Tanenzapt, Elaine, Ed.; Townsend, Richard G., Ed
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 419 888 UD 032 365 AUTHOR Lawton, Stephen B., Ed.; Tanenzapt, Elaine, Ed.; Townsend, Richard G., Ed. TITLE Education and Community: The Collaborative Solution. Proceedings of the International Conference Linking Research and Practice (Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 3-5, 1994). INSTITUTION Ontario Inst. for Studies in Education, Toronto. Dept. of Educational Administration. ISBN ISBN-0-7744-9821-8 PUB DATE 1994-03-00 NOTE 158p. AVAILABLE FROM Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street, West Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1V6. PUB TYPE Collected Works Proceedings (021) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC07 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Cooperation; Educational Improvement; *Educational Policy; Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries; Models; Program Descriptions; Program Effectiveness; Public Schools; School Based Management; *School Community Relationship; Tables (Data) IDENTIFIERS Canada; Stakeholders ABSTRACT These proceedings are divided into two sections that explore collaboration between schools and communities. In Part I, the first four papers, analytic frameworks are described that provide different perspectives on collaboration. In Part II, descriptions of concrete programs and advice for developing better school-community relations are offered. The following papers are included: (1) "Policy Options for Building School-Community Relations" (James G. Cibulka); (2) "Families and Schools Working Together in a Pluralistic Society" (Nancy Chavkin); (3) "Poverty and Education: Conceptions and Misconceptions" (Benjamin Levin); (4) "Students and Academics Look at School Improvement" (Richard G. Townsend and George Bedard); (5) "Reaching Education's Publics" (Norman Robinson);(6) "Stakeholder Attitudes towards Community Involvement in New Brunswick Schools: Implications for Collaborative Solutions" (R. M. McDonald); (7) "The Policy and Practice of Community Enrichment of Schools" (Hanne B. Mawhinney); (8) "The Collaborative School and the Empowered Community: A Total School-Based Management Model" (Adrian Guldemond); and (9)"Finding the Common Ground" (Gordon Cressy). An appendix contains the conference agenda. Each paper contains references. (Contains 3 figures and 25 tables.) (SLD) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Education and Community: The Collaborative Solution U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Low:1-6):1 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Points of view or opinions stated in this INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Edited by: Stephen B. Lawton Elaine Tanenzapt Richard G. Townsend The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Department of Educational Administration BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY: THE COLLABORATIVE SOLUTION Proceedings of the International Conference Linking Research and Practice Edited by: Stephen B. Lawton Elaine Tanenzapf Richard G. Townsend March 3-5, 1994 The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education 3 Acknowledgements We appreciate the support from the research team involved in the Schools and the Community project funded by the Ministry of Education and Training and the work performed by the advisory committee: John Davis, Stephen B. Lawton, Joyce Scane, Richard G. Townsend and Rouleen Wignall The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education has three prime functions: to conduct programs of graduate study in education, to undertake research in education and to assist in the implementation of the findings of educational studies. The Institute is a college chartered by an Act of the Ontario Legislature in 1965. It is affiliated with the University of Toronto for graduate studies purposes. The publications program of the Institute has been established to make available information and materials arising from studies in education, to foster the spirit of critical inquiry, and to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas about education. The opinions expressed should be viewed as those of the contributors. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title Education and community: the collaborative solution Proceedings of a conference held Mar. 3-5, 1994 at The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-7744-9821-8 1. Community and schoolCongresses. I. Lawton, Stephen B. II. Tanenzapf, Elaine, date. III. Townsend, Richard G. (Richard Gordon), date. IV. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Dept. of Educational Administration. LC215.E38 1994370.1911C94-932082 The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education 1994 252 Bloor Street West Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1V6 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for brief passages quoted for review purposes. Contents Part I: PERSPECTIVES ON SCHOOL-COMMUNITY RELATIONS Introduction Stephen B. Lawton Policy Options for Building School-Community Relations James G. Cibulka 1 Families and Schools Working Together in a Pluralistic Society Nancy Chavkin 13 Poverty and Education: Conceptions and Misconceptions Benjamin Levin 24 Students and Academics Look at School Improvement Richard G. Townsend and George Bedard 41 Part II: THE PRACTICE OF LINKING SCHOOLS TO COMMUNITIES Reaching Education's Publics Norman Robinson 61 Stakeholder Attitudes Towards Community Involvement in New Brunswick Schools: Implications for Collaborative Solutions R.M. McDonald 75 The Policy and Practice of Community Enrichment of Schools Hanne B. Mawhinney 97 The Collaborative School and the Empowered Community: A Total School-Based Management Model Adrian Guldemond 119 Finding the Common Ground Gordon Cressy 137 APPENDIX 148 5 Introduction Stephen B. Lawton The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Recently, an African proverb has been widely quoted: It takes an entire village to raise a child. This idea seems fresh because it has been forgotten or relegated to the fringes of modern, Western societies where formal educational systems, driven by their own internal logic, have assumed increasing responsibility for the rearing of children. Schools are expected to provide children breakfast and lunch, pre- and post-school care, health and dental check- ups, counselling, sex-education, condoms, and day-care for the offspring of young mothers completing a high school education. It is as if, in a world of civic disarray, the school is the only civic institution which carries on the work of the village. Of course, schools cannot do all of these things and teach too; in the long run, schools can be no more effective than are the communities that support them. The gulf between schools and their communities, and the dependence each has on the other, is becoming increasingly apparent. Communities need what schools have to offer; yet communities also need to ensure that what schools offer is what communities, in fact, need. How the two can collaborate to fulfill their mutual responsibilities is a complex and often subtle matter. Sound ties must be developed that facilitate communication, action, and the resolution of problems. These proceedings are divided into two sections that explore these matters. In Part I, analytic frameworks are portrayed that provide different perspectives on the matter. In a comprehensive overview, James Cibulka considers an array of policy approaches to the issue of school-community relations; his work is complemented by those of Nancy Chavkin, who focuses on key problems in pluralistic societies, and Benjamin Levin, who focuses on educational difficulties created by the persistence of impoverished families and children. Finally, Richard Townsend and George Bedard contrast the thinking of academics with that of secondary school students as to how schools can improve. Taken together, these four papers provide a variety of perspectives for considering and acting upon the relations between schools and their communities. No approach offers the definitive answer; but selecting from among them, and combining the insights each has to offer, may suggest productive directions for research and policy development. Part II offers descriptions of concrete programs and advice for developing better school- community relations, although the authors by no means offer a consensus. Norman Robinson, focussing on school trustees and the school-district level, provides advice for defining the nature of the "public" and communicating with it. He believes people want to hear and be heard, but are not very interested in direct participation in school governance. Schools and programs studied by R.M. McDonald and Hanne Mawhinney appear to substantiate this view, suggesting that modest steps to involve parents and community members will more than satisfy demands of the public for change. Adrian Guldemond offers a distinctively different perspective, demonstrating that in independent schools, high levels of integration between schools and communities are expected and delivered. The proceedings conclude with Gordon Cressy's