Tharwa to a T
Below I have posted some of my personal favorites taken from a primary research study (undated but post-1998). This study was conducted in small Tasmania mining towns and the research focused on describing how leadership issues related to school-community partnerships. Whilst the bulk of the research is peripheral to our primary interests, it does contain some interesting information on effective ways to use leadership to maintain a strong school-community partnership.
The quotes I have taken below are from the background info for the research study. School contribution to rural communities: Leadership issues by Susan Johns, Sue Kilpatrick, Ian Falk and Bill Mulford (University of Tasmania) (emphasis added)
Recent community development literature suggests the way rural communities manage change is influenced by the level of social capital within the community; that is, by the strength of linkages and interrelationships between community members (Lane & Dorfman 1997; Holladay 1992). Through these social networks, stores of social capital are built which contribute to the community’s social wellbeing and social cohesion (Falk 1998). In rural communities the school, as both a tangible and symbolic focal point, plays an important role in the generation of social capital. This decade has seen a growing body of literature on the contribution of rural schools to community survival and growth (Lane & Dorfman 1997; Jolly & Deloney 1996; Miller 1995; Nachtigal 1994; Nunn 1994; Glen et al. 1992; Squires & Sinclair 1990)……
Lane and Dorfman (1997) noted the important role of rural schools in forging intergenerational links by opening school facilities to the community and by encouraging community involvement in school programs. The literature also highlights the contribution of rural schools to the community’s sense of identity and pride, by representing local history and tradition (Lane & Dorfman 1997; Nunn 1994; Glen et al. 1992) and by transmitting community culture (Lane & Dorfman 1997)…….
Networks are built and maintained within rural communities through a variety of informal and formal school-community interactions, including: sharing of physical and human resources between school and community (Lane & Dorfman 1997; Nunn 1994; Squires & Sinclair 1990); community involvement in school cultural, sporting and other social activities (Miller 1995; Nunn 1994; Squires & Sinclair 1990); community involvement in education and management-related school activities, and the provision of lifelong learning opportunities which meet some of the further education and training needs of the community (Glen et al. 1992). When education is taken outside the classroom, and the community becomes a curriculum source, barriers between school and community are further broken down as students learn within and about their community (Nachtigal 1994). This approach is a significant contributor to community revitalisation (Howley & Eckman 1997) because of the strong links forged between school and community. In addition, the social and economic outcomes and benefits of many community-based projects last long after the original project has ended (see, for example, Miller 1995; Glen et al. 1992)…..
full article up soon