This study focused on a descriptive analysis and evaluation of a community of learners in an elementary school setting. The literature cited seems to indicate that if education reform is to be effective, it is essential that it involve the educators within the schools in the process. The premise is that students will learn, grow, develop, and achieve more meaningfully if they are educated in a community in which the adults are also learning. The current literature, however, tends to contain suggestions rather than concrete examples of a learning community in action. For this reason, the focus of this study has been on a particular school's evolution in living out this concept from its reopening in 1987 through 1993. The process of living out this concept seems to support what the literature indicates as being crucial factors in its development. These factors are leadership, vision, change, and culture. Although these factors are important individually, it is their interrelatedness, which has significantly affected the growth and development of the community of learners. A case study approach that utilized qualitative data from interviews, participant observation, and supporting documents has provided the basis for the description and evaluation of the evolution of this concept. It is evident that the reopening of the Jefferson School in 1987 provided a unique opportunity for its members to build together a community of learners. The data from the study indicate that although the vision of a community of learners originated with the principal, it has been enlarged by a participative process involving all members of the school community. What began as a very "fuzzy" vision has become the framework from which the goals, objectives, and activities of the school originate. Learning is the school's main concern and all the members, adults and children alike, are learners. The data also indicate that enhancing and inhibiting factors have affected this community's development. A collaborative culture of openness has greatly influenced the collegiality of members and allowed for honest confrontations once trusting relationships have been established. Although much progress has been made, opportunities for continued growth need to be explored.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-8946 |
| Date | 01 January 1994 |
| Creators | Bostrom, Elizabeth Ann |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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