School violence is a global concern (UNESCO, 2022) with prolific consequences due to its lifelong psychological impact. Violence will continue to afflict human populations due to its underlying psychology, but this can be tempered by culture and other environmental factors. Violence is part of human nature and has an evolutionary basis rooted in…

Cross-sector collaborations can generate the resources and political will necessary to tackle urgent, complex issues. Because these partnerships involve local leaders, they are typically responsive to their surrounding communities, addressing local concerns, and capitalizing upon local assets. These strengths-oriented, locally driven…

The COVID pandemic has led to a prolonged period of educational disruption with few precedents from the recent past to guide recovery. The Institute of Education's project, "Learning Through Disruption," set out to explore the knowledge schools have acquired from working with children and families during the crisis. The authors found…

This case is written for graduate students in a superintendency seminar course, a school-community relations course, or a school leadership course, such as a school politics course. It presents a highly charged school referendum issue in a school district that is comprised of two distinctly different communities. An initial referendum to construct…

Montclair Cares About Schools (MCAS) is a citizen-activist group in Montclair, New Jersey, that used Facebook, emails, and online petitions to inform and organize citizens on local educational policy issues. Emerging in response to a new superintendent's plans to reshape Montclair schools with new teacher evaluations, administrative hires, and…

This paper highlights critical pedagogical methods used in a community relations class that introduces intercultural education concepts to current K-12 educators who are enrolled in a Masters of Education program at Northeastern Illinois University, which is located in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The purpose of the class is to teach future…

Bergen Community College (BCC) created an institutional focus that allows faculty, staff, students, and administrators to join forces in understanding the suburban sense of place that defines the communities it serves. Bridging the various college departments enables BCC to connect local issues to regional, national, and international matters…

This paper describes how administrator preparation programs can help future education leaders to value, understand, and use the democratic strategy of deliberative dialogue and action. The purpose of the strategy is to engage in a new way with teachers, parents, and other stakeholders about problems in their local public schools. Follow-up…

Schools have always been recognized as an integral part of the community and the challenge is to ensure this vital component of social infrastructure is delivered in such a manner that long term benefits for local children, families and the broader community are realized. The Western Metropolitan Region in Victoria has experienced rapid…

Place- and community-based education--an approach to teaching and learning that starts with the local--addresses two critical gaps in the experience of many children now growing up in the United States: contact with the natural world and contact with community. It offers a way to extend young people's attention beyond the classroom to the world as…

Often superintendents and boards of education employ an expert-based, school-centered, "decide and defend" decision making approach when dealing with critical school district issues. In the case presented here, involving what to do with an historic school building, it is an approach that did not yield the result the superintendent or board of…

This paper discusses the primary educational needs of two Fijian villages, Nakawaga and Nukubolu, and three Javan villages, Harjowianangun, Purwosari, and Puliharjo, and inquires into the nature of a rational model of education for rural communities undergoing change from the existing provision of schooling. The paper's basic thesis is that…

Reviews and assesses the impact and direction of the Council for Urban Studies Centres (CUSC). Discusses CUSC's overall aims, staffing responsibilities, and program accomplishments. Appendices contain summaries of consultation services, interagency projects, and efforts in the promotion of urban studies. (ML)

Reports the major points, conclusions, and effects of a study--expressly intended for members of the Mobile, Alabama, community--that examined the condition of public education in Mobile County School District. (JW)

The role of the public has generally been dismissed as a significant factor influencing the process of curriculum formation in large urban school districts. This paper presents an indepth case study focusing on the role of the public in curriculum formation in one school district over a 21-year period during portions of the tenure of 3…