This article presents findings from a case study of an adult literacy program. The author conducted this IRB-approved study as part of a three-year, research-based, community-engagement project that partnered the literacy program with a writing center at a large public research university. The author argues that the participatory methods afforded…

Argues that those activities variously called community development, organization, action, or education involve the imposition of the values and beliefs of community workers or agencies upon their clientele and that community work has a strong, albeit unintentional, manipulative or exploitative aspect. (SK)

Offers a five-point program for community education (based on a fluid definition in a British context) which involves school and community education, civic education and participation, community action, public education campaigns, and community relations. (LAS)

Schools have great potential as a resource for community action. Drawing on work with two inner city primary schools, the author explains how school ground improvement schemes can provide a vehicle for community education which involve women as key actors in local community development and wider environmental improvement. (LZ)

Ways in which community "visioning" can be used to generate support and action for community education are described in this paper. Six steps in the community visioning process are discussed: (1) preparing; (2) conducting a workshop; (3) obtaining community feedback; (4) action planning; (5) recruiting, implementing, and following up; and (6)…

In a foreword to this document, David Mathews, president of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, describes in what ways effective communities are different from ineffective ones. Following an introduction, a section on school use suggests that most schools offer nothing to adults without children, so it should be no surprise that many adults are…

The author discusses the growth of community action in Northern Ireland and the significance of adult education to further social change during a time of conflict. He describes two different approaches to community education: adult education as the "education arm" of the activist movement, and adult education as a general community…

R. Benjamin Wiley has led the Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC) in Erie, Pennsylvania, since 1969, creating a wide range of human services programs. His passion for education is reflected in the GECAC Learning Center, which offers numerous training and educational programs for residents of all ages, and in the GECAC Community Charter…

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…

That preservation and recycling of unused school buildings to other community uses is both economically and socially sound is illustrated by several examples. Information on federal grants for conversion of unused school buildings to community education and activities centers is included. (MF)

The closing of local mines and factories collapsed the economic and social structure of Ivanhoe, Virginia, a small rural town once considered a dying community. This book is a case study that tells how the people of Ivanhoe organized to revitalize their town. It documents the community development process--a process that included hard work, a…

This book contains 10 case studies of rural community development in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Catalonia, as seen from the perspective of community-work practitioners. Development projects encompassed such activities as promotion of tourism, establishment of community centers, vocational training for school dropouts, adult community…

Although progress has been made in the past decade in dealing with social and economic problems, there are still problems that need to be addressed. These include the need to revitalize decayed urban areas, and to develop human resources in these areas. This paper suggests that a comprehensive community education approach may be part of the…

Rural poverty and wide-ranging environmental concerns are some of the problems driving a growing public debate on rural issues across the United Kingdom. This briefing paper assesses the contribution that a community development approach can make to these issues. Rural areas have a long history of collective action, from farm families helping each…

Computer equity is the equal opportunity for each individual to use a computer and learn the same subjects at the same level. Every community has some aspect of computer inequity, be it based on gender, income level, race, age, academic achievement, geography, or subject matter. The community activist who wants to promote equal access to computers…