Human Development in Cultural Context

A Third World Perspective

A comprehensive, systematic account of human development which is sensitive to the needs, interests and ecologies of nonwestern cultures and individuals is provided in this unique volume. The importance and value of the sociocultural milieu in shaping the growth and development of children is emphasized, and the author asserts throughout that children do not grow and develop according to the same patterns regardless of culture.

The author describes developmental psychology from the perspective of West Africa, demonstrating how the local ecology and the resulting cultural ideology lead to differing ways in which children are conceptualized and socialized, and in turn how they develop. While much of his case material is from Cameroon, Nsamenang draws parallels with other parts of the Third World. The result is a perspective which challenges the traditional wisdom of what Nsamenang sees as a Eurocentric area of study, where knowledge has largely been gleaned from studies which focus on affluent offspring of highly-educated, mainly white, parents.