The Developing World: How Do You Determine It?

Back		The Developing World: How Do You Determine It?

Grade Level		9-12

Introduction		Whenever one refers to a nation as "developing" or "Third World" or "less-developed" or "under-developed," this implies that other nations must be "developed." If one restricts the measure of a nation's level of development strictly to how much technology is available to people, how modern their homes are, how tall their buildings are, and how contemporary their clothing appears, then some nations clearly lag behind others. But, in truth, all nations exhibit some characteristics that people normally associate with the term underdeveloped. In turn, if one looks closely at a nation considered not yet developed, it is possible to find good things that are often lacking in so-called developed nations. For example, such a country might count much lower rates of certain physical problems caused by a diet too rich in sodium, sugar and fats; lower rates of nervous disorders and other psychological problems caused by hypertension and mental fatigue; less crime; less pollution of the environment; less homeless or unwanted individuals; and no need for special homes for the elderly because their extended families look after them. There might be widespread participation in community decision-making, instead of elections where only a minority of the eligible voters participate. These are a few of the characteristics that clearly affect the quality of life in any society, yet are seldom mentioned when "developing" nations are discussed.

Teacher/Student Objective		The major goal of this activity is to promote student understanding of how one can misperceive another person or nation just by looking at surface qualities or visual representations which may or may not be representative of that nation. Frequently, we tend to judge nations on the basis of technological advancement, and certainly that is one way to do so. But we need to look at other factors which are just as important and might suggest an alternative process to measure progress.

Gauging Student Understanding		The progress indicators cited reflect desirable end goals. Teachers should be prepared to use a wide variety of observational, testing and authentic achievement evaluation measures in judging the progress of students. Through the examination of a series of photographs/pictures, some of which are deliberately misleading, students will come to realize that more than surface judgment is required to evaluate the worth of an individual or the progress/development of a nation. This will be accomplished through a cursory examination of the photographs, eliciting student judgments about them, and inviting a more thorough analysis of their own and their peers' responses.

Materials		A clear collection of pictures, which show the difference between a "developed" nation and an "underdeveloped" nation. Pictures should, however, reflect just the opposite perception–that is, images that would be found ordinarily in a "developed" nation, which originated from a less developed nation: e.g., a well-dressed Caucasian gentleman with his briefcase hailing a taxi in front of a Hilton-type hotel taken in Thailand; a lonely Bedouin with his camel crossing a lifeless desert taken in a more developed nation such as Israel; or a sidewalk cafe with brightly colored awnings at each table in front of a modern looking building which might be Paris, but is situated in a nation considered underdeveloped in reality.

Initial Data for Consideration and/or Process		Have students view the pictures that show "developed" and "underdeveloped" places worldwide. Ask them to record on a sheet of paper whether each example is a "developed" or an "underdeveloped" place. You should label the pictures to speed up their recording process. Go quickly and get them to record their first, dominant impressions. No discussion or further explanation is necessary at this point in the exercise. Is it a developed area? Is it an underdeveloped area? After you run through your pictures and each individual has recorded his or her choices, go back through your examples one by one and identify each place. Some students may be upset because they mat have been misled. The key issue, however, is why did they misjudge so many places? This should lead to an active discussion of what we really mean by the terms "developed" or "less developed." Unfortunately, most American students rely on "technologically developed" as their sole criteria. As a class, agree upon a number of general statements that accurately describe what has happened and why. Having completed this exercise, students will be far less prone to make quick snap judgements concerning other peoples and places based upon limited data, e.g., a single picture of an African nation in a textbook or other book that shows "Africa."

Other Possible Activities		Have students, either individually or as a team, go out into the neighborhood and take their own selected photographs showing the area to be the opposite of what their descriptive statements say. Next, have them mount their photographs and question students in other classes, visitors to the school, student teachers or other individuals about where the photographs were taken.

Adapted from "Developed/Underdeveloped - Which Is? " by H. Thomas Collins. Project LINKS, George Washington University.