessions. Instead, by talking about it as a “workshop” immediately after claiming that he is in Konvi because “education dared him” to be there, Baako is giving agency to education as a process of change. When he later talks about education, specifically focusing on the need for parents to be literate and given the same educational chances as their children, he is again indicating that he views education as a force for positive change. That he includes a comment about local language literacy is especially enlightening, as it alludes to Baako’s support of the PEI work being done at the same time as adding boundaries to the ability of education to act as a positive change agent.   Baako (rural PEI teacher) also speaks about diversity and marginalization in this narrative. Although he is very clear that he does not want to speak for others, he is laying part of the blame for les crises on perceptions of marginalization and part of the blame on communication among diverse groups. He elaborates on both of those: Baako: It’s perfect ethnic entente, to understand, that’s social cohesion. In a country, it’s that everyone can ink in a certain comprehension. The one must understand the other. Social cohesion permits easy speaking. It is unarmed. Not only for some. Where there is 221  not social cohesion, it cannot work. In my village Abolo, there is another village Avoue. There is not social cohesion between them, that’s an example. We have a lot of fish. Avoue is full of worms. Avoue does not have diversity. Since there is not social cohesion, we can’t sell them our fish there. So you see, that is what I understand by this in local languages. It is necessary that we hear each other [s’entendre]. As soon as we hear each other [s’entente], you can be perfect. When there is an announcement, you understand. The role of language, for social cohesion, that is what I wanted to tell you about. Languages make it so someone can be effectively punished, they help for finding an agreement, they can help to strengthen social cohesion. Because in our days, when I went somewhere where I spoke Brafé, we understood each other [s’entente]. They could not insult me. Yet, I had the experience, I was in the neighborhood where there were people who were actually from another part of the country. They would chat with each other. But their chatting, when they would chat, we would say that it’s bothersome. Now, for social cohesion, it is necessary that the state finds itself. Something that we learn so everyone understands each other [s’entend]. To allow social cohesion to develop. lv   In this later narrative, Baako (rural PEI teacher) recalls his perception that les crises were partly about challenges associated with diversity and communication, and partly about marginalization. Through the plot where a village lacking diversity is incapable of communicating with a broad range of people and therefore is unable to live a cohesive existence with its neighbors, Baako advocates for increasing intercultural communication with diverse populations. What stands out is that it seems like he places the blame on the non-diverse village for their seclusion, arguing that the lack of diversity limited the ability of a neighboring but diverse village to conduct business (“sell their fish”) in the homogenous village. Whether he is advocating for increasing diversity or increasing awareness of diversity is unclear, but either way he acknowledges the reality of diversity in Côte d’Ivoire while calling for improved intercultural and inter-ethnic communication skills. This is something that he later says could be accomplished through the PEI model of education:  Baako: In any case, I am perfectly in agreement with the integrated school [PEI]. If I can be of help, so we can have appropriate documents. A lot of work is needed to make it work. And the government also thinks about this question of pride to add languages. Because everyone wants to inculcate themselves in their own language. That is also not good. All the work should be about the documents. We can do more than we try, so that social cohesion brings us to the level of 100%.lvi 222   Baako argues in this narrative that the PEI model of education can support social cohesion, which he previously defined as a society living in perfect entente and therefore is linked to peacebuilding. However, he is also pointing out the limits to the PEI model by bringing up “the documents.” By “documents” he is referring to all educational documents including textbooks, curricula, lesson plans, worksheets, and anything other written material that supports teaching and learning. In the classroom observation, I indeed saw Baako teach a civics lesson using the Ministry-approved textbook that is written entirely in French. Although Baako appeared to be reading and his students appeared to be following along in their borrowed copies of the same book, Baako was speaking entirely in Brafé. Thus, in Baako’s narrative above, when he says, “we can do more than we try, so that social cohesion brings us to the level of 100%,” he is critiquing the current capacity of the PEI model. He seems to be saying that it is through social cohesion that the country will achieve perfect (“100%”) entente. At the same time, by arguing that there is more that they can do, he is claiming that they are not doing enough as a country to support social cohesion. In particular, he is pointing to the lack of language-appropriate resources provided to the PEI model of education.  Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) also used les crises as a marker of how she thought about social relations in the country, although she was less clear about it than Baako (rural PEI teacher). Where Baako knew for certain that things used to be peaceful, then there were the two wars, and now things are very slowly trying to move back to a place of respect, Mme Djere is less certain of how things were than she is of how things are now. This is clear in her inability to articulate clearly whether there is cohesion in the country: Mme Djere: Okay, in fact there were some resolutions. Or also the growth, there was social cohesion which had- was the impact of the action until there is a world where there is…I don’t know. No, that was, it’s- I think that it’s a good thing, social cohesion. It’s a good thing for Côte d’Ivoire.lvii 223   In this initial narrative, Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) alludes briefly to les crises and more strongly to the resolutions of les crises. She says that social cohesion has grown due to the resolutions, but then she shifts away from talking about how things have changed to how the general notion of social cohesion is a good thing. So, while Mme Djere seems to want to say that relations are good, her phrasing and hesitation lead us to believe that she is speaking about an ideal world rather than the actual world. However, the illusion that Mme Djere is speaking hypothetically is removed later in the conversation: Mme Djere: There is a cohesion, there is social cohesion. It is remarked. We can remark that there is social cohesion in Côte d’Ivoire. That is to say that most of us want to say that there is social cohesion. It must come with peace and it must come with resistance. I want to say that in some ways there is peace. There is peace in Côte d’Ivoire, it is there. It’s a little bit in the life of everyone. There are always successes. There is always some good, in the swamp in general, that exists in Côte d’Ivoire.lviii   Here, Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) states with no uncertainty that Côte d’Ivoire is a cohesive country, there is peace, and there is success. It is interesting that she starts to speak of the country as a “swamp,” but shifts that to be a general statement as a way to shed light on her perception that there is always good and there is always bad in Côte d’Ivoire. This mirrors the contrast she places between “peace” and “resistance,” arguing that both must co-occur in order for there to be social cohesion.   The teachers who elaborated on the general state of social relations in Côte d’Ivoire, rural teachers Baako (PEI) and Mme Djere (traditional school) offer a contrasting view of the world in which they live. Yet, for both of them, social cohesion representative of national peace is an important ongoing goal for Ivorians that is within the realm of possibility. For Baako, this is accomplished through developing entente and intercultural communication, especially by using local languages in school via a PEI model of education. 224  7.2 Teacher Experiences with PEI and their Perceived Educational Language Regime[s]  In order to understand how educational language regimes relate to horizontal inequalities and potentially to conflict or peacebuilding, the perceived educational language regime plays an important role in highlighting what languages hold what type of power in education. Once a language regime is understood, and it becomes clear what different powers are held by different languages, it becomes possible to identify where inequalities between languages exist. The teachers’ perceived educational language regime(s) play a unique role in this understanding as they can provide insight into what language regime is being enacted in the classroom, or at least what language regime they perceive being enacted in the classroom. Although the parents are able to provide insight in what language regime they believe exists, the teachers are uniquely positioned to speak to what happens in the classroom based upon their professional daily experiences. Since teachers are relying upon their memories of what happens, this is still a perception of the educational language regime rather than the actual educational language regime. However, their perceived educational language regime is closer to the actual educational language regime than one expressed by a parent. The teachers’ version of the actual regime also provides insight into how close the official language regime is to the actual language regime in education. In their experiences with language use in education, both their awareness of and experiences with the PEI model uncover what educational language regime they perceive being enacted in the country.   Awareness of and experience with PEI. Each of the three teachers with whom I spoke had a unique experience with the PEI model of education. As shown in figure 32, the spectrum of awareness of and experience with the PEI model of education is directly related to both location and school type where each teacher is currently and was historically assigned to teach.  225   Figure 32: Teachers' Experience with the PEI Model of Education  The two rural teachers in Konvi had the greatest awareness of the PEI model due to proximity, although Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) had relatively low awareness of the PEI model beyond its mere existence whereas Baako (rural PEI teacher) was aware of the intricate details of the model due to his direct experience teaching in a PEI school. Elodie (urban teacher), on the other hand, had the least knowledge of the PEI model as she did not know about this model of school nor was she located near a PEI school, so unlike Mme Djere she did not even have the chance to see such a school. This lack of awareness is interesting in light of the awareness and sensibilization campaigns launched by the Ministry of Education since 2000 (Mme Diaby, personal communication, 06/21/2017). However, the teachers’ lack awareness of a Ministry-sanctioned and controlled education model is more striking than the parents’ low awareness of the same model since teachers are agents within the Ministry’s education system. In their unique role as intermediary between policy and practice, teachers can help shape our understanding of the actual regime while also uncovering their perceived regime. As official actors in the education system, the teachers’ perceived educational language regimes are closer 226  to the actual educational language regime than perhaps the regime uncovered in the official policy documents. Thus, if teachers don’t know that local languages are even part of the official language regime despite their role as agents who enact the official regime, perhaps the official regime is not as pro-local language as it seems on paper.  Based upon these levels of awareness of the different types of language of instruction policies in existence in Côte d’Ivoire, I argue that the teachers’ foundational perceived educational language regime is the same as the parents’ foundational perceived educational language regime, where French holds the most power yet the rural teachers view local languages as holding some power in education albeit less than French.   Figure 33: Teachers' Baseline Perceived Educational Language Regimes 227   Access to educational resources. An element of nuance is uncovered in the teachers’ perceived language regime when the teachers’ experiences with using local languages in school are considered beyond their knowledge of the PEI model. Elodie’s (urban teacher) lack of awareness of the PEI model supports the urban perceived regime where only French exists as a language of power in education. Similar to the rural parents, the rural teachers’ awareness of the PEI model uncovers a perceived language regime in education with both French and a local language as languages with power in education, albeit with unequal power. The structure of this regime, with French at the top of the power hierarchy, is reinforced by the way that these teachers speak about their PEI experiences. The non-PEI teachers’ lack of experience with the PEI model of education reinforces the perception that French is at the top of the educational language regime, as does Baako (PEI teacher) in when he talks about the need for more PEI documents. Although access to local language instruction is initially divided by rural/urban status then complicated further by the realities in rural areas which limit how many students are granted access to this type of education, there is another layer of complication in the matter of differential access: differential access to educational resources that are layered within this complex urban/rural LoI differential. In discussing their experiences with the PEI and traditional models of education in Côte d’Ivoire, the teachers clarified their perceived educational language regimes via overlapping narratives of differential access to language(s) and contrasting narratives of differential access to educational resources.  Teachers’ perceptions of differential access to languages and their role as a teacher. The teachers provided an interesting contrast to the parent-dominated perception of language inequality in Côte d’Ivoire. Baako’s perspectives on language use in education to some extent support the parent notions that some languages need to be elevated in the name of equalizing 228  access to a PEI model of education. However, Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) and Elodie (urban teacher) argued that French is the best language of instruction as (a) not everyone speaks the same language, and (b) everyone needs to know French. In Mme Djere’s perspective, using French is the students’ best interest: Michelle: So then what language would you prefer to use when you teach? Mme Djere: French. Michelle : And if you were a teacher in your home village? How would that change? Mme Djere: No, even more than that, I would demand that we use French. Even if I understand the language of the students, we use French. Michelle: Why? Mme Djere: It’s in their interest. Michelle: Why? Mme Djere: It’s in their interest. There you go.  Michelle: Can you explain why for me? Mme Djere: Because French, it’s the language. The official language. They must learn it. One supposes that they learn their mother tongue at home. Therefore, at school, if you still want it, if you speak to them in their mother tongue, they quickly return. Me, it’s more limited. Therefore, I speak to them in silly French more or less. Still in the long run, it’s us in French. Therefore, I don’t want to speak my mother tongue with the students.lix  Mme Djere’s narrative evaluation of French as the language in her students’ best interest is better understood in relation to the role that she believes education can play in a conflicted society. While she spent less time discussing the social relations she sees playing out among her pupils in her classroom than the other two teachers did, her narrative addresses the potential of education in aiding or destroying peacebuilding through equality. In her narrative about her classroom experience, her plot is about the dangerous side of education that she perceives to be an issue in Côte d’Ivoire.  Mme Djere: In fact there is social cohesion, it must be there, the entente. If perfect entente is there, it should be that the societies, these cohesions must exist. They must have the same opportunities, they must have the same chance to succeed. Now, thinking about education, everyone does not have- I will explain. There are children, they are very, very smart at school. They advance, correctly. But there are times at some levels, parents with means. They are generous. So, in class, they are some who can’t continue further. By contrast, when parents have the means, even if the child is not too- good at school, 229  they advance. Because, we advance them. So already there, there is something not right with justice. If it’s under this base, there is not cohesion.lx   Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) is working through ways that peace can become a lived reality, where she starts by discussing the need for everyone to have the same opportunity to succeed and is overlapping Baako’s (rural PEI teacher) perception that felt-marginalization is detrimental to peace. She draws upon the notion of entente to reiterate the necessity of intercultural communication and understanding in order to build a peaceful society, though in such a way that she distinguishes between perfect entente and the current reality where there is a cohesive existence between societies yet there are still felt-inequalities in opportunity. She uses education to provide an example of how this marginalization can be reinforced through privilege: teachers, she feels, are willing to allow wealthy parents to purchase educational advancement for their academically challenged students. Although she is a teacher and therefore part of the education system, her perception of the world is that education in Côte d’Ivoire is corrupt and a system that reinforces inequality.   For Elodie (urban teacher), French was a communicative equalizer:  Elodie: I [taught in] the village. I was under supervision in a village. When I arrived, it was completely smeared. The children were only doing what they can. I do not understand Baoule for example. To do the courses, they were in French. At first it was difficult, they managed to write what I wanted. And after everything, all the children could speak French. So, it's a bit like that. Because, if you take me to a similar area, if you take me to my home region, I can speak my language there. I can say- no, I can do anything. If you take me to an area where Baoule is spoken, I do not understand Baoule. So that's it, difficult. It's a bit like that.lxi  Elodie uses the plot of her own experience teaching in a rural village where she did not speak the language of her pupils. She found that the education was suffering due to their lack of French skills, and the education was “smeared” or sullied due to the students’ inability to understand. While Elodie could have argued that employing teachers who understand the local language 230  would be beneficial, she was instead arguing against the use of local languages by explaining the challenges she faced when French was not spoken. In fact, Elodie used this example to explain why she does not support the PEI model of education. In her experience, French became an equalizer that enabled her and her students to understand each other.   Elodie’s (urban teacher) narrative about social relations in her classroom provides a more personal understanding of how she is thinking about the role of language in schooling as she speaks directly to what she considers to be the main role of a teacher of early grades: teaching children how to live with diversity. Although she is not speaking about language directly, she already acknowledged that French is the only language she uses or allows in the classroom due in part to the law and in part to her perception that French is an equalizer. While we were discussing “ethnic groups,” or “ethnie,” it is important to note that in Ivorian French ethnie can be interpreted as ethnicity or local language. This emphasizes how connected language and group identity are, not only in the French vocabulary but in the way that people think about who they are and what groups they belong to. The term is used to mean both interchangeably, and sometimes simultaneously. Thus, in purely linguistic terms, Elodie is not only describing the ethnic makeup of her classroom and the surrounding Kwé neighborhood in Dyapo, but she is also speaking to the linguistic diversity that is associated with the ethnic diversity. Michelle: You said that there are a lot of ethnies in your class. It’s the same in Côte d’Ivoire. Elodie: Yes. It’s not necessarily Ivorians. There are Burkinabes in there, there are Malians, there are Guineans. Here, now, most of our students are foreign ethnies. They are in the community of Kwé, those who live in Kwé most of the time are foreigners. It is why merchants are foreigners most of the time. But there are cohesive Ivorians. Michelle: Do you find that there are some tensions in your class, in terms of Ivorians, foreigners, of diverse ethnies? Elodie: No, not at all. Not at all. Not at all. No. Not at all. No. Not at all. But each one has their nationality, each one has their ethnie. We come to work together the longer that we are there. It’s just to work. We come for work. It’s the work. You don’t come to say that so-and-so is of such nationality, we don’t come for that.lxii 231   Elodie (urban teacher) starts by speaking directly to the diversity in her classroom in such a way that she creates the image that the classroom is a smaller version of the country: diverse ethnically, linguistically, and nationally. There are different Ivorian groups in the classroom, but there are also many foreigners. When I asked directly whether she sees tensions between the diverse groups in her classroom – or in any classroom she has ever taught in – she is initially very adamant that that is never the case. If the narrative stopped there, it could feel defensive. However, she continues to speak about how this is because of her approach to education: Elodie: Rather, even in classes, even in the older classes, we teach children that the alliances were ethnic. If we started them, begin [with them] so they can be developed to know how to live in it, in fact to live together. We can know how to teach all that. So you find we cannot have ethnic tensions. Michelle: Okay, that’s difficult to teach that to children too, I’m sure, how to live together. Elodie: No no no, it’s not even difficult, not anymore than- they are all little. They are in the front of learning. So we can inculcate that. It’s really not difficult.  Michelle: Okay. Elodie: We find that the lessons of the ages, the “C” ages [primary school levels], are for that. They learn how to live together. Learn how to accept one another, to not make fun of who is held to shit or even who does not know how to express themselves. Or even how to ignore it. There to learn only to accept the differences. To accept others.  Michelle: Because they are little Elodie: Yes.lxiii   Elodie clearly sees her role as a teacher of the younger grades (the “C” grades, meaning CP1, CP2, CE1, CE2, CM1, CM2, which loosely correspond to US grades 1-6) to teach children how to live in the midst of diversity. She mentions briefly that they (meaning teachers in general) teach children about “alliances,” which generally speaking is a West African notion describing the ways that different ethnic groups work closely together (Bah, 2012; Kouyaté, 2009; Lentz, 2013). There is the possibility that she is alluding to how teachers teach about les crises, meaning that she believes teachers are teaching students that the different sides of the wars were made up 232  of ethnic alliances. However, since the notion of “alliances” is a common notion in West Africa that describes inter-ethnic relations, this is not likely.  Then Elodie talks about students being “developed to know how to actually live in” diversity and teaching students “to learn how to accept one another, […] to learn only to accept the differences. To accept others.” In other words, teaching the students appropriate social relations which include respect, communication, and acceptance of diversity. Although this seems like a tall order, Elodie does not think it is since the children are young enough to be molded, and not yet fully formed. At this stage, they are still at the “front” of their learning.   Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) and Elodie (urban teacher) both use their lack of support for the PEI model to illuminate the potential for language inequality, although their experiences in the classroom contrast in the ways that they see education exacerbating or mitigating inequalities. First, Mme Djere’s (rural traditional teacher) opinion that using French is in the students’ best interest simultaneously supports the perceived and official language regimes which grant the most power to French by indicating that the power of French extends beyond scholastic boundaries.   Recall from chapter four’s official language regime analysis that French as the official language holds power in many aspects of Ivorian society: government participation, political participation, economic participation, education, communication, and citizenship. When Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) explains that using French as the language of instruction is in the students’ best interest, her rationale follows the same logic: French is the official language, therefore students must learn it. By using the same logic as an actor charged with enacting the official language regime, Mme Djere’s narrative shifts our understanding of the actual language regime while indicating that her perceived educational language regime is one where French is 233  the sole language of power. This rationale also suggests that Mme Djere sees potential for a language-based inequality for students who are not granted access to French, an inequality that she considers to be a possible outcome of students attending local language schools. Therefore, based upon Mme Djere’s narrative, the official, the actual, and her perceived educational language regimes strongly favor French. 234   Figure 34: Comparison of the Official to the Traditional Teachers' Perceived Educational Language Regimes  As Figure 34 also illuminates, both Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) and Elodie (urban teacher) also seem to agree with the parents that there is potential for a language inequality when their own language is not accessible; while this could lead Mme Djere and Elodie to agree with the parents that more languages (especially their own languages) need to be 235  valorized, instead they both use this as the foundation for why French is a language that can reduce inequalities that exist due to language differences. This follows a common perception that French is a neutral language despite its history as the language of oppression during colonialism and even continuing into the present (Djité, 1990). This also does not acknowledge the more complicated power stance that is occurring wherein local languages are being used in education as a tool to elevate French, as explored deeper in chapter four. In chapter four I uncovered a language regime that explicitly sets up a linguistic hierarchy wherein French has the most authority; in this language regime, the slight elevation of local languages in school settings serves the purpose of French language acquisition thus reinforcing the authority and power of the French language. Despite this erasure, however, the perception of French as a neutral language is shared by the non-PEI teachers and is likely a perception that is more widespread in the country among elites and others who consider French to be a global language.  Contrasting perspective: Differential access to educational resources. Of the three teachers, Baako (rural PEI teacher) is the only teacher who supports the PEI model. He is also the only teacher with experience teaching in a traditional French-only school and a PEI school. His status as a rural teacher might initially seem to play a role in his contrasting perspective, yet all three teachers have experience teaching in rural settings. In fact, Mme Djere stands out as the only teacher who has not taught in an urban setting; thus, Baako’s contrasting perspective could be less related to his identity as a teacher in a rural setting and seems to be more likely related to his identity in this study as the only teacher with local language of instruction teaching experience. In his conversation about the differences between the two types of schools, the challenges facing PEI schools and PEI teachers were a regular topic of contention. Specifically, 236  he spoke about the lack of training provided to PEI teachers and the lack of linguistically appropriate materials provided to PEI schools. Michelle: Can you compare your experiences as a teacher in a French school to being a teacher in a Brafé school? Baako: Okay, what I can say is that teaching in French we at least received a lot of training. But, teaching in Brafé, it’s good. But it’s not trained. I already know the language, but I didn’t even know the writing of it. That’s where we had to forge a little bit. But since the third year, in any case, the writing is missing. But I am very motivated still. To take it all the way to CM2. In French- at least there I had materials. But in Brafé, in any case we don’t have any documents. Therefore, it’s a little lower quality in fact, with the methods of sound. When I teach reading, I am not happy and I must make do with pedagogical demands, the different lessons. Whether in math, in reading, the teaching is all in Brafé. Only language we do in French. Michelle: How do you do it? Without the – Baako: -documents. Without support. How do I explain. Since I have been teaching a longtime, I try to use the French pedagogical approach, to teach in Brafé. Because there is uniquely that to follow. Like today, for example, we did the “reading four” [lesson]. They must do review of the syllables of the sounds of letters. Have them write, go through the question, so that a child makes 30 words with the sound “é”. Then they write the syllable, “lé”. And it’s through that that the children find the word “attie” [a Brafé word]. Once the students find the word, they wanted to find more than just that word in their own language. When you say attie for example, what do you do with it? Laba, na moto il est attie en moto papain, or “papa drinks the sauce with it.” There are words that the child can use in his language. But trying in defeat is the fact. The fact is they have been separated. It is fact that everyone sees. And we must write these words towards their effort, so that the children can know the side ideas. lxiv   Baako’s narrative plot is centered around the differences between teaching in a traditional school compared to teaching in a PEI school, particularly related to resources that teachers are provided to teach in those respective classrooms. In expressing frustration at the lack of training and “documents” (such as books, lesson plans, and other materials) provided by the government for the government mandated program, Baako’s narrative sets up a world where French is elevated in the language regime through the government’s actions toward their own local language program. On the one hand, the PEI model of education is supported through policy and mandate, thus creating a scenario where teachers could perceive local languages as having some power in education. However, based upon Baako’s narrative experiences as a teacher in a PEI 237  school, the perception that there is a lack of governmental support to allow the programs to flourish adds a limitation to that initial perception. This perceived lack of official support indicates that local languages are only granted nominal power, as shown in figure 35.   Figure 35: Teachers' Perceived Educational Language Regimes Complicated by Resource Allocation  Baako’s narrative presented the complicating action that the government does not allocate language-appropriate resources to or provide teacher training for PEI schools. His 238  resolution is to use French pedagogical techniques, which he elaborates on as the narrative continues below. This resolution also explains the purpose of local languages in his perceived educational language regime. Specifically, Baako (rural PEI teacher) explains in his resolution that he uses French techniques to teach supported by French documents to teach in Brafé. This indicates two things: first, that French still holds all the power even when local languages are used; and second, that the inclusion of local languages serve the role of reinforcing the French status of power in Baako’s perceived educational language regime. The use of French documents to teach in Brafé supports the last statement, since a French document is an indicator of what language should be used to learn the subject addressed within the text.   As he continues to elaborate on his experiences, he claimed that he did not use any techniques that would be unusual for a teacher trained in Côte d’Ivoire; instead, due to the lack of training to help PEI teachers teach in a language other than French and a lack of resources in languages other than French, Baako spoke mainly about how he relied upon French teaching techniques to teach all students in Brafé.   Baako’s narrative brings to light a few tensions: a tension between what is official and what is informal, and a tension between what policy actually states and what is supported. As Baako is explaining how he relies upon the techniques he learned for teaching students in French, he uses an example of that days’ reading lesson, adds in Brafé words, then elaborates that students want to use more of “their own” words in the lessons. As he explains how students can do things in their own language, he uses the example that a typical lesson includes “trying in defeat.” Although he is not saying whether the students are trying in defeat or he is trying in defeat, the use of “defeat” as an explanation for how the teaching and learning occurs casts a negative light on the process. When taken in context with the entire narrative, where he says that 239  he tries to use the French pedagogical approach and in light of his previous statement that “when I teach reading, I am not happy and then I make do with the pedagogical demands,” regardless of whether he views student learning or teacher instructing as an action of defeat the negative connotation is clear. If he means that he often tries techniques out of “defeat,” he is underlining that using the French pedagogy is not necessarily his preference but his only option. If he means that students are learning out of defeat, then he is underlining his previously stated fears that the PEI is of lesser quality due to the lack of teacher training.   Baako (rural PEI teacher) concludes his narrative about techniques by saying that the languages are separated, and his conclusion that “children can know the side ideas” underlines this separation. While this could be taken to mean that languages and their corresponding ideas are necessarily separated, his use of techniques that arise out of “defeat” seems to imply that it is more of an official rather than real separation. However, by separating ideas into sides, there also seems to be this notion of official “ideas” and informal “ideas” that are competing. Whether these ideas are purely “French” and “Brafé” is not explicitly stated but implied through the longer narrative in which “French” pedagogy is used for “Brafé” teaching. We have already seen how Baako’s experiences teaching in the PEI school have led him to perceive a language regime in education which privileges French above local languages, as this narrative provides further proof.   Although neither Elodie (urban teacher) nor Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) have taught in a PEI setting, some of their thoughts on the PEI model also provide insights into the challenges facing a PEI model of education in Côte d’Ivoire. In both their narratives, Elodie (urban teacher) and Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) spoke about their relative ignorance of the PEI model of school. Although neither are saying that this is a problem per se, it does suggest 240  that one challenge facing PEI schools is that teachers do not know what to expect from these schools. If they are not aware of the program, then transferred to a teach in a PEI school, this could create confusion, stress, and other challenges both psychological and technical for the teachers. Elodie (urban teacher) mentioned that her first teaching assignments were just that, assignments by the Ministry rather than choices on her part. Although she has since been able to choose her current location, she and Baako (rural PEI teacher) both mentioned that their grade assignment is regularly changed. This particular overlapping plot, that grade assignment is regularly changed, demonstrates that where a teacher teaches, and at what grade level, are not choices that teachers always have the agency to make. As such, if a teacher is assigned to teach in a PEI school without knowing anything about the PEI model, these teacher-specific challenges such as added stress or confusion would be another layer to the challenges a teacher already faces. Further, as PEI teachers must also teach French as a Second Language (Brou-Diallo, 2011) without additional training as Baako (rural PEI teacher) explains, these teacher challenges could reasonably be expected to be elevated.  Of utmost importance in this discussion about teacher challenges are how the challenges faced by teachers due to the lack of PEI awareness, lack of PEI training and resources, and lack of choice of location would impact students and the education system. All challenges could lead more teachers to exit the teaching profession, while the lack of training and resources could lead to lower quality instruction as Baako fears is the case in his narrative. Although studies point to the opposite occurrence, where PEI schools receive higher results on national exams and in French language acquisition than traditional schools (Brou-Diallo, 2011), the extra effort required of teachers without the support of additional training or appropriate resources could limit the sustainability of these results. The challenges facing teachers broadly and the PEI model 241  specifically point to a larger perceived gap between the power of French compared to the power of other languages in the education language regime:  Figure 36: Teachers' Perceived Language Regimes in Education Indicating Horizontal Inequalities  Upon examination of the teachers’ perceived language regime in education based upon the ways that they talk about their experiences and their preferences as teachers, the teachers 242  perceive some language-based horizontal inequalities between French and local languages, yet they do so in a less generalizable manner than the parents. In fact, while Baako (PEI teacher) perceives an inequality between local language schools and French schools due to the differential access to resources, Elodie (urban teacher) and Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) perceived the potential for French to eliminate other language-based inequalities in the role that they granted to French as an equalizing language. Therefore, the educational language regime that the teachers perceive may be similar in hierarchical structure to the parents’ perceived regime, but the horizontal inequalities that their perceived regimes uncover are more French- and resource-centric. 7.3 Teachers’ Ideal Language Regime[s]  Thus far, the teachers’ perceived educational language regime was explored through narrative analysis which uncovered a similar language hierarchy to that perceived by the parents. However, the teachers’ perceived regime uncovered less clearly overlapping horizontal inequalities than the parents’ perception. As in the analysis for the parents, insight into the educational language regime that teachers believe to be ideal can clarify both the perception of inequalities as well as set the boundaries for which inequalities are considered unacceptable by the teachers.   As previously discussed, teacher awareness of the PEI model of education is strongly related to teaching experiences, where the least experienced teacher Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) was aware of the model due to her assignment to teach in a traditional school that shares a campus with the PEI school in rural Konvi while her counterpart with more experience, Elodie (urban teacher), was unaware of the model since she had never taught in a location with access to a PEI school, and the most experienced teacher, Baako, is also a teacher in a PEI school and 243  therefore has a high level of knowledge about this model of education. Despite the link between experience with a PEI school and awareness of such a model of education, teacher perceptions of using local languages in the classroom could be more related to overall years of teaching experience than direct knowledge of the PEI model. However, other factors such as teacher age, where Baako is the oldest while Elodie and Mme Djere were of similar age, or gender, again where Baako stands out as the only male teacher, could also influence these perceptions.   As a teacher of a CP1 class in the rural PEI school, Baako expressed the strongest support for the PEI model: Baako: I think it's good. Take the case of the country next door. We take lessons from Ghana. In any country that does it, I think it allows the ethnie to learn in Ashanti, for example, and to learn English even. Ashanti is written and it’s spoken. But here, the fact is that it’s- well, it was difficult. To your parents even, they do not understand the same language. Even when we are together. But the old people are sitting together, and the old people are talking in Brafé. Here if you do not know their [the elderly’s] works [in Brafé] then you are lost. Teaching in Brafé allows our children to be buckled, to be at service. I think it's more than power.lxv   As Baako was discussing some of the differences between teaching in a traditional school and teaching in a PEI school, I asked which he preferred. His response elaborated that the PEI school is a good model, emphasizing the notion that it prevents students from getting lost by grounding (“buckling”) them in local knowledge (ouvrages, or “works”) while also highlighting that otherwise the language spoken by students at school and by elders and parents at home would not be the same language. He argues that using local languages is more than just power, but by arguing that he is also arguing that there is a power associated with using local languages in the classroom.   We have already seen that Baako (rural PEI teacher) has an overlapping perception of education, although he framed it in a more positive light where education can act as an agent for positive change against this inequality. He is more direct about this elsewhere, too: 244  Baako: The role of education is of primordial importance. Because we cannot under give. The students who are in the bush, if he doesn’t have to be wary, he becomes- having an education permits his self-invention, gives him different approaches, permits him to communicate. To understand each other [s’entente], so we can recognize each other a lot. Then he can have ideas to advance.lxvi   Through an example of those who are generally thought to be the least advantaged, the people who live in the “bush,” Baako (rural PEI teacher) reinforces his perception that education is an agent for positive change. He is especially keen to point out that it is important not to “under give,” or provide too little education, as it is “of primordial importance.” The use of “primordial importance” sets the tone for his narrative. Since “primordial” means existing from the beginning or the original of something, by qualifying education as something important from the beginning Baako makes it clear that he believes education is vitally important.   As he continues, Baako argues that education can provide an advancement opportunity to the people who are not only living in remote, secluded rural areas but are often derided as ignorant and therefore are wary of others. While Baako acknowledges the lack of equality in Côte d’Ivoire (recall that he spoke of people feeling marginalized), his perception that things are changing is deeply embedded within his understanding that education provides opportunities for even the most marginalized populations. What is very striking is that Baako refers to education as “primordial,” of the utmost importance, when thinking about how to move the country into a post-conflict, cohesive state. He argues this not only provides opportunities which minimize inequality and marginalization, but it also paves the way for entente and respect of others. When his belief that the PEI model should be expanded and that it can “with social cohesion bring us to the level of 100%,” linking PEI to social cohesion or peace, Baako’s ideal educational language regime where local languages have expanded power becomes an even more important element to his perception of how to move Côte d’Ivoire into a post-conflict state. 245   Support for the PEI model of education from the two non-PEI teachers was mixed, however. Elodie (urban teacher, 13 years’ experience in urban and rural settings) expressed limited support for the PEI model while Mme Djere (rural traditional school teacher, 2 years’ experience in only rural settings) did not express support for the model. Elodie: Okay. I did [taught in] the village. I was under supervision in a village. When I arrived, it was completely smeared. The children were only doing what they can. I do not understand Baoule for example. To do the courses, they were in French. At first it was difficult, they managed to write what I wanted. And after everything, all the children could speak French. So, it's a bit like that. Because, if you take me to a similar area, if you take me to my home region, I can speak my language there. I can say, no, I can do anything. If you take me to an area where Baoule is spoken, I do not understand Baoule. So that's it, difficult. It's a bit like that.lxvii   For Elodie (urban teacher), whether or not she supported the PEI model was related to whether or not she spoke the language used in the classroom. She did not elaborate on why the model is good or bad for the students, however, and focused mainly on her perceived ability to teach in a given language rather than on the students’ ability to learn in a given language. Although she acknowledged that initially it is tough on the children as they do not speak French, she also claims that eventually the students come to understand French by the end of the year.   Although Mme Djere (rural non-PEI teacher) did not support the model, she was initially hesitant to state her lack of support directly due to her proximity to a PEI school and her desire to support her fellow teachers at the Konvi Groupe Scolaire (school campus).  Mme Djere: If someone speaks Brafé in class? No, I tell them “we don’t speak that here, we speak French.” Michelle: So then what language would you prefer to use when you teach? Mme Djere: French. Michelle : And if you were a teacher in your home village? How would that change? Mme Djere: No, even more then, I would demand that we use French. Even if I understand the language of the students, we [must] use French. Michelle: Why? Mme Djere: It’s in their interest. Because French, it’s the language. The official language. They must learn it. One supposes that they learn their mother tongue at home. Therefore, at school, if you still want it, if you speak to them in their mother tongue, they 246  quickly return. My knowledge of their language is more limited. Therefore, I first speak to them in silly French. Still in the long run, it’s in French. I don’t want to speak my mother tongue with the students and more.   Mme Djere begins her narrative by explaining that using French is in the students’ best interest. She is so keen to use French with her students that she even uses “silly” or simple French to start regardless of whether she understands the students’ native language. As she continues, she is less willing to elaborate on why local languages do not belong in schools than to continue arguing that French should be used: Michelle: Okay. So, since you teach here, I know that you are aware of the Brafé schools. Mme Djere: Mmm hmm. Michelle: What do you think of those schools? Mme Djere: The integrated schools? Okay, in fact, eh. I don’t know. It’s been two years that as a teacher. My first year here in Konvi. Therefore, I don’t know too much. It’s only here that I saw that, an integrated school. But I don’t know too much. I don’t know too much. Michelle: Sure, I understand. But I imagine that you have some thoughts, some ideas. Mme Djere: Okay. Truly, I don’t know. Michelle: No? Mme Djere: Even for the percent that that do that [laughing] – it’s evolved. In addition to French, I have heard it spoken, the language that we use. Michelle: Okay, so you said earlier that it’s in the interest of the students to teach in French. And, you said, here there is this idea to teach in Brafé. Mme Djere: Brafé, yes. Michelle: Okay, and so how could that also be in the students’ interest? Mme Djere: Okay. Well, I tell myself that if, uh, you teach, uh…they will say that since it is already established, it is in their interest. In addition, it will seem important. It’s important. There you go. [laughing].lxviii   As the conversation evolved, it is clear that Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) does not think that using a local language in school is in the students’ best interest, yet she is also not willing to say that the PEI school that shares a campus with her school is impeding the students in any way. Instead, she is willing to say that it could be in the students’ best interest, though only after encouragement by myself and my research assistant to continue talking about this type of school. Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) and Elodie (urban teacher) seem to prefer an 247  ideal language regime in education where French is the sole power, due mainly to their perception that French is the language in the students’ best interest, although Baako’s (rural PEI teacher) ideal regime is the opposite.  Figure 37: Contrasting Ideal Educational Language Regimes of the Teachers  Traditional teachers’ ideal educational language regime: Language in teaching compared to teaching of French. Elodie (urban teacher) and Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) directly focused on explaining techniques they use for their students who do not speak French as well, though their narratives highlight some subtle differences in how they perceive diversity in their classroom. The most notable difference is that Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) was more inclined to say that the majority of students always understand French, and needed to think a little more clearly about how the minority of non-French speakers came to understand French, while Elodie (urban teacher) was able to elaborate more on how there are a variety of other linguistic backgrounds in the classroom and how she works to get everyone to learn French while also learning in French. Mme Djere: [School] is always in French. In the background they speak Brafé. Alternately, when you are early, you enter in the bay [the school yard shared by all schools], you speak a little Brafé.  Michelle: Do you find that the students, all the students, understand French? 248  Mme Djere: The majority. Michelle: And the minority? Mme Djere: The minority – there are some who can’t. They don’t understand. But by means of seeing others use it, they come to use it. And then finally, it [French] comes. It’s good. Michelle: How does it come? Can you explain a little? Mme Djere: Okay, for example when you put a sentence on the blackboard, you are in the process of for example, a letter of a sound, you put the letter of the sound. While we do little to explain how it works, there are some who don’t automatically see how it works. There are others who push them. They don’t follow each other. But when one goes to the blackboard, he does not say it to another [student], he looks, and then after a little, he breaks. And he repeats. Even if he does not know what he said, he repeats. Because of the others. He has fun saying things. And then someone finally explains to him what is happening, that's how it is, you must say this. It works. Michelle: Do you use special techniques for the minority who don’t understand French? Mme Djere: In fact, since it is forbidden to use any other language, we say to each other that it is French that we use. Therefore, we don’t have the right to use any other language. They are obligated to follow. For example when we write…if he cannot write, I am obliged to take the hand and make it write. There you go, once, twice, and then, we erase. I don’t change the language then. I am in a region that I don’t understand.lxix   With Mme Djere’s (rural traditional teacher) narrative, she focused on how students would end up knowing French by nature of being surrounded by peers who speak French. She elaborated on her own technique, taking a student’s hand to help them write French words. I observed this technique in her classroom, where she did take the hand of a student to guide their hands as they wrote, but it was often in passing and never accompanied by any explanation. In Mme Djere’s narrative and supported by my observations in her classroom, the main way that a student finally arrives at understanding French is by allowing other students to push their understanding forward. It is by listening to others and having fun repeating French words a non-French speaker is able to “come to” or finally be able to speak French. For Mme Djere, it seems that the act of teaching a student to write was a teacher-driven task while the act of learning to understand and communicate in French was a student-driven task that often simply occurred through exposure, or what I call an “osmotic” technique. I call it “osmotic” because this way of learning French is based upon absorbing the language through simple exposure, similar to the 249  scientific notion of osmosis where there is a spontaneous movement that occurs. In the osmotic way of learning French, students are immersed in an environment that they do not understand and then suddenly they come to know French.  Interestingly, Mme Djere’s insistence that students just come to understand French – this idea that immersion in a French environment can lead to French language skills almost in an osmotic way – is shared by her more experienced counterpart Elodie (urban teacher) as well. Although Elodie does allow more room for teacher-driven language learning, there is still a strong element that French skills will just come to be. Elodie: [We use] only French. More languages than that is- I can say there are many nationalities, many ethnicities and languages in [class]. Most of the time, there are Malians, Guineans. Ivorians are not even as numerous as the others. Therefore, when you speak, it’s French. Michelle: And the students always speak French? Elode: Yes, they always speak French. Arianne: But no, at the start when they first arrive, they all speak French? Elodie: No, at the start there are some who speak their ethnie. […] We start by writing French, learning it, and we continue by talking about it. […] What is done is in French. Michelle: But at the start, how did you do it with all those languages that were there? What were your techniques? To teach a class like that? Elodie: To teach at the start, when you start in French, there are some who understand and others who don’t understand. Plus, in our room, in CP1, it’s- we start by having them re-learn. You do it in French, even if you’re not following. It’s repeating, repeating, so you can follow in French. Because they are cornered. More than when you only say no, it's the time [spent] in French. These are some waves. They can allow us to teach everyone the letters. At the start it is difficult. But after time the children adapt. And it passes. Michelle: And you find that now all the students understand French? Elodie: Yes. All the students understand French well. Yes. Michelle: That is tough! Elodie: Yes, but that’s how it is. It’s the machine of the Ivorian teaching. And we'll see that hand that is not even equipped with a pen, it didn’t write anything. But we make do with it and today they manage to write words and sentences. So that's it.lxx   In this first narrative, Elodie (urban teacher) doesn’t really elaborate on how her students come to understand French so much as she keeps saying that they “adapt.” She skirts over a few techniques such as repetition and asking students to “re-learn,” but uses other words such as 250  “waves” and “it passes” to indicate that a lack of understanding French will be a thing of the past, but learning it will come in waves. This image of a “wave” of learning a language is another osmotic notion, where language learning just happens based upon an environment as Mme Djere described. However, through this osmotic description Elodie is more willing to provide a sense of teacher-driven language teaching by briefly mentioning repetition, writing, and learning.  Elodie later provides a stronger idea of how she conceptualizes the process of language learning for her students: Michelle: That helps me, to know the teaching techniques here. For example, when a student doesn’t understand French, what you do. Elodie: Okay. When a child does not understand French. We are always made to listen to French, everyone, for more than a lesson. When you are doing a lesson, it is several sentences. If it is easy – finally because it’s only in French, little by little it comes. We have another child sit with him, one who tells him no, in Djula, come we will eat in French…that tells him like this, like that, that’s not the case. So, they learn when we have them take a test, for fear of the same. Especially during the lesson with the dialogue. For me, it’s the dialogue, the proceedings of which they all learn at the same time. The greetings, the first lessons, things like that. Start with the greetings. Hello, hello, goodbye, goodbye. So, it’s little by little. It’s like that that they learn. That’s it. He does it. But many, with effort, are already in the process of understanding French before they come here. They already covered a lot of ground between them. It's even that you have to go with them, you have to wait, you have to go with it. They are led to understanding. They come more and more, that’s it. Leave it.lxxi   In this part of her conversation, Elodie (urban teacher) moves between the ideas that language learning is student-driven, teacher-driven, and osmotic. One of her teacher-driven techniques is to rely upon the student-driven component of language learning by encouraging students with greater French experience to act as language mentors. She also notes that she is intentional about starting with things that others may often miss, such as greetings, which indicates that she may not fully subscribe to the osmotic notion of language learning. She wants to explicitly teach students how to greet in French, which is also rooted in Ivorian cultural values 251  where greetings are very important. At the same time, she also conflates the teacher-driven techniques with some osmotic notions, ending her narrative by saying that the students are “led to understanding.” While giving room for patience and the need for teachers to aid their students, she also argues that students come to understand with teachers do not explicitly talk about the fact that teaching and learning of French is happening. On the one hand, this could be to limit stigma and boost the students’ confidence. On the other hand, especially since this is discussed with phrases such as “leave it,” this also indicates that Elodie is unsure about whether learning French is osmotic, teacher-driven, or student-driven. For both Elodie (urban teacher) and Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher), it is clear that learning French must and does occur successfully, but neither teacher seems to be able to completely explain how it happens. This sets up an ideal language regime that looks like this:  Figure 38: Traditional Teachers' Ideal Educational Language Regime Indicating Burden of Responsibility for Learning French  Contrasting ideal regime: PEI teacher’s desire to expand the PEI model by adding languages. As a PEI teacher in rural Konvi, Baako was eager to share his insight into the PEI model as well as ways that it could be expanded. He was, however, the only teacher who addressed ways to expand access to this type of education beyond Konvi. Neither Elodie (urban 252  teacher) nor Mme Djere (rural traditional teacher) broached the idea of expanding access to PEI schools. This is not surprising given their position that exclusive use of French in schools is in the students’ best interest. Baako’s ideas for PEI expansion though were bounded, centered around the notion of needing to find a select few common languages based upon the region of the country. Baako: It’s what the government says, how I understand [PEI]. We find that they want to do this [PEI] all over the country. I take the example of Djula. Here it's Brafé we all have to speak. I do not think we can say the Brafés will accept, except sometimes, to speak Djula, there is no benefit. It should not be agreed to do it with one language. It should cover the whole country. Michelle: And you propose that this can be done with other languages? Baako: You already said that we have many. Don’t force it. We have that in the world already, with the same approach. Therefore, the decision is to occupy it, to share [PEI] with you through results, and get it to those who do not have the chance. Because for me, the most taught is French. But they (the languages) are more Ivorian to try. So, we can dare to do CP1 if the country imposes the idea in the new year. Because we can. To choose a language. That is a Chinese task. It’s hard. But it is necessary that the people understand. Because it is a little bit of our differences. It’s a little difficult. We can overcome that. I will be very happy. But to amuse you, take Djula for example. I know how to say a lot. When you say “fish,” I know that it is “jeke.” If it is “water,” I know that it is “kgi.” Okay, “nko,” “naya,” that is what I understand. But often that is not sufficient. When people speak fluently, they understand it. I think that, one can choose either to the east a language, to the south, a language. For north, because to the north everyone understands Djula. And then, Betie, in the west they speak that. But when it is there, we taught it. In a school. But we can narrow to talk, er to teach 4 languages. It is not too much. Otherwise you are anchored in Brafé. If you go elsewhere to see, you have lost. If someone has to provide you even a little. If me for example, we know how to speak the Betie, we will train Betie. To see that there are languages that even one, my sister who is there, when she speaks, I understand. You see that it does not pose too many problems. We have to look for the languages that will be approaching each other. We do maybe eh, at Konvi level, we can teach in 4 languages.  Michelle: So you propose using four languages that are regional, and the teachers – Baako: - trained – Michelle: -trained in all four languages. Baako: Yes. Michelle: And the students, too? Baako: The students, sometimes. Michelle: The students would have to learn all four languages? Baako: No, regardless of where the child is, the child can overcome. The child can learn. It's like in middle school. We learn French, there is English. Then there is Spanish, there 253  is German. Okay. This is where we put only French, but the child is necessarily made to try. Michelle: Okay, but don’t you think that could pose some problems? Baako: In my opinion, it’s one certain language for the whole Côte d’Ivoire that can cause problems. But like what I said, even if we cannot do four languages, at least three languages, we can teach! If I was trained, if I have the documents, I can teach, if there is an hour or two hours to teach Djula, one hour for Brafé, and we were able to see that the children will be. Michelle: But for example here, if they tell you to do Baoule. It’s not Brafé. You would be okay with that. Baako: Well no, okay. Yes, I would be happy to accept that.  Michelle: Really? Baako: Yes. But it’s them [the Ministers] who decided.lxxii   In his narrative plot to expand the PEI model, Baako (rural PEI teacher) bounds the temporal context of his narrative via regional languages. He uses geographic regions to identify areas which he believes have similar ethnolinguistic characteristics, then proposes training all teachers in all four of those languages so that they could easily teach in any of those languages. While he also considers the idea that the students could learn the four different languages, specifically to overcome some of the differences between groups, he was less insistent on teaching four regional languages to the students than he was on the importance of training the teachers to learn and teach in four regional languages. The proposal to use regional languages is important to note in light of the country’s geographic tensions, where northern and western regions were part of the “rebels” in the civil war and considered to be made up of “foreigners” or “non-Ivorians,” while the southern and eastern regions were part of the “state” in the war – or the official, government-sanctioned side of the fighting (Sany, 2010). Whether the proposal to use one language from each region is meant to act as a national unifier – officially sanctioning each region through languages in training teachers – or is reinforcing the geographic divides is not discussed.  254   The difference between teacher and student roles in learning four regional languages is striking for two other reasons. First, Baako seems to be acknowledging a need for teachers to be able to reach a broader student population than what a narrow school location may initially deem necessary. This could be to allow teachers the flexibility to move locations, a recognition that rural populations are more linguistically diverse than typically acknowledged, or both. If it is a recognition of the linguistic diversity that exists in rural areas, such as in his own rural Konvi where there are non-local students attending both the PEI and the traditional school, he is attending to student needs much in the same way that the general PEI model is: by recognizing that learning in your own language is a necessary element to succeeding in school as well as to learning other languages.   The other thing that Baako is doing by focusing on teachers in this narrative is highlighting what he says throughout the entire conversation: the PEI model needs to better support the teachers through training and through material provisions. Although he is specifically calling for teachers to be trained in four regional languages, this segment reiterates his overall theme that PEI schools are lacking official support. For Baako, there is a perceived inequality between traditional, French-only schools and the PEI local language schools. Teachers are only trained in French, and therefore trained to teach only in French, and all educational materials provided by the Ministry are in French. Although the PEI model is a Ministry program, and the schools are public schools, the teachers do not receive any training on ways to teach in a language other than French or in techniques to teach French as a subject. Further, the PEI schools are provided the exact same materials as the traditional schools – when textbooks and curricular materials are provided, they are in French. Thus Baako’s ideal educational language regime would elevate local languages through official support of the program, as seen in figure 39. 255   Figure 39: The PEI Teacher's Ideal Educational Language Regime Bolstered by Government Support 7.4 “The Machine of Ivorian Teaching:” Discussion of Teacher Experiences  The three teachers in this chapter provide a bridge between policy and practiced reality: on the one hand, they elaborate on what actually happens in the classroom language-wise, at least from their perspective and their memory of their experiences. On the other hand, they also speak to their perceptions of social relations in Côte d’Ivoire, using their own perceptions of Ivorian education as a backdrop for their narratives about what happens in their own classrooms.   As Elodie (urban, traditional teacher) mentions in her narrative with the statement “it’s the machine of Ivorian teaching,” there is a sense that teaching in Côte d’Ivoire means something specific. That pedagogy in Côte d’Ivoire means something specific. What exactly “Ivorian pedagogy” or “Ivorian teaching” comprises is not the purpose of my study, but it is a notion that 256  shapes the ways that the teachers I interviewed make sense of their teaching experiences. This is also relevant because many of the teacher narratives spoke about teaching language even when I presented my interest in languages that are used to teach. The teachers were willing to elaborate on what languages they believe should be used to teach – Baako (rural, PEI teacher) being the only teacher who argued for using a local language of instruction compared to Elodie (urban, traditional teacher) and Mme Djere (rural, traditional teacher) who argued for using French as the language of instruction. However, the discussion which I intended to be a conversation about how the teachers’ envisioned the ways that they enact a specific language of instruction policy instead turned into conversations about pedagogical techniques in general or pedagogical techniques used to teach French rather than to teach in French.   In some cases, this could point to a confusion between what it means to teach a language compared to what it means to use a language to teach; however, since both were subjects of conversation between myself and all three teachers, it seems more likely that it speaks to a bigger picture about what it means to teach in Côte d’Ivoire. Earlier I mentioned that Baako (rural, PEI teacher) was illuminating tensions between what is official and informal as well as what policy states and what is supported; the mitigating factor for both tensions is the notion of pedagogy. Baako describes his reliance on French pedagogy to teach subjects in Brafé as an example of how the government does not support the PEI model; yet Baako’s example also illustrates how notions of pedagogy and what it means to teach in Côte d’Ivoire are deeply embedded in the teachers’ perspectives. As a teacher, he relies upon these French pedagogical techniques in which he was formally trained regardless of what language he uses to teach. He explains these techniques, as do Elodie (urban, traditional teacher) and Mme Djere (rural, traditional teacher) in their narratives.  257   Although Baako explains his techniques broadly, and Elodie and Mme Djere explain their techniques relative to teaching French, both ways of describing the pedagogy are connected to Ivorian notions of teaching. By labeling the pedagogy as “French,” Baako reminds us that there is a lingering colonial legacy on what it means to be part of the “Ivorian teaching machine.” This is reinforced when Mme Djere and Elodie describe pedagogical techniques that are strongly reminiscent of an older French teaching style. To the latter point, the techniques described by Mme Djere and Elodie are reminiscent of scholarship that compares Guinean and French literacy pedagogy (Anderson-Levitt, 2001; 2004) particularly in reference to “throwback” 19th century techniques used in France that relied upon syllabic instruction (Anderson-Levitt, 2004, p. 239).   This brief foray into notions of pedagogy is not meant to be an in-depth argument about what it means to teach in Côte d’Ivoire. However, it provides a little more nuance into how language of instruction relates to inequality for these three teachers. For Baako (rural, PEI teacher), the pedagogy in which he was trained is French, meaning from France; yet the training occurred in an Ivorian institution, and is part of a system that Elodie (urban, traditional teacher) explicitly labels “Ivorian.” The lingering colonial legacy is felt, as is the question behind what exactly it means for an education system to be “Ivorian.”   When language is involved, since languages are intricately connected to identity, this entanglement becomes even more complex. Perhaps the different labels of “French” and “Ivorian” also help explain differences in opinion. Baako believes that using French is not Ivorian, hence the label of “French pedagogy.” In contrast, Elodie creates the label “Ivorian teaching machine” and sets-up her ideal language regime that elevates French at the exclusion of other local languages is part of what she believes to be Ivorian pedagogy. These differences call into question how the official language regime is connected to the actual language regime in 258  education. These teachers in their position as enactors of the official language regime rely upon their notions of pedagogy and what is “French” or “Ivorian” to create an actual language regime inside their own classrooms. For Baako (rural, PEI teacher), this means finding ways to turn something he considers “French” into something he considers Ivorian by using local languages to teach. For Elodie (urban, traditional teacher) and Mme Djere (rural, traditional teacher), this means using their “Ivorian” training to use the French language exclusively to teach even when the students don’t necessarily understand French. While these are two different actual educational language regimes, both fall into line with the official language regime which supports the elevation of French even when a local language is used to instruct.   The official language regime as uncovered in chapter four shows that French holds the most power in Ivorian education, yet some local languages are gaining power as pedagogical instruments which also support the French power. The teachers provide another layer to that language regime by speaking to how they perceive the role and structure of language in their classrooms. Although Baako’s (rural, PEI) sole support for using local languages in the classroom points to his perception that they should have a higher status in the official language regime, his complaints that there is no training and all materials remain in French coupled with Mme Djere’s (rural, traditional school) and Elodie’s (urban) strong support for excluding all languages except for French from the classroom suggest that the officially painted language regime is practiced in educational settings.   Layered as well on this official language regime is the ways that the teachers are perceiving social relations in Côte d’Ivoire. Specifically, their perceptions of diversity and inequality, which are deeply entwined with the challenges the country is still grappling with post-crises. While all the teachers touch on the challenges of diversity and the ever-present 259  inequality that they perceive as existing between diverse groups, there is no clear agreement about language and education in these issues. Where Baako considers the elevation of local languages through their use in education on the language regime to be an important element to rectifying inequalities by aiding in entente and equal access to various opportunities, Elodie and Mme Djere focus solely on education at the expense of language. This could be interpreted as an implied agreement with the official language regime as one way to minimize inequality between ethnolinguistic groups – using French as an equalizer as Mme Djere states.   But there is also a lack of agreement about education in this mix of language-education-inequality. For both Baako (rural, PEI) and Elodie (urban), education is an agent of positive change to help eliminate between-group inequalities. For Elodie specifically, it is her role as a teacher to make sure that children learn how to respect, communicate with, and accept different people. However, for Mme Djere (rural, traditional school), education acts as a reinforcer of inequality. These disagreements are not directly related to the language regime in education yet serve to illuminate how complex the relationship between education and conflict truly is. For one group of people, education may remove inequalities, while for another group of people it may act as a barrier to equality. Add in language, and the role that Elodie and Mme Djere see themselves playing to ensure that all students end their first year of school at the same French level, and those inequalities can be exacerbated or mitigated.   260  SECTION IV. FINAL WORDS   261  Chapter 8. Conclusion 8.1 Review of the Dissertation   In this dissertation, I sought to understand the relationship between language of instruction policies and the transition to a post-conflict state in Côte d’Ivoire. As a country with a recent history of repeated conflict, first in the 2002 crise (civil war) and again in the 2010-2011 crise, Côte d’Ivoire is still working on policies and actions that will rebuild social cohesion and return the country to a peaceful, post-conflict state. The peacebuilding initiatives are on-going, and include a number of education initiatives to build social cohesion (Vinck et al., 2016). The peacebuilding efforts are not limited to education, yet education continues to play an important role in these endeavors given the role that the politicized education system played in the first crise (Sany, 2010). The education-based inequalities experienced between regions reinforced existing tensions in the country related to identity politics, particularly following the Ivoirité laws of the mid-1990s which used ethnicity as a defining factor in “true” Ivorian identity (Bah, 2012). Northern ethnicities were defined as immigrant lineage, and therefore assigned a foreign identity that became a factor in access to Ivorian rights and citizenship. In such a diverse country, where there are an estimated 60+ local languages, there is a tendency to associate languages with specific ethnic lineage particularly when the country can be divided into four regional language groups (Akissi Boutin & Kouadio N’Guessan, 2013; Eberhard et al., 2019; Sany, 2010). Although this is a very shallow explanation of the roots of the Ivorian crises, it illuminates why research about language and education are relevant to the continued peacebuilding initiatives in Côte d’Ivoire as the country seeks to fully transition to a post-conflict state.  It is on this historical background that I explored the relationship between language of instruction policies and post-conflict transitions, as well as the contextual realities that there are 262  two separate types of active language of instruction policies in the country. In urban areas, the policy is French-only instruction, a colonial policy that has continued through to the modern post-independence era. For these schools, which are the majority of schools in Côte d’Ivoire, all teaching and learning is expected to occur in the French language – the same language that retains its status as the official language of the country. However, another policy landscape exists parallel to the French-only policy. The Ministry of Education’s Programme des Écoles Integrées (PEI) is comprised of 26 rural schools that use one of 10 local languages as the language of instruction during the first three years of public schooling. During these first three years, French is taught as a second language and is introduced in subject matter instruction slowly, until a complete transition to French-only instruction occurs in year four. As a Ministry sanctioned program, the PEI acts as a policy to be enacted in very specific schools.   Based upon this background, I conducted a comparative case study about language of instruction policies and community and teacher perspectives in the Kwé neighborhood in urban Dyapo and in the rural village of Konvi. Through discourse analysis across events of official policies and laws between 1995 and 2019, I uncovered the evolution of the language regime in Ivorian education. Through narrative analysis of parent and teacher interviews associated with the rural and urban communities, I exposed the perceived educational language regimes and the ideal educational language regimes. By comparing the three different types of language regimes – the official, the perceived, and the ideal – I was able to identify between-group inequalities related to language and education that parents and teachers perceive to exist as well as which of these inequalities they perceive to be socially unacceptable. These analyses were grounded in the history and experiences with social conflict in Côte d’Ivoire. The nuances within each of these 263  analyses highlighted the complexity that exists in post-conflict work, both related to language and education as well as in general. 8.2 Themes Across the Chapters   As explored in chapter four, the education policies in Côte d’Ivoire have set up an educational language regime that privileges French above all other languages. However, this official language regime is shifting, slowly increasing the power of local languages through their pedagogical role in the lower levels of rural primary schools. Despite this shift, only some local languages are privileged in the official language regime while the other local languages and the non-Ivorian African languages are not granted power in this official language regime, as I was able to uncover in chapter four. The nuances that were uncovered through the discourse analysis across events though highlight that the elevation of local languages is done through the pedagogical role assigned to those languages, a role that is simultaneously used to elevate the French language via language acquisition pedagogy. The local languages are then devalued as they are granted status in the realm of culture, a realm that is vague and non-academic in policy discourses. Thus, the official or official language regime as stated in the Ivorian policies indicates that the elevation of some local languages is limited while the French language continues to reign. This official regime sets up a language-based horizontal inequality between those who belong to a group that speaks one of the languages used in education and those who speak one of the other languages, and potentially reinforces existing inequalities between those who are proficient in French and those who are not.   In chapters six and seven, through interviews with parents and teachers who would theoretically have different experiences with those between-group language inequalities, I was able to determine both the perceived language in education regime and the ideal language in 264  education regimes. The perceived regime indicated where inequalities are thought to exist, which are the inequalities that the research indicates are most likely to be related to conflict (Fukuda-Parr, Langer, & Mine, 2013). The ideal language regime, alternately, highlights the perceived language-based inequalities that are considered inappropriate by the parents and teachers, which the research also points to as important in identifying which horizontal inequalities may be related to conflict.  Similar to the official regime (chapter 4) where local languages are granted power as pedagogical tools, in chapter five I found that both parents and teachers used teaching and learning as a way to explain their ideal regime; however, the teacher narratives provide strong nuance due to their differing levels of support for using local languages. Further nuance is established in narratives where language and quality of education become proof that there are urban-rural educational disparities. While some rural parents felt that urban students were at an advantage in accessing quality education, others felt that urban students were at a disadvantage due to the lack of local language education available in urban settings. However, both perceptions uncovered that rural parents view the PEI model of education as a way to remedy regional inequalities.   The support for the PEI model of school was fairly strong for parents regardless of their personal experiences with that model of schooling while teacher support for the PEI model was strongly related to the teachers’ own experiences with teaching in a PEI school. While these differences are interesting to note, there were other ways that looking at the parent/teacher perceptions add complexity to the ideal education language regimes. The main differences came down to looking at language use in education as a tool for teaching (teacher perceptions) compared to language use in education as important for learning (parent perceptions). 265   However, beyond parent/teacher differences, there were also some challenges to the general perceived and ideal educational language regimes brought to light by two of the four foreign (non-Ivorian) parents. For these parents, the perceived language regime indicated a felt language inequality where their own languages were not part of the language regime. At the same time, only one foreign parent was strongly opposed to the use of local languages in education, while the others were expressing their ideal language regime in education in relation to what languages would enable their children to be academically successful, integrate into their communities, and integrate into Ivorian society. The first was a concern for all parents, while the tension between community and national integration became salient for the foreign parents whose own identities as non-Ivorian were shaping their ideal educational language regimes.  In chapter five, the parents’ and teachers’ experiences with the Ivorian crises shaped the ways that they conceived of language and education as tools for peacebuilding or promoting further conflict. This was especially prominent for the parents in their discussions around the notion of entente, where language and education were both linked directly to peacebuilding and social cohesion via their roles in developing intercultural communication, understanding, and humanity. Though only some parents directly connected the PEI model of education to the potential for building long-term peace and thus enabling a full post-conflict transition, the other parents implied that this was the case through their narratives about the value of linguistic diversity in Côte d’Ivoire and the role that education plays in breaking down inequalities. The teachers, on the other hand, told a different story. Baako, the only teacher with experience in a PEI classroom, argued strongly that the PEI model of education would lead to entente and a cohesive, peaceful society. Yet, none of the two traditional teachers agreed. Instead, the potential for the PEI model of education to exacerbate language-based inequalities became the foundation 266  for their understanding of the relationship between language of instruction and conflict, and their roles as teachers in the classroom were more central to defining how education can either develop necessary intercultural tolerance or promote inequalities.   The interviews with parents and teachers in rural Konvi and urban Kwé Dyapo provided rich data about perceptions about language of instruction; through narrative analysis I was able to uncover the perceived and ideal language regimes in education expressed by these participants. In the previous chapter, I uncover the language regime in Ivorian education as it is officially stated, wherein French sits at the top of the linguistic power hierarchy, 10 local languages sit below that with some power as language of instruction though serving the role of supporting French dominance by acting as a pedagogical tool for French language acquisition, and the remaining 50+ local languages are inconspicuously ignored. In this chapter, parents and teachers provide insight into that language regime by speaking to how they perceive the language regime in education and the language regime[s] they consider to be ideal.   As the parents talked about local languages in education broadly and the PEI model more specifically, their narratives demonstrated that they were still grappling with ways to remedy the apparent discord between their support for PEI and the diverse realities in the country. The teachers’ conversations about local languages in education alongside the parent narratives provided strong support for a perceived language regime in education which favors French. The perceived language regime reflects some of the official regime, indicating that the official language regime seems to be practiced in reality to a certain extent. Both regimes – the official as described in chapter 4 and the perceived as described in this chapter – point to language-based horizontal inequalities that exist between French, some local languages, and all other languages. The perceived regime, though, points to something that is more relevant to the larger research 267  question about conflict. Specifically, the perceived regime provides evidence that inequalities between languages are felt by the participants of this study albeit not uniformly. While one rural parent argued that the PEI program is remedying the urban-rural inequality by giving rural students access to high quality education, the others continued to express concern about the urban disadvantage. The fact that most urban parents expressed support in the PEI program while simultaneously talking about their perception that their languages are being lost suggests that this horizontal inequality may be felt by the urban parents.   The non-Ivorian parents add in an understanding that the inequalities are especially felt by foreigners, yet the challenge is deeply rooted in the desire to belong to a country that historically has felt threatened by the presence of foreigners, to the point that national identity was one factor in the two recent civil wars. At the same time, while the non-Ivorian parents provide insight into the ways that language inequalities are felt differently by different subpopulations in a very diverse country, the teachers’ narratives reinforce the strength of French in the perceived regime with Baako (PEI teacher) expressing the perception that local languages are disadvantaged even when they are provided a place in the language regime.  In this chapter, though, I did not focus solely on the perceived language regime in education nor on the perceived linguistic horizontal inequalities that this regime exposed. By exploring the different ideal language regimes that emerged in the parent and teacher narratives, it became clear that there is no single ideal language regime, which means that favoring any language regime in education is likely to result in some people perceiving a language-based inequality. However, the general trends that emerged through the exploration of parent and teacher perceived and ideal educational language regimes, especially when compared to the official regime, highlight that there are some perceived language-based inequalities that the 268  parents in particular believe could be mitigated with careful language planning that selects key languages to valorize. The parent perception that local languages hold cultural value and play an important role in supporting student learning indicates that perceived language-based inequalities in education might be relevant to the post-conflict development trajectory, as the parents are expressing concern over the future of their children in relation to perceived inequalities. The teachers’ contrasting ideal regimes as well as their perceived regimes which contrast with the official language regime in education indicate that the language regime is not promoting local languages as effectively as the policy goals suggest. 8.3 Implications  While the official educational language regime indicated that there are language-based horizontal inequalities which are slowly being remedied, the perceived educational language regimes and the ideal educational language regimes that the parents and teachers described indicate that horizontal inequalities related to and caused by language of instruction policies are both felt and unacceptable. In other words, while the official regime indicates a move to remedy horizontal inequalities related to language in education, these efforts are not perceived to be quite enough or potentially quick enough. The nuances between the perceived and ideal regimes also reinforce the complexity at hand, where the teachers as policy enactors did not share the same perceptions or ideals as the parents, and the parents produced multiple perceived and ideal regimes indicating there is no single potential solution. Regardless of the nuance, though, these findings make it clear that language of instruction has a role to play in peacebuilding initiatives as Côte d’Ivoire continues to transition to a post-conflict state. Certainly it is not the only relevant factor to the transition, nor is it a large factor; however, due to the ethnolinguistic diversity and the historical marginalization associated with different ethnolinguistic groups that 269  acted as one driver of conflict in les crises, attending to language is arguably a relevant factor in the post-conflict transition. Further, given the role of education in promoting and remedying conflict, especially in the Ivorian conflict history, language in education is clearly worth attending to.  Implications for policy: Some recommendations. Based upon the findings that I have uncovered in the parent and teacher interviews and the policy analysis, there are some implications for policy worth mentioning. In Côte d’Ivoire specifically, based upon the parent demand for PEI schools and the value that parents place on the diversity of languages in the country, Ivorian policy makers and those with administrative power could make the case for increasing the number of schools that offer a PEI curriculum. This would also include adding to the geographic locations, potentially including urban settings as well. Increasing the number of languages available for a PEI school would also be important, given the strong weight that the parents placed not only on having local language schools, but especially in the importance in valuing languages spoken by others. Given the policy goals which are to use local languages to increase the acquisition of both academic knowledge and French language skills, it seems that the parent preferences to increase PEI language options and locations are in line with the official discourses.   However, based upon the teacher perceptions, the potential policy expansion to increase PEI offerings will require other policy and administrative supports. For example, although the official discourse indicates a policy intention to increase local language school options, Baako’s interview highlighting the lack of teacher training and linguistically-relevant teaching materials indicates that the policy intentions do not line up with the policy enactment. As policy makers continue to revise the official LoI policy and the PEI program, provisions will need to be made to 270  provide for appropriate teacher resources. These resources include physical materials, such as the development of textbooks in the languages used as medium of instruction. But they also include teacher training, which means training teachers in linguistically appropriate pedagogy as well as how to teach French as a second language (FLE). Both require increased financial contributions and time. Developing physical materials and curriculum may also require an increased partnership with Ivorian linguists as some languages may need to be developed orthographically.   Further, buy-in from teachers will be an important part of assuring a successful PEI expansion policy. This can be done during initial teacher training, but also by increasing professional development for experienced teachers. In all cases, the teacher training and professional development initiatives should include training teachers to teach in diverse classrooms and allow for FLE training for all teachers regardless of their PEI status.   Based upon the ethnolinguistic diversity in Côte d’Ivoire, nuanced policy across the country might also be beneficial. Elodie (urban traditional teacher) mentioned that her teacher placement was assigned, and her first assignment was in a rural location in which she did not speak the language. This brings to light the complexity of implementing a PEI program relative to teacher placement; if a teacher does not speak the local language, it is clear that they would not be able to teach in the local language. A teacher placement policy that attends closely to teacher language experiences would make it possible to expand the PEI model. At the same time, teacher supply may not be linguistically balanced. This means that a policy calling for expanded PEI schools may be challenging simply from a teacher supply perspective, and teacher-feeding policies based upon language could be considered. Those would be dangerous, however, as if done without care it could make it seem like the government is favoring certain ethnolinguistic identities over others. This could lead to increased identity tensions, thus undermining the social 271  cohesion efforts of policies which increase local language use in schools and should be thought through carefully.  Since my study was focused on the role of language of instruction in supporting the transition into a more cohesive state, all of the policy recommendations need to intentionally consider the ethnolinguistic tensions at the heart of the Ivorian conflicts. One way to do so is to include the voices of teachers, parents, and students in the policy making process. Policymakers might consider hosting multiple public forums about the PEI model of education in multiple locations, requesting both feedback and ideas for growing the model. The Ministry of Education already has experience holding forums in communities where PEI schools open, in order to help the community understand and accept the PEI school, yet these forums are offered after locations have been selected for PEI expansion and are geared toward informing the public rather than learning from the public. Future forums could focus more on hearing what the communities would like from a PEI school, and there could even be separate forums for the teachers to provide their insights without fear of alienating their students or fear of professional backlash.   Outside the Ivorian context, my study illuminates the complexity of language of instruction in building cohesive societies. While it certainly plays a role, the linguistic landscape in any country is diverse and policies would need to account for the variety of ethnolinguistic identities being served in their schools. Drawing from the lessons in this study, policymakers in other countries can learn that it is not only about what language is used to teach in or ensuring that all students learn the dominant language without hindering their academic growth. Instead, policymakers interested in building cohesive societies can take from this study that policies which acknowledge the linguistic diversity in ways which also recognize the value that linguistic diversity adds to society. This does not necessarily mean developing a model similar to the PEI 272  system, although it can; it can also mean incorporating a diverse offering of foreign language classes to students at all levels as some of the parents and Baako (rural PEI teacher) suggested. Alternately, it could mean training teachers to be more culturally inclusive in their classrooms even if the classroom operates in only one language, or it could mean improving FLE-like training for all teachers to enable them to be more supportive of their increasingly diverse classrooms. As policymakers account for linguistic diversity in developing education policies, in order to strengthen social cohesion, they would do well to listen to the diverse voices of the parents, teachers, and students. While allowing for every language in existence to be the medium of instruction at school is not feasible, it is feasible to increase the diversity of languages used in this capacity and begin to incorporate more languages in creative ways in the curriculum. Further, this is an important step to take in order to reinforce the value that is placed on all languages and their associated speakers, which in turn can play a role in reducing language-based horizontal inequalities that break down cohesive societies.  Implications for research. There are two different strands of implications for research that my study can shed light on. The first is how other researchers can learn from my approach, and the second comprises the future research that I envision coming from this work.   Learning from my approach. A big part of my study was developing a contextual frame directly from the participant voices. I relied upon West African ways of speaking, particularly the use of circular speech and proverbs, to better understand what the parents and teachers with whom I spoke were trying to tell me. I acquired this particular cultural knowledge from a combination of my own experiences interacting with Ivorians and West Africans in this study and other studies, debriefing conversations with my local research mentor, Dr. Azoh, debriefing conversations with my research assistant, Arianne, conversations with local friends I made, and 273  from research such as Avoseh’s (2013) work on using proverbs to develop frameworks in educational research. The big contribution to using a culturally affirming approach where participant voices are central to my analysis was the uncovering of a local framework for understanding conflict, social cohesion, language, communication, and education: the notion of entente developed by the parents and used by parents and teachers alike in my interviews.   Using the parent and teacher voices to develop and apply a framework to my research serves two purposes in the research implications I believe come out of my study. First, it demonstrates one way to conduct culturally affirming research. To this point, it serves as an example of how participant voices can be more than data points. Instead, participant voices can inform the way that an analytical approach is applied as they also serve to create a contextual framework in which to situate the analysis and the broader study. Although the framework that I developed around the notion of entente may not always be relevant to other research, the process that I used to find a framework within the local voices can serve as an outline for other researchers who want to honor local voices in their research and who do not wish to simply impose a “dominant” or “western” framework on these voices in the research process.   Second, I believe that developing the organic frame of entente that honored and affirmed indigenous knowledge in my research can speak back more directly to the HI based conflict literature and the conflict and education literature as researchers continue to conceptualize conflict. The scholarship surrounding conflict and education and HI-based conflict both work hard to address systemic challenges that play a role in creating, reinforcing, mitigating, and preventing conflict. These bodies of work acknowledge the complexity in conflict. Such complexities exist clearly in the non-linear relationship between conflict and education, where both education and conflict influence each other and play a role in how the other is carried out. 274  In horizontal inequality-based conflict scholarship, these complexities are acknowledged in the diversity of between-group inequalities that various groups perceive as they contemplate partaking in conflict in order to change or preserve those inequalities. In acknowledging complexity, it is clear that both education and language are relevant to conversations surrounding conflict, social inequality, education, and peacebuilding; however, despite the recognition of complexity, these bodies of scholarship still have a tendency to search for generalizability in conceptualizing conflict. There certainly are many case studies about specific contexts that look at conflict and education and/or horizontal inequalities related to conflict. However, these case studies still fail to focus on context – or the diversity of micro-contexts more specifically – and especially in ways that honor local voices or include indigenous knowledges. My research extends work that conceptualizes conflict related to between-group inequalities, education, and language, by using the participants’ own frame of entente to examine ways that language use in education builds or removes barriers to perceptions of horizontal inequalities. As such, it was my intention that the post-conflict transition currently happening in Côte d’Ivoire is better understood through the lens of local voices, thus helping researchers in conflict and those working to support the post-conflict transition will not fall into the trap of favoring some voices over others, thus either creating newly perceived horizontal inequalities or reinforcing those that existed prior to and during les crises. It is also my intention that conflict researchers can see the benefit in using local frameworks to incorporate indigenous knowledge into their work.   Future research. This research study underscored the intricate way that language of instruction can promote peace or encourage conflict through its role in reinforcing or breaking down perceived language-based between-group inequalities and its role in supporting broader social communication and tolerance. Although this is a vastly simplified restatement of my 275  findings, it serves as a jumping off point for future research that can stem from this study. First, as this study was a small-scale study, future research should include expanding my study to include other communities in Côte d’Ivoire with varying access to PEI schools. It would also be beneficial to conduct a similar study in other countries to better understand the role that language of instruction may play in conflict and peacebuilding broadly, particularly focusing on steps that policymakers can take to strengthen cohesive societies through language of instruction policies.  I also see the importance of including a gender lens on future research. This study is limited in this area, and I did not address directly or indirectly any gender dimensions that might be influencing my findings. As gender is relevant to research in education and research in conflict, I believe that it makes sense to include gender as a focus for studies that look at language of instruction and conflict. While I did speak with both men and women in my interviews, I did not account for gendered differences in their perspectives during my analysis, nor did I question the dynamics of same- and different-gendered dyadic interviews in my study. Further, gender was not an element that I included in my analysis of the policy documents, although the inclusion of gender in other areas of education policy documents suggests that it would be feasible.  Along similar lines, I propose that future research explicitly incorporates the voices of refugees, stateless persons, displaced persons, migrants, and immigrants. Especially in Côte d’Ivoire, where les crises were partially rooted in both ethnolinguistic backgrounds and in familial immigrant histories, focusing research about language of instruction policies and conflict around non-native populations will shed deeper insight into the perception of horizontal inequalities that various language of instruction experiences may be developing or mitigating. Although some of the parents in my study identified as immigrant, stateless, and refugee, the 276  sample size was not representative of the larger population. Further, none of those categories of vulnerable persons were included in my policy analysis, although this would be an interesting element to add.   Finally, future research should include a deeper exploration of the structural factors that bound the Ivorian PEI model of education, which can help research begin to extrapolate my findings beyond the Ivorian context. This will support policymakers as well, as language of instruction policies geared toward peacebuilding and peacekeeping are pursued in other countries.   277  APPENDICES 278  Appendix I. Interview Protocols   Below is the loose interview protocol for parents and educators. These protocols represent the questions that I wanted to make sure were asked of each participant in some form, yet since I used a semi-structured interview format there were times when I asked follow-up questions not indicated in these protocols. I also asked the questions in a different order as the conversation allowed and used phrasings that were consistent with how the parents and teachers were speaking. Interview Questions: Parents 1. Tell me a little about yourself. 2. Where are you from? 3. How many children do you have? What ages? What genders? What school(s) do they attend?  Language questions: 1. What languages do you speak? 2. Which language is your mother tongue? 3. Can you tell me about when you use these languages? a. Can you tell me about when you would not use these languages? Can you give me some examples? Schooling questions: 1. Think back to when you were a student in school. What languages did you use in school? a. Why? b. What did you think about that? 2. What language(s) do you think should be used in school to teach students all subjects? a. Please explain. 3. Why do you send your child to school? a. What languages do you want your child to speak in school? Why? 4. Tell me about your child’s school.  a. What languages do they use? b. How do you feel about that? c. Why did you choose this school? 5. If you could send your child to any school, what would the ideal school be like? a. What languages would they use? Why? 279  6. Do you know about the PEI schools? (If yes, ask them to describe the model and how it differs from a traditional school). FOR ALL: explain the model after they respond a. What do you think about the PEI model of school? b. (for Konvi parents): In general, who goes to the PEI school? Who goes to the traditional school? Why?  c. (For Konvi parents):  What are the differences between PEI and traditional schools? What about besides languages used? (probe for examples) d. As I mentioned, there are 26 PEI schools that use 10 languages in Côte d’Ivoire. What do you think about that? Is it enough or not? Why?  e. What about the languages that are not used, what do you think about that? f. The PEI schools are only in rural areas, not in any of the large cities such as Abidjan or Bouake. Why do you think that is? What do you think about that? g. In your opinion, is it possible to have a PEI school in a large city? Why/why not? h. Who should be able to go to a PEI school? (probe for region, ethnolinguistic background, etc).   Conflict/Social cohesion questions: Now I want to talk about social relations in the country in light of everything that has happened, such as les crises. Many people have used the term social cohesion to help me understand les crises and life now, but I’m not sure I understand the term. Maybe you can help. When someone says social cohesion, what does that mean to you? Can you define it for me?   From what others have said, I understand social cohesion to be about group or social relations. There are relations between people of the same group but especially relations between different groups, and perfect cohesion means to have peace and equality for everyone. What do you think about that – do you agree or have anything to add? How does that compare to the definition you gave me of social cohesion? 1. How would you describe social relations in terms of peace and cohesion in Côte d’Ivoire right now? Why is it that way?  2. How has this changed over your life? In the past 20 years?  3. Can you tell me about how things were before les crises?  a. If you are willing, can you also tell me how things were during?  b. Why do you think it happened? c. Can you tell me a little about your experiences now, after les crises? How have things changed? (probe for changes in social relations, education, language use, etc.) 4. What do you think about the potential for long-term peace in the country? a. How do you think this could happen?  Interview Questions: Educators (teachers)  1. Tell me a little about yourself. 2. Where are you from? 3. What languages do you speak? 280  4. Which language is your mother tongue?  Schooling questions:  1. Tell me about your experiences as a teacher. How long have you been a teacher/ In how many schools? Where? For which grades? 2. Tell me about your experience at this school. How long have you been here? Have you always taught CP1 here? Which other grades have you taught here? 3. What is a typical day like teaching in your current class? a. How was this morning different? Can you give me an example?  4. What languages are used in your school? Why? 5. What languages do you use in your teaching? Why? 6. What languages do you think you should use to teach in school? Why? 7. Think for a minute about your students. What language/s would you prefer to use in your current classroom? Why? a. Is this the same as previous years? Why? 8. What does the law say about what languages can be used in school?  a. What techniques do you use to follow this? b. What do you think of this? Please elaborate. c. How much of your class understands French/Brafé? i. How much of your class understood French/Brafé at the start of the school year? ii. What techniques do you use to help the students who do not understand French/Brafé? 9. Do you know about the PEI schools? (If yes, ask them to describe the model and how it differs from a traditional school). FOR ALL: explain the model after they respond a. What are is your experience with PEI? b. What do you think about the PEI model of school? c. (for Konvi teachers): In general, who goes to the PEI school? Who goes to the traditional school? Why?  d. (For Konvi teachers):  What are the differences between PEI and traditional schools? What about besides languages used? (probe for examples) e. As I mentioned, there are 26 PEI schools that use 10 languages in Côte d’Ivoire. What do you think about that? Is it enough or not? Why?  f. What about the languages that are not used, what do you think about that? g. The PEI schools are only in rural areas, not in any of the large cities such as Abidjan or Bouake. Why do you think that is? What do you think about that? h. In your opinion, is it possible to have a PEI school in a large city? Why/why not? i. Who should be able to go to a PEI school? (probe for region, ethnolinguistic background, etc).     281  Conflict/Social Cohesion: Now I want to talk about social relations in the country in light of everything that has happened, such as les crises. Many people have used the term social cohesion to help me understand les crises and life now, but I’m not sure I understand the term. Maybe you can help. When someone says social cohesion, what does that mean to you? Can you define it for me?   From what others have said, I understand social cohesion to be about group or social relations. There are relations between people of the same group but especially relations between different groups, and perfect cohesion means to have peace and equality for everyone. What do you think about that – do you agree or have anything to add? How does that compare to the definition you gave me of social cohesion? 1. How would you describe social relations in terms of peace and cohesion in Côte d’Ivoire right now? Why is it that way?  2. How has this changed over your life? In the past 20 years?  3. Can you tell me about how things were before les crises?  a. If you are willing, can you also tell me how things were during?  b. Why do you think it happened? c. Can you tell me a little about your experiences now, after les crises? How have things changed? (probe for changes in social relations, education, language use, etc.) d. (If they were a teacher then): How was it to teach then? How has teaching changed through this? Can you give me an example? 4. What social or ethnolinguistic tensions do you see in your classroom?  a. Why do you think it’s like that? b. What is your role?  c. How have your students’ interactions with people from different backgrounds changed? Can you give me an example? 5. What do you think about the potential for long-term peace in the country? a. How do you think this could happen?    282  Appendix II. Definition of Terms in Across-Event Discourse Analysis  Audience: the actor who is the consumer(s) of a discursive event. Configuration of indexicals: the practice of combining different indexicals to identify emerging patterns. Construal of indexicals: the practice of interpreting indexicals. Deictics: also known as denotational indexicals, are indexicals which establish reference in a narrated event through context. There are four types, spatial, temporal, person, and discourse.  Discourse deictics: a type of deictic indexical which points to future or past discourse, using words such as “that” or “this” to stand in for a discourse which is explicitly mentioned elsewhere in the narrated event or in another connected narrated event. Discursive event: a segment within a discursive interaction that is comprised of participants and a message. There may be multiple discursive events within a discursive interaction. For example, a discursive event may be one section in a full policy document, one topic in a complete conversation, or one lesson in an entire class day. Also called a speech event. Discursive interaction: any instance of language use such as written text or spoken word or transcribed conversations. Each discursive interaction is comprised of interaction between speaker(s) and audience(s) through discourse (written or spoken). Discourse participant or actor: any person or group interacting with a discursive event. Evaluative indexicals: signs that direct the audience to context in such a way that participants, subjects, and actions may be assigned a character or evaluation. There are two types of evaluative indexicals: reference and predication. 283  Evaluative indexicals – reference: evaluative indexicals which apply a label to a participant, subject, or action. Evaluative indexicals – predication: evaluative indexicals that describe the participant, subject, or action. Indexical signs: also called indexicals, indexical signs are components of the discursive segments which point to social actions that occur within an interaction. Types of indexicals include deictics, reported speech, and evaluative indexicals. Narrated event: what is being said (in written or spoken form) in a discursive event. This is also referred to as a significant discursive theme. Narrating event: the activity of talking or writing about a subject made up of a complete discursive interaction. Pathway tracing: the process of identifying patterns across different discursive events and discursive interactions. Person deictics: a type of deictic indexical which point to the speaker or someone being spoken about. There can also be personified deictics, which serves the same purpose but personifies an object. Reported speech: an indexical which points to discourse or action that the speaker claims to have occurred at another time. These indexicals are also reported actions, displays, or thoughts. This indexical may be direct or indirect. Sign: the language used in a discursive event to point to a larger meaning. Segmentation: the determination of where speech events begin and end based upon relevant context. Also called bounding.  Spatial deictics: a type of deictic indexical which points to place and location context. 284  Speaker: the actor who is the producer of a discursive event. This can be an individual or a group. Temporal deictics: a type of deictic indexical which points to the context of time, such as past, present, and future.   285  Appendix III. Discursive Segments from Policy Documents   Below are the 16 discursive segments from the 7 Ivorian laws and policies which I used for my analysis in chapter four pertaining to research question 1. The tables include the policy and location of each segment as well as the text for each discursive segment. Table 9 is the translated text while table 10 is the corresponding original text for each segment. 286   Table 9 Discursive segments from policy and legal texts, translated. Policy Location Text (Translated) Constitution du 3 novembre 1960 Article 1 The State of Côte d'Ivoire is an independent and sovereign Republic. The national emblem is the orange, white, green tricolor flag in vertical stripes. The anthem of the Republic is L'Abidjanaise. The motto of the Republic is Union, Discipline, Work. The official language is French. Loi no. 95-696 du 7 septembre 1995 relative à l’Enseignement Article 1 The right to education is guaranteed to every citizen in order to enable them to acquire knowledge, to develop their personality, to raise their level of training, to integrate into the social, cultural and professional life and to exercise his citizenship. Education is one of the priorities of the state. It constitutes the public service of the Teaching. This law determines the fundamental principles governing the public service of education. Article 2 The public service of Education is conceived and organized according to the principles of neutrality, gratuitousness and equality. Neutrality is defined in relation to any current of political, philosophical or religious thought. Free education is provided to all in public institutions, with the exception, in particular, of registration fees, social benefits and charges for textbooks and other school supplies. Equality imposes non-discrimination between users, regardless of race, gender, political, philosophical, religious or social, cultural or geographical origin. Article 3 The Public Service of Education is designed and organized to enable the acquisition of knowledge, know-how and skills, methods of work and assimilation of knowledge, the formation of critical thinking and the development of sensitivity and curiosity. It must guarantee to Teaching and Research, their possibilities of free development. The teaching of the national languages, the artistic education, the technological teachings and the manual activities, the physical education and sport contribute to the formation of the citizens. The pace of the Teaching includes periods of study and vacation periods. The calendar of the school and university year is fixed by regulations. Article 21 The primary education cycle aims to: - The integration of the child into his social, cultural and economic environment in order to prepare him to take charge of himself and to be useful to his society; - Moral, civic and cultural formation of young children and practical training to interest them in various trades and manual work; - The preparation of the child to approach the cycle of Secondary Education  287   Table 9 (cont’d) Policy Location Text (Translated) Loi no. 95-696 du 7 septembre 1995 relative à l’Enseignement Article 26 Pre-primary and primary education closely associates manual and practical work with intellectual work and civic and moral behavior. Pre-school and primary education places particular emphasis on: - The relationship with the national cultural heritage; - Openness to the environment, the rural world and the urban environment. Loi no. 2000-513 du 1er août 2000 portant Constitution de la Côte d’Ivoire Article 29  The State of Côte d'Ivoire is an independent and sovereign Republic. The national emblem is the orange, white, green tricolor flag in vertical stripes of equal dimensions. The anthem of the Republic is L'Abidjanaise. The motto of the Republic is Union, Discipline, Work. The official language is French. The law sets the conditions for the promotion and development of national languages. Decret no. 2004-564 du 7 octobre 2004 portant organisation du ministère de l’Education nationale Article 16 The Direction of Pedagogy and Continuing Education (DPFC) is responsible for: - The management and monitoring of the implementation of educational activities in nursery, primary and secondary education; Pedagogic supervision of kindergarten, primary and secondary teachers; -The definition of curricula through the development of educational programs of kindergarten, primary and secondary, highlighting the different profiles of entry and exit for each level of education; -Integration of information on HIV / AIDS into kindergarten, primary and secondary education curricula; -The design, production and dissemination of educational materials, textbooks and teaching materials; -Operationalization and follow-up of the school's free school policy through the provision of textbooks, in liaison with the DAF; -The elaboration, experimentation and promotion of teaching programs in national languages; -The coordination of the activities of the Integrated Schools Project; - Continuing training of teaching, administrative and teaching staff. It comprises four sub-divisions: -The Department of Educational Programs and Integrated Schools; -The sub-directorate of Pedagogical Documentation and Didactic Materials; -The School Achievement Evaluation Sub-Department; -Department of Continuing Education. Décret no. 2012-625 du 06 juillet 2012 portant attributions des Membres du Gouvernement Article 12: The Ministry of National Education The Minister of National Education is responsible for implementing and monitoring the Government's national education policy. In this capacity, and in liaison with the other ministerial departments concerned, he has the initiative and responsibility for the following actions: -Planning, implementation and evaluation of educational strategies and programs in the field of general primary and secondary education; Administrative and educational management of educational structures and programs in the fields of primary and general secondary education; -Organization of examinations, school and educational competitions; -Public literacy and lifelong learning of adults; -Promotion of the use of new technologies in education and training, in liaison with the Minister in charge of Information Technologies and Communication;  288   Table 9 (cont’d) Policy Location Text (Translated) Décret no. 2012-625 du 06 juillet 2012 portant attributions des Membres du Gouvernement Article 12: The Ministry of National Education (cont’d) -Design, development, production and dissemination of documents, manuals and other teaching materials; -Structure of private education at primary and secondary level; -Definition, development and monitoring of a regulatory framework for the development of general primary and secondary education; -Assistance to local authorities for the monitoring and control of the establishment of primary and general secondary schools; -Integration of information and education on HIV / AIDS in the first cycle; -Rehabilitation and reconstruction of educational infrastructures in liaison with the technical departments concerned; -Upgrade of schooling throughout the territory; -Development and implementation of a national policy of orientation of students from the primary cycle; -Tutelle of private primary and general secondary schools; -Follow-up of the organization and functioning of primary and general secondary schools; -Elaboration, experimentation and promotion of teaching programs in national languages. Article 21: The Ministry of Culture and of the Francophonie The Minister of Culture and Francophonie is responsible for implementing and monitoring the Government's policy on culture and Francophonie. As such, and in liaison with the various ministerial departments concerned, it has the initiative and responsibility for the following actions: I - In terms of Culture -Promotion of literary and artistic creation, arts and popular traditions; -Training in the arts and cultural activities; -Animation, coordination and dissemination of cultural activities; -Development of cultural infrastructures of national interest; -Preservation and enhancement of the national cultural heritage; -Protection of intellectual work; -Promotion of the edition and distribution of the book; -Promotion of international exchanges in cultural matters; -Cinematographic production; -Promotion of a national cultural industry; -Promotion of an economy of culture; -Promotion of national languages; -Valorization of the conventions and traditional practices of social regulation; -Promotion of national artists abroad; -Strengthening of national unity through the organization of cultural activities.  289   Table 9 (cont’d) Policy Location Text (Translated) Décret no. 2012-625 du 06 juillet 2012 portant attributions des Membres du Gouvernement Article 21: The Ministry of Culture and of the Francophonie (cont’d) II- In matters of Francophonie -Representation of Côte d'Ivoire in the organs of the Francophonie; -Follow-up of the legal and institutional development of the Francophonie; -Organization of Côte d'Ivoire's participation in the proceedings of the various summits of the Francophonie; -Strengthening of cultural relations with French-speaking embassies and organizations in Côte d'Ivoire; Loi no. 2015-635 du 17 septembre 2015 portant modification de la loi no. 95-696 du 7 septembre 1995 relative à l’enseignement Article 1 An article 2-1 and an article 2-2 between article 2 and article 3 of the law no. 95-696 of September 7, 1995 relating to education written as follows. Article 2-1 As part of the public service of education, schooling is compulsory for all children of both sexes aged sixteen Article 2-2 The State has the obligation to maintain, within the school system, children aged six to sixteen, including those with specific needs, and to put in place a mechanism to integrate or reintegrate children from nine to sixteen years old. who are out of the system; in particular by bridging classes for the age group of nine to thirteen and vocational training for that of fourteen to sixteen. La troisième constitution du 8 novembre 2016 Article 4 All Ivorians are born and remain free and equal before the law. No one may be privileged or discriminated against because of their race, ethnicity, clan, tribe, skin color, sex, region, social origin, religion or belief, his opinion, his fortune, his difference in culture or language, his social situation or his physical or mental state. Article 48 The State of Côte d'Ivoire is an independent and sovereign Republic. The national emblem is the orange, white, green tricolor flag in vertical stripes of equal dimensions. The anthem of the Republic is L'Abidjanaise. The motto of the Republic is Union, Discipline, Work. The official language is French Article 101 The law sets the rules for: -citizenship, civil rights and the fundamental guarantees granted to citizens for the exercise of public freedoms, liberty, the pluralism and independence of the media, the constraints imposed by national defense on citizens in their person and their property ; -the nationality, the state and the capacity of the people, matrimonial regimes, the successions and bounties; -the procedure according to which customs and habits are established and brought into harmony with the fundamental principles of the Constitution; -the determination of crimes and misdemeanors as well as the penalties applicable to them, the penal procedure, amnesty; -the organization of the judicial and administrative courts and the procedure followed before these jurisdictions; -the status of magistrates, ministerial officers and auxiliaries of justice; -the general statute of public service; -the status of the Prefectural Corps; - the status of the diplomatic corps; -the status of staff of local authorities; - the status of the military function;  290    Table 9 (cont’d) Policy Location Text (Translated) La troisième constitution du 8 novembre 2016 Article 101 (cont’d) - the status of National Police personnel; -the base, the rate and the methods of collection of taxes of all kinds; -the currency issuing regime; - the electoral system of the Parliament and the local Assemblies; - the modes of public management of economic and social activities; -the creation of categories of public establishments; -the general organization of the Administration; -the state of siege and the state of emergency; -the conditions for the promotion and development of national languages. The law determines the fundamental principles: -Teaching and scientific research; - the organization of National Defense; -the regime of property, real rights and civil and commercial obligations; - labor law, union law and social institutions; - the alienation and management of the domain of the State and that of local authorities; -the transfer of businesses from the public to the private sector; - mutuality and savings; -the protection of the environment and sustainable development; -the organization of production; -the regime of political parties and the status of the political opposition; -the transport and telecommunications regime; -the regime of state resources and charges; -the programming of the objectives of the State's economic and social action; -the organization and functioning of public authorities.  291   Table 10 Discursive segments from policy and legal texts, in original French. Policy Location Text (Original) Constitution du 3 novembre 1960 Article 1 L’Etat de Côte d’Ivoire est une République indépendante et souveraine. L’emblème national est le drapeau tricolore orange, blanc, vert en bandes verticales. L’hymne de la République est L’Abidjanaise. La devise de la République est Union, Discipline, Travail. La langue officielle est le français. Loi no. 95-696 du 7 septembre 1995 relative à l’Enseignement Article 1 Le droit à l'éducation est garanti à chaque citoyen afin de lui permettre d'acquérir le savoir, de développer sa personnalité, d'élever son niveau de formation, de s'insérer dans la vie sociale, culturelle et professionnelle et d'exercer sa citoyenneté. L’éducation est l’une des priorités de l’Etat. Elle constitue le service public de l’Enseignement. La présente loi détermine les principes fondamentaux qui régissent le service public de l’Enseignement. Article 2 Le service public de l’Enseignement est conçu et organisé selon les principes de la neutralité, de la gratuité et de l’égalité. La neutralité se définit par rapport à tout courant de pensée politique, philosophique ou religieux. La gratuité de l’Enseignement est assurée à tous dans les établissements publics, à l’exception, notamment, des droits d’inscription, des prestations sociales et de charges relatives aux manuels et autres fournitures scolaires. L'égalité impose la non discrimination entre les usagers, quels que soient leur race, leur sexe, leurs opinions politiques, philosophiques, religieuses et leur origine sociale, culturelle ou géographique. Article 3 Le service public de l’Enseignement est conçu et organisé en vue de permettre l’acquisition des savoir, savoir-faire et savoir être, des méthodes de travail et d’assimilation des connaissances, la formation de l’esprit critique et le développement de la sensibilité et de la curiosité. Il doit garantir à l’Enseignement et à la Recherche, leurs possibilités de libre développement. L'enseignement des Langues nationales, les enseignements artistiques les enseignements technologiques et les activités manuelles, l’éducation physique et sportive concourent à la formation des citoyens. Le rythme de l’Enseignement comprend des périodes d’étude et des périodes de vacances. Le calendrier de l’année scolaire et universitaire est fixé par des textes réglementaires. Article 21 Le cycle de l'Enseignement primaire a pour missions : - L’intégration de l'enfant dans son environnement social, culturel et économique en vue de le préparer à se prendre en charge et à être utile à sa société;   - La formation morale, civique et culturelle du jeune enfant et la formation pratique en vue de l'intéresser aux métiers divers et au travail manuel;   - La préparation de l'enfant en vue d'aborder le cycle de l'Enseignement secondaire. Article 26 L'Enseignement préscolaire et primaire associe étroitement le travail manuel et pratique au travail intellectuel et au comportement civique et moral de l'élève. L'Enseignement préscolaire et primaire met particulièrement l'accent sur :   - La relation avec le patrimoine culturel national ;   - L'ouverture sur l'environnement, le monde rural et le milieu urbain.  292   Table 10 (cont’d) Policy Location Text (Original) Loi no. 2000-513 du 1er août 2000 portant Constitution de la Côte d’Ivoire Article 29  L’Etat de Côte d’Ivoire est une République indépendante et souveraine. L’emblème national est le drapeau tricolore orange, blanc, vert en bandes verticales et d’égales dimensions. L’hymne de la République est L’Abidjanaise. La devise de la République est Union, Discipline, Travail. La langue officielle est le français. La loi fixe les conditions de promotion et de développement des langues nationales. Decret no. 2004-564 du 7 octobre 2004 portant organisation du ministère de l’Education nationale Article 16 -L’intégration de l’information en matière de VIH/SIDA dans les programmes pédagogiques de la maternelle, du primaire et du secondaire ; -La conception, de la production et de la diffusion de la documentation pédagogique, des manuels scolaires et des matériels didactiques ; -L’opérationnalisation et du suivi de la politique de gratuité de l’Ecole à travers la mise à disposition des manuels scolaires, en liaison avec la DAF ; -L’élaboration, de l’expérimentation et de la promotion des programmes d’enseignement en langues nationales ; -La coordination des activités du Projet Ecoles intégrées ; -La formation continue des personnels enseignants, administratifs et d’encadrement pédagogique. Elle comprend quatre sous-directions : -La sous-direction des Programmes pédagogique et des Ecoles intégrées ; -La sous-direction de la Documentation pédagogique et des Matériels didactiques ; -La sous-direction de l’Evaluation des Acquis scolaires ; -La sous-direction de la Formation continue. Décret no. 2012-625 du 06 juillet 2012 portant attributions des Membres du Gouvernement Article 12 : Le Ministre de l’Education Nationale Le Ministre de l’Education Nationale est chargé de la mise en œuvre et du suivi de la politique du Gouvernement en matière d’éducation nationale. A ce titre, et en liaison avec les autres départements ministériels intéressés, il a l’initiative et la responsabilité des actions suivants : -Planification, mise en œuvre et évaluation des stratégies et programmes d’enseignement dans les domaines de l’enseignement primaire et secondaire général ; -Gestion administrative et pédagogique des structures et programmes d’enseignement dans les domaines de l’enseignement primaire et secondaire général ; -Organisation des examens, concours scolaires et pédagogiques ; -Alphabétisation des populations et formation permanente des adultes ; -Promotion de l’utilisation des nouvelles technologies en matière d’enseignement et de formation, en liaison avec le Ministre en charge des Technologies de l’information et de la Communication ; -Conception, élaboration, production et diffusion de documents, manuels et autres matériels didactiques ; -Encadrement de l’enseignement privé au niveau du primaire et du secondaire ; -Définition, élaboration et suivi d’un cadre réglementaire pour le développement de l’enseignement primaire et secondaire général ; -Assistance au collectivités locales pour le suivi et le contrôle de l’implantation des établissements d’enseignement primaire et secondaire général ; -Intégration de l’information et de l’éducation en matière de VIH/SIDA dès le premier cycle ;  293   Table 10 (cont’d) Policy Location Text (Original) Décret no. 2012-625 du 06 juillet 2012 portant attributions des Membres du Gouvernement Article 12 : Le Ministre de l’Education Nationale (cont’d) -Réhabilitation et reconstruction des infrastructures éducatives en liaison avec les ministères techniques intéressés ; -Mise à niveau de la scolarité sur l’ensemble du territoire ; -Elaboration et mise en œuvre d’une politique nationale d’orientation des élèves à partir du cycle primaire ; -Tutelle des établissements privés d’enseignement primaire et secondaire général ; -Suivi de l’organisation et du fonctionnement des établissements d’enseignement primaire et secondaire général ; -Elaboration, expérimentation et promotion des programmes d’enseignement en langues nationales. Article 21 : Le Ministre de la Culture et de la Francophonie Le Ministre de la Culture et de la Francophonie est chargé de la mise en œuvre et du suivi de la politique du Gouvernement en matière de culture et de francophonie. A ce titre, et en liaison avec les différents départements ministériels intéressés, il a l’initiative et la responsabilité des actions suivantes : I – En matière de Culture -Promotion de la création littéraire et artistique, des arts et des traditions populaires ; -Formation dans les domaines des arts et activités culturelles ; -Animation, coordination et diffusion des activités culturelles ; -Développement des infrastructures culturelles d’intérêt national ; -Préservation et valorisation du patrimoine culturel national ; -Protection des œuvres de l’esprit ; -Promotion de l’édition et de la diffusion du livre ; -Promotion des échanges internationaux en matière culturelle ; -Production cinématographique ; -Promotion d’une industrie culturelle nationale ; -Promotion d’une économie de la culture ; -Promotion des langues nationales ; -Valorisation des conventions et pratiques traditionnelles de régulation sociale ; -Promotion des artistes nationaux à l’étranger ; -Renforcement de l’unité nationale par l’organisation d’activités culturelles. II- En matière de Francophonie -Représentation de la Côte d’Ivoire dans les organes de la Francophonie ; -Suivi de l’évolution juridique et institutionnelle de la Francophonie ; -Organisation de la participation de la Côte d’Ivoire aux instances des divers sommets de la Francophonie ; -Renforcement des relations culturelles avec les ambassades et organismes francophones en Côte d’Ivoire ; -Contrôle de la mise en œuvre des décisions des sommets de la Francophonie ; -Promotion et vulgarisation de la Francophonie auprès des populations ; -Contribution au suivi et à l’évaluation des opérations de coopération culturelles francophones en Côte d’Ivoire.  294   Table 10 (cont’d) Policy Location Text (Original)  Loi no. 2015-635 du 17 septembre 2015 portant modification de la loi no. 95-696 du 7 septembre 1995 relative à l’enseignement Article 1 Il est inséré un article 2-1 et un article 2-2 entre l’article 2 et l’article 3 de la loi no. 95-696 du 7 septembre 1995 relative à l’enseignement rédigés ainsi qu’il suit. Article 2-1 Dans le cadre du service public de l’enseignement, la scolarisation est obligatoire pour tous les enfants des deux sexes âgés de six à seize ans. Article 2-2 L’Etat a l’obligation de maintenir, au sein du système scolaire, les enfants âgés de six à seize ans y compris ceux à besoins spécifiques et de mettre en place un mécanisme permettant d’intégrer ou de réintégrer les enfants de neuf à seize ans qui sont hors du système ; notamment par des classes passerelles pour la tranche de neuf à treize ans et la formation professionnelle pour celle de quatorze à seize ans. La troisième constitution du 8 novembre 2016 Article 4 Tous les Ivoiriens naissent et demeurent libres et égaux en droit. Nul ne peut être privilégié ou discriminé en raison de sa race, de son ethnie, de son clan, de sa tribu, de sa couleur de peau, de son sexe, de sa région, de son origine sociale, de sa religion ou croyance, de son opinion, de sa fortune, de sa différence de culture ou de langue, de sa situation sociale ou de son état physique ou mental.  Article 48 L’Etat de Côte d’Ivoire est une République indépendante et souveraine. L’emblème national est le drapeau tricolore orange, blanc, vert en bandes verticales et d’égales dimensions. L’hymne de la République est L’Abidjanaise. La devise de la République est Union, Discipline, Travail. La langue officielle est le français. Article 101 La loi fixe les règles concernant : -la citoyenneté, les droits civiques et les garanties fondamentales accordées aux citoyens pour l’exercice des libertés publiques, la liberté, le pluralisme et l’indépendance des médias, les sujétions imposées par la défense nationale aux citoyens en leur personne et en leurs biens ; -la nationalité, l’état et la capacité des personnes, les régimes matrimoniaux, les successions et les libéralités ; -la procédure selon laquelle les us et coutumes sont constatés et mis en harmonie avec les principes fondamentaux de la Constitution ; -la détermination des crimes et délits ainsi que des peines qui leur sont applicables, la procédure pénale, l’amnistie ; -l’organisation des tribunaux judiciaires et administratifs et la procédure suivie devant ces juridictions ; -le statut des magistrats, des officiers ministériels et des auxiliaires de Justice ; -le statut général de la Fonction publique ; -le statut du Corps préfectoral ;  295     Table 10 (cont’d) Policy Location Text (Original)  La troisième constitution du 8 novembre 2016 Article 101 (cont’d) -le statut du Corps diplomatique ; -le statut du personnel des collectivités territoriales ; -le statut de la Fonction militaire ; -le statut des personnels de la Police nationale ; -l’assiette, le taux et les modalités de recouvrement des impositions de toute nature ; -le régime d’émission de la monnaie ; -le régime électoral du Parlement et des Assemblées locales ; -les modes de gestion publique des activités économiques et sociales ; -la création de catégories d’Etablissements publics ; -l’organisation générale de l’Administration ; -l’état de siège et l’état d’urgence ; -les conditions de promotion et de développement des langues nationales. La loi détermine les principes fondamentaux : -de l’Enseignement et de la Recherche scientifique ; -de l’organisation de la Défense nationale ; -du régime de la propriété, des droits réels et des obligations civiles et commerciales ; -du droit du travail, du droit syndical et des Institutions sociales ; -de l’aliénation et de la gestion du domaine de l’Etat et de celui des collectivités territoriales ; -du transfert d’entreprises du secteur public au secteur privé ; -de la mutualité et de l’épargne ; -de la protection de l’environnement et du développement durable ; -de l’organisation de la production ; -du régime des partis politiques et du statut de l’opposition politique ; -du régime des transports et des télécommunications ; -du régime des ressources et des charges de l’Etat ; -de la programmation des objectifs de l’action économique et sociale de l’Etat ; -de l’organisation et du fonctionnement des pouvoirs publics.  296  Appendix IV. Endnotes    i The names of all places, participants, and languages have been changed in order to protect the identity of the participants. ii For more information, visit http://www.ernwaca.org/web/A-propos-du-ROCARE?lang=fr iii For all original text in chapter four, refer to appendix III. iv On étudie les écoles où on fait des langues. En Côte d'Ivoire il y a des écoles où on fait les langues. Par exemple, il y a un dans une zone Agni ou ils font l’Agni ; il y a un dans une zone Nzema ou ils font Nzema ; il y a un dans une zone Djula ou ils font Djula, et cetera. Dans ces écoles, les enfants-là, ils apprennent mathématiques en la langue de la zone. Ils apprennent l’histoire-là en la langue de la zone, tout ça. Donc, on veut comparer avec une école ordinaire, une école normale comme on peut dit, avec ces écoles-là. (Example selected from the interview with Fatimatou in Kwé) v Je vais expliquer un peu plus de ces écoles intégrées, ces écoles qui utilisent des langues. Ici en Côte d'Ivoire, il y a des écoles comme ça. Il y a 26 écoles dans tout le pays qui utilisent 10 langues. Ils sont - les écoles ne sont que dans les zones rurales, comme les villages. Ils ne sont pas dans les grandes villes comme Abidjan, Bouake, Dyapo, tout ça. (Example selected from the interview with Abena Yvonne and Ama in Konvi, 0:03:41) vi Sabu: Où il y en a paix, on entend. J'apporte l'harmonie, enquête. Comprend que, c'est bon de tous eh. Comment on apprend tous ça. C’est bon. On prend l'éducation c'est mal. Quand on n'est pas éduqué, on a pas bon, y a pas d’entente. vii Nsia : Bon je vois - d'avoir....un peu la tolérance. Et ne pas...on se voie société intégrée. Une société. Ce que je vois quoi. La promotion de tolérance et permettre d'intégration de tous. Entente. viii Seka : Il faudra il entend, on apprend, on apprend du tout, a sa soin. Et puis parler ensemble. Pour parler ensemble. Vois un même objectif. Sans ça, l'idée ne croyez pas, on peut pas succède en faite. […] Entente qu’être humaine, dit s'assoit si au même table, et parle ensemble. Être sociale. Et couvrir. ix Kofi : Tous ce qu’il faut trouver, il y a l'entente. Qu'il y a pas les entente, on va jamais marche. On va jamais marcher parce que... moi je suis contre, énervé. Ce qui a besoin, il ne pas me demander. Moi ce que je besoin et je pas demander, on se voit comme ça il va aller. Mais quand on se rit...ça fait, ou bien soutenu, on voit, ce qui n'a pas dans société, pour vois ce qui ne...ce qui mal dans la société. […] Si y a pas de marche, ça va des- il faut que égaler faut que réunion, pour aider selon entente. x Afia : Entente je reflechi. On se donne des conseils, on se parle de l'entente, le fait qu'on se partage les choses. Ce que je sais, je t'apporte aussi. [...] [laughing] Ils peuvent se rencontrer faire des réunions. […] Dans les différences, si chacun apporte un peu de pour lui là, on peut s'entendre avec, il n'y a pas de problèmes. Je te demande ce qui est chez toi, toi tu me montres ce qui est chez moi, il n'y a pas de différence mais le fait qu'on soit ensemble pour le partager c'est cela qui fait la cohésion. C'est comme ça. xi Michelle: Ma collègue avait expliqué les écoles de langue maternelle, écoles intégrées. Alors moi je veux savoir vos idées d'une école comme ça. Qu'est-ce que vous pensez d'une école qui utilise la langue maternelle? Arianne: Si on fait une école comme vous des ethnies aussi. On fait une école ou les enfants apprennent mathématiques en ethnie, ils apprennent eh eh les - comment appelle - écriture en ethnie. Comment vous voyez ça? Zuma: Crois c'est bon. Michelle: Pourquoi? Zuma: Pourquoi. C'est un, quand eh - est dit Wousso pas de doit comprend c'est qu'elle disait. Mais Français oh la souvent comprends mais dit, on doit parlant Wousso mais pas comprend. Eh c'est Français le doit comprend beaucoup. [silence] Nsia: Bon moi je pense que c'est - c'est bon. C'est une, c'est une bonne chose. [pause] Ça va permettre de l'enfant de, - de parler, on dit tous savez sa langue maternelle. Voila. A part le Français, bon. [pause] C'est important. Michelle: Pourquoi c'est important? [silence] Nsia: Je parle que - bon. Je reprends le langue. Disparaisse. Michelle: A bon? Nsia: [laughing]. Oh bon bien de prononcer. Voila. Bon il y a beaucoup de, - de des lieux de nous, pratiquement un bar d’or Africaine. Culturelle, eh. Doit les comprend. Important. Et plus que intégrée, moi langue, à l’école. Michelle: Merci. Qu'est-ce que - eh je vais expliquer un peu plus de ces écoles. Comme Arianne avait dit, qu'il y a 10 langues on utilise. Il y a 26 écoles qui utilisent ces langues. [nodding] Sont tous dans les zones rurales, pas dans les grandes villes. Je veux savoir, premier, qu'est-ce que vous pensez de l'idée d'avoir une école comme ça ici? Arianne: Ou à Bouake, Michelle: Oui, peut-être, mais - Arianne: Ou Korhogo, ou les grandes villes Michelle: Oui, mais pour la plupart je m’intéresse à l’idée d’expansion des écoles intégrées, ici à Kwé en particulaire mais partout aussi. Mais ici, pour commencer. Arianne: Parce qu'ils ont ils ont fait l'expériences dans les petits zones. Konvi c'est une petite village, en Brafé c'est l'endroit pour ça. À, à, autre petit coin. Mais si on veut faire ce genre d'école peut-être pas généraliser mais, créer un peu à Dyapo ou un peu à autre 297   ville. Qu'est-ce que vous en pensez? Comment vous voyez ça? Michelle: Oui, mais ici en Kwé, comment vous voyez? [silence] Nsia: Souvent un peu - compliquer. Parce que, bon. On est dans une grande ville. Avec beaucoup d'ethnies. Voila. Puis....quand je dis compliquer, on doit priviligier...une ethnie, haut de commun des autres, ça va compromiser un peu. Parce qu'il y a d'autre qui déjà parle, leur ethnie et Français, avec leur parents. Maintenant, si on vient un cordon une langue, a l'école, bon. Ça va permettre, peut, ça va permettre à l'autre de comprendre de se faire votre nom mais, et puis bon. Ou celui qui est déjà ...eh puis eh, voilà puis ça - qui apprend déjà la langue, à la, à la maison. Qu'on pense que lui- va apporter plus mais, ça va un peu coincer. Je pense. Ça va apporter de choses. A mon avis. Arianne: Et tu en fait ce genre d'école à .... à grand ville, comment voit? Zuma: J'ai pas sûre. Arianne: Comment? T'as rien intente? [laughing]. Non, imagine ou bien c'est au Burkina on fait – Michelle: Elle a le droit, de rien dire, ça va. Zuma, voulez-vous réfléchir un peu? [Zuma nods] Arianne : Ok. Pour aider en réfléchir, mais si on choisit par exemple le Wousso, on fait des écoles comme ça ou on parle le Wousso pour enseigner les élèves. Comment vous voyez ça.  Est-ce que c'est bon, est-ce que c'est pas bon. Zuma: Et seulement...était enfant à la maison c'est pas bien parler en Wousso on devra comprendre. Parlez l'école, là-bas mieux comprend français, en est pays. Mais si à école on doit faire Français, uh Wousso encore plus a maison Wo-, Wousso là. Ça, c'est moi je dois comprend. Mais si la maison il parle Wo- dit comprend et puis a l'école on va le Français là, enfin peut, peut comprend beaucoup le sol. Les enfants sa[vent]. Faut penser Français là. Nsia: Vous sais que bon. [laughing]. Michelle: Vous avez dites que c'est compliquer ici à Kwé, à Dyapo. Nsia: Dyapo oui. Michelle: Pouvez-vous expliquer un peu? Pourquoi c’est compliquer? Nsia: Ça sera possible. Michelle: Comment? Nsia: Comment on fait, quoi? Michelle: Eh, si c'est compliquer d'avoir une langue de eh une école ici qui utilise une langue maternelle. Mais ça sera possible de l'avoir? [nods] Mais comment on fait? Nsia: Bon peut-être il fait, une choix. Parmi les langues qui sont les plus parlées, ou on les villes, peut-être peut-être peut-être Peule, peut parler du Djula. Comme ça, parce que un est une langue commerciale. On peut dit que bon, a peu près tout le monde comprend le Djula. Puis après peut-être le Baoule, et puis....bon ça va suffit quoi? C'est une fonction des langues qui sont les plus parlées, comme on vu dans les grandes villes. Les langues des ethnies en faite, à part le français. Bon c'est en plus en fonction de ça, a fait un choix et puis, imposer, et on a fait ça une langue a l'école. Ça peut, ça peut être le Djula, peut-être le Baoule. Ça peut être une langue. Bon, on sait pas. En faite se sont que 2 langues la, les 2 ethnies les plus Ivoirien on voit un peu. Michelle: Oui je comprends il y a beaucoup de- Nsia: voilà! Il y a d'autres mêmes. xii Michelle: Merci. On continue avec cette idée de la cohésion sociale, ou entente, qu’on discute. En générale, ici en Côte d'Ivoire, comment est-ce que la cohésion a changé dans votre vie? Principal: A c'est sou eh? [laughing] Je, ...Afia: Ah ça va m'a réfléchi. Principal: C'est comment? Arianne: la cohésion, c'est l'entente. Principal: Vivre, vivre ensemble. Comment le fait vivre ensemble. Ça prend de temps! [laughing] Mawuli: comment déjà on vivre ensemble. La Côte d'Ivoire ici. Bon, la sent que...eh, non qui sont à la Cote d'Ivoire ici, en place de... Si voyez, eh, bon. En place c'est ne, eh, en plan de ce tout le, c'était ils ont dit. Et ce lui n'a dit ça celui n'a dit ça, on pas dit le sens ça. Sous - bon. On a, met, met ça d'un autre bébé, en tout cas, et ce peut que vivre ensemble. Faut pas écouter. Il faut vois tes eh, ce qui, qui moins sourd par qui, comme ça que tu vois comment tu dois le faut y aller. Mais ce qui le gens dise se ne fait ce le fait ça, en tout cas appeler et tout ça va. Pas qu'on peut vivre ensemble même. Pas problème dans les pluies a peu tes. Ce qui que fait il faut établir ça. Il faut à personne que nous sommes aussi, ce qui que font le travail il faut la puis ce toi qui manier a ca là, c'est quoi c'est quoi. Qui que boulot aussi. Ce bon bon. Ça. Moi c'est qu'au [moins en voir]. Que qu’ils font. D'appelle personne. Arianne: [Wodiè?] Pour toi c’est comment ? Afia: [Ikpoungba ya han.] C’est la même chose qu’il a dit. Michelle: Alors, si on - on a parlé de la cohésion sociale en Côte d'Ivoire en générale, mais je veux savoir comment ça était changée, vraiment. Beh, eh, si c'était le même, eh, Arianne: quand t'a vois [Dawa ka sounan bê tran est-ce que wo ti ka dawahdié? Depuis ènian dawah dié dédé anè oti sè] Quand vous regardez avant et maintenant, comment les choses sont? Est-ce que les gens s'entendent mieux qu'avant ou maintenant est mieux? Afia: Bon, [dawah diè ni sian diè, ce n'est pas même chose, dawa diè dédé anè wa kaki.] Avant et maintenant, ce n’est pas pareil, avant et maintenant les choses ont changé. Arianne: [Wa kaki sè, wa kaki têh ou wa kaki kpa?] ça a changé comment ? En bien ou en mal ? Afia: La cohésion n'est plus comme un enfant. La bon, c'était. Michelle: Est-ce que vous pouvez - Arianne: Vous pouvez expliquer Michelle: comment Afia: [cap to]. Arianne: [oti sè?] C’est comment ? Afia: [Dawah diè? yénimô bè ko blôé, bè comtair, ayilé bè gougoa ayilé aniké nô assiè, bê siayi, awouikê, bè lê gramso yéfi yédoua bêtè yé lé gramso yé dou andowa, tu as vu non? Yé lê gramso yé nigué cloatiô. Dawa yé nimon, bê diè , yé kikla sè ê wouzê , nan è kô docteur, wa lè vaccin ayoman, élèi problem, daba yénimon, bê gôr docteur. Bê kô docteur, bè gor docteur, ika man di, wa kaki.] Avant quand une femme est enceinte, on lui donne des médicaments traditionnels elle fait, il n'y a pas de problème, elle fait, et accouche facilement. Aujourd'hui tout est compliqué, un deux trois, tu es malade. Le monde a changé, en mauvais, qu'avant c'était meilleur. Arianne: [translating] Afia: [dawa yé klouô ka mi ti wa, main ma souman , yè kloua ti èwowa main kan mi wo man mi wo manh na kaki.] Avant les gens vivaient longtemps et quelqu'un qui n'a pas son âge, peut mourir facilement, ce n'est 298   pas comme avant. Avant il y avait la longévité, les gens étaient plus à l'aise, ça fait qu'il y avait pas, en fait il y avait tout ça, mais aujourd'hui, c'est devenu grave. Arianne: [translating] Michelle: Pourquoi est-ce que c'a changé? Afia: [Anin ka ...Manii... ] Actuellement….le monde. Arianne: [translating]. Mawuli: Bon, un procès mieux par qu'est...lui avait dit que la fonction, Arianne: chez elle Mawuli: voilà, c'est pourquoi. Michelle: Comment ? J’ai pas compris, excusez-moi. Alors qu'est-ce que vous pensez de tous qu'on a bien parlé? Comment est-ce que c'a changé? Mawuli: Eh bon, pour qui de bon, na c'est change, et vraiment avant, avant que nous n'en verrons au moins, on na on n'est pas comme ça. Maintenant on est beaucoup. On t'est nombreuse. C'était, est qu'une vingtaine tous ce qui partageait avant que, aux écrasez plus facile lui. Bien en faite, ici. Michelle: Parce qu'on est nombreux, et c'a Mawuli: mm hmm Michelle: est un problème. Mawuli: C'est ça. xiii Ama : Quand Gbagbo était là, on était tranquille, en tout cas, on était tranquille xiv Nsia: Avant c'était mieux. Michelle: Oui et pourquoi? Nsia: Eh bien. Avant, c'était .... c'était ... mmmm. Nous ne ressentons pas vraiment la différence. Avant il n'y a pas trop ... de ... désaccords, d'autres. ... Avant, avant c'était, c'était bien. C'était un peu insouciant. Parlons des soucis qu'il n'y a pas de ... […] mais il n'y en a pas trop, trop de ... tout le monde dit un peu d'harmonie. Le problème, les désaccords, le tour est joué. On peut donc dire que la cohésion avant qu'elle ne soit ... était solide. Maintenant moins solide. Michelle: qu'est-ce qui a changé? Nsia: Avec tout ce qui s'est passé dans le pays, les crises, on sent qu'il a de la cohésion, disons-nous avec. Je pense que c'est, c'est un peuple. C'était [de mieux en mieux]. C'est un fait qu'il y a là un peu de méfiance, d'intolérance, puis beaucoup d'autres choses négatives. Je pense que les crises qu'il y a eu ne sont pas tolérantes. Il y a eu un impact sur la cohésion. Michelle: Avec la crise, l'impact là-bas, j'imagine avant, la cohésion était forte. Et puis la crise est, il n'y avait pas de cohésion. Mais maintenant tu as dit que ça marche maintenant, c'est bon. Est-ce à dire que la cohésion change à nouveau? Nsia: Non, j'ai dit non, c'est généralement bien. Voici. Je dis qu'en général ça va. Ça va. xv Thema : Bon ça évolue en bien. Ça évolue en bien même. Parce que, ...bon. Avant la, ... souvent nos grands-parents là. On mes lui dit là. Souvent eux memes ils prennent peu peu peu jugement. Pour fait le jugement de l'enfant, d’autres. Bon. Ce que nos grands-parents fait avant la, on voit ça crée beaucoup de problèmes. Dans d'autres familles aussi. Mais, les grands tiennent pas qu'on... Souvent eu même eu la, entre nous même eh Ivoiriens comment on les dit là. On s'aime pas....on n'aime pas l'étranger. Donc oh, je vois que...ça ça pas bien. Si y a y a y a y a...y a de l'avancement. Ça va bien. Ça va. Parce aujourd'hui la, ....les étranger ils ont plus beaucoup que nous. Elle sais ce c'est n'aller la, vous allez beaucoup que nous. Donc ça va. Ça va.  xvi Arianne : Mais pourquoi vous n'est pas mis votre enfant a par si la, si c'est mieux ça? Thema : Comme, quand on est venu faire inscription là, c'est où-, on est eu place là. C'est là où on a mis l'enfant. Ça là on mis l'enfant. xvii Seka : Moi les enfants sont, sont pas encore à le Brafé, je sais pas comment on fait le école là mais ils sont encore là, sous les écoles Françaises, Konvi là. Ils sont pas à l'école Brafé. On souhait que l'année prochaine il y a des places dans une école. Arianne: Ils sont pas à maternelle alors ? Seka : Non ils sont pas à maternelle, ils sont, il y a les 2 sont CE1, le petit sont CP1. Arianne : Ah ils ont commencé le programme. Seka :  Voila ils ont pas plus de programme, on commençait ça. Bon, souhait qu'ils était l'année prochaine. Michelle : Comment on choisi l'école? Vous avez le droit à dire je veux que mon enfant va à cette école? Seka :  Le choit, c'est pas le moment on entend beaucoup, c'est pas comment déjà fait. xviii Mawuli: En faite, le faite qu'il vient tous mes enfants sont sous la, l'école ordinaire, bon. La langue Brafé, non on on parle pas. Ça pas nos de langues. Déjà même ce qui comprend la moins ça suffaisant. Ils vont prend ça dehors de mon, vois, au maison. Ça pas notre langue nationale. Donc uh, si école apprend le Français, bien en tout cas. Je pense que ça, ça nulle pour moi. Et si on utilise l'Anglais, elle est un pays anglophone. Si nos enfants elles comprennent Français plus et bon a la langue ils peut rend service au Ghana pour moi aussi. Parce que, il peut éduquer l'enfant. Michelle: Alors, même que c'est pas votre langue, Brafé c'est pas votre langue, s'il y a un école qui s'est fait en autre langue, qu'est-ce que vous pensez de ça? Mawuli: C'est bon, c'est bon. Mais que aussi que nos enfants vont apprendre aussi, que pourquoi les enfants on les - on n'est peu n'apprend pas une autre langue. Par les enfants de notre temps. On nous les au moins de là. Nos langues nationales n'est pas utilisé. Ça vu non, il y a de chose qui, il doit pas fait ça, mais, eh, il font ça. Donc uh, mais si ils vont ils fa[it] les études est langue nationale, c'est que ça la ça pas prend cela c'est pas bon. Ça la c'est pas bon.  xix on explique : même les vieilles ils comprennent un peu Français même. xx Thema : Français c'est la langue nationale- Esi: langue nationale. La tout le monde- Thema: comprend- Esi: sais comprendre. xxi Nsia: [laughing]. Oh bon bien de prononcer. Voila. Bon il y a beaucoup de, - de des lieux de nous, pratiquement un bar d’or Africaine. Culturelle, eh. Doit les comprend. Important. Et plus que intégrée, moi langue, à l’école. xxii Afia : C’est comme la langue est une richesse pour nous, il a soucis, je peux communiquer avec quelqu'un xxiii Kofi : Il y a un Bible en Agni. Beh, c'est parti de quoi? C'est parti de richesse. La seule que j'aime bien, qu'il vaudra de bien comprendre, et l'effort de recherche, les Agni qui sont ici en fait de richesse, et ensemble, ici 299   xxiv Nsia: Souvent un peu - compliquer. Parce que, bon. On est dans une grande ville. Avec beaucoup d'ethnies. Voila. Puis....quand je dis compliquer, so- on doit privilégier...une ethnie, haut de commun des autres, ça va compromiser un peu. Parce qu'il y a d'autre qui déjà parle, leur ethnie et Français, avec leur parents. Maintenant, si on vient un cordon une langue, a l'école, bon. Ça va permettre, peut, ça va permettre à l'autre de comprendre de se faire votre nom mais, et puis bon. Ou celui qui est déjà ...eh puis eh, voilà puis ça - qui apprend déjà la langue, à la, à la maison. Qu'on pense que lui- va apporter plus mais, ça va un peu coincer. Je pense. Ça va apporter de choses. A mon avis. xxv Michelle: Vous avez dites que c'est compliquer ici a Dyapo- Nsia: Dyapo, oui. Michelle: Est-ce que vous pensez que ça sera possible ou pas? Nsia: Ça sera possible. Michelle: Et comment est-ce qu'on peut faire? Nsia: Bon peut-être il fait, une choix. Parmi les langues qui sont les plus parlées, ou on les villes, peut-être peut-être peut-être Peule, eh Baoule peut. Peut parler du Djula. Comme ça, parce que un- est une langue commerciale. On peut dit que bon, a peu près tout le monde comprend le Djula. Puis après peut-être le Baoule, et puis....bon ça va quoi? C'est une fonction des langues qui sont les plus parlées, comme on vu dans les grandes villes. Les langues des ethnies en faite, à part le Francais. Bon c'est en plus en fonction de ça, a fait un choix et puis, imposer, et on a fait ça une langue a l'école. Ça peut ça peut être le Djula, peut-être le Baoule. Ça peut être une langue. Bon, on sait pas. En faite se sont que 2 langues là, les 2 ethnies les plus Ivoirien on voit un peu. Michelle: Oui je comprend il y a beaucoup de- Nsia: voilà il y a d'autres mêmes. Comme après je pense que, ... si, ... on utilise les langues là. [silence] Souvent on peut...se voir un peu mettre, la cohésion parce que, on peut voir ...mieux expliquer les choses. Bon voilà. Mais non, avec les langues on peut bien expliquer....on a faisait de temps temps temps en Français la zéro on peut suffise. Bon souvent laissez vite ça, en nos langues, ça va bien passer. Puis, pour avoir de manière de du-. Moi je pense que c’est…c'est un accord positif. [...] Si on on ... chacun a l'opportunité de voir, [laugh], apprendre la langue…de de son voisin ou bien ... de son parent. De son collègue. Bon. Si on était de sa aussi, a l'école, je pense que ça ça ça ça sera apporter de chose. Parce si les enfants commencent à parler la langue de leurs camarades et lui c'est ça…ça sera un peu intéressant et puis bon. On voit, on voit pas trop pour les différences xxvi Zuma: C'est que mon voisines êtes, moi parle le Wousso là. Moi voisines les intéressant. [...] Dit moi avant la, demande de...moi moi Wousso on comprend pas Français. C'est au coin et puis l’a besoin comprend, moi ethnie là. Et paix bien - des ethnies peut eh comprend ça a paix. Ça est mon raison. Arianne: Ça t'aide a bien parler de si tu trouves quelqu'un qui parle pas l'ethnie - Zuma: langue bien la- Arianne: la tu as bien causer - Zuma: j'ai cause....c'est qui veut être de raison. Moi on peut comprend ça en Baoule. Mais Français faut être éduquer et avec moi, il y a comprend pas. [...] moi c'est la ça. Pourtant de vais lever un coin là. Ça devait ... le besoin Fran- de comprend Français. Et puis a part quelqu'un...peut parler de ton ethnie, on peut parler Djula t’a bien comprend, eh. T’a besoin. Eh. Mieux de comprend mais toi, toi de bon a part peut-être de suis là. Ça fait rien. Mais toi tu comprends...on a besoin parler là tu comprends...le problème est que .... Ça veut être, ça veut rend compte de ne peut expliquer ou tu t’a bien comprend. Moi eh, n'est pas ...les langues là. xxvii Nsia: Mais chacun a, a une education de base. Moderator: Ah bon. Nsia: Chacun a une education de base avant meme d'aller a l'ecole. Avant que tout le monde on le met on pas a l'ecole eh. Une education. De base. Donc. Pour ceux qui qui ne sont pas aller a l'ecole, avec cette education pris sur la vie, a la maison. Avec le les parents, et puis bon. Les, ces, voila fait ca. [laughing]. Les les bon les les vielles personnes, voila. L'education la, ils appris ils apris, parce que c'est...ca ca ca ca peut....c'est,....c'est c'est....a leur niveau il y a pas de problemes eh. [silence]. Parce que c'est c'est la meme oh dela...c'est la meme chose. Les meme resultats qu'on doit avoir, meme que ceux qui sont pas aller a l'ecole. Moderator: Est-ce qu'ils sont educees quand meme, c'est ca?[...] Oui, je vais dit educer. [...] La paix a long terme. Avec tous qu'on avait dit eh....N'a rien n'est impossible eh. Moderator: Ah bon woman 1: [laughing]. Moderator: Optimiste la. woman 1: oui oui [laughing]. Rien d'impossible. Bon pense que...bon. On doit essayer eh. D'essayer. De de....d'avoir l'education, si on prend on prend...l'education de base, mais...pour on a ressu a la maison. Voila oui on essaye, ... de...d'ajouter a ca l'education commun. Qu'on a a l'ecole, voila je pense que avec le [delon que] s'il y est quelque chose, ... de bon,...et puis...ca va....qu'on a fait ca. Chacun aurait ca en ca en ca va..ca place. Des que il y a pas de....de tout que....non, faut dise ca. Il aura pas de marginalisation de bon sera [leva] dit quoi [parla] dit que c'est pas ce que tu n'es pas aller a l'ecole, tu n'a pas.....tu n'es pas [l'ecole/le coin peu]...bon. Tu n'as pas d'education. C'est une [potion/question] qu'on peut on peut en tous ca, ce qui sont pas a l'ecole, et puis avec ceux qui sont a la l'ecole, pour l'education peut donne a l'ecole peu un facon de patience et de [moins ce moin ce] ca peut donner quelque choses de positif. C'est qu'on..on prend comte en tout le monde quoi. Tout le monde on donne a chacun sa chance. C'est pas facile. [mumble] eh? Moderator: Merci merci. woman 1: Donc ca c'est...ca peut ca peut...tout le monde peut etre contente la. Et puis bon ca. Zuma: Moi je suis d’accord elle est dit. Rien ajoute, est tous dit. xxviii Fatimatou: Avant, par exemple eh, nous on est Musalmans. Il y a un Chretien. Et chez moi ca c'est m'arrivait etait un fois. Beaucoup on est partie à la prier, pour reveiller, à la maison, avant ayi. Mais et mis pas de mis quoi. 300   Elle revena à la maison. Y a un chretien qui m'ont se traque par aller, jusqu'avant pri, pour lancer. Pas dit d'homme. J'ai pleuré encore. Nous tous, y est pas impliqué....nous on prie a la puis toi tu prie...et saisi, mais c'est même prie est là. C'est même chose. Donc, maintenant là on vois pas ça. Ça qu'un....y a les gens qui vont l'église là, d'eu ce qui vont a des autre. Ils ont pursuivi mais, c'est qu'un....sont problèmes dons....maintenant y a plus ça va. Ça va. Maintenant on voit pas ça. Donc tous ça. Michelle: Merci. Bon voila ça changer. Fatimatou: Ça changer bon. Michelle: Pourquoi ça change? Fatimatou: C'était c'est les, c'est les comportements qui ont changé, sinon vraiment changer....Des que changer quoi. Mais, si on va à les autres qui vont...à l'école, bon les maîtres par exemple, maîtres d'écoles qui apprend, l'expliquer. Et bon ça si c'est pas ça. xxix Donc les enfants de la ville-là, ils sont avancés, plus aux enfants du village. Quel enfant de la ville bien essaye il parle son son Français. Souvent même quand tu poses des questions, de me pose la, il est, il il connait. Il est fort. En Français là ils sont beaucoup fort. Les enfants de la ville...que le village. Donc, c'est force que les enfants de la ville là, Français là, vrai fort de langue. xxx Thema : Pour les enseignes la, école Brafé là. C'est facile. Souvent quand ils sont à l'école mais ils parlent pas Français là, c'est le Brafé qu'ils parlent. Donc, quand ils vont en classe, quand c'est Brafé là, en tout cas ça rentre. xxxi Seka : En faite il faudra que nous pouvons l’emporte loins. Importe cet enseignement-là dans les grandes villes comme Abidjan, à Bouake, à Dyapo, où les enfants n'ont pas de chance de connaitre leur village et tous ça, il y a des Brafés là, il y a les Senoufos, et il y a y a toutes les 60 de leurs ethnies sont confédération indivisible aux grandes villes. Si le gouvernement met un programme en place, met un enseignement en place, moi je pense qu'il faut reporter de tous ça. Grandes villes, tous ce qui sont à Abidjan par exemple n'ont pas la chance. Si tout on peut le faire, à Abidjan. Pour que ce qui habite à Abidjan ce qui ne peut pas revenir au ville, tous apprennent leur langue il va d'aider. Je pense que c'est important, peut dit, faut pas- faut faire plus simple. Il faut, eh je sais pas comment comment comment dire vous, il faut, il faut il faut que l'etat Ivoiren d'enseignement administre. C'est bon obligatoire. Faudrait que ce soit un enseignement obligatoire dans les grandes villes. Yamoussoukro, Bouake, et tout ça-. Si on a déporté ça au village aussi petit, tout le monde il y a la chance, il faut que avoir envie. Pour que tout le monde ait la même chance d'apprendre sa langue maternelle. […] Donc c'est une campagne, de l'état Ivoirien dois faire. Si tout l'état Ivoirien où il y a les grands villes, en tous les 60 langues sont représentés, et a met individu, parlez sa langue maternelle. Donc moi je pense qu'il faut lancer un campagne de sensibilisation. Lancer une grande campagne, la compagne qu'on lance c'est pas c'est pas c'est pas c'est pas de baisse avant, c'est des truc ou fut en mesure c'est un niveau pour comment dis c'est un niveau conduit qu'on lançons, et il faut valoriser ça. Valoriser la langue maternelle. C'est ça le mot en faite. Faut valoriser la langue maternelle. Faut que le ministre de l'enseignement et le gouvernement valorise la langue maternelle. Et ça c'est un campagne à faire. De tout ethnie a le droit de parler. Là ou il y a les écoles. Faut valoriser ça. C'est très important. C'est très important. C'est très important. Faut valoriser, fait un campagne d'un substance là. Faut valoriser beaucoup. Les autres qui sont là depuis 2000 sont nous ira offre une étude. Ils sont pleins aux idées. Nous avons des el...des ministres même des ont, qui sont de haute catégorie de viennent d'ici même pas dit bonjour, ça c'est, tout en Brafé. Ça c'est pas bon du tout. C'est pas bon du tout. Je peux pas, il peut pas prend le, tout le faculté parle la langue Française et puis ne pas motiver par langue maternelle. C'est difficile. C'est difficile. Et c'est à nous, nous qui sont ici, de faire ce travail, de vous aider comme je l'ai dit. De vous aider à faire cet campagne. Nous sommes prêt, moi je suis l'habitude d'y venir auprès...je suis prêt celui même comme parent, je suis prêt a vous aider à faire cet campagne. xxxii Esi : Parce Abidjan comme Konvi beaucoup des gens [ko]. Y a Konvi, c’est Brafé on parle Brafé et puis Français. Si c'est pas les vieilles là, parle pas votre ethnie. À Abidjan aussi, y a beaucoup d'hommes. C'est tiens t'aller imposer que...Si c'était imposé, .... si c'était imposé que eh,...n'y a qu'un n'a là on parle, on doit faire Brafé et puis Français, la tout le monde sais que...mais tant qu'ils vont a 6ième qu'on sais qui sais que doit faire ...eh....Français, Allemagne, hein. Si c'est imposer là, là on sait que c'est imposé. Mais ça peut imposer, c'est maintenant ça vien un peu un peu. Donc, là-bas on passe CP. Hein. xxxiii Nsia: Souvent un peu - compliquer. Parce que, bon. On est dans une grande ville. Avec beaucoup d'ethnies. Voila. Puis....quand je dis compliquer, so- on doit privilégier...une ethnie, haut de commun des autres, ça va compromiser un peu. Parce qu'il y a d'autre qui déjà parle, leur ethnie et Français, avec leur parents. Maintenant, si on vient un cordon une langue, a l'école, bon. Ça va permettre, peut, ça va permettre à l'autre de comprendre de se faire votre nom mais, et puis bon. Ou celui qui est déjà ...eh puis eh, voilà puis ça - qui apprend déjà la langue, à la, à la maison. Qu'on pense que lui- va apporter plus mais, ça va un peu coincer. Je pense. Ça va apporter de choses. A mon avis. Michelle: Vous avez dites que c'est compliquer ici a Dyapo- Nsia: Dyapo, oui. Michelle: Est-ce que vous pensez que ça sera possible ou pas? Nsia: Ça sera possible. Michelle: Et comment est-ce qu'on peut faire? Nsia: Bon peut-être il fait, une choix. Parmi les langues qui sont les plus parlées, ou on les villes, peut-être peut-être peut-être Peule, eh Baoule peut. Peut parler du Djula. Comme ça, parce que un- est une langue commerciale. On peut dit que bon, a peu près tout le monde comprend le Djula. Puis après peut-être le Baoule, et puis....bon ça va quoi? C'est une 301   fonction des langues qui sont les plus parlées, comme on vu dans les grandes villes. Les langues des ethnies en faite, à part le Francais. Bon c'est en plus en fonction de ça, a fait un choix et puis, imposer, et on a fait ça une langue a l'école. Ça peut ça peut être le Djula, peut-être le Baoule. Ça peut être une langue. Bon, on sait pas. En faite se sont que 2 langues là, les 2 ethnies les plus Ivoirien on voit un peu. Michelle: Oui je comprend il y a beaucoup de- Nsia: voilà il y a d'autres mêmes. xxxiv Afia: Entente. Cohésion, la contribution. C’est comme la langue est une richesse pour nous, il a soucis, je peux communiquer avec quelqu'un et dire « voilà ce que ton fils ou ta fille a fait » et puis on se communique, on se comprend et puis...Pour identifier les tirs. La langue est importante. xxxv Nsia: comme après je pense que, ... si, ... on utilise les langues là. [silence] Souvent on peut...se voir un peu mettre, la cohésion parce que, on peut voir ...mieux expliquer les choses. Bon voilà. Mais non, avec les langues on peut bien expliquer....on a faisait de temps temps temps en Français la zéro on peut suffise. Bon souvent laissez vite ça, en nos langues, ça va bien passer. Puis, pour avoir de manière de du-. Moi je pense que c’est…c'est un accord positif. [...] Si on on ... chacun a l'opportunité de voir, [laugh], apprendre la langue…de de son voisin ou bien ... de son parent. De son collègue. Bon. Si on était de sa aussi, a l'école, je pense que ça ça ça ça sera apporter de chose. Parce si les enfants commencent à parler la langue de leurs camarades et lui c'est ça…ça sera un peu intéressant et puis bon. On voit, on voit pas trop pour les différences. xxxvi Seka:  Le choix, c'est pas le moment on entend beaucoup, c'est pas comment déjà fait. Mais, si seulement que moi, mon choix c'est que mes enfants partent à l'école Agni. Pourquoi, je l'explique. Parce que, de nos jours moi je, quand on part à, c'est, désoriente en faite. Il y avais pas cet culture, maternelle Brafé. Et y a comme les études comme les filous, mon sac est réduit. On était perdu dans cet histoire à l'époque où les gens et nos que...base. Il fallait revenir ou sais ployer de la culture, ou se soit, et c'est pour ça que je joins. À chaque fois dès, pendants déjà on apprend plus. Il faut que ce que-, tu veux-, qui ne passe-, perde d'un enfant. Il y a pas désoriente, quoi, façon de cette situation. Donc, ce qui, si, si on fasse en tête de fait un choix, il faut le choix de l'école, ce qu'on appelle Brafé en faite. Parce que je suis dans un coin Brafé comme, et tu si t'était Senoufo faut Senoufo. Mais pour moi, il y a un véhicule que les enfants apprennent à l'école euh si c'est support en faite. Viens le culture, dans la tête. Voila. Si s'enforce aux Etats Unis mais savent pas, ils omis racines. Ils font la-, il font la richesse depuis ce truc là. Mais quand tu te prennes déjà des racines, je crois que c'est d'un base, on pousse. xxxvii Sopie : Pourquoi pas enfants non, quoi n'est-ce pas, comprend même pas un mot, de leur langue. Soit des ça, normale n'a pas de langue maternelle que le Français mais pas la père de même ethnie que la maman, donc c'est Français seulement que l'enfant parle. Et c'est très dangereux. Parce que l'enfant même pas différenciez de ces deux types de langues. De sa maman et de son papa. Le Brafé, le papa qui est le Brafé par exemple, ne parle pas de Brafé a son fils. Normalement quel du mal le papa le demande a son fils. xxxviii Nsia: Je reprends le langue. Disparaisse. Michelle: A bon? Nsia: [laughing]. Oh bon bien de prononcer. Voila. Bon il y a beaucoup de, - de des lieux de nous, pratiquement un bar d’or Africaine. Culturelle, eh. Doit les comprend. Important. Et plus que intégrée, moi langue, à l’école. xxxix Zuma: Écoles font langues. Crois c'est bon.  Michelle: Pourquoi?  Zuma: Pourquoi. C'est uh, quand eh - est dit Wousso, pas de doit comprend c'est qu'elle disait. Mais Français oh la souvent comprends, mais dit, on doit parlant Wousso mais pas comprend. Eh c'est Français le doit comprend beaucoup.  xl Zuma: Et seulement...était enfant a la maison c'est pas bien parler en Wousso on devra comprendre. Parlez l'école, là-bas mieux comprend français, en est pays. Mais si à école on doit faire Français, uh Wousso encore plus a maison Wo-, Wousso là. Ça, c'est moi je dois comprend. Mais si la maison il parle Wo- dit comprend et puis a l'école on va le Français là, enfin peut, peut comprend beaucoup le sol. Les enfants sa[vent]. Faut penser Français là. xli Afia : C'est bon qu'il y a ait ce genre d'école parce que les enfants quand on leur explique quelque chose quelque chose dans leurs langues maternelles ils arrivent à trouver facilement par rapport à d'autres élèves d'expliquer facilement. xlii Bon si on dit nos enfants qui non-cas apprend la langue Brafé, tu vois qu'il s’apprennent vitement pas sinon prend que celles d'ici. Qui disent, eh? Donc c'est ça que fait que dans les grandes villes ils ne pas voient ça. xliii Parce quand ils apprennent leur langue-là, ils connaissent un peu plus xliv Que leur c'est que que les enfants rentrent à l'ecole Brafé. Moi je pense que trop bon, les gens sont-, avaient avaient pris le Brafé. Normalement si parle que comprend Brafé, c'est important. Bon pense moi, nous, n’en savez pas ça. Merci. Quand t’es ici-là, si tu comprends Brafé, par exemple si ton enfant va ou vont que-, on envoi dans l'école, il y a des Brafé, bon, pour comprend avec eux c'est pas-. Mais à l'école Brafé la, ça apporte de l'élément pour aller à la terminale. C'est pour que- comprend en va ici. La d’où met ici vraiment si tu travail quelque part la, si c'est les Brafés qui sont ou les Brafés ou il y a autre seulement qui sont là-bas, c'est facile de se faire le truc. 302   xlv Thema : École Brafé là. Quand les enfants font la, souvent on dit c'est en Brafé là c'est un un vitesse. Ils sont Brafé. Mais il y a des choses en Brafé ils connaissent pas à l'école. Hmm. Bon, façon ils ont fait école Brafé là, en tout cas ça arrange les enfants. Et c'est plus facile même pour eux. C'est qui connaissent en Brafé là, si connaissent en Français là c'est déjà bon. Donc eh, vraiment ça peut faciliter beaucoup de chose. Les écoles en Français dans les grandes villes là. Si c'est bon. Michelle: et pourquoi? Thema: C'est bon parce que en ville même là, façon le gars font Français là. En tout cas les enfants sont ... eh sais pas, ils sont motivés. Les enfants sont bien. Parce quand tu vois un enfant de la ville, ils viennent du village ici là. Son développement là. Avec un enfant du village c'est pas même chose. Michelle: Ah bon? Thema: Oui c'est pas même chose. Michelle: Comment ? Thema : Parce les enfants de la ville là, à la maison là, c’est Français seulement les parents parlent à leurs enfants. À l’école, souvent il y a des parents qui prennent enfants et mets des maisons. Pour pour…pour apprennent à leurs enfants. Donc les enfants de la ville là, ils sont avancés, plus aux enfants du village. Quel enfant de la ville bien essaye il parle son son Français. Souvent même quand tu poses des questions, de me pose là, il est, il il connait. Il est fort. En Français là ils sont beaucoup fort, les enfants de la ville, que le village. Donc, c’est force que les enfants de la ville là, Français là, vrai fort de langue. xlvi C'est une bonne chose. Ça va permettre de l'enfant de, - de parler, en dit tous savez en sa langue maternelle. Voila. À part le français, bon.  xlvii Maintenant, si on vient un coordonné une langue, a l'école, bon. Ça va permettre un peu, ça va permettre à l'autre de comprendre, de se faire d'avis, votre nom et, et puis bon. Ou celui qui est déjà ...eh puis eh, voilà après ça - qui apprend déjà la langue, à la, à la maison. Qu'on pense que lui, ça va apporter plus mais, ça va un peu coincer. Je pense. Ça va apporter chose de t’aider. A mon avis.  xlviii The term “bush” or brousse in French is not derogatory in the way that it can seem in English. This is simply the term used to differentiate between a rural village and a rural location that is even more remote. xlix Dandou Ourfama : En faite que en Côte d'Ivoire il y a, pense qu'il y a 60 ethnies. Avec pour la langue Française, c'est que chacun sont leur ethnie. Le diffèrent. Maintenant le Français, on met ensemble. Sans souci. Oui? Mais si tu ne comprends pas Français, c'est difficile. Oui. Parce que c'est Français qui langue majorité. Michelle: Et pour les gens qui comprend pas le Français? Dandou Ourfama:  Ici, c'est là, il y a pas personne qui comprend pas. Sauve celui qui est hors, celui qui est en brousse. l Michelle: Seule français? Elodie: Seule français. Plus que c'est ... je peux dire plusieurs nationalités, plusieurs ethnie ou pays-là. La plupart du temps, sont des Maliens, les Guinéens, les Ivoiriens même sont pas aussi nombreux que ça. Donc, c'est le Français. Michelle: Et est-ce que les élèves parlent le français toujours? Elodie: Oui ils parlent français toujours. Michelle: Et si quelqu’un - Arianne: Mais non au début quand ils arrivent, ils parlent ils parlaient tous le français? Elodie: Non au début y a certaines qui parlaient leur ethnie. Le Peule, l'a d'autre, c'était le Djula seulement c'est avec le temps plus ... on a commencé par écrit, apprentissage, nous sommes alles par s'en parle. Et les langage, tout ça ça ça...et y a ce ce qui monte...en français pour qu'on a. Michelle: Mais a commencé, comment avez-vous fait avec tous les langues qui sont là? Que sont vos, vos techniques? Pour enseigner une classe comme ça? Elodie: Bon. Pour enseigner au début y a ses, quand tu commence en français, y a ce qui comprennent et d'autre ne comprennent pas. Plus que chez nous au CP1, c'est...on commence à les réapprentissage. Quant y ça fait des prend même si en français pas suis qu'on appelle un très...de fait de répéter répéter, pour suis en français maintenant que ça c'est un très. Parce ce sont de coin. Plus que quand tu fais leur dit non ça c'est temps. Ça ce sont des vagues. Plus eh, tout ça pouvez nous permettre de de de tout former les lettres. Donc tu cours, enfants, début c'est difficile. Mais après enfants s'adaptent. Et ça passe. Michelle: Et vous trouvez que maintenant tous les élèves comprennent le français? Elodie: Oui. Tous les élèves comprennent bien le français. Oui. Michelle: Ça c'est difficile! Elodie: Oui mais c'est ça [laughing]. C'est ça la machine de l'enseigne d'Ivoire. [laughing]. […] Michelle: Connaissez-vous les les écoles qui sont...on dit les écoles projet intégrée? Arianne: Oui elle connait intégrée. Les, entendu de parler des, des écoles projet, projet école intégrée. Elodie: Non pas du tout. Michelle: Sont des écoles dans les zones rurales, dans les villages, ou on utilise la langue maternelle. Pour enseigner. Qu'est-ce que vous pensez de ça? Elodie: Bon. Moi j'ai fait le village. J'étais tutelle dans une village. Lorsque je suis arrivée, c'était un complètement barbouillé. Les enfants ne faisaient que ce ce qu'ils peuvent. Moi je ne comprends pas le Baoule par exemple. Font du cours, c'était en Français. Début c'était difficile, ils arrivaient à écrire ce que je voulais. Et tout après tous enfants savent parler le Français. Donc c'est un peu ça. Parce que...si on me mène dans une zone parait si peut-être si on me mène dans la zone chez moi, je peux m'amuser à parler mon ethnie là-bas là, je peux dit, non, je peux faire tout, non. Si on me mène dans une zone ou c'est le Baoule qui est parlé, je comprends pas le Baoule. Donc c'est ça non, difficile. C'est un peu ça. Michelle: Non c'est vrai, c'est intéressant. Vous avez pas le choix de, d'où vous enseignez? Elodie: Comment? Michelle: Est-ce - Arianne: Est-ce que vous choisissez là ou vous enseignez ou bien c'est une a - comment dit - l'état qui choisi? Elodie: Bon. Mon premier post c'est l'état qui a choisi. 303   lilili Baako: La différence? C'est que, en Français, ... là-bas au moins j'ai eu matériels. Mais en Brafé, langue maternelle, en tout cas on a pas de de documents. Donc eh, bon c'est un peu de moins qualité fait, eh avec les méthodes des des bruit. Donc quand j'apprends la lecture, bon moi-même je me déplu et puis je fais avec les demandes c'est au pédagogique, les différentes leçons. Qu'en maths, eh en lecture, puis des enseignes en Brafé au tous. Sauf langage on fait en Français. Michelle: Et comment vous le faites, à faire? Quel est vos techniques a faire l'enseignement en Brafé même sans les les - Baako: les documents. Arianne: Oui sans le, sans - Baako: Bon sans le support. Comme je vais dit. Eh, comme j'a dit. Comme y a longtemps j'ai enseigné, donc eh pédagogiquement j'essaie de, de faire ... eh... en fait d'approche pédagogique en Français, pour voir enseigner le Brafé. Parce y a uniquement ça à suivre. Comme aujourd'hui par exemple, on a fait la lecture 4. Il faut faire le révision, des des des syllables de la lettre son. Fait écrit, parce bon passez par des question, pourque un enfant tour de mots de 30eme, eh eh eh le son "et," et puis la écrire la syllable, "les." Et c'est par là que les enfants on trouve Attie, Pluie, Arianne: Attie c'est mot qui est - Baako: En tant une fois que les enfants ont trouvé, ils voulaient que plus de trouver cette mot là, en leur langue. lii Baako: Pour avoir la cohésion sociale. [clears throat]. C'est, l'égale inox, entente parfaite. Michelle: C'est quoi? Baako: C'est l'ethnie entente parfaite. Comprendre de cohésion sociale. liii Mme Djere : qu’il y a la cohésion sociale il faut qu'il vienne la paix liv Baako: Bon, en Côte d'Ivoire, depuis...avant, l'évènement ... de...c’était sentait, d'avez la cohésion sociale. Mais, il y avait un moment ou, je préfère nomme X, d'autre personne on trouvait que,...ils s’ont marre je baliser. C'est tous ça là qu'on voyait, la mésentente. Sinon on vivait bien. Donc on se disait que ... le plan à atelier pour suite, nous on avait le plan pour suite. L'éducation m’osait ici. On y est pour cadrer...beaucoup de cadre est ici. Nos parents on était faudra souder. Nos cadres, nos parents étaient le plus pire à construire de s'aide, peuvent appartinssent là. Mais c'est parce que ... il y avait de l'argent. Tout marchait, d’alleu cacao, d'avoir la nourriture. Pas en- palabre, tous que vous pouvez régler, ce que la palabre. Mais on voyait que...le pays avait l'argent. Mais c'était des solutions n'ont pas été de fusée. Et d'autre pays, et d'autre ... coins de la Côte d'Ivoire, se sont senti marginaliser. Or je prends des frères qui peut pas [suter] ici. Ils ont été la région d’ici, à se développer. À se- on devoir avoir des pense qu'à l'aide. Mais quand vous le, vous êtes le vend les gens, ou vend qu'on prend pour se provisionner. Que vous prenez les gens pour venez travailler, vous dites que c'est là, non c'est là, non pas était, les harmonies des singes. Ils ont eu beaucoup de champs. Parce avait la cohésion sociale, on leur a donner même beaucoup de plantation, de foret, celui dit sont de tenter de qui de sans état, de cacao, on fait des enfants, vous en manier des Brafés. Mais, quand ils disent en se fait Toman, c'est qui doit parler Brafé doit être ethnie. Donc on faudrait qu'on s'entend. Pour tout le monde efface cette mauvaise idée. Pour qu'on te se partir de décider. Michelle: Donc ça veut dire que ça changeait. Baako: Ça changeait dans ensemble. Michelle: Avant - Baako: Avant, bon. Ça mal mais maintenant ça changeait. Les gens se parlent, il y a la communication. C'est pas comme avant. Ou chacun sais méfier l'un l'autre. Ça va. Maintenant ça va. Mais autre part il n'est pas ça va 100 pourcent. Mais, on a été quelque pourcent. Il sait que, donc ça ajouter. Michelle: Alors avant ça va, et puis - Baako: après - Michelle: il y a des gens qui sont marginalisés, les - Baako: d'après, d'après de...devoir. Michelle: Et puis maintenant, ça...ça continue à changer. Baako: Mm, la marginalisation? Michelle: Oui. Baako: Je ne pense pas. Je pense pas le, vous savez, ... sa mot vous avez posé la question. Mais je ne sais pas ce que X peut penser. Donc moi, eh, vois de manier globale, que ça va. Parce que les gens seule dépassent facilement. Ce que était chasse de les champs là. Ils ont...été leur..mal situe, donc les gens voient, facilement ils voient, va au nord. Oh avant là, il pourrait pas quitter ce coin aller au nord. Et le nord ne se peut pas pour aller à l'ouest. Maintenant ça va. Mais il y a un certain de futilité, de ... Michelle: Dans ce change, quelle était le rôle de l'éducation? Baako: L'éducation, a travail le programme que nous abone, il a...essaye de ... de plus...d'évolue programmes, des leçons, quelques idées a essayer. On vient de faire. Qu'il faut, ... il connaitre l'autre. Donc, en faisant ça en CP2, mais c'est au niveau des enfants. Or c'est devait faire... avec, ... des adultes. Et ça, c'est c'est à fait dans sensibilisation qui manque beaucoup à notre pays. Il faut beaucoup a facultiser. Or quand les parents...ont alphabétiser, que vous parlez de la cohésion sociale, c'était que c'est dans la langue maternelle vous aidez parler, et puis va comprendre. Donc eh, il faudrait que ... ça soit de mondiale d'occasion d'avoir cette idée a tout le monde. Donc si les enfants sont éduqués, il faudrait que leurs parents aussi, on peut bénéficier, pour que le soi-même il peut faire éduquer de leurs enfants. Donc le, le parents n'a pas été éduqué, il n'a pas été alphabétisé. Si l'enfant est dit, quand il apprend le lendemain s'il sait oh il est pas. Ces parents, est le pratique se fatiguer. Il va permit, il va mollir un peu. lv Baako: Pour avoir la cohésion sociale. [clears throat]. C'est, l'égale inox, entente parfaite. Michelle: C'est quoi? Baako: C'est l'ethnie entente parfaite. Comprendre de cohésion sociale. Pour que vos... d'un pays, c'est que tout le monde...eh...encrer dans un certain compréhension. L'un doit comprendre l'autre. Puis que c'est ça. On doit se...avoir cohésion sociale permet de ses parler facilement. Il n'est pas armée. Pas certains il y a pas de cohésion sociale....ça peut pas marcher. Moi mon village Abolo, il y a un autre village Avoue. Y a pas de cohésion sociale, c'est un exemple. Bon nous avons beaucoup de poisson. Ils ont plein du ver. Avoue n'ont pas la divers. Comme il y a pas de 304   cohésion sociale, on peut pas le vendre nos poisson là-bàs. Donc vois, c'est ce que je comprends par ethnie sociale. Il faut qu'on s'entente. En tant qu'on s'entente, vous pouvez être parfaitement. Là il y a un placard, vous comprend. Le rôle de la langue, pour la cohésion sociale. C'est ce que je voulais vous dire. Si effectivement quelqu'un a été punir, pour trouvant être d'accord, ça peut aider à fortifier la cohésion sociale. Parce que ... de nos jours, ... quand, quand je vais quelque part que je parle le Brafé, ils s'entente. Mais, il ne peut pas m'insulter. Or, moi je fais l'expérience j'étais dans le quart. Y a de fait de l'ouest qui causer...mais le causerie là, quand ils causent, on dit que ça gêne, ceux qui sont devants. Maintenant, cohésion sociale...donc il faudrait que l'état que se trouver ... quelque chose qu'on apprend...pour tout le monde s'entend. Pour permettre à la cohésion sociale, il se développer. lvi Baako: En tout cas je suis...parfaitement d'accord pour l'école intégrée. Mais seulement je suis de l'aide, parce qu'on a des documents approprie. Beaucoup de travaille la marche. Et que le gouvernement aussi pense à cette question de fier ajouter des langues. Parce chacun veux s'inculquer de sa langue. Aussi c'est pas bon. Donc tout le travail la les documents. Pour qu'on plus qu'on essaye, pour que la cohésion sociale apporte à quel niveau a 100%. lvii Bon en fait du résoudre de la – t’a vu - ou bien de l'augment de, il y a eu de la cohésion sociale a eu, être, impacte de l'action jusqu'à un monde où il y a… sais pas .... bon le... non ça était, c'est ... moi je pense que c'est c'est une bonne chose la cohésion sociale. C'est une bonne chose pour Côte d'Ivoire. lviii Il y a, y a une cohésion, il y a y a la cohésion sociale est ...de ... bon, remarque, on remarque il y a la cohésion sociale en Côte d'Ivoire. Parce que, eh, ... les ... ... bon. Bon ça dire moitie un a de la cohésion la veut dit qu’il y a la cohésion sociale il faut qu'il vienne la paix, il faut qu'il vienne la réussisse, voilà. Donc je veux dit qu’en quelque sort il y a, il y a ses, il y a la paix. Voila. Il y a la paix en Côte d'Ivoire il y a, .... Bon. ... C'est dans la vie des ... toute un peu il y a toujours, il y a toujours des réussites, il y a toujours de bon se dit que le marais général, il y a ... ça existe en Côte d'Ivoire. lix Mme Djere: Non plus que ça ce que me demande d'utiliser le Français. Même si je comprends la langue des enfants, utilise le Français. Michelle: Pourquoi? Mme Djere: C'est dans leur intérêt. Michelle: Pourquoi? Mme Djere: C'est dans leur intérêt. Voila. Michelle: Pouvez-vous expliquer? Mme Djere: Parce que le Français, c'est la langue, c'est la langue officielle.  Mme Djere: - Ils doivent l'apprendre - on suppose que... ils apprennent leur maternelle à la maison. Donc, à l'école, si on veut encore, vous leur parlez la langue maternelle finalement ils ont remis rapide. Voila. Moi c'est plus limité. Donc, je leur parle Français de sotte de plus, quand même a la longue c'est ce que nous en Français. Donc je veux pas en parler ma langue maternelle avec les enfants de plus. lx Donc en fait qu'il y a la cohésion sociale, il faut qu'il y est l'entente. Si l'entente parfait il y est, il faudrait que les deux, les sociétés, ces cohésions doivent exister la, il doivent avoir les mêmes opportunités, dont l'avoir les même chances pour réussir. Tout ça. [silence] Maintentant, pensant en éducation, ... voila... comment le dit là. Il y a pas de ... tout le monde n'a pas... souvent y a des, je vais expliquer. Il y a les enfants, ils sont très très intelligents à l'école. Voila. Ils avancent, correctement. Mais, arrivée certaines niveaux, parents des moyens. Ils sont généreux de là. Donc du cours, eux ils sont ... eh...ils ne peuvent plus continuer. Par contre, quand les parents ont les moyens, même si l'enfant n'est pas trop - bien à l'école, il avance comme. Parce que, on les avance. Donc déjà la, il y a quelque chose qui ne va pas un justice. Donc, si on parle, si c'est sous cet base-là, y a pas de cohésion. Voila c'est ça. lxi Bon. Moi j'ai fait le village. J'étais tutelle dans une village. Lorsque je suis arrivée, c'était un complètement barbouillé. Les enfants ne faisaient que ce se qu'ils peuvent. Moi je ne comprends pas le Baoule par exemple. Font du cours, c'était en Francais. Début c'était difficile, ils arrivaient à écrire ce que je voulais. Et tout après tous enfants savent parler le Français. Donc c'est un peu ça. Parce que...si on me mène dans une zone parait si peut-être si on me mène dans la zone chez moi, je peux m'amuser à parler mon ethnie là-bas là, je peux dit, non, je peux faire tout, non. Si on me mène dans une zone ou c'est le Baoule qui est parlé, je comprends pas le Baoule. Donc c'est ça non, difficile. C'est un peu ça. lxii Michelle: Vous avez dit qu’y a beaucoup d'ethnies dans votre classe. C'est même en Côte d'Ivoire. Elodie: Oui. C'est pas forcément les Ivoiriens, eh. Y a des Burkinabes dedans, y a des Maliens, y a des Guinéens. Ici maintenant, plupart de nos élèves ne sont plus, le plupart ne sont des ethnies étrangers. Ils sont à Kwé la communauté, ce qui habite Kwé la plupart de temps sont les étrangers. Pourquoi marchants donc, plupart du temps sont des étrangers. Mais il y a des Ivoiriens cohésives. Michelle: Oui. Mais il y a des étrangers aussi. Elodie: Des étrangers aussi. Michelle: Vous trouvez qu'il y a des tensions dans votre classe en termes de des Ivoiriens, des étrangers, des ethnies qui sont divers? Elodie: Non, pas du tout pas du tout pas du tout. Non. Pas du tout. Non. Pas du tout. Mais que s'aussi avez, chacun a sa nationalité, chacun a son ethnie, on vient se plus travaille que nous sommes là. Donc c'est juste pour travaille. lxiii Michelle: Et dans tous vos expériences c'est, c'est comme ça dans dans - Elodie: Oui. Michelle: dans - Elodie: oui c'est comme ça oui. Viens pour travaille. C'est le travail. Viens pas pour dit que ... tel est ... de tel nationalité donc, viens pas pour ça. Plutôt même dans les classes, les grandes classes. Plutôt même on enseigne aux enfants les alliances était ethnique...bon. Si....on leur a commencé,... commence ou ni être développé savoir vivre le, en fait 305   vivre ensemble. On peut savez apprendre tout ça. Donc tu trouves....on peut pas avoir des tensions ethniques. Michelle: Bon c'est difficile à apprendre ça aux enfants aussi je trouve. Donc, comment vivre ensemble. Elodie: Non non non, c'est même pas difficile plus que...ils sont tous petits. Ils sont en face d'apprentissage. Donc pouvez inculquer ça. C'est ne vraiment pas difficile. Michelle: Ok. Elodie: On trouve que...les leçons des- des âges C, sont pour ça. Apprendre à vivre ensemble. Apprendre à s'accepter, ne pas se moquer de celui qui soit tenu. Tenu de chier, ou bien qui ne sais pas s'exprimer. Ou bien qui en dit taper. Là apprendre à s'accepter seulement les différences. Donc s'accepter les autres. Michelle: Non merci. C'est bon qu'ils sont petits alors. Elodie: Oui. lxiv Michelle: Pouvez-vous comparer vos expériences d'être enseignant en Français et puis être enseignant en Brafé? Baako: Bon ce que je puis dire, c'est que l'enseignement en Français, comme la go moins on a reçu qui...beaucoup de formation. Mais, l'enseignement en Brafé, c'est bien. C'est pas été forme. Donc on pas de. Bon. Comme je connais déjà la langue, je ne connaissais même pas l'écriture. Bon c'est ici on a forgé un peu. Mais depuis le 3 ans, en tout cas, ça manque d'écriture. Mais je suis très motive même. Pour tenir jusqu- jusqu'au CM2. Michelle: Si vous pensez à la différence qui est là...qui marque la plus, c'est quoi? Baako: La différence? C'est que, en Français..là-bas au moins j'ai eu matériels. Mais en Brafé, langue maternelle, en tout cas on a pas de de documents. Donc eh, bon c'est un peu de moins qualité fait, eh avec les méthodes des des bruit. Donc quand j'apprends la lecture, bon moi-même je me déplu et puis je fais avec les demandes c'est au pédagogique, les différentes leçons. Qu'en maths, eh en lecture, puis des enseignes en Brafé au tous. Sauf langage on fait en Français. Michelle: Et comment vous le faites, à faire? Quel est vos techniques a faire l'enseignement en Brafé même sans les les- Baako: les documents. Arianne: Oui sans le, sans- Baako: Bon sans le support. Comme je vais dit. Eh, comme j'a dit. Comme y a longtemps j'ai enseigné, donc eh pédagogiquement j'essaie de, de faire...eh...en fait d'approche pédagogique en Français, pour voir enseigner le Brafé. Parce y a uniquement ça à suivre. Comme aujourd'hui par exemple, on a fait la lecture 4. Il faut faire le révision, des des des syllables de la lettre son. Fait écrit, parce bon passez par des question, pourque un enfant tour de mots de 30eme, eh eh eh le son "et," et puis la écrire la syllable, "les." Et c'est par là que les enfants on trouve Attie, Pluie, Arianne: Attie c'est mot qui est- Baako: En tant une fois que les enfants ont trouvé, ils voulaient que plus de trouver cette mot là, en leur langue. Quand on dit par exemple "attie," qu'est-ce qu'on fait avec? La bas, na moto il est attie en moto. Arianne: Il prie pour avoir la sauce. Baako: Pa pain, papa bois la sauce avec. Là il y a de trouve tes, de mots que l'enfant, on peut utiliser dans sa langue. Mais tâtant en défait c'est la fait, la fait est on sépare depuis, est, est faite tout le monde en voit, de...et puis vers l'effort il faut écrire ces mots là. Pour que...les enfants puissent savoir que idées de le côté. lxv Eh, moi je pense que c'est bon parce que quand de cas de le pays d'à côté, on prend leçons de Ghana, et ... dans tout pays que que fait, je pense que ça permet d'ethnie, même s'ils apprennent l'Anglais, l'Ashanti par exemple. Ça c'est écrit, ça ce parle. Mais chez nous, est la fallu que c'est ... uh, parce qu’à la maison c'était difficile. Nous joue que, à tes parents même, ils ne comprennent pas le même de langage. Et quand on va en assemble, moi je suis je suis d'un chef uh mondial. À Konvi. C'est mon frère qui est là. Mais les vieux sont assis, et les vieux sont en train de parler, en Brafé, ici vous n- vous ne - je sais pas cette ouvrage-là. Vous êtes perdu. Donc l'enseignement en Brafé, ça permette à ses enfants la, d'être bouclé ... la de me serveuse. Donc je pense que c'est plus de puissance. lxvi Baako: Le rôle de l'éducation c'est très primordiale. Parce qu'on peut pas donner sous...les élèves quelqu'un qui en brousse, s'il n'as pas de méfier, il devient da- qu'a d'éducation permet ... de s'inventer, de fait des approche, de communiquer, bon. On fait. De s'entente quoi, se beaucoup de reconnait. Il peut de les idées de l'avance. lxvii Bon. Moi j'ai fait le village. J'étais tutelle dans une village. Lorsque je suis arrivée, c'était un complètement barbouillé. Les enfants ne faisaient que ce se qu'ils peuvent. Moi je ne comprends pas le Baoule par exemple. Font du cours, c'était en Francais. Début c'était difficile, ils arrivaient à écrire ce que je voulais. Et tout après tous enfants savent parler le Français. Donc c'est un peu ça. Parce que...si on me mène dans une zone parait si peut-être si on me mène dans la zone chez moi, je peux m'amuser à parler mon ethnie là-bas là, je peux dit, non, je peux faire tout, non. Si on me mène dans une zone ou c'est le Baoule qui est parlé, je comprends pas le Baoule. Donc c'est ça non, difficile. C'est un peu ça. lxviii Mme Djere: Bon fait l'enseignement en générale en tout cas dans...chez nous pense ici il y a des écoles eux utilise y a l'autre qui parle l'Brafé. Bon. Mais chez nous c'est Français parce que, moi je ne comprends pas leur langue. Et puis les enfants, les s'en passe un peu...comprend pas ma langue. Donc, finalement, c'est le Français qui nous...donc on peut comprendre. Ensemble. Donc, on prend le Français. Michelle: Donc, c'est interdit. Mme Djere: Voilà. Non, moi dit que, en classe c'est le Français. Donc on utilise le Français. Michelle: Et si quelqu'un parle Brafé en classe? Mme Djere: Quelqu'un parle Brafé en classe? Non je le dit que, on ne parle pas si ici on parle Français. [silence] Michelle: Alors vous préférez utiliser quelle langue quand vous enseigner. Mme Djere: Français. Michelle: Et si vous étiez enseignante dans votre village? Ça change d'avis? Mme Djere: Non plus que ça ce que me demande d'utiliser le Français. Même si je comprends la langue des enfants, utilise le Français. Michelle: Pourquoi? Mme Djere: C'est dans leur intérêt. Michelle: Pourquoi? Mme Djere: C'est dans leur intérêt. Voila. Michelle: Pouvez-vous 306   expliquer? Mme Djere: Parce que le Français, c'est la langue, c'est la langue officielle.  Mme Djere: - Ils doivent l'apprendre - on suppose que... ils apprennent leur maternelle à la maison. Donc, à l'école, si on veut encore, vous leur parlez la langue maternelle finalement ils ont remis rapide. Voila. Moi c'est plus limité. Donc, je leur parle Français de sotte de plus, quand même a la longue c'est ce que nous en Français. Donc je veux pas en parler ma langue maternelle avec les enfants de plus. [silence] Michelle: Alors parce que vous êtes enseignante ici, je sais que vous connaissez les écoles Brafé. Mme Djere: Mmhmm. Michelle: Qu'est-ce que vous pensez de ces écoles? Mme Djere: Les écoles intégrée? Bon. Faite, eh. Je sais pas. Ça fait 2 ans je suis là. Par l'enseignement. Ma premier année en Konvi ici. Donc je sais pas trop. C'est ici que moi j'ai vu que là, une école intégrée. Mais je sais pas trop. Sais pas trop. Michelle: Mais je suis sûr que vous avez des idées, des pensées. Mme Djere: Bon. Franchement. Sais pas. Michelle: Non? Mme Djere: Déjà même pour lui la pourcent de ce qui la [laughing]. Arianne: la formation en Brousse là. Mme Djere: C'est évolué. Arianne: C'est évolué. Ou bien c'est née la langue. Arianne: On verra on verra c'est bien, certains des langues, en plus de la langue Français. Mme Djere: En plus de la langue Française. Bon ah, entendu parle. Entendu parle. La langue qu'on parlait. Arianne: Et votre expérience à Konvi ici. Mme Djere: Oui. Michelle: Alors vous avez dit que, à toute à l'heure, que c'est...dans le...dans l'intérêt des élèves, d'enseigner en Francais. Mais, voilà, y a l'idée de l'école qui enseigne en Brafé. Mme Djere: Brafé. Michelle: Et, est-ce que c'est aussi dans leur intérêt? Mme Djere: Bon. Je me dis que si eh...on enseigne en eh en on dira établi cela à l'école, dira le que c'est en leur intérêt. En plus c'est une eh ça semble un importance. C'est important. Voila. lxix Michelle: Et c'est toujours Français? Mme Djere: Oui c'est toujours Français. C'est dans fond, donc, ils parlent Brafé. Par contre, quand tu es début, on s'en entre la baie, on parle un peu le Brafé. Voila. Moderator: Et est-ce que vous trouvez que les élevés, tous les élèves comprennent le Français? Mme Djere: La majorité. Michelle: Et la minorité? Mme Djere: La la la minorité - y a certains qui...qui ne peut pas. Ils comprennent pas. Mais, à force de voir les autres fait, ils arrivent a fait. Et puis finalement, ça vient quoi. C'est bon. Michelle: Et comment ça vient? Pouvez-vous expliquer un peu? Mme Djere: [laugh]. Bon par exemple quand tu, tu mets une phrase au tableau par exemple, on en train d'utiliser par exemple, une lettre de son, mets la lettre de son. Pendant qu'on a peu d'expliquer comment ça se passe, y a certains qui le voit pas automatiquement que comment ça se le passe, ils sont là, ils, d'autre mêmes qui ça pousse. On se suive pas. Mais quand un t'en va qu'au tableau, ne dit l’en pas au troisième, il regarde, et puis moins après, il casse. Et il répète. Même s’il sait pas trop ce qu'il avait dit, mais il répète. Avec, parce que les autres. Il s'amuse en dit ça. Et puis bon finalement il lui explique que c'est passe que, ça c'est comme ça, qu'il faut dit ça, et puis bon. Ça marche quoi. Michelle: Est-ce que vous utilisez des techniques spéciales pour la minorité qui comprennent pas le Français? Mme Djere: Bon. En fait, comme on est interdit de parler d'autre langue, on se dit c'est le Français qu'on utilise comment le Français. Donc on a pas le droit d'utiliser d'autre langue. Donc ils sont obligés de...de suivre. Donc finalement, eh, par exemple quand on écrit...si lui n'arrive pas à écrit, moi j'oblige de prend la main, et fait écrit. Voilà un fois deux fois Et puis, on efface. Si non. Je ne change pas de langue puis, j'suis dans une région je comprends pas [laugh]. Michelle: Mais c'est un autre technique de prend la main. Mme Djere: Oui. [laugh] lxx Elodie: Seule Français. Plus que c'est ... je peux dire plusieurs nationalités, plusieurs ethnie ou pays-là. La plupart du temps, sont des Maliens, les Guinéens, les Ivoiriens même sont pas aussi nombreux que ça. Donc, tu parles, c'est le Français. Michelle: Et est-ce que les élèves parlent le Français toujours? Elodie: Oui ils parlent Français toujours. Michelle: Et si quelqu’un – Arianne: Mais non au début quand ils arrivent, ils parlent ils parlaient tous le Français? Elodie: Non au début y a certaines qui parlaient leur ethnie. Le Peule, il y a d'autre, c'était le Djula seulement c'est avec le temps plus ... on a commencé par écrit, apprentissage, nous sommes allés par s'en parle. Et les langage, tout ça...et y a ce qui montre...en Français pour qu'on a. Michelle: Mais a commencé, comment avez-vous fait avec tous les langues qui sont là? Que sont vos, vos techniques? Pour enseigner une classe comme ça? Elodie: Bon. Pour enseigner au début y a ces, quand tu commence en Français, y a ce qui comprennent et d'autre ne comprennent pas. Plus que chez nous au CP1, c'est...on commence à les re-apprentissage. Quand y ça fait des prenne même si en Français pas suis qu'on appelle un très...de fait de répéter, répéter, pour suis en Français maintenant que ça c'est un très. Parce ce sont de coin. Plus que quand tu fais leur dit non ça c'est temps. Ça ce sont des vagues. Plus eh, tout ça pouvez nous permettre de de de tout former les lettres. Donc tu cours, enfants, début c'est difficile. Mais après enfants s'adaptent. Et ça passe. Michelle: Et vous trouvez que maintenant tous les élèves comprennent le Français? Elodie: Oui. Tous les élèves comprennent bien le Français. Oui. Michelle: Ça c'est difficile! Elodie: Oui mais c'est ça [laughing]. C'est ça la machine de l'enseigne d'Ivoire. [laughing]. Et on va voir que main qui n'est même pas drape un bic, pas fait ça on fait avec aujourd'hui. Ils arrivent à écrire des mots des phrases, donc c'est ça. lxxi Michelle: Merci. Ça m'aide à savoir les techniques d'enseignement ici. Par exemple quand un étudiant comprend pas Français, qu'est-ce que vous faites....comment ça change et tout ça. Elodie: Bon. Quand un enfant ne comprend pas le Français....on amène à comprendre c'est toujours fait de l'écouter, tout le monde, plus qu’une leçon...lorsque t'en train de faire une leçon c'est plusieurs phrases. Donc si c'est facile - enfin parce que c'est seulement en Français, petit à petit si non parce que, on vient à faire assoir enfant qui lui dit non que...en Djula, viens on va manger en 307   Français...ça lui dit comme ci comme ça c'est pas le cas. Donc ils apprennent quand on qu'on fait l'épreuve ça, craint du même. Pendant surtout les leçons le chose...oh...chose, le dialogue là. Moi le dialogue les poursuites tous apprennent en même temps. Les salutations, les premières leçons des choses comment dit - les plus échappes...commence par les salutations. Bonjour, bonjour, au revoir, au revoir. Donc c'est petit à petit. C'est comme ça ils apprennent. C'est ça. Il le fait de si changeant avec...mais plusieurs si à peine, d'en train de comprend déjà le Français avant de venir ici. On se beaucoup ont déjà fait la parterre entre eux. Donc quand même ils reçu le Français. C'est c'est pas...Michelle: donc c'est difficile pour vous quand même. Elodie: Oui, c'est ça. [laugh]. Michelle: Vous avez beaucoup de faire. Elodie: C’est même cette, encore début, il faut aller avec eux, faut patient, faut aller avec. Pas s'en parle. Ils amènent à comprendre. Ils ont plus en plus ici, c'est fini. Il laisse. lxxii Baako: Donc ce que le gouvernement est dit que, moi je compris. On trouve qu’il veut faire dans tout le pays. Et, pouvez le pays...qu'on s'apprend les crispins bons, qu'il a dans l'appelle la langue par exemple je prends d'un, un exemple de Djula. Ou bien c'est l'Brafé on doit tous parler. Et tout qu'on ne n'apport, le mets, on le tout comprend, je pense pas que on peut dire les Brafé s'accepte pour voir par les petits occasion Djula parle...y a pas de bénéfice. Faudrait pas s'entendre constat si le langue. Comme au Kada, on dit l'Ashanti. Qu'on dit Ashanti Konvi. Ça couvre tout le pays. Michelle: Et vous proposez quelles langues? Baako: Eh, langues. Vous avez déjà dit qu'on plus. Ne vous forcer pas. Avez que dans monde déjà même, sont déjà fait avec la même approche. Je préfère le Brafé. Dans une gestion Brafé, je me vois mal eh, aller apprendre l'Abro. Mais l'Abro aussi quand vous avez de monnaie, je vais aussi je m'en pas au village avec la même broche. Je préfère apprendre. Donc c'est le décider de l'occupe de vous était partager. A travers un résultat...pour vont...faire sortir...pour que ou qui n'y a pas de la chance. L'actuellement des...parce que moi la plus le Français. Elles sont plus Ivoriennes pour essaye. Donc eh on peut faire le CP1 osez, si le pays impose idée à l’an nouveau. Et tout. Mais, si...ça peut m'appeler à l'utiliser l'un de l’autre. Parce on peut, on vrai dira. Michelle: Mais c'est vraiment intéressant parce que vous avez raison, vous avez dit c'est peut-être quelque d'autre de, Betie, Djula, alors, pour choisir une langue, vraiment choisir une langue, c’est important qu’on peut faire? Vraiment? Baako: Pour choisir une langue. Ça c'est...task d'un chinois. C'est difficile. Mais il faudrait que les gens comprennent. Parce c'est un peu nos différences. C'est un peu difficile. On pourra surmonter ça. Moi je serai...je...moi je serai très heureux. Je parle Brafé, je serai très heureux quand j'étais a Korhogo on est fait un taux de PD. Et j'ai en fallait c'est en Koraka. Mais...eh bien...pour vous amuser par exemple Djula par exemple. Quand on dit marchetteur, je sais comment dit beaucoup. Quand on dit poisson, je sais que c'est jeke. Si c'est l'eau, c'est que c'est kgi. Bon nko, naya, c'est ce qu'il eh comprend. Mais souvent, ne pas de suffit. Pendant les gens parlent couramment comme ça, il comprend le. Donc je pense que...pour...on peut choisir soit à l'est qu'une langue au sud, une langue, pour nord, parce au nord le Djula tout le monde comprend là-bas. Et puis, le Betie ouest là où on parle. Mais quand ça là, on t’est enseigné ça. Dans une école. Si est se m’oser celui-là, celui qui doit enseigner a était perdu par lui. Parce on peut étriquer pour parler, pour enseigner 4 langues. Moi j'ai ma fille que fait la communication. Elle est bien Anglais, elle est bien en Français. Elle est bien en en en Espagnol. Ce n'est pas trop. Mais, elle a fait un effort pour voir. Maintenant tout fait en apprend l'Allemagne. Il voyait que, ça va. Ça bouger un peu parce qu’elle vient de dire. Sinon vous êtes ancré dans Brafé. Si vous partez pour voir là, vous avez perdit. Si quelqu'un doit vous pourvu même...donc si moi par exemple, on sait...parler le Betie...on va former le Betie. Eh Eh le Djula, ou bien pour Baoule, Brafé c'est meme chose. Pour voyez qu'il y a des langues qui...même on, ma sœur qui est la, quand elle parle, moi je comprends. Vous voyez que ça pose pas trop de problèmes. Donc on doit chercher les langues qui sera approche là. On fait un...peut-etre eh, au niveau a Konvi, on peut enseigner en 4 langues. Michelle: Alors vous proposez choisir 4 langues. Baako: 4 langues. Michelle: Oui. Sont regionales. Des regions. Baako: Des regions. Michelle: Et les enseignants seront bien- Baako: -former Michelle: former dans tous les 4. Baako: Oui oui. Michelle: Et aussi les élèves? Baako: Les élèves. Quelque fois. Michelle: Les élèves doivent apprendre tous les 4? Baako: Non, quelque soit eh, le lieu où l'enfant est, l'enfant peut surmonter. L'enfant peut apprendre. C'est comme au collège...on apprend le Français, il y a l'Anglais qui est là. Puis il y a l'Espagnol, il y a l'Allemagne. Bon. C'est l'en qu'on met...seulement le Français même, mais l'enfant est bien...de forcement fait d'essayer. Michelle: Donc vous pensez que ça peut poser des problèmes? Baako: Moi à mon pleuvoir avis, est un certain langue pour toute la Côte d'Ivoire ça peut poser de problèmes. Mais, mais ce que je j'ai dit là. Même si on peut pas prendre 4 langues, au moins 3 langues. On peut enseigner! Ces enfants-là, si on peut- même les Brafés parle Djula. Les petits n'est qu'un petit accents. Donc si, moi j'ai été formé. Puis j'ai les documents. Je peux enseigner y a, y a une heure ou bien 2 heures pour enseigner le Djula, une heure pour le Brafé, et on fut aux mesures pour voir que...les enfants seront. Michelle: Mais si par exemple ici. 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