Because of the importance of community development in development strategies, both in Rhodesia and, more recently, Zimbabwe, this article looks at the concept in a historical perspective. In this perspective, three major phases can be identified: the period between 1890 and 1962; the period between 1962 and 1979; and 1980 to the present. (CT)

The author reviews the "Cultural Missions Programme" of Mexico's educational reform after 1920, in which groups of teachers using Catholic missionary methods fought poverty and ignorance in rural Mexico. These mission programs embody most of the community development principles and are still needed. (MF)