WELCOME TO HMS 127

Community Engagement,
Solidarity, and Citizenship
 UNIT 1:
CONCEPTS AND PERSPECTIVES
OF COMMUNITY

Lesson 1: Community: Definition,

Importance, Elements and Approaches
 
 MAIN IDEA
“It is a feeling that people within the community matter to one another with a shared faith that their needs
will be met through commitment and togetherness. Being a part of a community can make us feel
as though we are a part of something greater than ourselves.”
 
LEARNING COMPETENCIES
At the end of this lesson, learners can:
a) compare and contrast the definitions of community using various perspectives, e.g., social sciences,
institutions, civil society, and local/grassroots level;
b) analyze functions of communities in terms structures, dynamics, and processes; and
c) compare and contrast typologies of communities.

VALUE INTEGRATION
Culture and Character
Where am I here in the picture?
 Community 
• is a cluster of people who may live in the same area (a geographical community) or who
interact around a common interest (a functional community). For instance: they work
together, or they meet to talk about a shared interest or challenge, or they participate in a
project.

• is similar to a living creature, comprising different parts that represent specialized

functions, activities, or interests, each operating within specific boundaries to
meet community needs.

• is ‘super-organic organism or system’, made up of the thoughts, outlook and conduct of

individual human beings full of divisions and conflicts brought about by differences (in
terms of religion, ethnicity, gender, access of resources, class, educational level, income
level, ownership of properties, language, personality, etc).
COMMUNITY IN DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVE
Understanding the different perspectives on Community

1) The Social Science Perspective

a. Community is a congregation of people unified by at least one common characteristic.

The people can be unified by geography, shared interests, values, experiences, or
traditions. Community is referred to as socialization. Socialization starts at the early stage
of life where one develops knowledge, skills, and orientation.

b. The family is the key player that creates a certain pattern of behavior. Yet as the person

learns to socialize with peers and engage with different societal institutions such as the
mass media, government, workplace, and schools, the person develops a new pattern of
behavior—a behavior which is usually associated with the community where the person
belongs to.
2) The Community-Based Perspective (Local and Grassroots Level)
Community is seen as a setting for invention, target for change, resource, and agent from
the community-based perspective.
i. Setting for intervention – interventions may be implemented at various places
within community institutions including neighborhoods, schools, churches, work
areas, and community organizations. Project interventions may concern education,
health, and other services.
ii. Target for change – the community denotes the goal of creating a healthy
environment facilitated by policy and community-wide institutions and services.
iii. Resource – the community is a good material for promotion as it has a
considerable degree of “community ownership and participation”.
iv. Agent – the focus is on “respecting and reinforcing the natural adaptive,
supportive, and developmental capabilities of communities”. Through the local
institutions, it provides resources for realizing regular needs.
3) The Ecological Perspective
a. A community is a congregation of species that occur together in time and space and
have high probability for interaction. Behavior is perceived not only as a product of
knowledge, values and attitudes of individuals but also as a result of social influences
involving the family, social networks, organizations and public policy.
b. Social ecology is beyond the notion that interventions can be applied at various levels
of the social system. Social networks are essential within the milieu that brings people
in connection with others.

4) The Sectoral Perspective

c. These sectors composed of groups of individuals embodying distinct roles and
interests within the community system. Every sector functions within particular
margins to sustain the requirements of its members and beneficiaries.
d. Sectors that distribute, divide, and exact accountabilities in managing the welfare and
safety of the community. This will also help in identifying facilitating and hindering
factors in resolving community problems.
5) The Civil Society Perspective

a. 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. The civil society (CS) views the
community as composed of people, structures, and systems endowed with resources
but is confronted with social issues as well. But the goal of CS is to mobilize the
members of the community to participate in the community’s advocacies.
b. Community Development (CD), it prioritized and aligns community actions with

economic, political, social, and ecological policy development. And it promotes a

cognizant effort from the community to build leadership, enhance organizations, and
advance community development interventions.
Elements of a Community: Nature and Power Structure
1. A community is a sociological construct.
- It is a set of interactions or human behaviors that have meaning and
expectations between its members. Actions based on shared
expectations, values, beliefs, and meanings between individuals. To understand
how a community operates and it changed.

2. A community has fuzzy boundaries.

- When a community is a little village separated by a few kilometers from other villages
in a rural area, its boundaries appear at first to be very simple. The human interaction present
may be seen as consisting only of relations among the residents living inside that village. If
the residents interact with people outside the village.
Example: * marry persons from other places and move or bring a spouse in to live with
them.
* those village residents may have sisters, brothers, parents, cousins, and relatives
living elsewhere. The boundary of the community is no longer that precise.
3. A community can exist within a larger community.
- There may be communities within larger communities, including districts, regions,
ethnic groups, nations, and other boundaries. There may be marriages and interactions that
link the village of a nation together.

4. A community may move.

- When the technology is not based on local horticulture, the community residents may
be physically mobile. They may be nomadic herders walking distances with their cattle. They
may be mobile fishing groups who move from time to time where the fish are available.
They may be hunters who move to follow the game.
Four Elements of the Sense of Community: McMillan and Chavis (1986)
1. Membership – refers to the feeling of belonging or of sharing a sense of personal relatedness.
Boundaries – allowing others to belong and keep others out 
Emotional safety – feelings of security and trust in revealing how one really feels
Sense of belonging and identification – members’ feeling that they belong, fit in, and are accepted
by the community.
Personal investment – sacrifices made to maintain membership in the community
Common symbol system – things used to represent the community such as emblems, rituals,
rite of passage, dress code, etc.

2. Influence – refers to the sense of having importance or of feeling valued, wherein there is balance between (a) members
feeling that they have a say in the community and (b) a community being a body that also has the power to make its members
conform.

3. Integration and fulfillment of needs – refers to the feeling of fulfillment, which stems from the personal investments that
members make in maintaining community membership or in participating in community activities and affairs.

4. Shared emotional connection – refers to a sense of shared cultural and historical heritage and the feeling that common
experiences will continue to be shared in the future. 
Classifications of Communities
1. Rural-Urban
Rural areas are separate and away from the influence of large cities and towns. Known as “countryside,
farmland or agricultural land. Urban areas are called cities and towns.
Rural Urban
Majority are marginalized people coming
Many are educated, professionals and businessmen. However, there are also a lot of urban
from the farming, fishing, and mining sectors
poor and informal settlers who come from the labor sector.
who failed to finish college education.
Low density of human population. High density of human population.
Poor infrastructure facilities for electricity,
water, transport, educational institutions, With the presence of infrastructure facilities.
health, employment, etc.

Land is for the buildings of government, educational institutions, corporations; business

Land is for agriculture/farming establishments and factories, high-rise housing, condominiums, infrastructure for
transportation/roads, and subdivisions.
Farming, fishing, teaching, barangay health Information technology, professionals (medicine, teaching, engineering, research), labor
workers, etc. works, informal street and community works; corporate works, etc.
They have a sense of unity and In some parts of the urban community, a sense of unity is far from that of the rural area.
belongingness. They also have less social People are a bit indifferent with each other, and there is a feeling of distrust. There is more
mobility and social differentiation. social night life because of the presence of bars, restaurants, and entertainment.
Classifications of Communities

2. Local and Global

Local community is a term often used to denote a geographically bounded community such as territorial
enclave, village, barangay, town, city, municipality, province, region, or even an entire country depending
on the point of reference.
Global community is a term used to characterize the interconnectivity of people or countries all over the
world. The concept of global community became popular with the integration of economies among
countries (globalization) and the formation of international governments (United Nations).

3. Physical Space-Virtual Social Space

Physical space refers to unlimited three-dimensional expenses in which material objects are located.
A social space is physical or virtual areas where people gather and interact with one another like public
parks, clubs, gymnasiums, squares, malls, etc.
Virtual social space refers to nonphysical spaces where people use the internet and other social media
outlets/platforms as a channel of communication, interaction, and exchange of ideas.
 Four Approaches in Applying the Term Community
Groups Approaches of each group in applying the Term Community

First Group They are concerned about the social and spatial formation of social
(Sociologists and organizations into small groups, such as neighborhoods, small towns, or other
Geographers) spatially bounded localities.

Second Group
Applies the term to ideas of belonging and difference around issues such as
(Those working in Cultural
identity.
Studies and Anthropology)

Third Group
Considers community as a form of political mobilization inspired by radical
(Those working in the Social
democracy that prompts communities of action to oppose social injustice.
Movement)

Fourth Group Consider the development of a community based on the rise of a global society
(Those concerned about the and draws  on processes, such as transnational mobility and the development,
Influence of Globalization) such as global communications and the internet, to explain this.
Community Typologies

1. Gemeinschaft (Communal society) or “community” – refers to human associations

that are characterized by being intimate (having face-to-face relations), informal,
caring, homogenous, and group welfare-oriented. These are the types of communities
that are governed by informal and loose relationships. It is more dominant in rural
communities or tight-knit communities such as tribes and villages.

2. Gesellschaft (Associational society) “society” – pertains to human associations that

are characterized by being interpersonal, formal, rational heterogeneous, and
individually oriented. These are the types of communities that are government by
formal and rigid relationships. It is more prevalent in urban communities or
industrialized societies.
Gesellschaft society involves achieved status, or a status reached by education and
professional advancement.
Types of Communities

1. Neighborhood or Geographic Community

It focuses on the physical boundaries that make it distinct or separate, such as a river or a
street. It has a diverse population with individuals or groups occupying different physical
spaces and each with special attributes such as religion, economic status, etc.

2. Community of Identity
This community has common identifiable characteristics or attributes like culture,
language, music, religion, customs, and others.
3. Community of Interest or Solidarity
This community incorporates social movements such as women’s rights, environment,
peace, and human rights.
4. Intentional Community
This community refers to individuals that come together voluntarily and support each other.
Members may share the same interests and identity or geographical location.
Examples: collective households (Collaborative Home Environment), ecovillages (Environment and Ecology),
monasteries, My Dream Permacul;ture Farm in Cebu
GUIDED PRACTICE
Instructions: Give one (1) concrete example each Type of Communities.

Types of Communities

Neighborhood or Geographic Community

Community of Identity

Community of Interest or Solidarity

Intentional Community
Instructions: Let us check and answer the given statements.
Agree or Disagree? Why?

It is traditionally perceived as homogenous and monolithic.  

It is linked with geographical location-a restricted territory where people perform their  
activities.

It is connected with work-the cultivation, contribution, allocation, and utilization of  

goods and services.

It is considered as a social system where the components and the environment are  
interrelated.

The traditional view of the community appears restrictive.  

TO BE SUBMITTED ON: FEBRUARY 19, 2021 (Wright and O’Malley)
FEBRUARY 22, 2021 (Walpole)

• Action
• Evaluation

Instructions: Please refer to your module.