Course Overview
Community development (CD) can be defined as a collective act of community members coming together to solve common problems affecting the community or society at large. Such problems affecting the community may include; social, economical, political, environmental and cultural problems among other problems. This coming together is usually done at the community or grassroots level. Professionals in this area of work may be referred to as Community development workers among other titles. Community development workers help their community members improve the quality of their life in their local area or grassroots level.
The Bachelor of Arts in Community Development is four year course which has been designed to equip students with skills and knowledge that can enable them apply sociological understanding to societal problems both at local and international levels. At second year of study students who opt for Community Development as their discipline of specialization have to select their courses in terms of units distributed as required. The curriculum coursework covers subjects such as; theories of development and underdevelopment, group techniques and analysis, project monitoring & evaluation, institutional structure & policy framework for CD, human rights education in CD, leadership & management of community projects, rural development administration strategies, research methodology, extension education, community development field attachment , human growth & development, participatory poverty assessment methodology, gender & development, community health, proposal writing & fundraising, environment & community development and community development research project among other important subjects.
Upon successful completion of the course, graduates will be equipped with sound understanding of Community development knowledge, values and skills and use their competence to develop and build initiatives and programs designed for social change and offer solutions to the societal problems and help in creating sustainable communities. In addition, graduates will have appropriate skills for Community Development so that they become strong policy practitioners as well as having competencies for consultancies, outreach and research activities among other activities. These graduates may find work in areas such as; academia, research institutions, government, private sector, international bodies and Non-Governmental organization fields concerned with community development and related activities.
Entry requirement
For self sponsored students, at least a mean grade of C+ in KCSE. For Government sponsored students, the minimum cut point which is announced annually applies. The students should in addition have good performance in the following cluster Subjects; Subject 1 ENG/KIS, Subject 2 MAT A / MAT B or any GROUP II, Subject 3 any GROUP III, Subject 4 a GROUP II or 2nd GROUP III or any GROUP IV or any GROUP V.
Becoming a community development worker
If you believe in the advantages of having a strong community, enjoys working with people and interested in a career that can improve the conditions of a range of community groups at the grassroots level, then pursuing this course might be a good choice for you. In addition, you should be prepared to develop skills that can enable you succeed in this field.
Community development workers are effective communicators able to speak effectively so that others can understand them clearly. When speaking with members of their staff or members of the community these professionals must be tactful and able to explain and discuss all matters related to services that are needed in a manner that is understandable by all people involved. Community development workers most of the time work with members of the society, achieving this requires good interpersonal and people skills. These professionals also need to have good leadership skills to be able to motivate and lead their employees as well as community members and set the overall direction of the program in order to improve community’s way of life.
Good problem solving skills is very essential as community development workers must be able to identify problems affecting the community or society and offer appropriate solutions to such problems as well as effectively addressing client, staff and agency related issues as they occur and offer appropriate solutions to any identified problems. Time management is equally important to ensure these workers are able to prioritize and handle numerous tasks for multiple customers often in a short time frame. Community development workers must also have good managerial skills as they spend much of their time administering budgets and responding to a variety of issues.
Work environment.
Graduates of this course may work in office and may also spend more hours in the field working with community members.
Career opportunities
Graduates of this course may find work in areas such as; community services and welfare groups, government departments, for profit social enterprises, charitable organizations and other not-for-profit organisations dealing with community development among other areas. They can also venture into social entrepreneurship and help their communities live a better live.
You may explore these courses
Bachelor of Science in Community Development
Bachelor of Science in Community Resource Management
Bachelor of Environmental Studies & Community Development
Bachelor of Arts in Gender, Women, and Development Studies
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology & Religion
Bachelor of Arts in Social Work
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology, With IT
Bachelor of Arts (BA)