The need to invest in our nation's crumbling infrastructure goes back decades. But today, with millions of people unemployed, there is unprecedented momentum to act. Women, immigrants, and people of color are disproportionately represented in these numbers as are young adults. President Joe Biden and Congress are counting on infrastructure…

The concept of Big Society provides inspiration--working "bottom up" to promote "collective action, reciprocity and a new, more engaged relationship between local people and public services". With so much written about the theory of the Big Society, this seems like an ideal time to put a little more practical detail into the mix. The authors argue…

Citizen involvement in the public decision-making process can be facilitated if appropriate forms and functions of involvement are used. The issue cycle, which can help public officials to ensure that citizens have constructive and timely input into the decision-making process, involves awareness of some condition in the community; community…

Describes an adult education course designed to stimulate public awareness in planning matters, and compares the course with another differently planned program with the same purpose. Notes that given the concentration of resources and cooperation between adult education and community development agencies, interest in planning issues can be…

Illustrates historically and politically how geography and ethnicity melded together to provide the foundation for a community consciousness that ultimately evolved into a unique form of community organization in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood. Examines how external structures, internal arrangements, housing patterns, and ethnic patterns…

Rural economic development presents a paradox of growth in population and jobs without corresponding improvement in local economic well-being. Four forces may impede nonmetropolitan development efforts. Growth of multiestablishment corporations makes traditional regional economic development models unrealistic. Rural industrialization is socially,…

Issues clarification, skills and techniques, and methods and strategy in Extension public policy education were the themes of the conference. The first keynote speaker, R.J. Hildreth, justified public policy education by home economist and community resource development educators. The second keynote speaker, J.B. Wyckoff, described the function of…

This paper reports on the progress of eight Chicago-based community initiatives designed to redefine social services and broaden social responsibility for the development of children and families. The paper has three sections describing: (1) general background on the children, youth, and families initiative; (2) early lessons from an initiative in…

Rural Africa includes some 80% of the African population; its people are poverty stricken, illiterate, ill-sheltered, and ill-nourished. These circumstances make rural development absolutely vital. However, past rural development policies have failed to take into consideration the structure and division of labor in the farm family, the traditional…

Popular theatre that speaks to the common man in his own language and deals with directly relevant problems can be an effective adult education tool in the process Paulo Freire calls conscientization--a process aiming to radically transform social reality and improve people's lives. It can also serve as a medium for participatory research. Popular…

In this teacher's guide for grade 2, three common types of communities--farming, commuting, and urban--are presented for study. The curriculum's objectives, 11 key concepts taken up in grades 1-8, and a list of 20 behavioral objectives to be attained by the end of grade 2 are given. The year's program is organized into three units: (1) "Community…

Interviews conducted in Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District sought answers for improving educational quality in the district, which has the highest dropout rate, the lowest holding power, and the lowest standardized test scores in Kentucky. Members of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development interviewed 155 people from 15 of…

One in a series of studies of lifelong learning, this paper discusses the cultural and educational needs of selected urban and rural communities in Senegal and Ghana, emphasizing grassroots initiative and the community's analysis of its own needs. Information is drawn in part from surveys, public meetings, and interviews in three communities:…