Education involves socialization so that individuals become productive members of society. At present, in the United States, educational transitions are primarily viewed in terms of their location in an outcomes-oriented process and framed as helping people achieve the American Dream, but in terms of the status quo national economic interest. But…

The African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, like many historically black denomination over the years, has been actively involved in social change and racial uplift. The concepts of racial uplift and self-determination dominated black social, political, and economic thought throughout the late-eighteenth into the nineteenth century. Having…

This article reflects on the school's role in the building of citizenship, especially in socially vulnerable contexts. We argue, and try to show, that effective participation in decision-making processes is a key tool to promote conditions that help in social transformation and the formation of active citizenship. We offer a brief description of…

This paper suggests that current paradigms and world views guiding research for social action are inadequate for directing rural community change in a high-tech, global community. For several generations, the agrarian and industrial paradigms have been accepted as appropriate for guiding social change and development. However, there are problems…

This paper discusses ways to make social work education more appropriate for the preparation of development practitioners to work with the people and communities of Appalachia. The current dominant theory developed by economists of Appalachian development is that of modernization. The theory emphasizes economic growth. Modernization sees society…

Within the broad theoretical context provided by debates on the South African education reforms and the civic engagement agenda in higher education, this article focuses on service learning in higher education and portrays complex relationships between the service-learning office and different existing structures within and outside the University…

This book is directed at the following audiences: adult educators and others who are either involved in or desire to become involved in community-based work; students of education, the social sciences, or related disciplines who desire information on community involvement as a career or means of fulfilling civic responsibilities, and persons in…

Examines a community psychology course that stresses community empowerment, the myth of neutrality and objectivity in community psychology, and democratic accountability to the community. The course includes a brief history of race, class, and gender oppression in South Africa and concludes with a unit on converting social theory into practice.…

In this paper, two major schools of thought regarding disaster and disaster assistance are identified and examined in order to bring to light their underlying assumptions about assistance and development in the Third World. The first section discusses the context of the problem, citing figures and presenting charts to illustrate the scope and…

The six articles in this first issue comprise a critical discourse about theories, practices, and research with the intent of realizing the potential of adult learning to bring about social change. "Adult Education and Empowerment for Individual and Community Development" (Jack Mezirow) outlines and updates the author's transformation…

Despite Botswana's commitment to the ideals of democracy and equity, abject and relative poverty are widespread among the country's rural populace. Since Botswana's independence, its rates of poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy have increased. The situation necessitates fundamental changes in the lives of Botswana's rural residents. Such change…

Ireland's economic and social problems in the 1980s spawned a new kind of community education. Key characteristics of the new community education are as follows: (1) it is a learning environment and located in the community; (2) it provides learning programs based on identified needs; (3) its control remains in the local community's hands; (4) its…