Oksana Popadiuk

Ways Of Knowing- Midterm

October 28, 2014

Question 1
Not only is holding a single, desirable outcome for human development problematic, it is
also an irrational expectation. It is ethically wrong to think that a single outcome of human
development should be the goal of every culture and society. We can safely argue that there are
similarities in developmental goals in different cultures, but it is important to remember that
certain cultures may have very different core values than that of another. This is presented
clearly if we compare a Navajo perspective on human development and a Western view. Both
have similarities but ultimately have different beliefs as to what it means to develop successfully.
A more specific example can be drawn from Rogoff (2003):
It cannot be assumed that the same behavior has identical meaning in different
communities. For example, native Hawaiian children were observed to make fewer
verbal requests for help than Caucasian children in Hawaiian classrooms (Gillmore,
Boggs, & Jordan, 1974; cited in Price Williams, 1975). (p. 33)
Rogoff (2003, p. 33) goes onto explain that, after further observation, it was found that the
Hawaiian students werent making fewer requests, they were simply asking in a different way.
Their requests for assistance presented themselves in nonverbal ways. For example, watching
the teacher from a distance or approaching, standing nearby, or briefly touching her.

References

1. Chisolm, J.S. (1996). Learning respect for everything: Navajo images of

development. In Images of childhood (pp.167-183). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
2. Muus, R. E. (1988). Eriksons theory of identity development. In Theories of
adolescence (pp. 1-25) New York. Random House.
3. Rogoff, B. (2003). Orienting concepts. In The cultural nature of human development
(pp. 3-36). New York. Oxford University Press.