Abstract
Taylor provides a theoretical and conceptual framework of community work and discusses how it is applied to the actual practice with the use of practitioners’ direct experiences and other examples, particularly in Australia and Nepal. The use of case studies, practice exercises, and practitioner perspectives is very helpful, particularly for students who may consider their career path as a community organizing social worker or practitioner. The examples also come from practitioners with diverse background and experiences, which was very valuable in the discussion of community work. However, the frequent use of these examples sometimes makes it difficult to synthesize the contents of a given chapter. Furthermore, as the voice of community members who are not community organizing practitioners is not heard in this book, caution should be made when reading the presented experiences and perspectives.
The book is organized into three parts: (1) theoretical foundations of community work (Part 1), (2) conceptual approaches and practice frameworks to working with communities (Part 2), and (3) practical applications and processes (Part 3). In Part 1, Taylor discusses various ways a community is defined and current contextual factors that affect community work in Australia. While she presents a few theories (e.g., community interaction theory, social capital theory), more in-depth discussion of theories would help students and practitioners to better understand diverse communities and community work. Considering that the majority of community work involves oppressed, marginalized groups, theories that expand our understanding of their experiences would allow readers to more critically examine how these groups define a community and why their community acts.
In Part 2, Taylor presents multiple conceptual approaches and practice frameworks and discusses the roles of governmental and nongovernmental organizations in community work. The presented typology of conceptual approaches and practice frameworks helps students and practitioners to think of concrete ways they can engage in community work, and Taylor’s emphasis on flexibility in applying these approaches and frameworks is an important point to remember. Taylor begins Chapter 7 with the discussion of “reflexive and ethical issues” in community work, and I wish there had been more thorough discussion of this topic, considering its critical importance in community work as in any other social work practice. The discussion of government roles in Chapter 8 was especially interesting, particularly the discussion on its role in partnering with communities and supporting community sustainability. At the same time, I wish there had been more investigation of this topic in relation to the contextual factors (e.g., neoliberal political ideology, deficit policy) that were discussed in an earlier chapter.
Part 3 discusses practical application and processes of community work, and it was nice to see comprehensive processes, ranging from community decision-making to evaluation. While Taylor discusses each process separately, it is important to remember that this process is reciprocal and interdependent. Also, as I was reading this part, I was wondering how individuals with limited or no power within a community can be involved in each process, and how community organizing social workers or practitioners can ensure that they are not excluded from the processes. This process of including low-status neighbors will be challenging for practitioners who are outsiders, and specific tips and strategies to address this issue will be very helpful.
Throughout the book, Taylor recognizes that her book is mainly framed within the “Western” values and culture, and this was one of the significant limitations of this book for me. For example, Taylor presents the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders separately, either in a separate chapter or in a separate section of a given chapter. While it was very positive to have lessons learned from community work with this population, it personally has given me the impression that this group might have gotten marginalized even in the discussion of community work. Also, particularly in community work, it is very important to look at the interaction of different systems (i.e., micro, mezzo, and macro), and I wish the book had touched on this more explicitly and thoroughly.