Learning as Development: Rethinking International Education in a Changing World

In this groundbreaking second edition of Learning as Development, Daniel A. Wagner transforms our understanding of international development by positioning learning at its core. Through a compelling global lens, Wagner demonstrates how education shapes both individual destinies and national futures, with real consequences for income, social mobility, health and well-being.

This new edition provides timely perspectives on education’s role in an increasingly interconnected and challenged world. The work traces international development from pre-colonial times to today’s learning equity movement, explores how people learn across different cultures and contexts, examines the intersection of education with critical global challenges including climate change, migration, civil conflict and new technologies, and presents cutting-edge research through vivid context-rich examples.

Essential reading for students, practitioners, and policymakers in education, human development, sociology, anthropology and global development, Wagner’s analysis offers fresh insights into human potential for those who care about improving the lives of people across the globe.

Daniel A. Wagner (Ph.D. University of Michigan) is the UNESCO Chair in Learning and Literacy, and Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He is Founding Director of the International Literacy Institute and Director of Penn’s International Educational Development Program. A former Peace Corps Volunteer and Fulbright Scholar, he has served as an advisor to UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank, USAID, UK Aid, and other agencies, governments, and civil society organizations. He was elected Fellow of the American Educational Research Association; Honorary Fellow of the Comparative and International Education Society; was a recipient of the UNESCO Confucius International Literacy Prize; was named a Literacy Award Honoree by the U.S. Library of Congress; and was appointed by the U.S. Department of State to be a Member of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO. He is the author or editor of more than 30 books and many other publications.