Essay | |
|“Is community work about liberation, social control or neither? Discuss this question, illustrating|
|your answer with examples from practice where appropriate” |
| [pic] |
|Source: Sayer, J. (1986) |
|Introduction |
|To discuss this question we will first highlight the very problematic nature of what is |
|collectively termed `community work`. In attempting to define the role of community work we will |
|look at the theoretical educational role of the community worker, particularly discussing the |
|concept of empowerment. The disparity between the theory of community work and its practice on a |
|day to day basis will be discussed within the context of political ideological frameworks. The |
|processes of liberation and social control will be discussed briefly in relation to community work |
|theory and practice and some attempt will be made to propose how community work may operate within |
|these processes. |
|Understanding `Community` & the Role of Community Work |
|Before we can begin to discuss the role of community work we must first come to a common |
|understanding of the term community. This is more complicated than it may sound, as the phrase has |
|been, and is used in many different ways to indicate different things to different individuals and |
|groups. The term community has three major uses within community work practitioners: |
|1) It may be employed to describe locality (a given geographical area) as a basis |
|of social organisation....
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