Course description
The course aims at providing understanding of the economic context of social work with special focus on grassroots social-economic structures, institutions and economic policy management. It emphasizes critical analysis and thinking of non-market aspects of the social economy in least developed economies taking into account community-based economic management initiatives world-wide.
It focuses on the interface between the “community economy” and the market economy while emphasizing the need to re-orient/direct policies towards communities as a tool for social development through pro-poor, inclusive economic growth. Much of the focus is on the transition from subsistence-based peasant economy to a fully monetized economy through policy-driven commercialization of agriculture and service facilities.
The student is expected to understand and explore the links between grass roots socio-economic change and the role of social workers in improving the well-being of citizens in general and specific vulnerable groups (VGs) in particular.
The main objective therefore is to assist social work professionals and other development professionals to learn how to build, manage and develop communities through effective and sustainable public and private action for poverty alleviation, employment creation, empowerment of marginalized groups and community solidarity using diversity of community development approaches.
The key questions addressed in this module include among others: How communities organize, assess and plan for development. How community development is defined by the cultural, social, political, and economic realities of particular countries and communities how and Gender sensitive and Microfinance lead to development, what good governance entails and how it leads to development , what is needed to integrate economic and social development among others
