BGCSE Development Studies study guide
BGCSE Development Studies · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Development Studies is an interdisciplinary BGCSE subject that asks students to look at how societies change-and who benefits. Instead of treating economics, politics, geography and sociology as separate boxes, the syllabus pulls them together around a single question: what does genuine development look like for a small island state such as The Bahamas? The BGCSE Development Studies study guide has 8 sections and about 2,463 words.
01Economic Development and Economic Activity
Economic growth is a rise in real output, measured by GDP. Economic development is broader: rising living standards, better health and education, reduced inequality and structural change in what an economy produces.
329 words, about 2 min02Social Development and Human Welfare
Human welfare is the quality of people's lives: health, education, nutrition, shelter, safety, dignity and participation. Distinguish needs (survival essentials) from wants.
340 words, about 2 min03Sustainable Development and the Environment
Sustainable development meets present needs without preventing future generations from meeting theirs. It rests on three pillars - economic, social and environmental - and all three must hold.
300 words, about 2 min04Political Development, Governance and Citizenship
The state is the legal-political unit with territory, population, government and sovereignty. The government is the group that runs it and can be replaced.
291 words, about 1 min05Globalization and International Relations
Globalisation is the growing interdependence of economies and societies through trade, investment, migration, information and culture. Know its drivers (cheaper transport, ICT, liberalisation, multinational corporations) and its channels: trade in goods and services, foreign direct investment, financial flows, aid, remittances, technology transfer and migration.
311 words, about 2 min06Cultural Development and National Identity
Culture is the learned, shared way of life of a group: knowledge, beliefs, values, norms, customs, language, arts, dress, food, technology and institutions. Material culture is the physical objects; non-material culture is ideas and rules.
294 words, about 1 min07Population, Migration and Urbanization
A census counts everyone at a point in time; a survey samples. Know birth and death rates (per 1,000), rate of natural increase (births minus deaths), net migration, population growth rate, doubling time (about 70 ÷ annual growth per cent), population density (people per square kilometre), age–sex structure shown in population pyramids, dependency ratio, life expectancy, infant mortality and fertility rate.
308 words, about 2 min08Technology, Innovation and Communication
Technology is applied knowledge; invention is the first creation of something new; innovation is putting an idea into practical, commercial or social use. Know appropriate or intermediate technology (fits local skills, incomes, spares and energy), technology transfer, research and development, patents and intellectual property, automation and its labour effects (displacement, deskilling, new occupations).
290 words, about 1 min