Looking for the way out of the labyrinth: Analysis of the definition of development education

Abstract

Development Education is a key issue for achieving social transformation; that is why this matter has gained special prominence in recent years by encouraging the formation of global and critical people who promote a more humane and sustainable world. This research seeks to establish a definition of Development Education, as it is a subject of special interest due to the dynamism of this term and the lack of a widely accepted definition. By means of the qualitative methodology and with the help of the NVivo 10 qualitative analysis software, 55 definitions compiled in published studies of the most outstanding databases in the area of Social Science were analyzed. The results show the existing relationship between the key concepts involved: education and development, since they allow us to take a glimpse of the relations that emerge from each of these terms; likewise, in this qualitative exploration, the most significant features of all the definitions analyzed are appreciated, which allows us to construct a well-founded approach to the concept of Development Education. In conclusion, Development Education is an educational process whose purpose is to promote the formation of global citizens and critics committed to transform the world into a fairer place and to advocate for Human Rights.