Fergal O'BRien

This paper draws on survey data from 54 undergraduate social work students at Queen’s University Belfast to explore their perceptions of community development teaching within social work education and their preparedness for community development practice. It examines student views on curriculum provision and considers how learning could be reimagined to better prepare future practitioners for community development practice. The findings reveal that 89% of students see community development as pertinent to social work practice and that 70% reported confidence in defining it. In contrast, only 30% feel they are prepared or very well prepared for the placement requirement, with 48% feeling inadequately prepared. Their confidence is lower in community organisation than in casework or group work. The findings suggest that community development needs both a clearly identifiable place within the programme and greater visibility across the wider curriculum, alongside practical teaching and structured opportunities for students to apply their learning before and during placement.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity to re-explore community development in the context of social work. In Northern Ireland (NI), community development is a central component of a social work student’s practice placement, whereby students must evidence how they have met this. Over time, we have witnessed the reduction of community development to leaflet making (based on feedback from Practice Teachers across NI using a mentimetre tool). This article addresses what social work students and practitioners can take forward in terms of community development in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article will use NI as a case example to draw on COVID-19 inspired community development case studies, taking examples from practice, including work conducted online, and the role, practice, and efficacy of virtual community development during a time of physical distancing. We conclude that social work teaching and learning globally need to strengthen student understanding of community development beyond leaflet production to a coherent set of knowledge, skills, and values