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A growing body of research demonstrates the links between parental involvement and students' outcomes. Some benefits of this involvement include improved academic achievement, higher grades, increased attendance, and better social skills (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996; Dryfoos & Knauer, 2004; Coalition for Community Schools, 2003). Despite these benefits, many educators report challenges in engaging parents and community members within the school. The purpose of the research was to explore the processes two school staffs used to facilitate community engagement by utilizing community education practices and, within each individual site, compare to any increase in community engagement at the school. <p>Over the 2006-2007 school year, the researcher spent time connecting with staff members and parents at two schools a suburban elementary school, and an inner-city community school. Through observation, interviews with administrators, focus groups with parents, and focus groups with staff members, the researcher obtained information regarding staff members growth in community engagement, development of community education practices, and the impact of those practices on community engagement in the school. Through analysis of the data, the researcher identified themes, conditions for community engagement, and promising community education practices. <p>Data from observation, focus groups, and interviews demonstrated the importance of leadership, developing relationships with parents, creating a welcoming school environment, focusing staff development on community education, and creating opportunities for staff members and community members to come together, for community engagement to be successful. The research captured the importance of making beliefs and assumptions explicit, and identified how these beliefs can be helpful or harmful in engaging youth, families, and community members. The research study demonstrated that as staff members at Eagle Point School and Sunrise Community School increased their level of understanding of community education and created community education practices, they experienced greater community engagement in their respective schools.

A growing body of research demonstrates the links between parental involvement and students' outcomes. Some benefits of this involvement include improved academic achievement, higher grades, increased attendance, and better social skills (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996; Dryfoos & Knauer, 2004; Coalition for Community Schools, 2003). Despite these benefits, many educators report challenges in engaging parents and community members within the school. The purpose of the research was to explore the processes two school staffs used to facilitate community engagement by utilizing community education practices and, within each individual site, compare to any increase in community engagement at the school. <p>Over the 2006-2007 school year, the researcher spent time connecting with staff members and parents at two schools a suburban elementary school, and an inner-city community school. Through observation, interviews with administrators, focus groups with parents, and focus groups with staff members, the researcher obtained information regarding staff members growth in community engagement, development of community education practices, and the impact of those practices on community engagement in the school. Through analysis of the data, the researcher identified themes, conditions for community engagement, and promising community education practices. <p>Data from observation, focus groups, and interviews demonstrated the importance of leadership, developing relationships with parents, creating a welcoming school environment, focusing staff development on community education, and creating opportunities for staff members and community members to come together, for community engagement to be successful. The research captured the importance of making beliefs and assumptions explicit, and identified how these beliefs can be helpful or harmful in engaging youth, families, and community members. The research study demonstrated that as staff members at Eagle Point School and Sunrise Community School increased their level of understanding of community education and created community education practices, they experienced greater community engagement in their respective schools.

In recent decade, the government is devoted to promote community empowerment to make the residents positively take part in public affairs of community, arouse their community identity, and develop their own particular culture for promoting life quality. However, the outcomes are not better than those the government expected. In order to carry through the concepts of community empowerment, the government and non-governmental parties aggressively set into action and stress community and adult education based on the community development and community learning as their new strategies of community development. Besides, in the non-governmental circles, the community development is mainly implemented by non-profit organizations as community form. The Meinung People¡¦s Association was chosen as the case study in this thesis. She is not only keeping working for cultural maintenances but also have excellent results of characteristics of population in Meinung, implementing village-formed community college and community education for foreign wives and they are noticed and approved by others. The functions and roles of community education are addressed with the patterns of development. The interviews are used to collect the first-hand data and SWOT Analysis of Porter and CORPS Model of Seetoo, Dah-Hsian were used to analyze and evaluate strategic practices on community education of and try to further understand what problems a non-profit org. will face while implementing community education and find out corresponded solutions. Finally, PDCA Model of Dr. Edward Deming was used to think the systematic strategies of future development of the Meinung People¡¦s Association. With the development experiences of the Meinung People¡¦s Association, I sincerely hope to propose the practical suggestions and references to how to implement the practices of community education for the non-profit organization.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX83516.

Both in and out of the classroom, critically discussing and exploring the issues of gender, race, power, equality, and social justice can be a social and emotional minefield for educators and students alike. In politically charged times, escaping pre-formulated reactions and creating real change and empathy can seem a nearly impossible task. Some educators have turned to the visual and creative arts to provide students with emotional connectedness, visceral responses, and modes of self-expression. In this study, I examine two education programs to understand the effectiveness of social justice pedagogical methods using phenomenological research. My focus is on the educators' experiences, influences, and personal pedagogies. I plan to highlight three successful programs to better understand how complex and emotional issues can be better explored through art and visual culture and how other educators can adapt these methods to their own classrooms.

This thesis maps a genealogy for the process of erosion that has affected functional communities in North America over the last half-century. It seeks to make links between this erosion of functional communities and the increasing stress that families and, by extension, schools are currently experiencing. This thesis argues that in order to understand the dysfunction and stress we are seeing in our schools today, our examination must extend beyond children and families to include the wider social ecology, philosophical, economic, and political contexts, as well as the physical landscapes that shape family, school, and community life.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed March 25, 2010). Advisor: Jon Wergin, Ph.D. "A dissertation submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009."--from the title page. Includes bibliographical references (p. 238-245).

The focus of this research essay was to provide a rich description and an analysis of the role that a community education intervention played in initiating and supporting sustainable entrepreneurship among a group of women in the Daveyton community, Johannesburg, South Africa. The transformation of the education system in South Africa is crucial, given the legacy of apartheid, which has left a vast number of black people without decent education. It has thus become essential for the government to put into place policies aimed at maximising participation in Adult and Community Education programmes, particularly for those groups who were deprived of basic education, the majority of whom were black women. Most of these women are still unable to interact with the mainstream economy, whether as business-owners or employees. Without access to the outside market, they are confined to meagre wages in the townships, either as domestic workers or child-minders. A community education programme should provide such individuals with education associated with the joy of self-improvement and the development of the individual, factors that can make it possible for the establishment of sustainable livelihoods. This inquiry is premised on the view that community education is crucial in enabling disadvantaged groups to fully participate in programmes that enable them to take control of their lives and exploit the opportunities presented to them. This research study is grounded within an interpretive paradigm, using qualitative research methods, to seek, discover and understand the role played by a community education intervention for promoting and sustaining entrepreneurial behaviour in a women’s group. Data was collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews and observation with six black women and two black males, from Daveyton township in the East Rand. I used the constant comparative method for data analysis, and in searching for recurring themes and patterns. The findings of this research have revealed that the group of black South African women from Daveyton township were able to sustain entrepreneurship through a community education intervention by Eskom Development Foundation. Firstly, the programme aided them to recognise and combine available resources among themselves. Secondly, the programme opened up avenues for the establishment and development of the enterprise ‘Leratong Bakery’. In addition, the women were also able to use skills that they acquired from the programme in order to conform to standard norms of business. Furthermore, they went through a process of critical awareness, which resulted in a ‘change of mindset’. This change in turn enhanced their creativity and resulted in the growth and sustenance of the business for the duration of this study. The study concludes with a few recommendations that can possibly be used by all stakeholders involved in formulating community education programme policy. / Mrs. N. F. Petersen

"The purpose of this paper is to report some learning experiences planned by a teacher and her third grade pupils that led to a better understanding of community resources and community life. To give a clear, yet brief, picture of how this third grade project developed, the writer has found it advisable: (1) to present some reasons why planning for community study is important; (2) to describe the scope of the study undertaken with a third grade group, and to list some of the major activities; (3) to tell briefly what the study meant to the children and to the teacher who guided them. In organizing the project which did so much to enrich the social living of the pupils, it was found that subject matter material from history, health and science contributed a great deal. Thus the project while not text-book centered did not eliminate the use of printed material of many kinds including the state adopted text books"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1958." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: W. Edwards, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 27-28).