Community Development Work Involves Global Citizenship Work

When entering fields within community and health studies, it is essential to show employers that you care about your role as a local, national and international citizen. At Centennial College, certain programs offer students the opportunity to complete a Global Citizenship and Equity Portfolio through its Institute for Global Citizenship and Equity. Because Centennial College is a recognized leader in global citizenship, social justice, and equity education, it places a strong emphasis on ensuring its relevance in these areas and, in 2009, established the Institute for Global Citizenship & Equity as an avenue for ensuring that it continues to achieve this goal. The portfolio students complete documents their engagement with the College’s signature global citizenship and equity competencies.

Students of the community develop program (known as Community Development Work) partake in this initiative during their two years of studies, which focus on the interdisciplinary field that incorporates politics, economics, research and an understanding of cultural diversity. Community development is a form of social planning that aims to boost the social and economic well being of people living in various communities. As such, students are prepared for careers in public, private and non-profit sector careers in a wide array of positions geared at building community capacity, promoting sustainable community and managing/directing community economic development initiatives.

Included in the curriculum are topics such as sustainable community development, communication fundamentals, community engagement and participation; community development in action, community development policy, business essentials, and more.

Aside from on-campus experiences, students also partake in two separate field placements. These are opportunities to work in communities to advocate for change strategies that promote social and economic justice and challenge patterns of oppression and discrimination. At the same time, students get to network and build their system of professionals. While the first placement (during the third semester) takes place locally, the final semester placement may be completed internationally. Both placements involve:

• Applying principles that lie within the scope of practice guidelines for a community development worker;
• Applying principles of community development practice through the planning, implementing and evaluating of community development related activities and programs;
• Establishing and maintaining professional, ethical working relationships that address conflict of interests;
• Executing roles and responsibilities required of a community development practitioner within a specific community agency based on research related to the theory and practice of the community development field;
• Performing self- evaluations and self- appraisals related to the execution of community development roles and responsibilities;
• Preparing a professional career portfolio that incorporates ways to market oneself and seek employment in the community setting

As one of the respected community development program in Ontario, this offering has admission requirements that students must meet in order to apply. Aside from having an interest in the field, applicants are required to have completed an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, or mature student status (19 years or older) as well as English Grade 12 C or U, or equivalent (minimum grade required) or take the Centennial College English Skills Assessment for Admission.

Community Development Education Program Inclusion and Benefits

Community development work includes empowering and supporting individuals, groups and communities to work towards improving their social and economic conditions. Basically, it is a multi-disciplinary field that incorporates an understanding of cultural diversity, research, economics and politics that is concerned with bringing about a positive and everlasting change in the social and economic conditions of troubled communities.

Although you don't need any formal education to serve people but it certainly helps you gain perspectives on how society works and understand how to work with individuals and communities to improve their situations, within the context of larger social institution. A course in community development work provides you with a strong grounding in social psychology and communication fundamentals, so that you can work effectively with individuals, groups and communities.

Community Development Education

A community development program helps you develop both the practical and analytical skills to work with people from diverse backgrounds to bring about a social change, while promoting justice, equality and mutual respect. It generally runs for two years through four semesters, preparing you for public, private and non-profit sector careers in wide array of positions.

You learn about a number of different approaches to career development. These include community economic development, community engagement and participation, community mobilization, community participation, community empowerment, political participatory development, community-based research and sustainable community development.

Aside from this, the program also lays a strong emphasis on business essential and communication fundamentals, as community development can be defined as a profession or occupation as well as a way of working with people to foster social inclusion and equality. Understanding of social psychology plays a crucial role in determining your success as a community development worker. And this is why the course offers a detailed understanding of how society and social systems work and how changes can be brought about.

Studying Community Development Work in Toronto

Although a number of colleges in Toronto offer Centennial College's community development programs but Centennial College offers you several unique benefits. A major differentiating factor is real world placements in different settings. You get excellent opportunities to apply your learning into practice and understand how to channel the knowledge, experience and resources into collective actions to achieve desired goals related to community development.

Opportunities also exist for international development placements, which further help you broaden your horizons and understand cultural diversity. This is an all-inclusive program that is geared towards preparing you for careers in community capacity building, promotion of sustainable community, community engagement, community empowerment, and directing and managing community economic development initiatives.

In addition to this, you will also develop a portfolio documenting your engagement with global citizenship and equity competencies. The college is a recognized leader in global citizenship, equality and social justice education.

Enrolling in a Community Development Education Program

If you are genuinely interested in building a career in community development, you can send your application to the college, with all supporting including a copy of secondary school diploma certificate or equivalent and scores of English Grade 12 C or University or equivalent. You can also apply to this program even if you are currently attending high school in Ontario. Your midterm and final term scores will be automatically transmitted to the college.

Community Development Work Offers Real World Experiences Via Field Placements

Imagine being part of a team whose sole purpose it is to enhance the social and economic well being of people living in a diverse range of communities. As a form of social planning, this is called community development and professionals within the field work for government, voluntary organizations, corporations and international community settings. According to Prospects, the UK’s official graduate careers site, some of the common tasks of these professionals include:

• identifying community skills, assets, issues and needs;
• ensuring that local people have their say;
• developing new resources in dialogue with the community and evaluating existing programs;
• building links with other groups and agencies;
• helping to raise public awareness on issues relevant to the community;
• preparing reports and policies;
• raising funds;
• developing and agreeing to strategies;
• liaising with interested groups and individuals to set up new services;
• mediating in matters of conflict;
• recruiting and training paid as well as voluntary staff;
• planning, attending and coordinating meetings and events;
• overseeing the management of a limited budget;
• encouraging participation in activities;
• challenging inappropriate behaviour;
• general administrative duties

To take on all of these tasks, interested parties must attend of Canada's post-secondary community development programs. Centennial College’s Community Development Work is one such offering. This two-year program functions off the premise that there is no one road map to community development practice and that the community itself is "organic by nature".

As such, students attend courses that teach them politics, economics, research and an understanding of cultural diversity - all of which are incorporated in successful community development. Among specific courses are Sustainable Community Development, Communication Foundations, Foundations of Community Based Research, Community Engagement and Participation, Business Essentials, Community Development Policy and more.

To supplement the courses in the program, students attend two field placements. The first focuses on community development in the Greater Toronto Area. The second, meanwhile, allows students to work in an organization focused on international and domestic community development. Not only are the field placements opportunities for students to test out and apply the knowledge they have gained in the program, they are also a way for students to expand their professional networks. These networks are essential to students' work as advocates.

The well rounded training offered in this community develop program allows graduates, with their Ontario College Diploma, to launch careers in public, private and non-profit sector careers in a wide array of positions geared at building community capacity, promoting sustainable community and managing/directing community economic development initiatives.

Building a Career in Community Development in Canada

Community development work is both a task and a process. The task is to bring a social and economic change; and a process is the application social planning and collective decision making, while incorporating economics, politics, research and an understanding of task diversity.

Community is organic by nature and there is no single road map to ensure community development. It’s a gradual process that demands continuous effort and engagement from professionals who strive to enhance social and economic well-being of people living in various communities.

The core principles that community development workers should believe in are:

Respect - a respect for diversity

Participation - full participation of everyone including minority groups is important to bring a social change

Psychology - understanding of social psychology is important in order to plan how to bring a change

Sustenance - continuous effort is required to bring a sustainable social change

Planning - planning and policy making is required at every stage of community development

Communication - conveying the right message to the right audience at the right time and in the right manner is critical

The community development workers are expected to emotionally stable yet sensitive towards the issues, problems and sufferings of a community. With this, they need to have thorough understanding of society as a whole, social psychology, global perspectives in community development and legal regulations.

Building a Career in Community Development in Canada

Community work involves working together to plan, bring and sustain a change in the society, by exerting control over social, economical, religious and political issues. A community development program may lead prospective community development workers to the right path. The program is grounded on the principles of equality and fairness.

The program is geared towards helping students develop the necessary skills for

• Building community capacity
• Promoting sustainable community
• Managing and directing community economic development initiatives
• Planning and advocating for change strategies
• Promoting social and economic justice
• Challenging patterns of oppression and discrimination

The two-year post-secondary community development course covers a wide range of subjects, such as theoretical foundations in community development, sustainable community development, communication fundamentals, social psychology, community based research, community economic development, community engagement and participation, community development in action, community development policy, and business essentials.

The program combines classroom learning, placement seminar and two separate field placements in real-world settings. The field placement provides students an opportunity to put their acquired knowledge into practice and gain experience. Students are also provided opportunities for international development placements.

The graduates of this program can find employment with government, voluntary organizations, corporations and international community settings.

Enrolling in a Community Development Program

In order to enroll in a community development course, you will need:

• Secondary school diploma or equivalent
• English Grade 12 C or University or equivalent

Several colleges in Canada offer community development programs ; however, not all offer students industry exposure that is required to gain hands-on-experience. Centennial College's community development course lays strong emphasis on working in real-world settings. The industry exposure provides students experience and valuable contacts that can be used as references in future.

Community Development Programs in Canada

A community development program is an interdisciplinary field that incorporates economics, politics, social science, research and an understanding of cultural diversity. This is a post-secondary program that typically runs for two years, helping students build sustainable careers in the areas of

• Building community capacity
• Promoting sustainable community
• Managing/directing community economic development initiatives
• Social planning
• Promoting social and economic development of communities
• Social change
• Challenging oppression and discrimination

The students are taught that there is no one road map to community development practice that applies universally. This is why, social planning needs to be done, depending upon the specific requirements of people in a community.

Community Development Programs in Toronto

The job of a community development professional can be very challenging. Therefore, only genuinely interested candidates should only consider it as a career option and enrol into a community development education program.

There are several colleges in Canada that offer post-secondary community development programs to students. Unfortunately, not all offer them opportunities to practice their acquired knowledge in real world fieldwork settings.

Centennial College offer students opportunities to work in two separate real world fieldwork settings, domestic and/or international, under the supervision of community practitioners during the tenure of the program. They work in communities to understand their problems, challenge social and economic injustice, and advocate for change strategies.

Community Development Program Details

This program is aimed at helping students build strong theoretical foundations and gain hands-on-experience in community development. It covers a wide range of subjects, including:

• Theoretical foundations in community development
• Sustainable community development
• Communication fundamentals
• Social psychology
• Foundations of community based research
• Community economic development
• Community engagement and participation
• Global citizenship: from social analysis to social action
• Community development in action
• Global perspectives in community development
• Community development policy
• Business essentials

The program incorporates classroom learning, seminars, and two separate field placements.

Program Benefits

The graduates of this program can find employment with

• Government
• Voluntary organizations
• Corporations
• International community settings
• Philanthropy organizations

They are capable of

• Mediating and settling the matters of conflict
  
• Raising funds for community development
  
• Researching and identifying the needs of a community
  
• Challenging oppression and discrimination practices
  
• Encouraging locals to fight for their rights

The graduates of this program develop a strong understanding of

• How social systems work
• How some social practices contribute to social injustice and inequality
• How important the participation of people is to bring a social change
• How important it is to put continuous efforts to bring a sustainable social change
• How conveying the right message to the right audience at the right time and in the right manner is crucial

Admission Requirements 

 In order to apply for this program, students will need:

• Secondary school diploma or equivalent
• English Grade 12 C or University or equivalent

Students currently in high school can also apply for this program. Their midterm and final term grades will be automatically transferred to the college.

Postsecondary Community Development Program Career Prospects

Community development work typically includes helping communities in bringing about social changes and improving the quality of their lives. The professionals work with individuals, families as well as the entire community aiming to enhance their economic and social wellbeing.

Community development is an interdisciplinary field that incorporates economics, politics, cultural diversity and social psychology. The professionals more often act as a link between local authorities and communities while addressing the issues related to inequality, injustice, health and sanitation, education, employment, general administration and community development.

Career Prospects

Community development workers are employed with government, NGOs, international communities for social development, national or regional corporations or voluntary organizations. They can build their careers in the fields of public administration, politics, urban studies, social work, healthcare, anthropology, sociology and other related fields.

More specific careers in community work include fundraising, administration, human rights, consultancy, advocacy, environment, gender equality, sanitation, forced migration, relief work, planning, economist roles and negotiation and liaising.

The typical work activities include:

• Promoting social and economic justice
• Challenging oppression and discrimination
• Managing and directing community economic development initiatives
• Identifying the needs of communities
• Raising funds for community development
• Ensuring that the locals have their say
• Mediating and settling matters of conflict
• Encouraging locals to fight for their rights
• Empowering locals to enhance their economic and social wellbeing

Community development work can be generic and specialised depending upon your qualifications and the organization you work with. However, to seek entry level positions with organizations in community development, you need to undergo formal education and have worked for the community.

Community Development Programs in Toronto

A community development program prepares students for careers in public, private and non-profit sectors in a variety of entry level positions. The program gives students the opportunity to gain in-depth understanding about society as a whole along with other related subjects including economics, politics and social psychology.

The two-year postsecondary diploma helps you build strong theoretical foundations in community development while providing you a lot of opportunities to work in "real world" field settings. Although there is no particular roadmap to serve the community but the program is aimed at helping students acquire the basic knowledge necessary to work effectively in this field.

The program covers a wide range of courses, such as sustainable community development, communication fundamentals, social psychology, community based research, community economic development, community engagement and participation, community development, global perspective in community development, community development policy, business essentials and general education.

The program combines classroom learning, seminars and actual field placements. What you learn in class can be put into practice during field placements.

Enrolling in a Community Development Program in Toronto

Many colleges across Canada offer community development programs; however, not all expose you to the real world experience, which plays a crucial role in finding employment after the course completion. It’s important to make research and carefully select your college.

In order to apply for the program, you will need:

• Secondary school diploma or equivalent
• English Grade 12 C or equivalent

Graduates of this program are in better position to help communities in improving their overall social, psychological and economical status.

Enhancing the quality of life through community development programs

Canada has a diverse population with a growing number of individuals migrating to land filled with future opportunities. Its economy is changing as the demographics of the country changes. Leaders need to implement suitable programs to ensure the social and economic well-being of everyone residing in Canada. It does not take a politician or a huge business mogul to change the landscape and move towards the direction of prosperity and happiness. The field of community development is dedicated to enhancing lives of everyone in the community, through the improvement of the quality of life, may it be the employment rates, city infrastructures, or social justice. Community development programs create connections with individuals and the overall life of a community.

It is important to implement community development programs to assist newcomers and citizens alike to establish the best possible life, with services and facilities offered to assist their personal and work lives. Some examples of community development programs in Toronto are food projects that create and distribute sustainable sources, and green projects that engage people in planting trees and using renewable energy sources. A guiding light for young minds to get involved with such rich projects starts with the Community Development Work (1230) program at Toronto’s educational institution, Centennial College.

The two-year program consists of theory and academic learning on community development principles. It also involves a field placement where students can engage and plan a community development program on a real-life situation, possibly in an international setting. Students can assist in enhancing their communities through the learning outcomes from their courses :-

• Build a sustainable community development program, to help the community buy from local farmers and other manufacturers and to help lessen pollution with renewable resources
• Encourage community participation in programs that build a safe and resourceful community, by promoting awareness for specific campaigns and by asking the community to volunteer for social causes
• Research information regarding the current state of living in communities and developing action plans to promote healthy lifestyles, safe environments, and a progressive culture

Graduates of the Community Development Work program can expect to work in public, private, and non-profit sectors with positions related to community planning and community development programs. Different positions are available for program graduates including the following: Social Services Worker, Child and Youth Worker, Rehabilitation Worker, Aboriginal Outreach Worker, and Community Service Worker. Employment outlook is good for this area of studies with a majority of professionals earning median salaries.

With Canada’s ever-changing population, communities need to adapt to the needs these individuals. The community development program at Centennial College reaches to the population through the teachings on social and economic justice. Community Development Work program graduates are prepared to enter the workplace with knowledge of their community and bright ideas to incorporate at their place of employment.

Community Development Programs Train Professionals for Unique Opportunity

Community Development programs are designed to train students to be fully comfortable with this form of social planning, which aims to enhance the social and economic well-being of people living in various communities.Empowering people achieves these aims by giving them the knowledge and skills to implement change in their own communities as well as promoting a sustainable community and managing/directing community economic development initiatives. The skills taught by professionals who have graduated from community development programs are often put into action by forming large social groups with common goals. More specifically, professionals who graduate from community development programs work in a range of areas such as the public, private and non-profit sectors, including government, voluntary organizations, corporations, and international community settings.