Understanding and Engaging in Development through International Volunteering

Understanding development issues and finding a space to interpret and debate our roles as citizens, consumers and individuals towards greater global justice are complex and contested. In this paper, I consider engagement in development through education-based international volunteering and report on a case study of a 9-month course designed to provide development education in preparation for a 2-month period of international volunteering. I argue that through opening spaces for dialogue and experiential learning, international volunteering, accompanied by critical development education, has the potential to address questions about what responsible development might mean, and how we can actively contribute to it.