The product of the Task Force on Community Development, Curriculum and Training Needs, the report focuses on community development as an emerging field of knowledge and is intended to serve as a guide for self-study, orientation, inservice, undergraduate, and graduate training for community development professionals. Topics treated include: the community development professional (competencies, roles, and methods); community development as a field of knowledge; alternatives for providing community development education and training; and task force recommendations for program improvement. The final section discusses concepts central to the community development process: learning behavior, the social system and social change, geographic concepts, political functions, economic principles, and property rights. (MW)