Rural-urban movement among Botswana's skilled manpower: some observations on the two sector model
Theoretical Background and AimsOrthodox theories of social change emphasise the importance of formal training in the structural transformation of traditional systems within less developed countries (Peil 1973; Dore 1978). It is assumed that through investment in human capital economically-backward societies will achieve modernisation and growth, and that a sequence of changes in the social and occupational structure following the typical Western model will occur. A close association between educational and occupational attainment is postulated which forms the basis for a new system of social stratification defined by educational qualification and income level (Foster 1977). Intervening between the academic achievement of individuals and their entry into the job market an important additional spatial variable is included in the dual sector model (Lewis 1954; Forde 1968). Given that rural-urban dichotomy exists between traditional and modern sectors the model suggests that considerable selective movement from countryside to town is an additional necessary condition for economic growth. Finally it is assumed that the resultant spatial separation of the educated from their traditional environment coupled by secure employment in town consolidates the process of acculturation into a Western value system (Foley 1977).