COMMUNITY

IN DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES
K-12 CG Code: HUMSS_CSC12-IIa-c-2
Vocabulary
• Perspective - a mental view or prospect; the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative
importance
• Social Science - the branch of science devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among
individuals within those societies
• Institution - a society or organization founded for a religious, educational, social, or similar purpose.
• Social Institution - a group of people assigned to perform a definite task and function in a social
system.
• Civil Society - refers to the political community of organized group operating within the authoritative
parameters of the state. It is an aggregate of active groups and associations such as business, interest
groups and clubs. It has been referred to as the third sector distinctive from the state (government)
and the market (businesses).
• Grassroot - the most basic level of an activity or organization; ordinary people regarded as the main
body of an organization’s membership
DISCUSSION: Community in Different
Perspectives
• A community as a concept is not solid and has different parts and is therefore
seen from various viewpoints. The varying viewpoints come as a result of the
distinctive perspectives of the different academic disciplines and sectors.
• It is then important to be acquainted with the different perspectives of a
community in order to appreciate why certain things are seen and done
differently when it comes to community interventions.
• The different community perspectives include: Social Science, Institutional,
Civil Society and Local/Grassroots Level.
1. Social Science Perspective
• From the point of view of Social Science, a community is a group of people whose
connections and relations are formed by their shared history, experiences, geographies
and identities. Generally, there is a common pattern of behavior. The course of
embracing the behavior patterns of a community is called socialization. To put it
simply, man through socialization develops a community.
• A German sociologist, Ferdinand Tonnies (as cited by Safar and Madhi, 2012) noted
two types of human associations: Gemeinschaft, called “community’, and
Gesellschaft, known as “society” or “association.”
• Gemeinschaft is a community with a tighter and more cohesive social entity brought
about by “unity of will.”
• Gesellschaft is a group where individuals participate as members driven solely by self-
interest. It has been argued that the real community manifests a combination of these
two patterns of behavior.
2. Institutional Perspective
• Institutions are the core establishments that bind people toward a specific
advocacy or goal.
• They are grand social structures that are made up by individuals which, when
viewed as a whole, exhibit patterns of behavior that create conventions and
norms in our society.
2. Institutional Perspective
There are five core institutions that are pillars of our society:
a. Government Institutions
As an institution, it grants its citizens liberties and rights. In essence, the
government has the power to lead and govern its citizens within a confined
territory and can create sweeping policies and laws.
b. Economic Institutions
Economists see institutions as the mechanism in which goods, services, and
money are distributed. In economics, goods are scarce and considered to be
finite. Therefore, we have to look into specific actors’ needs and wants relative
to the availability of a specific good or service being sought for.
2. Institutional Perspective
c. Religious Institutions
Religion is one of the pillars from which our civilization is built. Today’s society emphasizes the
importance of religion as a communal experience; meaning, activities are still tied to the concepts and
teachings of their faith.
Religious institutions are here to be a constant reminder that values and mores are grounded on
spiritually.
d. Educational Institutions
The task of the school system is to arm us with the needed skills and knowledge in relation to the
demand of the environment. The knowledge, skills, and values we acquire are tools to chart our future.
e. Family Institutions
Families are considered as the building blocks of our society. At the center of every society is the
family, and it is where the community and our society draw strength from.
3. Civil Society Perspective
• Civil Society (CS) is generally defined as a wide array of nongovernmental
organizations and volunteer groups that are fighting for solutions to social
issues that continue to worsen the condition of the disadvantaged sectors of
society, especially the poor.
• Given this perspective, the CS views the community as composed of people,
structures and systems endowed with resources but is confronted with social
issues as well. The CS wants that those who are affected by social problems
must organize and band together to pursue and advocate for social change.
3. Civil Society Perspective
Kinds of Civil Society Organizations
a. Non-Government Organizations – the Philippine National Economic Development
Authority (NEDA) describes NGOs as private, non-profit, volunteer organizations that
are committed to the task of what is broadly termed development.
b. People’s Organizations – POs are independent, autonomous entities, officially
registered and acknowledged as organizations according to rules and standards set by the
state.
Significant features of PO is that it claims to represent impoverished, vulnerable, and
marginalized communities.
c. Social Movements – a form of collective behavior which springs largely from the
attitudes and aspirations of its participants. Social Movements confront with specific
power structures and pursuit socioeconomic and political change.
4. Local/Grassroots Perspective
• The Local and Grassroots Level, also referred to as Community-Based Perspective,
sees the community as a setting for intervention, target for change, resource and
agent as cited by McLeroy (2003) and as established in the studies reviewed by
Merzel and D’Afflitti.
• This perspective, according to McLeroy, et al. (2003), requires vigilance in
assessing community structures and processes before any community interventions.
The situation entails a thorough understanding of the community in order to
determine appropriate and strong solutions. Further, the goal of cultural programs
and activities in the grassroot level is to enrich the cultural life of rural communities.
• They are referred to as “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.
NOTIONS OF COMMUNITY
1. Community as shared political and territory and heritage
A traditional understanding of community refers to a group of people living in the same geographical
area where interpersonal ties are locally bounded and are based on a shared government and a common
cultural and historical heritage. Since the community is viewed as something that is situated within local
boundaries, this notion of community is applied to the institutional and grassroots perspective. Example:
Education, military, government, healthcare
2. Community as a network of interpersonal ties based on common interest.
Another notion of community refers to a network of interpersonal ties that are based around a common
interest. These ties, in return, provide mutual support, a sense of identity, and a sense of belongingness for
the members. Example: Sporting community, LGBT community, virtual community/netizens
3. Community as profound sharing of spiritual and/or emotional connection
Community also pertains to a sense of spiritual and/or emotional connection to others, or communion
with others on the basis of an experience of a common problem, bond, or a situated cognition. Example:
Disaster survivors, People living with HIV, Christian Community
OUTPUT #1
Look for 10 words/terms that you have learned and
encountered from the lesson above. List them down
on a sheet of paper and answer the question that
follows the puzzle.
 OUTPUT #1
Part II: Directions: Among the 10 words you have found from the crossword puzzle above, fill in the blanks with
the correct answer.

1) __________________ is a group where individuals participate as members driven solely by self-interest.

2) In every society, there is always a ______________________ where a community draws strength and
inspiration.

3) The goal of __________________________ perspective is to mobilize the members of the community to

participate in the community’s advocacies.

4) ____________________ is concerned with the production, distribution and consumption of goods and
services.

5) An organization that advocates help must have a thorough understanding of the ___________________ in
order to determine ways on how to solve/address problems.
OUTPUT #2
Refer to the illustration on the next box. Draw a
house and write what is asked on the corresponding
parts of the house.
K-12 CG Code: HUMSS_CSC12-IIIa-c-5

FUNCTIONS OF
COMMUNITY
Vocabulary
• Production – a process of combining various material inputs and immaterial inputs in order to
make something for consumption. It is the act of creating an output, a good or service which has
value and contributes to the utility of individuals. 
• Distribution – the action of sharing something out among a number of recipients.
• Consumption – the using up of a resource.
• Economics – a social science concerned with the production, distribution, and consumption of
goods and services.
• Actors – are legal-authoritative decision-makers – individuals or bodies whose authority is
based on formal rules and institutions. Typically, legal-authoritative decision-makers occupy
positions of authority through legally mandated processes like elections or through formal
political appointments
• Influencers – individuals or groups who do not have direct authority but are capable of shaping
decisions that affect the community.
DISCUSSION: Functions of Community
• A community is a group of people in the same geographic area, under
common laws, that has a sense of fellowship, belonging, and obligation to the
group.
• The community has five functions: production-distribution-consumption,
socialization, social control, social participation, and mutual support.
DISCUSSION: Functions of Community
The community has five functions:
1. Production, Distribution, Consumption: The community provides its members with the
means to make a living. This may be agriculture, industry, or services.
2. Socialization: The community has means by which it instills its norms and values in its
members. This may be tradition, modeling, and/or formal education.
3. Social Control: The community has the means to enforce adherence to community values.
This may be group pressure to conform and/or formal laws.
4. Social Participation: The community fulfills the need for companionship. This may occur in a
neighborhood, church, business, or other group.
5. Mutual Support: The community enables its members to cooperate to accomplish tasks too
large or too urgent to be handled by a single person. Supporting a community hospital with tax
dollars and donations is an example of people cooperating to accomplish the task of health
care.
Community
Structures
and
their Elements
1. Social Structures
(as discussed in your previous lessons in UCSP and DISS) – refers to the rules and
expectations that people develop in the community over time to help regulate and manage
their interaction from one another.
a. Social Institutions – are established patterns of belief and behavior that are centered on
addressing basic social needs of people in the community. Example: family, religion,
economy, government, education, healthcare
b. Social groups – consist of two or more people in the community who regularly interact
with one another and consider themselves a distinct social unit. Example: Primary groups
(family, peers); Secondary groups (clubs, gangs, political parties); in-groups and out-groups.
c. Status – refers to the position or rank of the person holds, in relation to other members
of the community. i Example: Ascribed Status and Achieved Status
d. Role – refers to the obligations or behaviors expected from an individual on the basis of
one’s status in life.
2. Cultural Structures
(as discussed in UCSP) – refers to the institutionalized patterns of ways of life that are
shared, learned, developed, and accepted by the people in the community.
a. Symbols and language – symbols are the shared words, gestures, objects, or signals
which people in a community use to convey and develop recognizable meanings.
Language is a symbolic system that allows people to develop complex, thoughts and
records and explain ideas either through written oral or nonverbal communication.
b. Norms – are socially accepted behavior.
c. Values and belief – values define the ideal principle of what is good, just, and
desirable. Beliefs refer to the shared ideas of what is collectively true by people in a
community.
d. Rituals – refers to the sacred or secular procedures and ceremonies that people in
the community regularly perform.
3. Political Structure
refers to the people’s established ways of allocating power and making decisions
in running and managing community affairs.
a. Leadership Structure – refer to the composition of recognized leaders in
the community and the workflow of their authority.
b. Political Organization – pertains either to political parties or political
groups in the community who are engaged in political activities.
4. Economic Structure
pertains to various organized ways and means through which people in the community produce goods and services, allocate
limited resources, and generate wealth on order to satisfy their needs and wants.

a) Capital Asset – refers to a property that is owned and has an economic value, which is expected to generate interest and
profit for a long period of time.

There are 5 types of assets:

i. Human capital – pertains to the labor force in the community and their background in terms of health, education, skills
and capacity to work.

ii. Social capital – refers to the collective value of social networks and connections (patronage, neighborhoods, kinships)
and inclinations that arise in order to provide mutual support

iii. Natural capital – refers to land and water resources (forest, wildlife, kamote).

iv. Physical capital – refers to man-made infrastructure and technology (road, transportation, energy).

v. Financial capital – refers to the savings, credit and debt, remittances, pensions, and salary and wages.
4. Economic Structure
b) Vulnerability Context – pertains to the insecurity in the well-being of
individuals and households in the society.
c) Business Context – refers to the attitudes, laws, and policies of the
government and economic institutions toward businesses, enterprises, and
commercial activities.
d) Trade – pertains to the enterprise and business activities involving the sale
and purchase of goods and services.
SCOPE OF 1. Local Community – example:
village, barangay, town, city,
STRUCTURE municipality, province, region
S OF
COMMUNIT 2. Global Community – characterized
the interconnectivity of people or
Y countries all over the world.
Local community and
Global community
OUTPUT #3
Directions: In not less than 200 words, narrate your personal experience amid the
COVID-19 pandemic since the beginning of the 2020 lockdown until the present face-
to-face classes. After which, answer the questions below:
1. Has the government done something significant to alleviate the situation in your
community? Elaborate.
2. How did the former and current Presidents of the country respond to the situation? If
you were the president, what could you have done to help the community?
3. What was the community’s contribution to the alleviation of the situation of their
fellow Filipinos?
4. If mutual support is not present in today’s current situation, what will possibly
happen in our community?