Community Development
Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) represents employers, stakeholders and staff working in Community Development, the key purpose of which is to collectively bring about social change and justice by working with communities to:
- identify their needs, opportunities, rights and responsibilities
- plan, organise and take action
- evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the action in ways which tackle oppression and inequality.
Community Development starts from the premise that within any community there is a wealth of knowledge and experience which, if used in creative ways, results in high levels of participation and can be channelled into collective action to achieve the communities' desired goals. Community Development workers work alongside people in communities, build relationships with key people and organisations to facilitate the identification of common concerns, and help build autonomous groups. They create opportunities for non-formal learning, which will help to increase the capacity of communities.
By enabling people to act together, Community Development workers help to foster social inclusion and equality. Education and training needs are based on core values and processes characterised by autonomy of individuals and groups, change and development, justice and equality, collective action and skills of participatory learning.
The values at the core of Community Development are:
- social justice
- self-determination
- working and learning together
- sustainable communities
- participation
- reflective practice.
This text has been taken from the 'National Occupational Standards for Community Development Work', issued by the former National Training Organisation for Community Learning and Development (PAULO) in 2004, which is available by clicking on the link, and from the 'Skills Foresight Report, also issued by (PAULO) in 2004.
