This handbook is a practical guide that can be used by an individual, group, or group leader in planning an active role in community development. Major topics covered are organizing the group; purpose and structure of your organization; how to identify the problem; planning an active program to solve a community problem; planning a large meeting…

A major problem with the proposed approaches to national service is that they may draw attention away from the real causes of and the feasible solutions to critical problems. Community action should involve young people in sustained, long-term empowering activities, not in one-time experiences or in work that does not challenge current power…

This document presents a set of ten steps that can be used by a wide range of concerned people to mobilize a community to solve problems connected with the growing population of underachieving minority youth. Step I, "The Initiation," outlines how to develop a coalition to assure a strong foundation for mobilization efforts. Step II,…

The United Way of America has issued a Call to Action that asks the United States to make the achievement of literacy a top national priority. The goal is to achieve literacy by the year 2010. The Call to Action includes a set of strategies, objectives, and actions based on United Way's community problem-solving approach. At the heart of the Call…

As the issues with which individuals and communities struggle on a daily basis have become more urgent (e.g., unemployment, increasing crime, and overburdened health care), the tensions inherent in the relationship between college and community have become more apparent. Despite criticism that their missions are already overextended, some…

This document explains how to establish study circles for public dialogue and community problem solving with the aim of building strong neighborhoods. The foreword explains the value of study circles in addressing the challenges currently facing all kinds of neighborhoods and presents 10 specific guidelines for organizing study circles in a…

This manual explains how to implement the Master Teacher in Family Life (MTFL) Program. This training model is designed to teach natural leaders within poor communities the information and skills to create an effective internal communication system to educate fellow residents about important issues and create and sustain a network of support for…

This book documents the experiences that were gathered in project DELSILIFE, Development of a Coordinated Educational Intervention System for Improving the Quality of Life of the Rural Poor through Self-Reliance. The project was carried out by the Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (INNOTECH) for the South-East Asian…

This document is a step-by-step guide to organizing a study circle program to serve as a vehicle to achieve communitywide dialogue for action and change. Part 1 provides an overview of communitywide study circle programs, with special emphasis on their operation and impact. Part 2 details the following steps in organizing a communitywide study…