Decolonizing education in development practice: Experiences and challenges from India, Nigeria, Sweden, and the US

Decolonizing development has animated conferences, grants, and programs for several years, a response to the ineffectiveness of much aid and ongoing colonial legacies. Yet, little attention has gone to the education of development practitioners and its impacts on their professional practices. We lack practical approaches for decolonizing our classrooms, especially approaches based on experiences outside of the Western world. This chapter offers some clear examples, practical guidance, and lessons learned about how to decolonize the development studies classroom. Importantly, it contributes an international perspective that compares and contrasts how five different development practice programs around the world have approached this topic.