Social Development ─ Critical Themes and Perspectives

This edited collection demonstrates that the ideas inherent in social development are practical and not utopian. By discussing and delineating a social development approach, the book argues the need for practicing it at local or grassroots-level communities to promote universal social justice and wellbeing. Towards this end, several leading scholars have presented critical and inspiring thoughts on the significance and usefulness in development of genuine participation of people, bottom-up strategies, self-reliance, capacity building, and egalitarian and empowering partnerships. They also delve into hitherto neglected aspects of social development related to preparing personnel for social development work, ethical imperatives and a new social development paradigm. The world’s contemporary problems persist in part because the social development approach in its comprehensive form has not been planned and implemented at local, national and global levels. Social Development presents the optimistic argument that the application of social development ideas can help create a world in which almost all people’s wellbeing can be significantly enhanced.

Manohar S. Pawar has more than 20 years experience in social work education, research and practice in Australia and India. He is currently an Associate Professor in Social Work and Human Services, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and a principal researcher of the Institute for Land Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia.

David R. Cox was a social work practitioner in the refugee and migration fields for over 20 years, and a social work educator for the following 22 years, during which his focus was in large part on international social work. He retired as Professor of Social Work at La Trobe University in 2001, but is still there as an Adjunct Professor of Social Work. He has been involved in the social development field since 1979, not only as a social work educator, but as a consultant on poverty alleviation and other fields with the United Nations on a significant number of occasions, and a visitor in various roles to a range of developing countries.