Certificate in Community Development

Abstract

The University of the South Pacific (USP) has made the materials for three courses in the Certificate in Community Development (Level 3) programme available as open education resources (OER). This course is articulated to Level 3 on the Fiji National Qualifications Framework. The programme enhances students’ knowledge regarding community development issues and challenges both current and emerging, appropriate community development processes, approaches, strategies and skills to enable them to be effective community workers, trainers and leaders in terms of addressing and coping with these community development issues and challenges. It involves field practical work in a community by using participatory and learning approaches, processes and skills that they have learnt, to help communities effectively contribute to their own development needs. The three courses available as OER are: 1) Basic Concepts of Community Development: this is a beginner’s course in Community Development which will help students develop and appreciate the basic characteristics of community development. This course examines how social, economic, political and governance factors affect and impact community development. Similarly, the course examines how gender issues and climate change affect community development. // 2) Community Development Process: this course examines the processes and skills required to enable and facilitate effective community development. These processes and skills allow us to acquire communication, advocacy, leadership, conflict management, reporting and decision making skills in the context of community development. // 3) Community Project Development: this course introduces the student to the different elements that make up a project and the different phases of developing a project. The practical experience of this course will help the student engage in community development work based on real-life situations. // Each course consists of The Introduction and Assignments book and the Course Book and are available for download individually or as a compilation in compressed format (.zip).