Week 003 Lesson 2 Institutional Perspective

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMET, SOLIDARITY AND CITIZENSHIP
SY 2019-2020
LESSON 2:
Institutional Perspective
Page | 1 “Without community service, we would not have a strong
quality of life. It’s important to the person who serves, as
well as the recipient. It’s the way in which we ourselves
grow and develop”
-Dorothy Height-
Learning Objectives:
 To understand the community through the five main social institution,
namely governmental, economic, religious, educational, and family
perspective.
Fundamental Queries:
 What are the various perspective about the idea of a community in various
social intitutions?
 How is the community viewed in various epistemological and ontological
foundations?
Learning Competencies:
 Compare and contrast the definition of community using various

perspectives.
Introduction
Institutions are the core establishment that bind people toward a

specific advocacy or goal. When people are left to their own devices , their
inherent power is limited so they need to come together and form factions and
Definition of Community
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groups that share a common purpose. The five core institutions are the pillars
of society. While working as a unitary collective, these pillars, in one way or the
other , overlap. The citizens are bound by these institutions that have been
Page | 2 significant in the formation of norms, mores, and rules we abide by everyday.
What are Institutions?
Institutions are grand social structures that are made up by individuals

which, when viewed as a whole , exhibit pattern of behaviour that create
conventions and norms in our society. These patterns of behaviour then
establish the different facets of our daily lives. Such structures not only help
mold our social behaviours as people, but also guide us in our future choices.
Institutions also set patterns of behaviour by motivating and restricting conduct
by set of rules and regulations. This simply means that our actions are
continually being subjected to this dynamic of restraint and motivation, and
thereby creating a semblance of order and control and the formation of hierarchy
and roles.
These social structures are considered as social creations whose

meaning and importance depend on its members. Structures may seem to be too
robust for it to change but this is not the case. The very institutions that we have
right now are in constant flux and changes occur everyday. Our societies’
transactions, from the individuals to group collectives and even states , all
contribute to this grand narrative of institutional structures. Each institution
has its own definitive attribute. Social institutions are, in itself, a developing
network of system and functions.
SY 2019-2020
Government Institutions
Page | 3
(https://www.mediatoolkit.com/blog/why-government-institutions-need-online-
media-monitoring/)
A social contract is simply an agreement between a master and a subirdinate

under prescribed rules of conduct and rights. It stem from the assumption that
humans are born it a state of nature which is a condition devoid of social
orpolotical links. A person is then considered under a state of anarchy until he
or she gains grounded understanding of reasoning and self – interest. A
governement is born from this social agreement among the governed and byt
virtue of compliance and reinforcement, the state gains legitimacy though its
processess.
We are considered as “ global citizens” in world that is more connected

than ever in human history. This may have our perspective on individual identity
grander; yet, it has to be established that all the freedoms, duties, and privilides
are granted by th government.
The government , as an institution, grants its citizens with the liberties

and rights. In essence, the government has the power to lead and governits
citizens within a confined territory. Guided its laws and constitutions, the
government can create sweeping policies and laws that can alter from the
simplest factors as changing traffic routes, to all-people are often misguided by
SY 2019-2020
the assumption that the government does not need the support of the people
because of its vast resources and monopoly on power. If the government and its
agencies have these characteristics, it is just like other structures that are man
Page | 4 – made, thus ,it exists in a fragile state. State power and its legitimacy come from
the will of the people that is governs. Its contract to govern its population is
constantly being challenged contested, an affirmed throughout its effective
period to rule. True to other governments who have embraced democracy , power
is bestowed to the people in recalibrating the brand of politics they experience.
The citizens have the obligations to check the power of the government
and counteract any misuse therof. Our duty to our country is to work toward
improving its current state and our fellow men through active participation and
vigilance.
Economic Institutions
(https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/economic-growth-role-of-institutions/)
SY 2019-2020
Definitions of economic institutions
 ‘Essentially, institutions are durable systems of established and embedded

social rules and conventions that structure social interactions’ (Hodgson
Page | 5 2001 p.295) ‘A social institution is a regularity in social behaviour that is
agreed to by all members of society, specifies behaviour in specific
recurrent situations, and is either self-policed or policed by some external
authority.’ (Schotter 1981, quoted in Langlois 1986 p.11)
 ‘Institutions are rules, enforcement characteristics of rules, and norms of
behaviour that structure repeated human interaction.’ (North 1989)
‘Institutions are ‘repetitive patterns of interaction through which society
undertakes certain functions.’ (King 1976)
 ‘Wide sense: persistent groups of norms of behaviour which serve
collectively valued purposes; or in narrow sense of , a set of rules to
facilitate co-ordination via allowing expectations to form.’ (Nabli & Nugent
1989)
The term “Economic Institutions” refers to two things:
1. Specific agencies or foundations, both government and private, devoted to

collecting or studying economic data, or commissioned with the job of supplying
a good or service that is important to the economy of a country. The Internal
Revenue Service (the IRS—the government tax-collection agency), the U.S.
Federal Reserve (the government producer of money), the National Bureau of
Economic Research (a private research agency) are all examples of economic
institutions.
2. Well-established arrangements and structures that are part of the culture or

society, e.g., competitive markets, the banking system, kids’ allowances,
customary tipping, and a system of property rights are examples of economic
institutions.
SY 2019-2020
Page | 6
(https://www.slideshare.net/LiaqatHussainSoomro/religious-institution-chp-20)
Religious institutions are the visible and organized manifestations of

practices and beliefs in particular social and historical contexts. Like human
emotions and attitudes, religious beliefs and practices project outward onto the
social and historical plan. They create identities and representations, and
determine attitudes, emotions, and behaviour. These manifestations and
outward projections originate from beliefs and practices, but they are also limited
by historical contexts. Geographical, social, and political considerations modify
attitudes and practices. Religious institutions, then, take shape in relation to
both religious impulses and contextual configurations. The following entry
suggests some of the enduring and changing features of religious institutions in
Islam in broad historical strokes.
Religious beliefs and practices have been noticeably expressed in key

institutions constructed in uniquely different social and historical contexts. The
caliphate as a universal political and social order was the key institution
developed in the early period of Islam. This was followed by more clearly religious
institutions like the school of law (madhhab) and Sufi order (tariqa). The modern
SY 2019-2020
period has witnessed the emergence of various forms of religious states together
with the independent religious association in secular contexts
Educational Institutions
Page | 7
(https://mektebgushesi.az/2019/02/28/magistraturaya-qbul-imtahanin--bagli-statistik-
gostr/)
Education takes up a quarter of our whole lives our whole lives

development from infancy to adulthood incubates within the ivory towers of the
educational institution. Our initial impression of the community stems from our
experiences in or very own schools. It is where we learn respect for authority, the
need for compliance, and even the price we have to pay for complacency and
deviance from set standards and rules. We spend more time in schools than in
our own homes. The school becomes our second home where I make our first
communal affiliations.
Basic education paves the way for individuals to be functional in our

society. Generally , the task of the school system is to arm us with the needed
skills and knowledge in relation with the demand of our environment. Students
are expected to learn within the given system designed to stimulate the
conditions outside it. Think about it, all your lives until this very point, you were
expected to aim for that top spot and follow the rules. However , did it ever occur
to you that what the school organization deems as value and mores end up
hollow and alien because they lacked the connection to your communities? This
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dynamic, instead, has separated us from the realities of life. We are misguided
into believing that what is real is inside the school and we no obligation outside.
The bigger challenge than learning numbers and our AbC’s is bridging tha gap
Page | 8 between what we learn in school and what we need to learn outside of it. Citizens
should not just to be observes of what is happening beyond the four walls of the
school; instead , they should be craftsmen who can contribute to the community.
As students, you have to make use of what is provided and available to you. The
knowledge , skills and values you acquire are tools you will need to chart you
future.
Family Institutions
(https://superincshop.co.za/institutions-the-family-and-marriage)
Our own families are considered as the building blocks of our society.
The origin of the family goes back to prehistory and is the factor that bound early
settlements. The formation of an organic union among kin perpetuated the
emergence of tribes and communities. The very definition of what constituents a
family varies or depends on which epistemological tradition we are going to use.
For Karl Marx and Friedrich Engle’s , the foundations on which the family is
created can be traced back to economic traditions whereby the structure and
roles of each member were derived from the resources available to the household.
Later on, the family and how it was structured is now understood as more of a
social design that is due to the complex functions of each member that come
SY 2019-2020
together to form the foundation of a relationship. This structural functionalist

view is now widely accepted in the study of communities. It is now used to draw
patterns of behaviour within institutions and social groups. At the centre of every
Page | 9 society is the family , and it is where the community and our society draw
strength from.
Reference:
Danilo Lorenzo S. Delos Santos, 2017 (COMMUNITY ENGAGEMET,

SOLIDARITY AND CITIZENSHIP) Manila: Rex Bookstore.
https://www.econlib.org/library/Topics/HighSchool/EconomicInstitut
ions.html
https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-
transcripts-and-maps/religious-institutions

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMET, SOLIDARITY AND CITIZENSHIP

 Compare and contrast the definition of community using various

Institutions are the core establishment that bind people toward a

What are Institutions?

Institutions are grand social structures that are made up by individuals

These social structures are considered as social creations whose

A social contract is simply an agreement between a master and a subirdinate

We are considered as “ global citizens” in world that is more connected

The government , as an institution, grants its citizens with the liberties

Definitions of economic institutions

 ‘Essentially, institutions are durable systems of established and embedded

The term “Economic Institutions” refers to two things:

1. Specific agencies or foundations, both government and private, devoted to

2. Well-established arrangements and structures that are part of the culture or

Religious institutions are the visible and organized manifestations of

Religious beliefs and practices have been noticeably expressed in key

Education takes up a quarter of our whole lives our whole lives

Basic education paves the way for individuals to be functional in our

together to form the foundation of a relationship. This structural functionalist

Danilo Lorenzo S. Delos Santos, 2017 (COMMUNITY ENGAGEMET,

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