Clear, accessible and concise, this is an ideal primer for students unfamiliar with the central themes and theoretical perspectives in the study of development.

The Companion to Development Studies is essential reading in the field of development studies. This indispensable resource offers succinct, up-to-date, and insightful chapters that reflect the diverse voices and perspectives informing the field and the dynamic interplay of theory, policy, and practice that characterises it. This fourth edition brings together contributions from an impressive range of renowned international experts and emerging voices at the forefront of development studies to deliver engaging, interdisciplinary, and provocative insights into this challenging field. The 98 chapters spanning both theory and practice offer readers accessible discussions of the core issues, emerging trends, and key debates of the discipline. Divided into nine sections of: theories and their contentions; histories and discourses of development; actors and institutions; identities and practices; people and the planet; the economics of development; conflict, violence, and peace; the changing landscape of development; and approaches to policy and practice; this timely new text provides easy to use summaries of all the major issues encountered in this rapidly growing and changing field. The Companion serves students and scholars across various disciplines, including development studies, geography, politics, international relations, sociology, anthropology, and economics. It offers incisive analysis and critical insights, equipping those working in development policy and practice with the knowledge and understanding they need to navigate and address contemporary global challenges. This textbook is supported by flexible, online resources for teaching and learning such as tutorial guides, key concept videos, and a filmography.

′A sure-footed and self-confident book, ambitious in scope, authoritative in execution and practical in its implications′ - Simon Maxwell, Director, Overseas Development Institute, London ′At last, a development studies text that encourages self-reflection from within the discipline. Highly recommended′ - Professor Ray Kiely, Chair in International Politics, Queen Mary University of London ′This is the book that academics, development researchers and practitioners have been seeking for a long time. [It] addresses the most important issues which development researchers and practitioners cope with each and every day′ - Dr Tran Tuan, Director, Research and Training Centre for Community Development, Hanoi, Vietnam. ′An insightful book for both development practitioners and researchers alike′ - Professor K.N. Nair, Director Centre for Development Studies, Kerala, India This book is about working professionally in Development Studies as a student, researcher or practitioner. It introduces and addresses the fundamental questions that everyone engaged with development must ask: " What is ′development′ and why do we wish to study it? " How do the many theoretical, methodological and espistemological approaches relate to research and practical studies in development? " How are development research and practice linked? Accessibly written, with extensive use of case study material, this book is an essential primer for students of development studies who require a concise, penetrating overview of its foundations. It is also core reading for students and practitioners concerned with the design of studies in the course of policy analysis, sector reviews, or project formulation, management and evaluation.

In this book some of the leading thinkers in development studies trace the history of their multi-disciplinary subject from the late colonial period and its establishment during decolonization all the way through to its contemporary concerns with poverty reduction. They present a critical genealogy of development by looking at the contested evolution and roles of development institutions and exploring changes in development discourses. These recollections, by those who teach, research and practise development, challenge simplistic, unilinear periodizations of the evolution of the discipline, and draw attention to those ongoing critiques of development studies, including Marxism, feminism and postcolonialism, which so often have been marginalized in mainstream development discourse. The contributors combine personal and institutional reflections, with an examination of key themes, including gender and development, NGOs, and natural resource management. The book is radical in that it challenges orthodoxies of development theory and practice and highlights concealed, critical discourses that have been written out of conventional stories of development. The contributors provide different versions of the history of development by inscribing their experiences and interpretations, some from left-inclined intellectual perspectives. Their accounts elucidate a more complex and nuanced understanding of development studies over time, simultaneously revealing common themes and trends, and they also attempt to reposition Development Studies along a more critical trajectory.. The volume is intended to stimulate new thinking on where the discipline may be moving. It ought also to be of great use to students coming to grips with the historical continuities and divergences in the theory and practice of development.

Doing Development Research is a comprehensive introduction to research in development studies that provides thorough training for anyone carrying out research in developing countries. It brings together experts with extensive experience of overseas research, presenting an interdisciplinary guide to the core methodologies. Informed by years of research experience, this book draws together many strands of action research and participatory methods, demonstrating their diverse applications and showing how they interrelate. Doing Development Research is the essential A-Z of development research.

Development education is much more than learning about development; it is a pedagogy for the globalised societies of the twenty-first century that incorporates discourses from critical pedagogy and postcolonialism, and a mechanism for ensuring that differing perspectives are reflected within education, particularly those from developing countries. Learning about development and global issues is now part of the school curriculum in a number of countries, and terms such as global citizenship, sustainable development and cultural understanding are commonplace in many educational contexts. Development education has been recognised as one of the educational discourses that has influenced the acceptance of these terms, for both policy-makers and practitioners. This ground-breaking volume addresses the history, theoretical influences, practices and impact of development education in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan. Chapters include how development education evolved, the influence of theorists such as Paulo Freire, the practices of aid and development agencies, and the impact of governments seeking evidence of public understanding of and engagement with development. The Theory and Practice of Development Education provides essential reading for anyone engaged in re-thinking and reflecting upon the educational needs of a globalised society, and seeking approaches towards learning that place social justice at the heart of that practice. It will be of particular interest to academics and postgraduate students in the fields of development education, international education and globalisation.

This handbook sets a new research agenda in community development. The contributors redefine existing areas within the context of interdisciplinary research, highlight emerging areas for community development related research, and provide researchers and post-graduate students with ideas and encouragement for future research activity. To do this, the editors have deliberately chosen to frame this book not through a traditional sociological lens of class, race and gender, but through a "Wicked Problems" framework. Drawing upon the work of 37 international authors, in diverse settings such as West Papua, Peru, the USA and Australia; and with methodologies equally as diverse, from case studies and interviews to the use of music and story-telling, this handbook focuses upon five Wicked Problems: forced displacement; family, gender and child related violence; indigenous marginalisation; climate change and food security; and human survival in the context of disaster and recovery work. By drawing together leading scholars from community development, social work and social policy, this handbook provides an up to the minute snapshot of current scholarship as well as signposting several fruitful avenues for future research. This book is both an invaluable resource for both scholars and practitioners and an indispensable teaching tool for use in the classroom and in the field.

Sri Lanka’s early achievements in education and literacy became well known among the international development community in the middle of the last century and were often used to benchmark progress elsewhere. Development, Education and Learning in Sri Lanka presents an illuminating narrative of changing education fortunes and inequalities, based on half a century of research. This research journey was undertaken in collaboration with Sri Lankan researchers island-wide in myriad communities, schools, classrooms and education offices, through conversations with countless parents, teachers, students, community members, trade union officers, politicians and members of local, national and international development agencies, as well as through extensive documentary analysis. The book delineates the distinctive and changing features of the Sri Lankan education system through comparisons with systems elsewhere, through an understanding of national political, economic and social conditions, crises and upheavals, through changes in education policy and through shifting patterns of opportunity among diverse social groups. These analyses are framed by themes in the international development discourse ranging from modernisation to basic needs to globalisation and sustainable development, some of which themes have been influenced by the Sri Lankan story. The book’s overriding messages are the need to understand education and development in a country’s own terms, and to place learning at the heart of education policy, situating it within broader conceptions of the purpose, values and means of development. Praise for Development, Education and Learning in Sri Lanka 'Through rigorous and comprehensive research and a blend of local and global perspectives, this book offers invaluable insights for academics and policymakers alike.' Tara de Mel, Director, Bandaranaike Academy for Leadership and Public Policy and former Secretary, Sri Lanka Ministry of Education 'Reflecting on a career-long engagement with education and development, Angela Little brilliantly co-locates the personal, political and the theoretical. A privilege to read.' Simon McGrath, University of Glasgow 'This passionate engagement with education reform and development offers very instructive lessons for academics and policymakers in Sri Lanka, and beyond.' Siri T. Hettige, University of Colombo 'Fifty years of personal experience in Sri Lanka from many vantage points. A focus on education and society, rather than education alone. And a concern to understand rather than prescribe. This book has no competitors.' Mick Moore, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex