Civic Competence as a Social Service Dimension: Context of a Local Community in the Philippines

Abstract This study used convergent mixed approaches to contribute to local studies and provide a reflection that civic competence is an essential dimension of social service. Contextualized in a northern Luzon municipality, Philippines, the purposively selected 94 participants responded to the survey questionnaire and one-on-one interviews, anchored on the four domains of civic competence, such as civic rights, civic virtues, civic responsibilities, and civic participation. The quantitative findings revealed that among all the domains, only the civic rights were fully manifested, while the other three domains were all at a moderate level. Furthermore, the qualitative findings uncovered factors that possibly influenced the level of civic competence. In converging the findings from the two approaches, apart from the results of citizens’ civic competence, this study mirrored experiences of how social services were delivered in a local community. The results suggest that the government may consider local experiences and civic competence levels to plan for policy enhancement for social services during a pandemic or any unprecedented encounters. Future research may use a grounded theory design to form a middle-range theory for civic competence as an essential social service dimension.