The what, why and how of Development Education: A practical introduction Son Gyoh PhDc IOE, University of London

Development Education: What

• an approach to learning about global and development issues that emphasise the importance of linking the local to global.

• Stimulate critical thinking that provide people the skills and confidence for personal action towards a more just and sustainable word.

• an active learning founded on values of equality, inclusion and cooperation, that enable people to move from basic awareness to personal action/engagement with the causes and effects of global development issues -DEEEP, 2007

Development education

• a set of concepts, values and principles that enable people to critically reflect and engage with global development challenge as well as embrace values of interdependence, interconnectedness

• relates to and intersects with global citizenship education, Education for sustainability and human rights and intercultural education

• Other variations-global learning and global education also global citizenship education

Why DEVED?• The imperatives of ‘new’ (global) skills and competencies in a

world more connected than ever before, in terms of the increased movement of human and capital

• Understanding the impact and implications of this movement on society and the environment

• Reflecting the causes of inequalities and its manifestations within and between nations, its consequences on livelihoods

• the desire for the school curriculum to include real world context

Why• Need to learn act and think global -connecting local to the

global

• Multi-cultural societies, recognition of pluralism in voices and conversations

• Different forms and sources of knowledge-hierarchies to circles

• Critical awareness as an essential skill in education, jobs and other vocations

The HowIncorporating DEVED into subject knowledge

• global themes pose major opportunities but also challenges for teachers in terms of approaches to incorporating into subject

• teachers’ engagement in global theme depends a great deal on personal motivation, wider world experience and broader social worldview/outlook

• real world’ and ‘global themes’ used within a subject, they can enhance the understanding of the subject;

• Opportunities for incorporation differs between subjects

• each subject area has its own traditional approaches towards construction and application of knowledge

How? the UK/Ireland experience • Global learning +sustainable development as cross curricular

dimension that locate learning in real world contexts

• Global dimension, Think global as approaches in school setting, GD principle also promoted in Ireland

• In Ireland pretty much open and less structured approach OWC and NGOs engaging with schools through DEVED projects

• Educational resources produced by NGOs, distributed / uploaded for schools

DEVED in subject knowledge

• Mathematical knowledge and skills makes it easier to assess the impact of poverty on a particular country.

• knowledge themes around sustainable development become less rhetoric.

• Religious education enable the learner reflect upon different cultural interpretations of the world.

• foreign language can help to understand how perspectives are constructed within specific cultural contexts