How is it defined?
Students are influenced by the primary environments in which they develop, most notably the school, home, and community (Epstein, et al., 2002). School-community partnerships aim to improve the educational prospects of students by partnering with local community organizations to address the varied needs of students and families in ways that schools are often ill-equipped to do alone (Valli et al., 2014). Local community agencies offer additional resources and support, such as experiential learning and mentorship opportunities, that can supplement student learning (Eden et al., 2024).
The Learning Bar’s Parent Survey is based on a framework developed by Joyce Epstein designed to foster positive relationships between school and community (Epstein et al., 2002). The survey covers parents’ perceptions of their children’s experiences at home and school, as well as the extent to which parents feel the school supports learning and positive behaviour and promotes a safe and inclusive environment.
Why is it important?
- School-community partnerships can help students understand the real-world applications of lessons learnt in the classroom (Eden et al., 2024).
- School-community partnerships can provide crucial opportunities for students to develop career-related education and skills training (Kilpatrick et al., 2023).
- Effective school-community partnerships require clearly defined parameters for shared power and consistent leadership to ensure a sustainable partnership (Valli et al., 2014).
How do we measure it?
In OurSCHOOL, parents and caregivers respond to five items capturing the level community involvement from the school. The results are reported as "the percentage of parents and caregivers who consider their child's school to be involved with the community".
References
Eden, C. A., Chisom, O. N., & Adeniyi, I. S. (2024a). Parent and community involvement in education: Strengthening partnerships for social improvement. International Journal of Applied Research in Social Sciences, 6(3), 372-382.
Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action (2nd ed.). Corwin Press.
Kilpatrick, S., Fischer, S., Woodroffe, J., Barnes, N., Groves, O., & Austin, K. (2023). A whole-of-rural-community approach to supporting education and career pathway choice. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, 33(3), 82-102.
Valli, L., Stefanski, A., & Jacobson, R. (2014). Leadership in school-community partnerships. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 141, 110-114.