Critical Inquiry in Community Contexts

In this unit, you’ll be introduced to the core academic, writing, and research skills required for success in both your Community Development, Youth Work, and Criminal Justice studies, and your future careers in the youth, community and justice sectors. You will explore what counts as knowledge and evidence, how knowledge is produced, and whose voices are valued in the creation of meaning. Through practical workshops in reading, writing, and analysis, you will build skills in critical thinking, academic communication, and research literacy. The unit links the foundations of scholarly work such as argument, evidence, citation, and structure, to real-world issues and community-based inquiry. You will examine examples of community and traditional research, and policy writing to understand how rigorous academic work can both drive social change and inform evidence-based practice in your future careers.