SUBJECT TITLE : COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SOLIDARITY AND CITIZENSHIP

MODULE TITLE : Purpose of Community Action

MODULE NO :4
NOMINAL DURATION : 4 Hours
LEARNING OBJECTIVES : At the end of this module, the student will be able to:
1. recognize the importance of solidarity in sociopolitical processes in promoting national and global
community development;
2. show an appreciation to the vital role of the youth in community development and nation-building
(enrichment); and
3. assess selected community-action initiatives.

ROLE OF YOUTH IN COMMUNITY ACTION

The progress of every country is based, among other things, on its ability to hone its youth in constructing
and crafting its future (United Nations 2010). Aside from their intellectual contributions and ability to mobilize
support, young people provide unique perspectives that must be considered.
In the Philippines, the vital role of the youth in community development has been enshrined and
incorporated in the following documents:
● The Philippine Constitution (Article II, Section 13) states that: “The State recognizes the vital role of the youth
in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-
being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public and
civic affairs.”
● The 1991 Local Government code provides for the youth’s participation in local development and the
establishment of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), which is the youth council organized in each barangay in the
country that leads programs for the young people.
● Republic Act No. 10742 or the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Reforms Act of 2015 established reforms in the SK
(i.e., the creation of enabling mechanisms such as the Local Youth Development Council) in order to allow
meaningful youth participation in nation-building. Section 10 of the Act includes an anti-dynasty provision,
making it the first law to do so.
● The Philippine Youth Development Plan (2012-2016) serves as the framework for the national youth
development. This was formulated by the NYC, in consultation with youth sector. Its main goals are to make the
youth: (1) become accountable stakeholders of transparent and participatory governance; (2) become
productive members of their respective families and households; (3) become gainfully and decently employed;
(4) become key partners in peace building and rule of law; and (5) become proactive advocates and agents of
environmental sustainability and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The above-mentioned focus on developing and raising a generation of skilled, competent, and responsible adults for
the future of the country. Many organizations provide community programs for the youth, and each of them has its
own unique approaches and activities. The NYC refers to the youth with special needs as Special Youth Groups
(SYGs). These are young people who experience or are vulnerable to experience discrimination, exploitation,
marginalization, oppression, and subordination (NYC 2005). These SYGs, as defined by NYC (2005), are the following:

● Youth in indigenous communities are those who belong to communities that have historically retained a strong
sense of distinctive cultural heritage and identity. Their issues are more related to land rights and discrimination.
● Abused and exploited youth are those who have been deliberately inflicted with physical injuries or are
unreasonable deprived of basic needs for survival. They often have different psycho emotional needs that youth
who have not experienced abuse or exploitation.
● Youth in conflict with the law and juvenile delinquents are those who, because of social forces and economic
necessity, have committed acts detrimental to themselves and to society, but still have the right to be protected
and reintegration to society.
● Differently abled youth are those with functional limitations or physical, mental, or psychological impairments.
They need consideration and equal treatment from other youth and other members of society.
● Drug-dependent youth are those who need spiritual guidance and alternative ways of dealing with problems,
idleness, and tendency to seek thrill and adventure.
● Abandoned/neglected youth are those who have no proper parental care or guardianship because their parents
or guardians have either deserted them or have inadequately attended to their basic needs. Street youth are
those who have adopted the streets as their home or source of livelihood, or both. Both groups are inmost need
of love, support, and nurturing which families and homes can give.
● Young victims of natural calamities and youth in situations of armed conflict are those who have been victims
of natural and anthropogenic tragedies and who hope to get their live back to normal and long for peace (NYC
2005).

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LEVELS OF YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY ACTION
Roger Hart’s (1997) Ladder of Young People’s Participation is one of the best-known models of youth
participation that can help organizations identify and remove practices that hinder the participation of young people
in community development initiatives. Hart’s ladder represents levels of youth participation:

Level 1: Manipulation (Nonparticipation)- Adults use young people’s ideas and voices for their own advantage. They
have complete authority over the young and they define and implement policies without any input from the youth.
Level 2: Decoration (Nonparticipation)- The youth may be called in to embellish adult actions through singing,
dancing, or performing other entertaining activities. The youth may have taken part in the event, but only in a limited
capacity and without an opportunity to contribute in decision-making.
Level 3: Tokenism (Nonparticipation)- The youth may be given a voice merely to create a child-friendly image for
adults. In reality, the youth’s voices are not heard and they have little or no choice at all about their role in a certain
project. They also have little choices about what they can say and hoe they can communicate.
Level 4: Assigned but informed- Adults take the initiative to inform the youth about how and why they are being
assigned to perform a certain role. Only after the young ones understand the project’s goals and their roles in it will
they decide whether or not they will be involved in the initiative.
Level 5: Consulted and informed- The youth are extensively consulted on projects designed and managed by adults.
The young people are informed on how their inputs will be used and the extent through which their voices will be
incorporated by the adults in making the final decision. Adults also give the youth some feedback regarding the ideas
that were contributed. With this, adults make a concerted and structured effort to incorporate the youth’s opinions
in decision-making.
Level 6: Adult initiated, shared decisions with young people- Adults are the ones who initiate programs and projects,
but the youth is involved in the decision-making process, which includes the planning and actual implementation of
the project.
Level 7: Young people lead and initiate action- In this level, the youth themselves are the ones who conceive,
organize, and direct the project, while the adults’ role is to help when needed. Here, adults only play a supportive
role and they generally trust the leadership of the young. As the main actors, the youth are in full control and may
choose to seek adult assistance if necessary or desired.
Level 8: Youth initiated, shared decisions with adults- This take place when programs and projects are initiated by
the youth, but they involve the adults in the decision-making process. This process empowers young people while
learning from adults through mentorship. Here, young people and adults are considered as partners in development.

ASSESSING COMMUNITY ACTION INITIATIVES

Solving social problems through community action must be anchored on a set of core values and principles
that will serve as bases in assessing whether community action initiatives have been carried out appropriately. The
core values and principles of community action refer to the following:

1. Adherence to social justice. This refers to fighting for equality and fairness in the treatment of human beings,
distribution and access to resources, and giving of opportunity structures and life chances that will allow people
to live meaningful lives. Hence, adherence to social justice requires fighting against poverty, unjust forms of
social inequalities, predatory capitalism, climate change injustice, and occupational injustice.
2. Respect, protection, and fulfillment of human rights. People should neither be deprived of their rights nor
should one be allowed to violate another’s rights. There must be conscious effort to help people achieve a life
of dignity. This would require anchoring the process of human development on international human rights
standards and corresponding obligations established by international law.
3. Promotion of gender equality and equity. This refers to giving equal opportunity to men and women so that
they may develop their personal abilities and attain fairness of treatment for both, in accordance to their
respective needs.
4. Ensuring people’s empowerment. This pertains to the development of one’s capacity to make effective choices
or having ability to produce desired changes in one’s life community, or the larger society.
5. Safeguard of people’s participation in the development process. This calls for eliciting the involvement of a
local population) especially the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized) in creating policies and in planning,
implementing, monitoring, and evaluating development programs and projects designed to empower them.
6. Use of advocacy. This refers to helping the marginalized to conscientize the general public, government,
policymakers, or people in authority, so that these power holders may be influenced to address the needs of
the marginalized and attain long-lasting positive changes.
7. Guarantee of environmental sustainability. This ensures the attainment of people’s well-being without
destroying natural resources and without depleting the ecosystem, upon which the life of future generations
depends on.

REFERENCES:

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Diana J. Mendoza, PhD and Ma. Lourdes F. Melegrito, PhD Cand.; Ronaldo B. Mactal, PhD. Community Engagement,
Solidarity, and Citizenship (The Padayon Series).

Prepared by:
Ms. Necie Mae Agana
Ms. Jessa Gonzales

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EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT/PERFORMANCE TASK:

DATE SUBMITTED:
NAME OF STUDENT:
STRAND:
MODULE NUMBER: 4

Instructions: Identify what is being asked in each question.

1. What are the different levels of participation found in Hart’s Ladder of Young People’s
Participation? Explain each.
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2. Explain which level in Hart’s Ladder of Young People’s Participation becomes truly participate
for the youth. Why?
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3. What are the different principles and core values in community action initiatives that must be
observed? Explain each
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BCT LEARNING MODULES S.Y. 2020-2021 4