COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SOLIDARITY, AND

CITIZENSHIP
MODULE 2-WEEK 2

DEFINING
COMMUNITY
 Objectives
:
•At the end of this lesson,
you should be able to:
1.Explain the definition of
community in different
perspective;
2.Appreciate different
perspective on community.
 Pre-Test: Choose one quote and explain it in your
own understanding. (5 pts)

1. "The greatness of a community is most accurately

measured by the compassionate actions of its
members." -Coretta Scott King

2. “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so

much” -Helen Keller

3. “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to

go far, go together.” – African Proverb
Review:

Give the difference (s)

between Community
Action and Community
Dynamics
 Lesson 1: Defining
Community in different
Perspectives
•COMMUNITY
The word community, considered as a late
Middle English term, is derived from the Latin
word communitas which means “fellowship.” Its
Latin roots is, communis, means “common.”
Com translates to “with” or “together;” whereas
munire translates to “to strengthen,” “to fortify,”
or to “to defend.”
There are various perspectives of community.
Each emphasizes a particular approach and
treatment in the study of communities.
 1. SOCIAL SCIENCE
PERSPECTIVE
• A social perspective toward understanding communities is
premised on the social dimension of individual life-the
interactions, relationship, and bonds formed by individuals
with other individuals and how these are manifested in the
formation of organizations within the communities.

• Learning about communities using this perspective essentially

incorporates ideas and concepts gathered from the fields of
knowledge, such us anthropology, social psychology,
sociology, and political science, to name a few. These
disciplines offer varied insights and lessons in understanding
the meaning and relevance of community.
1. SOCIAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE
• The study of communities using a social perspective goes beyond
knowledge of the origins and history of communities. A social science
perspective can be employed to learn how a community deals with
problems and crisis.
 2. INSTITUIONAL PERSPECTIVE
• Communities have a mechanism for coordinating values, goals, and
actions of its individual members. Social institution performs its
functional. Social institutions arise from voluntary shared
agreements among individuals that generally also shape their behavior
as a collective.

• Institutions
• These are established rules that ensure the regular and predictable
behavior of actors within a community. In broad terms, institutions are
categorized as formal and informal.
 2. INSTITUIONAL PERSPECTIVE

• Formal institution is explicitly communicated, embodied in

legally codified documents or artifacts. These serve as basis
for the authority to be executed or expressed.

Examples of this are the laws and policies that are

complements by a government agency or office.
 2. INSTITUIONAL PERSPECTIVE

• Informal institution these are practices, norms

traditions culture, conduct, and belief systems of a
community. These are not codified or written., but are
nonetheless embedded in communities, operating
due to interactive process of preference exchange
and social expectations that occur therein.
• Since institution regulates the behavior of
community members, having institutions
also imply that, as a collective, a community
has a notion of what is normative. this refers
to the ideal standards, models, or conduct
that is based on what is collectively
considered as appropriate or proper.
3. CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVE
• The term civil society conventionally refers to
political community of organized groups operating
within the authoritative parameters of the state.
From the view of the politics, it is distinguished
from the state to broadly refer to organizations
that are private, autonomous from the
government, and which are in pursuit of
advocacies, causes, and goals. It is aggregate of
active groups and associations, such as
businesses, organized interest groups, and clubs.
 3. CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVE
• Civil society has also been referred to as the third sector
distinct from the state (government) and the market
(business). Figure 1.1 illustrates the separation of civil society
from the state and the market.
Non-Government organizations
(NGOs) and People’s Organizations
(POs)
• Are common examples of civil society organization. These
organizations actively pursue political and social development goal
through a variety of actions and strategies. A fundamental
characteristic of these organizations is the voluntary nature of its
membership, with emphasis on citizen participation. In most cases,
the goals and strategies of NGOs and Pos complement with those of
the state.
• NGOs and POs are presumed to work in partnership with the state
in a cooperative mode to address societal problems in the areas of
environmental protection, social welfare, the promotion of human
rights and civil liberties, and local development among other. POs
are independent, autonomous entities, officially registered and
acknowledge as organization according to the rules and standard
set by the state.
•Perhaps, one of the significant features of
POs is its claims to represent impoverished,
vulnerable and marginalized communities.
Pos maybe organization outside the
community. Members f the local
community are integrated to POs through
cooperative or participatory activities that
heighten their relevance, impact, and
representational function.
•Similar to the behavior and voluntary characteristics of
NGOs POs, a Social Movement is a form of collective
behavior which springs largely from the attitude and
aspirations of the participants. Social movement are formed
when the civil society organization and non-affiliate
individual share sentiments, views, approaches, and
solutions in addressing issues and problems in society.
• Social movements are also distinguished from Mass
Action- the former operates based on planes strategies and
tactics in pursuing a goal; or objective, where areas the last
takes place when a large number of people behave similarly
and spontaneously but without coordination between
themselves.
 4. ORGANIC PERSPECTIVE
• An organic prospective of community refers to local or grassroots groups within
a particular locale that are driven and organized because of community issues
and concern. They are referred to “grassroots” because of their local and
capacity-building characteristics. It is generally conceptualized as the
formation of neighborhood organizations, rural or urban, convened to pursue
local development goals or address particular issues, such as crime prevention,
environmental protection, or waste management.
• This is implemented through building and bolstering community capacities,
such as skill in resources management and development. Grassroots
communities are able to strengthen their sense of community as they work
together in pursuing in identified task or goal. Important and urgent problems
that require community response and solutions also occur due to structural
factors. If one takes these views, problems, such as crime incidence, poor
disaster response, ineffective waste management, and the like are seen as
symptoms of broader issues that affect communities.
 4. ORGANIC PERSPECTIVE
• Grassroots organization or movements are typically
composed of volunteers from the local/government
level. The initiatives and actions of local volunteers are
instrumental in establishing said organizations.
Sociologists argue the grassroots organizations are
exemplars of the ability of communities to sophisticate
their associational capacities through self-organization.
Historically, grassroots and movements have also been
instrumental in political party functions.
 TASK 1
• Answer the following questions.
1. Discuss the characteristics, rules, or norms of your school.

2. Can you consider your school to be a community? Explain your answer.

• 3. Are there other groups or organizations you belong to which you think may
be considered a community? Enumerate them and explain.

• 4. List down all the NGOs and POs that you know.

• 5. What do the NGOs and POs in your list have in common?

• 6. What type of issues do the NGOs and POs in your list address?
 TASK 2
• Based on different perspective of community, cite two
communities that you have been part of.
 ASSESSMENT:
• Have you ever tried volunteering
yourself in one of the programs or
organizations in your barangay?
How was your experience? If not,
would you want to be part of this
endeavor? Why? Why not?
(Maximum of Five (5) sentences)