Elements of Community
Elements of Community
Good Day SPIan! This module is specially written to help you get your better understanding in our
community.
Embracing and ushering the "new normal" learning approach in this time of pandemic aims to provide
modern and quality education for Filipino learners like you. At this moment, you will study at your own
pace and safety at home while your instructor takes responsibility of monitoring your progress. This
module hopes to respond to the needs of the learners by highlighting its significance and connection to
other fields of social sciences.
In order to assure your learning about the Community Engagement, Solidarity and Citizenship, this
module is undertaking all the necessary measures to ensure that your expectation will be discussed
within reasonable time without compromising anyone’s health and safety.
I acknowledge the efforts and/or contributions of Senior High School Department to this work, but I own
all errors, if any.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course focuses on the application of ideas and methods of the social
sciences to understand, investigate, and examine challenges of contemporary community life. It focuses
on community-action initiatives such as community engagement, solidarity, and citizenship as guided by
the core values of human rights, social justice, empowerment and advocacy, gender equality, and
participatory development. It aims at enhancing students’ sense of shared identity and willingness to
contribute to the pursuit of the common good of the community. It enables students to integrate
applied social sciences into community-action initiatives.
Now, it's time to acquire new knowledge, meaning-making and transfer of ideas, SPians! Padayon!
WHAT I KNOW? This part incudes an activity that aims to check what you
already know about the lesson to take. If you get all the
answer correct (100%), you may decide to skip this module.
WHAT’S IN? This is a brief drill or review to help you link the current
lesson with the previous one.
WHAT’S NEW? In this portion, the new lesson will be introduced to you in
various ways such as a story, song, poem, problem opener,
an activity or situation.
WHAT’S MORE? In this portion, you are given a set of question to help you
digest the lesson you’ve read.
WHAT I CAN DO? This directs you to the Learners Activity Sheet to apply it into
your day-to-day basis.
GLOSSARY Look at this part to search the unfamiliar words and their
meanings
Performance Standards: The learners shall be able to synthesize the integrative experience of
implementing community-action initiatives applying social sciences’ ideas and methods.
Learning Outcome 3: Analyzing Function of Communities in Terms of
Structures, Dynamics and Processes
Communities are overlapping and one person can belong to vast number of different communities all at
once. Or you might be a member of sone communities by default. while others you joined by choice.
Some other factors in our lives influence us to join certain communities as well like parent, friend or
event. This factors are resources that help you fullfill your needs to make you healthy known as
community assets. Examples are positive activies, faciltiies and services.
WHAT I KNOW?
Let us determine how much you already know about Structures, Dynamics
and Processes of Community. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.
Match column A to Column B. Write the letter of your answer on the space provided.
A.
_______ 2. It means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our indifferences.
_______ 3. A densely populated area usually crowded and has dirty run-down housing.
_______ 4. project or organization's social and economic benefits are distributed equally.
_______ 5. It seeks modification within the framework of the existing value schemes or systems
B.
a. Diversity
b. Community power
c. Reformation
d. Social Movement
e. Resistance
f. Revolutionary
WHAT’S IN?
PICTURE ANALYIS: Analyze the picture vividly and answer the question below completely
What can you say about the photos? Are there any similarity or difference? What are these?
WHAT'S NEW?
Processing questions:
Why do you think these show socio-political structure, cultural structure, economics
structure?
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Is it possible that these elements of the community create differences in the lives of the
people in the community? How? And Why?
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Do these pictures contribute to the development of society? Do you think these
elements can exist on their own without the others?
Diversity means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our indifferences. These
can be along the dimension of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age,
physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs or other ideologies.
ELEMENTS OF COMMUNITY
(4) Naturality:
Communities are naturally organised and grows spontaneously. Individuals became the member by
birth.
a. Jus Sanguinis (by blood)
b. Jus Soli (by location)
(5) Permanence :
Community is always a permanent group. It refers to a permanent living of individuals within a definite
territory.
(6) Similarity:
The members of a community are similar in a number of ways. They lead a common life and share some
common ends. It includes language, culture, customs, and traditions etc. Similarities in these respects
are responsible for the development of community sentiment. It also called as connectors that is
attached to the community.
(7) 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.
(13) A community exists within society and possesses distinguishable structure which distinguishes it
from others.
Community structure means the relationships among the people, missions and goals, management,
activities, and outcomes involved in a community.At some point, it is define as the internal structure of
an employment area, town, city, neighbourhood or another urban area. It also includes the population
and housing, jobs and production, service and leisure time areas, along with transport routes and
technical networks, their location and relationships. Community structure development is controlled
with land use planning and building permission schemes.
Cultural communities refers to social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality,
shared government and often have rich cultural and historical heritage. In the country, Republic Act No.
8371 or Indigenious People's Right recognize, protect and promote the rights of indigenous, cultural
communities or indigenous people.
Economic Communities are any economic and/or political alliance which is specifically designed to
foster trade and cooperations among its member countries. It's underlying purpose is to reduce trade
barriers and increase cooperation among its members. As a child, you are enjoying several economic
rights such as right tk adequate standard of living, rights to survival and development, right to health
right to education and protection from child labor.
Socio-political communities is something that involves social and political factors. A socio political
community rightsis right to protect individual's freedom from infringement by governments, social
organizations and private individuals. It also seek rights to ensure one's ability to participate in the civil
and political life of the
society and state without discrimination or repression.
A community power is a project or approach in which local stakeholders own a majority share in the
project or organization, community members or a locally based organization control decision related to
the project and the majority of the project or organization's social and economic benefits are distributed
equally.
Community power that is characterized by the ability to create or resist change regarding community
turf, interests, or experiences power with others, not control over them (non-zero-sum or win-win
strategies) influence across a variety of domains or community contexts. Community values that are
characterized by clearly defined norms, standards, and attributesconsensus building about values:
to reflect on the assumptions underlying our and others' ideas and actions
the ability to reason logically and scrutinize arguments for ambiguity
to understand how forces in the environment influence both individual and social
behavior
It is also the power of the community wherein organization, institutions and other groups in the
community engage and collaborate together in order to obtain the community's objective. Each
organization has a leader to lead and manage the group. A leader has great role in motivating members
and others to move with passion towards a common goal. The factors that affect its leadership are
leader, follower, communication and situation. Also, leadership comes with different major style as
follows: Authoritarian or autocratic, participative or democratic and delegative or free reign.
1. An authoritarian leader is abusive and unprofessional style. It is also called as "bossing people around"
where leader makes decisions alone as power and decisions are enforced using rewards and the fear of
punishment.
2. A democratic leader include one or more people in the decision making process; communication flow
freely; suggestion are made in both direction; and participation encourage members commitment to the
final decision
3. A delegative leader or free reign (laissez-faire) gives power to subordinates to make decisions.
However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made.
There are numbr of leadership theories that describe the characteristics and behavior of successful
leader in the community.
1. Great Man Theory - this is the assumption that leaders are born with inate qualities, and that
renowned leaders are destined to lead. This is the study of Thomas Carlyle, a 19th-century Scottish
historian.
2. Trait Theory - focuses on innate attributes and characteristics that a person possesses. In the 1970s,
Ralph Stoghill, a Proffesor Emeritus of Management and Science and Psychilogy identified key leadership
traits and skills.
3. Behaviorist Theories - it place more emphasis on the behavior of leaders rather than their innate
qualities. Example are the Theory X and Theory Y of Douglas McGregor and Leadership Grid of Robert
Blake and Jane Mouton.
4. Participative Leadership - this is a framework that focused on leader's decision-making style. This was
developed by Kurt Lewin, a German-American psychologist. It includes, autocratic leaders, democratic
leader and laissez-faire leaders.
Later on, Rensis Likert, an American organizational psychologist had conceptualized four additional
leadership styles that includes, exploitative authoritative leaders, benevolent authoritative leaders,
consultative leaders and participative leaders.
Another one is the Leadership Continuum developed by Robert Tannenbaum and Warren Schmidt. They
believed that leadership skills may vary along a continuum from autocratic (telling style), persuasive
leaders (selling style), consultative leaders (consulting style) to democratic style (joining style)
5. Situational Leadership - leaders adapt their actions and behavior to wahtever situation they are in.
a. Hersey-Blanchard Leadership theory - leadership model developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard
that focuses on the direction and emotional support a leader provides his or her follower as they
undertake a task.
b. Path-goal theory of leadership - its proponent was Robert House that leaders support their followers
in achieving their goals. He identified four leadership styles: supportive, directive, participative and
achievement-oriented.
c. Action-centered leadership model - teamwork is essential in the accomplishment of task.
6. Contigency Theory - leaders require to analyze a particular situation and identify the variables that
would determine the most effective style.
7. Transactional Theory - it considers the relationship between followers and leaders as key to achieving
goals. It is first described by Max Weber in 1947 and further expanded by Bernard Bass in 1981.
8. Transformational Theory - it emphasize the concept of change and believe that leaders are tasked to
provide direction and implement changes through performance and the attainment of goals. This was
first introduced by American historian, James Burns using the concept "transforming leadership" and
developed into transformational leadership by Bernard Bass in bis book, Leadership and Performance
Beyond Expectations (1985). Noel Tichy and Mary Anne Devanna, in their book The Transformational
Leader (1986) further expanded the concept. And recent studies of Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio
belived that this leadership style is closer we have in mind.
SOCIAL CHANGE
Why could there be change? Change in the community can be explained with two common theoretical
perspective: The Evolution Theory of Herbert Spencer and the Conflict Theory of Karl Max.
According to Evolution Theory, a society is like organisms that undergo change in a gradual and natural
series of stages based on increasing complexity which equates to a more advanced society as time goes
on. Rate of change is expected to increase as society becomes modern. On the other hand, the Conflict
Theory or the Marxist Theory stands conflict as normal and inevitable cause of change. One of his
famous example is the existence of class struggle between the bourgeoisie(owners/captalists) and the
proletariats (working class) which causes change.
Aside from the theories mentioned above to explain the occurence of social change, John M. Chiron,
proposes six guiding principles that explain change in the society or community.
Also, social change can be considered as socio-cultural and political that originated from economic
aspect - with its state, nature and structure. The following are the sources of social change.
1. Innovation - is drawing new creative ideas which results to a change whether manifest or latent form.
2. Diffussion - The process where one group or society borrows elements of culture from another group
or society and incorporates it as their own.
3. Acculturation - The incorpration of cultural elements by one group or society derived from "others" or
"outsiders." Example is tributo or tax system imposed among Filipinos by Spaniards, is used until today.
4. Assimilation - It process of combination of two cultures in to one culture with compromising cultural
traits.
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
In the times of rapid social change, a large number of people or social movement engaged in
concerned, persistent and organized effort to bring about or resist change. Social movement is a group
composed of people having similar principles and ideology trying to achieve a certain or definite goal.
These efforts may take many forms
1. Public gatherings like rallies, marches and parades to show movement's cause.
2. Coordinated demand or correspondences like letters and e-mail addressed to subjects/targets
3. Publicity in a form of advertisement, posters, graffiti, t-shirt design or other means of spreading the
message of the group
4. Civil disobedience
The casues of social movements was influenced by Deprivation Approach ot the Relative Deprivation
Theory. For Karl Marx, the exploitation of capitalist leads to increased satte of impoverishment among
working class. Examples are Women's Suffrage Movement during 1900s and Civil Righs Movemengs in
US during 1960s. Resource Mobilization Approach lr Resource Mobilization Theory states that people
participate in social movements not because of deprivation bjt as a response ro a rational-decision
making process weighing the positive effect or benefits and negative effects or cost of their
participation. Example are Ku Klux Klan. Resources are leaders, communication, money or fund, social
resource, and transportation.
Not all social novements are successful in terms lf fully achieving their objectives. On the other hand,
many recent social movements were created in our society or community like Environmentalism and
Feminism.
RELATIONSHIP
In community, relationship can be observed in dimensions . It can be divided into two-- Individual and
Cultural/Structural Dimension.
A community is comprised of individuals who develop communications and various forms of interactions
in terms of affections and activities. According to Brueggemann (2002), communities are natural human
associations based on tie of relationship and shared experiences in which we mutually provide meaning
in our lives, meet needs and accomplish interpersonal goals. Individual makes the community. The
community creates organizations to have better lives of individual members. Thus, community caters a
system of support for the individual while organization enhances this system of support.
As an individual you have "needs" to dwell in the community. Needs are physiological, psychological or
sociological deficiencies that someone may be experiencing.
There are theories of needs such as Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in 1954 where he concluded
that individual behavior is primarily influenced by certain needs. For him, people try to satisfy first their
lower-level or basic needs such as food, and clothing and then progress upward to the higher-level of
needs such as self-esteema and self-actualization. Later on, he revised his original pyramid and addes
two more essential needs: cognitive needs or the need to acquire knowledge and aesthetic needs or the
need to create and experience beauty, balance and structure.
Another one is the Hawthorne studies of Australian psychologist Elton Mayo that implements
improvement in the workplace such as break time for worker, improvements of lighting in work areas
and close supervision ny managers. It is also considered as foundation of human relation movements in
1920s that considers the influence of interpersonal relationship, social conditioning, and group norms in
determining the performance of workers and focuses on social element in the workplace .
Interrelationship
A community exist in order to serve the individuals within it but not the vice verse. The relationship
between the individual and the community is fundamental and forms the basis of sociological and
philosophical discussions. "Man is by nature a political animal." Aristotle conceived politics as being like
organism rather than like a machine, and as a collection of parts none of which can exist without the
others in thd community. The community power, influence, authority, legitimacy and linkage are
engaging in efforts to control the acts of others.
Al qualities that are proper to man can only be developed with a society. Qualities such rationality,
language, personality, culture, works, and play can only be nurtured in a human society. Furthermore,
man achieve all his potential only when in a human society hence the intrinsic relationship between man
and society. Not only nature that compel man to be social but necessity too. All necessities which make
life worthwhile can only be achieved through collaboration with others; hence, the interdependence of
the individual and the society.
Communities form around people who share a common specialty or interest. Organizations share some
characteristics, but they are not self-forming. Communities exist to help their members better do their
jobs and to deepen their skills and expertise. Organizations exist to get work done. Some organizations
try to align communities to the organization structure. They try to control communities from the top and
assign topics, leaders, and membership based on business unit, function, geography, client, market
offering, or initiative.
Communities should be based on topics which use easily-recognized terminology, not on organization
structure. Communities should be organized around industry-standard, universal topics with which
members can identify in their specialties and roles.
WHAT IS COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION?
Community organization is the process of people coming together to address issues that matter to
them. This concerns are called community organization efforts. Community organization can happen in
the variety of contexts that define "community."
SHARED PLACE
People come together who share a common geographic place such as a neighborhood, city, or town.
They address neighborhood concerns such as safety, housing and basic services.
Community-based organizations, neighborhood associations, and tenants are common forms of place-
based practice.
SOCIAL PLANNING
Social planning uses information and analysis to address substantive community issues such as
education, child development, or environmental health.Social planning might occur in a context of
either consensus or conflict about goals and means.
SOCIAL ACTION
Social action involves efforts to increase the power and resources of low-income or relatively powerless
or marginalized people. They might arrange disruptive events -- including lawsuits, sit-ins, or boycotts --
to draw attention and focus to their concerns by those in power. Organizers create events, such as a
protest or strike, that those in positions of power (such as employers) can avoid or stop by coming to an
agreement. Social action tactics are used in lots of situations involving conflicting interests and
imbalance in power; they usually take place when conventional negotiations aren't working.
LOCALITY DEVELOPMENT
Locality development is another way to get people to work together. It is the process of reaching group
consensus about common concerns and collaborating in problem solving.
Cultural/Structural Community
"Imagine yourself being in your favorite place in the world. It is often the threedimensional place
that you first recall. The colors, forms and textures you once saw and touched come to mind.
However there is more to the place that makes it special. This place triggers, for you, a point in
time in your life. You may recall the happiness or sadness that was with you then. Perhaps it
conjures up relationships and experiences at that period of time. This space of identity, family
and community is the fourth dimension. Are there other qualities attached to your favorite
place? Perhaps you felt the wind when you were there, or saw a sunset or heard sounds that
sparked a sense of universal wonder, and you were transported, in an instant, into a spiritual
dimension. All these five dimensions make places special to you personally but also for any
community."
Dimensions of
Community
Concept is framework that
acts as common ground
to enable dialogue and discussion of appreciation of the understandings of spirituality, the
phenomenal experiences associated with these and how important these are to wellbeing, a deeper
appreciation of culture and heritage and to sustainability as well as empowering and strengthening. In
community research, it is considered as cultural dimension including geography and demography. It is
the basis for organizing categories in observing and understanding the nature of community nature
and how they behave. Communities are social or cultural organizations, and, as such, are
characterized by the six cultural dimensions. communities are not the same as human individuals, but
grow and change by their own sets of principles. These dimensions of community include:
technological, economic, political, institutional (social), aesthetic-value, and belief-conceptual.
The technological dimension of community is its capital, its tools and skills, and ways of dealing with the
physical environment. It is the interface between humanity and nature
The economic dimension of community is its various ways and means of production and allocation of
scarce and useful goods and services (wealth), whether that is through gift giving, obligations, barter,
market trade, or state allocations
The political dimension of community is its various ways and means of allocating power, influence and
decision making. It is not the same as ideology, which belongs to the values dimension. It includes, but is
not limited to, types of governments and management systems. It also includes how people in small
bands or informal groups make decisions when they do not have a recognized leader.
The social or institutional dimension of community is composed of the ways people act, interact
between each other, react, and expect each other to act and interact. It includes such institutions as
marriage or friendship, roles such as mother or police officer, status or class, and other patterns of
human behaviour.
Blandin Leadership program believed that the nine dimensions is integral in the holistic wellbeing of a
community. By analyzing the these dimension, categorize each into structual dimension of community
by making a diagram. Provide also an explanation.
ENUMERATION. Identify what is being asked and define the terminologies in your understanding.
ASSESSMENT
Essay. Answer the following:
4. How can virtual community be a platform for change at this time of pandemic?
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Create your own pick-up/"hugot" line or meme with a related image on leadership, social change as
background and upload it in your facebook account or your most used social mdeia account. Leave it for
a day. Observe the likes and comments of netizens. Make a reflection after the activity.
GLOSSARY
Resources-
Virtual Community -
REFERENCES
SUGGESTED READINGS/WEBSITES