The educational challenges of imagining the world differently

Abstract

This article presents some reflections on the dynamics, paradoxes and gaps in academic discussions of international development education, especially in initiatives related to international experiential service learning and global citizenship education. I focus on the difficulties of starting important conversations about social historical processes that systemically reproduce material, discursive and political inequalities using the concepts of exceptionalism and coloniality. In the second section, key challenges of intelligibility are discussed, and an example of the complexities of introducing a pedagogical tool to address the problems I have identified is offered. I conclude with important questions to be asked when pushing the boundaries of international development education in Canada.