SW 317

SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

WITH COMMUNITIES
Plenary sharing /
Discussion
 What is community?
- According to the New World Encyclopedia, the
word community “is derived from the Latin
communitas(meaning the same), which is in turn
derived from communis, which means "common,
public, shared by all or many.

" Communis comes from a combination of the

Latin prefix con- (which means "together") and the
word munis (which has to do with performing
services).”

- a group of people with a common characteristic

or interest living together within a larger society
What is community?

Arlene Johnson define community as group of people

gathered together in a geographic area, large or small,
who have common interests, actual or potentially
recognized in the social welfare field.

Robert Bellah defines community as “group of people

who are socially. interdependent, who participate
together in discussion and decision making, and who
share certain practices that both define the community
and are nurtured by it” (Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan,
Swidler, & Tipton, 1985, ).
Talcott Parson defined community as collectivity
the member of which share a common territorial
area as their base of operation for daily activities

Kingsley Davis defined it as the smallest

territorial group that can embrace all aspects of
social life.

Karl Mannheim community is any circle of

people who live together and belong and belong
together in such a way that they do not share
this or that particular interest only but a whole set
of interests.
What are the two concepts of community
 Roland Warren developed the concept of community as multitude of
systems many of which were influence by their vertical relationship
than by their horizontal relationships. As a social system, the
community may be either geographic or functional in nature.

i. geographic
A community within an ecclesiastical or civil territory.

ii. Functional
community on the other hand is composed of the people who hold
common values, share some common functions or express some
common interest such as education, health, livelihood, labor,
welfare or recreation.
 Elements of Community
1. Group of people
2. Definite Locality
3. Community Sentiments
4. Permanency
5. Neutrality
6. Likeness
7. Wider Ends
8. A particular Name
A group of people:
A group of people is the most fundamental or essential
characteristic or element of community. This group may be small
or large but community always refers to a group of people.
Because without a group of people we can’t think of a
community, when a group of people live together and share a
common life and binded by a strong sense of community
consciousness at that moment a community is formed.

A definite locality:
It is the next important characteristic of a community. Because
community is a territorial group. A group of people alone can’t
form a community. A group of people forms a community only
when they reside in a definite territory. The territory need not be
fixed forever. A group of people like nomadic people may change
their habitations. But majority community are settled and a
strong bond of unity and solidarity is derived from their living in a
definite locality.
Community Sentiment:
It is another important characteristic or element of community.
Because without community sentiment a community can’t be
formed only with a group of people and a definite locality.
Community sentiment refers to a strong sense of awe feeling
among the members or a feeling of belonging together.
It refers to a sentiment of common living that exists among
the members of a locality. Because of common living within
an area for a long time a sentiment of common living is
created among the members of that area. With this the
members emotionally identify themselves. This emotional
identification of the members distinguishes them from the
members of other community.
Permanence :
Community is always a permanent group. It refers
to a permanent living of individuals within a definite
territory. It is not temporary like that of a crowd or
association.

Naturality:
Communities are naturally organised. It is neither a
product of human will nor created by an act of
government. It grows spontaneously. Individuals
became the member by birth.
Similarity/ Likeness:
The members of a community are similar in a number of
ways. As they live within a definite locality they lead a
common life and share some common ends. Among the
members similarity in language, culture, customs, and
traditions and in many other things is observed.
Similarities in these respects are responsible for the
development of community sentiment.

Wider Ends:
A community has wider ends. Members of a community
associate not for the fulfillment of a particular end but for
a variety of ends. These are natural for a community.
A Particular Name :
Every community has a particular name by
which it is known to the world. Members of a
community are also identified by that name.
For example people living in Odisha is
known as odia.
 • Designed to meet people’s needs, including the most basic of food, clothing,
Production, distribution, & shelter
consumption
Warren’s
• Guides prevailing norms, traditions, and values of community members

SocializationFunctions of Community
• Process by which community members ensure compliance with norms & values

Social control
• Interaction with others in community groups, associations, and organizations

Social participation
• Function that families, friends, partners, neighbors, volunteers, professionals
carry out when they care for sick, unemployed, distressed
Mutual support

(Hardcastle, Powers, & Wenocur, 2011; McKnight, 1995; Warren, 1975)

 Social work roles in community practice

• Located in
neighborhoods
with high
poverty rates,
focused on
• Worked in large
providing
urban areas in
support (groups,
“scientific”
classes,
(historical)

ways,
childcare, etc) to
forerunner to
neighborhood
United Way
residents
• Goal to have
“rich” and “poor”
living in close
proximity
Organization
Settlement

movement

Society
Charity
House
 Social work roles in community practice
Community planning (modern)

• Examine needs that exist in a community and identify means of

addressing the deficits

Community development

• Use entrepreneurial skills to build or a strengthen a financial base in a

community; may also work to develop social service programs,
educational programs, etc

Community organizing

• Engage community members in mobilizing forces to increase power,

fight oppression and injustice
Two types of community
How is organization defined?
Organization has been
defined as the orderly
arrangement of group effort
to provide unity of action in
the pursuit of common
purpose.
 What is community organization?
 Murray Ross defines
community organization as a
process of identifying problems
and needs, prioritizing them,
formulating solutions in solving
problems/ attaining needs and
implementing them through
cooperative and collaborative
efforts which results to improved
Murray George Ross, (April 12, 1910
– July 20, 2000) was a Canadian capacity in community problem-
sociologist, author, and academic solving process and community
administrator. He was the founding
president of Toronto's York University
integration
and served in that role from 1959 to
1970.
 Arthur Dunham however defines CO as
the process of matching needs with
resources and as a conscious process of
social interaction concern with 3 types of
objective which are task goals, process
goals and relationship goals.

 Perlman and Gurin on the other hand

defines CO as a process of finding
solutions to social problems by
redistributing resources, functions and
decision-making power.
 Integrating Ross, Dunhams, Perlman and Gurin’s foregoing
definitions with other concepts, community organization has
therefore been defined “as a method of social work that
uses the conscious process of social interaction of meeting
any or all of the following objectives:

1. the meeting of broad needs and bringing about and

maintaining adjustments between needs and resources in
a community
2. helping people to deal more effectively with their
problems, needs and aspiration by helping them develop,
strengthen and maintain qualities of participation, self
direction, cooperation and integration of efforts.
3. Bringing about changes in community and group
relationships, in policies and in the distribution of decision
making power.
4. The resources of the community are identified and tapped
 Community Organization as
Macro Method
 Community organization is considered as a Macro
method of practice in social work. (Arthur E. Fink) It is
used for solving community problems.
 The term Macro is used because of its ability to involve a
large number of people in solving the social problems.
 C.O is a macro method because this method can be
successfully implemented at local level of community, or
at state level and at regional levels of the community or
even at the international level.
 It is a macro method because unlike casework which
deals with only one person at a time or group work which
deals with limited number of participants…
 community organization deals with large number of
people at any given time.
 Community organization as a
Problem Solving Method
In problem solving generally there are three basic
aspects.

1. study,
2. diagnosis,
3. treatment.

 First the problem has to be studied. For this, we

have to collect information regarding the problem.
 From the information collected we have to identify
the main causes. This is called diagnosis.
 Based on the findings, or diagnosis, a solution is
evolved that is called treatment.
WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION?

“ acceptance of the right of the community to

decide what it wants rather than having the
organizer’s views imposed upon it, belief on
the capacity of the people to find richer and
more satisfying ways of living if they are
helped to use the resources within
themselves and their environment which are
and could be made available to them.
 COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
- A process by which a community identifies its
needs or objectives..
orders (or ranks) these needs or objectives..
develops the confidence and will..
to work at these needs or objectives..
finds the resources (internal and/or external) to
deal with these needs or objectives..
takes action in respect to them, and in so doing
extends and develops cooperative and
collaborative attitudes and practices in the
community.(Murray G. Ross, 1955)
 Reference
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/society/
13-most-important-characteristics-or-
elements-of-community/6231

The Fundamentals of Community

Organization and People Empowerment ;
Author, Agrinelda Nelmida-Miclat ; Publisher,
Mary Jo Educational Supply, 1993.
Thank you!