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
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/177439 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Kollus, Helen M. |
| Contributors | Wood, George S. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 3, v, 107 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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