Introduction

Abstract

This introduction defines community practices and social development within the field of social work, articulating how macro practices fit within the scholarly discipline and professional practice of social work. It describes the central role macro level practices have in creating possibilities for social transformation thereby situating the contributions to the collection in conversation with each other. This begins with an overview of those chapters in the first section of the volume, exploring a wide range of community practices. This conversation is further elaborated by those contributions in the second section of the volume that situate community practices within social development theory and practice. Once this foundation is created, the introduction introduces those chapters that focus on international comparative practices and finally those contributions that explore the politics and policy in community practice and social development. Throughout the introduction, the contributions from varied theoretical and regional contexts reframe human well-being in a manner that foregrounds the social through collective practices that balance the dignity of individuals, the importance of the interpersonal and the fundamental role that social, political, and economic relations have in shaping the field.