Community Development BA (honours) in Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland

Community Development BA (honours) in Cork Institute of Technology

Course summary

Building on work already undertaken within BA Degree in Community Development, is to develop in the student a comprehensive understanding of the theory, concepts, structures and methods associated with community education and development so they can research, identify, implement and evaluate appropriate interventions to change and advance their own and related communities.

Specifically, the course will provide for the student to develop:

• Detailed knowledge and understanding of the philosophy, principles, models, systems and current practice of community education and development, the context in which these operate, nationally and internationally and their implications for individual, community and societal change;
   
• The advanced skills necessary to conduct appropriate research and use diagnostic skills to identify needs within communities in relation to education and development;
   
• The competence to evaluate and make appropriate judgements as to the models, systems and programmes required to meet identified needs in the community setting;
   
• The capacity to undertake advanced technical and/or professional activity, in and on behalf of communities;
   
• The know-how to plan and design such programmes as are needed to implement change within the community;
   
• Mastery of the complex, professional/technical skills and tools required to implement such programmes in a community setting;
   
• The competence to operate in a professional manner under peer review and supervision and to take an overall leadership role in community education and development;
   
• A personal philosophy and ethic of the community leadership role using a democratic and participative model;
   
• A capacity to engage in a lifelong learning journey open to input from new groups and experiences within the community education/development context.
   

The weekly workload will be similar to that for the BA Level 7 programme, as described above. For the professional development/practice module, supervised placement within the community setting will be undertaken during the entire year. In parallel, research work will continue throughout the year on the preparation of a dissertation on a topic related to the practice setting.

Career

Graduates of the degree programmes can expect to take supervisory/management/leadership roles in community projects and within statutory agencies.