Bob Cornett, a former state budget director for Kentucky, describes himself as a "retired bureaucrat." But as a parent, grandparent, and a person who has been involved in education reform for more than 20 years, he's come to understand that, if public education policies are to be corrected, the impetus has to come from the citizenry. In…

Can civic engagement become a "core business" of the contemporary university, or is it an attractive "add-on" that is not affordable in the current economic climate? Contemporary universities often play an important role in local community development and, as such, have the opportunity to develop civic engagement strategies to…

The author analyzes the challenges facing community development, contrasting the use of its rhetoric with actual practice. He considers the concept and methodology of community development, traces its roots, and explores its potential, particularly in this current period of social and economic crisis. (Author/SK)

The authors describe their experiences working with a community organization to get their landlords to make needed repairs on their rental units. (JOW)

Two major concerns of American life are searching for community and determining the extent to which the citizenry of a community ought to be involved in the decision-making process. While they may disagree on how much citizen participation is desirable, almost every scholar of urban life believes that citizen participation is a good and viable…

The author presents an account of participatory research and argues for its relevance and development in Europe. He includes two illustrations showing that the knowledge that people themselves produce opposes abstract theories about them. The author concludes that the two main types of participatory research are those of professional intervention…

Discusses whether the politics of individual practitioners actually influence the causes they adopt and therefore the outcomes; describes research that reinforces the argument that no such congruency exists; and argues that barriers to radical community work are such that its major impact is to strengthen pluralism while making minimal…

Do the actions and agency of citizens in civil society affect the public sphere? Whether these people and their activities contribute a discourse of the public or only a marginal realm is critical to understanding the relationship among community development, civil society, and social change. (Author/JOW)

Community education has two objectives: the development of individuals to the limit of their capacity and the development of the community to improve the quality of life. The Community Education Developmental Objective model illustrates the interrelatedness of the process and program objectives of the community education movement. (Author/JOW)

Adult educators can support communities in search of sustainability by helping them resist globalization and build civil capital (community action that blocks or challenges unsustainable activities). Grounded in life values, civil capital can form the basis of a civil society. (SK)

Argues that community development is an appropriate arena for using participatory research techniques, since community development depends strongly on citizen involvement. Features a case study of use of the participatory research technique in a project aimed at attacking rural poverty in Nigeria. (CH)

The author, a political candidate, describes campaigns as events allowing citizens to assess candidates' knowledge of community problems. He documents the adversarial nature of a candidate's self-education and explores the relationship of the intellectual content of the political process to community development. (SK)

The Australian state of Victoria has adopted a privatization approach to human services that is destroying the infrastructure of community services. Without a dynamic community services core, it is difficult for social citizenship to flourish. (SK)

Attempts to discover how and why community development has been used in the past, and to formulate some ideas on prospects for community development in the future. (CT)

Defines "community development" as the creation of an enlightened, involved, learning citizenry. Concludes that its beneficiaries include participants who learn social and political skills; the community which has its problems solved and troubles ameliorated or diverted; and the facilitating institution, which grows through new alliances and…