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Community Practice Skills: Local to Global Perspectives. Dorothy N.Gamble and Marie Weil, 2010, New York, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0231-11003-7 (pbk) pp. xiv+482, Price. $42.30.
The community practice of the contemporary era could trace back its origin with Jane Addams' settlement house movement of 1920s. As a generic method of social work, community organization was practised with a set of axiomatic principles and case models with very limited emphasis on the conceptual framework. The conceptualization of community practice began to acquire the necessary momentum with the introduction of the three models of community practice identified by Rothman in 1968, that is, locality development, social planning and social action and these models depict the major areas of community practice intervention. Subsequently alternate models for community practice such as feminist model, policy practices, local economic development, community capacity building and community engagement were experimented by a number of theoreticians and practitioners.
The book is a synthesis of the major community practice models used in mobilizing, empowering and organizing communities for community action in different regions of the world. Eight models of community practice are discussed in the volume with each model is elaborated with specific goals, area of intervention, strategies, tactics and role of the practitioners with examples drawn from the practice field of both developed and developing world. The models are developed into a coherent framework for better comprehension, reflection and action for community practitioners. The volume is in two parts with the first part describing the knowledge base, namely, the values, concepts, approaches, theories and perspectives for community practice. The second part of the book elaborates on the eight models of community practice for the twenty-first century. The theoretical perspectives and practice models are better illustrated with the judicious use of figures and tables. An extensive bibliography and a detailed index are beneficial for advanced learners for a critical analysis of the topic.
The introductory chapter deals...