This paper presents a participatory research approach to the study of youth activism within a community development and movement-building program. It employs participatory ethnography theory and methods to explore an innovative model of social change for social justice. Building on community youth development and transformative social work…

Social justice counseling, like all humanistic models, recognizes the dignity of each human being, affirms the right of all people to choose and work toward their own goals, and asserts the importance of service to community. The social justice paradigm brings a special emphasis on the role of the environment. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

In 2009 AONTAS commissioned a piece of research to examine the outcomes and impact of community education in relation to the three aims that the Government has defined for it: enhancing learning; fostering empowerment, and contributing to civic society. In part, the research also responds to a need to measure the wider benefits of learning (such…

Describes community planning as an empowering professional practice. Compares the empowerment practices of process-focused and product-focused planning. Uses stages of rational comprehensive planning and stages of community empowerment as the context. (SK)

Empowering women and allowing them to provide community leadership in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex society is essential. Offering a sound family science curriculum is one way to facilitate empowerment of women in a developing country. Conceptualizing, planning, and developing strong programs became an opportunity to review existing…

Evaluation of public service programs uses language and techniques inimical to community development. Key elements of a better approach are as follows: (1) community participation; (2) emphasis on qualitative measures of success that complement the quantitative; (3) strong awareness of the importance of process goals; (4) concern with sustainable…

Asset mapping is an effective tool for understanding the wealth of talent and resources that exists in each community--even those with small populations or suffering from poverty and economic distress. The long-term development of a community rests on its ability to uncover and build on the strengths and assets of its people, institutions, and…