This book is directed at the following audiences: adult educators and others who are either involved in or desire to become involved in community-based work; students of education, the social sciences, or related disciplines who desire information on community involvement as a career or means of fulfilling civic responsibilities, and persons in need of direction, information, and creative ideas for solving community-based problems. Chapter 1 focuses on adult education and social change from a theoretical/philosophical standpoint in relation to illiteracy and poverty. Discussed in chapter 2 are conceptual issues related to education and development. Aspects of community control inherent in community-based approaches (neighborhood organizations, local leadership, citizen participation, and group decision making) are examined in chapter 3. Chapter 4 discusses concerns related to identifying and assessing community needs, and chapter 5 analyzes several important aspects of community organizing (with emphasis on planning and learning). Outlined in chapter 6 is a community development model that emphasizes adult education as its major component. Chapter 7 is a people-oriented discussion of three U.S. minority groups (African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans) and the challenge of serving them through nonformal educational programs with a community-based approach. The bibliography lists 330 references. (MN)