This guidebook aspires to build a community where learning for sustainable development takes place everywhere for everyone as an ongoing practice. It introduces you to "Reflect-Share-Act," a process to discover and define sustainable development in your own contexts together with others in your community. The guide compiles resources…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Bridging the Digital Divide." Contents include: (1) Texas Needs an Equitable…

Each edition of the "IDRA (Intercultural Development Research Association) Newsletter" strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on parent and community engagement and includes: (1) Community Conversations about…

This study surveyed 45 selected primary and secondary schools in Botswana which aimed to identify how parent and community involvement in the governance of schools affect teacher effectiveness and improvement of learner performance. The study started from January 2005 to December 2006. Literature review, administration of questionnaires, interview…

Because most decisions that affect quality of schools are made in the community, citizens should become school partners in education. This booklet offers the following suggestions for citizen actions: (1) Get informed. As "owners" of the local school board, citizens have a right to know what students are expected to learn. Individuals should…

This guidebook is one in the Target Topic Series developed to highlight issues and concerns related to effective community education operation. It is intended for the community educator and community education advisory council member who want to learn about the importance of community involvement to the quality of life in the community. A pretest…

The Mississippi Board of Education adopted the School/Community Involvement initiative in 2003 as a part of the Mississippi School Level Accountability Model Evaluation Instruments. This guide provides the components of those standards along with ideas and suggestions to assist parents, community members and school staff with the development or…

This publication presents information on how neighborhood residents can be involved in collecting needed information about their community which they can use to guide reform efforts. Researchers interviewed people with experience collecting information at the neighborhood level, other researchers, leaders of community based organizations, and…

This paper is designed to assist city staffs and transportation agencies in organizing effective community involvement programs. The role of nontechnical information in the decision making process is addressed first, to help professional engineers and planners consider its importance in planning and implementation. In a chapter on value…

This guide presents a model for developing a team planning approach for optimum community involvement in San Diego City Schools in order to promote quality integrated education. Following a brief introduction basic purposes, goals, and tasks for implementation are listed. Next, the model is outlined as a step-by-step process. For each major topic…

Discriminates between "community architecture" and conventional approaches to architecture. Focuses on community architecture as it relates to the participation of users in their environment, the establishment of partnerships between specialists from different fields, and the evolutionary development of people's environmental needs. (TW)

The model workshop described in this paper is intended to present the possibilities of organized self-advocacy for persons with mental retardation or other disabilities. Self-advocacy stresses dignity, respect, and making one's own choices. Information on planning a workshop covers length and size, date and time, speakers, location,…

Citizen involvement in the public decision-making process can be facilitated if appropriate forms and functions of involvement are used. The issue cycle, which can help public officials to ensure that citizens have constructive and timely input into the decision-making process, involves awareness of some condition in the community; community…

This toolkit helps community-based organizations create a community guide to the school budget, demystifying school finance for citizens and engaging them in the process of using the school budget as a tool for school improvement. It explains the major steps organizations have used in their own initiatives, offering advice and examples of tools.…

Two guides for parents and others concerned with the education of children in their community are provided in this packet. "What We Want Our Children to Get Out of School" is a community discussion guide modeled from National Issues Forum material that provides the framework and setting for adults to share their views. It begins with information…