Community Leadership (Top-up), BA (Hons)

Program Overview

This one-year BA (Hons) Community Leadership program focuses on developing leadership skills, collaboration, and teamwork. Designed for individuals with a Foundation Degree or equivalent, it emphasizes a peer-led approach and explores community leadership, politics, and social issues through a Freirean lens. Graduates are prepared for careers in community development, public services, education, and other leadership roles.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This program is a one-year top-up BA (Hons) Community Leadership degree designed for individuals with a Foundation Degree or other Level 5 qualification. It is hosted at the Burnley Campus and focuses on developing community leadership, collaboration, and team-working skills. The program emphasizes a peer-led approach, allowing students to share experiences and best practices within a lively learning community. It explores community leadership, politics, governance, and global society, with a theoretical foundation in Paulo Freire's teachings on community regeneration. The teaching team comprises practitioners and internationally recognized experts in their fields.

Outline:

Year 1 (Compulsory Modules):

• Communities Skilled for Change (VO3003): This module explores the relationship between lifelong learning and community development, focusing on empowering communities through skills development and capacity building.
It also examines innovation in practice. It combines theory with practice, applying methods and techniques to real-world settings.
• Leading a Community Research Project (VO3012): This module develops skills and experience for effective community leadership in various contexts.
Students learn to plan, develop, and lead their own community research projects, gaining practical skills in research design, methodology, and analysis. It examines volunteering for disadvantaged, minority, or marginalized groups and provides a working knowledge of health and safety legislation, rights, and responsibilities.
• International Impact through Practice (VO3017): This module explores core concepts of community development within an international context, connecting global and local issues theoretically and practically.
It evaluates anthropological perspectives of community development and social capital, examining global citizenship and the roles of community and non-governmental organizations in an international context.

Assessment:

The program is assessed continuously, with no formal examinations. Assessment methods include:

• Written assignments
• Oral presentations
• Practical tasks
Informal, formative assessment is also incorporated through:
• Class and online discussions
• Application of learning in the workplace
• Tutorials

Teaching:

The program is grounded in the educational philosophy of Paulo Freire, utilizing action reflection praxis as a basis for learning. Students have access to extra-curricular Freire-based learning opportunities and activities, including online training programs, through the on-campus Freire Institute.

Careers:

Graduates from this program have pursued careers in:

• Community development
• Public services management
• Education
• Youth work
• Politics
• Social enterprise
The program prepares students for community leadership roles within the third sector, public sector, governance and politics, and international contexts. Some graduates have also progressed to postgraduate study, such as the MA International Social Work and Community Development.

Other:

• The program offers opportunities for structured work experience through volunteering or community action.
• Students are eligible for awards from the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) as part of the program.
• The CVCL offers a range of volunteering projects in the UK and internationally.
• The School of Health, Social Work, and Sport has long-standing relationships with agencies across the North West, supporting students in gaining practical experience through placements, work experience, and volunteering.
• Students have opportunities to participate in community action with local employers and community groups.

Tuition Fees

2024/25 UK Full-time £9,250 per year Part-time £1,540 per 20 credits International Full-time £16,500 per year