Pedagogies Blog

By: Dr Valentina Baú (DSAA Creative Approaches & Practices in Development Studies working group), Professor Nichole Georgeou (DSAA Creative Approaches & Practices in Development Studies working group), Associate Professor Garry Stevens, and Dr Melissa Phillips This post discusses how social justice is positioned within Western Sydney University Humanitarian and Development Studies (HADS) undergraduate and postgraduate programs, both from a pedagogical perspective and in relation to their curriculum design. Our aim is to champion the idea that since social justice is embedded across sustainable development work, teaching programs in Development Studies must ensure that its notions are integrated effectively in both current and future curricula.  

By: Alex Bahamon, Master of International Development, LaTrobe University Recently, I watched one of the most popular movies in Australia, The Road to Patagonia. It was a fascinating film because it offers a unique perspective on the American continent, or 'Abya Yala' as the Indigenous communities of the continent call it. The way the director and protagonist, Matty Hannon, portrays this vast continent in a simple manner is compelling, and the journey he shares with his partner, Heather Hillier, leads to thought-provoking conclusions. Still, there are troubling aspects from a development studies pedagogy perspective. Below is the synopsis of the

Kevin Hans Waitkuweit, Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago.  Connections across disciplines fortify methodological applications in real-world settings. International development presents a prime space at the nexus of the academic and real world. Through various forms of applied research, international development practitioners engage with many topics, from macro-level systems, such as agriculture and economics, to micro-level phenomena, such as refugee experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder and gendered social interactions. Unsurprisingly, the resulting breadth of potential research areas creates space for multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary engagement among a contrasting group of scholars. As a former international development practitioner,

Jace Tor Bulger, University of Wollongong This blog provides a student perspective on volunteer tourism or global service learning (GSL) programs. These programs are ever increasingly catching the eye of white, privileged students. For many, they represent an appealing way for people to experience emotional growth through feeling like they have done something good for humanity. It is important to note that cross-cultural learning for young students is vitally important. Those experiences allow for the growth of understanding and cooperation between people globally, which is highly important in an increasingly globalised world. However, how these connections are formed is important

Bill Walker In the spirit of reinventing Paulo Freire, this blog explores one strand which strengthens Freire’s conscientisation capability set: community sensitisation [^1] . Pro-social development engenders the flourishing of persons and communities when it harnesses existing cultural institutions to foster a more peaceful and just rule of law. Too often, development programs assume a practiced rule of law for the good already exists. Community-level interventions need to engage constructively with local cultural institutions and their norms, harnessing these to promote pro-social learning and development, while challenging those cultural norms which violate human rights. Engagement begins with community sensitisation as

Elizabeth Lakey and Megan McIntosh Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne As the world opens up, global exchange programs are again in full swing and service learning placements are being facilitated in country rather than virtually. Once again, students from the Global North are travelling to the Global South in pursuit of intercultural experience, exposure to the development sector and with the intention of contributing to some wonderful not-for-profit organisations. Global Service Learning (GSL) placements are met with mixed views by development scholars. Some research points to increased intercultural competence as a result of such placements, others suggest that placements

Katarzyna Olcoń Senior Lecturer, Social Work, University of Wollongong kolcon@uow.edu.au White ignorance is the source of the ongoing strained race relations and the contributor to the disadvantage of the Black, Indigenous, and people of colour in settler colonial countries such as Australia or the United States (Taylor & Habibis, 2020). Indeed, education was the most common recommendation that Taylor and Habibis (2020) received from Aboriginal people interviewed on the topic of White Australian people, culture and race relations. So how do we educate White people about race, racism and Whiteness, and are they willing to learn? These were some of

Bill Walker This is the third post in a three-part series on the pedagogy and praxis of Paulo Freire. Reinventing Freire for the twenty-first century In our changing world, is Freire’s democratising approach to countering institutionalised oppression still relevant? My second blog outlined how Freire’s twentieth-century democratising praxis arose from large-scale experimentation in colonised, authoritarian and collectivist cultures, still common across ‘’the Global South.’ Despite changed historical settings since Freire’s experimentation, much contemporary evidence supports key aspects of his analysis and approach in a variety of oppressive contexts, when reinvented. In this blog, I outline the story of how communities

What’s your research area? [BJ] My PhD focuses on the two fields of development communication and public relations to explore how they can be used to refine communication research and practice in development. I aim to offer new methods, approaches, and categories for theorising and conceptualising communication in development. [VB] I conduct research on the application of Communication for Development in Peacebuilding with a focus on realities affected by violent conflict. I explore and evaluate new communication for development approaches that employ different media and communication channels to contribute to social change and sustainable peace in the aftermath of (or

Bill Walker This is the second post in a three-part series on the pedagogy and praxis of Paulo Freire. Part 1 https://www.developmentstudies.asn.au/2021/09/21/paulo-freire-marking-the-100th-anniversary-of-his-birth/ marked the 100th anniversary of his birth with a brief outline of his life and thinking. Lifelong learning is important not only in development studies but for people living in poverty and illiteracy. For the latter, who included Freire himself (see my blog Part 1), lifelong learning is essential. Freire’s own commitment to lifelong learning enabled him to escape poverty – as it has done for millions of other people. This commitment was evident in his continued quest