A case for the renovation of community work education

Abstract

The article addresses the contemporary scope of Australian community work. A review of working documents and other publications, all written by non academics, indicates the purview of community work practice to be restrictive. This is evident in a lack of clear expectations for specialist qualifications amongst practitioners and also practices appear to centre on service provision rather than on the broader agenda for social change that various authorities claim for community work. From a range of program descriptions and prescriptions, community work in practice also appears to be narrowly focused and generally unconnected with cognate practices at the local level, such as town planning, local government management, local economic development, infrastructure finance, or even with contemporary debates about urban policy. Community work documents also reveal restrained political critique and low levels of analysis and reporting. The review suggests a rethinking of community work education is in order and canvasses more appropriate curriculum content.