The Importance Of Community Development

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A. A large and growing body of literature recognizes the importance of community development in the context of modern Irish society and also the global arena. Although this field of study is constituency characterized by explicit activities, the underpinning rationale of engagement is commonly complex and multidimensional (Geoghegan and Powell, 2004, p.149). Geoghegan and Powell (2004) seek to identify the activities of community development and the values that underpin such activities within the developmental state of Ireland. Seeking to attain a fundamental social movement, through the form of collective action, community development practices activities with those most at risk of marganisalisation from society. The expanded breadth of…show more content…
Providing community education and labour market orientated training enables marganalised individuals to compete within the hierarchy of a capitalist society. Identity based groups adapt a solidaristic approach and provide support to minority groups, seeking to combat discrimination and preclude social exclusion. General social services are also provided within the sector, providing support, advice and information (Community Workers' Co-operative [A], 2015). Continuously searching for justice in order to reclaim a civil society, it is frequently questioned as to why community development activists engage in such a compelling sector. Although the answers obtain complexity and dynamism, they tend to be intimately intertwined, and can be devolved on the following themes: ‘notions of care, experience of poverty, formalized politics, a response to issues of social class and religion’ (Geoghegan and Powell, 2004, p.154). Many activists engagement is a result of personally experiencing problematic situational and environmental issues.…show more content…
Vulnerable to both macro social and economic change, community development continues to ‘create common bonds through common experiences’ (Jackson and O’Doherty, 2012, p.205). Although negatively impacted by such limitations, the voluntary sector encapsulates collective action, which provides a common platform for those most at risk of marginalization. Within Irish civil society, the social values that underpin community development are the fundamental concern for pursuing individual and collective action, and are a central thread for all
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