Bridging divides between critical researchers and development practitioners: a learning–unlearning journey of decolonising educational development

Purpose This study presents a learning and unlearning journey shared by critically oriented researchers based at Japanese universities and development practitioners from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), who collaboratively reflected on educational development from a decolonial perspective. Design/methodology/approach Grounded in social constructionism and viewing research as a relational inquiry, this study draws on in-depth semi-structured interviews that prioritise empathetic listening to practitioners’ lived experiences and dilemmas, without entirely relinquishing a critical perspective. The aim was to surface colonial entanglements in educational development while amplifying decolonial potentialities already embedded in practice. Findings Through a collaborative decolonial seminar and subsequent interviews, JICA practitioners critically reflected on how universalising discourses and global standards have increasingly shaped their daily work. However, this does not imply an uncritical transfer of “universal” models. Empathetic listening, rather than blaming, encouraged practitioners to revisit JICA’s historically distinctive approach, which values recipients’ ownership and local contexts, and emphasises knowledge co-creation rather than top-down imposition. Nevertheless, these relational traditions face mounting pressures due to bureaucratic demands and alignment with universal frameworks such as SDG4. Engaging closely with practitioners’ reflections also prompted researchers to revisit their own prior assumptions and recognise the complexity of coloniality in educational development. Originality/value Moving beyond conventional, distanced critiques of educational aid, this study foregrounds a relational orientation toward research that centres on empathetic listening and mutual self-reflexivity, demonstrating the possibilities and challenges of such engagement, in helping to bridge the divide between critical researchers and development practitioners.