Full Description
Drawing on a wide range of international contexts, International Education and Development provides an innovative and comprehensive critique of developments to improve schooling in the global South. Offering both a theoretical critique of the field and a series of case studies, drawn from recent research, illustrating the usefulness of a narrative approach, it generates a greater understanding of the meta-narratives that shape development and international education.
Focusing on three periods of extensive field work in South Africa, Bangladesh and Mauritius, this book reflects upon the combination of narrative and biographical approaches in different national settings. Context is provided in three levels, meta, meso and micro, through a clear and critical examination of the macro 'stories' of development and international education over the past fifty years, and an examination of the role that narrative can play at local and micro levels, looking at the stories of individual decision makers - from children in the classroom to education officers at the district education office - and the opportunities and challenges of using these accounts for research, teaching and policy-making purposes.
International Education and Development adds a global perspective to an area dominated by a concern with the Northern industrialised world, making it an essential text for students following courses in the social sciences, and individuals working the field of international education. It addresses a fundamental concern of development theory in a unique and engaging manner. A highly original contribution to a growing field, this book synthesises developments both in this field and in the growing topic of narrative research.
Contents
List of figures
List of tables
Acknowledgements:
Part One: 'Grand Narratives' of theory and methodology in international education and development
Chapter One Introduction
Chapter Two Theoretical insights into culture, context and narrative
Chapter Three The methodological and epistemological narrative: researching culture, context and narrative
Part Two: Narratives from the field
Chapter Four National narratives of South Africa
The national narrative of South Africa
The cultural narrative
The education narrative
Chapter Five South African teacher narratives across two generations - from struggle to emancipation
Chapter Six National narratives of Bangladesh
The national narrative of Bangladesh
The cultural narrative
The NGO BRAC narrative
Chapter Seven At the office - Bangladeshi stories of administration, management and change.
Chapter Eight National narratives of Mauritius
The national narrative of Mauritius
The cultural narrative
The education narrative
Chapter Nine Mauritian school students - narratives from an island classroom
Chapter Ten Conclusions: Learning from narratives of education and development
References
Index
