The wheel of development
Development, as a concept, is a very important notion for every aspect of the lives of man. To achieve development, changes that cause growth for him and his welfare must occur. Without change and growth, there will be no development for someone or for something.
Many authorities from the field of development suggest that in the center of development must be man. The quotation from the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) which I encountered during my personal visit in their office, is very much related to this phenomenon, and I quote: “Education is the key to human development, and in turn, the key to all other developments.”
It implies that daily, man should update his knowledge system, upgrade his skills, and develop a positive or favorable attitude toward education, for the betterment of his quality of life — the ultimate goal of development endeavors.
In my classes for the Bachelor of Science in Development Management students at the College of Economics, Management and Development Studies in Cavite State University, I see to it that this notion has been properly discussed.
To suffice my explanation on the topic, I drew a wheel of a cart showing its major parts and I connected this to the quotation from the IIRR.
In the outer circle of the wheel rests the word “education,” since it is the key to human development.
Man, the subject of most of the development efforts, is placed at the center of the inner circle because, accordingly, man is the center of development.
In the drawing, eight double lines connect the outer and inner circles of the wheel. And, I label in between each of the eight double lines as follows: economic, social, cultural, moral, spiritual, political, physical and technological.
The figure, dubbed as the “wheel of development” depicts the connections of various aspects of man’s life and his development, basically through the educational system ― whether formal, non-formal or informal in nature.
The various aspects of man’s holistic development in the micro-level is discussed as follows:
Economic development. Man must prosper in everything that he pursues in life for him to avoid subsistence production. He must have surplus of his produce so that his proceeds could be used for other purposes, aside from sustaining his families’ basic needs.
Social development. Once economically self-sufficient, man could already engage in the other activities of the community, thus, he could contribute for the improvement of his neighborhood.
Cultural development. Further development in life, allows man to divert his efforts in participation in the cultural activities in the community where he belongs.
Moral and spiritual development. These two aspects in the life of man are sometimes being neglected. Man, as busy as he is in achieving the material needs in life, he seemingly forgets morality and spirituality as an obligation to carry out all ventures of his life. But it should not be the case, the contact between man and his Creator must be personally and continuously pursued for the betterment of his life. Likewise, morality must be religiously applied in all his endeavors in life.
Political development. A successful individual who is already capable of spending his resources now succumb to enter local politics and lead his fellowmen in the governance of their community affairs.
Physical development must be maintained by man in his life. Man should be aware of the state of his health to perform the magnanimous responsibilities in the real world of work. The state of being healthy ― physically, psychologically, and mentally, will contribute to the productivity of man.
Technological development is needed to produce more resources for economic purposes. Technologies and innovations are necessary to all of man’s endeavors for the sake of production, thus, alleviate his quality of life.
The wheel of development shows a paradigm of the holistic view of how education can improve mankind. That is through continuous updating of his knowledge system, developing a positive or favorable attitude towards all aspects of his life, and upgrading of his skills.
At the end of the day, the resultant effect will be changes and transformations in various aspects of man for the betterment of his and his family’s quality of life, thus, the attainment of development.
Dr. Antonio G. Papa is a retired university professor at the College of Economics, Management and Development Studies, Cavite State University in Indang, Cavite. After retirement in 2018, he served as a scientist 1 and consultant at Marinduque State College in Boac, Marinduque. He is a graduate of both Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Extension Education at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna in 1986 and 1991, respectively.