This paper explores the fundamental tenets of Plato's philosophy of education, particularly his views on a practice of great educational potential: communal musical participation. According to Plato, music can attune the individual and the community to cosmic harmony and this, in turn, is the only way to form and maintain a community. The paper…

The concept of collective identity emphasizes the importance of solidarity, collective strength, and coalition building among social groups in order to establish empowering educational systems, while still critically acknowledging the role that intersectionality, privilege, and power play in society and in students' lives. This brief summarizes…

The International Mathematical Olympiad, now 62 years old, has catalyzed the formation of a remarkable international community that meets for 2 weeks each year to celebrate mathematical problem solving. It has influenced and expanded the greater global mathematical culture, and the value of problem-solving in numerous countries. It is time for the…

This qualitative study investigated a Womxn of Color retreat at a predominantly White institution in the Midwest. The research question is: How and, in what ways does the Womxn of Color retreat align with the concept of a counterspace? An instrumental, embedded single-case study design was executed in conducting this research and multiple data…

As the original antidote to social alienation (and its tragic repercussions), community art through its large-scale, public, and collaborative nature has the potential to rebuild a sense of community from the inside out. This concentric notion of community art is addressed at both the individual and classroom level, exploring the origins of…

Imagined communities are not bound by space or time, they exist in opposition to other communities, and the members perceive themselves as existentially similar. Multiple case studies and interviews revealed that the seven Christian schools in this study functioned as imagined communities, and their literary practices served to establish,…

This article examines how the development of techno-marketing campaigns might facilitate the engagement of university students in voluntary activities on campus which promote active citizenship and community cohesion where there is a concern about a low take up of such opportunities. The increasing influence of technology upon the forms of social…

The middle-to-high-school transition and the first year of high school are critical periods in students' lives. According to the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), "The passage of students from the middle grades to high school is the most difficult transition point in education" (2002, p. 24). Although there are many different…

This commentary article focuses on the theme of "migration and communities." It raises a number of important concerns inherent in the report. The report mistakenly adopts the "sameness" approach, thus negating Britain's unprecedented super-diversity that is the result of increasing migration. It wrongly assumes that all migrants are the same and…

A primary purpose of many wilderness trip programs is the development of positive interpersonal relationships and group experiences that lead to enhanced sense of community among group members. Although there is anecdotal evidence to support the development of sense of community on wilderness trips, there is little empirical evidence to support…

Analyzes the way a specific narrative text (Lawrence Kasdan's 1983 feature film "The Big Chill") confronts the relationship between communal norms and political possibilities. Shows how the film enacts a complex disjunctive narrative argument endorsing a specific form of communal affiliation (what Hannah Arendt refers to as…

Continues a discussion from the January 2001 issue on community building in college unions and on college campuses, exploring what college union staffs can do to develop unity and community while still recognizing differences. Provides a list of suggested community-building activities. (EV)

This paper argues that the realities of school restructuring in Canada are experienced and perceived differently among different teachers, by the same teachers at different times, and between teachers on the one hand and students on the other. Realities of restructuring are often divergent and dissonant in nature. No one group has an inherently…

This book provides a view of community that educators can use to define and build community in their schools. Chapter 1 critiques the traditional view of schools as formal organizations and offers a theory of community as an alternative. Chapter 2 describes a pattern of relationships characteristic of communities, which can be applied to…