Abstract
While teaching on courses in education and international development in the 1990s and 2000s, Clive Harber often reflected on the lack of a ‘single, reasonably up-to-date book that provided an introductory overview to the field’ (p. 9). In my time studying and teaching courses in the same field, I too have been surprised by the limited range of beginner-entry books for this fascinating but hugely complex area of educational research. When Education and International Development: Theory, Practice and Issues came to my attention, I welcomed the opportunity to review this introductory text for undergraduate and postgraduate students about the relationships between education and international development.
The book is separated into four clear sections, each with a number of chapters. Each chapter ends with chapter-specific references, notes and some discussion points. There is also suggested further reading in the form of succinct reading lists for those who have had their appetites whetted. The first two chapters offer an overview of the field, introducing key ideas and themes which frame later discussions in the book. Chapters 3–6 are described as the theories of education and development giving focus to economic and political development. These include clear and well-referenced sections on education and human capital and the perceived links between education and democratisation in low-income contexts, although the discussion of humanist theories of education and development – particularly that of human rights – receives less attention. Here, the author could also have engaged more thoroughly with recent significant theoretical developments such as the contribution of social justice and capabilities to the field.
Chapters 7–9 offer discussion of the ideological goals for educational development, providing overviews of the relationship between education and capitalism, sustainability and religion. The final section (Chapters 10–17) shines a light on eight identified ‘issues of education and development’ with a particular focus on social and political issues ranging through gender, health and HIV/AIDS, corruption and international aid to education, language and literacy, and education in emergencies. This is the strongest section of the book, as each issue is discussed in depth, drawing on different theoretical perspectives and examples from recent research. The chapters on education in emergencies (Chapter 11) and education, employment and vocational education (Chapter 13), for example, offer detailed introductions to these distinct areas.
In the preface, Harber states that the book is explicitly written for those new to the field of education and international development through providing ‘a useful, reasonably comprehensive, but concise introduction’ (p. 10) to the field. In many ways this has been achieved, as the book offers a balanced and thoughtful introduction to many key themes, theories and actors in the field. Covering such scope in a book of this size may have been an ambitious aim, and as the reader moves swiftly from one point to another in a whirlwind of references, case studies and viewpoints, the overarching themes of the book can lack some coherence. It is important to note, too, that the book is almost exclusively focused on formal schooling for school-age children. While this focus may be appropriate given the size and nature of the book, the rationale for the book’s focus could have been more clearly explained and better directions could have been given for further reading to direct readers to alternative focuses.
Overall, Clive Harber’s book is both accessible and engaging throughout and includes a wide range of subject matter, both geographically and theoretically. There is much here for a reader new to the area, written by an acknowledged authority in the field.