The study examined whether Indiana school sites having Community Education programs exhibited Community Education elements as defined by the State Plan for Indiana Community Education 1989 - 1993. Ten core elements of Community Education (collaboration, partnerships, use of volunteers, citizen involvement, lifelong learning, community resources, parental involvement, facilities usage, systematic planning, and leadership) were studied.Five research questions were developed to describe the use of Community Education elements in Indiana schools. Names and addresses of sites were obtained from school superintendents, and questionnaires designed to report the presence of the ten core elements of Community Education were sent to the sites. A weighted index was developed to measure the elements and was used to provide a score for amounts of core element activity at each site. This allowed the sites to be ranked with higher scores representing more extensive use of Community Education elements.At least 113 school sites are making efforts to implement the Community Education elements. Sites exhibiting the greatest number of the Community Education elements were located in high schools or career/vocational centers in small towns or medium-sized cities, for the most part. The majority had part-time or full-time coordinators. Sites exhibiting the fewest elements tended to be located in elementary schools in small towns or rural areas; none were in urban or suburban areas, and the majority had no coordinator.In terms of the ten core elements, most sites did not collaborate or have formal partnerships with community organizations. Most sites also did not have community councils. Less than half had any formal citizen involvement in planning and decision-making. Most sites did not consistently use systematic planning processes to make program decisions.School facilities were used for Community Education purposes during non-school hours by over 80% of the respondents. Activities most frequently provided by the sites were personal enrichment courses, high school completion/GED preparation, adult basic skills classes, and recreation. Senior citizens were the most frequently served group by the sites. About one-third of the sites provided programs for illiterate adults. The study suggests that Community Education at Indiana school sites has a much stronger program orientation than a process orientation. / Department of Educational Leadership

From 1965 through the 1980's, community education was endorsed and promoted in Indiana by the C.S. Mott Foundation of Flint, Michigan. The Mott Foundation issued nearly $2 million in grant money to the Institute for Community Education Development (ICED) at Ball State University to encourage local communities in Indiana and a four-state region to develop community education programs and processes. This money was granted to Ball State University and the ICED for several purposes: 1) to promote the concept of Community Education, 2) to provide and manage seed money incentive grants made to local public school corporations who adopted the concept, 3) to provide training and academic programs to local program leaders, and 4) to support the development of Community Education in the state through consultant services and other appropriate forms of assistance. After twenty-two years of activity and investment, the Mott Foundation-focused development of community education in Indiana through the Institute for Community Education Development (ICED) was phased out.This research was conducted using an Oral History methodology in which a thorough literature review was completed, ICED yearly reports and other literature provided background and triangulation, and eight interviewees were interviewed and audio-recorded for a total of twenty-one interviews. Recordings were each transcribed and stored by the principle investigator. Participants were interviewed a total of one to three times each, dependent upon the information obtained during each interview.This study provides a written historical report of some of the developments of community education in the State of Indiana that were due, in part, to the ICED consultants. This study also describes the community education development strategies in Indiana by the ICED staff. Additionally, this study reports some of the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies utilized by ICED professionals in Indiana's development of community education as reported by the interviewees. Those interested in educational development may utilize this study to gain insights from some of the lessons found in Indiana's Community Education development experience from 1965 through 1987. / Department of Educational Studies

The research study had three purposes for examining community leadership programs. First, the study described the status of community leadership programs in Indiana. Second, the study compared current data with data collected by Lynch in 1987. This comparison identified trends and changes in planning, administering, and evaluating community leadership programs. Third, the study included a search of literature and an analysis of data which confirmed theoretical and practical linkages between the community leadership, adult education, and community education domains.The study was initiated with a telephone investigation to identify 50 community leadership programs in the state. A questionnaire was then mailed to program directors. The instrument, an expanded version of Lynch's 1987 questionnaire, collected data about program staff, budgets, curricula, participants, alumni, and evaluation. Forty-seven program directors responded by mail and three by telephone.Final data, which provided a profile of the 50 programs, were collated and published as a directory of Indiana community leadership programs. Data showed 43 programs were active, two were inactive, two were pilot programs in 1990 and 1991, and 15 were newly organized in 1990.Analysis revealed several changes and trends which occurred in the three years between 1987 and 1990. The most notable change in the three years between 1987 and 1990 was the 100% increase in the number of programs (from 25 to 50). Two significant trends were seen in the increase of programs in smaller communities (under 50,000 population), as well as, a shift in curriculum emphasis from community orientation toward community trusteeship.Data analysis also indicated that community leadership programs embodied the values of social responsibility and community action espoused by adult education and community education fields. Although no collaboration was noted with local community education programs, many community leadership programs had partnerships with adult education providers.This study concluded that economic pressures on, and an increasing sense of social responsibility within communities appeared to contribute to the popularity of community leadership programs. This study suggested further research: (a) designing more effective ways to assist community leadership program directors, and (b) identifying more effective models and procedures for cooperation between community education and leadership development programs. / School of Continuing Education and Public Service