COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT,

SOLIDARITY, AND CITEZENSHIP Social sciences - study of people and

REVIEWER societies

DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY
1ST SUMMATIVE TEST
“communitas” - which means fellowship.

“communis” - means “common”

THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING
COMMUNITY DYNAMICS AND COMMUNITY “Com” - “with” or together”,
ACTION
“munire” - “strengthen”, “to fortify” or “to
Community - group of individuals bound within defend”
a specific geographic location.
Community - is a construct, that is a social
Community Dynamics - changes that occur in mechanism, phenomenon, or category
the community power composition over time created and develop by society; a perception
of an individual, group, or idea that is
- is the process of change and development in
“constructed” through cultural or social practice.
communities of all living organisms—including
(Phil Bartle)
plants, microorganisms, and small and large
creatures of every sort.

Community power structures - hierarchal DEFINITIONS OF COMMUNITY IN THE

interrelationships that govern the interaction of DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
individuals among each other within a localized
group setting Social Science Perspective - An informally
organized social entity, characterized by a
Community population composition - sense of identity.
common demographic variables that describe
the size, distribution, and characteristics of the - A group of people living in the same defined
population area, sharing common basic values,
organization, and interest.
Formal power structure - Legal authoritative
such as the elected and appointed - A group of people whose connections and
government officials and the leaders of civic relations are formed by their shared
organizations. histories, experiences, geographies, and
identities.
Informal Power structure - Composes of
Critical Actors Civil society perspective - about community
refers to a political community of organized
groups operating within the authoritative
parameters of the state.
CRITICAL ACTORS
Institutions - are established rules that ensure
Legal Authorities - Elected or appointed
the regular and predictable behavior of actors
government officials and leaders
within a community.
Influencers - Non- elected nor appointed yet
Social institutions - perform a function of
they can propose, pressure and affect decisions
coordinating values, goals and actions of its
made.
individual members.

Community action - It refers to the collective

2 CATEGORIES OF INSTITUTIONAL
efforts done by people directed towards
PERSPECTIVE
addressing and solving social problems or
accomplishing a specific outcome Formal Institutions - explicitly communicated,
embodied in legally codified documents or
Solidarity - firm and persevering
artifacts.
determination to commit oneself to the
common good by mutually supporting and Informal Institutions - practices, norms,
sustaining movement for social change and social traditions and culture, conduct and belief
justice. systems of a community.
Citizenship - full membership in a community
in which one lives, works, or was born.
Organic perspective - refers to local or physical space and the location of its
grassroots groups within a particular locale resources such as human, natural
that are driven and organized because of resources, and technology
community issues and concerns.
2. Socio-Political Dimension
Grassroots organizations or movements - are
typically composed of volunteers from the  The political dimension of community is
local/community level. its various ways and means of
allocating power, influence and
5 FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNITY decision making. It is not the same as
1.Production, Distribution, consumption ideology, which belongs to the values
dimension. It includes, but is not limited
 The community provides its members to, types of governments and
with the means to make a living. This management systems.
may be agriculture, industry, or services.
3. Cultural Dimension
2. Socialization:
 Culture is referring to the people’s way
 The community has means by which it of life. It compasses the values and
instills its norms and values in its beliefs that are passed on from one
members. This may be tradition, generation to another.
modeling, and/or formal education.  It embodies the collective sense of a
people and what matters to them as a
3. Social Control:
community, such as their relationships,
 The community has the means to memories and experiences,
enforce adherence to community backgrounds, hopes and dreams
values. This may be group pressure to
4. Economic Dimension
conform and/or formal laws, regulate the
conduct and behavior of community  The economic dimension of community
members. is its various ways and means of
production and allocation of scarce
4. Social Participation:
and useful goods and services
 The community fulfills the need for (wealth), whether that is through gift
companionship. This may occur in a giving, obligations, barter, market trade,
neighborhood, church, business, or other or state allocations.
group.
5. Mutual Support: TYPOLOGIES OF COMMUNITY
 The community offers its members 1. Formal- Informal Typology –
interaction that encourage emphasizes leadership and power relations
cooperation and solidarity. in the community.
2. Local- Global Typology - focuses on the
scope and breadth of communities with
STRUCTURAL DIMENSIONS OF
respect to its geographic dimensions and
COMMUNITY
the reach of its other dimensions.
 Community structure - is represented
3. Rural – Urban Typology - based on the
by the social hierarchies that are
distinction in terms of development,
inherent to each collective. It is also the
industrialization, ecological conditions and
attributes and characteristics of the
lifestyles.
elements of the community and how
these elements are interrelated. Rural communities are characterized as
pastoral, agricultural, and located along
the periphery of urban centers or in the
4 BASIC STRUCTURAL DIMENSIONS OF country side.
COMMUNITY
Urban communities are described as
1. Geographic Dimension industrialized and commercial centers
where population destiny is relatively
 The geographical dimension focuses on high compared to rural communities.
how a community is shaped by the
4. The Community Sector - is a set of
community- based organizations that
voluntarily and autonomously function
beyond a government or state.