In this chapter we show how a new type of political knowledge can be harnessed from everyday communication flows between citizens to support community and policy development processes. The emergence of this new knowledge will be enabled by an e-supported deliberation process (SOWIT) that aims to improve political communication and deliberation…

A pervasive anti-statism often blinds us to the democratic victories in the past and thus to possibilities in our future. This article argues that big government can democratize society and uses historical investigation to make the point. The study of history emancipates us from the tyranny of the present. Progressive social change has come about…

This paper examines questions concerning political and social change in communities and its implications for educational administration. Issues that underlie these questions include the distinction between internal and external changes, and the tension among representativeness, technical competence, and leadership. Evolutionary patterns in…

"New Times"--a term recognizing recent qualitative, incremental changes in the world--present an opportunity for community education to become more central to the debate about education, the social order, and social change. The fundamental challenge is forging the politics of cultures into a coherent political culture. (SK)

Social capital is the glue that holds a community together. It is the network of relationships among persons that can be used to get things done. Social capital is a necessary, but not sufficient, ingredient of community building. A community must mobilize its social capital and the mechanisms of its infrastructure to face and resolve collective…

In 1995, IBM United Kingdom, in collaboration with the Community Development Foundation, set up the National Working Party on Social Inclusion in the Information Society (INSINC) to examine the impact of new information technology on local communities and the potential for greater social inclusion within the information society. This INSINC report…

Compares social reform strategies in Britain and America. Illustrates how programs in both countries had similar difficulties, including diffusion of research findings, clarification of objectives, and political manipulation of social research. (SK)

This program development document is submitted--at an intermediate stage of planning--to urge that NIE take certain action for improving education of the poor. Suggestions made are illustrative, not prescriptive. Problems are solved by action, not by speculation; but which Federal action to take is a matter for NIE development and research. After…

A first attempt is made to place in perspective the accumulated experience of nearly 20 years of community development activity in both developed and developing countries. The purpose of this study is to stimulate further inquiry into community development practice, process, and theory in order for it to become a more effective instrument in the…

While increased movement of industry into rural areas has whittled away at rural poverty in the United States, the question arises whether this transformation of rural landscape is good or bad. Evaluation should detail its effect on both human and natural resources. Though reduction of poverty is important to quality of life, increased…

Examines problems in coordination between nonformal adult education and national development programs in India and suggests management structures for institutionalizing coordination. Notes the difficulty with which influential political and administrative groups will allow changes in the system and suggests possible alternative development and…

In 1977, the Bernard van Leer Foundation began supporting a project in Colombia that had the objective of improving the quality of early childhood care and education in a small village. The Costa Atlantica project offered an approach to development that was based on community organization, social management, participation, cooperation, popular…

In 1977, the Bernard van Leer Foundation began supporting a project in Colombia that had the objective of improving the quality of early childhood care and education in a small village. The Costa Atlantica project offered an approach to development that was based on community organization, social management, participation, cooperation, popular…

Rural areas' population growth, location, level of economic activity and social well-being depend less on natural resource endowments than on such factors as transportation, communication, labor force characteristics, and urbanization. General causes of the 1970's urban-to-rural migration included fewer changes in the structure of agriculture,…

A paper examining recent changes in the social and economic development of rural America--with comments by a different author--and a paper discussing rural policy comprise this workshop collection. Placing the changes of the 1970s in a broader historical perspective and developing a general framework within which to consider the influence of…