ICSS 2016

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Strategies of Reconciliation through Education and Research
(Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Vitharana, S.; Sumedha, K.; Jayaweera, S.; Manuratne, P.
Postwar Sri Lanka has explored several modes and models of reconciliation as part of its effort to address the deep ethnic divide that still affects the country. Ultra-nationalist groups continue to create discourses and forums that destroy the potential for any sustainable peace among the various ethno-religious groups that were affected by the conflict. Attempts at creating discourses on reconciliation do not always occur at the grassroots level, often employing top-down models that prove unsustainable in the long run. In this research, we theorize a pedagogical exercise in which we participated as lecturers at the University of Kelaniya. A group of Third Year Sociology students were required to conduct a field research as part of their study program. The study involved a field trip to Tirukkovil and Karaitivu in two consecutive years, two Divisional Secretariats in the Eastern Province. The students had to be part of home-stays that involved close cultural contact with the host community. In this paper, we explore how the experience of being part of this research project can be theorized in terms of pedagogical strategies for reconciliation. Drawing on this experience, and the insights of the Freirean model of education, we explore the limits and challenges of traditional modes of delivering information such as lectures and presentations. We argue that informal modes of cultural exchange, operating at the grassroots level, facilitate ethnic reconciliation more effectively than traditional modes of delivery.
Community Symbols in State Institutions: Presence and Implications
(Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Ashraf, M.A.
This paper investigates the presence of community symbols in the state institutions (in India). It introduces the idea of symbolic interaction in these state institutions and the exclusionary practice through those symbols, on the grounds of community identities such as religion, caste and ethnicity, is a major focus of this study. In pursuit of a critical examination of the claims of secularism through a qualitative study, the researcher adopted observation method and analysis as a suitable method. The public higher educational institution is chosen the site of study because it has a direct public interaction for its existence. The researcher also conducted in-depth interviews using semi-structured interview guide with the students belonging to different educational institutions as the focus of this research is based on exploration of educational institutes which are identified as ideological state apparatus by Althusser. This idea exclusively talks about power and authority expressed through educational means, while discussing the idea of local forms of power. Foucault takes major inputs from the Althusser’s concept of Ideological State Apparatus because education also has great contribution in our socialization. Also followed the ideas of Emile Durkheim and Mary Douglas and others who have elaborated the affiliation of identity and symbols and social importance of community symbols for unity and seclusion among society. Findings from this research it was been observed that, there is strong nexus of government and the dominant community in the state institutions, and the interdependency of their existence, of political social and religious instruments which communicate through the symbols On the other hand social gets the power from political, for sustenance and growth. It is also found that social issue of ‘exclusion’ makes the power relation visible in the democratic-secular state institutions and the tool of exclusion is based on community symbols. So the overall discussion is about the duality of ideology and practice in state institutions.
A Contextual Framework to Guide the Introduction and Use of e-learning
(Research Centre for Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Suraweera, S.A.D.H.N.; Liew, C.L.; Cranefield, J.
In Sri Lanka, under the government’s vision of higher education, Information Management (IM) education is seen as important for fostering the development of a high quality market-oriented and knowledge-based society. However, a number of barriers currently restrict access to IM education by Sri Lankan information workers: the provision of education is limited to face-to-face teaching at three institutions in the Colombo (capital city) area, and the country’s physical infrastructure makes it difficult for full-time workers to attend classes without missing substantial work time. This results in IM employer reluctance to support education. Hence there is a growing need to provide equity of access to IM education. In response to World Bank reports, the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council (QAAC) of Sri Lanka aims to foster transformative change in IM education with the goal of increasing equality of access to IM education through the use of e-learning. This research was guided by two questions: (i) what are the contextual factors and (ii) how do these factors affect the introduction and use of e-learning in tertiary-level IM education in Sri Lanka? An interpretive case study research was conducted. Thirty semistructured interviews were conducted with information management education providers, existing e-learning providers and relevant stakeholders, and three focus group discussions were conducted with information workers and academics. Relevant documents were also analysed: (i) official government documents (ii) official documents from private sources and other internal records; and (iii) relevant internet resources. Fullan’s educational change theory and Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov’s cultural dimensions provided a basis for a conceptual model to guide the process of data collection and analysis in this study to gain an understanding of factors affecting the introduction and use of e-learning. A key outcome of this study is the development of a contextual framework to guide the introduction and use of e-learning in IM education in developing country context like Sri Lanka. Factors that are perceived to have an impact on the introduction and use of elearning were found at different levels. Macro-level factors included social and cultural factors, governmental factors, and technological factors. Meso-level factors included resistance to pedagogical change, lack of human and other resources, lack of collaboration/partnership among stakeholders and collective perception of e-learning acceptance. The findings of this study have implications for IM educators and practice in the forms of development of policies, implementation of e-learning, and prioritization and allocation of resources.

ICSS 2016

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