Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Community and Development Studies

Purpose:

The qualification offers an opportunity to consolidate knowledge of the theory and practice of development at a community level while at the same time introducing the learner to the world of academic research, especially by offering an integrated approach to economic and social aspects of community development within a human rights framework. Consequently, the qualification will integrate the principles of community development in a congruent and meaningful way by analyzing the various components of development such as social, economic, political, cultural, environmental, and personal. The South African context of the history of inequalities is the backdrop against which analysis is done. The qualification also demonstrates the inter-relationship between government and civil society.

Rationale:

The qualification is presented as a response to the state's deficiency and inability to address some of the development challenges of the state itself, of regions within the state, as well as of local communities. At the theoretical level, the qualification draws heavily on new ways of thinking about people and communities and is presented within a framework of human rights and social justice issues. Community development becomes a strategy in understanding, designing, and implementing development from the bottom up from a purely needs-based approach to a human rights-based approach to community development. The qualification develops technical knowledge in project and program planning and evaluation. This structured postgraduate qualification will broaden the knowledge and experience of people that intend to work as practitioners in community development or proceed with further postgraduate studies in the field in specific areas such as health and development, food security and agriculture, public works programs, peace-making and conflict resolution, etc.