Tag Archives: Education

A picture is worth 1000 words: what does aid/development mean to you?

Posted in: Coaching, Reflection | February 28, 2013 at 9:45 am , by Brendan Rigby

Brendan asked the participants of WhyDev's Peer Coaching Pilot to respond to the following question with an image: What does aid/development mean to you? This post showcases the submissions that have been received and opens this call to action to everyone....

Fearful destiny: 2014 and the next generation of Afghans

Posted in: Voices of Afghanistan's Youth | February 26, 2013 at 10:25 pm , by Guest Author/s

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This is the second post in our groundbreaking series, 'Voices of Afghanistan's Youth', featuring young Afghan writers. Again, we present two posts and two writers, who are contemplating the future of their generation and their country. Haseeb is 18 years old and is more optimistic than his peers, believing that...

Afghanistan’s future: living in fear of 2014

Posted in: Voices of Afghanistan's Youth | February 18, 2013 at 12:28 pm , by Guest Author/s

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us_10th_mountain_division_soldiers_in_afghanistan

This is the first post in a series entitled 'Voices of Afghanistan's Youth', which will feature the writings of Afghan university students. They are students at the American University in Afghanistan (AUAF). This unique series is both deeply personal and analytical. The students write on a range of topics from...

Going to school was a way for me to escape the reality of life

Posted in: Education, Reflection | February 6, 2013 at 10:50 am , by Rachel Kurzyp

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Rachel Kurzyp recently learned that her grandfather on her mother’s side was non-literate. He had received little education and didn’t value it. In this post, Rachel reflects on her own education and what it can mean for millions of other girls around the world. ...

For girls, there is more to empowerment than education

Posted in: Education, Gender | November 8, 2012 at 5:00 am , by Jessica Carter

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The importance of education as a tool of empowerment is undeniable. But, is it the only one and how much can it achieve for girls? Jessica Carter explores the intersection of education and empowerment for girls, suggesting that we need to rethink our understanding of what education can achieve in...

Why tourists should be buying from children on the streets

Posted in: Ethical Tourism, Ethics in development, Poverty | October 18, 2012 at 5:00 am , by Alison Rabe

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Cambodian children meeting tourists. (Gloria Cheng.)

In a touristy area of a poor country, a child comes up to and asks you to buy something. How do you respond? Do you turn them away and ignore them, or do you acquiesce? In her first post for WhyDev, Alison Rabe explores this complex issue through the eyes...

Do you have the competency to work in aid and development?

Posted in: Reflection, Self-help, Study | September 7, 2012 at 12:18 pm , by Brendan Rigby

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A Complementary Basic Education class in northern Ghana

Whether you have just graduated or are an experienced aid worker, there is always room to learn and develop new competencies. But, which competencies are the most valued? Which competencies should you focus on for your career and professional development? Brendan Rigby crowdsources the opinion of some very bright and...

Reaching the most disadvantaged children through complementary basic education with WhyDev’s Brendan Rigby | AidWorks

Posted in: AidWorks | August 27, 2012 at 8:00 am , by Albion Harrison-Naish

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Children reading the SfL Dagbani textbook

In this extended and exclusive interview with WhyDev's Brendan Rigby, he and Albion discuss working for UNICEF Ghana, participation in education and the growth of the development blogosphere. In particular, Brendan reflects on his experience with UNICEF Ghana supporting a complementary basic education program targeting out of school children, explaining...

When does experience trump education?

Posted in: Career Advice, Education, Study | August 3, 2012 at 8:00 am , by Gregory Pellechi

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Aid and development is about doing practical work that has real world consequences, making experience a valuable asset for aid workers. So where in development is a formal qualification truly necessary? When does education truly trump experience? Greg Pellechi explores these questions in his first post for WhyDev....

Promoting education: change the world or change yourself?

Posted in: Education, Reflection | April 23, 2012 at 12:00 pm , by Peck Gee Chua

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In this reflective piece, Peck-Gee Chua, from Malaysia, discusses how her initial preconceptions around delivering education training to people in Timor-Leste shifted over time. The old way of development says that change occurs from the top down, and by her own admission, this still occurs despite a paradigm shift. Yet,...

The archaeology of my professional identity in development

Posted in: Career Advice, Reflection | April 12, 2012 at 2:37 am , by Brendan Rigby

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In this personal reflection, Brendan Rigby considers what forms the basis of his professional identity in development. In the midst of confusion about the present, uncertainty about the future, the disconnect between the public nature of online engagement and the private nature of true social interaction, and realism of the...

Literacy in Development: the flaws with using literacy rates to inform development policy (part 3)

Posted in: Education | April 4, 2012 at 1:00 pm , by Alex Grey

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In her third post on literacy and development, Alex Grey examines some of the issues associated with using literacy rates as a measurement to inform development policy, and shows how problematic approaches to monitoring literacy can lead to problems on the ground....

Literacy in Development: China’s ethnic minorities (part 2)

Posted in: Education | March 21, 2012 at 2:00 pm , by Alex Grey

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In an exciting cross-post with The China Beat, Alex continues analysing of the role literacy and development, this time in the Middle Kingdom. She looks at the minority communities who populate most of China’s developing regions, their bilingual schooling (or lack of it) and the relationship between their languages,...

Literacy in development: economics and social sciences converge, uneasily (part 1)

Posted in: Education | March 2, 2012 at 11:12 pm , by Alex Grey

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Literacy is not a set of skills independently learned regardless of social and cultural context, nor is it simply synonymous with schooling. In part 1 of a three-part series, Alex Grey argues that unless ethnographic understandings inform literacy campaigns and other development projects, they are likely to be less successful...

Children in an urban world: Reflecting on the topic of The State of the World’s Children 2012

Posted in: Education, Networking & Events | February 28, 2012 at 8:00 am , by Guest Author/s

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UNICEF has dedicated the 2012 edition of its flagship report, The State of the World’s Children, to the situation of children growing up in urban settings. Nikola Balvin, a Research Officer in the Division of Communication at UNICEF New York, reflects on what this topic means to her and to...