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Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010Opinion wanted on the right word to use (Long-ish)
Hi. Community development is a profession, and workers are called community development practitioners or workers (CDW). The main jist is that CDW's work involves facilitating community groups in their efforts to tackle problems that they (groups) have identified. Much of the work, or practice, therefore, is bound to issues or topics directly related to community groups themselves. Such as group working, how to contact groups, working with tensions, organising community events etc. In order to facilitate groups with their agenda, CDW practice is bound to a set of issues or topics that are directly related to the environment such community groups are placed. The environment consists of service providers, other groups, and generally - the structure of society, particularly power structures. Given the above, a course in community development (CD) seems to have two main parts, one part is more or less a study of social sciences (social exclusion, poverty, governance etc) which gives a knowledge of the environment, the other part more-or-less what you might call simply community development practice. Of course knowledge of social science gets integrated into the CDW's personal practice. But anyway, there is a set of National Occupational Standards which, "..will provide a cornerstone and guiding framework for all community development practice...". Further: "Community Development is a long-term value based process which aims to address imbalances in power and bring about change founded on social justice, equality and inclusion." Key values of CD: Equality and Anti-discrimination Social Justice Collective Action Community Empowerment Working and Learning Together Okay, given the circumstances above, I'm interested in the words: PROCESS, VALUES, PRINCIPLES, PRACTICE. At one time a course of instruction would be entitled "CD - principles and processes." Values would be pointed out BTW in the course. It seems now that it could be "CD - Values and Processes". If it was me who was deciding, I would be saying the course is teaching "CD - principles and practices". But, the word "principles" now seems to have been dropped. Is there any argument that there are specif words that *should be* being used? THANKS. --------------------- http://www.ukstandards.co.uk/Admin/DB/0030/Community%20Development%20S1%20to%20S8.pdf http://www.ukstandards.co.uk/Admin/DB/0030/Community%20Development%20S9%20to%20S 25.pdf The standards lay down pretty much what a CDW needs to be able *to do*. There are 25 standards: Key Area One (Core): Understand and Practise Community Development S1 Integrate and use the values and process of Community Development S2 Work with the tensions inherent in Community Development practice S3 Relate to different communities S4 Demonstrate competence and integrity as a Community Development practitioner S5 Maintain Community Development practice within own organisation Key Area Two: Understand and Engage with Communities S6 Get to know a community S7 Facilitate community research and consultations S8 Analyse and disseminate findings from community research Key Area Three: Take a Community Development Approach to Group Work and Collective Action S9 Support inclusive and collective working through Community Development practice S10 Organise community events and activities S11 Respond to community conflict S12 Support communities to campaign for change Key Area Four: Promote and Support a Community Development Approach to Collaborative and Cross-sectoral Working S13 Promote and support effective relationships between communities and public bodies S14 Encourage and support public bodies to build effective relationships with communities S15 Use a Community Development approach to support collaborative and partnership work S16 Apply a Community Development approach to strategically co-ordinate networks and partnerships Key Area Five: Support Community Learning from Shared Experiences S17 Promote and develop opportunities of learning from Community Development practice S18 Facilitate community learning for social and political development Key Area Six: Provide Community Development Support to Organisations S19 Advise on organisational structures using Community Development perspectives S20 Plan and gain resources and funding for sustainability through Community Development practice S21 Strengthen groups using Community Development approaches and practice S22 Set up new projects and partnerships using Community Development approaches and practice S23 Use a Community Development approach to monitoring and evaluation Key Area Seven: Manage and Develop Community Development Practice S24 Supervise Community Development practitioners S25 Manage internal organisational development and external relationships to support effective Community Development practice. >Hi. Community development is a profession, and workers are called >community development practitioners or workers (CDW). The main [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >how to contact groups, working with tensions, organising community >events etc. I know you asked about other words, but there are some points that arise out of your other paragraphs, not all unrelated. it should be gist, not jist. Facilitate -- what is facilitated is not the group, but the process that the group is engaged in. I know that this kind of jargon is widespread, but it acually undermines the reason that the word "facilitate" was used in the first place, and so it is worth taking the care to use it accurately. To facilitate means to make easier. The term "facilitator" was chosen rather than leader or teacher to make an important difference clear. The leader leads the group. The teacher teaches the group. The manipulator manipulates the group. The teacher or leader is the subject, and the group is the object. So the teacher and leader do something to the group. But the facilitator doesn't do something to the group. The facilitator makes it easier for the group to do something. Can you see the difference? If you say the facilitator facilitates the group, you might as well drop the term and substitute leader or teacher. >In order to facilitate groups with their agenda, CDW practice is bound >to a set of issues or topics that are directly related to the [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] >Is there any argument that there are specif words that *should be* being >used? Dropping "principles" seems like a bad idea to me too. The idea of community development is based on certain principles, and if the principles are left vague, the practice will be vague as well, and is very likely to end us as something that is NOT community development, but social work, or generalised do-gooding.  SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >>Hi. Community development is a profession, and workers are called >>community development practitioners or workers (CDW). The main [quoted text clipped - 106 lines] > social > work, or generalised do-gooding. Thanks for your input. The thing is, I think, traditionally CD itself and CD teaching has been/is "fuzzy". Too fuzzy, and that's why we now get a revamped set of some National Occupational Standards. Fuzziness is partly caused by our words, their several meanings, and improper use. A CDW should be facilitator, that's a kind of a key "principle" it seems. Or is it a "value". :c) (I sometimes wonder what are the actual principles) :c) "But the facilitator doesn't do something to the group. The facilitator makes it easier for the group to do something." It seems what a person *does* is what amounts to his / her practice. He facilitates, not just groups, but also the organisations the group has dealings with. Some work does not involve facilitating, such as when he seeks to ensure best practice (reflection, house-keeping stuff, etc). But, the core of it is facilitating, as you say, "making it easier for the group to do something". I gues all kinds of thing can make it easier for the group to do something. In the Standards, it's the values which are seemingly being held as principles of CDW. But the word "principles" is now being sidelined for "values". Are these principles of CD?: Equality and Anti-discrimination Social Justice Collective Action Community Empowerment Working and Learning Together And "process" is a word to mean "practice" I think. >"Steve Hayes" <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> wrote in message >> Dropping "principles" seems like a bad idea to me too. [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] >Community Empowerment >Working and Learning Together Those seem to be rather vague, and in some ways more like slogans than either principles or values. It might be more useful to speak about goals than either "principles" or "values". > And "process" is a word to mean "practice" I think. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >>Are these principles of CD?: >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > or > "values". This thread is about choice of words in an educational setting. This is how I see it: In order to become a competent CD practitioner or in another occupation to use a "community development approach", you need to do a course on community development. After the course, when you get a job, you follow the practice that's aready established at your employer, and you can also develop your practice. Foundation of Community Development Learning in UK has produced a set of practice standards. "These standards apply the term Community Development practitioner to anyone who undertakes Community Development practice (as defined in these standards) - whether as a generic community development worker or a member of another profession/occupation who is using a community development approach, and whether as a paid worker or a community activist /volunteer." The standards are occupational standards, they are a competency framework. At the level of practice. They contain lists of what a CD worker must know and understand, or needs to be able to do in order for anyone to claim they are CD practitioners or taking a CD approach. So we have: CD course | | | Practice ---------Practice Standards There can be an argument it's the course that could use all the words THEORY PRACTICE PRINCIPLES VALUES PROCESS. But, that the Practice Standards need not, it can refer to the information in it as VALUES PROCESS. Because the standards are not as such a course of instruction. So, no need to use the word PRINCIPLES in the standards document. Some could argue that. It probably needs an educator who is familiar with word usage in educational settings to put his/her tuppance in. :c) >>>Are these principles of CD?: >>> [quoted text clipped - 62 lines] > It probably needs an educator who is familiar with word usage in > educational settings to put his/her tuppance in. :c) Futher: It's probably a matter of what is the gist of what is trying to be conveyed by the practice standards. You ask what is it that the *occupational standards* should be getting across: CD PRINCIPLES, PROCESS, PRACTICE, VALUES, THEORY - whatever. In my course the CD module was called CD PRINCIPLES and PROCESSES. This was taken no doubt from the earlier standards that talked of VALUES, PRINCIPLES, PROCESS. There was a feeling that the course should have been entitled CD PRINCIPLES and PRACTICES. But, really, the CD course title, the CD course syllabus, need not adhere slavishly to whatever words appear in practice standards. I think this is true. http://www.ukstandards.co.uk/Admin/DB/0030/Community%20Development%20S1%20to%20S8.pdf http://www.ukstandards.co.uk/Admin/DB/0030/Community%20Development%20S9%20to%20S 25.pdf >>>Are these principles of CD?: >>> [quoted text clipped - 55 lines] >It probably needs an educator who is familiar with word usage in >educational settings to put his/her tuppance in. :c) Well, I was a member of the SGB for Christian Theology and Ministry for SAQA for a couple of years generating standards for OBE (you should be able to tell from all those initialisms alone), so I am somewhat familiar with the word usage. If you feel whooshed, SGB = Standards Generating Body SAQA = South African Qualificaltions Authority OBE = Outcomes Based Education. and yes, it is a world-wide conspiracy. We nicked standards from the UK and New Zealand where they suited our purpose, because generating those standards using the requisite jargon is hard work. What they don't tell you when you start is that that kind of thing works well in technical fields. It is very easy to generate the standards for a carpenter making a table, and the outcome is, well, a table. But it's a heck of a lot more difficult in the humanities, and that's why the language describing it tends to become incomprehensible. And we had to generate standards for levels from Grade 8 to doctorate. Of course at one level it is quite simple. How will you know that a community development worker has learnt his trade? When the outcome is a functioning community. But describing a functioning community is a lot more difficult than describing a table. I realise that this won't help you very much in deciding which words to use for what, but perhaps it can help to make it a little clearer why it is so difficult to find the right words. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >>>>Are these principles of CD?: >>>> [quoted text clipped - 112 lines] > is so > difficult to find the right words. I'm looking at things from an educators POV, but I realise not to get hung-up about the words used. :c) At least it's dawned on me to appreciate that a course of instruction in CD is one thing, occupational standards are another. As regards the CD course itself, I might be tempted to say the course *in general* teaches THEORY, PRINCIPLES, PRACTICE of CD, if indeed there is venturing into NOS/practice in the course, which probably will be the case. Now where a CD course has a section on practice, I mean looks at the NOS, then it's just a matter of saying that the standards talk in terms of VALUES and PROCESS - *they just do*. You could talk about these, the values, the process. And, unless anyone has an argument for better words, then everything is okay. Now in my CD course they took the module title from NOS, because it was entitled: CD PRINCIPLES and PROCESSES. Perhaps that was not necessary to follow a lead from NOS for a module that covered other things besides NOS. Whatever you learn about NOS just gets integrated into THEORY, PRINCIPLES, PRACTICE of a CD course of instruction. I think most people would see it that way. I was questioning the lack of the use of the word PRINCIPLE in the NOS. I think what we would do is say PRINCIPLES of CD cover what might be talked of as VALUES in NOS. If the VALUES are akin to PRINCIPLES, then the *course* could be teaching PRINCIPLES if things akin to PRINCIPLES are in the VALUES in NOS.. It's a bit of a minefield and semantics, only an expert wordsmith and educator could probably sort it out fully.:c) Maybe somewhere along the line someone will figure out something better. Perhaps everyhthing is okay as it is. Who knows. :c) > Hi. Community development is a profession, and workers are called > community development practitioners or workers (CDW). . . . [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Is there any argument that there are specif words that *should be* being > used? 1. Yes: there are always arguments about words and (roughly) the more words there are, the more arguments we may encourage. 2. Eighty years ago this activity was called "social work" and the people who did it "social workers." Abundant documents list for us the words they then found useful or essential, fewer than today. Does any evidence suggest that the social workers of 1930 did less good than today, for lack of enough or the right words? SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) >> Hi. Community development is a profession, and workers are called >> community development practitioners or workers (CDW). . . . [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >Does any evidence suggest that the social workers of 1930 did >less good than today, for lack of enough or the right words? Is that so? There are still social workers today, but as I understand it their job is very different from that of community development workers. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk >>> Hi. Community development is a profession, and workers are called >>> community development practitioners or workers (CDW). . . . [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > There are still social workers today, but as I understand it their job is very > different from that of community development workers. I must say I've never really understood what is meant by community development - 'development' clearly isn't used in the sense the local Chamber of Commerce would use it, or the film industry for that matter. I have come to the conclusion that they are rather like social workers except that they seem to focus more on groups and less on individuals, and that a lot of the social workers tend to have fairly steady jobs with the powers that be, while community workers move around a lot, depending on which local group has come up with the funds to hire one for a while. I still feel that my understanding of the matter may not be complete. SignatureCheryl >>>> Hi. Community development is a profession, and workers are called >>>> community development practitioners or workers (CDW). . . . [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] >depending on which local group has come up with the funds to hire one >for a while. I'm not sure how Chambers of Commerce understand development. But the film industry isn't a bad analogy. When you immerse a film in developer, the latent image on the film becomes visible, This is a "process" (one of the words the OP mentioned), and people often speak of film "processing", though that usually refers ot more than just developing, and includes fixing, washing and drying. "Development" is also used of growing children -- when their muscles develop they learn to sit up, to crawl, and then to walk. When they develop hand-eye co-ordination they can learn to throw and catch a ball, and so on. So community development is the process by which a group of people become a community, and learn to plan and act together to improve their lives in some way. A community development worker is one who, though not part of the group, acts as a catalyst (or "facilitator") to help the group to become a community. This is very different from the task of a social worker. A social worker does things like determining whether people would make suitable adoptive parents, to intervene in the case of dysfuncional families, where there is violence, or abuse, or drunkenness or unemployment. Social workers very often work with laws and agents of the law - police, or parole officers and the like. If you consder a group of people like a bus queue or a cinema audeience, they are not a community. They may gather with a common intention (to catch a bus, or see a film), but they do not have a common *purpose*. A community can develop a common purpose. There is a description of a community development project i was once involved in at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/19724562/Melmoth-and-Makhalafukwe It probably has a lot more than you want to know, but can give some idea of what community development is. I wrote it mainly for a student who was thinking of doing an MA dissertation on the place in question, to give him some background information. I'm not sure if he ever completed his dissertation. >I still feel that my understanding of the matter may not be complete. SignatureSteve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk > At one time a course of instruction would be entitled "CD - principles > and processes." Values would be pointed out BTW in the course. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > "CD - principles and practices". But, the word "principles" now seems > to have been dropped. What ever happened to good old "theory and practice"? I would say values, principles, and processes were all essential components of theory, and practice was the application of all three. ¬R >> At one time a course of instruction would be entitled "CD - >> principles and processes." Values would be pointed out BTW in the [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > What ever happened to good old "theory and practice"? They work in theory. > I would say values, principles, and processes were all essential > components of theory, and practice was the application of all three. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |A handgun is like a Lawyer. You 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |don't want it lying around where Palo Alto, CA 94304 |the children might be exposed to |it, but when you need one, you need kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com |it RIGHT NOW, and nothing else will (650)857-7572 |do. | Bill McNutt http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ |
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