Unit 4: Core Values and Principles of Community Action Initiatives

Lesson 4.3
Social Justice in Community Action Initiatives

Contents

Introduction 1

Learning Objectives 2

Let’s Connect 2

Discover 3
The Importance of Social Justice 3
Social Justice and Equity 4
Social Justice in the Community 5

Wrap-Up 6

Try This! 7

Challenge Yourself 8

Reflect on This 10

Bibliography 10
Unit 4: Core Values and Principles of Community Action Initiatives

Lesson 4.3

Social Justice in Community Action

Initiatives

Introduction
Human rights are inherent to all human beings without discrimination. Every person has
the same set of rights, but not everyone can practice or exercise rights all at the same time.
Imagine people on a train platform. Once the train arrives, can they be accommodated all

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Unit 4: Core Values and Principles of Community Action Initiatives

at the same time? Can they all sit or find a comfortable area?

People cannot enjoy the same things simultaneously because of scarce resources or
limited avenues by which these can be exercised. The creation of law is necessary to
maximize the use of rights without resulting in conflict with others. This idea can be best
explained using the concept of social justice.

Learning Objectives DepEd Learning Competency

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to
In this lesson, you should be able to do the appraise the value of social equity and gender
following: equality in the context of participatory
development (HUMSS_CSC12-IIIh-j-14).
● Define the concept of social
justice and equity.
● Explain the existence of social
justice to the community and its
importance in the context of
participatory development.

Let’s Connect

Fair or Unfair? 10 minutes

Instructions
Get a partner and have a conversation about the different situations presented below.
Explain whether the situation stated is fair or unfair.

1. Mr. Santos, a senior high school teacher, decided to give everyone with brown hair a
deduction on a Community Engagement, Solidarity, and Citizenship test.
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2. Everyone in the class wanted to take home the trophy, so the teacher put all the
names in a hat and chose one person who would bring it home.
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3. The school has only one basketball court. There is a men’s basketball team and a
women’s basketball team. Only the men get to use the court because they always get
there ahead of time after school.
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Discover
Human rights are inherent to all human beings. Article III of the Philippine Constitution
declares and enumerates a person’s rights and privileges. It must be protected against
violations by the government or by individuals or groups.

How does social justice affect the development of a country?

The Importance of Social Justice

The National Association of Social Workers defines social justice as the view that all
persons deserve equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities. Social justice
takes place if there are equal rights, equal opportunity, and equal treatment for every
member of the community.

Article XIII, Sections I and II of the Philippine Constitution require the adoption by the state
measures to guarantee the fair distribution of society’s benefits, advantages, and assets. It
mandates the state to promote social justice in all phases of national development by

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Unit 4: Core Values and Principles of Community Action Initiatives

protecting and enhancing the right of all the people to human dignity, reducing social,
economic, and political inequalities, and removing cultural inequalities. This can be attained
by creating economic opportunities based on two values: freedom of initiative or the
ability of a person to assess and do things independently, and self-reliance or the ability of
a person to do things and make decisions independently.

Social justice cannot be achieved without these four essential goals: human rights, access,
participation, and equity. Imagine a just community. Everyone protects and respects
human rights. Everyone has equal access to essentials like shelter, food, and education.
Everyone, especially the most affected, is expected to participate. Equality means everyone
is provided with the same resources to ensure they do their best, while equity means
everyone is provided with what they need to ensure that they do their best.

In the 1956 credo of President Ramon Magsaysay, he mentioned that “the government
starts at the bottom and moves upward, for the government exists for the welfare of the
masses of the nation. . . those who are less in life should have more in law.” The goal of
social justice is to guarantee the dignity, welfare, and security of all people. It ensures that
even the poor and vulnerable receive access to essential resources for a good life and be
protected from discrimination.

Check Your Progress

How can social justice be secured?
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Social Justice and Equity

Social justice and equity work hand in hand to create a safe space for all members of society
to live peacefully and attain a sense of self-worth. Social justice and equity both encompass
various areas and aim to transform many types of oppression. These include heterosexism,
classism, racism, adultism, ageism, transgender oppression, ableism, sexism, and religious

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oppression.

Advocating for social justice could mean upholding policies that address systemic barriers.
The significance of social justice and equity can be observed both at the individual and the
community level, which means that institutions and individuals have the power to demand,
address, and account for social justice and equity in society. Societies must also make it a
goal to obtain social justice and equity so as to create a better environment for future
generations.

Social Justice in the Community

The community of every person should ensure that its members are not being undermined.
Communities should be the forerunners of promoting social justice and every member of
the community must commit to the responsibility of taking care of each other’s rights.

Communities must constantly reflect on their own cultures and identities and how they
relate to others. They must be aware of the power dynamics and privilege in their
community and be open to learn about and communicate with others in order to address
and challenge issues around them.

In addition, communities should do this work purposefully and proactively, with the
commitment of gaining positive outcomes. In doing so, the community is building the
capacity to support and assist schools, establishments, and other institutions in responding
to their members’ needs with a dedicated focus on matters of social justice and equity.

In Philippine Context
Social media has been creating a huge impact in today’s world. It makes human
interaction and communication more convenient and accessible anytime and anywhere in
the world. Based on a statistical report released in November 2020, the Philippines spent
the most time connected to social networking sites, devoting almost four hours a day to
the digital social sphere.

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The era of social networking sites has habituated us to see numerous texts, images, and
videos that border on excessive. We can see people’s different perspectives toward wealth,
luxury, and privilege. The article questions how we view affluence, what is considered
excessive today, and how one can justify astonishingly luxurious lifestyles in a world where
one person dies of hunger every four seconds.

We need to put a stop on this trend of blatant hyper-consumption so that we will not end
up with a generation that considers material wealth, high achievement, or privilege as
more important than caring for others.

Social Justice in the Age of Instagram

Nicole Curato, “Social Justice in the Age of Instagram,”
Rappler.com, June 28, 2014.
https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/social-justice-a
ge-instagram, last accessed on January 4, 2021.

Wrap-Up
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● Social justice is a societal value that guides human interaction and the fair
distribution of society’s benefits, advantages, and assets.
● Social justice cannot be achieved without the four essential goals: human rights,
access, participation, and equity.
● Article XIII of the Philippine Constitution mandates the state to promote social
justice in all phases of national development.
● The promotion of social justice includes the commitment to create opportunities
based on freedom of initiative and self-reliance.
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Unit 4: Core Values and Principles of Community Action Initiatives

Try This!
A. Choose from the Box. Identify the term described in each statement from the words
inside the box.

access equality human rights self-reliance

Article III equity marginalization state

Article XIII freedom of participation social justice

initiative

____________________ 1. It is inherent to all human beings.

____________________ 2. It is the ability to assess and do things independently.

____________________ 3. It is a social justice principle which states that every voice must
be heard.

____________________ 4. It is the ability to do things and make decisions independently.

____________________ 5. Everyone is given access to the same resources to ensure they

do their best.

____________________ 6. Everyone is given access to what they need to ensure they do

their best.

____________________ 7. It is a social justice principle which states that everyone must be

able to acquire essential resources.

____________________ 8. It has the obligation to promote social justice in all phases of

national development.

____________________ 9. It is the article in the Philippine Constitution that highlights the

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promotion of social justice.

____________________ 10. It is the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political,
and social rights and opportunities.

B. True or False. Read the statement carefully. Write true if the statement is correct or false
if it is incorrect.

____________________ 1. Everyone can exercise the same rights all at the same time.

____________________ 2. The sole beneficiary of social justice is the privileged

members of our society.

____________________ 3. The goal of social justice is to guarantee the dignity, welfare,

and security of all the people.

____________________ 4. The promotion of social justice includes a commitment to

creating economic opportunities.

____________________ 5. Social justice will take place if there are equal rights, equal
opportunity, and equal treatment for every member of the
community.

Challenge Yourself
Short-Response Essay. Explain your answer briefly and coherently.

1. Choose one specific community (a local community, an organization, or an

institution). Identify an existing issue in the community related to social justice.
2. Discuss how the community can address this issue through community action
initiatives.
3. Provide a short write-up of your output in the space provided.
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Suggested Rubric for Grading

The rubric below is a suggested one. Your teacher may modify the rubric based on your
needs. Consult your teacher for the final rubric.

Performance Levels

1 2 3 Suggested
Criteria Score
Beginning Proficient Advanced Weight

Proficiency Proficiency

Content Less than half of the More than half of All of the answers
answers are logical the answers are are logical and ×3
and plausible. logical and plausible. plausible.

Completeness Less than half of the More than half of All the required
items are present. the items are items are present. ×2
present.

Language Less than half of the More than half of All answers are
answers are the answers are grammatically
grammatically grammatically correct correct and free ×1
correct and free from and free from spelling from spelling errors.
spelling errors. errors.

Total Possible Score 18

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Reflect on This
As a teenager, how do you promote social justice in your day-to-day life?
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Bibliography
Equity for Children. “Equity and Social Justice: A Short Introduction.” June 2013.
http://www.equityforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/FinalPaper-Equityand
SocialJustice-AnIntroduction-1.pdf

Kent State University. “The Five Principles of Social Justice.” Accessed July 5, 2020.
https://onlinedegrees.kent.edu/political-science/master-of-public-administration/co
mmunity/five-principles-of-social-justice

Official Gazette. “Article XIII, Section I and II - Social Justice and Human Rights.” Constitution of
the Republic of the Philippines. 1987.
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/.

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Social Justice in an Open World:
The Role of the United Nations. New York: United Nations, 2006.
https://doi.org/10.18356/56bfb5b6-en.

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