A survey of parents and teachers at nine middle schools demonstrates that the sense of community shared by teachers and parents who are active at a school is affected by systematic efforts by the school to involve parents in their child’s education and by the principal’s leadership style. This article discusses what is meant by a “sense of school community” and which aspects of family involvement programs and principal leadership are most predictive of a strong sense of community.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Beck, L. G.1998. Metaphors of educational community: An analysis of the images that reflect and influence scholarship and practice. Educational Administration Quarterly35 (1): 13-45.
2.
Beck, L. G., and J. Murphy. 1996. The four imperatives of an effective school. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.
3.
Belenardo, S. J. 2000. The relationship between the attributes of middle school programs to involve families and the strength of the sense of community that prevails. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Irvine.
4.
Bolman, L. G., and T. E. Deal. 1997. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
5.
Bryk, A. S., and M. E. Driscoll. 1988. The high school as community: Contextual influences and consequences for students and teachers. Madison, Wis.: National Center on Effective Schools, University of Wisconsin.
6.
Bryk, A. S., V. E. Lee, and P. B. Holland. 1993. Catholic schools and the common good. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
7.
Coleman, J. S., and T. Hoffer. 1987. Public and private high schools: The impact of communities. New York: Basic Books.
8.
Dewey, J.1916. Democracy and education. New York: Macmillan.
9.
Driscoll, M. E. 1989. The school as community. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago. Abstract in Dissertation Abstracts International 50.
10.
Driscoll, M. E.1995. Thinking like a fish: The implications of the image of school community for connections between parents and schools. In Transforming schools, edited by P. W. Cookson, Jr. and B. Schneider. New York: Garland.
11.
Durkheim, E.1947. The sociological tradition. Translated by G. Simpson. London: Heinemann.
12.
Epstein, J. L.1987. Parent involvement: What research says to administrators. Education and Urban Society19 (2): 119-136.
13.
Epstein, J. L.1995. School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan76 (9): 701-712.
14.
Epstein, J. L.1996. Perspectives and previews on research and policy for school, family, and community partnerships. In Family-school links: How do they affect educational outcomes? edited by A. Booth and J. Dunn. Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum.
15.
Epstein, J. L., B. S. Simon, and K. C. Salinas. 1997. Involving parents in homework in the middle grades. Phi Delta Kappan Research Bulletin18 (September).
16.
Etzioni, A.1993. The spirit of community: The reinvention of American society. New York: Simon and Schuster.
17.
Goodlad, J. I.1981. Education, schools, and a sense of community. In Communities and their schools, edited by D. Davies. New York: McGraw-Hill.
18.
Haberman, M.1992. Creating community contexts that educate: An agenda for improving education in inner cities. In Education and the family, edited by L. Kaplan. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
19.
McMillan, D. E., and D. M. Chavis. 1986. Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology14 (1): 6-23.
20.
Meier, D.1995. The power of their ideas: Lessons for America from a small school in Harlem. Boston: Beacon Press.
21.
Noddings, N.1992. The challenge to care in schools: An alternative approach to education. New York: Teachers College Press.
Rosenholtz, S. J.1991. Teachers’ workplace: The social organization of schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
24.
Rossi, R. J., and S. C. Stringfield. 1995. What we must do for students placed at risk. Phi Delta Kappan77 (1): 73-76.
25.
Royal, M. A., and R. J. Rossi. 1996. Individual-level correlates of sense of community: Findings from the workplace and school. Journal of Community Psychology24: 395-416.
26.
Rutherford, B.1993. Parent and community involvement in the middle grades: Evaluating education reform. Washington, D.C.: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.
27.
Rutter, M., B. Maughan, P. Mortimore, J. Ouston, and A. Smith. 1979. Fifteen thousand hours. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
28.
Sanders, M. G., and J. L. Epstein. 1998. School-family-community partnerships in middle and high schools from theory to practice. Report 22. Baltimore: Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At Risk, Johns Hopkins University; and Washington, D.C.: Howard University.
29.
Sarason, S. B.1974. The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
30.
Sergiovanni, T. J.1994. Building community in schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
31.
Sergiovanni, T. J.2000. The lifeworld of leadership: Creating culture, community, and personal meaning in our schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
32.
Smrekar, C.1996. The impact of school choice and community. Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press.
33.
Tonnies, F.1957. Gemeinschaft und gesellschaft [Community and society]. Edited and translated by C. P. Loomis. New York: Harper Collins.
