Social Development Practice MSc student work

Dissertations published as working papers

Each academic year, a selection of the top dissertations from students across The Bartlett Development Planning Unit get published as a DPU Working Paper. Read published Social Development Practice MSc dissertations:

Reflections in Practice blog series

'Social Development in Practice' is a practice-based module at the heart of the Social Development Practice MSc. In this module, our students explore, through practice, the ways in which a socially sensitive approach can be integrated into development interventions in both Global South and Global North countries.

To date, our students have embarked on overseas practice engagements located in Indonesia, Brazil, Kenya and Tanzania, and our students have captured their experiences in fieldwork research alongside our project partners through individual and collective reflections. These reflections offer a space for our students to develop their own ethical practices that are attentive to the complexity of social identities, relationships, and power structures inherent in any social change programme.

Upholding ethical considerations during collaborative remote research in Banjarmasin, Indonesia
By Naufal Muhammad Azca, Jianglei Bai, Chang Chao, Ritwika Deb, Farah Dhafiya, Kristy Adelia Gayatri, Ahmad Rizky Rolanda, Hargita Saputri Mei Vita, Mojun Sun, Yu Wei, Menglin Yang, and Haoyang Zhang
This blog reflects on the ethics of ensuring informed consent and recognising project participants' choices during remote fieldwork research situated in Solo, Indonesia. 

No Man is an Island
By Rouchan Liu, Rachel Cobbinah, Di Hu, Celine Sola Gracia, Bayu Laksono Jati, Yuan Meng, Meerim Osmonalieva, Ricca Padyansari, Amich Kemala Putri, Nuzula Firdha Sa’adati, and Xinran Zhu
Who is 'us', and who is 'them'? Social Development Practice MSc students reflect on their experiences of their overseas practice engagement located in Solo, Indonesia, to move beyond the 'us versus them' binary and emphasise the importance of 'we' in achieving socially just development.

Embracing Diversity: Inclusive Mobility for Women with Disabilities from Low Income Households in Kelayan Barat, Banjarmasin
By Fitria Nazmi, Gusti Muhammad Irsyad Maulana, Muhammad Firdauz Nuzula, Orchidea Annaysa Azizah, Rika Febriyantina, Yun Gu, Shuqi Fang, Manjin Wei, Adina Kaztayeva, Yaozhi Xu, Quynh Nguyen, and Anyu Liu 
Social Development Practice MSc students highlight the need to embrace diversity and to advocate for increased mobility of women with disabilities in Kelayan Barat, Indonesia, as well as the multiple barriers hindering this aspiration.

Reflections on Reflexivity 2: Lowering My Gaze
By Davina Appiagyei
Here, Davina acknowledges her unconscious bias as a British educated individual and how this reflectioln impacts her role as a social development practitioner.

The wheels on the bus do not go round and round
By Laura J Hirst
Laura links theory with practice following her experiences of the 2012 project exploring transport and social exclusion project in the Newham Borough of London.