At the end of your journey in this lesson, you are expected to achieve the following objectives:

1. Examine human responses to emerging challenges in contemporary societies.

Specifically,
a. Define social change — its characteristics and causes;
b. Describe how societies and governments address the challenge of global warming and
climate change;
c. List types of migration and the issues it brought to OFWs;
d. Discuss inclusive citizenship and participatory governance;
e. Discuss new media and social movements to respond to societal changes.

Day 1
Let Us Try!
This is an initial assessment on your knowledge about the topic. This is not yet graded. You
have just to be honest if you know the answers or not on the questions below.

I. Choose the letter that corresponds your answer in each item below.
1. Some oppose and do not welcome social change. What characteristic of social change is
stated?
a. Social change is controversial.
b. Social change happens all the time.
c. Some changes matter more than others.
d. Social change is sometimes intentional but is often unplanned.

2. Everything in the world is subject to change. What characteristic of social change is stated?
a. Social change is controversial.
b. Social change happens all the time.
c. Some changes matter more than others.
d. Social change is sometimes intentional but is often unplanned.

3. Change happens as products, people, and information spread from one society to another.
a. Idea
b. Diffusion
c. Invention
d. Discovery

4. According to Max Weber, it is the root of most social change.

a. Idea
b. Diffusion
e. Invention
d. Discovery
5. Which of the following is NOT a view on modernity/modernization?
a. It is an increasing division of labor,
b. Triumph of capitalism over feudalism.
c. It is either mechanical or organic solidarity.
d. Changing traditional worldview to rational way of thinking.

6. This refers to a change or the process of change in which an organism or species becomes
better suited to its environment.
a. Evolution
b. Adaptation
c. Development
d. Environmental challenges

7. These are chemicals that are trapped in the earth's atmosphere causing a heat increase.
a. Oxygen
b. Hydrogen
c. Carbon dioxide
d. Greenhouse gases

8. What human practice/s led to global warming and climate change?

a. Pollution
b. Rampant logging
c. Use of fossil fuels
d. All of the above

9. How can we categorize Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)?

a. Refugees
b. Internal migrants
c. Irregular migrants
d. Temporary migrants

10. What is/are the danger/s of Filipino migrants?

a. Abuse
b. Exploitation
c. Human trafficking
d. All of the above

II. True or False. Read each statement carefully. Write your answers on the space provided.
11. Exclusive citizenship refers to a type of citizenship that empowers marginalized groups and
individuals to be included in the political processes.
12. Participatory governance refers to a state strategy that ensures the engagement of the citizens
in planning, budgeting, monitoring and ensuring accountability in government.
13. Social media is a generic term for the many different forms of electronic communication
made possible through digital or computer technology.
14. Reform movements introduce changes in the political structures and processes of their
respective societies.
15. Environmentalism is a social movement whose advocacies are in line with concerns for the
environment-its protection and improvement.

Let Us Study
Read the quote below. I assume that you already heard and know this line. Do you find some
truth in this quote? Why everything changes? Is there really a need for a change? From your
memory inception, does society change before and now?
Social change is the “transformation of culture and social institutions over time” (Macionis
2012: 565).

Characteristics of Social Change

1.) Social change happens all the time. Everything in our social world are subject to change,
although some societies change faster than others. As Macionis points out, hunting and gathering
societies change quite slowly, whereas members of today's high-income societies experience
significant change within a single lifetime. Some elements of culture also change faster than
others. Macionis thus cites William Ogburn's theory of cultural lag. which states that material
culture (things) usually changes faster than nonmaterial culture ideas and attitudes). For instance,
advances in genetic technology have developed more rapidly than ethical standards on the use of
the technology.
2.) Social change is sometimes intentional but is often unplanned. Today's high- income societies
generate many kinds of change. Yet, it would be impossible to envision all the consequences of
the changes that are set in motion For example, telephones (invented in 1876) have taken on
different forms and uses over time.
3.) Social change is controversial. Social change brings both good and bad consequences, and
thus could be welcomed by some and opposed by others. Karl Marx and Max Weber have
chronicled the transformations brought about by the Industrial Revolution. The capitalists
welcomed the Industrial Revolution because new technology meant increased productivity and
profits. However, workers opposed it as they suffered alienation and the dehumanization brought
about by newer techniques and social relations of production.
4.) Some changes matter more than others. Some changes such as fashion fads only have passing
significance, while others such as major medical discoveries and inventions may change the
world.

Causes of Social Change

A. Culture and Change
There are three important sources of cultural change (Macionis 2012: 565-566). First is
invention, or the creation of something new by usually by putting things together, Inventions can
range from the seemingly complex technological objects such as the spacecraft or even the
lightbulb to the seemingly simple such as kitchen gadgets (like can openers).
Second is discovery, or finding something that has existed but previously not known.
Various examples of the discovery of material and fossil remains of prehistoric societies that
changed our understanding of biophysical and cultural evolution.
 Third is diffusion, or the spread of cultural attributes from one culture to another through
contact between different cultural groups. Change happens as products, people, and information
spread from one society to another. An example of cultural change is the wide variety of cuisine
from other lands that is made available to us. Fast-food courts and restaurants in major Philippine
cities offer food from around the country and the world that is usually not part of a person's
everyday meal. Filipino overseas workers have also been known to introduce balut and other
Filipino foods to their host societies. Another example is the evolving ideals of beauty as people
come in greater contact with others.
B. Conflict and Change
Inequality and conflict in a society also produce change. Karl Marx foresaw that "social
conflict arising from inequality (involving not just class but also race and gender) would force
changes in every society to improve the lives of working people (Macionis 2012: 566). In the
Philippines, the rising inequalities and human rights violations during the Martial Law period
caused mass uprisings that culminated in the 1986 People Power Revolt. The Philippines was
considered to be the first in the world to have challenged authoritarian rule through a non-violent
process.

C. Ideas and Change

Weber, like Marx, also saw that conflict could bring about change. However, he traced the
roots of most social change to ideas (Macionis 2012: 566). For example, charismatic people such
as Mahatma Gandhi or Jose Rizal had political ideas that change society.
D. Demographic Change
Population patterns such as population growth, shifts in the composition of a population,
or migration also play a part in social change (Macionis 2012: 566). An increasing population
may encourage the development of new products and services, but it can also have ecological
and social implications such the conversion of more agricultural land to residential subdivisions.
In other societies, lower fertility rates (women are having fewer children), an aging population,
and the influx of migrants from other societies are changing many aspects of social life.
 Modernity
A central concept in the study of social change is modernity. Modernity refers to social patterns
resulting from industrialization. These social patterns were set in motion by the Industrial Revolution,
which began in Western Europe in the 1750s. Related to the discussion of modernity is modernization,
or the process of social change begun by industrialization.

For Emile Durkheim, modernization is defined by an increasing division of labor. The division of labor
refers to the degree to which tasks or responsibilities are specialized. Durkheim defines a society
according to type of solidarity. Mechanical solidarity is based on shared activities and beliefs while
organic solidarity is characterized by specialization makes people interdependent. As societies become
industrialized, mechanical solidarity is gradually replaced by organic solidarity.

For Weber, modernity meant replacing a traditional worldview with a rational way of thinking
characterized by goal-oriented calculation and efficiency. He focused on the dehumanizing effects of
modern rational organization, especially the bureaucracy which is the ultimate form of rationalization.

Marx saw modernity as the triumph of capitalism over feudalism. Capitalism creates social conflict,
which Marx claimed would bring about revolutionary change leading to an egalitarian socialist society.
 New Challenges to Human Adaptation and Social Change

“It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive
to change.”
-Charles Darwin

Humans are generally adaptive to changes in the environment. If people perceive relevant
changes in the environment they are in, they readily adapt their behavior to meet those
challenges for their own benefit. Even in the past, humans modify their behaviors to suit
themselves in the new conditions where they are. Adaptation refers to a change or the process of
change in which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment. It enhances the

1.) Global Warming and Climate Change

Global warming and climate change are often used interchangeably. They refer to the drastic change in
climate patterns all over the world. These changes are attributed to certain human practices such as the
use of fossil fuel, rampant logging, pollution, and the use of chemicals called greenhouse gases.

As commonly defined, climate change refers to the “rise in average surface temperatures on earth
mostly due to the burning of fossil fuels”. It is further described as the “consequence of unchecked
pollution when carbon emissions caused by human activity enter the air; these have dangerous effects on the
environment, the economy, and well-being."

The realization of the grave impact of climate change on societies has led to calls for immediate action. In many
parts of the world, initiatives and programs to mitigate climate change have been initiated. Various. international
agencies and non-government organizations have embarked to projects to help educate and inform people about
climate change. Others have also contributed to the continuing study of climate change in order to learn how to
effectively address this challenge.

Sustainable energy resources such as solar and wind power are considered important solutions to climate change.
The use of renewable energy sources and the reduction or even complete elimination of the use of coal and other
fossil fuels are campaigned too. Information and awareness is also an important aspect in responding to the
challenge of climate change.

2.) Transnational Migration and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)

Aside from the human adaptation to changes in the environment brought by the unstoppable global warming and
its after effect-climate change, people are also facing adaptation challenges borne by the need for mobility Life
has been moving so fast and people as well are changing residences as rapidly.

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another for the purpose of temporary or permanent
residence. Migration involves the movement of people across long distances.

fitness and survival of individuals.

Types of Migration
 Emigration — refers to the movement of people out of their native country.
 Immigration — refers to the movement of people into a country that is not their native land.
 Internal migration — refers to the movement of people within their country like transferring from
one city or locality to another.

Types of Migrants
 Permanent migrants — are those who acquired residency or citizenship to the new country.
 Temporary migrants — are those who stay abroad for employment and have work visa.
 Irregular migrants — are those who do not possess legal documents but continue to stay in the
foreign country because they need to work. Refugees are those who are forced to move into
another country because they are displaced by wars, disasters and political persecution.
 Transnational migrants — are those persons who have migrated from one nation-state to another,
live their lives across borders, participating simultaneously in social relations that embed them in
more than one nation-state.

Filipinos have had long history of migration brought about the economic concerns. The prevalence of OFWs
at present is a sign of the impact of economic factors on the migration of Filipinos. Though overseas workers
are source of benefits for the Philippines, such as financial remittance, many OFWs and Filipino migrants
face dangers and challenges such as abuse, human trafficking and exploitation. Addressing these concerns
requires economic reforms which will enable Filipinos to gain employment in the country and no longer look
to migration as the only way to better their lives.
1.) Inclusive Citizenship and Participatory Governance
Citizenship refers to the legal status of an individual in a particular state that allows him or her to enjoy
certain rights and protection. Citizens also bestows certain obligations like payment of taxes and
observance of laws. Inclusive citizenship refers to a type of citizenship that empowers marginalized
groups (women, poor, and uneducated) and individuals to be included in the political processes.
An inclusive view of citizenship also implies a citizenry engaged in governance. More and more, it has
become important for governments to provide mechanisms for citizens to engage the state. Participatory
governance refers to a state strategy that ensures the engagement of the citizens in planning, budgeting,
monitoring and ensuring accountability in government.

2.) New Forms of Media and Social Networking

New media is a generic term for the many different forms of electronic communication made possible
through digital or computer technology. Social media, for its part, include forms of electronic
communication that facilitate social interaction and the formation of online communities through the
exchange of user-generated content.

The use of new media has facilitated political participation, widened citizens' access to information, and
stimulated new forms of decentralized political activism. Critics, however, warn against the growth of
consumerist form of citizenship and doubt the value of technological 'fixes'.

New media is considered a significant source of political change in at least three key ways:

(1) Electronic communication has altered the conduct of elections. Examples are e-campaigning and e-
voting.
(2) It offers citizens wider and easier access to information and more accessible venues to engage in
political discussion. Government information are made available online and some citizens have access to
government services through websites.
(3) It supported the development of political and social movements and further increase their
effectiveness. New politics is the newest style of activist politics which shifts power of government to
citizens.

Responding to Social, Political, and Cultural Change

3. Social Movements
A social movement is a sustained, organized, and collective effort that seeks to challenge the
government, international organizations, corporations, or other powerful institutions in an effort to
advance their goals.

Basic Types of Movements:

 Reform movements introduce changes in the political structures and processes of their
respective societies.
 Revolutionary movements cause massive and deep changes in society and politics.

The free rider phenomenon means that a person chooses not to participate in a social movement for
self-preservation. Establishing ways to encourage collective and voluntary action among citizens, and
to continually inform people of issues and problems and the benefits of becoming part of the solution
are ways to address the free rider phenomenon.

Popular Social Movements:

 Environmentalism is a social movement whose advocacies are in line with concerns for the
environment-its protection and improvement.
 Feminism is a social movement to push reforms on issues involving women such as
reproductive rights, domestic violence, fair labor practices, political suffrage, and sexual
harassment.

Day 2
Let Us Practice
1. Match concepts in Column A to its descriptions in Column B. Write the letter of your answer
on the space before the number.
ANSWERS COLUMN A COLUMN B
1. Social Change A. This is the result of industrialization.
2. Invention B. This refers to movement of people.
3. Diffusion C. This refers to different forms of electronic
communication.
4. Modernity D. This is the process of change by which
people become better with the conditions of
the environment.
5. Adaptation E. This is the transformations that alter the
roles and status of the people as well as the
structure and organization of the society.
6. Migration F. This refers to the legal status of a person in
a country.
7. Climate Change G. This refers to transmission of cultural
characteristics or traits from the common
society to all other societies.
 8. Citizenship H. This refers to the collective efforts to
challenge the government for their advanced
goals.
9. New Media I. This refers to the use of new techniques to
achieve desired ends.
10. Social Movement J. This refers to the change of temperature in
earth’s atmosphere.

II. Below is the organizer that identifies the causes of social change. Write a brief reason or
explanation below each as to why it became a cause of social change according to your
perspective.
Day 3
Let Us Practice More
I. Below some aspects that face challenges and changes of the human population. On its half side
(upper), write the changes; and the other half side (down), write the adaptations people make on
those changes.

Changes: Changes: Changes: Changes:

Food and Education Home and Employment

Industry Family
Adaptation: Adaptation: Adaptation: Adaptation:

II. Below is the organizer that describes the circumstances of OFWs brought about by migration
for employment. Complete the organizer below by filling important details.

Reasons for going abroad: Problems encountered by OFWs:

The Filipino Domestic

Helper
The jobs of the Filipino The effects of being an
migrants: OFW:
III. Write down below your thoughts about the effect of new media and social media in the
political development in the country. Does it affect or change political views of the citizens?
Write on the (+) column the advantages and on the (-) column the disadvantages:

Day 4
Let Us Remember
Complete the sentence starters below by writing your honest insights and lessons you learned in
this module.

The thing that strikes me the most about social change is

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Social Movement for me is necessary because

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

I will exercise my full citizenship in this country by

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

My views about participatory governance are

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

My three most important concepts from this chapter are:

1. ___________________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________________
Let Us Assess
Do not go back to the lesson anymore. This is to test whether you have mastered and
understood the lesson you had. You need to be honest to yourself. Focus and try recalling
your lesson.

I. Understand each item below and select the choice that corresponds your answer.
1. When there is "transformation of culture and social institutions over time", there is;
a. Social change
b. Global change
c. Political change
d. Cultural change

2. Medical discoveries and inventions change the world. What characteristic of social change is
stated?
a. Social change is controversial.
b. Social change happens all the time.
c. Some changes matter more than others.
d. Social change is sometimes intentional but is often unplanned.

3. How inequality and conflict become the cause of change?

a. It creates employment for the working class.
b. It brings advantage to society in becoming equal.
c. It forces changes to better living conditions of the people.
d. All of the above

4. The following are conditions in which population patterns change aspects of social life of the
people, except:
a. There could be land area conversions.
b. There may be influx of migration to other societies.
c. There would be development of products and services.
d. There will be forced abortions to decline population growth.

5. Which is the root of modernity and modernization?

a. Revolution
b. Adaptation
c. Development
d. Industrialization

6. Global warming and climate change are often used interchangeably. Which is the correct
relationship of the two concepts?
a. Global warming (cause); Climate change (effect)
b. Global warming (effect); Climate change (cause)
c. Global warming (process); Climate change (product)
d. Global warming (product); Climate change (process)

7. Which of the following is the social human response to global warming and climate change
challenge?
a. Use of renewable energy resources
b. Use of sustainable energy resources
c. Information and awareness campaign
d. Elimination of the use of coal and other fossil fuels

8. Which is a wrong association about the types of migration?

a. Immigration: In-migration
b. Emigration: Out-migration
c. Internal Migration: Within-migration
d. Transnational Migration: National migration

9. How will you categorize Filipinos who are referred as "TNT" (Tago ng Tago) in foreign
countries?
a. Refugees
b. Irregular migrants
c. Permanent migrants
d. Temporary migrants

10. Which do you think is the response to more Filipinos doing labor migration in foreign
countries?
a. The government should coordinate to foreign nationals for more job creations for the Filipinos
b. The government should plan the pre-deployment of Filipinos across the globe that need
market-labors.
c. The government should look forward in economic reforms and creating country employments
for Filipinos.
d. The government should pass a law requiring training on skilled- works to Filipinos who are 18
years old and above.

11. What are the obligations of becoming a citizen in a country?

a. Pay taxes
b. Observe laws
c. Both A and B
d. Neither A nor B

12. Participatory governance is encouraged to involve the citizens. Which of the following is
NOT a form of participation?
a. Consultation
b. Collaboration
c. Empowerment
d. Disinformation

13. New media is considered a significant source of political change. Which idea below supports
this statement?
a. It inhibits citizens wider and easier access to information
b. It denies the development of political and social movements.
c. It develops conspiracy of brainwashing people with ideologies.
d. Electronic communication has altered the conduct of elections.

14. How do you categorize the 1986 People Power in the Philippines?
a. Reform movement, because it changes the constitution.
b. Innovation movement, because it introduces new concept of governance.
c. Revolutionary movement, because it changes not only political structures but also social
structures.
d. Violent movement, because it is through radical and violent means that change the country's
structures.

15. What reforms are pushed by the social movement, Feminism?

a. Advocacies on giving voices for the marginalized groups b. Advocacies on the revival of death
penalty across the globe
c. Advocacies on creating equality in the social class and levels
d. Advocacies on women's political, social and reproductive rights

Day 5
Let Us Enhance
Study the 17 goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by world
leaders during the United Nations summit in September 2015. These goals are indicated in the
picture below.

Instruction: Choose 1 sustainable development goal out of 17 that you want to concentrate.
Develop an "advocacy campaign plan of your chosen sustainable development goal by filling the
template below with your plans in mind.

Prospect Name of My Advocacy:

Background: (Write here issues and problems that you experience or see in the society that led
you to pursuing an advocacy on your chosen sustainable development goal.)

Aim: (Write here what you want to contribute with your advocacy campaign.)

Objectives: (Write here your specific and measurable methods on how you will achieve your
stated aim above.)
 Targets: (Write here who are the beneficiaries of your advocacy campaign and why them)

Partnerships: (Write here who you will be partnering with to achieve your advocacy campaign.
It could be people or institutions.

Activities and Outputs: Write here the programs and activities your advocacy campaign will
undertake to achieve your aim and objectives. Be specific in your activities. Describe and explain
in detail.

Timeline: (Write the time frame as to when each activity and program will be implemented or
achieved.)

Budget: (Specify your needed expenditures to implement your activities and outputs.)

II. Given you have finished your output in Activity 1, give your own score using the rubric
below. Tick columns that appropriately described your advocacy campaign plan.

Let Us Reflect

“It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most
responsive to change.”
-Charles Darwin

Going back to what Charles Darwin envisioned, the dynamic nature of our society will always be
its characteristic. No force could ever mitigate the changes in our society. For instance,
everything changed brought about by the pandemic COVID19. However, it will change then
again when inventions and discoveries will lead the cure. Our fast-changing environment also
needs adaptive and rapidly welcoming skills to transition the flow of changes.

Let Us Assess
1. A
Let Us Practice

I.
1. E
2. I
2. C
3. C
4. D
5. D Let Us Try
6. A
7. C 1. A
2. B
8. D
3. B
9. B
4. A
10. C
5. C
11. C
6. B
12. D
7. D
13. D
8. D
14. C
9. D
15. D 10. D
11. FALSE
12. TRUE
13. FALSE
14. TRUE
15. TRUE