STUDY UNIT 1:
Study Unit 1 is based on Weyers, chapter 1 (pp. 5-49)
Core concepts/constructs
Community development: The method, process, programme and strategy by means of which
change agents, with or without the help of external systems:
a) speed up the rate at which a community develops;
b) provide direction to the development process to realise objectives purposefully within the
economic, psychosocial, bio-physiological, technological, spiritual-cultural, political,
environmental, educational and other spheres of life;
c) makes the goal attainment process as cost-effective, streamlined and sustainable as
possible so that both human and environmental resources are used optimally;
d) contribute to human growth and the unlocking of human potential by empowering
community members to take responsibility for their own, as well as the whole system's
development.
Community work: The method of social work that consists of the various processes and helping acts
of the social worker that are targeted at the community system, as well as its subsystems and certain
external systems, with the purpose of bringing about required social change with the help of
especially community development, social planning, community education, social marketing and
social action as practice models.
The difference between the concepts of community work and community development
The difference between the concepts community work and community development from an
ecosystems perspective is a question of focus and scope. Community development field of practice
encompasses all eight spheres of community life, namely, economic, psychological, bio-physical,
technological, spiritual-cultural, political, environmental and educational. Its primary purpose is to
change the conditions within which people live in order to improve their overall standard of living
and quality of life. Community work has the exactly the same field of practice as social work practice.
Community work focus on the psychosocial sphere of community life. The domain of social work
practice implies that it is the profession’s primary purpose to improve people’s social functioning as
follows: it has to enable people to fulfil their roles more effectively, reform the environment in
which they live and change the transactions between the two.
Construct: A concept employed in summarising a multitude of facts and in formulating explanatory
theories.
Impediment: Any type of (unresolved) social problem, (unfulfilled) social need or unutilised or
underutilised potential that hampers or obstructs effective social functioning.
Need: The discrepancy or “gap” that exists between “what is” or the current state of affairs and
“what should be” or the desired state.
Practice model: A set of concepts and principles that guide intervention.
,Strengths: Personal abilities, resourcefulness and creativity, as well as resources in interpersonal
relationships, culture, organisational networks and community connections.
Vision and mission of community work
Community work vision and mission is the same as that of social work. A good or just society. The
good and just society would provide for everyone warm and safe society, an adequate supply of
water and nutritious food, challenging jobs, loving and caring friends and family, access to services
and resources they need, the will and skill to deal effectively with life’s daily challenges, minimal
stress, crime and suffering, the opportunity to participate in the plans and policies that affect their
lives and balance between individual and collective rights and responsibilities.
Purpose of community work
The specific contributions community work make to achieving the profession’s envisaged vision
(good/just society) entails social change on three levels.
First level: To enhance people’s problem solving, coping and developmental capacities.
Second level: To create and maintain the opportunities, resources and services that people
need.
Third level: To link people with systems that provides them with the required resources,
services and opportunities. The benefits in community work contribute directly to the
effective social functioning and improved living conditions of larger groups, the community
and society as a whole.
Goals of community work
There are three types of community work goals, namely task goals, process goals and operational
goals. Task goals represent some type of intended change in the circumstances or environment of a
community. For example, they cover the creation of circumstances in which community systems are
empowered to perform their problem solving. Process goals denote a people changing type
outcome. They cover the bringing about of some form of change in people’s knowledge, attitudes
and behaviour. Operational goals denote the type of change that a practitioner needs to bring about
in his employer organisation in order to make it a more effective service delivery system. The
operational goals are administrative in nature and should be seen as part of social work
management.
Discuss the purpose of community development
The purpose of community development is described as bringing about substantive and sustainable
change in all spheres of community life, in order to improve its members’ standards of living and
quality of life. From the purpose described above, eight categories of goals and objectives are
formulated, derived from model of the cycle of underdevelopment. They are those goals and
objectives aimed at breaking the cycle of underdevelopment, namely, economic, psychological, bio-
physical, technological, spiritual-cultural, political, environmental and educational.
,The origin of current community work thought
The community-based and community-centred schools of thought
Community-based school of thought: A school of thought that views community work as a direct
service strategy implemented in the context of the local community. Its scope of practice is
narrowed down to working in and directly with community members. It encompasses:
grassroot level organising
empowerment-centred interventions
a focus on local self-help, self-sufficiency and teamwork
Community-centred school of thought: it includes direct work in and with the community, but goes
a step further. It also encompasses the work that social workers do on behalf of and to the benefit of
communities and their members. It aims to change society in such a way that it would be more
conductive to the effective social functioning of its members and also ensure that the resources or
services that communities require are made available by ‘outsiders’.
The origins of community development
Macro level
Modernisation/ growth-centred
Statist social development approach – it is viewed as the state’s primary responsibility. The
core idea is that the most desirable results would be achieved within the shortest possible
time if a ‘top-down’ approach is followed.
Popular participation approach – it represents the opposite ‘bottom-up’ stance. It believes
that social development goals can best be attained if ordinary people are mobilised to
establish projects that serve their local communities and if they are actively involved in these
projects.
Mezzo level
Communitarian approach – focuses on man’s ability for self-fulfilment.
People-centred approach – believes that residents must control their own resources, have
access to relevant information and have a means to hold officials accountable.
Human resources approach – focuses on the improvement of a population’s ‘quality’.
Collectivist – believes in the idea that the best society is one in which collectives made up of
associations of people, own resources and share authority to make decisions.
Asset-based community development approach (ABCD) – believes that local individuals and
collective assets should be mobilised as the primary building blocks in a community-driven
development effort.
Micro level
Community problem-solving approach – based on the premise that various interests within a
community could join forces to creatively resolve a particular problem that affects them all.
, Neighbourhood empowerment approach – it is believed that, after family, the
neighbourhood is the first building block of the community.
Community support systems approach – believes that community members that face the
same problems are mobilised to offer each other practical assistance and psychological
support.
The nature of community work
The Ecosystems Perspective
The science of human ecology emphasises the relationship and reciprocal and adaptive transactions
among 'organisms' (e.g. individuals, couples, families, groups, organisations and communities) and
between these 'organisms' and their bio-psycho-socio-cultural-economic-political-physical
environment. The resultant person-in-environment (PIE) construct is especially valuable for social
work because of its focus on individuals, their environment and the transactions/relationships
between the two. It also explains the nature of social problems as a lack of adaptive fit between
them. This refers to the inability of some people to adapt to or cope with the demands of their
social and physical environment or the existence of an environment that cannot sufficiently
accommodate people's needs, capacities and goals.
The environment can be divided into two spheres: the nurturing and the sustaining environment.
The nurturing environment consists of the systems with whom a person interacts frequently, that
have a profound effect on his sense of identity and functioning, and that contributes to or detract
from his social well-being. The sustaining environment comprises the wide range of institutionalised
and other less intimate services, resources and opportunities that can sustain, enhance, aid or
damage a person's well-being. This environment is often typified as 'the community'.
A characteristic of the community as a social system is that its sub-systems have linkages with each
other and with other systems outside its borders. Any change within a particular sub-system or the
broader society would, therefore have an impact on all the other systems, including each individual.
Individuals and their nurturing environment is mostly the focus of micro practice (including
clinical/case work services) and the sustaining environment that of macro services (including
community work).
From your overview of the ecosystem perspective it should, among others, be clear that man and his
environment are interdependent and that a change in one subsystem will lead to a change in others.
One effect of this is that the actions of an individual or small group of people can have an impact on
the entire system, and vice versa.
The practice models
A practice model refers to a set of concepts and principles that guide intervention. They represent
‘ideal types’ that are intended to give direction to practitioners' service delivery by bringing order
and clarity to the complex realities that they face. A practitioner should use their professional
