ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the practice of community education defined as planning, organizing, and delivering educational activities that seek to enhance the capacity of individuals, groups, and organizations to effect meaningful change in their contexts. The author discusses her orientation to community education practice and discusses how it contributed to her own career development. The reader gets a glimpse of what community education may look like in practice. In sharing her journey as an adult educator who practices community education, the author highlights the versatility of the practice of community-based education beyond the community development arena. Supported by illustrative examples, three core competencies for practicing community education are identified and discussed: (a) facilitating productive dialogue; (b) designing, planning, and delivering educational programs and (c) project management. Noting that there are rarely job opportunities that specifically include community education as a required or desired competence, the author makes the case that prospective employers may not realize the value of community education practice until someone explains it to them and demonstrates its potential contribution. Suggestions are shared for identifying job opportunities to practice community education and advice is offered for how to be creative and open-minded when seeking opportunities to practice community education.
