WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES: An Introduction to Community Work

Description

Working with Communities: An Introduction to Community Work is the revised version of the widely referred book first published in 1997. The book is a unique work of its kind, as it initiates an academic dialogue between the practitioners and academicians. It believes that the  ever-increasing relevance of community work as a social work method especially in the context of developing countries, and the phenomena of mushrooming academic institutes and courses on social work, have not proportionately reflected in the production of indigenous literature on community work, both in its quantity and depth. The practitioners in the country have largely left the job of creating appropriate literature entirely on the shoulders of academicians. The academicians in turn often failed to take a break from their teaching and get into the role of practitioners. This further limits the scope of field-based literature. The available western literature is insufficient to guide practitioners in India. The present book tries to address the gap to an extent. It urges the community workers to start thinking about their own capacities before acting. While a theoretical framework guides the practice to make it work, the skills are needed to implement the theory. Utilising the insights gained from the practice of community work in India and other developing countries, the present volume conceptualizes the entire range of knowledge and skills needed by a community worker in India. The book comprehensively examines the literature available about community work in India, the concept of community work from an Indian perspective, the problems in defining community work, historical growth of community work, current trends of teaching and practice of community work in India, the theoretical foundation of community work practice, different models of the method, and the process of community work in the context of developing countries. A new chapter on the importance of public bodies, followed by some case records of community work and practice from both rural and urban settings, would help the reader reflect on the practicality of the theoretical arguments, methodological implications and elements of sustainability and replicability.