Perspectives on community

• Social science perspective


  • Community is more of a congregation of people unified by at least one common characteristic. The people can be unified by geography, shared interests, values, experiences, or traditions.
  • The course of embracing the behavior patterns of the community is referred to as socialization
  • Focuses on behavior
• Community-based / Grassroots perspective


  • Community is seen as a setting for intervention, target for change, resources, and agent. It requires vigilance in assessing community structures and processes before any community intervention.
  • You see yourself as useful to bring change
• Ecological perspective


  • A community is a congregation of species that occur together in time, space, and have high probability for interaction
  • Behavior is perceived not only as a product of knowledge, values and attitudes of individuals, but as a result of social influence
  • Focuses on interactions
• Sectoral perspective


  • Community is seen as a system, which is comprised of individuals and sectors with diverse characteristics and interrelationships
  • The sectors are comprised of groups of individuals, embodying, distinct roles, and interests within the community
• Civil society perspective


  • Community is seen as composed of people, structures and systems, endowed with resources, but is confronted with social issues as the goal is to mobilize the members of the community to participate well in the community‘s advocacies