This module helps you understand the nature and processes driving development whilst providing social sciences concepts, skills, and approaches to engage and intervene in (unresolved) development challenges. The three main interconnected themes of poverty, inequality, and sustainability as well as their intersections relating to contemporary development issues are explored through six blocks.
Block 1 focuses on the core question: What is global development? By examining the multidimensional nature of this question, the block engages with the significance of historical and geographical perspectives and the role of politics in development. It explores questions such as how we got here and who does development. Featuring two bespoke documentary films shot in Scotland and Guyana for the module, you will engage with what it means to think about development in context. This block will also recap note-taking, summarising, and referencing skills while introducing you to actor mapping.
Blocks 2 to 4 explore the contemporary nature and impact of poverty, inequality and sustainability, including weeks themed around livelihoods, gender, race, and climate change. These blocks develop your understanding and critical thinking about poverty, inequality and sustainability as development concepts. You'll explore how applying particular ideas has had deep implications for development practice (e.g. through structural adjustment policies or NGO practices). Across these blocks, you'll be introduced to different theories of politics and power that can help explain how development happens. You'll develop skills in examining different forms of evidence about poverty, analysing and writing advocacy and campaign documents, and writing and delivering presentations. You'll also have the opportunity to engage with more bespoke documentaries exploring how historical racial inequalities have shaped global development, alongside different perspectives on sustainable development and the search for climate change solutions in Scotland and Guyana.
Blocks 5 and 6 frame the nature of the over-arching ‘development challenge’ by presenting the three themes together – and presenting these to you as debates to be had rather than particular positions. Block 5 looks at a set of contemporary global development issues – health, water and technology – and relates them to our understanding of poverty, inequality and sustainability. The module concludes by providing an opportunity to reflect, consolidate and review your learning, combining themes, concepts and case studies from across the module. As you review, we ask what decolonising development really means.
At the end of the module, you'll clearly understand what social science perspectives contribute to understanding and intervening in global development challenges, as well as a skill set of real value in both academic and vocational contexts.
You will acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of key development concepts, theories and debates, applying these to your understanding of contemporary development issues. You'll apprehend the nature of development issues not only through theory but also through examples from people’s everyday lives in the global North as well as the global South. This will help you explain and evaluate the relationship of power and politics with poverty, inequality and sustainability, with the ability to assess their impact on real-world development issues.
As well as building your interdisciplinary social science knowledge, you'll develop practical and transferable skills. These include critical thinking, report and essay writing, making presentations, ICT skills, collaborative working skills, and synthesising and applying knowledge. You'll also learn how to:
This module offers a comprehensive grounding in the study of development at OU level 2 and provides opportunities to develop skills relevant to your current or future career. The module provides a broad set of transferable skills and aptitudes relevant to many career pathways, ranging from critical writing skills to developing your ability to think reflectively about your views and work with others.
Studying this module, as part of a social sciences qualification, could open up employment opportunities in a wide range of occupations in politics, business, banking, insurance; education, health professions, administration, law; social services, voluntary and campaigning organisations, the media; public relations; public service organisations and government (national and local); planning and environmental management; criminal justice system; and social welfare organisations.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You’ll be provided with two printed module books and have access to the module website, where the majority of the module content is delivered, which includes:
You can study this module on its own or use the credits you gain towards an Open University qualification.
D229 is an option module in our:
Introducing global development: poverty, inequality, sustainability starts once a year – in October.
This page describes the module that will start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2035.
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
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If your income is not more than £25,000 or you receive a qualifying benefit, you might be eligible for help with some of these costs after your module has started.
There may be extra costs on top of the tuition fee, such as set books, a computer and internet access.
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Please note: your permanent address/domicile will affect your fee status and, therefore, the fees you are charged and any financial support available to you. The fee information provided here is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2026. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
