Course profile

Community Development: Local and International Practices (SOSC2288)

Study period
Sem 1 2025
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person

Course overview

Study period
Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
Study level
Undergraduate
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person
Units
2
Administrative campus
St Lucia
Coordinating unit
Social Science School

This course introduces students to the basic approaches, methodologies, and techniques of community development within a broader international framework. Students will be introduced to project planning and community participation processes. Students will develop basic skills in community development practice, and engage in a critical exploration of case studies focused on contemporary challenges both in domestic and international contexts.

Community Development – Local and International Practices (SOSC2288) feeds into a number of different programs. Asﾠa second-year course in the Development major in the Bachelor of Social Science, the course builds on the introduction to development studies offered in the first year of the program to assist students in critically reflecting on contemporary thinking, practice, and techniques used by development workers in both local and international settings. It builds on development theories and offers an alternative to top-down modes of intervention. Students outside of these programs are also welcome to attend (individual program rules permitting).

The courseﾠsituates community development within a broader framework of approaches to development, emphasising a rights-based approach, participatory processes, and sustainability. Students will have the opportunity to develop the basic skills and conceptual knowledge required to engage with diverse community groups, particularly those who are frequently adversely affected by growth-based development approaches.ﾠStudents will be challenged to critically reflect on key professional and ethical issues facing practitioners working at local, national, and global levels.

SOSC2288 has a particularly strong practical component, where there is an emphasis on applyingﾠhands-on skills and reflecting on practice and you will be required to use creativity and initiative. Classes are designed to encourage students to become active participants in the learning process through in-class activities,ﾠdebates and discussions on critical issues in community development practice. The purpose of these seminars is to create a space for people to experience different processes and to openly exchange ideas in order to deepen learning.ﾠCommunity development, by its nature, requires working with other people. This course, therefore, utilises groupwork extensively. However, all assessment will be individual. There is no group assessment, but there is a strong emphasis on group and classroom participation. You are expected to come to class and engage with others to meet the course learning objectives. If you are unable to come to class regularly or are unable to engage with others, please do not enrol as you will find it a disappointing experience and will be unable to meet the learning aims.ﾠ


Diversity, Equity, and Safety:

This is a course on community development with social justice at its core. Our focus is on people who are often marginalised. We will be discussing topics that are sometimes confronting, and may include poverty, violence, classism, racism, colonialism, sexism,ﾠableism, and issues of survival.ﾠAs I cannot always accurately predict in advance where discussions will go, I do not issue individual class trigger warnings.ﾠIf you have any psychological support issues that you know will be affected by this (such as PTSD) please ensure you access UQ Student Services to enable an appropriate support plan, and so I can make the necessary accommodations for you and support your learning as best as possible on a more personal level.

The School of Social Science at The University of Queensland is committed to a safe and supportive environment and a positive work culture for all and I share this commitment.ﾠ I am aﾠUQ Ally, part of theﾠUQ First Responder’s Network, and aﾠUQ Mental Health Champion. If youﾠhave any concerns or queries, are unsure who to talk to or what options are available, or are simply feeling uncomfortable about something that has happened, I can help you find the information or support that you need. Please contact me directly via emailﾠl.shevellar@uq.edu.auﾠto make a time for a confidential* discussion.

* There are certain times when this confidentiality is limited by legal requirements - however I will explain these to you when we meet so you can decide what you disclose to me.ﾠ


Acknowledgements:

I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which this university now stands and thank them for caring for Country for thousands of generations.ﾠSovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.ﾠWe give our respect to the elders of all indigenous people including those who live in this city, now separated from their lands through a colonial history of state-sponsored and interpersonal ignorance and violence.ﾠ

Course requirements

Assumed background

No background for this course is assumed. However please note that this course is highly participatory and people-focused; there is a high expectation that you will be an active adult learner and attend all workshops. Its participatory nature means that it is not offered in an off-campus mode.ﾠ

ﾠ

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

SOSC7288, SWSP2288

Course contact

Course coordinator

Dr Lynda Shevellar

**Due to the University-wide closures in response to Cyclone Alfred, assessment and teaching activities in this course have been revised. Please refer to the course Blackboard site for the revised teaching and assessment plan.**

As students in this course undertake different programs, finding consultation times that meet everyone's needs isﾠimpossible. For this reason I do not have drop-in hours, but prefer to negotiate a mutually convenient consultation time. You can set up a solo time or meet me as a group if you would prefer, and I can arrange to talk to you via video or in-person depending on our schedules. To set up a time please send me an email with "SOSC2288 Consultation" in the subject line.

If the matter is urgent you will find the Blackboard Discussion Board an excellent way to receive fast responses to the majority of your queries. Not only will I attend to your concerns quickly, but other students will also have an opportunity to respond, to clarify issues of concern and to learn from your inquiry.ﾠ

View Dr Lynda Shevellar profile

School enquiries

Student Enquiries School of Social Science
(07) 3365 3236

Level 3, Michie Building (09), St Lucia campus, The University of Queensland.

Monday-Friday, 9:00am-12:00pm, 1:00pm-4:00pm.

Course staff

Lecturer

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Please note that seminars start from Week 1. Please consult the official UQ timetable for seminar dates and times. Unfortunately, I have no influence over the timetable and cannot adjust the timing in any way. If you have a timetable clash please talk to our School administrative team to discuss your options:ﾠstudent.socsci@uq.edu.auﾠ

Classes will startﾠpromptly to make the most of our limited time together. Please make sure you locate the building and class before the first seminar.

Attendance is vital to ensure you get the most out of the learning opportunities provided and to develop your capacity as a practitioner.ﾠ

If youﾠare unable to attend a class please check Blackboard and liaise with other students to obtain the relevant information. I am unable to respond to individual requests for notes or to personally repeat the seminar content. Interaction, discussion and reflection are crucial to community development. These classes have been deliberately designed as on-campus experiential seminars toﾠcombine theory and practice with reflection and interaction. It is not possible to reproduce theﾠexperience of the group. Notes and slides in this courseﾠmay beﾠprovided to support and complement your learning however they are not intended as a substitute for experience.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to activate and check your UQ email account regularly (including during breaks, revision week, and the examinations period). Important messages concerning assessment, tutorials, lectures, or library resources may be communicated via email.ﾠPlease put ‘SOSC2288’ in the subject line of any email correspondence with the course coordinator.ﾠIf you do not do this, the email may not be answered promptly or at all.

Aims and outcomes

Aims and outcomes

There are four major aims of the course:

  1. To consider the concepts and practices of community development in local and international settings, including participation, social justice and working with diversity;
  2. To develop skills in facilitating groups;
  3. To develop basic skills in undertaking community development practice and demonstrate these in interactive class sessions, oral presentations and through writing; and
  4. To explore the diverse, complex and sometimes contested contexts for community development, and to reflect on the implications for your own practice.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

LO1.

Understand, describe and critique traditional growth-based models of development and identify alternative approaches;

LO2.

Comprehend the complexity of processes and practices associated with community development;

LO3.

Identify, analyse and compare different approaches to development practice;

LO4.

Apply the basic methodologies and techniques of community development in collaborative settings, and critically assess your practice;

LO5.

Critically reflect on the ethical dimensions of community development practice.

Course overview
Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Category Assessment task Weight Due date
Practical/ Demonstration Warm-Up
  • Team or group-based
  • In-person
 10% 250 words

10/03/2025 - 19/05/2025

In-class activity will occur in the allocated week for your group. Written component due Thursday at 2pm following your in-class activity.
Practical/ Demonstration Outsider Witnessing
  • Team or group-based
  • In-person
 40% 45 minutes

17/03/2025 - 26/05/2025

In-class activity will occur in the allocated week for your group.

Practical/ Demonstration, Reflection Facilitation Reflection
  • Team or group-based
  • In-person
 50% 2250 words

5/05/2025 - 16/06/2025

In-class activity will occur in the allocated week for your group. Your individual written component is due 3 weeks after your in-class group facilitation (due by Thursday @ 2pm).

Assessment details

Warm-Up

  • Team or group-based
  • In-person
Mode
Activity/ Performance, Written
Category
Practical/ Demonstration
Weight
10% 250 words
Due date

10/03/2025 - 19/05/2025

In-class activity will occur in the allocated week for your group. Written component due Thursday at 2pm following your in-class activity.

Other conditions
Student specific, Time limited.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes
L02, L03, L04

Task description

Summary: In small groups, plan and run a 10-15 minute warm-up/energiser at the start of a weekly workshop and submit a brief (250 word) written review of the activity and your role in it. Different students will be scheduled to conduct the warm-up in different weeks, in a rolling timetable throughout the semester as per Table 6 of the Study Guide. Table 3 in your Study Guide provides the marking criteria for this task. The Study Guide is available via the courses Blackboard site.

Details: This course will require attendance at weekly workshops throughout the semester. The workshops have a strong participative flavour and as such, there is some work to do to set up the environment each week to ensure people feel welcome, comfortable, and prepared to engage. Therefore, at the beginning of each workshop, a group of people will take responsibility for running a 5-10-minute warm-up activity. In other words, you are being asked to help build our classroom community.


The way this will work is as follows:

1. At the first workshop, you will be assigned to a "home group" for the semester. 

2. There is a rolling assessment calendar which means that the home group to which you are assigned, will determine the timing of this AND your other pieces of assessment for the semester (see Blackboard for the assessment timetable).  Please note you will have the ability to negotiate your group membership in Week 1. (Students who miss the Week 1 course will be allocated to a group by the Course Coordinator). 

3. You will conduct a warm-up during the class. Please note that at 15 minutes the lecturer will interrupt you to begin the next activity, so plan your use of time carefully.

4. You will submit a review of your warm-up facilitation by 2pm on the Thursday following your facilitation, through Turnitin.  Details of how to structure your review are provided in The Course Study Guide and on Blackboard.

* Marking criteria, additional resources and a list of Frequently Asked Questions about this assessment task will be available on Blackboard, under the Assessment folder. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI):ﾠTheﾠtasks in this course haveﾠbeen designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. ﾠWhilst students may use AI technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.ﾠA failure to reference generative AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.ﾠTo pass theﾠassessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.

Submission guidelines

You must submit your assignment electronically by the due time, on the due date. 

Your assignment must be submitted via Turnitin on blackboard. To submit your assignment electronically log in to https://learn.uq.edu.au/ultra with your UQ username and password, then click on Course Code>>Assessment>>Assignments, and use the appropriate assignment submission link for each piece of assessment. No e-mailed submissions of assessments will be accepted. 

By uploading your assignment via Turnitin, you are certifying that the work you submit is your own work except where correctly attributed to another source. Do not submit your assignment if it contains any work that is not your own. 

You are required to retain proof of submission of your assessment. Your Digital Receipt is available for download from your Assignment Dashboard. If you cannot see your submission and download your digital receipt, your assessment has not been successfully submitted; please submit again.  

If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Blackboard, please contact the ITS Support Team. 

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

If you cannot make the day you have been scheduled, please lodge a formal request for an extension and talk to the course coordinator.

You must submit a request for an extension as soon as it becomes clear you need an extension. Your request should be submitted no later than the assessment item's due date and time. 

The request must be accompanied by supporting documentation corroborating the reason for the request. A list of acceptable reasons for an extension and the evidence you must provide can be found here. Your request may be refused if you do not meet the acceptable reasons for an extension. The student submitting the request is fully responsible for all supporting documentation that is provided with the request and should ensure all documents are authentic. 

In the School of Social Science, extensions on the basis of an approved Student Access Plan (SAP) or an Extension Verification Letter (EVL) can be approved for a maximum period of 7 calendar days. Subsequent extensions for a piece of assessment will require additional supporting documentation (e.g., a medical certificate or other supporting evidence listed on my.UQ).  

Extension requests exceeding the maximum extension period stated for a piece of assessment will only be considered under exceptional circumstances (circumstances outside of your control) with additional supporting documentation.  

Late applications must include evidence of the reasons for the late request, detailing why you were unable to apply for an extension by the due date and time. The School of Social Science will not accept personal statements. 

Students may be asked to supply the work they have completed to date on the assessment piece. This is to establish what efforts have already been made to complete the assessment, and whether the proposed work plan is feasible. Extension requests are processed and managed by the School of Social Science Administration Team. 

Extensions in your final semester of study could delay your graduation by up to one semester. 

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Work will not be accepted if it is more than one week (7 calendar days) late without prior approval. 

Outsider Witnessing

  • Team or group-based
  • In-person
Mode
Oral
Category
Practical/ Demonstration
Weight
40% 45 minutes
Due date

17/03/2025 - 26/05/2025

In-class activity will occur in the allocated week for your group.

Other conditions
Student specific.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes
L02, L04

Task description

The task:

Summary: Early in semester you will learn about a process called “Outsider Witnessing”, as a particular (dialogical) way of providing feedback and responding to someone’s contribution. In Assessment 2 you will be using the Outsider Witnessing technique to provide your reflections on the week’s workshop. You will share your contributions in class. You will have the discussion as a group, but you will receive individual marks. Different students will be scheduled to be Outsider Witnesses for different weeks, in a rolling timetable throughout the semester as per Table 6 of the Study Guide. Table 4 in your Study Guide provides the marking criteria for this task. The Study Guide is available via the courses Blackboard site.

Details: Outsider Witnessing is a process used in a range of dialogical practices, including narrative practice, and family counselling. It is a structured process that invites an audience to witness, and then acknowledge a story (or event) in a particular way. Unlike other forms of feedback or commentary in which applause is centred (e.g. “great work”, “good idea”), or an overly intellectual or critical stance is offered (e.g. “the limits of that analysis were...”), the aim of outsider witnessing is to assist the participant to understand the impact of their ideas and to extend the thinking and enquiry. This is done by exploring two paths, in turn, “curiosity and mystery”, and then “resonance and transport”. The way this will be done is to reflect on four distinctive questions:

  • What specific words or expressions caught your attention?

 You are being asked to recognise what touched or moved you in any way.

  • What images emerged? 

You are being asked to think about the images of community life, or the world more generally, that were evoked for you as you observed? Describe the image. Explain what you understood to be the purpose, hope, or values behind these images.

  • How do these connect to your own life?

Also known as “embodying responses” this question asks what is it about your own life or work that caught your attention or struck a chord for you? What experiences have you had that connected to these ideas? What is it about your own life that meant you were touched in this way? Why do these elements resonate with your own life experiences?

  • In what ways have you been transported?

The final question asks how you have been moved - or transported - on account of this activity? Where has this experience taken you? How has hearing the story influenced your thinking? In what way have you become something other than who you were on account of witnessing or experiencing this activity? What actions will you take (no matter how small) as a result of witnessing this event/chapter/story?

* These questions are very different from other reflective processes you may have been taught – and a list of Frequently Asked Questions about this assessment task, alongside additional resources, will be available on Blackboard, under the Assessment folder. We will also have opportunity to practice these ideas in class.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):ﾠTheﾠtasks in this course haveﾠbeen designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. ﾠWhilst students may use AI technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.ﾠA failure to reference generative AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.ﾠTo pass theﾠassessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.

Submission guidelines

You will be marked during class-time. The conversation will be audio-recorded for marking quality purposes.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

This assessment item occurs during class-time and requires you to be present. If unexpected circumstances prevent you from being present on the date you are allocated, please lodge a formal request for an extension and talk to the course coordinator.

You must submit a request for an extension as soon as it becomes clear you need an extension. Your request should be submitted no later than the assessment item's due date and time. 

The request must be accompanied by supporting documentation corroborating the reason for the request. A list of acceptable reasons for an extension and the evidence you must provide can be found here. Your request may be refused if you do not meet the acceptable reasons for an extension. The student submitting the request is fully responsible for all supporting documentation that is provided with the request and should ensure all documents are authentic. 

In the School of Social Science, extensions on the basis of an approved Student Access Plan (SAP) or an Extension Verification Letter (EVL) can be approved for a maximum period of 7 calendar days. Subsequent extensions for a piece of assessment will require additional supporting documentation (e.g., a medical certificate or other supporting evidence listed on my.UQ).  

Extension requests exceeding the maximum extension period stated for a piece of assessment will only be considered under exceptional circumstances (circumstances outside of your control) with additional supporting documentation.  

Late applications must include evidence of the reasons for the late request, detailing why you were unable to apply for an extension by the due date and time. The School of Social Science will not accept personal statements. 

Students may be asked to supply the work they have completed to date on the assessment piece. This is to establish what efforts have already been made to complete the assessment, and whether the proposed work plan is feasible. Extension requests are processed and managed by the School of Social Science Administration Team. 

Extensions in your final semester of study could delay your graduation by up to one semester. 

Late submission

You will receive a mark of 0 if this assessment is submitted late.

Facilitation Reflection

  • Team or group-based
  • In-person
Mode
Activity/ Performance, Written
Category
Practical/ Demonstration, Reflection
Weight
50% 2250 words
Due date

5/05/2025 - 16/06/2025

In-class activity will occur in the allocated week for your group. Your individual written component is due 3 weeks after your in-class group facilitation (due by Thursday @ 2pm).

Other conditions
Student specific.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03, L04, L05

Task description

The task:

Like the first assessment task, it is helpful to think of this third assessment item as containing two parts: an ungraded and a graded component. 

The ungraded component consists of a one-hour community-based learning experience that your group will facilitate for your peers, according to our rolling assessment schedule.

The graded component requires you to provide a reflection on your in-class facilitation of the community-based learning experience. It asks you to select a particular developmental moment or challenge from your in-class facilitation, to focus on. This assessment piece will apply the SEAL method of reflection to identify a situation and interrogate your practice. The SEAL method consists of four steps:

1.   SITUATION: Choose a specific moment from within your in-class facilitation session that challenged you, or provided a moment for personal growth, and explain what happened.

2.   EFFECT: Explain the impact on you and how it made you feel.

3.   ACTION: Describe the actions or strategies you took in response to the situation.

4.   LEARNING: Explore what you learned from it in relation to community development, and the implications for your community development practice in the future.

As you will see from the marking criteria, you are required to incorporate relevant theory to support your assignment.

This task has been developed because the skills of observation and reflection are critical to community work. Being a good community worker means constantly reflecting on your practice and seeking ways to continually develop your skills. Doing something well doesn’t mean much if you don’t know why it worked and how you can replicate it. Doing something poorly isn’t a disaster if it provides a rich learning opportunity and leads to greater insight and improvements for next time. In putting your reflection together, you are being invited to hold your work both appreciatively and critically. Neither false modesty nor an over-inflated ego will be helpful to this exercise.

Different students will be scheduled to conduct the facilitation task in different weeks, in a rolling timetable throughout the semester as per Table 6 of the Study Guide. Table 5 in your Study Guide provides the marking criteria for this task. The Study Guide is available via the courses Blackboard site.

* Marking criteria, additional resources and a list of Frequently Asked Questions about this assessment task will be available on Blackboard, under the Assessment folder. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI):ﾠTheﾠtasks in this course haveﾠbeen designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. ﾠWhilst students may use AI technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.ﾠA failure to reference generative AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.ﾠTo pass theﾠassessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.

Submission guidelines

You must submit your assignment electronically by the due time, on the due date. 

Your assignment must be submitted via Turnitin on blackboard. To submit your assignment electronically log in to https://learn.uq.edu.au/ultra with your UQ username and password, then click on Course Code>>Assessment>>Assignments, and use the appropriate assignment submission link for each piece of assessment. No e-mailed submissions of assessments will be accepted. 

By uploading your assignment via Turnitin, you are certifying that the work you submit is your own work except where correctly attributed to another source. Do not submit your assignment if it contains any work that is not your own. 

You are required to retain proof of submission of your assessment. Your Digital Receipt is available for download from your Assignment Dashboard. If you cannot see your submission and download your digital receipt, your assessment has not been successfully submitted; please submit again.  

If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Blackboard, please contact the ITS Support Team. 

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Extension available through UQ formal extension process.

If you cannot make the day you have been scheduled to run your activity, please lodge a formal request for an extension and talk to the course coordinator.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Work will not be accepted if it is more than one week (7 calendar days) late without prior approval. 

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Grade Cut off Percent Description
1 (Low Fail) 1 - 29

Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.
2 (Fail) 30 - 44

Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.
3 (Marginal Fail) 45 - 49

Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes
4 (Pass) 50 - 64

Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes.
5 (Credit) 65 - 74

Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes.
6 (Distinction) 75 - 84

Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes.
7 (High Distinction) 85 - 100

Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes.

Additional course grading information

The final grade will be assigned based on the aggregate of the marks from each piece of assessment.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Supplementary assessment is an additional opportunity to demonstrate that the learning requirements for an eligible course have been satisfied and that the graduate attributes for the course have been attained. Supplementary assessment may only be granted where Supplementary Assessment – procedures allow. A passing grade of 4 (or P) is the highest grade that can be awarded in a course where supplementary assessment has been granted. For further information on supplementary assessment please see my.UQ. 

Additional assessment information

Referencing Style:ﾠPlease useﾠAPA 7ﾠto reference your work. Hints and links can be found on Blackboard Course Help.ﾠ

Collaboration vs Collusion:ﾠBeing located within community development this course requires connection and collaboration. What this means is that you will deepen your own learning and understanding by sharing your experiences and listening to or readingﾠthe insights of others. Collaborative learning is different from copying or plagiarising the work of others or colluding with others on your assessment.ﾠPleaseﾠfamiliarise yourself withﾠthe university policy on plagiarism or speak to the course coordinator to ensure you understand what is required, or if you have any concerns about the integrity of yourﾠwork.ﾠ

Academic Integrity: All students must complete the Academic Integrity Modules https://www.uq.edu.au/integrity/ 

School Guide for Written Assessments: School of Social Science Guide for Written Assessments 

Release of Marks: The marks and feedback for assessments will be released to students in a timely manner, prior to the due date of the next assessment piece for the course. This is with the exception of the final piece of assessment. The marks and feedback for the final assessment item will only be made available to the student on the Finalisation of Grades date at the end of semester.  

Assessment Re-mark: For information on requesting an assessment re-mark, please view the following page on my.UQ: https://my.uq.edu.au/querying-result  

Aims and outcomes
Learning resources

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

In addition to the required weekly readings, the learning materials for this course include theﾠcontent of workshops, and the wisdom of your peers. Some - but not all - of this material will be available on Blackboard as class notes and PowerPoints. However, as a key component of the course is participation, not all learning is reproducible in written or visual form. Much of the learning happens through your presence and engagement WITH the content. For this reason, attendance at all workshops is considered compulsory and non-negotiable (barring serious issues). Workshops are not offered in external format. Please do not enrol in this course if you are unable to be physically present for the majority of the semester.



ﾠ

Assessment
Learning activities

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

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Learning period Activity type Topic
Week 1

(24 Feb - 02 Mar)
Seminar

Week 1: Introduction to community development and the course

We will use this workshop to explore what community development is and in particular, how it relates to - and differs from - other responses to social issues. To navigate this complex landscape, we will draw upon Ife's integrated framework for community development and use this to structure our time together. How we spend our time together will be the other focus of our discussion, including how our classes will be run, as well as our assessment and formal requirements for the course. You will also learn about the people you will be spending time with throughout the semester.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02
Week 2

(03 Mar - 09 Mar)
Seminar

Week 2: Postponed due to Cyclone

**Due to the University-wide closures in response to Cyclone Alfred, assessment and teaching activities in this course have been revised. Please refer to the course Blackboard site for the revised teaching and assessment plan.**
Week 3

(10 Mar - 16 Mar)
Seminar

Week 3: Introduction to participatory approaches

**Due to the University-wide closures in response to Cyclone Alfred, assessment and teaching activities in this course have been revised. Please refer to the course Blackboard site for the revised teaching and assessment plan.**

This workshop will explore how we learn, the central role of participation, and the idea of community-based learning. It will look at how knowledge and power interact to influence our perspectives. It will be highly valuable in preparing you for Assessment item 3, and we will also spend time practicing for Assessment 2.  Assessment 1 commences this week for some students.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04, L05
Week 4

(17 Mar - 23 Mar)
Seminar

Week 4: Participatory methods - visual methods

This week begins our deep dive into various methods used within community development. Our focus this week is on visual methods. We will continue our discussion of the participatory paradigm and key methods for data collection and analysis, including participatory rural appraisal. You will see how CD will intersects with broader development trends as we examine "the participatory turn" in development.

Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05
Week 5

(24 Mar - 30 Mar)
Seminar

Week 5: Participatory methods - dialogical methods

Extending our knowledge of participatory methods, today's workshop will look at dialogical forms of participation, such as story telling, and narrative practice.

Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05
Week 6

(31 Mar - 06 Apr)
Seminar

Week 6: Participatory methods - embodied methods

By now you will have a deeper understanding of how we participate and the multiple methods we can use. In this workshop we think about embodied methods - and the body as a site of participation and learning. Then, we turn to thinking about what it means to participate in embodied ways. There are numerous traditions to draw upon here: theatre work is the most obvious, but art and dance and music are also rich in possibility. As always, the emphasis is upon using these mediums to move from individual concern to collective agendas.

Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05
Week 7

(07 Apr - 13 Apr)
Peer Assisted Study Session

Week 7: No class - Community-based learning plan

Knowing how difficult it can be to get different timetables to synchronise, Week 7 has been deliberately set aside to give you time to work in your groups, on your facilitation plans for Assessment item 3. The classroom will be available for you to use or you may prefer to work in a setting of your own choice. This will not be facilitated. You are working on your own.

Learning outcomes: L04
Week 8

(14 Apr - 20 Apr)
No student involvement (Breaks, information)

Week 8: EASTER FRIDAY Public Holiday

No class on Friday April 18th 2025. Our class falls on the Easter Friday public holiday and so there will be no SOSC2288 workshop this week. Some students will still have assessment items due this week. Please refer to the Study Guide for specific assessment dates for your Home Group.

Mid-sem break

(21 Apr - 27 Apr)
No student involvement (Breaks, information)

Week: Mid-semester break (& ANZAC DAY)

No class today. This week is the "mid-semester break". Friday also happens to be a public holiday for ANZAC DAY.

Week 9

(28 Apr - 04 May)
Seminar

Week 9: Participatory methods - digital methods

In Week 6 we turn our attention to digital participatory methods such as photovoice and participatory video. We will also think about how new and emerging technologies both disrupt and could be useful for community work.

Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05
Week 10

(05 May - 11 May)
Seminar

Week 10: Community social and political development

This workshop invites interrogation of the first two of the dimensions of Ife's framework: that of community social development and political cultural development. Firstly, within social development, ideas of social planning, service delivery and community connection work would be concepts many of you have already encountered but considering what makes them part of CD will require nuanced thinking. Secondly, we turn to community political development. While all CD is concerned with issues of power, a political intervention requires an analysis of power as the starting place for all work. Community action and protest are the best-known forms of this work - but there are other less visible and equally important forms of political work in communities.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04, L05
Week 11

(12 May - 18 May)
Seminar

Week 11: Community economic and local cultural development

In this workshop, we look at community economic development, which can take either a conservative or radical turn. At the heart of this is the idea of whether we seek to re-imagine our work within the economy or to fundamentally reclaim our own economy and re-imagine what an economy is. This leads nicely into our second focus, which is the idea of local cultural development. We ask the question, does local development still have meaning in an increasingly globalised world?

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04, L05
Week 12

(19 May - 25 May)
Seminar

Week 12: Community indigenous and multicultural development

Continuing our discussion of cultural community development, we extend thinking to imagine what it means to work inter-culturally. First, we look to what first nation peoples, and Australian Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people in particular, can teach us about community development, and think about what it means to work in these spaces. Secondly, we explore cross-cultural work in community development, and how we work when multiple cultures occupy space and time.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04, L05
Week 13

(26 May - 01 Jun)
Seminar

Week 13: Community environmental and survival development

This week we explore environmental CD and consider the role of CD in environmental concerns, beyond just political dimensions of activism. For example, mining, forestry and hydroelectric schemes continue to have enormous and sometimes paradoxical impacts on local communities and this creates tricky contexts for CD work. To complete our examination of Ife's dimensions, we conclude with one of the most recent dimensions to emerge in CD: that of survival development. While dealing with issues of poverty, hunger, water, shelter and health have always been present in CD work, the growing role for CD in disaster response has created a whole new field of inquiry and practice.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04, L05
Learning resources
Policies and procedures

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

Learning activities