Term Paper on "Community Partnership"

Term Paper 13 pages (4669 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Community Partnership

The notion that the community has a role to play in the education of youth is long standing in United States. From Dewey's concept of community schools at the turn of the 20th century to calls for community control from parents and community activists in the late 1960's, community involvement has been a central theme in educational reform. Today, community involvement has taken a new significance in configurations and discussions in of school improvement. Federal, state and local educational legislation; political slogans; professional addresses; and casual conversations about schooling are likely to include references to the role or responsibility of the community (Sanders, 2005; pg: 1)."

One of the main focal points for improvement for the American Education Board as well as the national educational district boards is the ability and training of the pupils in the urban societies to achieve better academic records as well as mingle affably and with capability in a sound and modern social environment (Boykin, 2000; Helge, 1989; Sanders, 2000). Over the years, numerous theories have been highlighted that could bring about this particular improvement with effective results. On of these latest theories brought forth was the community partnership programs i.e. contracts of mutual assistance were signed between the numerous schools set up in the urban society and the stakeholders willing to invest in the educational resources of the country. These community partnership programs, statistically speaking, have actually ended up being one of the most flourishing and effective means of gaining monetary, human as well as substance/object stability for the majority of the urban district schools, and have provided a way to allow the students with the opportunity to aim higher academically and socially (Beaumont & Hallmark, 1998; Kemple, Poglinco, & Snipes, 1999; Morse, 2001; Osguthorpe, Harris, Harris, & Black, 1996; Sanders, 2000).

Of course this achievement of school and society development is not the work of just the dual entities of stakeholders and school districts but includes the peripheral contributions of (Ferguson & Dickens, 1999; Harkavy, 1996,1998) the numerous non-profit and for-profit institutes, religious groups, students' and faculties' families, universities, the district, central and national authorities, colleges, academies, establishments, etc. It is important to note here that the results and outcomes of these programs have proved that these community partnerships have enormously benefited the efforts to develop the urban schools and it has been because of the huge offerings made by the establishments and organizations and the results achieved thereof that various politicians and activists have endorsed as well as made official these partnership programs to achieve a greater and wider spectrum for improving student educational achievements (Becker, 1999; Clark, 1991; National Governor's Association, 1990; U.S. Department of Education, 1994).

All of these results and endorsements have over the years laid more emphasis and pressure on the colleges and organizations to not only create but also sustain these community partnerships. One of the main features of these partnerships has been the element of cooperation that has existed between the numerous sovereign units to achieve the school and society development (Beaumont & Hallmark, 1998). The theories and execution of these community partnership programs, still, need to be constantly modified and improved for the greater achievement of students on the academic and social spheres. In fact, change has been the main hallmark of community partnerships in the preceding decade. As White and Harris (2001) note in their book:

Social workers and front-line managers in the field of community care have lived through a gale of change over the last ten years (White and Harris, 2001; pg, 13)."

The main aim of this study is to bring forth the theory, practicality and effects of the partnership programs to improve the community and school setting at large. The six sections that this study will analyze separately and exclusively are: It presents six areas of information:

The need for community partnership programs

Explanations of theories of community partnership programs;

Records of community partnerships programs;

Disputes facing the concept of partnership programs, and;

Catalysts and advocates of the partnership programs.

By focusing our paper on these five aspects, we aim to show the significance of community partnership programs for the future of the youth of this country.

1. The need for community partnership programs:

Several strong advocates of community partnerships exist, who have brought forth various reasons for development and maintenance of community partnership programs. Majority of them base their argument on the lack of student achievement in urban areas in subjects related to science (Mackler, 1980; Carroll, LaPoint, and Tyler 2001; Epperson, 1991). Whereas some give significance to community partnership by connecting the level of violence to the lack of such a program's existence (Sanders, 1996). For instance, Mackler, (1980) writes:

The main problem in inner-city schools is the lack of academic achievement, we need programs which pose effective solutions to the improvement of reading and mathematics proficiency. A milieu that fosters involvement, competence, cooperation and accountability for administrative staff, teachers, children and their parents could be an achieving school. We need to create a climate in which children are motivated to learn, in which they feel cooperative and involved with their peers, teachers, and parents. Education, including achievement and social learning, must be restructured to reflect enjoyment' rather than estrangement. Community participation is an appropriate mechanism to form the nucleus of such restructuring (Mackler, 1980; pg, 60)."

Similarly, Carroll, LaPoint, and Tyler (2001) assert:

Maximizing student academic achievement and social competence in public schools in under-resourced urban communities continues to be a major concern and quandary for American school districts and state education departments. In recent years, partnership programs, between under resourced urban public schools and varying stakeholders, have emerged and proliferated as one of the most effective proven strategies to provide human, material, and financial resources to improve student academic and social competence (Carroll, LaPoint, and Tyler, 2001; pg, 38)."

Likewise, Epperson (1991) summarizes the recommendations made by several researchers. He writes:

Two common threads can be found in most of the recommendations that have been put forth to solve the problems associated with the low academic attainment of American children. The first is the need for more parental involvement in education, and the second is the need for intensified community participation at the local school district level. A Nation at Risk (1983) identified one of the tools at hand as "the voluntary efforts of individuals, businesses and civic groups to cooperate in strengthening educational programs" (p. 16). Community participation is a vital and needed component if our children are to attain the academic levels they are capable of reaching (Epperson, 1991; pg, 454)."

In the same way Sanders (1996) links the significance of community partnership programs with the level of teenage violence and gang fights. He writes,

In our nation's states, cities, and neighborhoods, students' exposure to and involvement in violence is increasing. Baltimore, Maryland is no exception. Between April 1, 1993, and March 31, 1994, 293 youth under the age of 20 were hospitalized for assaults in Baltimore. This number constitutes approximately 62% of the total number of hospitalizations for assaults among youth in the state of Maryland. The violence that youth in Baltimore are exposed to is symptomatic of the increasingly distressed nature of their communities. Seventy-two neighborhoods in Maryland have been classified by the Annie E. Casey Foundation as severely distressed by virtue of their high levels of poverty, female-headed families, high school dropouts, unemployment, and reliance on welfare; 62 of these are in Baltimore City (Sanders, 1996; pg, 369).

He links this state with the lack of community partnership is these areas and strongly suggests that local and state government should step forward and make way for all the urban communities in Maryland to enter into a strong partnership. This pattern is also seen in other states as well, where researchers have put forward facts about student achievement and simultaneously theorized the need for strong community partnerships.

2. Explanations of theories of community partnership programs;

The partnerships between the schools, universities and the communities are also called K-16 partnerships. Over the years, many explanations and theories have been formulated around this phenomenon. Beaumont (1998) in his study states that the K-16 partnerships or the school-university agreements are not only based upon the institutions' and the applicants' mutual aims but are also driven by the approach, capital, as well as the procedures of the institutions as well as the ethnic mannerisms of the faculty members as well as the assessors involved in the joint venture. According to the study conducted by Osguthorpe, Harris, Harris, and Black (1996), the school-community partnerships have extremely variant structures i.e. some institutions give the school-supported family establishments their focal attention, as opposed to other institutions that give the industrialists and stakeholders the focal attention. The researchers further go on to define the difference of approach between institutions as some incorporate a limited number of schools and universities in their partnership while others prefer an intricate and populated web of institutes within a district. Osguthorpe and his… READ MORE

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