Community

Engagement, Solidarity
and Citizenship
Pre-Test
Instruction: Write True if the statement is correct, otherwise write
False. Place your answer before each number.
_____ 1. A social unit with commonality such as norms, religion, values,
customs or identity is termed as community.
_____ 2. A global community refers to the people or nations of the
world, considered as being closely connected by modern
telecommunications and as being economically, socially and politically
independent.
_____ 3. The process of change and development in communities of all
living organisms is community action.
_____ 4. Human resource officer aims to ensure that organizations have
a skilled and efficient workforce.
_____ 5. Psychologists help clients to improve their psychological well-
being.
Pre-Test
_____ 6. Social science perspectives are capable of creating
or manipulating anything significant.
_____ 7. Anthropological perspectives are culture, cultural
relativism, fieldwork, human diversity, holism and bio-
cultural focused.
_____ 8. The 5 basic social institutions are family,
education, religion, peers and politics.
_____ 9. Civil society includes charities, development NGOs,
community groups, women organizations, trade unions,
social movements and the like.
_____ 10. Community action helps build community and
social capacity, in making community to be resilient, and in
maintaining and creating wealth.
Pre-Test
_____ 11. Community structure means the internal structure of an
employment area, town, city, neighborhood or another urban
area.
_____ 12. Communities may be small, consisting of few species
populations in a small space, or large, comprising several species
populations in a large area.
_____ 13. Community development is a process where community
members come together to take collective action and generate
solutions to common problems.
_____ 14. Mutual support in the community will enable its
members to cooperate to accomplish tasks too large or to urgent
to be handled by a single person.
_____ 15. Community dynamics are the changes in community
structure and composition overtime.
What is Community?
 Importance of Studying Community Dynamics and
Community Action in relation to applied social
sciences and the learners’ future career options
A community is a group of people who share something in common. You can
define a community by the shared attributes of the people in it and/or by the
strength of the connections among them. You need a bunch of people who are
alike in some way, who feel some sense of belonging or interpersonal
connection.
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as 
norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense
of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, town, or
neighbourhood) or in virtual space through communication platforms. Durable
relations that extend beyond immediate genealogical ties also define a sense of
community, important to their identity, practice, and roles in social institutions
 such as family, home, work, government, society, or humanity at
large. Although communities are usually small relative to personal social ties,
"community" may also refer to large group affiliations such as 
national communities, international communities, and virtual communities.
The English-language word "community" derives from the Old French
 comuneté (currently "Communauté"), which comes from the Latin communitas
 "community", "public spirit" (from Latin communis, "common").
Human communities may share intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, and 
risks in common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of
cohesiveness.
According to David M. Chavis & Kien Lee, “Community” is so easy to say. The word
itself connects us with each other. It describes an experience so common that we
never really take time to explain it. It seems so simple, so natural, and so human. In
the social sector, we often add it to the names of social innovations as a symbol of
good intentions (for example, community mental health, community policing,
community-based philanthropy, community economic development).
However, the meaning of community is complex. Insufficient understanding of what
a community is and its role in the lives of people in diverse societies has led to the
downfall of many well-intended “community” efforts.
 Community Dynamics
Community Dynamics is the process of change and
development in communities of all living organisms—including
plants, microorganisms, and small and large creatures of every
sort. Populations of an organism will appear in an environment
as its requirements for establishment are met.
What could it be used for?
For commissioners, policy-makers and anybody else involved in
the design and delivery of local services, Community Dynamics
data can be used to bring additional depth into the
understanding of your local areas.
Particularly, these data sets could have a role to play in
projects and initiatives looking to work in a more asset-based
way.
 What is community action?

Community action is any activity that increases the

understanding, engagement and empowerment of
communities in the design and delivery of local
services. It includes a broad range of activities and is
sometimes described as ‘social action' or ‘community
engagement'. These activities can vary in their
objective, the role the community plays, the types of
activities involved, their scale and their integration
within the council. What they have in common is that
they all involve greater engagement of local citizens
in the planning, design and delivery of local services.
 
 Why is community action important?

Community action is about putting communities at the heart of

their own local services. Involving communities in the design
and delivery of services can help to achieve a number of
objectives, including:
Building community and social capacity – helping the community
to share knowledge, skills and ideas.
Community resilience – helping the community to support itself.
Prevention – a focus on early access to services or support,
engagement in design, cross-sector collaboration and
partnerships. 
Maintaining and creating wealth – for example helping people
into employment or developing community enterprises.

 
 Importance of Understanding Community Dynamics
and Community Action

Community Dynamics is the change and development involved

in a community that includes all forms of living organisms. 
Community Action is putting communities as the center of the
services development and services delivery. This initiative
aims to cater the primary needs of the communities before
implementing it. In such way, community action will help the
community dynamics or the degree of improvement of the
community.
It is important to understand these two because these will
propel the success and stability of the communities. They go
hand in hand and are proportionally related.
 Role of the Community

The role the community includes community consultation,

joint planning, joint design, joint delivery and community-led
activities.
 
 Applied Social Sciences 

These are social science disciplines, professions and

occupations which seek to use basic social
science research and theory to improve the daily life
of communities, organizations and persons.
 
 Social Science Careers

The occupations listed below are a selection of those which may interest 
Social Sciences students and graduates from the School of Social Policy, Sociology and
Social Research.

Advice Worker- Advice Workers provide information, advice and

guidance on a range of topics depending on the role. These topics may
include housing, employment, welfare, education, finance and law.
Civil Service Career- The Civil Service delivers public services according
to government policies. There are a large number of different
departments and so a huge variety of different roles.
Charity Officer- here are a variety of different roles within charities
including project management, volunteer co-ordination and fund raising.

 
 Social Science Careers
Community Development Worker- Working in communities
and liaising with different agencies to bring about change and
improvements. Some work may be targeted towards certain
groups of people e.g. the unemployed or the homeless.
Community Education Officer- Promoting and coordinating a
range of educational options to members of a local
community.
Equality and Diversity Officer- Equality Officers promote
diversity and work to ensure that people are treated fairly and
not discriminated against for characteristics including race,
gender, age or disability.
 
 Social Science Careers
Family Support Worker- Working with families facing a variety
of difficulties and helping them to solve problems and move
forward.
Housing Officer- Housing Officers work for local authorities or
housing associations to manage rented accommodation
including solving problems raised by tenants, organizing
maintenance, allocating properties and dealing with payment
issues. Housing Policy Officers develop policies for local
authorities or housing associations.
Human Resources Officer- Human Resources Officers aim to
ensure that organizations have a skilled and efficient
workforce. They are involved in recruitment and selection,
training and development, grievance and discipline and provide
advice on employment law.
 Social Science Careers
Immigration, Customs and Border Roles- There are a variety of roles
involving monitoring people, banned substances and other goods leaving
and entering the country to ensure safety and security and to maintain
the law.
Intelligence Analyst- Analyzing and assessing intelligence data largely
for the purposes of security and crime prevention.
International Aid/Development Worker- Working to improve the lives of
people in developing countries.
Legal Careers- Providing legal services to clients.
Local Government Careers- Developing policies and delivering local
services. There are a huge variety of roles within local government
including roles in social care, housing and education to name just a few.
Mediator- Working with people to help them solve conflicts and
disagreements.
 
 Social Science Careers
Police Officer- Police Officers work to make communities safer
by maintaining the law and preventing crime.
Prison Officer- Prison Officers are responsible for maintaining
security in prisons and supporting the rehabilitation of prisoners.
Probation Officer- Probation Officers work with offenders and
aim to reduce rates of re-offending and protect the public.
Psychologist- There are a range of different psychologist roles
but broadly they help clients to improve their psychological well
being.
Psychotherapy, Counselling and mental Roles- Supporting
people to overcome a range of psychological or emotional
difficulties.
 
 Social Science Careers
Social Researcher- Social Researchers could work for universities
or research/market research organizations. Social research covers
a wide range of topics including crime, transport and education.
Social Researchers manage research projects including collecting
and analyzing data and presenting the results.
Social Worker- Social Workers work with people in the
community who need support, for example, the elderly, children
who are at risk, people with disabilities or mental health
difficulties.
Substance Misuse Worker- Supporting clients to overcome their
problems with drug, alcohol or solvent misuse.
Teacher/Lecturer/Education Roles- There are a variety of
opportunities within education from primary schools to
universities.
 Social Science Careers
Victim Care Officer- Providing help to people who have been
victims of crime, including supporting them during court
proceedings.
Volunteer Coordinator- Managing the recruitment, training,
placement and retention of volunteers.
Youth Offending Officer- Working with young offenders with
the aim of reducing rates of re-offending and supporting young
people to achieve positive outcomes.
Youth Worker- Working with young people to provide support,
raise aspirations and break down barriers to achieving. This is
done in a variety of ways including through recreational
activities, organizing projects, mentoring and liaising with
other agencies.
 SOCIAL SCIENCE PERSPECTIVES, INSTITUTIONAL
PERSPECTIVE, CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVE AND
LOCAL/GRASSROOTS
What is Anthropology?
Anthropology is the study of what makes us human.
Anthropologists take a broad approach in
understanding different aspects of the human
experiences, which we call holism. They consider the
past, through archaeology, to see how human groups
lived hundreds or thousands of years ago and what
was important to them. They consider what makes up
our biological bodies and genetics as well as our
bones, diet, and health.
 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Focuses on the study of the full scope of human
diversity and the application of that knowledge to
help people of different backgrounds. These are
culture, cultural relativism, fieldwork, human
diversity, holism, bio-cultural focus.
 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Involves the investigation of the problem on micro
and macro levels. At micro level, sociology studies
how individuals behave in social situations—at work,
at play, at home, or in school, or in small and large
groups. It deals with people’s everyday interactions
(social interactionist, ethno methodological and
phenomenological approaches of study).
At macro level, sociology focuses on patterns of behaviour and
forms of organisation that characterise entire societies
(classical and grand theorist’s approaches). At this level,
sociology deals with large-scale structures (such as
bureaucracy), broad social categories, institutions, social
systems, and social problems such as war, unemployment,
poverty, corruption, and solutions to these problems are
sought at the structural or organisational level. In their
studies, sociologists utilise both approaches of study, i.e.,
qualitative (introspective-participant method) and
quantitative (statistical, interview and survey techniques).
 POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE

Politics (from Greek: Πολιτικά, politiká, 'affairs of the

cities') is the set of activities that are associated with
making decisions in groups, or other forms of power
relations between individuals, such as the distribution
of resources or status. The academic study
of politics is referred to as Political Science.
 Perspectives on politics
seeks to provide a space for broad and synthetic discussion
within the political science profession and between the
profession and the broader scholarly and reading publics. Such
discussion necessarily draws on and contributes to the
scholarship published in the more specialized journals that
dominate our discipline. At the same time, Perspectives seeks
to promote a complementary form of broad public discussion
and synergistic understanding within the profession that is
essential to advancing research and promoting scholarly
community. Perspectives seeks to nurture a political science
public sphere, publicizing important scholarly topics, ideas,
and innovations, linking scholarly authors and readers, and
promoting broad reflexive discussion among political scientists
about the work that we do and why this work matters.
The 5 Major Social Institutions and Their Functions

Family - Responsible for reproduction to replace members,

provides protection, socialize the young
Economic- Produces and distributes goods and services
Political- Assists group in decision making
Education - A way to pass on culture, knowledge, and values
Religion - Helps people find purpose in their lives, develops
spiritual side of people and provides guidelines for personal
behavior and social interaction.
 CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVE

Civil society refers to the space for collective action around

shared interests, purposes and values, generally distinct from
government and commercial for profit actors. Civil society
includes charities, development NGO’s, community groups,
women organizations, faith-based organizations, professional
associations, trade unions, social movements, coalitions and
advocacy groups. However, civil society is not homogeneous
and the boundaries between civil society and government or
civil society and commercial actors can be blurred. There is
certainly no one 'civil society' view, and civil society actors
need to contend with similar issues of representativeness and
legitimacy as those of other representatives and advocates.
 MANIFESTATIONS OF CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS

The emergence of civil society groups is well received by

development practitioner in varied forms. Such groups are
formed based on the customs and norms of the prevailing
society. Groups that are formed under these have individuals
who can freely choose to associate with not just one but as
many as he or she likes. Since people have the liberty to do
such, the groups act like leverage for particular individuals to
be with like-minded citizens. Think of these groups as an
intermediary of the citizens in their relationship with their
government and the private sector. An individual alone will
not have the same lobbying power as when he or she is with a
group that has more social capital as an enabler. This
combination of networks and relationships promotes clout in
order to carry out the group’s advocate and goals.
 ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION

The role of civil society in good governance is to apprise

people of their fundamental rights and responsibilities. In
addition, civil society is instrumental in making people aware
about the role of the government and state institutions, as
well as the responsibilities of state functionaries. Without that
knowledge, most people are unaware of governance, public
issues and the administrative structures and functions.
 NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS

NGOs are a subgroup of organizations founded by citizens, which include

clubs and associations which provide services to its members and others.
They are usually nonprofit organizations. Many NGOs are active in
humanitarianism or the social sciences. Surveys indicate that NGOs have a
high degree of public trust, which can make them a useful proxy for the
concerns of society and stakeholders. However, NGOs can also be 
lobby groups for corporations, such as the World Economic Forum.
According to NGO.org, (the non-governmental organizations associated
with the United Nations [), NGOs are any non-profit, voluntary citizens'
group which is organized on a local, national or international level. Task-
oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a
variety of service and humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to
Governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political
participation through provision of information. Some NGOs rely primarily
on volunteers, while others support a paid staff.
Two broad groups of NGOs are identified by the World Bank:
Operational NGOs- which focus on development projects.
Advocacy NGOs- which are organized to promote particular causes.

How NGOs are Funded?

As non-profits, NGOs rely on a variety of sources for funding, including:
membership dues
private donations
the sale of goods and services
grants

Despite their independence from government, 

some NGOs rely significantly on government funding. Large NGOs may have budgets
in the millions or billions of dollars.
Some common characteristics of NGOs according to Ball and
Dunn are:
They are formed voluntarily.
They are independent of government.
They are not for private profit or gain.
Their principal is to improve the circumstances and prospects
of disadvantaged people.
 SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large

group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social
 or political one. Interest group, also called special interest
group or pressure group, any association of individuals or
organizations, usually formally organized, that, on the basis of
one or more shared concerns, attempts to influence public 
policy in its favor. All interest groups share a desire to affect
government policy to benefit themselves or their causes. Their
goal could be a policy that exclusively benefits group members
or one segment of society (e.g., government subsidies for
farmers) or a policy that advances a broader public purpose
(e.g., improving air quality). They attempt to achieve their
goals by lobbying—that is, by attempting to bring pressure to
bear on policy makers to gain policy outcomes in their favour.
 INTEREST GROUPS

Interest groups are a natural outgrowth of the communities of interest

that exist in all societies, from narrow groups such as the Japan Eraser
Manufacturers Association to broad groups such as the 
American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–
CIO) and to even broader organizations such as the military. Politics and
interests are inseparable. Interests are a prevalent, permanent, and
essential aspect of all political systems—democratic, authoritarian, and
totalitarian regimes alike. Furthermore, interest groups exist at all levels
of government—national, state, provincial, and local—and increasingly they
have occupied an important role in international affairs.
Some interest groups consist of individuals such as ranchers or fruit
growers who may form farm commodity organizations. In other instances,
an interest group consists not of individuals but of organizations or
businesses.
 Local and International Organizations

There are variety of legal types of organizations, including 

corporations, governments, non-governmental organizations, 
political organizations, international organizations, 
armed forces, charities, not-for-profit corporations, 
partnerships, cooperatives, and educational institutions.
An organization is an entity, such as a company, an institution,
or an association, comprising one or more people and having a
particular purpose.
 Local International
Government Organizations International Organizations
Local organization means an organization An international organization (
whose activities are limited to this state or to intergovernmental organization) is an
a specific geographical area within this state.
organization established by a treaty or
A local government is a form of  other instrument governed by 
public administration which, in a majority of international law and possessing its own
contexts, exists as the lowest tier of international legal personality, such as the 
administration within a given state. The term
is used to contrast with offices at state level, United Nations, the 
which are referred to as the  World Health Organization and NATO.
central government, national government, or International organizations are composed of
(where appropriate) federal government and primarily Member states, but may also
also to supranational government which deals include other entities, such as other
with governing institutions between states.
international organizations.
Local governments generally act within
powers delegated to them by legislation or Notable examples include the 
directives of the higher level of government.
In federal states, local government generally United Nations (UN), 
comprises the third (or sometimes fourth) tier Organization for Security and Co-operation i
of government, whereas in unitary states, n Europe
local government usually occupies the second  (OSCE), Council of Europe (COE), 
or third tier of government, often with International Labour Organization (ILO) and 
greater powers than higher-level International Police Organization
administrative divisions.
 (INTERPOL).
 Non-government Organizations International Non-government Organizations
Organizations which are independent of government An international non-governmental
involvement are known as non-governmental organization (INGO) extends the concept of
organizations or NGOs or non-government a non-governmental organization (NGO) to
organizations. NGOs are a subgroup of organizations
an international scope.
founded by citizens, which include clubs and 
associations which provide services to its members NGOs are independent of governments and
and others. They are usually nonprofit organizations.
can be seen as two types, advocacy NGOs,
Many NGOs are active in humanitarianism or the
social sciences. Surveys indicate that NGOs have a which aim to influence governments with a
high degree of public trust, which can make them a specific goal, and operational NGOs, which
useful proxy for the concerns of society and provide services. Examples of NGO
stakeholders. However, NGOs can also be  mandates are environmental preservation,
lobby groups for corporations, such as the  human rights promotions or the
World Economic Forum. According to NGO.org (the advancement of women. NGOs are typically
non-governmental organizations associated with the 
not-for-profit, but receive funding from
United Nations), "[an NGO is] any non-profit,
voluntary citizens' group which is organized on a
companies or membership fees. Many large
local, national or international level ... Task- INGOs have components of operational
oriented and driven by people with a common projects and advocacy initiatives working
interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and together within individual countries.
humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to
 
Governments, advocate and monitor policies and
encourage political participation through provision
of information
 Community and its Five Functions

 A community is a group of people in the same

geographic area, under common laws, that has a
sense of fellowship, belonging, and obligation to
the group. Types of communities are a
neighbourhood, church, a mom's group, a town, girl
scouts etc. 
 The community has five functions: production-
distribution-consumption, socialization, social
control, social participation, and mutual support.
 Production, Distribution, Consumption

 The community provides its members with the means to make a

living. This may be agriculture, industry, or services. No
community can survive if it does not provide some way for its
people to make a living and obtain the material resources that
they need for living.  This involves, first of all, the industrial
sector (broadly understood).  Someone has to take raw material
and fashion it into some sort of useful product.   It is also the
transportation/warehousing/retail sector, since somehow the
goods that are produced have to be moved to and through the
market.  Finally, production and distribution are useless if there
is no one to buy or use it, if there is no “market.”  When Henry
Ford was criticized for paying his laborers the princely sum of $5
a day (a lot of money in 1920), he replied that all those cars he
was making were no good if no one could afford to buy them. 
 Socialization

 The community has means by which it instils its

norms and values in its members. This may be
tradition, modelling, and/or formal education. No
community can survive if it does not arrange for its
continuation.  A way must be found for children to
learn what they will need to know to be adults; for
workers to develop the knowledge, skills and
abilities to do their jobs; for in-migrants (whether
they are from the neighboring State or from across
the ocean) to learn “how we do things here.” 
 Social Control

 The community has the means to enforce adherence to

community values. This may be group pressure to to
conform and/or formal laws. Communities are incredibly
complex systems.  For all those players (whether human or
corporate) are to move around and “do their thing,” there
have to be “traffic rules” to keep them from crashing into
each other.  Only the smallest part of social control is
“busting bad guys”; much of it is an issue of forming and
enforcing contracts (mutual agreements about who will do
what to whom how and with what) and supporting the
“social contract” (those “rules” of what is expected of one
that were learned through socialization).  This function is
also often referred to as “boundary maintenance.”
  Social Participation

 The community fulfils the need for companionship.

This may occur in a neighbourhood, church,
business, or other group. In part, it is
through participation that much of those
functions is accomplished.
 How Community Involvement Influences Socialization?

 Physical Factors: Population, noise, community design/arrangement

and of housing, play settings.
 Is it safe to go out and ride a bike? Was it only safe to play inside? Is the
subway or bus the main transportation or is a personal car? Where does
playing take place, on the streets? In an enrichment class? All of these
can affect the child's socialization. It affects what they do, who they do
it with, and where they do it- the community.
 Social and Personal Factors: The neighborhood setting, patterns of
community interaction. 
 How do people interact with one another and build relationships? Do
they do it at all? Are the people loving and caring, or mean and
neglectful? Are neighbors close or far apart? Again, the people in the
community and how they interact with one another is a socializing
agent.
 
 The Community as a Support System

 The community can serve as a support system for families. It can

provide informal support, when families watch each other’s
children. Or it can be formal support, like when it helps family
through publicly or privately funded community services.
 Preventative Services (Parks, recreation, and Education): These
attempt to lessen the stresses and strains of life resulting from
social and technological changes and to avert problems. For
example, parks and recreations programs set up in rapidly
developing urban areas are meant to be used by children in their
free time to keep them from engaging in bad behavior.
 Supportive Services (Child and Family): These include
educational programs, counselling services, health services,
policies related to demographic changes, employment training,
and community development projects. These services maintain
the health, education, and welfare of the community.
 STRUCTURES OF COMMUNITY

 Community structure means the internal structure of an employment

area, town, city, neighbourhood or another urban area. It includes the
population and housing, jobs and production, service and leisure time
areas, along with transport routes and technical networks, their
location and relationships.
 Communities are complex entities that can be characterized by their
structure (the types and numbers of species present) and dynamics
(how communities change over time). Understanding community
structure and dynamics enables community ecologists to manage
ecosystems more effectively.
 Communities may be small, consisting of few spe­cies populations in a
small space, or large, com­prising several species populations in a large
area. The community structures, composition and other characteristics
can be readily described by visual observation without actual
measurement.
 This is a qualitative approach which is easier than the
quantitative population analysis where measure­ments are
actually made. Communities usually cat­egories by the
ecologists in various ways primarily based of habitat
features like water availability, high exposure, or other
habitat features.
 For instance, depending on the amount of water
availability, plant communities may be hydrophytic (aquatic
habitats), mesophytic (moderately moist soil habi­tat) and
xerophytic (dry or arid habitat).
 Similarly, communities growing on conditions of abundant
light are called heliophytic and those growing in shade
sciophytic. Identically communities grow­ing on various
habitats designated as desert com­munities, mountain
communities and estuarine communities.
 

In general, a community is dynamic since it changes over time. This

dynamic nature is reflected in the succession of organisms in a habitat. A
se­ries of changes result in the development of a relatively stable
community, which maintains its structure and influences the climate of the
area.
Such a stable and mature community is called a climax community, while
communities of successional stages are called seral communities. The
plant community structures, composition and other characteristics can be
described in both qualitative and quantitative means.
  
Community dynamics are the changes in community structure and composition
over time. Sometimes these changes are induced by environmental
disturbances such as volcanoes, earthquakes, storms, fires, and climate
change. Communities with a stable structure are said to be at equilibrium.
Following a disturbance, the community may or may not return to the
equilibrium state.
Communities are dynamic systems constantly in­teracting with another system,
the environment, which is equally dynamic. The community charges are gradual
and imperceptible at any time but eas­ily recognizable if observed at regular
intervals over a long period of time. Seasonal changes in plant communities
always occur at every place, particu­larly in areas where temperature varies sig­
nificantly.
However, in course of very long period of time at many places the communities
have reached a peak stage and attained a dynamic bal­ance with the
environmental changes. The pro­cess of change in communities and their environ­
ment at one place in the course of time is called “ecological succession”.
 PROCESSES OF COMMUNITY

 Community is a process. The importance of this as the fundamental

principle of sociology it is impossible to over- estimate. Physical science
based on the study of function is a study of process. The Freudian
psychology, based on the study of the 'wish,' is preeminently a study of
process and points towards new definitions of personality, purpose,
will, freedom. If we study community as a process, we reach these new
definitions. For community is a creative process. It is creative because
it is a process of integrating. The Freudian psychology, as interpreted
and expanded by Holt,' gives us a clear exposition of the process of
integrating in the individual. It shows us that personality is produced
through the integrating of 'wishes,' that is, courses of action which the
organism sets itself to carry out. The essence of the Freudian
psychology is that two courses of action are not mutually exclusive, that
one does not 'suppress' the other. It shows plainly that to integrate is
not to absorb, melt, fuse, or to reconcile in the so-called Hegelian
sense. The creative power of the individual appears not when one 'wish'
dominates others, but when all 'wishes' unite in a working whole.
 Community organization refers to organizing aimed at making desired
improvements to a community's social health, well-being, and overall
functioning. Community organization occurs in geographically,
psychosocially, culturally, spiritually, and/or digitally bounded
communities.
 Community organization includes community work, community
projects, community development, community empowerment,
community building, and community mobilization. It is a commonly used
model for organizing community within community projects,
neighborhoods, organizations, voluntary associations, localities, and
social networks, which may operate as ways to mobilize around
geography, shared space, shared experience, interest, need, and/or
concern.
 Community organization is a process by which a community identifies
needs or objectives, takes action, and through this process, develops
cooperative and collaborative attitudes and practices within a
community.
Community development is a process where community members come together to
take collective action and generate solutions to common problems. Community
well-being (economic, social, environmental and cultural) often evolves from this
type of collective action being taken at a grassroots level. Community development
ranges from small initiatives within a small group to large initiatives that involve
the broader community.
Effective community development should be:
a long-term endeavour
well-planned
inclusive and equitable
holistic and integrated into the bigger picture
initiated and supported by community members of benefit to the community
grounded in experience that leads to best practices

 
 Community development is a grassroots process by which communities:
 become more responsible
 organize and plan together
 develop healthy lifestyle options
 empower themselves
 reduce poverty and suffering
 create employment and economic opportunities
 achieve social, economic, cultural and environmental goals
 Community development seeks to improve quality of life. Effective community
development results in mutual benefit and shared responsibility among community
members. Such development recognizes:
 the connection between social, cultural, environmental and economic matters;
 the diversity of interests within a community; and
 its relationship to building capacity.

 
Community development is a process where community members come together to
take collective action and generate solutions to common problems. Community
well-being (economic, social, environmental and cultural) often evolves from this
type of collective action being taken at a grassroots level. Community development
ranges from small initiatives within a small group to large initiatives that involve
the broader community.
Effective community development should be:
a long-term endeavour
well-planned
inclusive and equitable
holistic and integrated into the bigger picture
initiated and supported by community members of benefit to the community
grounded in experience that leads to best practices

 
 Community development helps to build community capacity in
order to address issues and take advantage of opportunities, find
common ground and balance competing interests. It doesn’t just
happen – capacity building requires both a conscious and a
conscientious effort to do something (or many things) to improve
the community.
 The term development often carries an assumption of growth and
expansion. During the industrial era, development was strongly
connected to increased speed, volume and size. However, many
people are currently questioning the concept of growth for
numerous reasons – a realization that more isn’t always better, or
an increasing respect for reducing outside dependencies and
lowering levels of consumerism. So while the term
“development” may not always mean growth, it always imply
change.
 The community development process takes charge of the conditions and
factors that influence a community and changes the quality of life of its
members. Community development is a tool for managing change but it
is not:
a quick fix or a short-term response to a specific issue within a
community;
a process that seeks to exclude community members from participating;
or
 aninitiative that occurs in isolation from other related community
activities.

 Community development is about community building as such, where the

process is as important as the results. One of the primary challenges of
community development is to balance the need for long-term solutions
with the day-to-day realities that require immediate decision-making
and short-term action.
Instruction: Answer the following questions based on what you have
understood from the earlier readings.
 What makes community a complex concept?
 Do you find the study on community relevant to the path that you want
to take? Why?
 What contributions do the following institutions give me as a person?
a. Education b. Family c. Politics d. Economics e. Religion
 Are you part of any organizations in your community? What influences
you to take part of the said organization?
 Describe your community in terms of the delivery of its functions, its
processes and its dynamism.
 Instruction: Complete the statement with relevant
concepts learned. Have your answer in 4-5
sentences only.

I learned that
____________________________________________
_______________________.
 
Knowing now your roles in your community, how will
you contribute to its growth and development?