Development is change that brings progress or improvement. It can describe the growth of an idea or a product; or it could mean the expansion of a region’s economy and employment opportunities. Development can also refer to changes in social and cultural life that occur over time. For example, a community may develop traditions around holidays and celebrations that its members share. In business, development is the process of building a team of high-performing employees.
The way we understand development is shaped by assumptions researchers make about the nature of human beings and their behaviors. These assumptions are called meta-theories and they include beliefs about the causes of development, whether it is qualitative or quantitative, and the extent to which it involves continuous or discontinuous change.
For example, some theorists, like Piaget and Erickson, assume that everyone passes through a standard set of cognitive developmental stages in a predictable order. These stages are presumed to be a result of physical maturation or brain function. Other theorists, like behaviorists and information processing theorists, take a different approach. They believe that people acquire more advanced skills based on their experiences and the environment.
Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, for instance, developed a theory of development that takes a more active approach to people’s choices and options for development. Their perspective, which is sometimes called the capability approach, argues that people cannot reach their full potential without access to freedom of economic, social and family action.