CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
IMMERSION
1 Semester 2020-2021
st
OVERVIEW
• The ultimate aims of National Service Training Program is to cultivate the
consciousness of the youth regarding their duties and responsibilities to the
society and to their fellowmen and to develop their moral, social and
spiritual well-being necessary in carrying out service-oriented activities in
the NSTP provisions.
• In order to materialize the above mentioned objectives, students are
encouraged to develop an in-depth understanding on the value of
community service through various programs with selected families and
children in the community since one of the best suggested programs in
carrying out the NSTP objectives is immersion.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand the concept and principle of immersion and its
significance to their academic life;
Apply these principles both in the planning of activities for
immersion and in the implementation of the said POA; and
Formulate their own objectives for the immersion program
according to the needs of the community to be adopted.
WHAT IS IMMERSION?
IMMERSION
is a kind of service training which refer to various pedagogies
that link the community service and academic study so that
strengthen the other. Immersion encourages community
partnerships for cooperative education and meaningful reflection
experiences for the students, faculty and even for the
community. Immersion program makes it possible to create
communities that adhere to shared responsibilities, cooperation
and sense of citizenship among eh participating individuals and
academic institution.
OBJECTIVES OF THE NSTP IMMERSION
PROGRAMS
1. The activity allows them to fully internalize in community service leading to a
lifelong commitment to social change.
2. The activity helps them to identify the needs of a community and propose and
implement solutions within their means.
3. The direct involvement of the student enhances their civic responsibilities as they
understand unfortunate events in social realities which involves their fellowmen.
OBJECTIVES OF THE NSTP IMMERSION
PROGRAMS
3. The activity provides the students the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in
the learning institution.
4. Immersion program helps students attain self-actualization by bringing out in
themselves their potentials and talents as they live in stream of community life.
5. It creates opportunities for students’ leadership development in preparation for their
professional careers and personal endeavors.
FOR THE COMMUNITY:
1. The activity of the students offers the community valuable information to assist them in
their decision-making about the future.
2. The activity provides the community with immediate assistance, i.e. road constructions,
building houses, path walk constructions and others.
3. The activity fosters mutually respectful relationship between the community and the
academe which opens an array of joint projects with mutual cooperation of the
members of eh community and the schools.
FOR THE COMMUNITY:
3. The wide range of skills and abilities possessed by the students enriches the interaction
with the members of the community making learning and teaching reciprocal activities.
4. Service learning students allow and encourage the community to embark enterprises that
would uplift their socio-economic needs.
5. Students bring new ideas and enthusiasm to the youths of the adopted community. Their
influences foster optimisms and positive outlook in life among the youths of the
community.
FOR THE FACULTY:
1. The service learning activity provides them with the opportunity to apply textbooks to
cover real-life examples
2. The involvement of the students in immersion program gives the faculty the
opportunity to be aware of what is going on in a community, what the communities’
need are, and what possibilities exist for tying course content to the real world.
3. Immersion also challenges professors to relate concepts and principles like nutrition,
education, business, arts and others to current community and societal issues.
IMMERSION AS A COMPONENT OF COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
Community development is defined as a process of developing active
and sustainable communities based on social justice and mutual respect
([Link]). It is a structured intervention that provides the community
stronger control over some issues and conditions that affect their lives
( [Link]/develop/commwat). The active involvement of people as part
of the practice for social change requires sharing of power, skills,
knowledge and experience.
THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, IN GENERAL,
COMMITS AMONG OTHERS ([Link])
[Link] challenge discrimination and oppressive practices
within organizations, institutions and communities;
[Link] develop practice and policy that protects the
environment;
[Link] encourage networking and connections between
communities and organizations;
[Link] ensure access and choice for all groups and individuals
within society;
THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, IN GENERAL, COMMITS
AMONG OTHERS ([Link])
[Link] influence policy and programmes from the perspective of
communities;
[Link] prioritize issues concerning people who experience poverty
and social exclusion;
[Link] promote social change that is long-term and sustainable;
[Link] support community led collective action.
HOW TO REALIZE THE ABOVE MENTIONED
COMMITMENTS?
•The community workers played by the students and faculty
to facilitate the participation of people in the community. The
students and the faculty representing the academe are key
players in the process of implementing social change since they
are tapped as frontliners in community service.
HOW TO REALIZE THE ABOVE MENTIONED COMMITMENTS?
•This is where the NSTP and the academic institutions play their respective
roles in affecting changes in communities. Through the NSTP, adopted
communities learn from members of the academe in various ways. Academic
institutions offer the communities an array of community-based projects or
activities that provide immediate solutions to their ordinary but perennial
problems. Among these projects are related to health, environmental education,
information drive, livelihood /entrepreneurship projects and other social
services. The realization of these projects is made possible through the active
participation of the students of NSTP.
VALUES LEARNED AND NURTURED BY THE STUDENTS AND ADOPTED
FAMILY THROUGH IMMERSION PROGRAM:
1. Social Justice. Enabling people to claim their human rights, meet their needs and
have greater control over the decision-making processes which affect their lives.
2. Participation- Facilitating democratic involvement by the people in the issues which
affect their lives based on full citizenship, autonomy, and shared power skills,
knowledge and experience.
3. Equality. Challenging the attitudes of individuals, and the practices of institutions
and society, which discriminate against and marginalize people.
VALUES LEARNED AND NURTURED BY THE STUDENTS AND ADOPTED
FAMILY THROUGH IMMERSION PROGRAM:
4. Learning. Recognizing the skills, knowledge and expertise that people
contribute and develop by taking action to tackle social issues, economic,
political and environmental problems.
5. Cooperation. Working together to identify and improvement action,
based on mutual respect of diverse cultures and contributions.
SUMMARY
Through community development operates at the larger social contexts
focusing on poverty alleviation, people empowerment, social and political
participation and economic sustainability, the realization of these
objectives is gradual and require time. But with more focused participants
such as families, projects related to the objectives of community
development are easily carried out and implement rather than working
with larger participants in a community. This is the reason why immersion
program is an effective component of community development.
THANK YOU!
