Global Development Theme 7 - Education, Employment & Health

• Teaching children and adults how to read and write means that they can apply to a wider range of jobs
• Increasing education skills means the country will be more competitive globally
• School can educate the population on other areas of development, such as health and employment
• Free food and vaccinations can be administered in schools, as well as providing a safe, sheltered area for children
• Children can engage in politics which can make the country more democractic                                                                  

BARRIERS TO EDUCATION:

• Not enough money is spent on primary education
• Widely dispersed populations in developing countries means children have trouble getting to school
• Child labour prevents many children from attending school
• Poor levels of nutrition reduce children's capacity to learn effectively
• Parents lack money to send their children to school or for resources
• Patriarchal values prevents girls from attending school 

MODERNISATION THEORY:

• Believe that education is crucial for development
• They favour Western styles of education and curriculum as it spreads modern, western values such as meritocracy
• Higher education is essential for training future leaders who can employ others to work for them                                                      

Case study: In the phillipenes...

DEPENDENCY THEORY:

• Sees education as a form of cultural imperialism, imposing western values
• Education was one of the main ways that colonial powers exercised control during colonialism - they trained a small elite into colonial values and rewarded them with jobs                                                                                                    

Case study: In Zimbabwe...

PEOPLE CENTRED DEVELOPMENT:

• Some countries don't want Western styles of education
• Education needs to be culturally relevant to the people receiving it - teach people how to utilise their resources and technology effectively                                                                                            

Case study: Keeping Africa Small                                                                                                                                                      

FEMINISM:

• Education is heavily gendered
• Patriarchal values in developing countries prevent girls and women from having an education, as women are seen as the 'child bearers' therefore they do not need an education 
• Education needs to be radical and focused on female empowerment                                                                            

Case study: Malala Yousafzai

• Helps to tell how underdeveloped a country is - causes of death are strongly related to development: in developing countries, the main cause of death is infectious diseases and birth and maternity deaths 
• The developed world suffers from 'diseases of affluence' and curable diseases due to medical advancements and vaccinations, which developing countries do not have 
• Improving health comes by improving education. nutrition and diet and changes in reproduction                                                                                 

INDICATORS OF HEALTH:

1. Life expectancy (UK: 81.5 years, Congo: 49 years)
2. Child mortality (UK: 5/1000 births, Developing world: 160/1000 births)
3. Maternal health (UK: 2% deaths, Africa: 64% deaths)
4. Disease (AIDs, HIV etc.)     

MODERNISATION THEORY:

• Supports biomedical intervention - mass immunisation/vaccination programmes etc. 
• Expects the developing world to follow the footsteps of the west in improving health
• Traditional values of relying on witch doctors and pastors need to be stopped
• Many developing countries are now facing the 'epidemiologic transition' - before medical achievements in the developed world, the main cuases of death were infectious diseases whereas now it's diseases of affluence.
• Developing countries should draw on aid and expertise of the developing world and drop traditional medical practices                                                                                                                                                

DEPENDENCY THEORY:

• The West has caused most of the health problems in the developing world (e.g. Ebola)
• There is no reason to assume that developing countries can follow in the path of the west
• Colonialism changed health for the worse in developing countries and neocolonialism continues this trend 

REASONS FOR POOR HEALTH:

• Lack of clean water
• Poor sanitation
• Malnutrition 
• Underdeveloped public health services
• War, conflict and poverty                                                                                                                                               

SOLUTIONS:

• Economic growth
• Biomedical intervention
• Improving water and sanitation 
• Improving diets
• Overcoming patriarchy
• Ending corruption and conflict
• Providing cheaper remedies 
• Controlling corportations' health and saftey regulations 

• Increase the country's GDP/GNP
• More wealth per person leads to a consumer culture
• Leads to a better standard of living                                                                                                                                       

HOWEVER...

• Lack of regulation of TNCs leads to exploitation of workers
• Unfair trading rules/dumping means the work of farmers in developing counries is worthless
• Child labour is still a problem
• There is an 'informal economy' - illegal work such as the black market

MODERNISATION THEORY AND NEO-LIBERALISM:

• Agree that mass employment leads to development (stage 4 of Rostow's stages to development: Drive to maturity)
• However Modernisation Theory argues that government aid will help countries reach this stage whereas Neo-Liberalists argue that TNC investment will                                                                                                  

DEPENDENCY THEORY:

• TNCs have too much power for trade to lead to development
• Countries compete in a 'race to the bottom' whereby they offer fewer workers rights to attract exploitative TNCs
• Workers need to organise nationally and internationally to protect their rights and equal pay

PEOPLE CENTRED DEVELOPMENT:

• 'Paid' employment is not necessarily the best route to development
• Jobs should offer trade unions, fair pay and fair treatment of workers                                                                

FEMINISM:

• Patriarchal values dominate employment
• In some cultures, women are forbidden to leave the home so they're reliant on their husbands or fathers
• If women do work, it is for less money than men, or they're forced into sweatshop labour