Principles of Community Development

Running head: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Community Development
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
Concept of the Community Development:................................................................................4
Principles of Community Development:....................................................................................5
Areas of Community Development Practices:...........................................................................7
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................9
References:...............................................................................................................................10

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Introduction:
According to the comments of Green and Haines (2015), the community development
is observed to be associated with higher level of significance in the modern world and the
interest behind the initiation of the increasing level of community activities is primarily the
awareness amongst the general citizens. As cited by Ledwith (2020), the modern citizens
have understood the importance of collective well- being and they have the belief that an
individual is an integral part of the society. In such circumstances, majority of the people of
the societies have greater consideration towards the societal well- being rather than the
individual growth. As per the esteemed opinion of Gilchrist (2019), the community
development is primarily regarded as a process where the members of a community come
together for the formulation of unique solutions and undertaking of the collective actions that
have the ability to resolve the common problems.
According to the comments of Green and Haines (2015), the community well- being
takes place in various formats such as the economic, social, cultural and environmental. Other
than this, Gilchrist and Taylor (2016), highlighted a significant point regarding the dynamics
of the community development initiatives with the claim that the community development
can be a small initiative taking place within a small group or it can be a large initiative taking
place with active involvement of the members of a broader community. The study delivers an
important understanding of the concept of community development and along with that, the
study identifies the basic principles and the theories that shape up the concept of the
community development. In addition to this, the study provides a detailed elaboration
regarding the importance of the social work in the today’s world. The elaboration of the
importance of the community development has a specific focus on the Aotearoa New Zealand
for understanding the effects of the same on the people and the society.

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Concept of the Community Development:
As mentioned earlier, the community development is primarily a set of processes or
actions that are mutually accepted by the members of the community for achieving a common
objective. According to the esteemed opinion of Ledwith (2015), the core values or basic
objective of the community development activities is pretty significant. Ledwith (2015),
further added that the community development is deep-rooted with the belief or acceptance of
the fact that each and every members of the society have the rights to access the wealth,
health, well- being, justice and opportunity. Gilchrist and Taylor (2016), highlighted a pretty
triggering fact with the claim that the community development is primarily based on the
recognition of the fact that some set of people, groups and some communities are less
prioritized and are largely burdened by the methods or procedures which are utilized for
shaping the structures and society. The community development is an accurate process for
challenging this imbalance within the society.
With a precise understanding the base of community development, it is important to
identify the support services that community development deliver to the society. As per the
esteemed opinion of Ife (2013), the community development has the potential to help the
communities of different places and identities for utilizing their own assets for the much
required betterment of the community life and the life style of the members of the
community. The concept of the community development is pretty significant in helping the
public agencies and the communities for working together for the desired enhancement of the
quality of the services and the processes that are followed for the formulation of the
decisions. Other than this, Jutte, Miller and Erickson (2015), mentioned that the fundamental
values of the community development are equality, human rights, respect for diversity and
social justice. As the concept of the community development is based on the acceptance of
the fact that a large section of people in the societies or the communities are oppressed or less

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prioritized, the success of the community development will be largely dependent on activities
that contributes to the equality and resolves the framed imbalance.
On the other hand, the community development is able to put strong emphasis on the
efficient management of the human rights of the members of the society. As the community
development programmes have the objective of maintaining the balance between the
oppressed section of the society and the rest of the society, the contribution of the community
development on the effective management of the diversity is substantial. According to the
comments of Shaw and Mayo (2016), the social imbalance within the society is largely
reliant on the inappropriate consideration of the members of the society towards the diverse
groups or the communities. The lack of knowledge or acceptance of a large section of the
society towards the cultural, social and oriental differences of the other communities and
indigenous groups is one of the main operational area of the community development groups.
As a result, the success of the community developmental activities is relying on the ability of
the same in contributing to the management of the diversity. With successful management of
the equality, human rights and the diversity, the community development is perfectly placed
for contributing to the social justice.
Principles of Community Development:
As per the esteemed opinion of McEwan et al. (2017), the practice of the community
development programmes is primarily dependent on four different principles which are the
self -determination, working, educating and learning together, empowerment along with the
collective actions. McEwan et al. (2017), further mentioned that these principles have greater
significance for the community developers in managing their operational activities in a
professional and efficient manner. The successful alignment of these principles in the
operational activities of the community development practitioners will contribute to their

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success. As these principles shape the operational actions of the community development
practitioners, it becomes important to analyse the principles to have a better understanding of
the dynamics of the community development practices or interventions. With a close look at
the concept of the self- determination, it is understandable that the general people and the
communities have sufficient freedom and rights to make their own choices and decisions. As
a result, the community development practitioners are required to respect the autonomy of the
people and the community.
Other than this, an important principle that shapes the practice of the community
development is empowerment. The principle states that the people must have the ability and
freedom to control and utilize their own assets. With the principle, the community
development practitioners have the knowledge of utilizing and controlling their own assets
and the means for the purpose of influencing others. The collective action is also a crucial
principle for the community development practitioners which educates them regarding the
importance of coming together in groups for strengthening the voice of the mass (Jutte,
Miller & Erickson, 2015). Other than this, a massively important principle for the community
development practitioners is working, educating and learning together. With a close
consideration towards the principle, it is understandable that the collaboration and exchange
of experience is crucial in executing good community activities. As a result, it is
understandable that the practice of the community development practitioners is largely
influenced with the above mentioned principle.
With an accurate understanding of the values and principles that shape the community
developmental activities, it is important to understand the characteristics of effective
community development. According to the comments of Shaw and Mayo (2016), the
effective community development is expected to be a long term effort which is well planned
along with inclusive and reasonable. According to the esteemed opinion of Johnson et al.

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(2015), the effective community development requires to be holistic in nature and is in need
to be well integrated to a bigger and better picture of the society. Other than this, Skinner and
Hanlon (2015), mentioned that the effective community development requires active
involvement of the members of the society and the effective community development
activities are required to be originated and well supported by the members of the society
themselves. Along with that, the effective community development activities are in need to
be based on experiences so that the best practice is achieved in a smooth manner.
Areas of Community Development Practices:
With a close look at the comments of Skinner and Hanlon (2015), it is understandable
that the community development has the potential of helping out a particular community in
various aspects. Skinner and Hanlon (2015), further added that the community development
activities have the possibility of enhancing the quality of life style of the members of a
community through enhancing the excellence of the educational system of the community
along with the healthcare infrastructure of the community. Other than this, the community
development activities create considerable amount of scope for improving the cultural
assimilation and reserves the uniqueness of a cultural or social groups. One of the most
prominent trend of the community developmental activities is observed to be the promotion
of culture and social orientation through the provision of the tourism activities. Majority of
the community development authorities are putting strong emphasis on the development of
extensive amount of tourism facilities which can be accurately utilized for promoting the
indigenous cultural groups and communities. The practice of the trend is pretty visible across
the globe and is one of the widely accepted one due to the substantial financial and social
offerings that it possess.

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The community development with a precise consideration towards the tourism is
highly regarded by Johnson et al. (2015), owing to the self- efficacy of the concept. As the
primary objective of the community development activities is to ensure that the society
experiences a balance, the conversion of an indigenous culture or community group as an
increasingly important tourism destination is self- dependent in managing the balance. The
increment of importance of a community group as a booming tourism destination will be
substantial in attracting the attention of the regional and national government in reserving the
cultural heritage. Other than this, the scope of larger revenue has the potential of triggering
the governments towards funding for the improvement of the educational, healthcare,
services industry, infrastructure and security in the region. Hence, the base of the community
development which was the deprivation of sufficient interest on a community and less
prioritization of the same, can automatically get resolved with strong emphasis of the regional
and national governments on the communities for purpose of enhanced tourism activities.
The case of community development at Aotearoa New Zealand is a perfect example
of the same. Considering the concept of the social work and the practice of the same in
Aotearoa New Zealand, it is understandable that the social workers in the region contributes
to the services to the aged citizens of the region through the delivery of the optimum quality
aged care services (Unitec.ac.nz, 2020). Other than this, Aotearoa New Zealand has dedicated
social workers for providing optimum quality support services to the citizens for improving
their mental health. With a close consideration towards the busy life style of the people, the
formation of the job stress, work related frustration and the interpersonal conflicts is
increasing in a substantial manner and in such situation, the social care intervention for the
betterment of the mental health of the people is substantially important for enhancing the
quality of life style in the region (Munford & Sanders, 2019). Other than this, the social
workers of the region are observed towards promoting their culture. There are several social

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care organizations that are determined to feed the homeless members of the society and at the
same time, the management of the environmental sustainability is seen to be one of the top
most priority for the social care workers in the region (Isogai & Okamura, 2015).
Conclusion:
On an ending note, it is understandable that the importance of the community
development and social care is increasing in a substantial manner and that is certainly
influencing a great number of individuals towards undertaking the same as a career option for
them. The significance of the social care and community development activities is seen to be
so high that the national government of Aotearoa New Zealand developed Aotearoa New
Zealand Association of Social Workers for the professional development of the social
workers of the nation. Other than this, the community development activities are observed to
be substantial in enhancing the scope of the community groups in promoting their culture.

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References:
Gilchrist, A. (2019). The Well-Connected Community 3E: A Networking Approach to
Community Development. Policy Press.
Gilchrist, A., & Taylor, M. (2016). The Short Guide to Community Development 2e. Policy
Press.
Green, G. P., & Haines, A. (2015). Asset building & community development. Sage
publications.
Ife, J. (2013). Community development in an uncertain world. Cambridge University Press.
Isogai, S., & Okamura, J. (2015). Community development with Japanese settlers in Aotearoa
New Zealand: the story of a Japanese interdisciplinary network group in Auckland.
Japanese Interagency Group.
Johnson, M. P., Keisler, J. M., Solak, S., Turcotte, D. A., Bayram, A., & Drew, R. B. (2015).
Decision science for housing and community development: Localized and evidence-
based responses to distressed housing and blighted communities. John Wiley & Sons.
Jutte, D. P., Miller, J. L., & Erickson, D. J. (2015). Neighborhood adversity, child health, and
the role for community development. Pediatrics, 135(Supplement 2), S48-S57.
Ledwith, M. (2015). Community development in action: Putting Freire into practice. Policy
Press.
Ledwith, M. (2020). Community development: A critical approach. Policy Press.
McEwan, C., Mawdsley, E., Banks, G., & Scheyvens, R. (2017). Enrolling the private sector
in community development: Magic bullet or sleight of hand?. Development and
Change, 48(1), 28-53.

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MUNFORD, R., & SANDERS, J. (2019). Transformative Social Work Practice in
Community-Based Organizations. New Theories for Social Work Practice: Ethical
Practice for Working with Individuals, Families and Communities, 139.
Shaw, M., & Mayo, M. (Eds.). (2016). Class, inequality and community development. Policy
Press.
Skinner, M., & Hanlon, N. (Eds.). (2015). Ageing resource communities: New frontiers of
rural population change, community development and voluntarism. Routledge.
Unitec.ac.nz (2020). Retrieved 9 April 2020, from https://www.unitec.ac.nz/epress/wp-
content/uploads/2017/07/ACDA-IACD-2017-proceedings.pdf