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PTDF opens application for 2019/20 overseas scholarship programme – Daily Trust The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) says application process is open for qualified Nigerians to apply for its 2019/20 overseas scholarship scheme for Msc and PhD studies The Fund made the announcement in a statement signed by Mr kalu Otisi, Head, Press and External Affairs, in Abuja.ADV...

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Out-of-school: How ignorance, poverty denies children basic education in Kano – Daily Trust “Every parent shall ensure that his/her child or ward attends and completes primary school education; and Junior Secondary School education,” the Universal Basic Education Act of 2004 declares. However, this is not actually the case in most places where due to poverty, ignorance and other socio-...

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Corruption Denies Millions Access to Quality Education in Nigeria Education in Nigeria is in dire straits, and many Nigerians are acutely aware and concerned. At present, Nigeria has the highest percentage in the world of children not enrolled in school, and it is much higher in the south of the country than in the north. Overall, the UN Human Development Index ra...

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Kofi Annan's illustrious career as the "rock star of global diplomacy" Annan believed in the power of people and institutions when they stood together to advance good.

IS THERE A DIVIDE BETWEEN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SCHOLARSHIP AND PRACTICE?

In the recently published International Standards for Community Development Practice, concern was raised that professional community development undergraduate programmes were tending to become over academic, with the practice and skills training elements becoming a shorter part of the programme. Whilst we don’t have detailed evidence that this has occurred in all countries, we have noticed a trend towards increasing ‘academicisation’.

The Standards report emphasises that undergraduate degrees, intended to prepare the student for entry into a career in community development, must be underpinned by a knowledge of the social, political and ecological sciences. It is vital for practitioners to be able to understand the factors that shape and influence communities and of theories of development work, pedagogy and community organising. But of equal if not more importance is the ability of the practitioner to be able to practice. In other words to have the skills to DO community development work, not just to KNOW about it. And that tool kit needs to be broad and flexible to enable the practitioner to work in a variety of settings and groups. And it must include at the centre, the ability/ the techniques to be a community educator and organiser.

In the 1970s the concept of praxis emerged in our field, meaning the importance of combining of theory and practice and of the reflective practitioner. IACD has long highlighted the critical importance of reflective practice and of opportunities for continuing professional development. Learning to be an effective community development practitioner is a continuing educational process, where we learn what works and what doesn’t work, learning from failure as well as success. And we have always argued the value of cross cultural learning between West and East, North and South and for the formation of Communities of Practice. This is central to our mission.

When IACD moved to Scotland in 1998, the first partnership we forged was with the Community Development Journal (published by Oxford University Press). The premier academic journal internationally and one of over a dozen community development related journals around the world. IACD was keen to create a closer link between community development scholars and practitioners and to embrace both in its membership. This partnership has been hugely fruitful. But we are aware that the minority of practitioners around the world read CDJ or the other journals and even fewer write for them. And there are a great many researchers and commentators on community development who if they ever practised it, it was many years ago. Yet research and scholarship is vital for our profession, for it helps us to understand the changing challenges communities and practitioners face, the evaluation of programmes and policies.

This was the main reason behind IACD also starting to publish Practice Insights magazine, to complement the academic journals like CDJ, but as a much lighter and more accessible text for the busy practitioner, manager and policy adviser and indeed student, who may find academic articles well just too academic and heavy in style. There is something about the social, political and ecological sciences that can be inaccessible and frankly at times badly written. A plea here for plain language in whatever language!!

If there is, as we believe, a growing gulf between the world of community development scholarship and community development practitioners, we need to understand why this has happened? Has it been pressures with the university sector that rewards lecturers and researchers higher when they write for ‘peer reviewed’ journals rather than practitioner magazines? Probably. Has it been because practitioners are just do busy and exhausted to write, to reflect upon their work and to share this with others. Certainly. Has it been because we rarely have a ‘revolving door’ whereby scholars/teachers of CD and practitioners can exchange jobs, giving the scholars and teachers opportunities to update their experiences of development work and practitioners the time to teach and do research? For sure.

IACD’s Training and Professional Development Committee has the remit for taking forward the International Standards and in so doing to help the field address this divide. If you are interested in helping the committee with this, please let us know.

It takes someone special to be an educator; a person who cares for others, and aims to help students grow to their fullest potential. The best teachers are capable, dedicated and hardworking, along with having an interest in making a substantial difference in the future of children.
Always take a moment to appreciate educators .