Trends in Research and Teaching of Development Studies in Kenya (2000 – 2019)

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VI, June 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Trends in Research and Teaching of Development Studies in Kenya (2000 – 2019)

Milton Utwolo Alwanga

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Abstract: – The role of development studies in the developing world and Kenya in particular, cannot be gainsaid. Teaching and research in development studies is meant to unearth and understand development challenges and thereby inform policies for posterity of the developing world through paradigm shifts in management process. However, despite several years of research and teaching development studies in Kenya, it is unclear on whether development study is still relevant both as an academic discipline and as a practice, and how the discipline has contributed to solutions of development challenges. This study sought to investigate the trends in research and teaching of development studies in the Kenyan universities. The study applied cluster analysis on secondary data from government statutes and policy documents, published books, articles, journals and university websites and repositories. Findings indicate a widespread diversity in teaching development studies across the Kenyan universities. In addition, the study holds that teaching of development studies does not demonstrate commitment to national development goals.

Key words: Development, Development studies, research, teaching, trends, universities.

I. INTRODUCTION

Since the year 2000 when the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Nairobi introduced the teaching of development studies at postgraduate level, a lot has happened in the teaching and research in the discipline to justify a review. The critical question to ponder is: is development studies still relevant as an academic discipline and a practice? Has the discipline contributed to the understanding of developmental challenges as well as solutions to these challenges? These questions are not only valid, but also pertinent, especially because development studies have a normative orientation.
In part, the above questions can only find answers in two explorations, the first being the evaluation of whether scholarly work and teaching in development has contributed to deeper and acute understanding of the phenomenon of development and the second, being whether the scholarly works have contributed to policy shifts in the management of the development process.

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