Community organizing groups that have built coalitions for local change over the past few decades are now involving young people as leaders in efforts to improve quality of life. The current study explores a particularly effective youth organizing initiative through review of organizational documents and collection and analysis of qualitative…

A literature review identified three perspectives on empowerment: self-efficacy derived from individual action and psychology; mutual empowerment through interpersonal relationships; and social empowerment, the removal of social, economic, and legal obstacles to individual influence. However, many community leadership education programs fall short…

Intended to help Future Farmers of America (FFA) members develop skills in improving their communities under the Building Our American Community Program, this publication provides guidance on how FFA chapter members can be active citizens and use democratic processes. Section I, Identifying and Analyzing Communities, consists of four chapters.…

The article focuses on the change agent's possible interventions in efforts to ameliorate conditions in poverty-stricken communities, discussing his power role in three different models of social intervention: the service model, the community organization model, and the training model. The agent is urged to examine his own motives constantly. (AJ)

An essential component of community-based rural development is the leadership and problem-solving abilities of local people. The Colorado Rural Revitalization Project--a joint venture of two universities and a state agency--provided educational, consultative, and technical assistance services for a 1-year capacity-building program in 47…

In the Community in the Classroom project, 10 Appalachian community-based groups are exploring ways in which literacy education can contribute to community development. This project is challenging assumptions about the role of education, looking beyond the traditional economic context of adult education, and shifting the focus of literacy from…

Achievements of the Building Our American Communities Program (BOAC), initiated in 1971 to provide a vehicle for Future Farmers of America members to make direct contributions to their communities and to practice good citizenship and develop leadership skills, are summarized in this 1985 annual report. the report begins with messages from…

This document is composed of two parts: a bibliography of community organizing and support materials and a directory of community organizing resource centers. The 25 bibliographic entries are grouped according to subject, and include author, title, publication date, publisher, number of pages, annotation, and ordering information. Subjects…

Decentralization and budget reduction in the public sector, and globalization and downsizing in the private sector have placed more responsibility on localities to address challenges to the health of their economies, ecosystems, and people. Community development theory and practice are also changing, evidenced by changes in vocabulary. Community…

As local pressures mount and state resources dwindle, intermediary organizations are emerging throughout Latin America. Although theoretically enabling people at the grass roots to participate in their own development and reap the benefits of their labor, the costs and tensions are often not worth the burden. Explores the quandaries that new…

The Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development (COAD), a coalition of community action agencies, takes a regional approach to serving rural communities. Its programs focus on community and leadership development, early education and child care, and services and housing for seniors. Through COAD's Foster Grandparent Program, seniors mentor young…

This booklet was created to help communities (especially in Minnesota) to build community partnerships through community education. Such partnerships are needed in order to identify and meet community needs that are no longer being addressed by the Federal Government. The booklet is organized in three sections. The first section outlines the need…

The document considers several unfortunate cycles: (1) belligerent students cause desperate teachers, who cause more belligerent students; (2) ineffective parents cause bewildered youth who never take advantage of existing opportunities and who create, in turn, more bewildered children; (3) browbeaten tenants cause callous landlords to neglect…

The purpose of this eight-unit course is to explore the values and issues of modern urban neighborhoods. It focuses on how community leaders can apply the broad principle of justice to problems of security, reciprocity, and fellowship that face most neighborhoods today. The course is intended for use by community leaders in building community…

Community colleges in Appalachia are helping boost local economies and expand educational opportunities through the national Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI). At the heart of RCCI is a nine-step strategic planning process in which a community group moves from vision to action. Kentucky's Southeast Community College has promoted…