The individual presentation [equivalent to 1000 words]will require you to prepare a flip chart poster and present aloud to the class your reflections on your experiences of community practice. The individual presentation will assess learning outcome 4.

The essay will require you to demonstrate the reading of relevant texts and other sources in order to address the essay question. The essay will assess learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 5.

Library, where you will find relevant textbooks and audiovisual materials.
Internet, where you will find relevant websites.
The Blackboard virtual learning environment will be available (where relevant) to support this module. Details will be supplied in the module handbook.

G. Craig and M. Mayo (1995) Community Empowerment: A Reader in Participation and Development, London: Zed Books.
M. Taylor (2002) Public Policy in the Community, London: Palgrave.
M. Ledwith (1997) Participating in Transformation: Towards a Working Model of Community Empowerment, Venture Press.

This module incorporates three inter-related learning strategies. The three day-long workshops will be used for the consideration of core issues and key tools relating to overcoming barriers to community engagement. Tutorials allow discussion of thework that students are undertaking to prepare their assessments, and support for any study skills needs the tutor and students identify. The independent study will allow reading around selected topics, the development of individual critical responses to the reading, and the preparation of the assessments.

This module will offer the opportunity to explore strategies for empowering communities to overcome barriers to development and to consider models of community development such as Action for Better Community Development and Community Arts. The issues that we will address include the concepts underpinning community empowerment, such as the definition of community, the positive and negative aspects of community engagement, and the concept of social exclusion. We will investigate strategies for engaging communities in processes aimed at challenging inequalities, influencing policy and promoting change within a participatory framework. We will also consider issues of governance, obstacles to policy implementation, and issues relating to community regeneration. Case studies will include projects such as ABCD, New Deal for Communities, Truck Stop Rock, Leicester New Arrivals Project, My Body My Self, and Safety Soap Box.