Beyond means and ends: learning, engagement and towards an emancipatory development management

Johnson, Hazel; Pinder, Richard and Wilson, Gordon (2011). Beyond means and ends: learning, engagement and towards an emancipatory development management. In: EADI-DSA 2011 Conference (13th EADI General Conference): Rethinking Development in an Age of Scarcity and Uncertainty: New Values, Voices and Alliances for Increased Resilience, 19-22 Sep 2011, York, UK.

Abstract

Means and ends, and how they interact, need to be considered in the context of the complex and constantly emerging relationships between groups, organisations and movements aiming to promote and manage change. These relationships are continually negotiated, and both the tools of development management (the means) and the espoused goals of development (the ends) are caught up in this process. We argue that it essential to recognise the role of power relations in development management, however social difference and contestation experienced in the negotiation of changing relationships can be important sources of learning for development managers and their organisations. A question is whether and how such learning can lead to more emancipatory means and ends of development management (that go beyond organisations), rather than consolidating existing social relations. In this paper, we examine these issues through the lens of practitioners and professionals who have undertaken postgraduate studies in development management. A particular question for educationalists is whether they can promote learning and engagement towards emancipatory approaches in a context of huge global economic and political change.

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