ERIC Number: EJ1072248
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1755-2273
EISSN: N/A
Countering the Risks of Vocationalisation in Master's Programmes in International Development
Denskus, Tobias; Esser, Daniel E.
Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences, v8 n2 p72-85 Sum 2015
We review the ontological and pedagogical origins of International Development graduate education in the context of increasing pressures to "professionalise" graduate curricula. We apply Giroux's concept of "vocationalisation" to argue that professionalisation risks undermining the field's intellectual foundations in an elusive quest to equip students with functional rather than intellectual skills. Acknowledging ever-growing competition among graduates for gainful employment in this sector, we argue that instructors of International Development should recommit to the field's reflective tradition by creating spaces for transformative education and develop a repoliticised ethos that critically engages global capitalism.
Descriptors: Masters Programs, International Studies, Graduate Study, Professional Development, Intellectual History, Vocational Education, Skill Development, Educational Development, Educational History, Intellectual Disciplines, Commercialization, Educational Practices, Educational Philosophy, Educational Objectives, Outcomes of Education, Risk
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A