Development is a term that refers to the process of change or improvement in the quality and level of people’s lives. It is a multidisciplinary concept that involves the study of physical, economic, environmental, social and demographic components.
Achieving development requires the emergence of better infrastructure and more jobs in order to improve the welfare and production of people. This can happen through government initiatives and policies that help develop a country’s economy.
The way we define development is also important. It may differ from one society to another.
Traditionally, development is defined as the capacity of a nation to increase its per capita income at rates greater than its population growth. This is based on the assumption that a country’s initial economic condition has been more or less static for long periods of time.
Many theorists believe that development is embedded in historical and cultural contexts. This belief is often called a meta-theory.
Organismic meta-theory: The butterfly is used as a metaphor for human development, and it suggests that people grow through discontinuous qualitatively different stages (like caterpillars, chrysalises and butterflies) based on the affordances and opportunities provided by their environment.
Lifespan meta-theory: Erikson’s (1950) lifespan theory assumes that people develop through a series of psychosocial crises, each of which presents a unique challenge or opportunity for the person who reaches it. Successful development, according to this model, is the ability to cope with and resolve these challenges in a positive manner.