A Community Perspective on Schooling

A community perspective of schooling is another approach to describing what occurs in a school.  It offers a theoretical basis for individualized instruction, multicultural curriculums, and collaboration with students, parents, staff, and others. This paper identifies why a school may want to use a community perspective.  Also, presented are some suggestions for describing communities and identifying which communities are involved in the school community.  Finally, some of the implications of using a community perspective at the school, classroom, and student level are explored. Notably, the student is considered to be part of many communities which may have conflicting values and expectations. This has implications for pedagogy, particularly when working with disadvantaged groups.

Many communities are considered to be represented in the school and the operation of the school is examined in terms of its relationship to other communities and the inter-relationships among the communities. Considering a school as part of a community is not unusual, schools are aware of communities that affect the school and in many cases accommodate them. For instance, a school in Edmonton with a large Muslim population set aside a room for Muslim men to pray during Ramadan. That school has adopted a model for developing life long learners that has three components: management, program, and learning skills and strategies. This model would consider community concerns and values as part of the application and development of these components, whereas a community perspective would look at management, programs, and skills in the context of community development.


 
A Community Perspective on Schooling
Why Use a Community Perspective?
What is Involved in Using a Community Perspective?
Describing Communities
Communities and the School
Using a Community Perspective
Concluding Thoughts
References

Why Use a Community Perspective?

Using a community perspective was suggested by reviewing the literature related to learning organizations and by considering schools as learning organizations. One observation was that the skills, knowledge and attitudes that students need to be life long learners are those required for a member of a learning organization.  According to Senge (1990) these are: Working with others to create a shared vision, learning as a shared activity, and respecting the learning of others are community activities.  Indeed, when Braun (1996) considered the terms used to describe learning organizations he realized that the terms such as close relationships, trust, openness, and commitment were also used as descriptors for communities. He also found several authors who referred to building community, developing community, and learning through community when discussing organizational learning or learning organizations. Therefore he decided to use the term learning community instead of learning organization. He felt the term learning community was more inclusive and focused on the human factor in organizational learning. Also, a prominent educator, Sergiovanni (1996) sees the school as a moral learning community and bases much of his discussion about leadership in schools on this concept.

Sergiovanni (1994) draws heavily on the work of Ferdinand Tonnies (curr. 1887) in forming his ideas about community and the role of communities in organizational development. The form of community that Tonnies described with the term "gemeinschaft" is Sergiovanni's ideal community. This is the pre-industrial community that is characterized by:

The development of a community of the mind is how Sergiovanni views the task of organizational development.  He sees this as a transformation of an organized collection of individuals to a community of the mind (1994) as the organization becomes an institution with purpose, values, and culture (1996).  To achieve this end, Sergiovanni describes an approach consistent with the development of a learning organization or in his view, community.  He suggests a "means, ways, ends" (p35) approach that focuses on the development of people.  By linking individuals to a purpose and allowing them to find an appropriate "way" they become self-managing.  Consistency of purpose is maintained by focusing on "ends" that are reflect the shared values, purposes, and commitments of the community.  (Index)

What is Involved in Using a Community Perspective?

There are two aspects of using a community perspective of schools. The first consideration is that there are many communities represented in a school and the second is that individuals are part of many communities.

Various writers have identified different communities within the school. For instance, when writing about the Self-Renewing School, Wolfe (1993) identified three organizational structures or spheres that act on the school: individual teachers (scholar-teachers), faculties in the schools (communities of scholars), and the district office (scholar-coordinators). Sergiovanni (1996) notes many communities that may act through individuals in the school. He suggests that the family can be considered a moral nurturing community, that churches function as spiritual communities, that youth clubs function as friendship communities, and that neighbourhood associations function as civic communities.

Notably, the involvement of other communities in the schools is through individuals who are members of more than one community. Other authors share this view. Fasching (1997) describes individuals as fulfilling multiple roles and having multiple personalities: the work self, the family self, the friend self, and the civic self.  (Index)

Describing Communities

Some disciplines such as urban planning and community development have attempted to define communities as a specific type of organization (Nelson, Ramsey, & Verner 1960), but others suggest that it is more important to understand the community.  An earlier writer, Whitelaw (1951), saw a need for school administrators to understand the school community and be sensitive to changes in that community.  He viewed the community as geographically bounded but considered the physical characteristics of the community and the community itself as evolving.  Some of the dimensions that he suggested administrators be aware of were: To aid the understanding of communities other authors have classified them. Warren and Warren (1977) recognized that there were different types of communities with different characteristics. They identified six types of communities and compared them using the criteria of: The types of communities described are: It is important to have a way to describe communities because people develop their values and understandings from the communities they are part of (Fasching, 1997). Further, when people are working together to solve a problem or accomplish a goal or develop a shared vision, they share their understandings to arrive at a common community solution. This is consistent with the findings of Dempsey & McCadden (1997) in a study of ethical decision making at local schools.  They found that the participants used a rules-based and context-based morality expressed in terms of their everyday lives as parents, teachers, administrators, and school advisory chairs. The participants demonstrated the ability to construct a moral community out of the histories and context they brought with them to the setting.  Building a shared history provided the mechanism through which the participants came to understand the constraints, language, and logic of others. This implies that an understanding of individuals can be aided by understanding the communities that the individual is part of.  (Index)

Communities and the School

The broad approach, looking at community and the communities represented by individuals and gaining an understanding of all of the communities represented in the school is an impossible task. Therefore the first task is to identify the communities that are important to the school and are normally considered part of the school community. In most districts these would include families, parents, students, teachers, administrators, school jurisdictions, Departments of Education, and interested others. Local needs would also suggest communities to include in the analysis. In rural areas the business community, the farming community, and retirees may have a significant impact on the school. While it is important to keep the task of community analysis manageable, it is important not to exclude communities that have an interest in the school.

After the communities have been identified the characteristics of the communities that are important to the school need to be identified. Whitelaw and the Warrens suggest several: physical characteristics of the community, demographics, economic security, housing, family characteristics, health, social adjustment, leisure, religion, educational opportunities, interactions among members, shared concerns and values, and interactions with other communities. Again, the circumstances would determine which characteristics are relevant and should be included in the analysis.  (Index)

Using a Community Perspective

Considering the school from a community perspective and examining the relationship between the school and its communities, is not unusual. Less common is viewing the classroom as a community and teaching as community development. At the student level, considering individual students as members of multiple communities has interesting implications for pedagogy.

At the School Level

To adopt a community perspective a school may identify: as communities significantly affecting the school. The important characteristics of these communities to the school may be: Ideally, all of the communities would espouse the same view of education and the same purpose of education and the school mission and practice would be consistent with the community purpose. Realistically, there will be differences of opinion, but there will be values that are common to most or all of the communities. For instance, families and students may have different opinions of the value of education, while sharing a desire that the student will become self-supporting.

Context determines which community characteristics are important. For example if school closure is an issue, the role the school plays in the community will be central to the decision. Views of that role will be determined by trading patterns, mobility, use of the school, and attitudes about the merits of the education program in the school and the suggested alternative.  A school that is the last enterprise in town is more likely to be closed than a school that is located in a vibrant economically sound community.  Groups supporting a school, that have an understanding of the communities that affect the decision, will know if they have the support of the communities and which shared values they can draw on to will affect the level of support.  (Index)

In the Classroom

Viewing the classroom as a community suggests that the teacher is a community developer. Every September students are assigned to a class. They are part of a community that is bounded by time and place. Depending on the year in school they may be bonded, having shared values and experiences. In any event, if the students are going to be able to learn, certain values such as respect for others have to be adopted.  These values make the classroom a safe and encouraging learning environment.  In addition, the teacher is charged with helping the students acquire the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required by the curriculum.  As a community developer the teacher would start the year by developing a community profile for the class and doing a needs assessment.  The profile and assessment would identify class room management concerns and the curriculum material to present.  For instance, if the students hadn't been grouped together before or worked with the teacher before, time would be allocated to involve the students in establishing expectations regarding effort, the treatment of others, and learning.  Further, if a significant number of students weren't at grade level, the teacher would modify the curriculum to be covered.  This behaviour is not unusual, many teachers establish class rules, some in collaboration with students, and teachers are expected to meet student needs, which implies modifying the curriculum if necessary.  However, some teachers impose rules on the students and expect students to keep up with the class.  A community development model implies collaboration and requires that needs be assessed and that programs be modified to reflect the assessed needs.  (Index)

Community and the Individual Student

The community perspective of the individual regards the individual as being constructed from the communities the individuals are part of.  Dempsey & McCadden (1997) consider the story of the individual to be embedded in the stories of the communities from which the individual derives his identity.  Further, they see this historical or social identity as necessary for forming present relationships.  Expressing the idea of constructed identity somewhat differently, Fasching (1997) sees the individual as fulfilling multiple roles, each with its own set of expectations and values.  The expectations and values are conveyed through role narratives that illustrate what it is to be a good student, a good child, a good parent, a good friend, or a good teacher. Fasching recognizes that the expectations for the various roles can conflict and that the individual needs to reconcile the roles. He feels that as an individual learns to reconcile the roles the individual becomes more resilient and ethical.

In this context, the teacher acts introduce the student to additional roles and role expectations.  The most obvious role is that of student, but students are introduced to values, knowledge, and expectations of various intellectual communities (scientific, artistic, critical), athletic communities, civic communities, and societies. Indeed, learning could be described as becoming part of these communities.  Reflecting on this process, Fasching states that, " the more complexity there is in our social life...the more sensitive and life sustaining our conscience will be." (p 108).

The view of a student's identity being an amalgam of community narratives has implications for practice.  First, learning isn't solely the acquisition of new skills, knowledge and attitudes; it is the integration of these with existing skills, knowledge, attitudes.  This suggests a collaborative approach that involves the student and parents in developing classroom and school expectations would be more successful than imposing expectations.  Second, practice that aids the student in integrating the various communities would foster learning.  Examples of this would be curriculum materials and approaches that validate cultural history and values (multi-culturalism).  Third, it may be necessary to involve the family and other communities that the student is part of to reconcile differences between the expectations of the school and those communities.  (Index)

Concluding Thoughts

Sergiovanni (1994) contrasts the gemeinschaft (the sacred community) to the gesellschaft (the secular community). It was the shift from close ties and community values of the gemeinschaft to the contractual values and negotiated relationships of the gesellschaft that Tonnies documented.  In the gesellschaft the primary group loses its dominance of the individual as the individual engages in more secondary relationships.  In the process, the control of individuals exercised through shared community values is replaced by contractual expectations.  In addition, relationships are entered into on the basis of rational will rather than kinship.  Rather than viewing the shift to gesellschaft as the individual becoming isolated from the community, it could be viewed as the individual becoming part of other communities.  The individuals in the gemeinschaft were isolated, shared kinship, and purpose.  As the nature of the community changed through immigration or as members became parts of other communities through mobility, trade, and communication, the members of the community needed to reconcile the demands of all of the communities.  In this context, the role of the school is to help students recognize expectations of and the relationships among the communities and to prepare the students to become members of the communities to which they want to belong.  In practice this is analogous to community development at an individual level, involving the integration of various communities and the acquisition of needed skills, knowledge, and attitudes.  Pedagogy consistent with this perspective would consider instruction as particular (to the individual), require a collaborative approach, and utilize curriculum content that is relevant to the student.

Regarding the class as a community, provides a context for good pedagogy.  Good teachers know the curriculum needs and the learning requirements of their students and try to meet the student needs collectively and individually; good teachers work toward having their students internalize behaviours and attitudes that foster learning; and good teachers reinforce and build on the positive values that the students bring to the classroom.  These are all consistent with fulfilling the role of the school identified above.

At the school level a community perspective considers the relationship between the school and the communities that affect it.  The expectation that the school will help a student integrate and reconcile the values of many communities including the home requires the school to be at least aware of if not involved in those communities.  (Index)

References

Braun, C. (1996) Applied Concepts for Facilitating a Learning Community. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Dempsey, V. & McCadden, B. (1997) Power and the Construction of Meaning in School Policy. In Paul, J. Berger, N., Osnes, P., Martinez, Y., & Morse, W. (Eds.) Ethics and Decision Making in Local Schools. (pp. 151-164) Baltimore, MA: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Co

Fasching, D. (1997) Beyond Values: Story, Character and Public Policy in American Schools. In Paul, J. Berger, N., Osnes, P., Martinez, Y., & Morse, W. (Eds.) Ethics and Decision Making in Local Schools. Baltimore, MA: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Co

Joyce, B., Wolf, J., & Calhoun, E. The Self-Renewing School. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Nelson, L., Ramsey, C., & Verner, C. (1960) Community Structure and Change. New York, NY: Macmillan

Senge, P., (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York, NY: Doubleday Currency

Sergiovanni, T. (1994) Building Community in Schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers

Sergiovanni, T. (1996) Leadership for the Schoolhouse: How is it Different? Why is it Important? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Sergiovanni discusses why business models of administration are inappropriate for schools and suggests an alternative.

Warren, R., & Warren, D. (1977) The Neighborhood Organizer's Handbook. Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame Press. The book describes a process for analyzing communities and some considerations for organizing neighbourhoods.

Whitelaw, J. (1951) The School and Its Community: A Guide for the Development of School-Community Relations. Baltimore, MA: Johns Hopkins Press  (Index)