Lesson 1: Importance, Definition, and Elements of a ● The intensity or degree of reactions or sensitivities of

Community and Approaches in the Study of Community the community members is affected by those rules
and norms.
Importance of Understanding a Community and its Gains ● A successful community development project
● Community situations vary. requires a consideration of those rules and norms.
● Each community has its own context and realities.
● Those interested in working with a community must 5. An occasion to gauge the attitude and behavior of
first have a clear picture and a good grasp of the the community
entity they are trying to address. ● An understanding of the community members'
● It is in appreciating the features and elements of a attitude and behavior will give the project
community that engagement processes and actions development team an idea whether the project will
become relevant, acceptable, and appropriate. be supported or rejected or whether it can be
● Without a deep and wide knowledge of a target negotiated with the people.
community, interventions may emerge as exclusive,
inappropriate, or totally insensitive to the members 6. A way for a more directed and well-informed
of the community. dialogue with the community
● If one is an outsider in a target community for
Gains in Understanding a Community Dynamics: project development, a crucial activity one should
1. Provides benchmarking data undertake is dialogue with the community.
● Before the undertaking of any community action or ● The quality of the dialogue depends on how well-
development intervention like a community project, informed or how knowledgeable the outsiders are
it is important to establish benchmark data. on the community situation and issues.
● The data illustrate the preliminary picture or image ● Project development is a process of creating or
of the community. innovating ideas, interventions, and technologies
● It serves as the initial community situationer or that would respond to a particular need or problem
briefer. in the community
2. Provides preliminary project planning information
● It is necessary to secure community information and 7. Makes networking and partnership building more
feedback needed for the conceptualization of a favorable
project design or plan. ● By having an idea of the different advocacy and
● Understanding community dynamics is the key to a interest groups in the community, it is easier for
sound and relevant community development plan. people from schools, institutions, or groups to
● A community development action plan includes partner with local networks or associations
strategies and actions meant to enhance the quality
of life in a community 8. Gets project implementation less complicated
● Without a good grasp of the community they are
3. Provides an idea of the community’s strengths and aimed at, project development and implementation
challenges become complicated and stressful.
● An in-depth understanding of the community's ● The project implementation plan includes the steps
strengths and challenges guides the community- and processes that must be taken into consideration.
based project development team to identify the ● An understanding of the community will tell the
strengths and possible loopholes of the project project development and implementation team
design. what not to do or what to be more concerned of.
● Thus, it will make the design more feasible and
realistic. There are many ways to understand and appreciate a
● The project development team involves the key community but there is no substitute to immersing and living
stakeholders in the community, such as the with that community.
community leaders and representatives of the
Social development workers, social workers, social
people who will be direct or indirectly affected by action people, and community organizers cannot escape what
the project implementation as well as external we call in Tagalog as "paglubog' or "pagbabad."
members like community development agency
representatives and external consultants. It is more than exposure; it means immersion. It is a
process of living with the people in order to feel, smell, and
4. Provides an opportunity to understand the think like them.
community’s norms and rules This practice is captured by the thinking of Chinese
● The success or failure of a community project more philosopher Lao Tzu (700 BCE) who said:
often than not is strongly affected by the prevailing
rules and norms in the community. "Go to the people. Live with them, learn from them, love
them. Start with what they know; build with what they have."
 The getting-to-know stage or phase is the "see" or THE NATURE OF A COMMUNITY
"masid' portion in the "See-Judge-Act" method originally 1. A community is a sociological construct.
coined and used by Cardinal Cardijn in 1925.
● The concept of a community is not only a "construct"
This process is the same as the "Observe-Judge- (model); it is a sociological construct or a set of
Action Method" mentioned by Pope John XXIII in his 1961 interactions or human behaviors that have meaning
encyclical Mater et Magistra (Christianity and Social and expectations between its members.
Progress), which is part of the Church's Social Teachings. ● There is not just action, but actions based on shared
expectations, values, beliefs, and meanings between
individuals.
THE DEFINITION OF A COMMUNITY ● In understanding how a community operates and
● Communities are generally defined by their common how it changes, it is necessary to learn a little bit
cultural heritage, language, beliefs, and shared about sociology, the science.
interests. ● The mobilizer is an applied scientist, a social
● They may be classified as small such as the small scientist.
place-based community of a barangay or coastal ● While a pure scientist is interested in how things
village, or large such as a region, state, or nation work, the applied scientist is interested in taking that
(Murphy and Cunningham, 2003). This section knowledge and getting useful results.
focuses on small communities.
● According to Murphy and Cunningham (2003), small 2. A community has fuzzy boundaries
communities have "defined territories and are given ● When a community is a little village separated by a
life by three interacting people processes: few kilometers from other villages in a rural area, its
(a) an underlying web of human boundaries appear at first to be very simple.
relationships called as social fabric ● The human interaction present may be seen as
(b) a unique community power structure, consisting only of relations among the residents
and (c) a set of resource flows that constitute a local living inside that village.
economy.” ● If the residents interact with people outside the
● Small communities are powerful producers of village, they may, for example, many persons from
relationships which include kinship, friendship, other places and move or bring a spouse in to live
neighbors, local institutions, and communication with them.
mechanisms that connect people to people (Murphy ● At any given time, those village residents may have
and Cunningham, 2003). sisters, brothers, cousins, parents, and relatives
● Communities are viewed from the traditional and living elsewhere. The boundary of the community is
alternative perspectives. no longer that precise.
● The traditional perspective relates communities with
geographical location, work, and the social system.
● The alternative viewpoint, on the other hand, is 3. A community can exist within a larger community
● There may be communities within larger
more subjective, integrative, and feminist and
communities including districts, regions, ethnic
addresses oppression and discrimination.
groups, nations, and other boundaries.
● It integrates the notion of social justice, human
diversity, values, and ethics; and applies the idea of ● There may be marriages and other interactions that
link the villages of a nation together.
community building, community renewal,
community assets and strengths, ethnic and civil
society, and social capital. 4. A community may move
● A holistic view recognizes the interconnectivity of ● When technology is not based on local horticulture,
"people and place-based strategies" and the community residents may be physically mobile.
acknowledges that econòmic, environmental, and ● They may nomadic herders walking long distances
social issues are interdependent. with their cattle.
● The may be mobile fishing groups who move from
THE ELEMENTS OF A COMMUNITY: NATURE AND POWER time to time where the fish are available. They may
STRUCTURE be hunters who mo to follow the game.
The dynamics of a community are determined by its
nature and structure and how it reacts with external or A community can be considered like an organism
internal forces. because it can function even if people come and go.
It is thus important to recognize the characteristics and It transcends the individual persons that make it up.
features of a community to understand why it acts and reacts A living organism also behaves similarly as it transcends its
in a certain way atoms in addition, an atom deals with a different set of forces
than the living plant or animal in which the atom is found.
 In the same way, an individual person faces a ● Power can come from a variety of places.
different set of forces from those faced by the community ● The following sources of power are not mutually
where the individual lives (Bartle, 2010).
exclusive and can be most effective when used in
Bartle (2010) further pointed out that "a community is some combination.
a super-organic organism or system” made up of the ● Conservationists who learn to recognize the power
thoughts, outlook, and conduct of individual human beings
base(s) of a key leader or a community group can
full of divisions and conflicts brought about by differences in
maximize the benefit that the power base can offer.
religion, ethnicity, gender, access to resources, class,
educational level, income level, ownership of properties,
language, personality, opportunities, and a lot more. THE STRUCTURE OF A COMMUNITY
This reality indicates that to work in a community or to ● In a community, change agents put premium in
undertake community interventions is a challenging task. understanding power structure.
One must get to know first and foremost the ● Community power structure is about the distribution
community system. of power at the local community level (Sociology
Guide).
How does the community work? ● But what is power?
What are the structures and the different dimensions ● Power in a community is the capacity to influence
of the community? the decision-making and distribution processes, to
One must observe how the community acts and reacts bring about change and get things done.
● The idea of power includes determining the
to forces that are external and internal to its system.
structures that have impact on local communities
Development work requires understanding community and also the linkages that form collaborative works.
dynamics and processes. ● What are the bases of local community power?
Connections

Understanding Community Power Structures ● the ability to network and build useful relationships
--People, Partnerships, and Communities with other powerful individuals and organizations.
● For example, occasionally one hears the expression,
What is Power in a Community? “S/he’s really well connected.
● The capacity to create linkages and develop helpful
Power relationships with powerful individuals, family, and
organizations
● Power in a community is the ability to affect the
decision-making process and the use of resources,
both public and private, within a community or Large numbers of people
watershed group.
● provide evidence of support for an idea.
● Power is simply the capacity to bring about change
● A recent increase in membership of a watershed
● It is the energy that gets things done. group
● All levels of The Conservation Partnership need to ● for example, could have an impact on a county
know about community power structures in order to commissioner.
more effectively implement and maintain locally led ● The base, back-up, and support of the people in the
conservation initiatives.
community
● A community can be defined as a watershed, region,
town, county, or other geographic or geopolitical
boundary. Rewards
● the ability to give recognition, visibility, money, or
other tangible items.
Why should you use this information?
● For example, an agency, a community foundation,
● A conservationist’s ability to identify and understand
county commission, or financially powerful
the power structures in a watershed group or
individual or business may have monies or other
community and the relationships among the people assets that can be distributed to a conservation
that fortify them will significantly contribute to the
initiative that meets their mission or priorities.
achievement of conservation goals.
● The ability to provide rewards, promotion, money,
and gifts that are useful to meet individual or
What are the sources of community power? organizational goals
 Their behavior or reaction can break or make
Personal traits/ Expertise community development interventions.

● an individual’s charisma, creativity, charm,

leadership abilities or some combination of these THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING A COMMUNITY
characteristics can foster the respect and loyalty of AND ITS GAINS
others.
Community situations vary. Each community has its own
● The capacity to foster respect and loyalty based on context and realities.
charm, talents, and skills
Those interested in working with a community must first
have a clear picture and a good grasp of the entity they are
trying to address.
Legitimate power
● the position (office, title) of the leader. Usually, the It is in appreciating the features and elements of a
community that engagement processes and actions become
higher the office, the more powerful the person.
relevant, acceptable, and appropriate.
● for example, the city manager holds a higher
Without a deep and wide knowledge of a target
position and has more power than the city engineer.
community, interventions may emerge as exclusive,
Or, the chief of an American Indian tribe has
inappropriate, or totally insensitive to the members of the
traditional and legitimate power.
community.
● The leadership title or higher organizational or
institutional position
THE DIMENSIONS OF A COMMUNITY
A community is a complex system with different
Expertise dimensions.
● knowledge, skill, and talent, combined with respect These dimensions may be present in all
for the skill. communities, but they may vary in size, degree, and
● A district conservationist can bring valuable skills to complexity.
a conservation initiative. This characteristic of a community may be attributed
to the combination of the communities' human resource,
Information natural resource, culture, structure, and other factors.

● the ability to channel - or withhold - information. Bartle (2010) identified six community dimensions:
technological, economic, political, institutional, aesthetic
● The mass media has this type of power. value, and belief-conceptual.
● The ability to keep or share information.

1. Technological
Coercion ● It is the community capital—its tools, skills, and ways
of dealing
● the attempt to influence others using a negative
● with the physical environment.
style, such as using intimidation or manipulation.
● It is the interface between humanity and nature.
● This contributed to the concept of power as a “dirty ● This dimension is not comprised of the physical tools
word” and is now less accepted. themselves but of the learned ideas and behavior
● Influence through manipulation and coercion. that allow humans to invent, use, and teach others
about these tools.
● Technology is as much a cultural dimension as
For community social change to happen, it is beliefs and patterns of interaction are.
necessary to understand the power actors. ● It is symbolic.
As discussed above, power actors have power mainly
2. Economic
because of their influence.
● It is the community's various ways and means of
The forms of power present, however, vary from one production and allocation of scarce and useful goods
community to the other. and services through barter, market trade, state
Community organizers and development workers pay allocations, and others.
close attention to power actors and the key people in the ● This dimension is not about physical items like cash
community power structure because of their significant roles but about the ideas and behavior that give value to
in social change. cash (and other items).
3. Political ● For you to be an effective catalyst of social change,
● The various ways and means of allocating power, your actions must not offend those prevailing
influence, and decision-making. beliefs; they must be consistent with, or at least
● It is not the same as ideology, which belongs to the appropriate to, existing beliefs and concepts of how
values dimension. the universe works.
● It includes, but is not limited to, types of
governments and management systems.
Understanding the different dimensions of a
● It also includes how people in small bands or
community is a prerequisite to the process of community
informal groups make decisions when they do not mapping and analysis.
have a recognized leader.
It is only when you have a full grasp of the
economic, political, social, cultural, ecological, and physical
4. Institutional dimensions of the community that you may be able to build
● These are the ways people act, react, and interact
the community puzzle.
with each other, as well as the ways they expect
each other to act and interact. There is a need to detect the key or combinations of
● It includes institutions like marriage or friendship; keys to put together the different parts of the puzzle
roles like a mother or a police officer; status or class; successfully in order to see the whole picture of the social
and other patterns of human behavior. issues affecting the community.
● This dimension looks at patterns of relationships that It is thus important to develop not just the skill of
are sometimes identified as roles and status, and the assessing or analyzing observable data, but also the skill of
formation of groups and institutions that derive from sensing or intuiting because there are things that the people
those patterns. do not show or say.
That is the value of the so-called paglubog or
5. Aesthetic-Values community immersion.
● This refers to the structure of ideas—sometimes
paradoxical, inconsistent, or contradictory—that
people have about what is good and bad, beautiful
and ugly, and right and wrong.
● This is what they use to explain or justify their
actions.
● The three axes are not acquired through our genes
but through our socialization.
● That implies that they can be relearned, that we
could change our judgments.
● Values, however, are incredibly difficult to change in
a community. They do change as community
standards evolve, but that change cannot be rushed
or guided through outside influence or conscious
manipulation.
● Shared community standards are important in
community and personal identity.

6. Beliefs-Conceptual
● This is another structure of ideas, also sometimes
contradictory, that people have about the nature of
the universe, the world around them, their role in it,
and the nature of time, matter, and behavior.
● This dimension is sometimes thought to be the
religion of the people.
● It is however a wider category, and it includes
atheistic beliefs, such as how man created God in his
own image.
● Also, it includes shared beliefs in how this universe
came to be, how it operates, and what reality is.
● It is religion and more.
● It is necessary to study and be aware of what the
prevailing beliefs are in the community.