This chapter describes how the author became an academic political educator and community organizer, with both worlds always working with, against, and for each other.

One of the central tenets of the neoliberal world view is that there is no alternative to market-based societies with their focus on competition, individualism, and the abandonment of social safety nets and environmental protections. This vision has become the new common sense. As neoliberal policies and practices have spread across the planet,…

In this article, Michael McAfee and Mauricio Torre reflect on the successes and challenges of the Promise Neighborhoods movement as it works toward education equity, and on what it takes to effect large-scale, sustainable change for low-income communities and communities of color. Together they discuss the Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood project…

This article describes the community organizing role of an Extension educator and a research faculty to enable young children in a resource-limited community to start savings accounts and to save regularly through a school-based savings effort. The study explored whether children from low-income communities are capable of saving money regularly…

The Learning Partnership (TLP) initiated a Family and Community Engagement Strategy (FACES) initiative in three Ontario communities to foster active and responsive relationships among community partners and enhanced family engagement in transitions to school. A case study research design, grounded in participatory action research, was used to…

This article discusses the Women Making a Difference programme that has provided hundreds of women in Wales the skills they need to become decision-makers in their communities. The project is all about tapping into women's desire to make a difference in their communities, and getting women who, in most cases, are already active at grassroots level…

Through cross-disciplinary and participatory processes involving key stakeholders from the Zambian education sector, as well as from the traditional leadership structure, a localized HIV/AIDS-prevention strategy, Interactive School and Community Approach (ISACA), was developed and implemented throughout one province between 2002 and 2006. The…

The discourse of sustainability is promoted internationally, with the United Nations declaring 2005-2014 as a Decade for Education for Sustainable Development. There is discussion concerning the nature, status and significance of Education for Sustainability and its relationship with the somewhat established discourse of environmental education.…

Discusses the development of the Family Preservation Project in Kansas, in particular its community meetings, advisory boards, endorsements from statewide professional organizations, and statewide conferences. The project is designed to provide intensive in-home services to families and children at-risk of being separated. (BB)

Describes the Los Angeles Project of the School of Politics and Economics at Claremont Graduate University. This project seeks to understand the conditions that have enabled a blossoming of public-private collaboration and development projects to take place in Los Angeles despite institutional, financial, and community obstacles. (EV)

Describes the goals and service components of Educare, a collaborative community project in southeast Missouri since 1995, to enhance school readiness of children from birth to 3 years from low-income families. Discusses working with families, community agencies and local services, and early childhood professionals. Also explores…

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) created the Relocation Program in 1952 to sever Indian federal trust status and impose Euro-American values on Indians all under the guise of benevolence. Led from reservations to urban areas, Indians found the problems of their reservations in their new locations: few employment opportunities, poor housing…

In 1998 a Burlington, Vermont partnership of a branch of city government and several educational and environmental organizations received a "metro-grant" to develop a project for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under its Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) Program. One goal was to…

The author describes the model community education program at Waipahu Intermediate School, with emphasis on its parent involvement methods, its special activities for immigrant students, and the role of its community facilitator. This article is part of a theme issue on community education in Hawaii. (SJL)

Describes programs initiated by Ohlone College and the United Auto Workers in response to mass layoffs at the Fremont General Motors Plant. Considers orientation, guidance, and counseling services for laid-off workers; job retraining; and the formation of the Area Consortium on Training by the union, college, and local agencies, and its…