The most commonly used theories of psychology and development are largely based on Western epistemologies.  The methods that emerge from these theories are often a response to needs expressed from within these cultures.  These approaches were in effect developed by a people, for a people with certain orientations . . . both the creators of the service as well as the consumers of the service are culturally prepared in a closely similar manner to offer and partake of the service .  Within this environment of cultural preparedness, conditions could be created for a certain interventions to be effective.  This does not mean that the same conditions are necessary or sufficient in other cultural contexts Researchers concerned with the cultural relevance of interventions have pointed out that the development of programmes must be based upon a deep knowledge of the ways of life and world views of the community for which the programme is being developed. 

The effectiveness of an intervention could be higher when the ideas and concepts that lie behind an intervention cohere with the history, values and beliefs of a particular community.  Over the years, geopolitical forces such as colonisation and globalisation have intruded into existing ways of living and eroded the value placed on tenets of local cultures.  As a result, age old customs, skills and knowledge bases are written off in the contemporary context as being unscientific and impractical. 

For example, a strong body of evidence shows current classroom instruction is ‘top-down’, involving much rote learning and not contextualized.  Often it fails to make contact with children’s own experiences, including their language and their culture.  There are relatively few robust evaluations of culturally sensitive interventions delivered in developing countries to improve literacy and numeracy in young children.



Many of us may have had the experience of hearing a glass pane or tumbler vibrate when a bell rings or when a musical instrument hits a certain note.  Physicists use the word resonate to explain this phenomenon.  We highlight the importance both of research and practice resonating with a culture in order to sharpen their relevance.