The Theory and Practice of Development Education

A pedagogy for global social justice

Douglas Bourn

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317619031
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Development education is much more than learning about development; it is a pedagogy for the globalised societies of the twenty-first century that incorporates discourses from critical pedagogy and postcolonialism, and a mechanism for ensuring that differing perspectives are reflected within education, particularly those from developing countries. Learning about development and global issues is now part of the school curriculum in a number of countries, and terms such as global citizenship, sustainable development and cultural understanding are commonplace in many educational contexts. Development education has been recognised as one of the educational discourses that has influenced the acceptance of these terms, for both policy-makers and practitioners.

This ground-breaking volume addresses the history, theoretical influences, practices and impact of development education in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan. Chapters include how development education evolved, the influence of theorists such as Paulo Freire, the practices of aid and development agencies, and the impact of governments seeking evidence of public understanding of and engagement with development.

The Theory and Practice of Development Education provides essential reading for anyone engaged in re-thinking and reflecting upon the educational needs of a globalised society, and seeking approaches towards learning that place social justice at the heart of that practice. It will be of particular interest to academics and postgraduate students in the fields of development education, international education and globalisation.

PART I History, terminology and structures

1 Introduction A personal journey and rationale

DOI: 10.4324/9781315752730-1

Personal journey

I first became aware of development education during the 1980s whilst running a national voluntary youth organisation in England. I discovered, through supporting a project that promoted learning about global and development themes, that issues were raised about power and inequality in the world; and that perspectives on people who I had regarded as ‘poor and helpless’ and in need of support were being challenged. The engagement in that project led me to question my assumptions, often based on ‘images’ of the so-called ‘developing world’, and to look again at how one relates to and understands people, communities and cultures very different from one's own.

This interest in development education remained with me, and in 1993 I was fortunate enough to be appointed as Director of a new educational charity, the Development Education Association in England (DEA), which brought together under one umbrella a network of organisations actively engaged in promoting learning about development issues.

What I discovered was a well respected, yet educationally marginal, movement of organisations that shared a common belief in wanting to make the world a better place, and saw the concept of development education as a major way of achieving this.

This movement of organisations, particularly the locally based Development Education Centres (DECs), had an approach to learning about global and development themes that not only resonated with my involvement in the youth organisation, but had a values base that resonated with my own philosophy. It offered an array of excellent resources that as a practising educationalist I knew were highly popular and well regarded.

During my thirteen years as Director of the DEA, I was privileged to see the growth of a network that gained increasing educational and political influence. This practice in England, which was mirrored in other European countries, gained little influence however within academic debates in education, compared with, say, environmental education. Questions began to emerge in my mind about the need for greater intellectual rigour and clarity about what underpinned this approach to learning, this distinctive pedagogy.

Dialogue with academics engaged in these debates, particularly Annette Scheunpflug in Germany and Vanessa Andreotti de Oliveria, now based in Canada, led me to a journey of re-conceptualising development education. This culminated in my decision to secure funding to establish a research centre on Development Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, offering a Masters in Development Education, establishing an academic journal, and publication of an edited volume that brought together the work of the current leading theorists in development education today (Bourn, 2008).

This volume takes my learning journey to a new level in taking forward ideas developed since 2006, influenced particularly by research in the Centre, the work of my students and colleagues, and evidence gained from dialogue with academics, researchers and practitioners around the world.

Rationale and structure

The world of the twenty-first century is a globalised world that is still dominated by great divisions of wealth and inequality. Understanding not only the details of this inequality, but why it still exists, has to be an important component of any educational practice around the world.

The practice of Development Education and its related concepts of Global Education, Global Citizenship and Global Learning have been the main vehicles through which this approach to learning about the wider world has taken place in many countries around the world.

Its roots however come from a combination of a desire by governments and non-governmental organisations to build a constituency of support and understanding of global and development issues within society, alongside a desire by radical educationalists such as Paulo Freire to promote a transformational approach to learning.

Development Education is an approach to education that is not generally well known, although it is visible in academic or research terms or as part of the vocabulary of educational practitioners in most industrialised countries. Yet periodically the term raises its head, either through the announcement of new sources of funding, or cuts in funding, or through promotion of specific initiatives on themes such as global citizenship, understanding climate change or support for United Nations Development Goal targets.

This volume is the first to cover the area of development education by more than simply reporting on current practice or summarising key debates. It aims to give a rationale for its existence, to set out its strengths and weaknesses, and to outline a new pedagogical framework. It also summarises evidence of research, particularly in relation to understanding what is meant by development and globalisation, and their relevance to living in a global society. This volume suggests that too little attention has been paid by both theorists and practitioners engaged in debates on development education to understanding different viewpoints and perspectives on development and globalisation.

Another major theme in this volume is the role that non-governmental organisations have played, both in terms of agenda setting and in terms of the impact of their approach on processes of learning and increased understanding.

Key questions posed throughout the volume are:

• Why has development education continued to exist and grow in many industrialised countries?
• What is the specific relevance and relationship of development education to debates about the learning and skills needs for a global society, being a global citizen, intercultural understanding and sustainable development?
• What are the potential theoretical justifications for a body of practice in development education, and what might these theories be?
• What has been the impact of development education in a range of industrialised countries in terms of building understanding of development, equipping learners to understand the global nature of their society, and promoting an approach to education that is radical and transformatory?
• Where has development education had an impact, particularly within formal education?
• What evidence is there that development education has led to changes in learners’ perceptions about notions of social justice, charity giving, recognition of inequalities in the world, and the value of sustainable development?

To answer these questions, development education is proposed here as a pedagogy, an approach to learning which recognises that learners come to development and global issues from a wide range of starting points, perspectives and experiences.

The second chapter begins by providing an overview of the history and evolution of development education and its relationship to similar concepts such as global education, global citizenship and education for sustainable development. Chapter 3 reviews different interpretations of the concept from around the world and highlights the tensions between those who see the area as a means to secure changes in behaviour and support for campaigns, and those who are more focused on the learning process.

Chapter 4 looks at some of the reasons why development education has been perceived to be on the margins of educational practice, by highlighting the different ways in which educationalists have viewed the area, including as a social movement or a community of practice.

The volume then moves into a second part that looks at the theories seen as relevant to development education. Chapter 5 looks at the influence of two academics, Annette Scheunpflug and Vanessa Andreotti, and a range of other theories including development, globalisation, cosmopolitanism, global citizenship, postcolonialism and transformative learning. Underpinning the influences seen as relevant to development education is the work of the Brazilian educationalist, Paulo Freire. Other theorists discussed include Jack Mezirow, Amartya Sen, Edward Said, Henry Giroux and Ulrick Beck.

Chapter 6 takes these theories forward into a new pedagogic framework that brings together elements of a global outlook, the role of power and ideology, belief in social justice, and commitment to reflection, critical thinking and transformative learning. This pedagogic framework acknowledges a range of influences and takes account of recent research and practice in this area.

The third section of the volume looks at the practice of development education including development (Chapter 7), globalisation (Chapter 8), and global justice (Chapter 9) and impact. The examples are reviewed in relation to the extent to which they address themes identified in the pedagogical framework for development education outlined in Chapter 6. Research into practice that directly relates to understanding international development is reviewed through examples in school textbooks, a specific examination of international development, and the influence of personal experience through volunteering and an international school link. The chapter on globalisation looks at examples that are particularly related to understanding what living in a global society means, and reviews examples within schools, youth work, further education colleges and higher education. The third theme of global social justice is reviewed through the activities of some international NGOs, notably Save the Children, Plan International and Oxfam.

Chapter 10 concludes this section by reviewing examples of practice that specifically address the impact of projects and initiatives promoting increased learning and understanding about development and global themes. The role and influence of policy-makers is discussed particularly in relation to the possible contradictory needs of development funders and educational policy-makers. The chapter suggests that a valuable approach would be to look at research approaches that are open-ended and focus on processes of learning rather than behaviour change and outcomes.

The fourth section takes forward the pedagogical framework outlined in Chapter 6, and suggests a pedagogical approach to development education using the term global learning. Chapter 11 identifies examples that particularly embrace the elements of a global outlook, recognition of power and inequality in the world, a belief in social justice, and a commitment to reflection, dialogue and transformation. The examples chosen are those that consciously put the learning process at the heart of the project or activity. The following chapter (12) summarises the importance and potential contribution of this pedagogy of development education and its application through global learning.

The final chapter summarises the issues raised in the volume.

The pedagogical approach proposed in this volume will hopefully provoke debate and discussion. It should not be seen as the last word, nor as an approach that simply needs to be applied within formal education. There is a continuing need to encourage more reflective and critical approaches to how learning about global and development issues is undertaken within formal education.

Reference

• Bourn, D. (ed.) (2008) Development Education: Debates and Dialogues. London: Bedford Way Papers.

2 From learning about development to global learning

DOI: 10.4324/9781315752730-2

This chapter outlines the history and traditions that have come to define and influence what is now known as development education. It makes reference to the influence of concepts around ‘international development’, to broader progressive educational thinking and the relationship to the global education tradition, the work of Paulo Freire, and the practice of a range of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Finally the chapter notes that key to understanding the history and traditions around development education is the changing role of governments and publicly funded bodies.

Learning about the wider world

Learning about the wider world is nothing new. Bonnett (2008) refers to the desire of peoples to find meaning in the world from earliest human history. Probably from the Ancient Greeks and Romans onwards there has been a thirst to learn about societies and communities beyond one's own community. But as Bonnett (2008) suggests, in many societies this has been based not only on stories of the wider world, but also on the need to identify one's relationship with that world, and a sense of being at the cent...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• PART I History, terminology and structures
• PART II Theory of development education
• PART III The practice of development education
• PART IV Pedagogy for global learning
• Index