Book chapter in CONTEMPORARY CONCERNS IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES: PERSPECTIVES FROM TANZANIA AND ZAMBIA: Development Concerns in Development Studies: Perspectives of Tanzania and Zambia Pg 116 – 255.Introduction A major characteristic of the interdisciplinary field of development studies since its establishment in the 1940s has been a series of sea-level changes in analytical thinking about the process of development itself (Potter et al. 2004). This search for new theo- retical conceptualisations of development has been mirrored by changes in the practice of development in the field. As such, there has been much debate and controversy about development, with many changing views and highly contested strategies. How- ever, the dominant view for the last couple of years has been that social development in Africa has been side-lined to economic growth (Desai and Potter 2011). This chapter provides a deep discussion while drawing on examples from the existing literature on social development and economic growth. Development as a general term has been interpreted into two ways. One is econom- ically orientated, dealing mostly with economic structures, and the other is social, fo- cusing on improving the capabilities of people’s daily lives and their well-being (Crush 1995). The economic interpretation follows the framework that assumes the behaviour of the individual to be rational, self-interested and market oriented. The hypothesis is that these individuals live outside historical, social and geographical contexts (Piron 2004), and as a result, the conditions of development in some developing countries go unrecognised. Despite efforts to enhance social policy in African states, economic cri- teria continue to dominate policy design, as is the case in many developing countries. This brings challenges regarding models of development, partly a result of structural adjustment economic reforms that increased their influence in development policy processes. This made the reforms extend from managing resources and ensuring finan- cial practicability, to establishing the strategic directions for medium and long term growth (Sen 2000)The Higher Education Institutions Institu- tional Cooperation Instrument (HEI ICI). HEI ICI supports the higher education sector in developing countries and strengthens their institutional capacity through co- operation with Finnish higher education institutions. HEI ICI is funded by the Min- istry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and administrated by the Centre for International Mobility CIMO, an organisation operating under the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.