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CHAPTER 5
PROJECT CASE STUDY I: PERCEPTIONS OF EDUCATORS INVOLVED WITH
TEACHERS IN DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION (TIDE)
‘Teachers in Development Education’ (TIDE) promotes development education in primary
and secondary schools. The organisation was established in Birmingham in the mid 1970s
and was called the Development Education Centre (DEC) until the late 1990s (in order to
avoid confusion the organisation will be referred to as TIDE). The organisation’s aims are:
to further development education practice and policy by enabling teachers, schools
and organisations to adopt global dimensions and development perspectives as part of
their own agenda. (TIDE [n.d.], p.1)
The organisation’s projects have typically explored how social, political and environmental
issues can be addressed as a means of resolving conflicts in a range of contexts. The
organisation has changed from being primarily funded by Oxfam towards relying on grants
from sponsors or the government. Given the political sensitivity associated with these
issues it is important to consider how far they have been influenced by the agencies
financing their work. From the outset it must be said that there was no evidence within the
interviews or documentation to suggest that the organisation’s policies were inhibited by it
sponsors. This perception was confirmed by a conversation with a member of staff at
Birmingham University who has worked with TIDE for many years. Since the early 1980s
it has supported five projects which have included an Irish dimension. The projects
explored general global themes and were cross-curricular in approach. Nevertheless, they
included references to Ireland’s past. Consequently, this chapter will investigate the
implications of TIDE’s work by examining the perceptions of the Director, Project
Facilitator and three teachers who have been involved in its most recent projects.