This thesis takes global learning out of the formal setting of a Northern classroom to a rural community setting in the Global South as a social learning process.\ud
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It begins with a critical reflection of a large EU project to develop a global learning programme as a Global North South initiative. The focus narrows to Zanzibar, a small island state, to critically reflect on the delivery of the programme. And then further to focus on the global social learning and change that occurred in a rural community setting in the north of the island.\ud
Through participatory action research, I investigate the relevance of global learning as a social learning process, how norms and rules are shaped within a community setting and how these enable social change towards sustainable livelihoods.\ud
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The thesis splices the intersection between critical and social theories of learning and engagement, to include critical social theories of Habermas (1984) and Wals (2007); critical race theories of Giroux (1997) and Said (1994) and distributive justice and entitlements theories of Sen (1997) and Moser (1998). It demonstrates the importance of dissonance and a safe space for deliberative dialogue, to be able to consider the global pressures and forces on local realities as the precursor to social change towards sustainability. I conclude by relating the learning from this small island state to the wider world and the current discourse on quality of education in a community development context