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.

The author describes how the interactive study of social media's effect on the Common Core debate was designed and executed. Important findings from the study were: 1) We live in an increasingly interconnected social world. 2) Media has evolved over the last half century from a passive system dominated by a few central opinion makers to the…

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…

Many schools attempt to implement multiple programs to promote positive young adolescent development; however, these programs are often fragmented and lack coordination. The authors describe an initiative designed to help schools coordinate their social-emotional and character development (SECD) efforts to improve school climate and help students…

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 challenge of producing the systemic changes that are needed to boost educational attainment and economic competitiveness across the country falls heavily on entities that coordinate public postsecondary institutions. Coordination of postsecondary education, whether of a single system of institutions or across an entire state, requires…

Life in the Community is an action research project with three objectives: (1) To work with four organisations from the third sector to improve the daytime opportunities for up to 40 people with higher support needs and help them to be more included in the life of a community; (2) To develop the capacity of organisations in the not-for-profit…

Discusses the need for coordination of child welfare services at the local level to prevent and detect child abuse and neglect, defines two steps necessary for coordination, and describes current efforts towards coordination in Massachusetts. (ED)

Twenty-six student volunteers participated in an eight-hour self-instructional program and were compared to students in a control group. Analyses of covariance with perceptual ability test indicated that the experimental group statistically significantly outperformed the control group on all but one preparation. (Author/MLW)

This report presents a description of the Jackson, Michigan site of the Child and Family Resource Program (CFRP), Head Start-affiliated program designed to promote community and family involvement in fostering optimum development of preschool children. The Jackson site is one of 11 demonstration sites of the national CFRP. The local program was…

Identification, coordination, and development of community resources for career education projects are discussed in this guidebook. Topics discussed include the following: (1) the role of the community resource coordinator; (2) community resources (available people, materials, and services that are useful and valuable for educational purposes);…