1181 | 869 | ‘Farmers in Spain also face problems’: the changing role of international fieldwork in International Development Studies curricula | Gery Nijenhuis
Traditionally, International Development Studies curricula include the option to acquire experience abroad, usually through fieldwork. Leaving the classroom for a stay in Africa, Asia or Latin America, and learning through first-hand experience is often considered as the ‘signature pedagogy’, in geography, but in International Development Studies in particular. Fieldwork enables students to make sense of the messiness of ‘the development context’, to experience collaboration with local stakeholders in practice, and to come to grips with development challenges faced by people in rural and urban settings. It is also considered the best approach to acquire and develop the necessary soft skills, such as intercultural competences, and it facilitates growing awareness of – the ability to deal with – diversity. However, this type of learning outside the classroom is under pressure: we observe that increasingly, International Development Programmes discuss international fieldwork, because of financial and sustainability issues, the question of inclusivity and the ‘decolonizing development’-debate. Why would they send students to Niger to study issues that could also be studied in Spain? This paper discusses the role of international fieldwork in International Development Studies curricula: to what extent do master programmes in International Development Studies in Europe question the role of fieldwork in their curricula, and how are these discussions framed? It is based on the analysis of the curricula International Development Studies programmes in Europe, and interviews with staff and educational managers. _x000D_
The paper starts with a literature review on the role of fieldwork in international development studies, followed by the methodology. We then present the results, followed by a discussion and conclusion. _x000D_
Gery Nijenhuis
Department of Human Geography & Spatial Planning, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
ID Abstract: 869