Can reading a book about a boy and a hen in Ghana make a difference to fifth graders in their Michigan community? Indeed, it can, and in myriad ways. At a suburban elementary school in Michigan, the authors introduced fifth graders to economic concepts in a project-based learning (PBL) unit. They began by reading aloud and discussing the picture…

This article explores the role of children in household livelihoods among the Gedeo ethnic community in Ethiopia. Three themes are discussed--reproductive activities, entrepreneurial work in marketplaces and sociospatial mobility--in the context of recent theoretical debates over children's agency and social competence. With shifts in rural…

Identifies social policy issues for rural communities affected by major development projects. Advocates increased attention in legislation by community workers and fuller recognition of social policy as a planning and development priority. Concludes that economics is still the major concern for development projects, rather than social policy. (BR)

An outstanding problem that has haunted most development workers in Africa has been how to effectively engage rural communities who often have no access to modern technological media like newspapers, radio, television, video and film. The tendency has been for development workers to resort to top-down or blueprint development approaches that…

The Dutch countryside forms the scene for pressing problems of management and allocation of land and water. These problems underscore the need for comprehensive rural policies. For that purpose, area-based rural policy has been initiated. This new policy is part of a larger policy shift, labelled in literature as "new rural governance".…

Discusses the use of video technology and community, or narrowcast, television in developing countries, particularly Africa. The importance of the media in improving communication between people and their government is emphasized, and the political, social and technical problems involved are described. (Author/LRW)

Amid the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Brazil was the Global Forum, a gathering of representatives of more than 9,000 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Brazil's array of NGOs and grass-roots support organizations began developing in the early 1960s. The "pedagogy of the oppressed" developed by Paulo…

Discusses rural poverty in Bangladesh and describes the creation of the Grameen Bank, which combines business with social engineering. The rapid diffusion of the bank both within and outside Bangladesh is described; interpersonal strategies used in communicating its programs, especially to women, are explained; and the socioeconomic impact in…

This monograph provides an account of the work done in the village placement project of the Department of Child Development of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India from 1976-77 to 1984-85. Chapter 1 offers an overview of major problems of children and women in India. It emphasizes the need for rural development programs and the…