Community-based educational (CBE) models have gained recognition across diverse contexts for closing access gaps, leveraging local assets, and shaping cost-effective and culturally relevant educational opportunities in marginalized communities. In protracted conflict contexts such as Afghanistan, CBE compensates for weak state capacity by…

Three case studies (senior citizens center, senior citizens housing project, and a housing and employment project) are assessed against an operational definition of community development. Since only one of these fits the definition, the author concludes that projects designated as community development activity by agencies and workers often do not…

The nature of villagers' involvement during community theater programs initiated and implemented by some Malawi nongovernmental organizations was analyzed. Findings indicate that, contrary to the purposes of community theater, the productions were planned and remotely controlled from outside the community. (Contains 22 references.) (JOW)

A major component of the decentralization concept has been the focus on the participation of community, staff, and students in the process of educational decision making. On June 28, 1971, the Los Angeles City Board of Education mandated that a school-community advisory council be established in every regular elementary and secondary school in the…

American Indian rejection of the assimilation process coupled with recent positive Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO) experiences have given birth to new Indian ideologies which encompass regeneration of the internal forces in the Indian community. Local control of education provides the key to regenerative action and total development,…

The movement for community control of schools allowed for the participation of parents in educational policy with regard to their local schools. This movement was aimed at increasing the participation of inner city parents in the schools. This movement has currently slowed down. In large metropolitan areas, the size of the educational system has…

This document reports on Phase II of a major project designed to study how school systems respond to the educational needs of the socially and economically disadvantaged. The report presents the Local Community Control model as the most effective means to change the school board's typical non responsiveness to the needs of the educationally…

The systemic reform exemplified by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA) requires the coupling of top-down state mandates with bottom-up advocacy and leadership. This research on an Eastern Kentucky school district details the dynamics at the district's main high school, as people struggle to build both a community of learners within…

Describes a participatory research project among the Sikuani Indians of Colombia that uncovered solutions to a failing government-imposed health program. Discusses promoting community involvement in and control of its own health care, integrating traditional and modern medical practices, and adapting national health dictums to local circumstances.…

This discussion is organized into four sections. In an introductory section, it is pointed out that the word "decentralization" appears to have many meanings. There is a need to clarify definitions, and to examine decentralization in a practical, working context. In Part 1, "Background and Issues", some of the major issues…

The relationship between research and educational policy in the areas of school system decentralization and community control is analyzed in this dissertation. The literature on decentraliztion and community control is reviewed. It is contended that existing empirical research on these subjects has not systematically tested the assumptions…

This document examines how Ministries/Departments of Education in Canada and the United States build community-ownership of schools. Common and novel strategies for building educational communities are also discussed using Eisler's "gylanic" society paradigm. Individuals within governmental agencies that work at developing collaborative…

This paper analyzes thirteen recommendations for media policy making in rural Alaska which were formulated as a product of a study of the educational television aspect of the ATS-6 (Applications Technology Satellite) project in 1974-75. The recommendations, which emphasize local media control, were based on information provided by village…

This document reviews the consequences of urban community involvement in school decision making. Areas concerning educational decisions, shared as goals by lay communities and school people, are considered to be: institutional responsiveness, affective and material community support to schools, educational achievement, and the democratic principle…