COMMUNIT
Y
IMMERSION
PREPARED BY: APRIL JOY F. BOLODO, LPT
Intended Learning Outcomes
At the end of the unit, the students are
expected to:
Know the basic meaning, historical
development, and concept of a
community. Also, Recognize the
foundation and qualities of a community;
Understand the importance of
participatory planning and
implementation
COMMUNITY IMMERSION
1. Before gaining entry into
the community
Information gathering-
(waivers-STUDENTS)
Lee et al.(2006) prescribe certain pre-immersion
guidelines:
A. Students should gather basic
information about the community
such as its culture, practices,
and lifestyle.
B. Students should not regard
themselves as superior to the
members of the community.
Lee et al.(2006) prescribe certain pre-immersion
guidelines:
C. Students should dress simply and act
naturally when making their entry into the
community.
D. Students should not assume the role of
“saviour” or someone who will solve all of
the community’s problems.
E. Students should remember that
development must be for the people and
from the people.
The criteria to be used in selecting the venue are
the following:
Inclusion of the community in the
deprived, depressed, and
underprivileged (DDU) category.
Willingness of the local interest
groups and community leaders to
cooperate with the project
implementers.
Available resources including
manpower.
Presence of development
agencies and other institutions
providing the assistance to the
area
Stability of the peace and order
situation
Accessibility
2. Gaining entry into the community
A. Ostentatious entry- most
organizers from government offices
are familiar with this style. The
community worker, through a
padrino, is formally introduced to
the people through a village
assembly during which the workers
image is boosted and project output
is promised.
B. Banking on people’s weakness-
outsiders sometimes gain entry
into a community by getting the
community’s attention. They
focus on a particular weakness or
problem in a community and
exploit the members’ dependence
on them for solution.
C. Simple entry
This style can be explained through
example. Supposed the project
organiser accidentally meets a person
while in a jeep, and that person is from
the community where the organizers
conduct an immersion project. In such
case, they can simply ask the person if
she would be willing to host them for the
duration of the project.
D. Academic entry- Communities are often
called social laboratories because they
become a field laboratory where the theories
learned in the classroom are put to a test.
E. Formal entry- some organizers believe that
the best way of gaining into a community is
through a formal protocol or procedure.
F. People-centered-entry- in this style; it is not
the organizer but the local researchers from
the community who first gain entry into the
area.
3. Integration with the people
Integration is done any of the following
ways:
Border style- if his/her resources allow
it, the student may choose to stay and
live in the immersion area for a certain
period of time.
Elitist style- some students tend to stay
close to key informants and political
players during their in the community.
People- centered style
Students should gradually broaden
their social group affiliation so they can
continue to expand their knowledge
about the status of the community.
Students should start working in the
community and begin to realize the
hardships and problems that the
community members are facing.
4. Community needs assessment
a. A community needs assessment is
a process in which the problems,
issues, and concerns of the
community are identified by using
several tools.
b. Needs assessment, social
analysis, or community diagnosis is a
concrete basis for the formulation of
programs.
c. It reflects the sentiments, needs,
aspirations, and recommendations
of the community.
d. It becomes significant when
conducted as the students get
integrated with the people.
e. Assessing the needs of the
community is a prelude to effective
program implementation.
Needs Assessment Process
The steps in the needs assessment
process are as follows:
Gather information about the
community’s attitude and options in
order of importance.
Determine how citizens rank local
issues, problems, and
opportunities.
Give the citizens a voice in
determining policies, goals and
priorities.
Evaluate current programs and
policies.
Speculate on what the people
are thinking and what they may
really what.
Information essential to the community needs
assessment
Historical data
Geographical data
Political & legal data
Demographic data, including age, size,
race, growth patterns and populations
distribution.
Economic data including the nature of
economic base in relation to social,
cultural, educational, moral and
superstructure.
Data Collection Methods
Focus group discussion (FGD) by key
informants
Community forum/assembly
Public records-CENSUS
Surveys- involve asking individuals in
the community about their everyday
needs. These can be implemented
through the following:
SURVEYS
Mailing questionnaires to randomly
selected members of the community.
Doing telephone surveys
Handling out surveys during assemblies
Posting questionnaires in the internet
Steps in conducting a Needs Assessment
The steps in conducting a needs
assessment are as follows:
Establish a working committee to
solicit community involvement and
develop a plan of action.
List important aspects that need to be
analysed
Identify the population to be surveyed
Determine the information that is
needed
Select a random sample of people to
survey
Develop and pre-test a questionnaire
Collate the information gathered
Analyse the data
Go back to the community to validate
the result or findings
Finalize the report
Roles of the Community in a needs Assessment
The roles of the community in a needs
assessment are as follows:
Help identify interest groups and citizens
who can be a part of working committees.
Facilitate a group discussion to determine
important issues and priorities.
Select the sample to be surveyed and design
a system to identify respondents.
To ensure the success of the community
immersion, the students must do the
following:
Prepare a program responsive to the need
of the community.
Uplift the living conditions of the clients
Maximize the resources available in the
area
Tap the potential of the clients and give
them due recognition
Provide a pool of questions from which the
working committees will draw upon in a
dressing issues and concerns.
Design a way of distributing and collecting
survey questionnaires and encoding and
analysing the resulting data.
Provide summary reports of data
Suggest programs whereby results can be
reported and strategies on community
involvement solicited
Work with citizens to come up with well-
informed courses of action.
