Year 11 ATAR

Health Studies
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
What is Community Development?
• The development of a community is more than buildings or the physical
infrastructure of a community.
• Community developers should identify values, needs and aspirations of
residents, community members, businesses and other appropriate stakeholders
for the benefit of all involved.
Definition
• A structured intervention that gives communities greater control over the
conditions that affect their lives.
• Community development aims to address the issues of powerlessness and
disadvantage so it involves all members of society, an empowers people as part
of a process of social change.
Principles of Community Development
• A set of guiding principles to create social change to allow communities to thrive
and improve their overall living conditions, which ultimately improve their
lives.
Principle One - Sustainability
• Refers to a means of configuring communities and human activity so that
society, its members and its economies are able to meet their needs and express
their greatest potential in the present, while planning and acting for the ability to
maintain these ideals in the long term.
• Increasing community participation in projects will empower individuals and
the community, which will lead to increased sustainability.
• Example:
Principle Two - Diversity
• Refers to the quality of being different.
• Differences in gender, age, ethnicity, culture, education, and health are all
examples of diversity.
• Community development needs to respect diversity and plan to be equitable to
all.
• Example: NAIDOC week
Principle Three – Human Rights
• Refer to basic human rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.
• Examples of human rights include things such as the right to life and liberty,
freedom of expression and equality before the law.
• The right to economic, social, and cultural rights, including the right to
participate in culture, the right to be treated with respect and dignity, the right
to food, the right to work, and the right to education.
Principle Four – Social Justice
• The concept of social justice may hold some or all of the following beliefs: Historical
inequities in so far as they affect current injustices should be corrected until the actual
inequities no longer exist or have been perceptively negated.
• Redistribution of wealth, power and status for the individual, community and societal
good.
• It is governments (or those who hold significant power) responsibility to ensure a basic
quality of life for all citizens.

• Example: Homeless shelters

Principles Five – Addressing Disadvantage
• Is the responsibility of governments, policy makers, treasury, and the United
Nations.
• Funds need to be directed toward projects or programs aimed at reducing
poverty and disadvantage.
• Examples of such policy includes: “Closing the Gap in the Northern Territory”,
“Indigenous Community Volunteers”.
Principle Six – Valuing Local Knowledge
• Culture skills and resources. All communities have an already existing real and
potential skills and resources
• Health promoters can help people top use those skills that will both develop and
maintain their sustainability.
Complete Activity 1
Urbanized – Activity 2
• Complete Activity 2 along side watching the movie.
• Alternatively – make notes to complete task after documentary.
Levels of Participation - Information
• Informing people in the community what is planned.
• In this level organisers of the intervention make all the decisions and carry out
the intervention fort he community.
• The community is not really involved, they are just informed about what is
going to happen.
Consultation
• The process of asking for feedback about the interventions planned is known as
consulting.
• This is usually done by offering a number of options and listening to the
feedback. In this level the community is more involved as they are able to give
their opinion and feedback.
Deciding Together
• The intervention organisers work with the people in the community to make the
decision together about what will happen.
• This be in the form of a vote or a round table discussion.
• Community members still don’t actually put the plan into action but they had a
significant say in what would be done.
Acting Together
• A step on the participation ladder deciding together is to carry it out together.
• In this level the organisers and community would decide what to do together
and then put the plan into action together.
Supporting Community Interest
• The community conduct their own project or intervention themselves with
support of external providers.
• This is the ultimate in participation as the community have all the decision-
making power and they put the plan into action themselves.
• This results in the highest level of empowerment.
• This is usually conducted with a framework of grants, advice and support which
are provided by external resources and systems such as government groups,
health agencies, aid groups and advisory boards.
Activity 3
• Complete Activity 3 in your workbook
Sampson and Delilah – Activity 4
• Complete Activity 4 along side watching the movie.
• Alternatively – make notes to complete task after film.