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Article: The basics: what's essential about theory for community development practice?
- Article from:
- Journal of the Community Development Society
- Article date:
- January 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Community Development Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ABSTRACT
The major point of this article is that the multidisciplinary field of community development needs some common theoretical concepts for community development practice. The authors examine three major limitations of theory for community development and discuss why theoretical frameworks are important for the field. There are three major concerns that encompass community development practice: structure, power and shared meaning. These concerns are related to three classical theoretical frameworks: structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. These seemingly disparate theories take on a deeper meaning when tied to Giddens' ...