UNIT 6: LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • To place community development and health in a historical context.
  • To begin to differentiate community development from other approaches to health.
  • To identify the key elements and aims of community development practice.
  • To identify the health benefits of working with a community development approach

UNIT 6: SUMMARY OUTLINE

Exercise
Number		 Exercises Handouts Approximate Timings
1 Recap from Unit 5 and Introduction to Unit 6 15 mins
2 A Historical Perspective A & B 30 mins
3 Dimensions of Community Development C, D, E, F,
G & H 		60 mins
4 A Community Development Approach 45 mins
5 Group Project 60 mins
6 Recap and Summary Learning Logs 15 mins
Total Time approx. 3 hours 45 mins

UNIT 6: TUTOR SUMMARY NOTES

EXERCISE 1: RECAP FROM UNIT 5 AND INTRODUCTION TO UNIT 6 (15 minutes)

You should take a bit more time to reflect on the key themes so far. It is important that everyone has a good understanding of the topics covered so far because these are central to community development approaches to health.

EXERCISE 2: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (30 minutes)

In preparation for this exercise it would be useful to prepare flipcharts as illustrated on Handout B (one for each decade of events) and put them on the wall if you have enough space.

The events described are a purely subjective selection; you may want to introduce ones of your own. A useful reference for background reading for this exercise is ‘Community Involvement in Health’ by Jan Smithies and Georgina Webster (1997). Ashgate Publishing.

EXERCISE 3: DIMENSIONS OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (60 minutes)

The aim of this exercise is to introduce the main dimensions and elements of the community development process and relate them to actual examples. For more information or to enquire about training in ABCD we would recommend contacting the Scottish Community Development Centre (Tel: 0141 248 1924). The case study examples given in this exercise are intended to reflect a variety of situations over a period of time. You may want to use one or two more local case studies if you feel this would be more useful.

EXERCISE 4: A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT APPROACH (45 minutes)

The aim of this exercise is to look at what would be good community development practice in this particular situation. An interesting adaptation of this exercise would be to also consider what would be bad community development practice – as people often learn more from how not to do things. Another useful reference is The Effective Action Framework developed by Ron Labonte, (1998) in ‘A Community Development Approach to Health Promotion’ a background paper prepared for HEBS, now NHS Health Scotland, and the Research Unit on Health and Behavioural Change, University of Edinburgh. It can appear a bit difficult to understand at first but is well worthwhile using to illustrate how community development activity can actually impact on health.

 EXERCISE 5: THE GROUP PROJECT (60 minutes)

 By this time people should be ‘dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s’ of their presentation(s). They should be allocating tasks, rehearsing and working out any practical arrangements. Remember it’s your responsibility to make sure that the venue is suitable; all the guests know where to go and when to arrive, etc. This is also a time for ‘pep talks’, boosting of confidence, and reassurance.

EXERCISE 6: RECAP AND SUMMARY (15 minutes)

In your recap emphasise that much of what you’ve covered today will be re- visited in Part 2 of the Course. Many of the ideas talked about today may be very new to participants and it is important that they don’t feel overwhelmed by it. Also, try and get a chance to talk to individuals about their learning logs or give written feedback.