Joining the dots: Connecting change, post-primary development education, initial teacher education and an inter-disciplinary cross-curricular context

Abstract

This Perspectives article develops a rationale for the integration of a development education (DE) approach into initial teacher education (ITE) within a cross-curricular framework. The perspective is grounded in the practical considerations of the local and global circumstances of living in today’s world. A discussion is presented of significant current ecological, technological and socio-cultural changes and the resulting challenges they pose if schools and communities are to respond responsibly and imaginatively. In particular, we focus on ways in which ITE providers can strengthen the moral and social justice dimensions of the pupils’ learning experience through DE.