Development education for the privileged: Power and pedagogy in a gap year programme

Development education (DE) and related forms (e.g. global citizenship education) typically take place with learners from the Global North. These learners can, in many cases, be described as ‘privileged’ in several ways - not least in relation to people from the Global South who are often represented within DE’s focus on global social justice.

Yet there has been insufficient attention in the DE literature to the specific pedagogical implications of teaching privileged learners, and to the associated and important concept of ‘power’ in this context.

In this seminar Dr Pablo Dalby discusses aspects of a critical ethnography he conducted within the setting of a highly structured, instructor-facilitated gap year programme operated in Bolivia and Peru by a US-based organisation. The programme attempted to transform privileged young adults from the Global North into critical global citizens, willing and able to challenge social injustices after spending three months participating in a form of experiential DE. The seminar will explore how power and pedagogy shape what happened during the programme and address some of the broader implications for DE and related forms of education.

Links

• Development Education Research Centre (DERC)
• DERC seminar series
• Department for Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment