This book provides a critical deconstruction of the human development framework promoted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 1990. Taking the Human Development Reports of the UNDP as its starting point for reflection, this book investigates the construction of this framework as well as its political function since the end of the Cold War. The book argues that the UNDP’s discourse on development relies on essentialist philosophical, cultural, and political assumptions dating back to the 19th century and concludes that these assumptions – also present in the MDGs and SDGs – impede a full grasp of the complex and multi-layered global problems of the current world. Whilst development critiques traditionally relied on liberal, Marxist or Foucauldian theoretical frameworks and focused on epistemological or political economy issues, this book draws on the post-foundational and post-structuralist work of Ernesto Laclau and Jacques Derrida and proposes an ontological and relational reading of development discourses that both complements and further develops the insights of previous critiques. This book is key reading for advanced students and researchers of Critical Development Studies, Political Science, the UN, and Sustainable Development.

What is childhood and why, and how, did psychology come to be the arbiter of 'correct'or 'normal' development? How do actual lived childhoods connect with theories about child development? In this completely revised and updated edition, Deconstructing Developmental Psychology interrogates the assumptions and practices surrounding the psychology of child development, providing a critical evaluation of the role and contribution of developmental psychology within social practice. In the decade since the first edition was published, there have been many major changes. The role accorded childcare experts and the power of the 'psy complex' have, if anything, intensified. This book addresses how shifts in advanced capitalism have produced new understandings of children, and a new (and more punitive) range of institutional responses to children. It engages with the paradoxes of childhood in an era when young adults are increasingly economically dependent on their families, and in a political context of heightened insecurity. The new edition includes an updated review of developments in psychological theory (in attachment, evolutionary psychology, theory of mind, cultural-historical approaches), as well as updating and reflecting upon the changed focus on fathers and fathering. It offers new perspectives on the connections between Piaget and Vygotsky and now connects much more closely with discussions from the sociology of childhood and critical educational research. Coverage has been expanded to include more material on child rights debates, and a new chapter addresses practice dilemmas around child protection, which engages even more with the "raced" and gendered effects of current policies involving children. This engaging and accessible text provides key resources to inform better professional practice in social work, education and health contexts. It offers critical insights into the politics and procedures that have shaped developmental psychological knowledge. It will be essential reading for anyone working with children, or concerned with policies around children and families. It was also be of interest to students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels across a range of professional and practitioner groups, as well as parents and policy makers.

Andrea Cornwall is Professor of Anthropology and Development in the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex. --

How close is feminist psychology to contemporary feminism? How can feminist psychological practice address issues of `difference' between women in meaningful ways? What price has feminist psychology had to pay for attempting to engage with mainstream psychology to revise and improve it? This book critiques feminist practice within psychology, and reflects the diversity from across the globe of feminist struggles around psychology. An international group of key feminist psychologists explore the relations between feminist politics and psychological practices in: transitional and postcolonial contexts; the distinct European traditions of critical psychology and women's studies; and psychology's colonial `centre' in the United

"Offers a historical-cultural context for the ethos of service in libraries and critically examines this professional value as it intersects with gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity, class, and (dis)ability"--Provided by publisher.

From a critical perspective, some early childhood educators have proposed that the knowledge base used to ground the field actually serves to support the status quo, reinforces prejudices and stereotypes, and ignores the real lives of children. The purpose of this book is to deconstruct early childhood education, identifying and evaluating the themes and forms of discourse that have dominated the field, leading to the construction of specific theories and forms of practice that privilege particular groups of children and adults and oppress others. An alternative avenue for early childhood education is posited that focuses on social justice and human agency.

How do socially constructed concepts of race dominate and limit understandings and practices of multicultural education? Since race is socially constructed, how do we deconstruct it? In this important book Mahiri argues that multicultural education needs to move beyond racial categories defined and sustained by the ideological, social, political, and economic forces of white supremacy. Exploring contemporary and historical scholarship on race, the emergence of multiculturalism, and the rise of the digital age, the author investigates micro-cultural practices and provides a compelling framework for understanding the diversity of individuals and groups. Descriptions and analysis from ethnographic interviews reveal how people’s continually evolving, highly distinctive, micro-cultural identities and affinities provide understandings of diversity not captured within assigned racial categories. Synthesizing the scholarship and interview findings, the final chapter connects the play of micro-cultures in people’s lives to a needed shift in how multicultural education uses race to frame and comprehend diversity and identity and provides pedagogical examples of how this shift can look in teaching practices. “Jabari Mahiri’s superb Deconstructing Race is the best modern book on multiculturalism in education. More than that, it can be the beginning of a vital transformation of the field and of our views about diversity.‘ —James Paul Gee, Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies, Regents’ Professor, Arizona State University "Deconstructing Race provides a framework for a new American narrative on race based on irrefutable research and inspirational evidence." —Yvette Jackson, chief executive officer of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education