FLKM4310 Struggles for justice and equality in international development, education and sustainabilities Emneplan

The course extends on aspects of Course 1 (FLKM4110) that addressed the actual and potential relationship between education and models of sustainable development, with reference to the SDGs and ambitions for education to ‘transform the world’.

No prerequisite knowledge required.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student:

• has acquired in-depth knowledge of and insight into the role of education (in both the Global South and the Global North) in the maintenance of mainstream perspectives about global challenges such as sustainable development, climate change, and poverty.
• has an overview of traditions of critical pedagogy / critical education, critical climate education, and political ecology of education, as well as different initiatives to repurpose education for transformative visions of sustainable development and social transformation.
• has knowledge of the key debates, and tensions, at work in approaches to ‘education for sustainable development’, including UNESCO’s ESD initiative.
• has knowledge about particular methodologies and methods for classroom research, including those focused on pedagogical and curricular practices to enhance students’ critical thinking about sustainable development.

Skills

The student:

• is capable of explaining the dominant and historical roles of education in societies in the Global South.
• is capable of analysing mainstream focuses of education in countries in the Global South and North about global environmental and climate issues, development and inequity, and sustainable development.
• is capable of analysing recent research on connections between education and dimensions of social inequality within the Global South and between the North and South.

General competence

The student:

• has extensive knowledge of how to assess recent research on education for sustainable development and its relevance for education in (and about) the Global South and North.
• is capable of explaining and problematising relevant theory in the research field.
• is capable of using and disseminating new knowledge and academic issues relating to education and sustainable development in the Global South and North.

This course is grounded in the ongoing climate emergency and associated need to redefine and advance models of sustainable development. This phenomenon is examined through the lens of Global North / South dynamics and the historical legacies of colonialism and unequal development. The work extends to identifying multiple associated tensions in projects of education for sustainable development, and how these tensions can be reconciled under current conditions. The course also includes consideration of critical education projects and initiatives within countries of the Global South that redefine development in terms of ecological sustainability.

Education as and for sustainable development

Building on the first topic, the focus here is on pressing global phenomenon of advancing models of sustainable development, and how these relate to education and development initiatives within the Global South.  A prominent concept is cultural understanding and the relationship between cultures, ecologies, development and education, and the instersections with particular ideologies, class, gender and ethnic identities, and school-community relationships. This topic includes consideration of advances within the countries of the Global South to re-define development in ecologically sustainable terms, and incorporate these cultural projects into education systems.

Educational aid, management and planning

The topic focuses on issues relating to international education as they are experienced and understood at an implementation level - locally, nationally and regionally, at school and in the local community, and on changes in the role of teacher and education.

The topic deals with educational aid, and the critical consideration of important lending and donor institutions (e.g. the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund), and the use of educational research by Aid agencies.

Students’ own professional experience will also be discussed in this context. The inclusion of fictional literature from the South will help to elucidate the relationship between national culture and identity in a post-colonial context.

The work and teaching methods used in the course are characterised by lectures and workshop / seminar style dialogue and discussions, to which the students bring their own particular interests and experiences, and diverse academic backgrounds. See the general programme description for further details.

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:

• Students must give a presentation lasting 15-30 minutes (individually or as part of a group) of an article, chapter in a book etc. at a plenary session during the course.
• Students must individually submit a 1-page / approx. 450-word preliminary description of their master’s thesis research topic.
• 80 % attendance requirement (see the programme description for more information).

The purpose of the coursework requirement is to ensure all students’ begin the work of articulating their master’s research topic, to receive feedback about it, and to support the future preparation of full research project descriptions.

The purpose of the oral presentation is to encourage students to engage in more oral activity and improve their oral presentation skills, and to present the academic content to fellow students and the lecturer(s) in an organised and effective manner. The oral presentation is intended to help the students to acquire the skills specified in the learning outcomes for the course.

The course is assessed on the basis of an individual written home exam over five days, with a scope of 3,500 words +/- 10%.

Resit/rescheduled exam:

Resit/rescheduled exam is organised in the same way as the ordinary exam

Examination support material is permitted.

Letter grades ranging from A to F are used, with A being the highest grade and E the poorest pass grade, and F being a fail grade.

The exam will be assessed by one internal and one external examiner.