Education and post-development:challenging dominant narratives

Supervisor: Dr Eleanor J. Brown

A) Rationale for the project

The role of education in international development has a long history and there is extensive research that investigates how these relationships work and how education can best be used to improve quality of life, particularly in so-called ‘developing’ countries. However, much of this work uses the development theories of modernisation and/or human capital as a starting point, and the assumptions built into these approaches affect the nature of the research, and as such, the findings tend to reproduce Western thinking about development that some argue is neo-colonial in its impact. Education can provide opportunities to challenge these narratives and search for appropriate and powerful alternatives in a range of different contexts. This will mean examining carefully how we understand development and what we should be aiming for in our attempts to improve living standards. The following step will be to explore the innovative ways that education may facilitate these aims. Education can be explored in a range of context(s) and at different stages, both formal and non-formal. The key aspect of the proposal will be the way the candidate engages with post-development literature and applies this to education in the chosen context of their research.

B) References that should be read

Andreotti, Vanessa (2006) The Contributions of Postcolonial Theory to Development Education. [online] DEA Thinkpiece. London: DEA. [viewed 21 June 2008]. Available from: www.dea.org.uk/thinkpieces

Escobar, A. (2015) “Degrowth, postdevelopment, and transitions: a preliminary conversation.” SustainSci 10: 451-462.

Gudynas, E. (2016) “Beyond varieties of development: disputes and alternatives.” Third World Quarterly 37(4): 721-732.

Hongyu Wang (2013) “A Nonviolent Approach to Social Justice Education” Educational Studies, 49:6, 485-503, DOI: 10.1080/00131946.2013.844147

Loomis, T.M. 2000. “Indigenous populations and sustainable development: Building on Indigenous approaches to holistic, self-determined development.” World Development 28(5): 893-910

Rahnema, M. and Bawtree V. (eds.) (1997) The Post-development Reader. London: ZED Books. (There are lots of relevant chapters, but in particular have a look at Chapter 15 – Shiva. V. (1997) Western Science and Its Destruction of Local Knowledge)

Skinner, A., Baillie Smith, M., Brown, E.J. and Troll, T. (eds.) (2016) Education, Learning and the Transformation of Development. Oxford: Routledge. (All the chapters in this book are relevant for this project)

C) Research aims / questions

The aim of this project is to explore how a post-development framework can influence our understanding of education and how it can be applied in different contexts. Candidates are free to determine their own research questions and identify the context(s) for the proposed study.

D) Methods

This project will be qualitative in nature and influenced by an interpretativist epistemology. Recognising of the importance of context in determining worldviews and an open-minded approach to different ways of understanding knowledge and research are essential. The methods themselves may include interviews, observations, focus groups or others and may use a case study or ethnographic design. The context and participants of the research will be determined by the candidate in agreement with the supervisor.

E) Skills and opportunities you could gain

You would be encouraged to join the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) and would be given access to opportunities through this network. You would gain skills in qualitative research and deepen your understanding of frameworks of development that challenge the status quo. This project would be suitable for a PhD in Education or a PhD in Global Development with interdisciplinary supervision.