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The Theory and Practice of Community Work: A Southern African Perspective

(2nd Ed.). Chapter 1: Community work: An overview
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The Theory and Practice of Community Work:
a Southern African Perspective
2 nd Edition
The Theory and Practice of
Community
Work:
a So u t h e r n A f r i c a n P e r s p e c t i v e
2nd
Edition
2011
M.L. Weyers
With special contributions by:
L.S. Geyer & P. Rankin
KEURKOPIE
Potchefstroom (South Africa)
The Theory and Practice of Community Work:
a Southern African Perspective
2 nd Edition
Published by:
KEURKOPIE
Potchefstroom (South Africa)
© Copyright 2001, 2011 M.L. Weyers

C/o North-West University,
Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520
SOUTH AFRICA
E-Mail: [email protected]
Second Edition, 1st Print (2011)
ISBN 978-0-620-47310-1
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the author.
Cover Design: M.L. Weyers
Setwork: M.L. Weyers
Printed & bound by: Arnold & Wessels Printers, Klerksdorp, South Africa
Cover (clockwise): Participants in a protest march against child abuse, a
community pledge to prevent women and child abuse, the personal
effectiveness training of a group of SAPS members and a silent roadside
protest.
Language editing: Prof. Lesley Greyvenstein
SPECIALLY DEDICATED TO:

Elmarie, Jetane, Dejon, Enrike & Djiné.
A special word of thanks to the numerous academics, students and
practitioners from across South Africa and abroad who, over the years,
have contributed to the development of the theoretical and practice
content of this book.
The author and the publisher have made every effort to obtain permission for and
to acknowledge the use of the material contained in this book. Some, however,
are in the public domain and it was impossible to trace their origins. Where
copyright infringements have inadvertently occurred, the publishers will be
grateful for information that will enable them to rectify any omissions or errors in
future editions.
Contents
Contents
PREFACE (2ND EDITION) 1 4. The relationship between
List of special contributors ............... 2 community work and the other
social work methods ................ 34
PART 1 3 5. The nature of community
THE THEORY OF COMMUNITY development .......................... 36
WORK .................................... 3 5.1 Community development as a
natural process ........................... 37
CHAPTER 1 5 5.2 Community development as a form

of intervention ........................... 39
COMMUNITY WORK: AN OVERVIEW 5 5.3 Defining the concept 'community

development' ............................. 39
1. Introduction ............................ 7 5.4 The purpose, goals and objectives of
2. The origins of current community development ............... 41
community work thought ............ 8 5.4.1 Goals pertaining to the economic cycle .. 41
5.4.2 Goals pertaining to the psychosocial
2.1 The origins of community cycle ........................................... 42
development thought ................... 11 5.4.3 Goals pertaining to the bio-
2.1.1 Macro level ................................... 11 physiological cycle ........................... 42
2.1.2 Mezzo level ................................... 12 5.4.4 Goals pertaining to the technological
2.1.3 Micro level .................................... 12 cycle ........................................... 43
5.4.5 Goals pertaining to the spiritual-
2.2 The origins of social planning
cultural cycle ................................. 43
thought .................................... 13
5.4.6 Goals pertaining to the political cycle ... 44
2.2.1 Macro level ................................... 13
5.4.7 Goals pertaining to the environmental
2.2.2 Mezzo/micro levels ......................... 14 cycle ........................................... 45
2.3 The origins of community education 5.4.8 Goals pertaining to the educational
thought .................................... 15 cycle ........................................... 45
2.3.1 Macro level ................................... 15 5.5 Change agents in community
2.3.2 Mezzo level ................................... 15 development ............................. 46
2.3.3 Micro level .................................... 15
6. The relationship between
2.4 The origins of social marketing
community work and
thought .................................... 16
community development ........... 47
2.5 The origins of social action thought .. 17
2.5.1 Macro level ................................... 17
CHAPTER 2 53
2.5.2 Mezzo level ................................... 17
3. The nature of community work ... 19 THE COMPONENTS OF COMMUNITY

3.1 Some core theories, perspectives WORK 53
and models ................................ 19 1. Introduction ............... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.1 The ecosystems perspective ............... 20
3.1.2 The practice models ........................ 21 2. Component 1: The communityError! Bookmark not define
3.1.3 The strengths perspective ................. 23 2.1 The concept 'community' .. Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Social work’s domain of practice ...... 25 2.1.1 The social dimension of a
community ................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3 Social work methods .................... 27
2.1.2 The spatial dimension of a
3.4 Defining community work .............. 27 community ................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.5 The purpose, goals and objectives of 2.1.3 The functional dimension of a
community work ......................... 29 community .............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1.4 The cultural-symbolic dimension of a
3.5.1 The vision and mission of community
community .............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
work ........................................... 30
3.5.2 The purpose of community work .......... 31 2.2 The practical demarcation of
3.5.3 The goals of community work ............. 31 communities ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.5.4 The objectives of community work ....... 34 2.2.1 The 'contextual' community Error! Bookmark not defined.
Contents
2.2.2 Geo-spatial communitiesError! Bookmark not defined. HAPTER C 3E !B RRO R OOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
2.2.3 Geo-social communities ...... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.2.4 Geo-functional communitiesError! Bookmark not defined. T
HE COMMUNITY WORK PROCESS ERROR! BOOKMARK
2.2.5 Other types of community
demarcations ................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 1. IntroductionError! Bookmark not defined.
2.3 Community changeError! Bookmark not defined.2. A general framework of the
2.3.1 Causes of community changeError! Bookmark not defined.
community work process Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3.2 Reactions to community changeError! Bookmark not defined.
3. Step 1: Do a situation-analysisError! Bookmark not define
3. Component 2: The practitionerError! Bookmark not defined.
3.1 Task 1: Analyse the contextError! Bookmark not defined.
3.1 Some knowledge requirementsError! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Task 2: Analyse the expectations Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Some attitudinal requirementsError! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.1 Principle 1: You should do 3.3 Task 3: Compare findings with the
community work ............ Error! Bookmark not defined. practice models .......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.2 Principle 2: You should be objective Error! Bookmark not defined. 4. Step 2: Identify and analyse
3.2.3 Principle 3: You should do no harmError! Bookmark not the defined.
impediments ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.4 Principle 4: You should treat people
with dignity .................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 4.1 Task 1: Identify the impediments
3.2.5 Principle 5: You should build on the that should receive attentionError! Bookmark not defined.
community’s strengthsError! Bookmark not defined. 4.2 Task 2: Define, analyse and
3.2.6 Principle 6: You should empower prioritise the impediments Error! Bookmark not defined.
people ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.3 Task 3: Do a preliminary feasibility
3.2.7 Principle 7: You should be a change
agent .......................... Error! Bookmark not defined. study ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.8 Principle 8: You should be 5. Step 3: Formulate a plan of
accountableError! Bookmark not defined.
action ...................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.9 Principle 9: You should lend a vision
to others ..................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 5.1 Task 1: Verify and operationalise
the practice model(s) .... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3 Some skills requirementsError! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.1 Overview of the eight habits of 5.2 Task 2: Select the operational
highly effective community workers Error! Bookmark not defined. elements of action ....... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.2 Habit 1: They strive to understand 5.3 Task 3: Formulate a programme
their position within the greater and projects ............... Error! Bookmark not defined.
scheme of thingsError! Bookmark not defined.
5.3.1 Design principles for community
3.3.3 Habit 2: They continually empower work programmes: the programme
themselves ................... Error! Bookmark not defined. logic model example ....... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.4 Habit 3: They spend time on self- 5.3.2 A typology of community work
renewal ....................... Error! Bookmark not defined. programmes and projects that could
3.3.5 Habit 4: They first seek the moral be undertakenError! Bookmark not defined.
support of their employer and 5.3.3 Types of communication
colleagues .................... Error! Bookmark not defined. opportunities or media that could be
3.3.6 Habit 5: They build and utilize utilised ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
partnerships/coalitionsError! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.7 Habit 6: They use management and 6. Step 4: Implement the plan of
planning as empowerment toolsError! Bookmark not defined. action ...................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.8 Habit 7: They activate the push of
6.1 Task 1: Legitimise the plan Error! Bookmark not defined.
discomfort and the pull of hope in
others ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 6.2 Task 2: Implement the plan Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.9 Habit 8: They instil an internal locus 6.3 Task 3: Execute change inducing
of control in othersError! Bookmark not defined.
acts .......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4. Component 3: The contexts Error! Bookmark not defined. 6.3.1 Community work roles ..... Error! Bookmark not defined.
6.3.2 Community work techniques Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.1 The employer organisation/change
agent system ............... Error! Bookmark not defined. 7. Step 5: Evaluate the process
and results, and sustain changeError! Bookmark not defin
4.2 Macro socio-economic factorsError! Bookmark not defined.
4.3 Political factors: some elements of 7.1 Task 1: Evaluate the processError! Bookmark not defined.
the South African government's 7.2 Task 2: Evaluate the results Error! Bookmark not defined.
policy ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
7.3 Task 3: Sustain change ..... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Contents
PART 2 ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. 3.4 Steps 4 & 5: Implement the plan of
action and evaluate ....... Error! Bookmark not defined.
THE PRACTICE OF COMMUNITY
WORK ................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. CHAPTER 6 ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
CHAPTER 4ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DETFHIN A.TURE AND APPLICATION OF

E END
T H E C O M MU N I T Y E D U C A T I O N
T H E N A TU RE A N D A P P L I C A T I O N O F MO DEL ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
T H E C O M M U N I T Y DE V E L O P M E N T 1. The nature of the community

MO DEL ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
education modelError! Bookmark not defined.
1. The nature of the community 2. When to use the community
development model .............. Error! Bookmark not defined. education model .......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2. When to use the community 3. How to use the community
development modelError! Bookmark not defined.
education model .......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3. How to use the community 3.1 Step 1: Do a situation-analysisError! Bookmark not defined.
development modelError! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Step 2: Identify and analyse the
impediments ............... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1 Step 1: Do a situation-analysisError! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Step 2: Identify and analyse the 3.3 Step 3: Formulate a plan of actionError! Bookmark not define
3.3.1 Decide on objectives and learning
3.2.1 Make contact and negotiate entryError! Bookmark material ....................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
not defined.
3.2.2 Mobilise representation from within 3.3.2 Decide on the level of intervention Error! Bookmark not defined.
the communityError! Bookmark not defined. 3.3.3 Decide on the programme/ project's
3.2.3 Undertake a needs and resource basic format ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
assessment ................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.4 Decide on educational opportunities
3.3 Step 3: Formulate a plan of actionError! Bookmark not and techniques .............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
defined.
3.3.5 Mobilise an action system . Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.1 Procedures in the planning of
development projectsError! Bookmark not defined. 3.3.6 Formulate programmes and projects Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.2 Type of projects that could be 3.4 Steps 4 and 5: Implement the plan
undertaken .................. Error! Bookmark not defined. of action and evaluate ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.4 Steps 4 & 5: Implement the plan of
action and evaluateError! Bookmark not defined.CHAPTER 7 ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
CHAPTER 5ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DETFHIN A.TURE AND APPLICATION OF

E END
THE SOCIAL MARKETING MODEL ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
T H E N A TU RE A N D A P P L I C A T I O N O F 1. The nature of the social

THE SOCIAL PLANNING MODELERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
marketing modelError! Bookmark not defined.
1. The nature of the social planning
2. When to use the social
model .......................Error! Bookmark not defined.
marketing model ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2. When to use the social planning
3. How to use the social
marketing model ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3. How to use the social planning 3.1 Step 1: Do a situation-analysisError! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Step 2: Identify and analyse the
3.1 Step 1: Do a situation-analysisError! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Step 2: Identify and analyse the 3.2.1
Task 1: Define the impediments and
impediments ............... Error! Bookmark not defined. broad target groups ........ Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.2 Task 2: Do a market segmentation Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3 Step 3: Formulate a plan of actionError! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.3 Task 3: Evaluate the market
3.3.1 Mobilise an action committeeError! Bookmark not defined. segments/target groups ...... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.2 Plan the programmeError! Bookmark not defined. 3.2.4 Task 4: Select the target markets/
3.3.3 The characteristics of projects and groups ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
project planning ............ Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3 Step 3: Formulate a marketing planError! Bookmark not defin
3.3.4 Plan the projectsError! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.1 Task 1: Formulate the marketing
goals ........ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Contents
3.3.2 Task 2: Choose a marketing strategyError! Bookmark3.3.2 not defined.

Task 2: Establish a steering
3.3.3 Task 3: Choose the marketing committee or working groupError! Bookmark not defined.
channel and media ................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.3.3 Task 3: Decide on the form of the
3.3.4 Task 4: Compile a marketing mixError! Bookmark not defined. action system ................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.5 Task 5: Put the marketing plan in 3.3.4 Task 4: Organise the action system Error! Bookmark not defined.
writing ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.4 Step 4: Plan and go over to actionError! Bookmark not define
3.4 Step 4: Implement the marketing 3.4.1 Task 1: Select the strategy Error! Bookmark not defined.
plan .......................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.4.2 Task 2: Select the appropriate
3.4.1 Task 1: Legitimise the marketing tactics and techniques..... Error! Bookmark not defined.
plan ........................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3.4.3 Task 3: Schedule the events Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.4.2 Tasks 2 and 3: Implement the plan 3.4.4 Task 4: Go over to action . Error! Bookmark not defined.
and utilise media ........... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.5 Step 5: Evaluate .......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.5 Step 5: Evaluate the process and
results ....................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Annexure 1: A quick checklist for
3.5.1 Task 1: Monitor the marketing community impediments ..... Error! Bookmark not defined.
campaign .. Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.5.2 Task 2: Evaluate the results of the
Annexure 2: Some South African and
marketing campaignError! Bookmark not defined. international special calendar daysError! Bookmark not defin
3.5.3 Task 3: Do a marketing auditError! Bookmark not defined.
Annexure 3: Possible themes for
knowledge, attitudes and skills (KAS)-
CHAPTER 8 ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
focused empowerment ....... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1. The physical domain ...... Error! Bookmark not defined.
THE NATURE AND APPLICATION OF
THE SOCIAL ACTION MODEL ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
2. The intellectual domain .. Error! Bookmark not defined.
3. The emotions domain ..... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1. The nature of the social action
model .......................Error! Bookmark not defined. 4. The social domain ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
5. The occupational domain . Error! Bookmark not defined.
2. When to use the social action
model .......................Error! Bookmark not defined. 6. The environmental domainError! Bookmark not defined.
7. The financial and material domainError! Bookmark not defined.
3. How to use the social action
model .......................Error! Bookmark not defined. 8. The spiritual and cultural domainError! Bookmark not defined.
Glossary
3.1 Step 1: Do a situation-analysisError! Bookmark not ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
defined.
3.2 Step 2: Identify the issueError! Bookmark not defined.
Index ...... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.1 Task 1: Be sensitive to issuesError! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.2 Task 2: Define the issueError! Bookmark not defined. References ...................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.3 Task 3: Analyse the issue's contextError! Bookmark not defined.
3.3 Step 3: Mobilise a constituency/
power base ................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.1 Task 1: Make contact with potential
role-players .................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Preface
1
Preface (2nd Edition)
This book was originally born out of the need of South African students and
practitioners for a publication that would provide both the theory of community work
and community development and guidelines for its application in practice. It went
through various development stages. First as a reader, later as a guide and then, in
2001, as a fully-fledged handbook.
In the intervening years and because of its numerous reprints and wide distribution,
it became clear that ‘Theory and Practice’ was fulfilling a need amongst students,
academics and practitioners for a text that would not only answer the ‘what?’ question
re community work and development, but also how it could be applied in practice.
Feedback received from various sources has indicated that, although the basic
framework of the book was sound, some of its content had become outdated, that
elements of the original text needed simplification and that some new content should
be included in order to make it even more relevant and useful to a broader Southern
African readership. This feedback was used in the substantive rewriting of the text and
the development of a more comprehensive second edition of the book. The input of
Stephan Geyer and Pedro Rankin was also elicited to help accomplish this task.
The approach that will be followed in this book is still twofold in nature. The first
is to provide an overview of the nature and context of community work and community
development (see Part 1). This will mainly cover the theory underlying practice and
will focus on the nature of community work, the three core components found in
practice and the basic process that could be followed in intervention. The core point
of departure is that intervention within the Southern African context usually takes on a
community development, social planning, community education, social marketing
and/or social action form. These approaches are grouped into five practice models.
The second part of the text will consist of a more detailed look at the nature of
each of the practice models, when it would be appropriate to use them and how they
could be applied. This will include guidelines, ideas and examples, as well as some of
the most important tools that could be utilised.
This book was especially written with social workers in mind. This does not imply
that other practitioners from within the broad field of community development would
not also be able to use it effectively. On the contrary, over the years it has been found
that representatives from fields as diverse as development studies, community nursing,
education, psychology, sociology, family ecology and marketing have gained valuable
insights and skills from its contents.
It is hoped that this book will pave the way for some of you in your first journey
into uncharted territory. For others I hope that it will expand your practice-related
knowledge and skills in becoming more effective in your efforts to make South and
Southern Africa a better place to live in. For all of you I hope that it will inspire you to
be that light in the lives of others that no amount of darkness could ever extinguish.
Mike Weyers
Potchefstroom
1st July 2010
Preface
2
LIST OF SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. L.S. (Stephan) Geyer

Stephan Geyer is a lecturer in Social Work in the Department of Social
Work and Criminology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. His
contribution to the formulation of the roles of community workers (see
Chapter 3) and the critique of the manuscript is gratefully
acknowledged.
Prof. P. (Pedro) Rankin

Pedro Rankin is a lecturer in Social Work in the School for Psychosocial
Behavioural Sciences at the North-West University: Potchefstroom
Campus. His contribution to the development of the Programme Logic
Model (PLM) (see Chapter 3) and review of the manuscript is
appreciated.
 For convenience' sake, only the concept "community work" will be used where possible.
This concept would mostly also include the meanings that are attached to the concept
"community development".
 In the text, use will only be made of the male mode of address. This is done to
simplify the presentation and does not imply any form of discrimination.
 Although the concepts ‘practitioner” and 'social worker' will be used throughout, it will
per implication also refer to all professionals who are involved with community work
and community development practice, as well as to students.
Part 1: The theory of community work
3
Part 1
THE THEORY OF
COMMUNITY
WORK
Part 1: The theory of community work
4
Introduction to Part 1
The first part of this book will be devoted to an analysis of the nature and context
of community work and community development. Its main purpose is to provide the
reader with an answer to the questions: "What is community work?" and "What is the
general process that I should follow when applying community work in practice?"
Having worked through Chapter 1, you will understand where present-day

community work thought and practice comes from, the theories and perspectives on
which it is based, how it links to social work as a profession and what the similarities
and differences between community work and community development entail. This
overview will form the foundation for the rest of the book.
Chapter 2 will focus on the three core components involved in the 'community
work event'. They are the community, the practitioner and the (organisational, socio-
economic and political) context within which the interaction between these two takes
place. Its main practical purpose is to provide the practitioner with appropriate tools
to demarcate target communities effectively, to evaluate his or her own ability to
bring about the required change in that community and to develop interventions that
are in line with the expectations imbedded in the context within which he or she
operates.
The third chapter will provide an overview of the generic form that intervention
could take. It is based on the premise that intervention usually follows the five-step
scientific process of the analysis of a given situation, the identification and analysis of
the impediments (i.e. problems, needs and underutilised potential) that exists within
that situation, the formulation of a plan of action to address the identified
impediments, the implementation of the plan, and the evaluation and sustainment of
the change that it produces. It is not the purpose of Chapter 3 to provide a blueprint
for action, but rather to set out the generic requirements that all interventions should
meet and to highlight the core tasks that practitioners should perform. This would
provide the basis for Part 2's focus on the development of practice model based
interventions that would meet the specific needs found in specific types of practice
settings.
Chapter 1: Community work: an overview
5
Chapter 1
Community work:
an overview
“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have

three meals a day for their bodies, education for their minds, and
dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits" Martin Luther King
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
DEFINE
the concepts ‘community work’ and ‘community development’.
DESCRIBE
the origins of present day community work thought.
EXPLAIN
some of the core constructs on which community work and community develop-
ment are based.
DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN
the purpose, goals and objectives of community work and community
development.
COMPARE
the fields of practice of community work and community development.
6
DEFINITIONS OF CORE CONCEPTS/CONSTRUCTS

Adaptive fit [also described as goodness of fit]: The matching between people’s needs,
capacities and goals and the capabilities of their social and physical environment.
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 tempo at
which a community develops; (b) provide direction to the development process in order
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; and (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 sub-systems 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.
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.
Community-centred school of thought: A school of thought that views community work as a
service strategy implemented in and with the community, and on behalf of and to the
benefit of communities and their members.
Conceptual framework: A set of concepts, beliefs, values, propositions, assumptions,
hypotheses that forms the basis of practice.
Construct: A concept employed in summarising multitudes of facts and in formulating
explanatory theories.
Domain of practice: The field of knowledge and service delivery to which a profession lays
claim.
Goal: A statement of the desired outcomes of a particular intervention process
Goal, operational: Intended change to a practitioner’s employer organisation in order to
make it a more effective service delivery system.
Goal, process: Intended change in people, especially in their knowledge, attitudes and
behaviour (i.e. KAB).
Goal, task: Intended change in the circumstances or environment of a community.
Impediment: Any type of (unresolved) social problem, (unfulfilled) social need or un-/
underutilised potential that hampers or obstructs effective social functioning. .
Need: The discrepancy or ‘gap’ that exists between “what is” or the present state of affairs and
“what should be” or the desired state.
Practice model: A set of concepts and principles that guide intervention.
Practice variable (as used in this text): A set of characteristics that can be used as an
organising principle to structure and compare different practice models.
Resilience: The process, capacity and outcome of successful adaptation to challenges and
adversity, sustained competence under threatening circumstances and the ability to
recover from trauma.
Social [role] functioning: Fulfilling one's roles in society in general, to those in the immediate
environment and to oneself. These functions include meeting one's own basic needs and
those of one's dependants and making positive contributions to society.
Social reform: Changing the bio-psycho-socio-cultural-economic-political-physical environment
in such a way that it would provide the opportunities, resources and services that all
people require to develop their full potential, enrich their lives, and prevent dysfunction.
Social work method: The processes and skills that are used to bring about the necessary
changes in the person-in-environment domain.
Strengths: Personal abilities, resourcefulness and creativity, as well as resources in inter-
personal relationships, culture, organisational networks and community connections.
7
1. INTRODUCTION
In a fast globalising world there is a real danger that countries, regions and even
continents would lose the ‘human development race’. Of the 179 countries covered by
the 2006 Human Development Index, only three African countries (Libya, Seychelles
and Mauritius) were placed at the “high human development” level, while a
disproportionate number fell in the lowest category.1 It included six of the 14 member
states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), viz. Lesotho (155th),
Angola (157th), Malawi (162nd), Mozambique (175 th), the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (177th) and Zimbabwe.2 Some of the other rankings were South Africa (125th),
Botswana (126th), Namibia (129th), Swaziland (141st) and Tanzania (152nd). Of these,
Botswana, Namibia and especially South Africa were worse off in 2006 than in 2000. 3
The nature of and trends in human development levels in South and Southern Africa
should be a cause of great concern. It is no longer a question of being left behind as
the rest of the world develops; the very survival of the region as a functional entity
could be at stake.
Although there is consensus on the need for ‘development’ in the region,4 its very
nature and how it could be achieved is in dispute. On a macro level, some believe that
a newly modernised and globally competitive local economy is all that will be required.
The wealth generated by ‘big business’ would benefit all those directly involved in the
economy and also 'trickle-down’ to the rest. 5 The latter includes the ‘redistribution’
of ‘tax dollars’ through a social security net to alleviate the plight of the ‘extremely
poor’. This perception informed much of the South African government’s 1996 Growth,
Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) policy.6
On the other end of the continuum, there are those who believe more strongly in a
‘trickle-up’ process. They are confident that development can best be achieved by a
process whereby ‘local people’ - with or without the help of 'experts' - are empowered
to utilise their full potential and in this way contribute to national development.
Fact of the matter is that development is all of the above and more. The cause of
underdevelopment is not simply a matter of insufficient economic growth, inadequate
political participation and restrictive social structures, 7 nor can it be attributed to
failure of ‘the people’ to utilise their potential and opportunities effectively. It should
rather be seen as a state in which the potential of all sectors of society is not fully
unlocked.
In this book the main focus will be on one sector’s contribution to the unlocking of
a society’s potential. This sector is social work. To denote its contribution, the
concept 'community work' will be used. Because of the interrelatedness of sectors, the
book's overview of issues and processes could also empower other role-players in the
broad development field to do their work more effectively. Hopefully it would boost
the concerted effort that is required from all to ensure that the peoples of South and
Southern Africa would in future enjoy a better quality of life and a higher standard of
living.
8
In this first chapter an attempt will be made to sort out the present confusions
regarding the nature of and relationship between community work and community
development. This will especially be done with the help of an overview of the origins
of these two forms of community intervention, as well as an exploration of their
contexts and nature.
2. THE ORIGINS OF CURRENT COMMUNITY WORK

THOUGHT
Since its inception in the 1920's, South African social work has used various
concepts to describe its community centred services. These include community
organisation, social action, social planning and welfare planning. By the late 1970's,
most academics and practitioners opted for the then British term 'community work' as a
descriptor for this method. Although other concepts such as community social work
and neighbourhood work had since emerged, the use of community work stayed
somewhat entrenched. That was until fairly recently when some proponents started to
substitute it with 'community development' and even ‘social development’. This has
created new uncertainties.
In differentiating between community work and community development, it should
firstly be noted that the roots of community development fall outside that of social
work (although social work did influence its conceptualisation). 8 Originally, community
development primarily entailed some or other form of mass education.9 Only in later
years did it develop a stronger economic and broader social flavour. This culminated in
the now classic, albeit vague definition from the United Nations 10 which states that:
"Community development is the process by which the efforts of the
people themselves are united with those of government authorities to
improve the economic, social and cultural conditions of communities,
to integrate these communities into the life of the nation, and to
enable them to contribute fully to national progress".
A second difference between community work and community development lies in
their very nature. Development, in essence, focuses on all spheres of community life
whereas social work's 'core business' is limited to social functioning. Social work could,
therefore, only be seen as a sectoral (albeit important) contributor to social
development in general and community development in particular. 11 Other contributors
including a wide variety of health professionals, agricultural extension officers,
economists, educators, communication scientists, political scientists, politicians,
administrators, youth workers, 'ordinary' community leaders and members, and the
emerging occupational group known as ‘community development workers’. Because of
this, the concept 'community work' will be used in this text to describe social work's
community change centred activities, whereas ‘community development’ would refer
to broad-based, multi-sectoral development.
There is currently no consensus amongst local social workers as far as the
delineation of the 'borders' of their involvement with communities is concerned. In this
regard there seems to be a 'community-based' and a 'community-centred' school of
thought.
9
In the community-based school, social work's involvement is seen as "a direct
service strategy implemented in the context of the local community". 12 In it, the scope
of practice is narrowed down to working in and with the community in order to benefit
the participating community members directly and, in a lesser and more indirect way,
other non-participating residents. This type of service represents the processes that
have traditionally been associated with community organisation and development
practice. It, for example, encompasses:
grassroots level organising,
empowerment-centred interventions,
a citizen participation and a local (indigenous) leadership emphasis and
a focus on local self-help, self-sufficiency and teamwork.13
Although the community-based school represents a very important part of social
work services, it has one significant deficiency. It views the broader societal contexts
within which people live as somewhat inconsequential and not a direct target for
change. This view flies in the face of the ecosystems perspective.
The community-centred school of thought 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 conducive to the effective social
functioning of its members and also ensure that the resources or services that
communities require are made available by 'outsiders'. 14 These types of service
represent the processes that have traditionally been associated with social planning,
social reform, social education and the influencing of social and other forms of policies
and practices.
In this book, the community-centred school will be used as a point of departure. It
implies that there is no limit to the size of the units that could receive the social
worker's attention. They could range from an individual (usually influential) member of
a community, through various types of small to large community groups up to
communities or a society as a whole. If circumstances require, even international
bodies (e.g. the United Nations, World Bank, International Monitory Fund and the
International Federation of Social Workers) and other governments could be targeted.
A second implication of this school is that different types of interventions, including
community development, could be utilised. The origins of these interventions will be
looked at next.
Instead of providing the usual linear description of the historical development of
community work, emphasis will rather be placed on the approaches that played a role
in the conceptualisation of five of its practice models (see Table 1.1). These models
are community development, social planning, community education, social marketing
and social action (see Ch. 2:3.1).
Although it does not fall within the scope of this publication to conduct a detailed
analysis of all of the theories and ideologies on which the approaches are based, a brief
description of a few would help to contextualize the nature of the practice models. It
could also help to explain some of the ideas that are prevalent in current Southern
African social work and community developmental thought and can be used by
practitioners to clarify their own position on a number of issues.
10
Table 1.1: Approaches that played a role in the conceptualisation of community

work’s practice models
COMMUNITY COMMUNITY SOCIAL

SOCIAL PLANNING SOCIAL ACTION
DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION MARKETING
 Macro level  Macro level  Macro level  All levels  Macro level
 Modernisation/  Residual  Civil education  “Idea”  Pluralist
growth-centred  Institutional  Social marketing  Populist
 Statist social  Develop-mental education  Service  Mezzo level
development  Mezzo/micro  Mezzo level marketing  Conscien-
 Popular levels  Community  Public tization/
participation  Personal social education relations popular
 (Developmental) service education
 Micro level
 Mezzo level  Individualist  Life skills/  Community
 Communitarian empowerment action
APPROACHES
Personal
 People-centred  Basic needs effectiveness
 Human resources  Learning skills
 Collectivist
 Asset-based
community
development
 Micro level
 Community
problem-solving
 Neighbourhood
empowerment
 Community support
systems
 Changing  Changing  Changing  Changing  Changing
community community community community community
TYPE OF CHANGE IN THE COMMUNITY
members' material members' lives: members' lives: members' members'

and non-material  by rendering  by equipping lives: lives:
conditions the necessary them with the  by  by mobilising
 by means of services and knowledge, convincing them to bring
community enabling them attitudes and them to about changes
participation to use it skills that is a accept and in especially
 initiated with the effectively prerequisite act upon or the power
help of external for effective use a structures
organisations individual and specific that have a
collective social idea, negative
functioning cause, influence on
practice and their lives
or service
FOCUS POINT
 Problem focus  Problem focus  Problem focus  Problem  Power focus

 Non-conflict  Non-conflict  Non-conflict focus  Conflict
 Functional change  Functional  Functional  Non-conflict  Structural
change change  Functional change
change
 Economic and  Community  Personal  Marketing  Community
social development planning effectiveness/  Community action
 International  Local services life skills liaison  Political
ASSOCIATED CONCEPTS*
development planning/ training action

 Community development  Relationship  Mass
organizing education mobilisation
 Community  Social  Policy
building education advocacy
 Locality  Social
development pedagogical
 Neighbourhood work
work/
development
 Poverty alleviation
* These concepts refer to methodologies that, to a lesser or greater degree, overlap with those of the practice models 15
11
It should be noted that the approaches contained in Table 1.1 differ markedly in
terms of their scope. Some represent a broad-angled view of society or the required
change, while others focus more narrowly on the groups and individuals involved. In
order to differentiate between them, use will be made of three descriptors, viz.
macro, mezzo and micro:
the macro level will denote a world view or the society wide changes that are required
the mezzo level will spotlight community wide issues
the micro level will deal more directly with individuals, families and small or special
interest groups.
2.1 THE ORIGINS OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THOUGHT

Planned development, with its two constituent parts of economic and social
development, has over time been driven by a diversity of ideologies and theories and
has taken on a variety of forms. Within this multi-layered context, only some of the
major themes running through present day development thought will be discussed.
2.1.1 Macro level

To a large extent, the modernisation or growth-centred approach to
development, which flourished in the 1960's and 1970's as part of the United Nations'
Community Development Decade, represented the capitalist model of development. 16
Its main thrust “...was the belief that underdeveloped countries could move from a
pre-industrial state, through a number of stages, to become a mature capitalist state.
This was to be achieved through elite investment in urban industry, the benefits of
which would… 'trickle down' to the traditional, backward sectors". 17 Thus, the basic
idea was that modernisation and economic growth was the beginning and ending of
development and that social development would be one of its positive spin-offs.
Although the modernisation approach had some impressive results in pure economic
terms,18 it was "...destructive of resources and social institutions in the societies they
were meant to develop".19 This gave rise to a state described by Midgley 20 as “distorted
development”, that is "...the way economic development without concomitant social
development creates a severe imbalance between economic and social prosperity".
The negative side-effects of purely economic development gave rise to a renewed
focus on social or human development in especially the early 1990's. Social
development was seen as a "...comprehensive macro perspective that focuses on
communities and societies, …promotes a dynamic change-oriented approach… and
above all seeks to harmonise social interventions with economic development efforts".21
This boils down to the view that social development is on the one hand an essential
add-on to economic development and on the other a pre-requisite for 'total
development'. This, to a large extent, is the driving force behind the developmental
social welfare paradigm espoused in South Africa today. 22
Social development, however, does not at this stage represent an integrated body
of knowledge but rather an amalgamation of widely divergent approaches. 23
With regard to who should take primary responsibility for social development, two
macro views exist. In the statist social development approach,24 it is viewed as the
state's primary responsibility.25 The core idea is that the most desirable results would
be achieved within the shortest possible time if a ‘top-down’ approach is followed.
The popular participation approach, to a large degree, represents the opposite
‘bottom-up' stance. Proponents believe that governments cannot promote social
12
development efficiently and justly and 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".26 The core idea is that
‘enough involvement by enough local people in their own development’ would
eventually ‘trickle-up’ to create a socially just and developed society.27
2.1.2 Mezzo level

On the more mezzo level, various approaches are espoused.
The communitarian approach focuses on man's ability for self-fulfilment. It
believes that "...communities have an inherent capacity to organise themselves to
ensure that their basic needs are met, their problems are solved and opportunities
for advancement are created".28
In the people-centred approach it is thought that, for development, residents
"...must control their own resources, have access to relevant information, and have
the means to hold the officials of government accountable"29 in order to "...foster a
robust civil society to counter the excesses of government". 30
The human resources approach focuses on the improvement of a population's
'quality.' Proponents are of the opinion that "...growth results from improved
labour productivity, personal skills, motivation to achieve, and ability to exploit
opportunities, leading to locally spawned, spontaneous economic activities". 31
Supporters of the collectivism approach (which is based on socialist ideology)
espouses the idea that the best society is one in which collectives or co-operatives,
made up of associations of people, own resources and share authority to make
decisions.32
In the asset-based community development (ABCD) approach (which is strongly
influenced by the strengths perspective) it is believed that local individual and
collective assets should be mobilised as the primary building blocks in a community-
driven development effort. It uses a participatory approach and the principles of
empowerment and ownership of the development process to exploit the talents and
skills of local residents, the power of local associations and the supportive
functions of local institutions to enhance community economic development and
strengthen civil society.33
2.1.3 Micro level

Some more micro level approaches focus directly on community problems.
The community problem-solving approach is based on the premise that various
(even apparently competing) interests within a community could join forces "...to
creatively resolve a particular problem that affects them all. Crime,
transportation, education, or environmental concerns could be the focus of such an
effort". 34 This type of intervention, also sometimes referred to as ‘community
organising’, entails a “...process by which people living in proximity to each other
are brought together by an organisation to act in their common self-interest.” 35
In the neighbourhood empowerment approach (which is basically a variation of
the problem-solving approach) it is believed that, after the family, the
neighbourhood is the first building block of the community.34 In the African
context, the extended family, clan or village often has the same function. 36 Helping
people in a neighbourhood, village or clan band together to develop their own
resources and lay claim to their rights is seen as the primary strategy for improving
the ‘quality’ of a community. 37
13
In the application of the community support systems approach, community
members that face the same problems are mobilised to offer each other "practical
assistance and psychological support". 38
Within the context of the various overlapping approaches to development, the
concept 'community development' has come to mean different things to different
people. In essence, however, community development boils down to a planned
partnership between external organisations (e.g. government, NGO’s and industry) and
local people aimed at enabling the latter to address the material (e.g. economic and
infrastructure) and the non-material (e.g. social and political) challenges that they
face.39 It is predicated on the principle that people should, in the final analysis, take
responsibility for their own development.
2.2 THE ORIGINS OF SOCIAL PLANNING THOUGHT

Social planning can be viewed as both a macro perspective and a community based
form of intervention.
2.2.1 Macro level

As a macro perspective, social planning refers to an interactional top-down process
- usually involving a formal political or legal body - that is aimed at the preparation
and implementation of programmes that would change the undesirable conditions that
prevail in a society. The nature of these ‘undesirable conditions’ could be viewed from
three perspectives, viz. the residual, institutional and developmental.
Both the residual and institutional perspectives and their accompanying approaches
have a social pathology and needs focus. In the residual approach, it is assumed that
social problems are caused by individual pathology, that recipients should be
encouraged to change and to become more ‘adequate’, that they should prove that they
need assistance and are worthy of it.40 Aid should stop once they can take responsibility
for meeting their own needs. 41 It views the family and the market economy as the
proper sources for meeting people's needs and social welfare as "...a safety net of
supplementary services to catch those individuals who fall through the cracks".42
In the case of institutionalism, however, the point of departure is that there is
'nothing wrong' with the consumer system. Services are viewed as the right of the
individual, problems as a consequence of either an individual’s inability to use
available services or deficiencies in the service itself, or the state as the system that
should accept primary responsibility for the welfare of its citizens. 43
The developmental approach represents a somewhat different view. Whereas the
other approaches basically see the expenditure of time, money and effort on social
services as an unavoidable (residual) or morally justifiable (institutional) ‘loss item’ in
a country’s ‘balance sheet’, this approach is predicated on the idea that appropriately
designed and implemented programmes would actually enhance its economic
development.44 The exact nature of these programmes or interventions has, however,
been the subject of heated debate.45 Some proponents have made a strong case that
expenditure on social services such as education, nutrition and health care would turn
a profit by producing a more skilled and healthy workforce that, in turn, would
generate a stronger economy. 46 The form that interventions should take in order to
help marginalised and “...needy people engage in productive employment and self-
employment”47 is not always that obvious or easy to demarcate. 48 Some guidelines in
this regard are, however, provided throughout this book.
14
It could rightfully be argued that the developmental approach with its attempt to
link social services to economic development 49 and its focus on grassroots community
involvement should rather be seen as one of the approaches on which the community
development model is based. Within the South African context, however, this approach
has formally become the basis of government policy. 50 The consequence is that it is
now the predetermined standard 51 that services must meet and, therefore, the basis of
all its social planning activities. (Also see Chapter 2: 4).
Social planning can also refer to mezzo level, community-based interventions. In
this context, Woodley-Baker 52 defines it as “...an organised process for investigating
and responding to the needs and aspirations of people and communities.” It is
especially this level that the social planning practice model targets.
2.2.2 Mezzo/micro levels

There are three mezzo and micro level social or community planning approaches of
importance here. They are the personal social service, individualist empowerment and
basic needs approaches.
The personal social service approach entails the planned provision of a range of
social services that people require to either restore or enhance their capacity for social
functioning. 53 It is based on the assumption that some people would require temporary
remedial services to help them cope with problems of daily living (e.g. family
dysfunction and dependency), while others would be unable to function independently
and require assistance over the longer term (e.g. in institutions for children, the
elderly and the disabled). 54 This approach usually manifests in the planning and
development of a range of (often specialised) remedial and preventive services and
welfare infrastructure (e.g. children’s homes and service centres for the elderly) that
local communities require.55
Set against the personal social services’ remedial focus, the individualist
empowerment approach 56 believes that community members could be provided with
the opportunities to acquire the personal, interpersonal and socio-political skills or
power that would enable them to improve the quality of their own lives. 57 These
opportunities are created through a social planning process that helps communities
identify their strengths and weaknesses and determine the best ways to influence their
circumstances." 58 Although this approach requires grassroots community involvement,
the creation of the opportunities themselves still rests in the hands of ‘professionals’.
In the basic needs approach it is believed that it is necessary for the government
and private sector to mobilise the resources and create the measures that would
protect citizens against economic hardship. 59 This usually takes the form of some type
of social security or financial protection system. The South Africa social security
system includes a range of state pensions and grants aimed at the alleviation of
(abject) poverty,60 while some NGO’s also have other measures (e.g. food parcels and
temporary financial assistance) in place.
In all the social planning approaches, the basic perception of communities is the
same. It is that they require the services of ‘experts’ to help them prevent, treat or
resolve social problems and to create the opportunities and mechanisms that would
enable them to satisfy their needs. 61 This, invariably, makes social planning a
somewhat top-down approach.
15
2.3 THE ORIGINS OF COMMUNITY EDUCATION THOUGHT
The origins of current community education thought can be traced back to the mass
adult education and literacy initiatives in colonial Africa of the 1930s and 1940s.62 It
was later usurped by community development63 and only fairly recently re-emergence
as a distinct form of intervention. On a macro level it manifests in two primary
approaches, viz. civil education and social education.
2.3.1 Macro level

In the civil education approach, it is believed that people should be enabled to fulfil
their role as 'responsible citizens'. 64 This requires, amongst others, knowledge of:
how a county’s political and legal system ‘works’,
their rights as individuals (e.g. the right to vote and to education),
their responsibilities as citizens (e.g. to pay taxes and to prevent environmental
degradation),
their duty towards the household and family (e.g. the payment of maintenance) and
their required relationship with the state (e.g. to register births and apply for
identity documents). 65 Some of these issues are formally covered in school
curricula, whilst others are often the subject of mass education initiatives by
governments and other role-players.
Social education aims to empower citizens with the knowledge, attitudes and skills
that they require to function effectively as individuals and as collectives. 66 The latter
includes the ability and the position (e.g. as members of councils or committees) to
take enlightened decisions that would change community life and conditions. 67 These
characteristics make social education an important instrument in community
empowerment.68
2.3.2 Mezzo level

On a mezzo level, the community education approach is seen by Homan69 as "...a
basic means for assisting the community by bringing matters to the community's
attention and preparing it for knowledgeable action". The approach is based on the
assumption that - in order to deal with an impediment - members must
be aware of the existence of the impediment,
understand its nature, causes and consequences,
have a clear picture of the community and broader context within which it exists,
be informed of available resources (including services and fellow community
members) and
be knowledgeable about the procedures that could be followed to mobilise or
utilise these resources.70
The HIV and Aids education programmes that are so widespread in Southern Africa are
but one example of community education in action.
2.3.3 Micro level

Community education could also be done on a micro level. It often takes the form of
life skills and learning skills training.
The life skills or personal effectiveness training helps community members to master:
 relationships skills (e.g. leadership, effective communication, conflict management,
self-assertiveness and dealing with family relationships and parenthood),
16
 problem-solving skills (e.g. managing personal and family dysfunction and

coping with unemployment),
 work and play skills (e.g. entrepreneurship, money management and using
recreational options) and/or
 skills for the development of the self and others (e.g. development of a positive
self-image, decision making and philanthropy).71
The learning skills approach is basically aimed at filling the void left by an
inadequate or underutilised formal education system. It includes attempts to
improve adult community members' functional literacy and numeracy, and in some
cases research capabilities and computer literacy. 72
All the social education approaches have one premise in common; viz. that the
effectiveness of people’s functioning will be determined by their individual and
collective knowledge, attitudes and skills/behaviour (KAS). Interventions in terms of
the approaches, therefore, aim to eliminate some or other form of deficiency that
exists in this regard. It should be noted that not all of these ‘deficiencies’ fall within
the domain of social work. Social workers could, however, create opportunities for
other role-players to address these in practice.
2.4 THE ORIGINS OF SOCIAL MARKETING THOUGHT

Although social marketing is a relatively recent addition to social work theory, 73
some of its constituent parts have been seen as functions of social work administration
from the very beginning. 74 Since the 1980s and because of the works of Kotler, 75
Rothman76 and Weyers, 77 to name but a few, it has become apparent that it could also
be transformed and utilised to effect community change. 78 This gave rise to the
development of social marketing as a practice model.
Social marketing can be defined as the design, implementation, and control of
programmes seeking to increase the acceptance of a social idea, a cause, a practice, a
service, a profession or an organisation by a target group. 79 It can be distinguished
from other forms of marketing in terms of its non-profit nature, its focus on changing
social attitudes and concomitant behaviour, and its use as an instrument to further
broad societal goals.80
Resent developments have indicated that social marketing could, within a
community work context, be subdivided into three main approaches. They are so-
called idea marketing, service marketing and public relations.81
In idea marketing, it is believed that a social cause and socially desirable
behaviour patterns could and should be marketed in the same basic way as any
other ‘product’. This is exemplified in campaigns to promote condom use, to
protect women and children against abuse (e.g. through the 16 Days of Activism
against Abuse) and to call upon community participation in various activities. It
could, therefore, also be used to create the social climate in which more direct,
face-to-face community education programmes can be launched.
The aim of service marketing is to convince the general public, potential
clients/consumers, referral sources, other organisations, different professions,
potential employees, donors, volunteers and the government to utilise or support a
specific service, event or programme. 82
McElreath 83 defines public relations as a "...function that uses communication to
facilitate relationships and understanding between an organisation and its many
publics".84 Its aim is to influence public opinion by 'selling' a positive image of the
organisation, its services, its ideas or its representatives to those individuals and
organisations on whose support it relies.
17
All the approaches that constitute social marketing are based on the central idea
that the effectiveness of a society’s social functioning is determined by its members’
social attitudes and concomitant behaviour. The latter also includes the extent to
which they support or utilise social services.
2.5 THE ORIGINS OF SOCIAL ACTION THOUGHT

In contrast to the other macro perceptions, social action has a power instead of a
problem focus, is conflictual instead of non-conflictual in nature and is mainly aimed
at structural change. These are some of the reasons why Barker 85 defines it as a
"...coordinated effort to achieve institutional change to meet a need, solve a social
problem, correct an injustice, or enhance the quality of human life", Mitchell 86 sees it
as an "...organized effort directed towards a change in social policy or the creation,
modification or elimination of a social institution" and Clegg 87 describes its main
purpose as promoting social reform.
In social action the view is that 'the people' should have their rightful share in and
access to power and resources, should function in a social dispensation where their
rights are protected and promoted, and should be seen as victims instead of
dysfunctional.88 There are various approaches that could be followed to achieve this
desired result. Four are of special importance here. They are the more macro level
pluralism and popularism and the mezzo level conscientization (popular education)
and community action approaches.
2.5.1 Macro level

The pluralist approach is non-radical in nature and espouses the idea that
democratic governments should allow non-governmental bodies to influence public or
social policy. 89 In South Africa this is entrenched in official government policy. It
allows participation in the legislative process by providing individuals and groups with
the opportunity to comment on white papers and draft legislation and even to take
legislative issues to the Constitutional Court. In terms of the pluralist approach,
social change should be brought about through the use of pressure group activities,
advocacy and lobbying that should result in the reallocation of resources or decision
making power in favour of the disadvantaged. 90
The populist approach champions “...the cause of ordinary people against the
establishment, seeks to serve their interests and represents the popular will".91 In its
various forms, popularism believes in a working class struggle, is anti-establishment,
advocate the people's interest to secure political power, believes in working class
leadership, focuses on social and other programmes to consolidate popular support,
attacks 'big business' and government who they claim are out of touch with people's
needs and advocates a more equitable distribution of wealth and power. 92 Some more
recent South African examples of this approach can be found in the activities of the
Landless People’s Movement (LPM), the Social Movements Indaba (SMI) and the Anti-
Evictions Campaign.93
2.5.2 Mezzo level

Although the so-called popular education, consciousness-raising or conscientization
approach as espoused by Paulo Freire could be placed in the social education category,
its focus on political action and structural change 94 gives it a stronger social action
character. In this approach, it is believed that participation in grassroots education,
18
coupled with political sensitisation, "...transforms people's consciousness and leads to a

process of self-actualization which enables oppressed people to take control of their
lives, simultaneously challenging the dominating classes and their political regime". 95 In
this approach, grassroots social change is brought about by non-formal and sometimes
radical adult education that:
sees ignorance as the main cause of oppression and exploitation,
is characterised by
 learner participation in training and political action,
 the use of problem-posing as a means to identify and creatively solve problems and
 a focus on relevancy, i.e. on dealing with issues that the local people find
important or problematic,
is mainly aimed at making people on grassroots level self-aware political subjects
and
is built on the principal of 'conscientization' (viz. a viz. the process in which people
"...achieve a deepening awareness both of the social-cultural reality which shapes
their lives and of their capacity to transform that reality" 96).
The fourth dominant approach - described as either community action (the concept
preferred here), radicalised community participation, radical populism or structured
conflict97 - has many of the same traits as the other social action approaches. The difference
is, however, that it represents a more radical view of the required societal change by
seeking some form of "...restructuring of the economic, political and social systems". 98
All the social action approaches are based on the central idea that social problems
are often the result of the abuses that stem from the inequitable distribution of power
and authority within a social system, be it: an organisation, a community, a country or
globally. From the point of view of social work, practitioners should, therefore,
“...play a more direct role in confronting injustice and advocating the interests of
oppressed and vulnerable groups.” 99
Points to Ponder 1.1

What are your views?
It is believed that all practitioners have a personal practice model (PPM). It, basically, entails their
conviction of ‘what works and does not work in practice’ and is based more on their own personal en
work experiences than on theory. 100 Utilise the following questions to clarify some of your own
convictions as far as community change is concerned.
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer the following seven questions by choosing only one of each option. Then reflect on
the reasons for your choice (note: there are no correct or incorrect answers).
1) a) Economic development (e.g. more jobs and 4) For community support:

a higher per capita income) should come a) social work services and ideas should be marketed
first and social development will naturally in the same way as any other commodity vs.
follow, vs. b) the good deeds and good intentions of social work
b) social development is a prerequisite for are enough reasons for the community to support
economic development it
2) The social development of a country 5) Social justice in a society can best be achieved:
a) is primarily the responsibility of government a) through the development of appropriate
[i.e. the statist social development view] vs. government policies and structures [i.e. the
b) is primarily the responsibility of ordinary pluralist view] vs.
people [i.e. popular participation view] b) it is primarily the responsibility of each citizen to
3) Social problems are primarily caused: stand up for his/her rights [i.e. the populist view]
a) by individual inadequacies/malfunction [i.e. 6) In achieving a just society:
residual view] vs. a) the ends justify the means (even if it requires
b) by a negative environment and the radical action) vs.
individual’s inability to use services b) my professional ethics prevent me from becoming
effectively [i.e. institutional view] involved in radical action
19
3. THE NATURE OF COMMUNITY WORK
In order to understand the nature of and terminology used in community work, it is
first necessary to know some of the constructs on which it and social work are built.
These include selected core theories, perspectives and models, as well as social work’s
domain and methods of practice. Each of these elements will first be covered before
the basic nature of community work is explored.
3.1 SOME CORE THEORIES, PERSPECTIVES AND MODELS

The numerous theories, models and perspectives contained in social work
literature are all considered by Sheafor et al. 101 as being part of the profession’s
conceptual framework, viz. a viz. as the “...set of concepts, beliefs, values,
propositions, assumptions, hypotheses” 102 that forms the basis of practice. The
relationships between these different frameworks are illustrated in Figure 1.1.103
Figure 1.1: Types of conceptual frameworks
In this section, emphasis will be placed on the theories for social work and
especially the practice frameworks. (Developmental social work as a theory of social
work will be dealt with in Chapter 2). Of all the available frameworks, three are
particularly useful in community work. They are the ecosystems and strengths
perspectives and the community change models.
It should be noted that volumes have been written about each of these constructs
and that it would be practically impossible to do justice to them within a few
20
paragraphs. Attention would, consequently, only be given to some of their basic

elements that are of particular importance to community work.
3.1.1 The ecosystems perspective

The ecosystems perspective is one of the most commonly used practice
perspectives in social work today. The reason lies in its ability to provide a clear
‘conceptual lens’ through which human behaviour and social structures could be
viewed and analysed.104
This perspective draws on selected concepts from both the sciences of ecology and
general systems theory. The latter enables some 'ordering' of the complex and
multiple variables found within human ecological systems. 105 These systems are
defined as a "…combination of elements with mutual reciprocity and identifiable
boundaries that form a complex or unitary whole". 106 Using this concept, Pincus and
Minahan, 107 for example, developed a simple four-part social systems model. It
consists of
a change agent system (i.e. the social worker and his employer),
a target system (i.e. the system that must change),
a client or consumer system (i.e. the system that directly benefits from the
change) and
an action system (i.e. the system - usually including the change agent system -
that brings about the necessary change). This demarcation provided a practical
and simple way to map the different people that social workers work with and for.
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. 108 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.109 It also explains the nature of social problems as a lack of adaptive fit between
them.110 This, basically, 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 interrelatedness of people and their environment is illustrated in the

simplified eco-map contained in Figure 1.2. In this map, the environment is divided
into two spheres, viz. 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.111 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. 112 This
environment is often typified as 'the community'.
21
Figure 1.2: The interrelatedness of man and his environment
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. The opposite is also true. Think, for
example, of the negative effect that a serial killer or rapist has on a community as a
whole. The community workers also want to create a ‘ripple effect’ throughout the
system, but in this case, a positive one.
Apart from conceptualisation purposes, the differentiation between the nurturing

and sustaining environment is also a useful tool to distinguish between the focus points
of social work interventions. 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).
3.1.2 The practice models
Although the ecosystems perspective is a useful tool to differentiate between the

elements and dynamics involved in practice, it is not that helpful when it comes to the
conceptualisation of intervention.113 This purpose is better served through the use of
practice models.
The construct 'practice model' basically refers to “a set of concepts and principles
that guide intervention.” 114 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. 115 The idea is not that a practitioner should become the
'captive' of one practice model and the ideology that it represents. 116 They should
rather use their professional objectivity and judgement to creatively mix and phase
models in the process of addressing each unique practice situation they may face.
22
Of all the practice models identified by Sheafor et al. 117 (see Fig. 1.1), the
community change models are especially useful to differentiate between the forms
that community work intervention could take. They are based on the central idea that:
how you define the target community and their impediments would
determine how you would wish to change them.
Practice models differ from purely theoretical models in one important way. A
theoretician has the freedom to use any set of abstract or concrete criteria to structure
a theoretical model. In the case of practice models, however, the selected criterion
must cover those 'things' that all social workers would encounter in all practice
settings. These 'things' are known as 'variables' (i.e. perceptions, ideas, behaviour,
events, objects, etc. that varies from situation to situation). The variables could, on
the basis of their most prominent attributes, be grouped into categories to form the
'practice variables'.
The research undertaken by Rothman, 118 Weyers119 and others120 were used to identify
12 core practice variables that all social workers would encounter in Southern African
community work practice. They are different:
perceptions of the nature of target communities,
suppositions (hypotheses) about the causes or etiologies of communities'
impediments,
goals (or outcomes) that could be pursued in order to eliminate impediments and
bring about a substantive change in communities' circumstances,
objectives that could be linked to the goals,
demarcations of the consumer or client systems that would directly benefit from
the intervention,
levels on which intervention should take place in order to benefit the
consumer/client systems directly,
strategies that could be followed to achieve the intended goals and objectives,
media or instruments that could be used to affect the required change,
social work roles that partitioners could have to perform during the
implementation of the strategies,
techniques that they could use,
roles that communities could play in the course of events and
attitudes towards the power structure.
The 12 core practice variables were used as an organising principle to analyse
Southern African community work practice and associated literature.121 It showed that
local practice usually took the form of community development, social planning,
community education, social marketing and/or social action. These results were then
used to demarcate the five practice models that are described in some detail in Part 2
of this book.
Although the community change models are helpful to describe and compare the
different ways in which community work could be done, they do not prescribe how
people and other systems ought to be perceived. This ‘angle’ is provided by the
strengths perspective (cf. Figure 1.1).
23
3.1.3 The strengths perspective
The strengths perspective represents a traditional viewpoint of social work, but one
that was somewhat lost during the upsurge of the deficit/problem-based/medical
paradigm of the Freudian era.122 It has recently been reclaimed and updated to meet
modern demands.123 It is also starting to inform community work thought.
This perception or approach124 represents more of a mindset that the practitioner
should adopt in all his dealings with and on behalf of the community, than a roadmap
for intervention. In terms of it, everything that the social worker does should be based
on the principal of helping the client system discover, embellish, explore and exploit
their strengths and resources. It should assist them to achieve their goals, realize their
dreams and shed the shackles of their own misgivings and self-perceived weaknesses.
This approach requires that all forms (e.g. preventative, therapeutic or
developmental) and all levels of professional intervention (e.g. personal, interpersonal
and socio-political) should focus on strengths.
Miley et al. 125 define such strengths as “…personal abilities, resourcefulness and
creativity, as well as resources in interpersonal relationships, culture, organizational
networks and community connections”. All the various human strengths can be
grouped into the following six categories:126
Experience. This refers to everything that people have learned about themselves,
others and their world as they struggle, cope with and battle abuse, trauma,
illness, confusion, oppression and even their own fallibility. People do not just
learn from their successes but also from their failures and disappointments,
including the self-imposed ones.
Personal qualities, character traits and virtues. These are sometimes forged in
situations of trauma and catastrophe. They might be anything from a sense of
humour, creativity, patience, loyalty, insight and independence to spirituality and
moral imagination. These qualities and characteristics can be sources of energy
and motivation when working with community members.
Knowledge of the world. This category covers all the intellectual knowledge that a
person has gained during his or her lifetime through both formal and informal
education and training. Individuals and groups often have a vast reservoir of such
knowledge that goes untapped.
Talents. Many people have undiscovered or underdeveloped talents. Playing a
musical instrument, telling stories, cooking, home repair, a craft, gardening,
writing, carpentry, etc. may provide tools and resources to assist individuals or
groups in reaching their goals. It is this underutilised pool of talent that is often
targeted in the income generation projects of community work.
Culture. Folklore and personal and community ‘stories’ can be a profound sources
of strength, guidance, stability, comfort or transformation. Their importance is
often ignored when mobilising communities for change.
The community. The community in all its variations - for example a clan, the
neighbourhood, the workplace and the geographical community - are frequently
overlooked as a physical, interpersonal and institutional environment full of
resources that can be tapped into. This environment is a rich milieu filled with
people and organisations, who, when asked, would provide their time, talents and
resources to help others.
24
There are five practice principles127 that should form the cornerstones of all strengths-
based interventions.
Principle 1: Every individual, group and community has strengths. First and
foremost, the strengths approach is about identifying assets, resources, wisdom and
knowledge, respecting these qualities and believing in their potential power. All
humans do thus have the inherent capacity to learn, grow and change. 128
Principle 2: Trauma, abuse, illness and struggle may be injurious but could also be
converted into a source of power. The 'damaged goods paradigm’ has become
dominant in the thinking of both the helping professions and the people they serve.
This often leads to discouragement, pessimism and a victim mindset 129 that obscure
any strengths or possibilities for recovery. This mindset can be changed by
reframing the struggles of the past as victories. Simply having survived its ordeals
and beaten its seemingly insurmountable odds could be enough proof of this. 130
Principle 3: Do not underestimate an individual, group or community's capacity for
growth and change. Too often professionals assume that a diagnosis or assessment
is the only parameter within which their client systems can deal with their
particular issues. Thus, the diagnosis or assessment becomes a verdict and a
sentence. Practitioners must, instead, have high expectations of their client
systems and align their professional opinions with the client’s hopes, visions and
values.
Principle 4: We best serve the client system by collaborating with them.
Professionals could get so locked into the role of 'expert' that they forget the
equally important roles of collaborator and consultant. The strengths approach is,
however, predicated on the idea that change can only come about when the social
worker collaborates with the client, and takes account of the client's aspirations,
perceptions and strengths.
Principle 5: Every environment is full of resources. The entire community should,
according to Kisthardt,131 be viewed as an oasis of potential resources that can be
enlisted on behalf of consumers. The most important of all these resources, are its
individual members. All that is sometimes required is to enable these members to
play a more direct and active role in enhancing each other’s capacities. This can
be achieved by involving them in the groups and organisations that shape
community life. This pool of resources, however, also goes beyond the borders of a
community. There are often a large number of individuals and organisations within
the broader society, region or even on the international stage whose inputs could
be taped. Resent research has, for example, shown that the mobilisation and
utilisation of such a ‘support community’ is a critical success factor in most
community work services.132
Although the majority of strengths-focused researchers tend to delineate their field
of study to the micro and mezzo levels, the same principles that apply to these systems
are also found in broader societal and regional settings. All countries, therefore, do
have strengths, can covert their struggles into a source of power, do have the capacity
for growth and change, can collaborate with internal and external role-players to
achieve their goals, and are full of untapped human and physical resources.
A question that flows from the five practice principles is what, exactly, do
strengths-focused practitioners wish to achieve with their interventions? Their goal,
25
basically, is to improve the resilience of individuals, groups and communities. In this
context, ‘resilience’ can be defined as:
the process, capacity and outcome of successful adaptation to challenges
and adversity, sustained competence under threatening circumstances and
the ability to recover from trauma.133
The goal of improved resilience should be seen against the backdrop of the fact
that social workers cannot erase the traumatic events and experiences that individuals
and communities have suffered in the past, nor can they fully prevent them from
occurring again in the future. They can, however, change the way in which people
would react to such events in future by empowering them with the ability to deal with
such challenges more effectively. This is achieved by developing a range of services
that would, amongst others, enhance their social competencies, problem-solving skills,
autonomy, sense of purpose and future, and sense of pride. 134
The ribbon of power

The idea is sometimes created that empowerment means ‘to give someone power’. This is not
the case. It simply means to put that ‘someone’ in a position where they can discover their own
power. This principle can be illustrated by the following story.
In the well-known children’s book, The Wizard of Oz, there is a character called the cowardly
lion. One day this lion approached a wizard and asked him for courage. The wizard went into the
next room, returned with a ribbon and gave it to him. When the lion looked at the ribbon he felt as
if he had power, and when he felt that way he also acted that way. The wizard then remarked to
himself: “I don’t know why people always ask me for what they already have.” 136
The place where the conceptual frameworks of community work are positioned within
the ‘bigger picture’ of social work will be looked at next.
3.2 SOCIAL WORK’S DOMAIN OF PRACTICE

The concept ‘domain’, literally, refers to the territory over which rule or control is
exercised or claimed. If applied to social work, it would indicate the area of the
‘human condition’ to which the profession would lay primary claim. The difficulty of
defining social work’s domain lies in the fact that, as apposed to most other
professions, it does not have one primary domain, but three. These could be
summarised with the concepts 'social functioning', 'social reform' and 'adaptive fit'.
The three main functions of social work can, consequently, be described as:
strengthening peoples' role performance, problem-solving skills, competence,
coping abilities and developmental capacities (social functioning),
promoting social change in order to improve the societal conditions in which people
live (social reform) and
changing the interactions between people and their milieu in such a way that it
would enable them to perform their life tasks, realise their aspirations and values,
fulfil their needs, and alleviate their distress (adaptive fit).137
Although various definitions and descriptions of social functioning have been put
forward, that of Baker138 probably describes it best. He sees it as "Fulfilling one's roles
26
in society in general to those in the immediate environment and to oneself. These

functions include meeting one's own basic needs and those of one's dependants and
making positive contributions to society". In this context, it is social work's first basic
function to help individuals, groups or communities enhance or restore their capacity
for social functioning.139
Social functioning is, however, only part of the equation. Social work also
addresses the societal contexts within which people live. In this regards, it is the
profession’s second basic function or mission to change and reform societies in such a
way that they would provide the opportunities, resources and services that would
"…enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives, and prevent
dysfunction."140
The third and primary focus of social work is on the transactions or relationships
between individuals and society. It, therefore, targets "…the interface between or
meeting place of person and environment - at the point where there is or is not
matching with all its good and bad consequences for the person and environment". 141
The third function is, therefore, to improve the matching between people’s needs,
capacities and goals and the capabilities of their social and physical environment.
Stated differently, it implies to enhance the adaptive fit (also known as ‘goodness of
fit’) between these systems.142
The tri-focal domain of social work practice could perhaps be best summarised with the
following figure.
Figure 1.3: The tri-focal domain of social work practice
Although community work contributes to all three functions of social work, its
primary domain is social reform. It thus aims to change the sustaining environment in
such a way that it would better ‘fit’ the needs of people.
27
3.3 SOCIAL WORK METHODS
Whereas the ‘domain of practice’ construct provides a way of thinking about the
demarcation and purpose of social work, the ‘method’ concept helps to conceptualise
the processes and skills that could be required to bring about the necessary changes in
the person-in-environment domain. The concept 'method', however, encompasses a
broad repertoire of interventions that could be delineated in terms of:
the level on which it takes place (i.e. micro, mezzo and macro practice),
the form that practice would take (i.e. direct practice in terms of clinical services
to individuals, families and groups and indirect practice in terms of working with
communities and political institutions),
the size of the unit that receives attention (e.g. an individual, couple, family,
small group, organisation, neighbourhood, community or a society as a whole),
the type of intervention that is involved (e.g. adoption services, marital therapy,
assertiveness training, sex education, supportive counselling, the establishment of
self-help groups and community-based social action),
the type of problem or need that is addressed (e.g. crime, child neglect, alcohol
abuse, unemployment, victimisation and a lack of services and facilities),
the type of benefits that would be derived from it (e.g. the rehabilitation of those
whose social functioning has been impaired, self-help, empowerment, a more
caring society and a better quality of life) and
the now classic five distinctive practice specialisations, viz. social casework/
clinical social work, social group work, community work/organisation,
administration/management and research).143
In this book, the practice specialisations way of delineating methods will be used.
The benefits that could spring from intervention will, sometimes, augment this primary
criterion.
3.4 DEFINING COMMUNITY WORK

Lombard144 has rightly come to the conclusion that there are as many definitions of
community work as there are authors on the subject. This case will not be any
different because of the necessity to delineate the nature of the concepts that would
be used in this text.
In defining any concept, it is important to state your point of departure and the
criteria that will be used to break the entity up into its constituent parts. In this case,
the point of departure is that community work refers to the processes and skills that
could be used by a social worker to bring about the necessary changes in especially the
environmental facet of the person-in-environment domain of social work. It would,
therefore, be used as a collective noun for some of the meanings that are normally
attributed to concepts such as 'community social work', ‘community practice’,
'community organisation', 'community development', 'community and social action', and
'social and welfare planning'.145
The criteria that would be used to demarcate the constituent parts of community
work, are the six so-called science questions of "what?", "who?", "where?", "why?",
28
"when?" and "how?" Based on these six criteria, the following definition was arrived at:
Community work is the method of social work
that consists of
the various processes and helping acts of the social worker
that is targeted at
the community system, as well as its sub-systems 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.
An analysis of the nature and implications of the definition is contained in Table 1.2.
Table 1.2: The implications of the definition of community work
SCIENCE DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY SOME IMPLICATIONS OF THE DEFINITION

QUESTIONS WORK
WHAT? Community work is the  It is one of the intervention processes or methods that
method of social work are used by social workers.
 It is a form of service delivery.
that consists of
 It consists of certain professional social work (helping)
the various processes and acts that mainly take on the form of techniques.
helping acts…
WHO? of the social worker  There are two main types of systems involved in
and that is targeted at community work, namely the social worker and the
community.
WHERE? the community system, as  Intervention is not only targeted at the community as a
well as its sub-systems whole, but could also take place on:
and certain external  the micro level (e.g. with individuals in community),
systems,…  the mezzo level (e.g. with community groups and
organisations) and
 the macro level (e.g. on a society wide/
international basis).
WHY? with the purpose  The basic aim of community work is to bring about
and of bringing about required some form of social change that would, especially,
develop human potential, provide the resources and
WHEN? social change
services that are required to prevent and eliminate
social dysfunctioning, promote social justice,
enhancement people's problem-solving, coping and
interactional capabilities, and to link potential
consumers with resources and services
 The intended change thus has a developmental,
preventative, remedial, reformist, educational and
linking character.
 Because of these characteristics, its application is not
only limited to persons or situations where social
dysfunctioning has occurred.
HOW? with the help of  It uses five practice models as a point of departure in
especially community service delivery
development, social  These models form the basis on which strategies are
planning, community built
education, social
marketing and social
action as practice models.
29
3.5 THE PURPOSE, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF COMMUNITY WORK
The type of results that community work wishes to achieve can be described in a
variety of ways and with the aid of various concepts. Only five will, however, be used
here. They are 'vision', 'mission', 'purpose', 'goals' and 'objectives'. The relationship
between these concepts is illustrated in Figure 1.5.
Figure 1.5: The relationship between a vision, mission, purpose, goal and objective
As indicated in Figure 1.5, the vision and mission represents the most abstract view
of the intended end results of community work, whereas 'objectives' refers to the most
specific or measurable form that it could take.146 The vision and mission refers to the
long range and overall intent of the practitioner's efforts and have a more general focus
or subject matter. At the other end of the continuum, the objective is more
immediate in nature and covers a specific subject matter. 147
A way to illustrate the differences between the five concepts, is through the
athletics metaphor contained in Figure 1.6. 148 It implies that, as in the case of an
athlete competing in a hurdles race at an Olympic Games, the practitioner:
will have to take various, practical steps in order to reach his objectives (i.e. to
clear each hurdle),
once all the objectives have been reached successfully, he could have accomplished
his goal (i.e. to win the race),
if all social workers accomplish their goals successfully, the purpose of community
work would have been served (i.e. to win the most medals), and
if the purpose of community work has been served, it would have contributed to
the achievement of social work's mission and vision (i.e. to enhance the prestige of
the country).
30
Figure 1.6: The difference between a vision, mission, purpose, goal and objective
How these concepts translate into practice will be looked at next.
3.5.1 The vision and mission of community work
Every profession has a vision of what the end results of its efforts should be. It
usually entails some or other situation in which their services would no longer be
necessary (i.e. "the ultimate goal of professionals are to work themselves out of a
job"). In the case of social work, Bernstein and Gray149 depict this vision as the "good
society", while others depict is as a "just society". Such a society would, inter alia,
provide for everyone:
warm and safe housing,
an adequate supply of water and nutritious food,
challenging jobs,
loving and caring friends and family,
access to the services and resources they need,
the will and skills to deal effectively with life's daily challenges,
minimal stress, crime and suffering,
the opportunity to participate in the plans and policies that effect their lives,
the opportunity to live satisfying and fulfilling lives, and
a balance between individual and collective rights and responsibilities. 150
In order to work towards its vision, a profession should be clear about its mission.
In other words, it should define its central purpose and essentially seek to answer the
question: What business are we in? 151 As eluded to earlier (see 3.2), social work is
basically in the trifocal 'business' of enhancing individual's social functioning, reforming
society and increasing the adapted fit between these two types of systems.
Community work's vision and mission is exactly the same as that of social work. It,
in other words, represents only one of the ways in which this profession could produce
the results it strives for.
31
The 15 blunders
Mahatma Gandhi once formulated the seven blunders from which grow the violence that plagues
the world. These thoughts were added onto by his son, Arun, and finally by Donella Meadows.
The result was the following 15 blunders which, to a large extent, can also be seen as the facets
of human life that needs to be altered in order to arrive at a just society.
1. Wealth without work 9. Justice without mercy

2. Pleasure without conscience 10. Order without freedom
3. Knowledge without character 11. Talking without listening
4. Commerce without morality 12. Stability without change
5. Science and technology without humanity 13. Private interests without public interests
6. Worship without sacrifice 14. Liberty without equality
7. Politics without principles 15. Or, in every case, vice versa
8. Rights without responsibilities
3.5.2 The purpose of community work
The specific contribution community work make to achieving the profession's

envisaged end result (i.e. a ‘good/just society’) entails social change153 on three levels.
They are:
to enhance people's problem-solving, coping and developmental capacities (in order
to enable them to prevent and eliminate social problems and needs, and to utilise
their full potential),
to create and maintain the opportunities, resources and services that people need
(to enrich their lives, prevent or deal with dysfunction, and develop their full
potential) and
to link people with the systems that provides them with the required resources,
services and opportunities.154
The essential difference between community work and the other social work
methods does not lie in the size of the intended target group (it could also be a single
person or group), nor the level at which intervention takes place (it could also include
micro practice). It is who the primary beneficiaries of the intended social change
would be. In casework it is primarily the individual client and in group work the
constituent members of the specially formed group. In community work the benefits go
beyond this narrow ambit and directly contribute to the effective social functioning
and improved living conditions of larger groups, the community and society as a whole.
3.5.3 The goals of community work
As in the case of the other concepts that have been used thus far, various meanings
could also be ascribed to the concept 'goal'. For instance, Robbins 155 sees it as the
desired future ends one seeks and Homan156 typifies it as the action-orientated target
that needs to be reached. Based on these and other views, a goal could be defined as
a statement of the intended outcome of a particular intervention process.157 Such an
outcome should make a contribution to the achievement of community work's purpose.
32
A distinction is often drawn between three types of community work goals. They
are the so-called task goals, process goals and operational goals. 158 Some of the
characteristics of these goals are illustrated in Figure 1.7 and will be explained
further.
Figure 1.7: The focal points of intervention objectives
3.5.3.1 Task goals
Task goals essentially denote some type of intended change in the circumstances
or environment of a community. They cover, amongst others, the creation of
circumstances in which community systems are empowered to perform their problem-
solving, needs fulfilment, resource/service utilisation and environmental modification
tasks in a more effective way. 159
There is a myriad of goals that could be categorised as ‘situation-changing’ in nature.

These include those aimed at the:
establishment of new or improved social work and other services,
development of facilities, infrastructure and resources (e.g. homes for the aged,
day care centres and emergency relief funds),
improvement of co-ordination between existing services and resources and
influencing of social and other types of policies, as well as the practices of
institutions and organisations.160
3.5.3.2 Process goals
Process goals essentially denote a 'people-changing' type of outcome. They

especially cover the bringing about of some or other form of change in people's ‘KAB’.
This acronym stands for knowledge (which also covers insight), attitudes (which also
cover emotions) and behaviour (which also covers practices and skills).161
33
As in the case of task goal, process goals can also take on various forms. These include
those aimed at:
enhancing people's problem-solving, coping, self-help, leadership, negotiation,
conflict management, entrepreneurial and a wide variety of other skills,
changing people's feelings of apathy, powerlessness, insecurity, fear and
irresolution,
conscientizing people about their circumstances and empowering them with the
knowledge and skills they need to change these circumstances,
preventing social dysfunctioning by identifying and strengthening individuals,
groups and communities inherent potential,
improving peoples support for and participation and involvement in groups,
organisations and community life in general,
creating and improving intra-organisational, inter-organisational, intergroups and
interpersonal relationship and co-operation,
sensitising organisations and government institutions to the needs and
circumstances of communities,
educating people with regard to their rights, responsibilities, the nature of their
communities, their community's latent and active problems and needs and the
ways in which problems could be prevented and solved, and needs met,
marketing services, facilities and ideas and
improving the image of social workers, the organisations that employ them and the
client system that they serve. 162
2.5.3.3 Operational goals
The operational goals essentially 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. These organisation changing goals are more administrative
and technical in nature163 and include those aimed at:
improving the financing of the organisation and its services,
ensuring that the organisation and its services meet legal requirements and are
managed effectively,
changing its services in order to respond more effectively to community needs or
policy dictates,
acquiring appropriate staff and improving their capabilities, and
ensuring that services are of an acceptable standard, adheres to scientific
principles and is supported by appropriate infrastructure. 164
Although the operational goals are highly administrative in nature and should
strictly speaking be seen as part of social work management, they form such an integral
part of the practitioner's intra-organisation function that they should receive special
attention in all service delivery. It is often impossible to achieve output orientated
task en process goals before first achieving specific operational or input goals.
34
2.5.3.4 Factors that influence the choice of goals

Operational goals would inevitably form part of all community work services, even
if they only deal with the way in which such a service would be financed. In the case
of task and process goals, however, there are certain factors that could influence the
practitioner’s choice. Lombard 165 identified four such factors. They are:
the urgency of the matter (it usually takes a shorter time-span to reach task goals),
the practitioner's skills, experience and available time (to reach process goals
usually require a substantial amount of time and skills),
the stumbling blocks and opportunities linked to the worker's and his organisation's
mandate, role and status (e.g. the organisation or community could expect the
worker to render a task-centred service) and
the practice model that the worker would chose as his point of departure (e.g. the
community development model is mostly process-centred in nature, whereas task
goals form a substantive part of the social planning model).
3.5.4 The objectives of community work

An objective could be defined as the specific change that the practitioner wants to
bring about in a person, in a group and/or in their environment by means of a series of
interdependent, time-limited steps or activities. 166 Because objectives are directly
linked to goals, it is possible to simply break each goal up into specific task, process or
operational objectives.167
4. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMMUNITY WORK

AND THE OTHER SOCIAL WORK METHODS
Although the roots of all the social work methods could be traced back to the
beginnings of the profession itself, their history has been characterised by periods of
consolidation followed by periods of fragmentation. At the present stage, which is
dominated by the ecological approach and the strengths perspective, the methods are
liken to the points of a five-pointed star. 168 Each point (method) represents a
distinguishable part of an integrated whole. Without their contribution, the whole
would not be the same. Homan's169 analogy of the five-pointed "methods star" has been
translated into South African terminology and is depicted in Figure 1.8.
Figure 1.8: Configuration of social work methods

35
The five methods depicted in Figure 1.8 basically entail the following.
"Clinical social work" (also sometimes referred to as ‘social casework’) represents
the face-to-face contact between the social worker and individuals, as well as
their ‘significant others’ (especially within the individual's nurturing environment)
that is aimed at the treatment and prevention of psychosocial dysfunction,
disability or impairment.
"Social group work" represents the social worker's use of small group dynamics
and resources in order to assist members to achieve individual and shared goals.
"Community work" represents the social worker's act of bringing social systems
together to utilise their collective potential in order to improve their own or other
people's (e.g. community's) circumstances.
"Social work research" represents the systematic procedures that social workers
use in order to seek facts or principles, develop and test theories and
communicate the results to people who could put them to use.
"Social work management" (that includes administration) represents the tasks
required to operate a social work service or agency.
"Impediments" represents any type of social problem, social need or un-/
underutilised potential that hampers effective social functioning. 170
The word ‘impediment’ is derived from the Latin ‘imped’ meaning an 'obstruction
or hindrance' and ‘mentum’ implying movement. Its use in social work can be traced
back to the development of the force field analysis technique by Kurt Lewin in the
1950’s.171 This technique provides a framework for looking at the factors (forces) that
influence a situation by either driving movement toward a goal (‘helping or driving
forces’) or blocking such a movement (‘hindering/restraining forces’ or
‘impediments’). 172
The concept ‘impediments’ is increasingly being used as a collective noun to cover

all of the different obstacles that could hamper a movement towards effective social
functioning. These obstacles can be seated in individuals, in their environment, in the
transactions between the two or in the service delivery system itself. In this text it
would especially be used to refer to the unresolved social problem, unfulfilled needs
or underutilised potential that exists in communities and that obstructs their ability to
develop to a higher level of functioning.
An issue that has created some confusion in local practice is which methods could
‘lay claim’ to each of the various types of groups that are utilised in social work. Fact
of the matter is that it all depends on the repertoire of skills that are required to
work with each group and especially the purposes for which they are employed.
However, to provide some indicators in this regard, the views of Toseland and Rivas173
and others were used to develop a typology of groups and their methodological
‘homes’. This typology is contained in Table 1.3. It does not cover all groups or
represent watertight compartments and is simply a mechanism to indicate general
locality.
36
Table 1.3: A typology of groups that are used in community work, social group work
and social work management
FOCUS
TYPE PURPOSE METHODS PRIMARILY INVOLVED
 Group work skills used for group

THERAPY To change individual behaviour
processes
INDIVIDUAL
PROBLEMS
 Community work skills used to create

MUTUAL SUPPORT/ ‘self-help organisations’ (e.g. for
To help members cope with
“SELF-HELP foster parents)
stressful life events or situations
GROUPS”  Group work skills used for group
processes
To develop member’s insight and  Community work skills used to create
GROWTH change attitudes and behaviour groups
CAPACITY
BUILDING
To increase communication and  Group work skills used for group

SOCIALISATION social skills processes
To educate through presentations,
EDUCATION discussions and experiential
learning
TEAMS (INTERNAL) To engage in collaborative work  Primarily social work management

skills used to create and utilise
To develop, co-ordinate and groups
MULTI-
CENTRED
SERVICE
PROFESSIONAL monitor services to specific client  Community work also uses these
TEAMS systems groups during service delivery
STAFF To educate members for better

DEVELOPMENT practice with clients
ORGANISATION
To discuss issues and accomplish  Primarily social work management

COMMITTEES tasks skills used to create and utilise
CENTRED
groups
To enable management to govern  Community work also uses these
MANAGEMENT an organisation or programme groups to manage its services
SOCIAL ACTION To devise and implement social  Community work skills used to create
GROUPS change strategies and utilise these groups
EMPOWERMENT
COMMUNITY
To exert greater influence by

COALITIONS sharing resources, expertise and
power basis
COUNCILS/ To represent different

FORUMS organisations and other units
It should be noted that all the social worker’s so-called casework and group work
skills are also utilised in community work and that the latter would not be possible
without social work research and management inputs (cf. Figure 1.8).
5. THE NATURE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

As in the case of community work, there is no consensus amongst role-players
regarding the nature of community development and who should do it. Some see it as
the responsibility of every community member, others as the ‘job’ of some or other
functionary (e.g. community development workers or social workers) and still others as
37
a multi-professional team approach to community betterment.174 In this text, the term
'community development' will be used as an umbrella concept to refer to the conscious
efforts of change agents to bring about change within the broad economic,
psychosocial, bio-physiological, technological, spiritual-cultural, political,
environmental, educational and/or other spheres of community life. This is opposed to
'community work' which will specifically refer to the method used by social workers to
bring about change in especially the social sphere of community life.
In order to arrive at a more substantive explanation of the relationship between
community work and community development as it will be used in this text, a more
detailed look into the nature of the latter is a prerequisite. In this regard, community
development will, on the one hand, be seen as a natural process and on the other as a
method of working or a form of intervention.
5.1 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AS A NATURAL PROCESS

It is generally accepted that there are various forces present in a community that could
either enhance its progress or lead to disintegration.
The most important positive force is man's inherent drive to improve his own and
his community's standard of living and quality of life through individual and collective
actions.175 It is to a larger or lesser degree present in all communities and gives the
system the innate ability and inclination to develop.176 This force is often countered by
a variety of natural phenomena and psycho-social, educational, economic and political
obstacles that hamper development and tend to push the community in the opposite
direction.177
A basic question that should be answered is: what 'makes' one community develop
naturally and another to stagnate or disintegrate? Seen from an ecosystems
perspective, the answer especially lies in the extent to which each of its subsystems
(e.g. each individual, household, family, circle of friends, profession, association,
organisation, business undertaking, industry, local authority and government
institution) contribute to the improvement of the community's standard of living and
quality of life. A 'competent' and therefore self-developing community would be one in
which its various component parts "…are able to collaborate effectively in identifying
the problems and needs of the community; can achieve a working consensus on goals
and priorities; can agree on ways and means to implement the agreed-upon goals; can
collaborate effectively in the required actions". 178
Simply attributing underdevelopment to some or other form of 'incompetence'
would, however, ignore the complexities involved in community functioning and the
factors that play a role in keeping it in a state of underdevelopment. It would,
secondly, not provide a sound enough foundation on which to base intervention. To
overcome these conceptual difficulties, use will be made of the 'vicious cycles of
underdevelopment' construct.
It is extremely difficult to distinguish clearly between the causes and symptoms of
underdevelopment. If it is viewed as solely the result of the legacy of past political
systems, then, for example, constitutional reforms and democracy would be the
panacea for all of a country’s and community's ills. If it were viewed as the result of a
lack of resources and economic growth, then increases in productivity, jobs and GDP
would, amongst others, be the solution. When a lack of individual empowerment is
38
seen as the main cause, development could be achieved entirely through education,
training, guidance and human resource development. The fact of the matter is that
underdevelopment is caused by a myriad of interlinking factors. These causes could be
conceptualised as vicious cycles which, when occurring in combination, would impede a
country's and a community's development.
There are especially eight vicious circles that contribute to underdevelopment. 179
They are the economic, psychosocial, bio-physiological, spiritual-cultural,
technological, environmental, educational and political cycles. Some elements of
these cycles were combined to form the model depicted in Figure 1.9.
Figure 1.9: Model of the vicious cycles of underdevelopment
The concept of ‘vicious cycles’ is a useful tool to illustrate the categories and
content of factors that are involved in underdevelopment. When using this model, six
aspects should, however, be kept in mind. They are:
that the eight cycles represent the most important categories of factors that are
involved and do not necessarily imply that other factors could not also be
categorised into cycles,
that each cycle do not contain all the relevant factors,
that the cycles are not mutually exclusive and that they overlap,
that the process that is shown is not necessarily of such a linear nature,
that the cycles do not only occur within the boundaries of the community, but that
communities could also be negatively effected by external forces, and
most important of all, that the cycles do not imply iron rules from which it is
impossible to escape.
39
5.2 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AS A FORM OF INTERVENTION
During the 1940's it became clear that community development as a natural process had
serious shortcomings. These included:
that it was a slow process and, therefore, too time consuming,
that it often became directionless and landed up in dead ends,
that it tended to be a cost-ineffective process because of the same mistakes being
made over and over again,
that some communities or societies simply did not have the ability to 'develop from
within' and, therefore, remained in the various cycles of underdevelopment and
that, even when development occurred, it tended to have distorted results in which
only certain segments of the community developed while others stagnated.180
The shortcomings in the natural process of development contributed to the
establishment of community development as a form of intervention. Its aim was,
basically, to speed up the natural process and make it more cost-effective. From the
outset, however, this idea ran into various empirical and philosophical difficulties, 181
mainly due to its complex nature. It especially did not fit the 'single-solution paradigm'
that many economists, politicians and even social scientists had espoused. There is
currently, however, some basic agreement that it entails a conscious effort by a
‘development agent’ in which partnerships among local people and between local
people and external systems (e.g. government, non-governmental agencies and
industry) are established in order to improve the material (e.g. economic and
infrastructure) as well as the non-material (e.g. social and political) facets of
community life (see Chap. 1: 3.1.1). How this intervention could be defined, will be
looked at next.
5.3 DEFINING THE CONCEPT 'COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT'

Any definition of community development ought to reflect its multidisciplinary and
multileveled nature. Simply seeing it as the strengthening and building of "…satisfying
communal structures, using available resources to create and energize human
potentialities" 182 or as "…the conscious process wherein small, geographically
contiguous communities are assisted by the more developed community to achieve
improved standard of social and economic life"183 could thus not fit the bill. Use will,
therefore, be made of the shortcomings of the natural development process as a
criterion to demarcate the constituent parts of community development. With the help
of this criterion, the following definition was arrived at.
Community development (CD) is the method, process, programme and strategy by
means of which change agents, with or without the help of external systems:
● speed up the tempo at which a community develops,
● provide direction to the development process in order to realise objectives
purposefully within the economic, psychosocial, bio-physiological, technological,
spiritual-cultural, political, environmental, educational and other spheres of life,
● make the goal attainment process as cost-effective, streamlined and
sustainable as possible so that both human and environmental resources are
used optimally and
● 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.184
40
It does not fall within the scope of this publication to discuss all of the elements of
this definition in detail. Some of its most salient implications are, however,
summarised in Table 1.4.
Table 1.4: The implications of the definition of community development
DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY SOME IMPLICATIONS OF THE DEFINITION

DEVELOPMENT (CD)
 Community development is the  CD is a form of intervention in which a change agent

method, process, programme, follows a set procedure to realise specified objectives
strategy and movement by (method)
means of which…  CD represents a movement from one state to another in
which the tempo of change varies from slow to fast
(process)
 CD takes the form of planned change in which the
specified activities of various role-players are combined
in a plan of action (programme)
 CD is a predetermined course of action (strategy)
 development agents, with or  Persons or groups from within or outside of the
without the help of external community become agents of development or change
systems: agents when they deliberately start to change the
existing situation
 The development process could be completely
'contained' within community boundaries (the so-called
"boot-strapping"). More often than not, however, some
form of external inputs or resources is needed.
● speed up the tempo at which  CD is intended to accelerate the pace at which a
a community develops, community develops, but without affecting traditional
community structures in such a way that they
disintegrate or that the community rebels against the
change process.
● provide direction to the  CD represents an attempt to consciously bring about
development process in order predetermined, planned change in one or more spheres
to realise objectives of community life.
purposefully within the
economic, psychosocial, bio-
physiological, technological,
spiritual-cultural,
environmental, educational,
institutional, political and
other spheres of life,
● makes the goal attainment  CD represents an attempt to bring about the optimal
process as cost-effective, efficiency and balance between input and output, local
streamlined and sustainable initiative and external influence, temporary and long-
as possible so that both term gains, etc. in goal attainment.
human and environmental  CD also motivates, co-ordinates and develops ways of
resources are used optimally securing co-operation with external systems in areas of
and common interests.
● contribute to human growth  CD, inter alia, entails the development or stimulation of:
and the unlocking of human  leadership,
potential by empowering  a strong sense of individual and collective
community members to take responsibility, community loyalty and identity,
responsibility for their own,  social participation in decision-making and
as well as the whole system's implementation,
development.  co-operation, involvement and self-help.
41
One of the many conclusions that could be drawn from the definition, is that
community development is not a social work method. The abundance of literature on
the same subject that is produced by various disciplines (e.g. economics, nursing,
sociology, psychology and development studies) bears witness to this fact. What is,
however, also clear is that social work has an important contribution to make to
community development as a field of practice and especially to the attainment of
social development objectives. The contexts of these objectives will be looked at
next.
5.4 THE PURPOSE, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of community development could be summarised as the bringing about
of substantive and sustainable change in all spheres of community life in order to
improve its members' standard of living and quality of life. 185 Within this very broad
conceptualisation, it is possible to formulate an almost endless list of goals and
objectives. These could range from providing one square meal a day to everyone to
promoting human solidarity and from increasing job opportunities to ensuring that
social justice will prevail.
In the light of the model of the cycles of underdevelopment that is used as the
point of departure in this text (see Fig. 1.9), it is, however, possible to formulate eight
categories of goals and objectives. They are those that are aimed at breaking the
economic, psychosocial, bio-physiological, technological, spiritual-cultural, political,
environmental and educational cycles of underdevelopment.
It would not be possible to expand on the contents of the eight categories in detail.
Therefore, only some general remarks regarding each will have to suffice. These
remarks will focus on the macro or society and the mezzo or community levels of
development in especially South Africa.
5.4.1 Goals pertaining to the economic cycle
In the Southern African sub-region, about 40% of the population lived on less than
US $1 a day in 2008. According to the Southern African Regional Poverty Network,186
inequality in the sub-region is manifested through rising levels of impoverishment, the
paradox of ‘jobless growth’, entrenched patriarchal systems, rising unemployment and
the inability of the majority of people to access sources of livelihood or basic services.
There is some consensus that, in order to break an economic cycle of

underdevelopment on a macro level, a socio-economic plan based on the values of
democracy, morality, economic justness, innovativeness, and competitiveness must be
in place. 187 The focus of such a plan should be to add value to existing exports, to
exploit new business opportunities and to create job opportunities. In South Africa,
where the current poverty rate is estimated at 24%, an economic growth rate of above
10% per annum has to be maintained in order to reduce unemployment significantly.188
In order to achieve this goal, inflation will have to be kept at a minimum, productivity
and self-sufficiency will have to increase and the country will have to become a player
in the world market.
42
On the mezzo level, a dualistic approach will have to be followed. On the one
hand, local communities will have to be put in a position to contribute economically to
the larger society and on the other, become more self-sustaining economic entities.
Goals that could be formulated in this regard include to:
multiply small entrepreneurs and co-operatives,
ensure that local needs are met first before excess products are ‘exported’,
develop appropriately scaled home and other industries (e.g. community bakeries,
locally grown produce and brick-making),
increase earnings within the community and decreasing expenditure outside of it,
ensure that communities invest in themselves, develop a consumer loyalty to local
products, decrease dependency on external energy and food sources (e.g. by
developing a local food economy) and focus on renewable local resources and
tourism, and
develop internal capital resources (e.g. through savings, ‘stokvels’ and mutual help).189
5.4.2 Goals pertaining to the psychosocial cycle
In order to break the psychosocial cycle of underdevelopment, South Africa will

have to become a more ‘active society’. The ideal state is one of high control,
consensus and activation and low alienation. 190 In order to achieve this ideal, the
society should:
become highly motivated, hard working, productive, self-sufficient, vibrant and
future orientated,
believe in (a) God, civilised humanity, human solidarity and social equity, unity of a
political nation, consensus democracy, reconciliation and justice, excellence,
successfulness, morality, caring, innovativeness, competitiveness and the 'Golden
Rule' (i.e. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you")191 and
develop a highly organised civil society (i.e. institutions, organisations and
individuals outside of government and including trade unions, consumer
organisations, the formal and informal welfare sectors, non-governmental
organisations [NGO’s], community based organisations [CBO’s] and faith based
organisations [FBO’s])192 that cater for the needs of divergent groups and adheres to
the dictum that a well-organised community is a successful community.
On the micro and mezzo levels, these values boil down to enabling and motivating
each member of the community to take responsibility for achieving their personal
purpose in life.193 They should also take responsibility for the wellbeing of neighbours
and move away from any dependency on external systems such as government (e.g. the
so-called ‘Pretoria-must-provide-syndrome’). Within the ambit of these values lays the
essence of the goals of individual and communal self-help.
5.4.3 Goals pertaining to the bio-physiological cycle
The bio-physiological cycle of underdevelopment in South Africa is characterised by

the proliferation of disease, a high infant mortality rate, a high HIV invention rate,
limited preventative and curative medical services and diminished individual capacity
due to malnutrition.
43
Malnutrition and some of the diseases in South Africa should be partly blamed on
poverty and partly on a lack of knowledge. This makes goals that are aimed at the
provision of food, the establishment of primary (e.g. clinics) and secondary (e.g.
hospitals) health services and general health education of great importance. 194
5.4.4 Goals pertaining to the technological cycle
If the country wishes to become a role-player in the global marketplace, South

Africans will have to gain more access to new technology and be trained in its use. On
the mezzo level, the goal should be the establishment and use of appropriate
technology. In this regard, the thin line between mass production vs. production by
the masses, consumption vs. environmental sustainability, technology vs. humanity,
profit vs. job opportunities, and traditional processes vs. new innovations should be
treated with care.195
In order to break the technological cycle of underdevelopment at the local/mezzo

level, more use should have to be made of extension services. This entails the
transference of new ideas by trained scientists to local groups and linking these ideas
to the local group's needs and circumstances. 196
Although extension services have traditionally only been linked to agriculture, the
need for this type of intervention also exists in other fields (e.g. manufacturing,
medicine and computing). In all circumstances, the basic goals remain the same, viz.
to:
help people to identify and prioritise their technological needs,
instil in them the confidence to start using new technology (including new procedures),
show them how to obtain and to use it appropriately and
support them in its use.
5.4.5 Goals pertaining to the spiritual-cultural cycle
Of all spheres, the breaking of the spiritual-cultural cycle of underdevelopment is

the most difficult to achieve. The reason being that it is aimed at changing the
fundamental world view and value system of people. If South Africa, however, wishes
to become a developed country, it would necessitate at least the adaptation of existing
values, attitudes and behaviour. What is especially required is a move away from an
animistic religious orientation, external locus of control, fatalism and the lack of
initiative toward a value set characterised by a future-orientated ethos (a belief in a
positive future) and a belief in man's ability to control his own destiny.197
On the micro and mezzo levels, the goal of changing the mindset of people would
have to focus on the establishment of a state of self-management. This would,
basically, entail instilling in them the belief that they have the capacity to control
their own lives.
44
5.4.6 Goals pertaining to the political cycle

The political cycle of underdevelopment is initially characterised by a lack of vision
and political will and usually ends with the breakdown of law and order and political
instability. Therefore, in order to break this cycle on the macro level, the government
should have a vision and the will to achieve this vision.
In South Africa, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) was an

attempt to provide a socio-economic vision for all. This vision, inter alia, entailed the
mobilisation of all people and resources toward the achievement of freedom, and an
improved standard of living and quality of life within a peaceful and stable society
characterised by equitable economic growth. 198 As such, this vision was a laudable ideal
to strive for and possessed the innate power to galvanise the country into
development-centred action.
The RDP and its successors produced mixed results. Most successes were of a ‘hand-
out’ nature such as:
the child support grant,
school feeding schemes,
the mass electrification of homes by the state utility ESCOM,
numerous programmes to upgrade municipal infrastructures,
attempts to promote the small business sector,
increased access to water and
access to telecommunications for the masses.199
Attempts to empower people to help themselves were not that overtly successful.
The situation has been further complicated by an increase in crime, corruption,
inefficiency, violence, political conflict and the abuse of power.200 What is, therefore,
urgently needed at the macro level, is the revitalisation of the ideals of the RDP and
the political will to implement these in practice.
At the mezzo level, the key to breaking the political cycle of underdevelopment
lies in especially two goal areas. They are improving citizen participation in local
government and the establishment of a community vision.
The concept of local citizen participation is based "…on the assumption that the
best ideas usually come from the people, not the policy-makers". 201 Everything possible
should be done to involve citizens in the planning, implementing and monitoring of
policies, programmes and projects in a truly democratic way (i.e. ‘politics are too
important to be left in the hands of politicians’). Therefore, to accomplish
participative or community owned development, leaders must create and maintain a
political environment that is based on community members' respect for and trust in one
another, the tolerance of differences and the acceptance of each individual's right and
responsibility to participate in the processes that affects him or her.
The second goal area pertains to the establishment of a positive vision of the future
that is shared by all community members. This vision should be challenging enough to
motivate people to become involved in the improvement of their communities, but not
so unrealistic or idealistic that it would demoralise them. 202 The vision can be the
rallying point around which community leaders could mobilise community members.
45
At a micro level it should be remembered that all organisations are also political
entities. It is often at this level that policies and practices are most injurious to
community members.
5.4.7 Goals pertaining to the environmental cycle
According to Möller, 203 two factors lay at the root of the environmental cycle of
underdevelopment. They are population and economic pressures.
It is inevitable that the current size and profile of South Africa's population,
coupled with a projected population growth rate of more than 2% per annum, 204 would
put a greater burden on the environment. Even at present, valuable arable land is
increasingly been used for housing purposes. This situation, coupled with the
overpopulation and over utilisation of the deep rural areas, the use of unsustainable
farming practices (e.g. overgrazing), and mining and manufacturing practices where
profit is placed before environmental concerns, could spell environmental disaster for
the country. On the macro level, therefore, the answer lays in an effective and
credible national family planning programme, a national environmental education
programme and the political will to enforce environmental protection measures.
On the community level, it is important that people should understand, accept

responsibility for and be held accountable for the maintenance and improvement of
their environment. 205 The basic goal should be to leave to future generations a
sustained and sustainable environment. 206
5.4.8 Goals pertaining to the educational cycle
In order to break the educational cycle of underdevelopment, South Africa must

invest in its people. 207 People ought to be central in development, because it is
ultimately concerned with the individual, the quality of his life and his relationships
with others.208
On the macro level, there is a need for a new paradigm and approach in which the
slogan "first education then development" would be widely adopted. 209 Without it, the
present education system cannot win the race against illiteracy in all its forms. 210
On the mezzo level, the educational goals boil down to empower community
members with necessary knowledge, willpower (attitude) and skills to manage their
own lives more effectively and to improve the circumstances of the people around
them. This perception is, perhaps, best summarised by the following statement: "if
man must clearly be the objective and the beneficiary of development, he is in the
first place its agent".211
Some of the goals of community development, as seen within an Afro-centric

context, are reflected in the following ‘Points to Ponder’.
46

The 7 principles of healthy community living: an Afro-centric perspective
The goal of community development is basically to bring about a change in the perceptions of
people. Such perceptions should, however, fit local circumstances. The following Afro-
centric perspective of healthy community living is a case in point.
1. UNITY: To strive for and maintain unity (in whatever form) within the community
in the family, community, and nation. (and decrease expenditures outside the
2 SELF-DETERMINATION: To define ourselves, community) and to circulate the money paid
create for ourselves, and speak for into the local economy within the community
ourselves. for as long as possible before it is paid out.
3. COLLECTIVE WORK AND RESPONSIBILITY: To 5. CREATIVITY: To do always as much as we can,
build and maintain our community in the way that we can, in order to leave our
together, to believe in the value of community more beautiful than we inherited
neighbourliness (ubuntho) and to make it.
our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our 6. PURPOSE: To make as our collective vocation
problems, and to solve them together. the building and developing of our
4. CO-OPERATIVE ECONOMICS: To strive to community and to be in harmony with our
produce as much of its own energy as spiritual purpose.
possible, to supply local needs first, to 7. FAITH: To believe with all our hearts in our
strive to increase earnings parents, our teachers, and our people.
5.5 CHANGE AGENTS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

In order to explain the relationship between community work and community
development, it is also necessary to analyse the roles that different functionaries play
in their execution. Within the community development context, it is possible to draw a
distinction between three types of change agents. They are so-called generalist
community development workers, specialist or sectoral developers, and experts and
consultants.213
The concept 'generalist community development worker' broadly refers to those

persons who are employed by government departments (but also some non-government
organisations and businesses) for the sole purpose of rendering a developmental service
to communities. Swanepoel and De Beer 214 describe them as:
“…workers who usually have a co-ordinating task and who concern
themselves mostly with the mobilisation of people for development and
the running of development projects. These so-called generalists
[sometimes] comprise… people not trained for a specific task who have
been appointed to the bottom of the departmental hierarchy by
government departments and provincial and local governments.”
The second type of change agents are the so-called specialist or sectoral
developers. This group encompasses persons who - on the basis of the nature of their
professions, the type of employers in whose service they are and especially the type of
services that they render - directly contribute to the development of a specific sector
47
or sphere of community life. It could include professionals such as social workers,
agricultural extension officers, engineers, teachers and nurses. These professionals
will not be called community development workers, but will operate under their
ordinary occupational titles in the execution of their specialised development centred
services. 215 They can work separately or combine and coordinate their services in
various ways.
The views of Swanepoel and De Beer216 imply that social workers would be specialist
or sectoral developers when they only focus their efforts on the so-called social welfare
field. It is only when practitioners move outside this demarcated field and start to
mobilise people to address other spheres of community life (e.g. the economic, bio-
physiological, educational and broad psychosocial spheres), that he or she could be
called a ‘community development worker’.
The third type of change agent is the so-called experts and consultants. They are
persons who do not enter into direct interaction with the members of the community,
but provide expert advice or technical and research assistance to community leaders,
community development workers and sectoral developers. Such experts and
consultants are employed by various bodies such as national boards, some trade unions,
the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Small Business Development Corporation
(SBDC), some state departments and a variety of social work institutions. Social
workers could, therefore, also function as experts and consultants as far as
development issues are concerned.
6. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMMUNITY WORK

AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
When the ecosystems perspective is used as a basis to compare community work
with community development, it becomes apparent that the difference between the
two is a question of focus and scope.
The domain of social work practice (see Fig. 1.3) implies that it is this profession's
primary purpose to improve people's social functioning. In order to achieve this result,
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. Community work has
exactly the same field of practice. It, therefore, focuses on the psychosocial sphere of
community life.
Community development does not have such a narrow psychosocial focus. Its field
of practice rather encompasses all eight spheres of community life. Its primary
purpose is to change the conditions within which people live in order to, basically,
improve their overall standard of living and quality of life.
The differences in focus between community development and community work are
illustrated in Figure 1.10.
48
Figure 1.10: The fields of practice of community work and community development
As indicated by Figure 1.10, there is a 'grey area' between some of the purposes of
community work and community development. This area will be illustrated with the
aid of the following fictitious example.
A social worker starts to deliver services to a brick making company, the
largest employer in a small community. His initial services consist of
the presentation of a life skills course to employees and targeting them
in an AIDS awareness campaign. He, however, discovers that the
remuneration levels of the employees are far below par and decide to
mobilise the workers and their trade union to rectify the situation.
During deliberations with the trade unions he discovers that current
legal provisions do not protect workers’ rights sufficiently and decides
to mobilise a power base to address this issue.
Because the educational services and awareness campaign is solely aimed at

enhancing the employees’ social functioning, it could be typified as community work.
However, once the practitioner shifts his focus to the labour relations and broader
economic field, these services would be typified as community development. The
empowering of employees and others to work together and to stand up collectively for
their rights falls somewhere in the ‘grey area’ between the two or, if viewed
differently, would be part community work (social action) and part community
development (change in the political sphere).
49
The example has two important implications.
The first is that, in order to determine if an intervention is community work or
community development, the focus and objectives of such a venture will have to
be used as a criterion.
The second is that social workers could still be doing community work if they
utilise community development as one of their modes of intervention. The
precondition, however, would be that this type of involvement must primarily be
aimed at improving community members' social functioning and that their
involvement in other spheres should only serve as a mechanism to achieve this
goal.
1
United Nations Development Program. 2008: 230-7
2
United Nations Development Program. 2008: 230-7; Wikipedia. 2008. List of countries by Human Development
Index. Because of insufficient data, the exact position of Zimbabwe could not be pinpointed.
3
United Nations Development Program. 2008: 276
4
Wikipedia. 2009. Southern African Development Community
5
Frank, 2007
6
Vale, 2003:79.
7
Coetzee,1996:140
8
Cf. Lombard,1991:110
9
Midgley,1997:184-5
10
In Lombard,1991:116
11
Lombard, 2008:159-160
12
Johnson,1998:41
13
Cf. Barker,1995:68-9, Gray,1998:14
14
Cf. Gray,1998:14, Ramsay,1994:184
15
Cf. Hardina, 2000:6;
16
Roodt,1996:313,318
17
Roodt,1996:314
18
Midgley,1995:2
19
Lund,1987:4
20
Midgley, 1995:4,73
21
Midgley,1995:8
22
Cf. Lombard, 2008: 158-162
23
Cf. Midgley,1995:8
24
The statist social development approach basically entail a combination of the unified socio-economic,
redistribution of growth and basic needs approaches
25
Midgley,1995:92
26
Midgley,1995:60
27
Cf. Galin, 2003
28
Midgley, 1995:114
29
Korten in Roodt,1996:318
30
Coetzee & Graaf,1996:14
31
Brown,1991:15
32
Midgley,1995:91,114
33
Nel & Pretorius, 2009; Northwestern University, School of Education and Social Policy, 2009; Synergos, 2002.
34
Homan,1994:25
35
Wikipedia, 2009a. Community organizing
36
Cf. Silavwe,1995:79-83
37
Homan,1994:25
38
Homan,1994:26
39
Homan,1994:31,41, Midgley,1995:116-7 Also see Chapter 1: 5.2.
40
Bernstein,1995:54, Homan,1994:37
41
Kirst-Ashman, 2007:9
42
Homan,1994:37; Bernstein,1995:54
43
DuBois & Miley, 2005:18; Homan,1994:37, Bernstein,1995:55
44
45
Cf. Lombard, 2008: 155-162
46
47
Midgley & Livermore (1997) in Kirst-Ashman, 2007:10
50
48
Stepney & Popple, 2008:130
49
Cf. Lombard, 2008:159
50
Cf. South Africa (Rep.), Department of Welfare. 1997. White paper for social welfare
51
Cf. Baker, 2006:405; Pusic, 1987:275, Lauffer, 1987:315
52
Woodley-Baker, 2007
53
Estes, 1998:7
54
Cf. Estes, 1998:7
55
Estes, 1998:8-10; Barker, 2003:324
56
The individualist empowerment approach is also known as the individualist welfare or social welfare approach.
Estes, 1998:8-10; Midgley,1995:117
57
Cf. Miley, O’Melia & DuBois, 2004:85,464; Barker, 2003:142; Midgley,1995:112-113
58
Community Development Halton. 2006
59
Cf. Brown,1991:16, Lund,1987:5-6; Midgley,1995:59-60; Patel, 2005:123
60
Cf. Lombard, 2008:161; Patel, 2005:122-140
61
Homan, 1994:36-7
62
Lund,1987:2
63
Midgley,1995:54-5
64
Cf. Hamelton,1992:37
65
Weyers,1997:41-2
66
Pratt & Boyden,1988:144-5, Hamelton,1992:2-3
67
Swanepoel & De Beer, 2006:29-30
68
Cf. Swanepoel & De Beer, 2006:29-30; Stepney & Popple, 2008:119-23
69
Homan, 1994:26
70
Homan,1994:36,257, Weyers,1991a:137-8
71
Weyers,1997:40-1,106
72
Weyers,1997:106
73
Cf. Rothman et al.,1983:31-2
74
Skidmore,1983:195
75
Kotler & Roberto,1989; Kotler, Roberto & Lee. 2002.
76
Rothman, 1983
77
Weyers,1987
78
Weyers,1987; Carmichael-Kathan,1991; Boehm & Freund, 2007:695-714.
79
Baker, 2006:405; Kotler, 1986:693
80
Marx & Van der Walt, 1993:650; McDaniel,1979:10-1
81
Lubbe & Puth,1994:10-11; Kotler,1986:693; MONASH Marketing Dictionary. 2009. Idea marketing: “Activities
associated with the marketing of a cause or idea”
82
cf. DiGiulio,1984:230; Christopher & McDonald, 1995:43-5
83
McElreath,1993:4
84
McElreath,1993:4
85
Barker, 2006:401
86
Mitchell, 1987:123
87
Clegg, 1977:114
88
Weyers,1991a:135, Lund,1987:7
89
Atkinson,1996:308
90
Foster,1992:86
91
Midgley,1995:90
92
Pallay,1996:333-4, Midgley,1995:90
93
Cf. Hlatshwayo, 2007:44-5
94
Popple,1995:64
95
Roodt,1996:315
96
Hamilton,1992:18-24, Hope & Timmel,1984:8-12, Roodt,1996: 315-6
97
Midgley,1995:118-20, Popple,1995:65-6, Forster:1992:86
98
Foster,1992:87
99
DuBois & Miley, 2005:22
100
Moore & Hill, 2000; Carpenter, 2008:4-5
101
Sheafor et al., 1997:49
102
Sheafor et al., 1997:49,85
103
The content of the Figure is based on Sheafor et al., 1997:49-51,90-121
104
Cf. Gray,1998:17
105
Greif & Lynch,1983:41
106
Baker,1995:375
107
Pincus & Minahan, 1973
108
Meyer,1983:29, Barker,1995:114
109
Morales & Sheafor,1986:299
110
Bernstein & Gray,1996:12
111
Sheafor et al.,1997:327-8, Ramsay,1994:186
112
Ramsay,1994:186
113
Meyer,1983:31
51
114
Sheafor et al.,1997:51, Weyers,1991:125
115
Zastrow, 2010:89-93; Jeffries, 1996:101-11
116
Jeffries, 1996:101-3
117
Sheafor et al., 1997:49
118
Including Rothman, 1987:3-26
119
Including Weyers,1997:33-4; Weyers & Van Den Berg, 2006:177-87.
120
Including Jeffries, 1996:101-125; Weil & Gamble, 2005:117-149
121
Cf. Van den Berg & Weyers, 2002:21-52
122
Van Wormer, Wells & Boes, 2000:178
123
Van Wormer, Wells & Boes, 2000:178
124
Note: most of this contents of this section is derived from Stutterheim & Weyers, 2004:1-14.
125
Cf. Miley et al., 2001:448
126
Cf. Miley et al., 2001:209-211; Saleeby, 1996:299-300: Saleeby, 1997:59; Zuns & Chernesky, 2000:157-170
127
Cf. Gray & Collett van Rooyen, 2002:196-199; Kisthardt, 1997:98-90; Lee, 1994:27-28; Saleeby, 1997:12-15
128
Kisthardt, 1997:98; Lee, 1994:27
129
Lee, 1994:27-28
130
Cf. Rankin, 2007:2
131
Kisthardt, 1997:98
132
Weyers & Van den Berg, 2006:181-3
133
Stutterheim & Weyers, 2004:10
134
Cf. Kumpfer, 1999,205: Naude, 1999: 84-88; Saleebey, 1996:299; Saleebey, 1997:198
135
Based on: Maser1997:65
136
Derived from: Checkoway, 1995:4
137
Bernstein & Gray,1996:7,12; Delewski,1994:159; International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), 2000:
Definition of social work; Baer & Federico,1979:61
138
Baker, 1995:352
139
Morales & Sheafor,1986:10; National Association of Social Workers: Definition of social work
140
Cf. International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), 2000: Definition of social work
141
Morales & Sheafor,1986:21
142
Baker, 2003: 181-2; Terminology Committee for Social Work, 1995:28
143
Cf. Barker, 2003:272,409
144
Lombard, A.1991:70
145
Cf. Barker,1995:69, Eloff,1976:25-45, Ferrinho,1981:1-3, Lombard,1991:72, Rothman,1979:25-45
146
Schoech, 2008; Kroon,1995:142
147
Homan,1994:158-9, Griffin,1987:109-111
148
Adapted from Ivancevich, 1997:161
149
Bernstein & Gray, 1996:4
150
Morales & Sheafor,1986:3,Bernstein & Gray,1996:4-5, Macer,1997:65
151
Ivancevich et al., 1997:194 ; Robbins,1984:144
152
Based on: Maser1997:65
153
Cf. Gray,1998:57
154
Bernstein & Gray, 1996:12-13; Engelbrecht,1997:19-22; International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW),
2000: Definition of social work; Potgieter,1998:28
155
Robbins, 1984:125
156
Homan, 1994:159
157
Schoech, 2008
158
Rothman,1995:35, Lombard et al.,1991:77, Weyers,1987:99 .
159
Cf. Dunham,1970:4, Weyers,1987:100
160
Lombard,1991:79-80, Rothman,1995:35, Weyers,1987:100
161
Cf. Weyers et al., 2006:72-4; Weyers,1987:101; Lombard,1991:80 .
162
Bernstein & Gray,1996:12-14, Lombard,1991:81-2, Potgieter,1998:28, Rothman,1995:35,
Weyers,1991:130,136,139, White paper…, 1997:5 .
163
Weyers,1987:102
164
Kroon & Van Zyl,1995:130, Weyers,1987:102, Lombard,1991:85-86 .
165
Lombard, 1991:84
166
Van der Walt & Knipe,1998:95,182, Donnelly et al.,1995:159, Parsons et al., 1994:130
167
Cf. Lombard,1991:86 .
168
Cf. Homan,1994:41 .
169
Homan, 1994:41
170
Cf. Barker, 2003:8,76,84,210,272,291,368,404; Cowger, 1998:25-37.
171
Accel, 2008; Brager, 1992:15
172
Mind Tools, 2006
173
Toseland & Rivas, 1998:20-34
174
Cf. Lombard,1991:119-122, Gray,1998:56-61
175
Weyers.1997:50 .
176
Cf. Maser,1997:101-3 .
177
Cf. Du Preez,1981:23-27 .
178
Cottrel in Fellin,1987:9
52
179
Cf. Bakhit et al.,1996:8-17, Sato & Smith,1996:92-5, Du Preez,1981:23-8 .
180
Weyers,1997:51 .
181
Cernea,1991:1-12, Maser,1997:86-92 ,
182
Scherer,1972:3-4
183
ICSW in Roodt,1996:313
184
Weyers,1997:51-52, Lombard,1991:118, Maser,1997:101-3, Gray,1998:58-9 .
185
Weyers,1997:52 .
186
Southern African Regional Poverty Network, 2009:1
187
Möller,1996:9 .
188
Seekings, 2007:1; Smit,1996:15
189
Ferrinho,1980:29, Gray,1998:19, Maser,1997:184-193, Weyers,1997:70-1 .
190
Cf. Etzioni, 1973:155 .
191
Möller,1996:8, Ferrinho,1980:50-5 .
192
Cf. Minister for Welfare and Population Development (RSA). Section: 1 (i)
193
Cf. Sato & Smith,1996:92 .
194
Weyers,1997:73-4 .
195
Cf. Maser,1997:186-7 .
196
Ferrinho,1980:88-90 .
197
Du Preez,1981:28,23, Bakhit,199617-26 .
198
RDP, 1994:5 .
199
Tyson et al.,1996:38
200
Möller,1996:9
201
Maser,1997:115
202
Cf. Van der Walt & Knipe,1998:20 .
203
Möller, 1996:11-12 ,
204
cf. Tyson et al.,1996:145
205
Du Preez,1981: 79 .
206
Maser,1997:228 .
207
Cf. McClelland, 1973:161
208
Beddis,1989:22, Coetzee,1992:91
209
Möller,1996:11
210
Cf. Smit,1996:15 .
211
Ferrinho,1980:55
212
Based on: Berry in Maser, 1997:191-2
213
Weyers,1997:54-55 .
214
215
Swanepoel & De Beer, 2006:49
216
Chapter 2: The components of community work
53
Chapter 2
The components
of community
work
"Change is a door that can only be opened from the inside"
(Old French saying).
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
DEFINE
the concepts 'community', 'developmental social welfare' and 'developmental
social work'.
DESCRIBE
the factors that creates change in a community and its members’ likely reaction
to such change,
the knowledge that the social (community) worker should possess and the
principles that should guide intervention and
the socio-economic and political context of Southern African community work.
EXPLAIN
the ways in which communities could be demarcated.
Chapter 2: The components of community work
54
DEFINITIONS OF CORE CONCEPTS/CONSTRUCTS
Community: A social system which originates when a population of individuals

(social dimension), localised in a specific geographic area (spatial
dimension), establishes and utilises structures and relationships to deal with
impediments (functional dimension) and at the same time develops a sense
of communal thinking, identity and activities (cultural-symbolic dimension).
Contextual community: The setting in which the practitioner operates and that
would have a direct or indirect effect on his/her endeavours.
Developmental social work: A distinctive approach to social work service
delivery that goes beyond micro level rehabilitation, counselling, protection
and continuing care services but also includes it; that utilises strengths,
assets-based and non-discriminatory approaches to enhance social
functioning, prevent social problems, and develop human potential and
social capital; and - in so doing - help people to realise the fullness of the
social, political and economic potentials that already exist within them.
Employer organisation: The agency, organisation, institution or group that
directly employs the community worker and, basically, pays his or her salary
or fee.
Habit: An entrenched way of behaving/behaviour pattern.
KAB or KAS: An acronym for knowledge (which also cover insight), attitudes
(which also cover emotions and willpower) and behaviour or skills (which
also cover practices).
SADC: An acronym for the Southern African Development Community.
0
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The Theory and Practice of Community Work: A Southern African Perspective

Chapter · January 2001

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

© Copyright 2001, 2011 M.L. Weyers

SPECIALLY DEDICATED TO:

CHAPTER 1 5 5.2 Community development as a form

COMMUNITY WORK: AN OVERVIEW 5 5.3 Defining the concept 'community

3. The nature of community work ... 19 THE COMPONENTS OF COMMUNITY

2.2.3 Geo-social communities ...... Error! Bookmark not defined.

CHAPTER 4ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DETFHIN A.TURE AND APPLICATION OF

T H E C O M M U N I T Y DE V E L O P M E N T 1. The nature of the community

CHAPTER 5ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DETFHIN A.TURE AND APPLICATION OF

T H E N A TU RE A N D A P P L I C A T I O N O F 1. The nature of the social

3.3.2 Task 2: Choose a marketing strategyError! Bookmark3.3.2 not defined.

LIST OF SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Dr. L.S. (Stephan) Geyer

Prof. P. (Pedro) Rankin

Having worked through Chapter 1, you will understand where present-day

“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have

DEFINITIONS OF CORE CONCEPTS/CONSTRUCTS

2. THE ORIGINS OF CURRENT COMMUNITY WORK

Table 1.1: Approaches that played a role in the conceptualisation of community

COMMUNITY COMMUNITY SOCIAL

members' material members' lives: members' lives: members' members'

 Problem focus  Problem focus  Problem focus  Problem  Power focus

development planning/ training action

2.1 THE ORIGINS OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THOUGHT

2.1.1 Macro level

2.1.2 Mezzo level

2.1.3 Micro level

2.2 THE ORIGINS OF SOCIAL PLANNING THOUGHT

2.2.1 Macro level

2.2.2 Mezzo/micro levels

2.3.1 Macro level

2.3.2 Mezzo level

2.3.3 Micro level

 problem-solving skills (e.g. managing personal and family dysfunction and

2.4 THE ORIGINS OF SOCIAL MARKETING THOUGHT

2.5 THE ORIGINS OF SOCIAL ACTION THOUGHT

2.5.1 Macro level

2.5.2 Mezzo level

coupled with political sensitisation, "...transforms people's consciousness and leads to a

Points to Ponder 1.1

1) a) Economic development (e.g. more jobs and 4) For community support:

3.1 SOME CORE THEORIES, PERSPECTIVES AND MODELS

Figure 1.1: Types of conceptual frameworks

paragraphs. Attention would, consequently, only be given to some of their basic

3.1.1 The ecosystems perspective

The interrelatedness of people and their environment is illustrated in the

A characteristic of the community as a social system is that its sub-systems have

Apart from conceptualisation purposes, the differentiation between the nurturing

3.1.2 The practice models

Although the ecosystems perspective is a useful tool to differentiate between the

Points to Ponder 1.2135

The ribbon of power

3.2 SOCIAL WORK’S DOMAIN OF PRACTICE

in society in general to those in the immediate environment and to oneself. These

Figure 1.3: The tri-focal domain of social work practice