Based on research in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, this article argues that the globally popular reform of school-based management suffers from several shortcomings and is a partial, extractive, and technocratic means of engendering parental and community participation. Ultimately, this article demonstrates that it is necessary to move beyond SBM as a…

Based on semi-structured interviews with Tibetan teachers in Qinghai Province in Northwest China, this article explores how the teachers, who hold subject positions as pedagogical professionals and local intellectual elites, understand the value and implications of education for Tibetan people, and how they navigate their profession in the local…

The Kettering Foundation is a nonprofit, operating foundation rooted in the American tradition of cooperative research. The foundation seeks to identify and address the challenges to making democracy work as it should through interrelated program areas that focus on citizens, communities, and institutions. Each issue of this annual newsletter…

In this article, we present the results of an international comparative study on the concept of Community School across nine eastern European and Eurasian countries. The study sample consists of two schools considered to be Community Schools from each country (N = 451 teachers); a teacher survey was conducted and the implementation of the…

This report explores the impact of schools and other settings working with families to improve learning and achievement. It identifies the key features of highly-effective practice in engaging families in learning and provides examples of quality family learning which are helping to secure better outcomes for children and young people. The case…

This qualitative research reports on the narratives of six community educators and utilizes anatomy of story as a framework. The research question directing this study was: What can we learn from the journeys and trajectories of community educators? Supporting sub-questions included: (1) what are their efforts fostering adult education? and (2)…

The need to work in partnership with communities in a meaningful and impactful way has become a core part of university planning in many countries around the world. In the Global South, the potential for the Eurocentric knowledges and power structures to dominate such partnerships is pervasive. This article reports on findings of a participatory…

This study uses the "Index for Inclusion", developed by Booth and Ainscow, as a framework for investigating inclusive provision in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), introduced through the "School for All" initiative. The study, by Nadera Emran Alborno of the American University in Dubai and Eman Gaad of the British University in…

Based on 65 interviews with professionals and parents conducted during 2007-2008, this 16-month, mainly qualitative evaluation of Parentline Plus' Time to Talk Community Programme (a preventative initiative within England's teenage pregnancy strategy) found that a community development approach and an ethos of partnership with parents and…

This article presents an interview with Juan Sepulveda. Sepulveda was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to the position of Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics on May 19, 2009. In this capacity, Sepulveda is responsible for directing the efforts of the White House Initiative in…

The high percentage and the steady growth of Hispanic/Latino students in Arizona demand that special attention be placed on improving academic achievement and attainment. The need to support Hispanic/Latino parents in becoming meaningful positive contributors to their children's schooling continues to surface as a critical issue in school…

This paper critiques the notion of community capacity building (CCB) and the way it is increasingly being invoked in social policy as a way of tackling disadvantage. The paper argues that CCB and a number of its derivative terms are not as straightforward as they appear. Superficially, CCB presents as a useful way of approaching school and…

A major resource of small voluntary neighborhood organizations is their members, who give their time and energy to the organization to improve their community. In recent years, there has been a revitalization of strategies that focus on engaging residents to volunteer for neighborhood-based organizations. The current study was guided by…

Background/Context: Parent involvement in education is widely recognized as important, yet it remains weak in many communities. One important reason for this weakness is that urban schools have grown increasingly isolated from the families and communities they serve. Many of the same neighborhoods with families who are disconnected from public…

This paper presents an analysis of community and parental involvement in education. Sample programs and activities have been selected from the schools recognized as excellent by the Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement School Recognition Program. Numerous brief case studies highlight interesting and creative ways in which…