Building a Career in Community Development in CanadaCommunity development work is both a task and a process. The task is to bring a social and economic change; and a process is the application social planning and collective decision making, while incorporating economics, politics, research and an understanding of task diversity.
Community is organic by nature and there is no single road map to ensure community development. It’s a gradual process that demands continuous effort and engagement from professionals who strive to enhance social and economic well-being of people living in various communities.
The core principles that community development workers should believe in are:
Respect - a respect for diversity
Participation - full participation of everyone including minority groups is important to bring a social change
Psychology - understanding of social psychology is important in order to plan how to bring a change
Sustenance - continuous effort is required to bring a sustainable social change
Planning - planning and policy making is required at every stage of community development
Communication - conveying the right message to the right audience at the right time and in the right manner is critical
The community development workers are expected to emotionally stable yet sensitive towards the issues, problems and sufferings of a community. With this, they need to have thorough understanding of society as a whole, social psychology, global perspectives in community development and legal regulations.
Building a Career in Community Development in Canada
Community work involves working together to plan, bring and sustain a change in the society, by exerting control over social, economical, religious and political issues. A community development program may lead prospective community development workers to the right path. The program is grounded on the principles of equality and fairness.
The program is geared towards helping students develop the necessary skills for
The program combines classroom learning, placement seminar and two separate field placements in real-world settings. The field placement provides students an opportunity to put their acquired knowledge into practice and gain experience. Students are also provided opportunities for international development placements.
The graduates of this program can find employment with government, voluntary organizations, corporations and international community settings.
Enrolling in a Community Development Program
In order to enroll in a community development course, you will need:
Community is organic by nature and there is no single road map to ensure community development. It’s a gradual process that demands continuous effort and engagement from professionals who strive to enhance social and economic well-being of people living in various communities.
The core principles that community development workers should believe in are:
Respect - a respect for diversity
Participation - full participation of everyone including minority groups is important to bring a social change
Psychology - understanding of social psychology is important in order to plan how to bring a change
Sustenance - continuous effort is required to bring a sustainable social change
Planning - planning and policy making is required at every stage of community development
Communication - conveying the right message to the right audience at the right time and in the right manner is critical
The community development workers are expected to emotionally stable yet sensitive towards the issues, problems and sufferings of a community. With this, they need to have thorough understanding of society as a whole, social psychology, global perspectives in community development and legal regulations.
Building a Career in Community Development in Canada
Community work involves working together to plan, bring and sustain a change in the society, by exerting control over social, economical, religious and political issues. A community development program may lead prospective community development workers to the right path. The program is grounded on the principles of equality and fairness.
The program is geared towards helping students develop the necessary skills for
- Building community capacity
- Promoting sustainable community
- Managing and directing community economic development initiatives
- Planning and advocating for change strategies
- Promoting social and economic justice
- Challenging patterns of oppression and discrimination
The program combines classroom learning, placement seminar and two separate field placements in real-world settings. The field placement provides students an opportunity to put their acquired knowledge into practice and gain experience. Students are also provided opportunities for international development placements.
The graduates of this program can find employment with government, voluntary organizations, corporations and international community settings.
Enrolling in a Community Development Program
In order to enroll in a community development course, you will need:
- Secondary school diploma or equivalent
- English Grade 12 C or University or equivalent