Community Development Theory
Salman Wahid
SWK301Seminar52019.pptxSocial action and social movements
Seminar 5,
Working with and developing communities
Locating ‘social action’
links to social movements and radical social change
associated with protest movements
used in community work when more overt action is needed (eg. threatened bushland, or school closures)
What might be some other examples?
| Rothmans typology | Community Development | Social Planning | Social Action |
| Goals | Capacity building, network building, self help, process orientated. | To solve a particular problem. Task orientated | Social change Institutional change Power shifts |
| Assumptions | People need community. The community holds the answers to it’s issues. | There are substantive problems that experts can fix | Society is unjust and unequal. Power must be challenged |
| Strategies for change | Involvement of broad range of people to determine and address their own issues | Gather data about issue and make decisions about most logical course of action | Consciousness raising and mobilizing of people to take action against the causes of oppression |
| Characteristics, tactics | Consensus, communication, discussion among diverse groups | Consensus or conflict | Conflict, direct action, confrontation, negotiation. |
| Practitioner roles | Facilitator, networker, event management, group worker, | Expert, researcher, analyst, social policy worker, project manager | Advocate, organiser, media liaison, event management |
Rothman’s typology revisited – highlighting Social action
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| Model | Strategy | Main role/title of worker | Examples of work/agencies | Key texts |
| Community Care | Cultivating social networks and voluntary services. Developing self-help concepts. | Organizer / Volunteer | Work with older people, persons with disabilities, children under 5 years old | Beresford & Croft (1986); Heginbotham (1990); Mayo (1994) |
| Community organisation | Improving co-ordination between different welfare agencies | Organizer / Catalyst / Manager | Councils for Voluntary Service, Racial Equality Councils, Settlements | Adamson et al. (1988); Dearlove (1974); Dominelli (1990) |
| Community development | Assisting groups to acquire the skills and confidence to improve quality of life. Active participation. | Enabler / Neighbourhood Worker / Facilitator | Community groups, Tenants groups, Settlements | Association of Metropolitan Authorities (1993); Barr (1991) |
| Social/community planning | Analysis of social conditions, setting of goals and priorities, implementing and evaluating services and programmes | Enabler / Facilitator | Localities undergoing redevelopment | Marris (1987); Twelvetrees (1991) |
| Community education | Attempts to bring education and community into a closer and more equal relationship | Educator / Facilitator | Community schools/colleges, 'compensatory education', Working class/feminist adult education | Allen et al. (1987); Allen & Martin (1992); Freire (1970, 1972, 1976, 1985); Lovett (1975); Lovett et al. (1983); Rogers (1994) |
| Community action | Usually class-based, conflict-focused direct action at local level | Activist | Squatting movement, welfare rights movement, resistance against planning and redevelopment, tenant's action | Craig et al. (1982); Jacobs & Popple (1994); Lees & Mayo (1984) |
| Feminist community work | Improvement of women's welfare, working collectively to challenge and eradicate inequalities suffered by women | Activist / Enabler / Facilitator | Women's refuges, Women's health groups, Women's therapy centres | Barker (1986); Dixon et al. (1982); Dominelli (1990, 1994); Flynn et al. (1986) |
| Black and anti-racist community work | Setting up and running groups that support the needs of Black people. Challenging racism. | Activist / Volunteer | Racial Equality Councils and Commission for Racial Equality funded projects | Ohri et al. (1982); Sivanandan (1976,1990); Sondhi (1982,1994) |
Popple’s Models of Community Work Practice
From: Popple (1995) Analysing Community Work - Its theory and practice, Buckingham: Open University Press
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Social Action
A disadvantaged segment of the population is organized to make demands for increased resources or improved treatment
focuses on social justice, democracy, and the redistribution of power, resources, and decision making
challenges power and dominant structures
Social Action – some names
‘Conscientization occurs simultaneously with the literacy or post –literacy process.’
Paulo Friere-(1970) Brazilian Educator
‘Change comes from power, and power comes from organisation. In order to act, people must get together…..’
Saul Alinksy (1971) American community organiser
Friere, Paulo. (1970), Cultural Action for Freedom. Penguin.
Friere, Paulo (1972), Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Penguin.
Alinksy,S (1972), Rules for Radicals. Vintage, New York.
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Social Action: protests & strikes
“Workers united will never be defeated”
Wave Hill walk-off, Northern Territory (1966-1975)
Teachers union (strikes over enterprise agreements)
Students strike for climate (global)
Involvement of a range of people in these movements might include; teachers, priests, unions, members of the public, lawyers, business people
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Human rights in social action
Social action in Australia;
The treatment of asylum seekers
Justice, rights and respect for Aboriginal Australians
Walk against family violence
Environmental action
There have been many battles over the protection of the natural environment.
The Franklin River (Tasmania)
Mining in Kakadu (Jabiluka, NT)
More recently :
Inpex and Darwin Harbour
Gas plant in the Kimberly region
Carbon Tax (linked to climate change awareness and action movement)
Mining Tax (linked to climate change awareness and action movement)
Other biggies:
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Berta Caceras, an Indigenous Lenca woman, environmental activist, (died March 2016) Honduras
Honduras has the record for being the most dangerous country for environmental activists.
Berta was murdered in her home before she turned 46. She led a successful campaign to protect the Rio Blanco, which was to be dammed by the worlds biggest dam builder. The building of the dam would have destroyed the environment and impacted Indigenous communities.
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‘NIMBY’ social action
‘Not In My Backyard’
at local level people protest about something being ‘inflicted’ or ‘put upon’ a community
location of a jail
a mine
nuclear waste/industrial waste
mobile phone tower
clearing of bushland
Some terms
Mobilisation
Democratisation
Consciousness raising
Discuss these terms. What do they mean?
Do any of these come from particular ‘movements’?
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Father Paul Kelly catholic priest became a campaigner and challenged Queensland homophobic law
In 2008 a man, Wayne Ruks was murdered in the ground of his church. The men who killed Mr Ruks were convicted of manslaughter. A term ‘gay panic’ can be used as defence in Queensland and South Australia. Fr Kelly began a petition (change.org) and campaign to change the law. This was successful in Queensland, March 2017. South Australia still has the ‘gay panic’ defence. The change means that all are equal under the law. Father Paul Kelly is considered an ‘unlikely campaigner’- why is that?
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What is a ‘social movement’
-a broad based collection of people aiming to change society in a particular way (or cluster of ways)
-generally at the ‘nation state’ level, but sometimes go worldwide
-concerned about establishing alternative structures
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Social movements
Womens’ movement
Peace movement
Environmental movement
Civil rights movement
Gay rights movement
Ethical considerations for workers
Involvement in community work, can raise challenges for workers:
Is there a moral justification to break the law?
What are the personal consequences?
What are the public consequences?
Mendes (2002) raises the implications for social workers involved in community action. These 3 questions come from Ife,(1995). What do you consider to be some of the ethical challenges facing a worker in community action?
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Social movement characteristics
Strong use of networking (non-hierachical)
charismatic leaders
multi-centred, fluid boundaries
cross-interest groups
Characteristics of social movements continued;
in for the ‘long-haul’ (often decades)
effective use of internet and mobile phone technologies
media coverage and public attention
willingness to ‘disrupt’ and go against social norms
Social activism following disaster Sichuan province, China, May 12 2008.
At 14:28 on May 12, 2008, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake happened in Sichuan province , China. Over 5,000 students in primary and secondary schools perished in the earthquake, yet their names went unannounced. In reaction to the government’s lack of transparency, a citizen’s investigation was initiated to find out their names and details about the schools and families.
Ai Weiwei, Chinese artist, activist involved in leading this citizens investigation created an installation, using the names of all the 4851-children who died in a video.
Can you think of ways that art has been used to communicate a message for social action?
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Activity
Have you been involved in social action or a social movement?
What were the goals?
What were the strategies and tactics?
How successful was it?
Community organising and social activism, some principles;
Be a catalyst not a leader -Local people will be the leaders
Use of ‘let the people decide’
Develop loose organisation structures- use consensus decision making
Create places free of external restraints
Develop indigenous leaders
Create personal relationships
Fisher (1994) in Shragge, E (e-reserve) highlights some principles in community organising used by New left community organisers– these came out of an approach to radical social change. While applying them was not always as easy in practice, having principles that guide community organising for social action direct the process used.
What appeals to you about these principles- why do you think it might be difficult to use or follow principles in the work of social activism?
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Collective action can empower when individually people are powerless
The community worker will be faced with many instances when social action may be part of ‘the work’
Tenants taking action with landlord/government
A proposed road will destroy a local parkland
There are many times the worker is required to use their skills in being able to assist people to organise a protest or make a demand.
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Social action and community work
We have covered some different types of social action- there are so many more
Community work may often include social action
Next seminar focusses on community development
