Call for Special Issue

2026-02-15

THEME: Grounding the Future: Community Voices and Practice Pathways for Inclusive Development

Guest Editors:  

Prof. Grey Magaiza, Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, University of the Free State, Republic of South Africa

Prof. Kefilwe Ditlhake, Department of Social Work and Community Development, University of Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa

Dr. Ndwakulu Tshishonga, School of Social Work and Community Development, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Republic of South Africa

Dr. Shequite Wilson-Johnson, Department of Social Sciences, Rural Public Policy and Planning, Mississippi Valley State University, United States  

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND 

Building on the Community Development Conference held from 12–14 November 2025 at the University of the Free State, South Africa, an urgent need has emerged to disseminate praxis-based knowledge and to consolidate the professionalisation of community development. The conference foregrounded the necessity for critical and analytical introspection into the state of practice, dominant modes of thinking, and future trajectories within the field. Community development has increasingly established itself as a professional field of practice (Weil et al., 2012), grounded in ethical engagement (Ahmad et al., 2024), participatory and dialogical methodologies (Banda, 2025), and normative commitments to social justice (Ledwith, 2011), inclusion, and sustainability. In the Global South, however, this process of professionalisation unfolds within contexts shaped by historical inequality, colonial legacies (McEwan, 2018), geographical and structural forms of poverty (Chant & McIlwaine, 2009), environmental precarity, and contested governance regimes (Maphosa et al., 2025). Consequently, community development practice is frequently compelled to operate at the nexus of policy frameworks, lived experiences, and locally grounded innovations.

This Special Issue calls for scholarly contributions that critically interrogate the implications of these dynamics for professionalism, practice, and transformative action at the grassroots level in the Global South. We particularly seek contributions that centre grassroots voices and experiences, engage practitioner reflections and reflexivity, and identify pathways for collaboratively imagining the futures of community development. Moving beyond conceptualisations of communities as mere spaces of intervention (Gonçalves et al., 2025), this Special Issue prioritises analyses that recognise communities as spaces of capabilities (Cafer et al., 2022), knowledge production, and agency. We therefore invite submissions that critically examine how the theory–practice nexus of community development both shapes and is reshaped by professional practice, and how this nexus enables the reimagining of community development in Global South contexts.

The special issue welcomes empirical, conceptual, and theoretical contributions, as well as methodological and practice-based perspectives that engage with the theory–practice nexus in community development themes, but are not limited to the following themes:

  • Local Practice, Global Relevance
  • Community Voices and Place-Based Knowledge
  • Reflections on Learning and Leadership in Practice
  • Ethics, Identity, and the Professionalisation Journey
  • Reimagining Knowledge Pathways (RPL, TVET, Indigenous Pedagogy)
  • Creative and Visual Expressions of Community Development
  • Participatory, Dialogical, and Narrative Methodologies

CONTRIBUTION PROCESS

Prospective contributors are invited to submit abstracts to the guest editors at magaizag@ufs.ac.za, shequite.wilson-johnson@mvsu.edu, kditlhake@uj.ac.za, and tshishonga@ukzn.ac.za, using the subject line “Grounding Voices in Community Development”. A response will be provided within three to five days, and if accepted, the author(s) will be requested to prepare and submit their full manuscripts; otherwise, the authors will be notified accordingly. For submission guidelines and Article Processing Charges, including formatting and referencing style, please refer to the author guidelines provided at this link [https://pubs.ufs.ac.za/index.php/ijrcs/guidelines].

ABSTRACTS FOR PAPERS SHOULD INCLUDE

  • A concise title
  • Author/s name/s
  • Author(s) institution/affiliation
  • Contact details
  • An abstract (250 words or fewer)
  • Five keywords

TIMEFRAME (February 14th – September 30th, 2026) 

  • Abstract submission begins on the 14th of February and ends on the 30th of March 2026.
  • Abstracts are accepted or rejected within three days of submission, and if accepted, you will be required to submit your full article.
  • Submission of full articles starts immediately and ends on the 30th of September 2026
  • The Journal operates on a continuous publishing model. This means that articles are considered individually, sent for peer review, and, if accepted at any time before the 30th of September, are immediately made available (published) online, on an article-by-article basis, under the designated special issue.

AUTHOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES

  • A similarity index of 10% or less is required for an article to be considered for review. Upon submission, all articles will undergo screening using Turnitin software.
  • The Article Processing Charge is payable by the corresponding author or affiliation(s), as applicable, upon acceptance. Authors eligible for a waiver or discount may approach the Journal before submission. For more information, see the APC waiver and discount policy at [https://pubs.ufs.ac.za/index.php/ijrcs/waiverpolicy].
  • Please visit the author guidelines, download, and use the submission template for your full article.

GUEST EDITORS’ PROFILE

1. Prof. Grey Magaiza

Prof. Grey Magaiza is an Associate Professor of Community Development and currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) at the University of the Free State, QwaQwa Campus. His scholarly work focuses on social-theoretical integration, community development, applied social research in rural contexts, livelihood transitions, and rural innovation. His research critically engages with the intersections of theory and practice, particularly in relation to transforming rural economies and strengthening community-based development processes.

2. Prof. Kefilwe Ditlhake

Prof. Ditlhake Kefilwe Johanna is a social worker and associate professor at the University of Johannesburg. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from the University of Witwatersrand and RAU University, respectively, as well as a PhD from Wits University’s Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management. Prof. Ditlhake’s professional experience includes working at various NGOs, such as the National Institute for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation/Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO), the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children, and Community Aids Response (CARE), where she served as Programme Manager. She has also worked as a social worker at Johannesburg General Hospital in medical wards, including ICU and Neo-Natal wards, as well as various clinics in Neurology, cystic fibrosis, virology, learning and assessment, child abuse, and forensic assessment. Prof. Ditlhake's academic experience includes lecturing at WITS University and the social work department at Northwest University. Currently, she works at the University of Johannesburg in the Department of Social Work and Community Development, teaching in the Community Development and Leadership undergraduate programme, as well as at the honours and master’s levels. Prof. Ditlhake serves on various committees at the University of Johannesburg, including the professionalisation of community development, and has published several book chapters and journal articles. She has also reviewed manuscripts for book chapters and journal articles, including those for Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement.

3. Dr. Ndwakhulu Tshishonga

Dr. Ndwakhulu Tshishonga (PhD) is an Africanist academic and research fellow within the School of Social Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He specialises in political economy, community development, Afrocentric decolonised development, the developmental state, traditional leadership, local economic development, land and land reform, cooperatives, local governance, citizenship and democracy, service delivery protests and social movements, the sociology of youth and entrepreneurship, indigenous knowledge systems, African politics and governance, public administration, and intergovernmental relations.

4. Dr. Shequite Wilson-Johnson

Dr. Shequite Wilson-Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Rural Public Policy and Planning at Mississippi Valley State University, where she also serves as the Graduate Coordinator. As a community-engaged scholar in the Mississippi Delta, her work focuses on rural education equity, youth entrepreneurship, civic engagement, and community-based development. Her research examines the intersections of policy, lived experience, and local leadership, with an emphasis on advancing educational outcomes and economic opportunities in historically marginalised rural communities. She integrates theory and practice through applied research, programme evaluation, and youth-centred initiatives that strengthen community voice and promote sustainable development.

REFERENCES 

Ahmad, I., & Islam, M. R. (2024). Grounded morality: The role of ethics in community development. In Building strong communities: Ethical approaches to inclusive development (pp. 27-45). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83549-174-420241002

Banda, J. H. (2025). A comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness and influence of participatory models in advancing sustainable community development: A rigorous assessment of theoretical foundations and real-world applications. Social Science and Management, 10. https://doi.org/10.61784/ssm3027

Cafer, A., Green, J., & Goreham, G. (2022). A community resilience framework for community development practitioners building equity and adaptive capacity. In Community development for times of crisis (pp. 56-74). Routledge.

Chant, S. H., & McIlwaine, C. (2009). Geographies of development in the 21st century: An introduction to the global South. Edward Elgar Publishing.

de Oliveira Gonçalves, M., Mourato, J. M., & Cavaco, C. (2025). Community development approaches framed by the politics of space: A review. Journal of Planning Literature, 08854122251343873. https://doi.org/10.1177/08854122251343873

Ledwith, M. (2011). Community development: A critical approach. Policy Press.

Maphosa, M., Effossou, K. A., & Moyo, P. (2025). From symbolic inclusion to shared governance: Contesting conservation in a climate-stressed South African landscape. Frontiers in Sustainability, 6, 1601933. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2025.1601933

McEwan, C. (2018). Postcolonialism, decoloniality and development. Routledge.

Ruckstuhl, K., Nimatuj, I. A. V., McNeish, J. A., & Postero, N. (Eds.). (2022). The Routledge handbook of indigenous development. Taylor & Francis.

Weil, M., Reisch, M. S., & Ohmer, M. L. (Eds.). (2012). The handbook of community practice. Sage Publications.