A diploma in social work and community development (SWCD) course will equip the graduate with skills and attitudes that will enable him/her to perform and manage development activities in society. It will also enable the learner to use local resources to solve local problems within the community.
The course can be pursued from the craft certificate level, diploma, and degree level. Later the graduate can specialize in different areas. Craft and Diploma are mostly offered at TVET institutions for the KNEC examination using the KICD syllabus.
Some of the universities that offer social and community development courses include the University of Nairobi, TUK, Moi University, and African Nazarene among others.
In this article, we discuss the course at a diploma level.
Table of Contents
Social work and community development course objective
The course was developed to achieve objectives that the graduate of the course can use to improve the socioeconomic status of the community.
By the end of a Diploma in social work and community development, the trainee is expected to be able to do the following.
- Use local resources to empower society to become self-reliant.
- Understand various intervention measures in solving problems in a society.
- Appreciate the role of communication in social work.
- Understand the various methods and approaches used in social and community development activities.
- Appreciate the importance of involving other professionals in the development and solving of social problems in society.
- Promote ethical, and legal practices and gender issues in appraising and solving social and development problems.
- Appreciate the importance of self-entrepreneurial skills in national development.
- Equip the trainee with knowledge, skills, and attitude to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other pandemics.
Diploma in Social Work course requirements
Being a Diploma course those who wish to join the course in any TVET institution will require a minimum KCSE grade of C-.
Those who have done a Craft certificate in social work and community development and passed can proceed to a diploma level. Depending on your performance at the craft level you can request KNEC to exempt you from some units.
When exempted you will be admitted to module 2 of the diploma instead of module 1.
Units for a diploma in social work and community development
For the diploma KNEC program, the course is divided into 3 modules/levels which are supposed to take 3 years. The student does the unit in each module and sits for the KNEC exam for those specific units before proceeding to the next level.
If you fail 3 units among all your units per module, KNEC considers it as FAIL and you have to repeat all units in that module. When you fail 1 or 2 units you are allowed to proceed to the next level but you must repeat the failed unit and pass before you are Certified by KNEC.
For the Diploma in Social Work and Community Development course, the following are the units that you are required to cover to be certified.
Social work module 1 units
- Communication skills.
- Entrepreneurship Education.
- Social work theory and practice.
- Introduction to community development.
- Development economics.
- Community-Based Organizations
- Community capacity building and empowerment
- Information communication technology.
After modules 1 and 2 students are expected to go for an industrial attachment which is a requirement of the course.
Students can be attached any any organization that deals with community-based activities, such as NGOs, religion religion-affiliated activities, among others that are directly helping solve community problems..
Social Work and Community Development Module 2 units
- Resource mobilization and fundraising.
- Project management.
- Advocacy and lobbying.
- HIV and AIDS and other pandemics.
- Disaster management.
- Statistics.
- Legal aspects in social development work.
- Resource management.
Module 3 units in social work
- Social psychology and human development.
- Introduction to counseling psychology.
- Social rehabilitation and reintegration.
- Disaster management.
- Social policy and administration.
- Transformation and social marketing.
- Community development methodologies.
- Management of community concerns.
- Community leadership.
- Gender and development.
- Social research project.
Career progression in social work and community development
After you graduate with a diploma in social work you have enough knowledge to manage community-based activities, mobilize, lobby for support, and educate the community on different aspects of social life.
With a Diploma in social work and community development, you can progress to a Bachelor’s degree-related course like a bachelor of arts in social work and community development or a bachelor of arts degree in social work.
You can specialize in areas such as
- Community social worker
- Child and family social worker
- Developmental Disability Social Work
- Mental health social worker
- Health Care or Medical Social Work
- Justice and Corrections Social Work
- School social worker
Employment areas/opportunities in the social work field
With a Diploma in social work and community development, you can be employed in different organizations that work with the community to deal with day-to-day societal issues.
Some of the areas that you can work with the course are:
- Community-based NGOs.
- Rehabilitation centers.
- Approved school.
- Prison social work manager.
- Government agencies.
- Therapist or counsellor.
For self-employment, can start helping your immediate community on simple issues like cleaning the town, educating the community on drug abuse, advocating for children’s rights, and advising women groups on investment among others.
As you do that you can lobby for support and funding to help the society. You can also start a consulting firm on issues related to community activities.