Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on specific examples of development futures from settler-colonial-Indigenous Australia, South Pacific island countries, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. It emphasizes the holistic nature of teaching and learning informed by Pacific cultures and languages. The book describes the tensions between external development educational priorities and Pacific Islander aspirations to strengthen local cultures including languages and knowledge transfer. It also describes the culturally informed, innovative pedagogy and practice embedded in the course which includes aligning course content and assessment regimes to the home cultures of Pacific Islander students. The book sets out ways to confront long-standing issues too easily put aside, overlooked, or ignored by the development ‘canon’. It explores these commitments thus providing practical guidance for teachers, researchers, and students to do development differently.