76 BOOK REVIEWS

educator from an advanced industriahsed society (Philip Altbach) perceives technological transfer, as compared to the way an educator from a developing country (S. Gopinathan) perceives it. The perspectives complement each other well, and both highlight the peculiarly complex political and economic nature of cross-cultural educational transfers. These dimensions are further explored through the socio-political, historical analysis which makes up part IV of the volume. This traces the development of the educational system in France and the transfer of its bureaucratic technology - the ministry structure - to colonies in Southeast Asia. The political context of technological transfers is vividly illustrated, for as the case study author, Gail Kelly, observes: ‘Decisions to seek new technologies and the choice of which technology to transfer are not necessarily technical issues. Rather these decisions are related to power relations both within and between nations’ (p. 248).

The approach adopted in this book is ambitious and a final synthesising chapter might have helped draw together the various threads by identifying more precisely the key issues surrounding the creation, development and transfer of educational technology. As it is, the final chapter by Victor Kobayashi offers some useful additional perspec- tives on the theme, and, more significantly for a discussion of cross-cultural transfer, a re-assessment of the meaning of educational technology which recognises that technolo- gies are not ideologically and philosophically neutral.

This book promises considerable scope for improving our understanding of how education in different parts of the world can take advantage of technology. Most of the individual papers do have intrinsic interest, but as a whole it dissappoints, offering few new insights and lacking depth and coherence - a common problem when conference papers are published as books.

SUSIE RODWELL University of London Institute of Education

Children and World Development: A Resource Book for Teachers: Roy Williams. UNICEF, 1987. Thin Black Lines: Political Cartoons and Development Education: Calm Regan, Scott Sinclair and Martyn Turner. Develop- ment Education Centre, Birmingham, 1988.

First the bad news. 280,000 children died this week of preventable disease and undernutrition, approximately the same number who died last week and next week and next week . . .

The good news. In the past five years the lives of four million children have been saved at a comparatively low cost through what is seen as a revolution in child health and child care.

These two books provide resources for teachers in an attempt to encourage schools to take part in this ‘silent revolution’ and in the process widen and deepen children’s knowledge of development issues.

Children and World Development comes out of a two year Sussex University project supported by UNICEF UK.

The book foregrounds the living conditions of women and children in the developing world with a wealth of data-maps, statistics, quotations, photographs-around which teachers and pupils can build up a framework of specialized knowledge of development concerns. The material is divided into six units e.g. ‘children’s rights’, ‘women and development’ and includes teachers’ notes, sections dealing specifically with ‘facts’; and details of additional resources and further reading.

The teacher committed to a development education approach wtll find much in this book to resource his or her lesson plans. The approach of the book is to present material (and there are some marvellous photographs) and leave its integration into the traditionally subject- orientated curriculum to the imagination and experience of the teacher. The teaching notes help but could have gone further, particularly for the probationer teacher, in giving more examples of how development issues can, for example, become an acceptable and legitimate part of the teaching of science, geography and music. The Develop- ment Puzzle by Nance Fyson (Heinemann) published a few years ago leans more in this direction.

A second weakness of this book is its focus upon the developing world and therefore a neglect of development issues within Britain. The tendency is for development to be seen as ‘out there’ and nothing to do with life at home. A way forward lies in producing material that shows that inequality, injustice and greed (and the measures being taken to counter these) are as much part of our landscape as they are the African or the Asian.

Thin Black Lines marries political cartoons with development education and Birmingham Development Education Centre are to be congratulated for compiling such an amazing array of cartoons (350 or more) drawn from around the world that deal with major issues of development, freedom and justice.

Like the previous book the material is arranged around themes e.g. ‘what is development?‘; ‘arms or develop- ment?‘; ‘human rights’ etc. and includes back-up information, lead articles introducing the main issues, and classroom activities developing out of ‘the point’ of the particular cartoon.

Interestingly the book also aims to build up skills in ‘reading’ cartoons and effort has been taken, too, to include a variety of cartooning styles. There are examples of the familiar work of Cummings, Kal, Garland and Heath (why no Gerald Scarfe?) alongside political cartoons from Zimbabwe, Colombia and Yugoslavia.

My favourite cartoonist, Bryan McAllister of The Guardian is represented by a small drawing of a husband and wife at a restaurant table. The waiter is saying, ‘Would you like to be left alone to feel guilty about Ethiopia before or after the sweet trolley?’

Cartoons like these are subtle and sophisticated (they were after all intended primarily for adult readers) and it will take an imaginative teacher to exploit their potential.

Again, the book would have benefitted from specific strategies for integrating the material into the normal school curriculum. Quite often development education fails to have the impact it wants because too much time is spent by children reading and discussing the data and not enough time carrying the issues further into arenas of action and change.

But as resource books these contributions offer a wealth of original and beautifully presented material. We live at a time when education is seen as mere training with anything