Community Development and Community
Community development has been described as aconscious technique or process to solve social change problems; a process thatenables communities to “collectively confront and act on their common valuesand problems” (Lotz, 1977, p.16).Hamilton (1992) defined community development as
a plannedand organized effort to assist individuals to acquire the attitudes, skills,and concepts required for their democratic participation in the effectivesolution of as wide a range of community improvement problems as possible inthe order of priority determined by their increasing levels of competence. (p.29)
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Moreland and Lovett (1997) see community development as a learningprocess that involves people in experiences from which they will learn ways ofenhancing their capacity for self-directed activity and destiny. From a social interventionist or animation sociale view, communitydevelopment can be described as “the process of animation that gives rise to aprocess of self-education, the essence of which is a heightening of thecapacity for self-determination.@ (Draper, 1971, p. 160).
Lotz (1977) identified two types of community-- the vertical or geographical one (street, neighbourhood, or reserve), andthe horizontal or non-geographical one (teachers, farmers, and social classes).The central concept of community implies territoriality or constituency, whichusually leads to the establishment of boundaries and the monitoring of whocrosses them. It is necessary for acommunity to acknowledge its problems, and need for assistance, before anexternal agency attempts to ‘come in’ and start a community developmentprocess; otherwise, the development worker could be perceived as an“unwarranted intruder” (p. 9). Lotzalso provided a definition ofdevelopment, as A...an unfolding, a growth from within, an organic process that involvesa fuller and richer working out of what has already been started...@(p. 9).
The community development process engages inpolitics, leadership, power attainment, group dynamics, learning, and socialchange; thus, it is “multidisciplinary and draws from political science,sociology, social psychology, social work, and adult education” (Hamilton,1992, p. 33). Some of the characteristicsof the community development process are as follows: community memberinvolvement in problem-solving and decision-making; a learning process that isgeared towards a change in behaviour and requires learning by doing;participants who increase their competence and capacity to manage their ownaffairs; and a grass-roots approach to social action (Draper, 1971). The success of the community developmentprocess can be judged in terms of the community=s capacity building, groupdevelopment and empowerment, and the achievement of social, economic, culturaland environmental targets and objects (Lovett, 1997).
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References:
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Draper, J.(Ed.) (1971). Citizen Participation. Toronto: New Press.
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Hamilton,E. (1992). Adult Education for Community Development. New York: Greenwood Press.
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Lotz, J.(1977). Understanding Canada. Toronto: New Canada Publications
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Lovett, T.(1997). Community education andcommunity development: the Northern Irelandexperience.
Studies in theEducation of Adults, 29 (1), 39-50.
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Lovett, T.,& Gillespie, N. (1997). CommunityDevelopment: Democracy and Citizenship in NorthernIreland.
Convergence, 30(1), 9-13.
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Moreland,R., & Lovett, T. (1997). Lifelonglearning and community development. InternationalJournal of Lifelong
Education, 16(3),201-216.
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