Development studies has been critiqued for its inability to promote epistemic decolonization from Eurocentric paradigms, especially in the light of unsuccessful material decolonization in a neo-capitalist global order (Kapoor 2023) . Epistemic decolonization implies a critical departure from development's supposed Western origins and an embracing of multiple, localized, indigenous subaltern perspectives in the teaching of development studies. However, its success is tied to possibilities for material decolonization within and outside the university, thus framing education and its outcomes. We revisit the imperative to decolonize development studies by exploring the extent and ways by which the development studies programs of three selected universities in the Philippines has occurred. Findings from document analysis and key informant interviews reveal that the selected programs present a possible range of transmuted decolonizations of development studies that are able to engage in multitude and contextualized ways to the development dilemmas that the country faces.

This study examines ASEAN's climate governance framework, exploring how the region can enhance its institutional mechanisms to address the pressing challenges of climate change. Drawing on Regime Theory and complementary perspectives such as Ostrom's principles of commons governance and Ruggie's multilateralism framework, the research evaluates ASEAN's normative approach, its reliance on voluntary agreements, and the limitations posed by non-binding commitments and economic disparities. The study highlights ASEAN's progress through initiatives like the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution and the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation while addressing the challenges of balancing national sovereignty with regional goals. The research employs a qualitative methodology, integrating policy analysis with comparative insights from ASEAN's economic integration successes. It identifies transferable strategies, such as differentiated commitments, flexible decision-making mechanisms, and capacity-building initiatives, to strengthen climate cooperation. However, the study also underscores the unique challenges of climate governance, including the intangible and long-term nature of climate benefits, uneven financial and technical capacities among member states, and competing national priorities. The findings suggest that while ASEAN's normative framework fosters trust and dialogue, institutional innovation and stronger enforcement mechanisms are critical for effective climate action. The study concludes with actionable recommendations for enhancing regional climate governance, including establishing a dedicated ASEAN Climate Secretariat, promoting subregional partnerships, and leveraging regional climate financing mechanisms. These strategies aim to bridge the gap between ASEAN's institutional realities and the urgent need for comprehensive and sustainable climate solutions.

The COVID-19 pandemic illustrates the interconnectedness of various forms of human (in) security, resulting from multiple, interconnected, and mutually reinforcing factors. The human security framework calls for the adoption of distinct approaches in responding to issues in more comprehensive and context-specific ways. However, the overall pandemic response of the Philippine government has arguably sprung from a conceptualisation of threat that is generally opposed to the human security approach. The “militarized” (Imbong 2021; Hapal 2021; Agojo 2021; GibsonFall 2021) COVID-19 management resulted in yet another form of insecurity, inadvertently or not, coming from state functionaries. Although the military's organizational structure may provide advantages, military leadership may similarly negatively affect other dimensions of people's lives, such as their hardearned civil liberties. Though existent, social protection programs also had lapses. These included issues with inaccurate targeting systems, insufficient financial assistance to provide a proper safety net, delayed distributions of cash assistance, and the coordination between national and local governments. The study underscores the importance of ensuring robust frameworks for equitable and just welfare distribution through State social protection programs. However, the magnitude of the pandemic and the tendencies of some states to revert to more traditional and statecentric security approaches when faced with global problems highlight the gaps in the human security framework as understood and practiced today. These gaps emphasize the need to adopt a more critical human security stance that integrates the unique social and cultural contexts of the affected communities to allow a better balance between protection and empowerment during emergency and disaster situations.

This study aimed to reveal the factors that facilitate parental involvement in family-based early childhood learning in emergency settings, such as natural disasters, pandemics, or displacement from the home environment. The research setting was rural Mongolia, where children from vulnerable backgrounds have been unable to access kindergarten education as a result of their nomadic lifestyle. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with nomadic families, schoolteachers, local community members, and university students conducted in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2022. The data were analysed using a modified grounded theory approach. The analysis yielded three factors that facilitate parental involvement in family-based early childhood learning: 1) the availability of learning materials, which can be replaced with natural objects; 2) the establishment of learning goals; and 3) interaction between children and their parents. A significant factor outside the home (networking with other parents and the school) was also identified. It is essential to determine how parents become involved in their children's education while maintaining a traditional nomadic lifestyle. Governments and policymakers must meet the demands of vulnerable families by providing holistic support, including the provision of learning materials and knowledge on the environmental factors that facilitate parental involvement in children's family-based learning. These identified factors can be applied to vulnerable families in other countries in emergency settings, since the learning environments will not necessarily be formal preschools, but any space with children and parents.

The current study explores the challenges the Government Primary School (GPS) teachers face in implementing inclusive education in Bangladesh and the available resources they have to overcome the challenges. The National Education Policy 2010 in Bangladesh encourages including children with special needs in regular GPSs with mild and moderate levels of special needs. However, the practical implementation has faced numerous challenges. Using a qualitative model, the current study involved focus group discussions (FGDs) in identifying challenges for GPS teachers and the available resources for implementing inclusive education with children with mild and moderate special needs in regular GPSs. The current study found several challenges, including the limitations of teachers' efficacy and Infrastructural challenges. Also, the current study shows several resources to face the challenges. The current study findings indicate that enhanced training materials customized for unique classroom requirements and expanded support resources are essential to empower GPS teachers for inclusive education.

This study reviews official United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) documents to clarify the main role of mother tongue as a language of instruction, which UNESCO has consistently upheld since its establishment, and how it has evolved. A literature review is conducted of documents from the UNESCO database, taken from three periods during which UNESCO published particularly large numbers of documents referring to mother tongue as the medium of instruction. Findings show that the role of mother tongue as a language of instruction has changed by becoming diversified over time while preserving some aspects; its significance is initially defined as a basis for the formation and maintenance of culture and values, as essential for the indigenisation of education and educational opportunity security, and as a means for educational quality assurance and a bridge to other languages. The study shows that the geographical focus of active debate on mother tongue as a language of instruction shifted from no particular region to Africa and now Asia. This change highlights the particularities of the linguistic situation in each of these regions, where mother tongue-based education was or has been called for.