British (UK)

The National Curriculum of England (UK) is a very structured curriculum that is designed to meet the needs of all students, stretching brighter children and supporting those who need it through differentiated teaching and learning activities. The curriculum extends and excites all students, whatever their interests or ability. Through it, teachers are able to identify, celebrate and nurture the talents and intelligences of students.

British education is renowned for concerning itself with the development of the whole personality.

In the British education system, students are taught to learn by questioning, problem-solving and creative thinking rather than by the mere retention of facts, hence giving them analytical and creative thinking skills that they will need in the working world. A variety of teaching and assessment methods designed to develop independent thought as well as a mastery of the subject matter is used.

The National Curriculum of England has a clearly defined series of academic and other objectives at every level. mydrasa focuses on Key stage 3 (Year 7-9), Key stage 4 IGCSE/GCSE (Year 10-11) and Key stage 5 A-Level (Year 12-13).

mydrasa added subjects related to Key stage 4 to Year 9, and added subjects related to Key stage 5 to Year 11 for student preparation.

IGCSE stands for the "International General Certificate of Secondary Education". It is a program leading to externally set, marked and certificated examinations from the University of Cambridge. Any student who takes an IGCSE subject will be gaining a qualification that is recognized globally.

The exam boards covered under the International GCSE are Cambridge, Edexcel, and Oxford AQA.

SUbjects

Subjects

Cambridge - Development Studies - 0453

  • Overview
  • Chapters

The aims of this syllabus describe the educational purposes of a course in development studies for the Cambridge IGCSE exam. Aims 8 and 9 are intended as course outcomes and are not assessed in the exam.

The aims are to:

1. enable candidates to analyse development both as a concept and in practice within the socio-economic, political and resource contexts of a given society

2. give candidates an understanding of development terminology, and make them aware of crucial global issues

3. develop candidates’ understanding of the ways in which social, economic, political and environmental systems relate to each other

4. give candidates the analytical skills that they need for understanding development

5. develop candidates’ ability to study and assess different development strategies and experiences critically

6. give candidates an understanding of both the prospects for development and the constraints upon it, and show them how to recognise the value of the resource potential of their own environment

7. develop candidates’ understanding of the interrelationship of development at local, national, regional and international levels

8. give candidates an understanding of development issues so that they can work towards ending poverty, exploitation and environmental destruction

9. develop candidates’ self-awareness and their understanding of the attitudes, values and beliefs of others, and encourage them to have respect for human rights.



  • 1: Skills
    1.1: Skills
    1.1.1: Research secondary sources
    1.1.2: Collect primary data through observation, questionnaires, interviews
    1.1.3: Present data in a variety of forms
    1.1.4: Analyse data, graphs, maps, photographs, diagrams, cartoons, text
    1.1.5: Evaluate data and strategies
    1.1.6: Make and justify decisions using a variety of sources of information
  • 2: Poverty and development
    2.1: Understand the concepts of poverty and development
    2.1.1: Define poverty
    2.1.2: The concepts of development, economic development & sustainable development
    2.1.3: Understand both the negative and positive aspects of developments
    2.1.4: The Millennium Development Goals, their targets
    2.2: Measure levels of poverty and development
    2.2.1: Measure levels of poverty and development using different indicators
    2.2.2: Explain why indicators vary and why some are more useful than others
    2.2.3: Explain why some aspects of development are difficult or impossible to measure
    2.3: Identify patterns of development and characteristics of countries
    2.3.1: Describe the broad global patterns of development
    2.3.2: Describe the characteristics of countries at different levels of development
    2.4: Analyse social and health issues in relation to poverty and development
    2.4.1: Understand the concept of basic needs for human life
    2.4.2: Understand the importance of education in improving living standards
    2.4.3: Describe & analyse social and health issues facing low & middle income countries
    2.4.4: Understand the basic developmental needs of low income & middle income countries
    2.4.5: Recognise the role of women in development
    2.4.6: How traditional lifestyles affect development and the alleviation of poverty
    2.4.7: Possible strategies to reduce inequality, discrimination & deprivation
    2.5: Describe, explain & analyse how political issues affect poverty and development
    2.5.1: Understand the concept of human rights
    2.5.2: Understand the roles of the different institutions of government
    2.5.3: Recognise that political systems control the distribution of resources
    2.5.4: Understand how different political systems operate
    2.5.5: Explain how political actions can promote or restrict development
    2.5.6: Understand the need to combat corruption
    2.5.7: Understand the need for international co-operation to solve global issues
  • 3: Industrial development, trade and globalisation
    3.1: Understand the concept of industrialisation and the processes of production
    3.1.1: Describe the characteristics of employment in the formal and informal sectors
    3.1.2: Understand the meaning of industrialisation
    3.1.3: The need for an educated/skilled workforce for industrialisation to occur
    3.1.4: Describe the factors of production: land, labour, capital, enterprise
    3.1.5: Understand the terms: inputs, processes, outputs of production
    3.1.6: Describe the types of technology and explain, using examples.
    3.1.7: Explain economies of scale
    3.1.8: Describe labour- and capital-intensive methods of production
    3.1.9: Describe the sectors of production in a national economy
    3.1.10: Appreciate the role of consumers in promoting sustainable development
    3.2: Understand the growth and role of world trade
    3.2.1: Understand the terms: import, export, balance of trade
    3.2.2: Examine the ways developing countries can improve their balance of trade
    3.2.3: Understand the terms: neo-colonialism, dependency and fair trade
    3.2.4: The growth and changes in the pattern of world trade since 1950
    3.2.5: Explain the importance of trade and how it benefits countries
    3.2.6: Understand free trade zones and World Trade Agreements
    3.2.7: Appreciate the need for and the impacts of fair trade
    3.3: Understand the function and impact of foreign investment on development
    3.3.1: Describe the role of aid agencies and charities in development
    3.3.2: Understand the term aid effectiveness
    3.3.3: Understand the role of the IMF, World Bank and regional development banks
    3.3.4: Explain the causes and impacts of national debt and the benefits of debt relief
    3.3.5: The role of foreign direct investment & multinational (transnational) companies
    3.3.6: Evaluate the impact of multinational companies on development
    3.4: Understand the process of globalisation and evaluate its impacts
    3.4.1: The term globalisation and have an awareness of its advantages & disadvantages
    3.4.2: The role of telecommunications and transportation services in globalisation
    3.4.3: Describe the development, advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing
    3.4.4: Assess the impact of outsourcing as a means to development
    3.4.5: Assess the impacts of travel and tourism as a means of development
    3.5: Understand different approaches to development
    3.5.1: Describe and evaluate different approaches to development at a variety of scales
    3.5.2: Understand the importance of the earth’s natural resources to all development
  • 4: Population and development
    4.1: Understand the reasons for and impact of population change
    4.1.1: Define the terms population density, over population, population growth
    4.1.2: The positive and negative reasons for changes in population growth rates
    4.1.3: Impact of changes in the crude birth & death rates on the population structure
    4.1.4: Understand the impact of changes in population structure and size on development
    4.2: Understand the nature, causes and impacts of urbanisation
    4.2.1: Explain how development leads to urbanisation
    4.2.2: Describe the effects of urbanisation on both rural and urban areas
    4.2.3: Describe & evaluate solutions to the problems resulting from urbanisation
    4.3: Understand the reasons for and impacts of international migration
    4.3.1: Define the terms immigration, emigration, forced migration & voluntary migration
    4.3.2: Understand the causes of international migration
    4.3.3: Positive and negative impacts of migration on low and middle income countries
    4.3.4: Investigate ways of managing international migration
    4.4: Implications of rapid population growth & analyse strategies for dealing with it
    4.4.1: Undertake a case study of a country where rapid population growth is an issue
    4.4.2: evaluate programmes designed to overcome population issues
  • 5: Environment and development
    5.1: Develop an understanding and appreciation of the nature of rural development
    5.1.1: Describe the nature of traditional societies; the use and ownership of land
    5.1.2: Describe and illustrate examples of commercial farming
    5.1.3: Describe and evaluate selected rural development schemes and strategies
    5.2: Recognise the growth and importance of a world market for agricultural products
    5.2.1: Understand the impact of population growth and changing demand on food supplies
    5.2.2: Describe the ways in which agriculture can be modernised to increase output
    5.2.3: Examine the impact of transport, preserving and freezing
    5.2.4: Evaluate agricultural systems in terms of cash crop production
    5.3: Understand the impacts of changes in agriculture and investigate strategies
    5.3.1: Understand the causes and impacts of the flight from the land
    5.3.2: The causes of land degradation, soil erosion, pesticide and nitrate pollution
    5.3.3: Consider the sustainability of modern farming systems and of organic farming
    5.4: Examine the reasons for land-use pressure and methods of land conservation
    5.4.1: Increasing population leading to deforestation and desertification
    5.4.2: Impact of rapid urbanisation and industrial development
    5.4.3: Increasing demand for land for utilities (water supply, power supply, etc.)
    5.4.4: Exploitation of land for mineral extraction
    5.4.5: Mass tourism as a source of foreign earnings, and growth of tourist resorts
    5.4.6: Evaluate conservation methods to preserve/conserve land and retain biodiversity
    5.5: Understand the reasons for and impact of global environmental problems
    5.5.1: The causes of deforestation of tropical forests and its effects on biodiversity
    5.5.2: The possible causes of climate change and its current & probable future impacts
    5.5.3: Understand how acid rain occurs and the impact of acid rain on ecosystems
    5.5.4: Understand the causes of urban air pollution
    5.5.5: Water pollution from industrial production & sewage
    5.5.6: Evaluate strategies to reduce waste sent to landfill sites
    5.6: Understand how natural disasters affect development
    5.6.1: Case study of a natural disaster and assess its impact on development

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