Becoming a Community School: Teacher Perspectives Through Partnership-Based School Transformation

• In Event: 61.068 - MTCC Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: 61.068-1 - Restructuring and Reforming Educational Organizations

Abstract

This study on teachers in a developing university-assisted community school (UACS) begins to fill the gap on teacher’s experiences in UACS literature. The community school strategy intervenes on challenges of urban schools and reimagines them through strategic partnerships and community development. Research questions addressed: 1.) How do teachers in a developing UACS experience inclusion in a purportedly democratic, partnership-based reform? 2.) To what extent do teachers in a developing UACS experience transformation in six strategies that define the community schooling approach? Qualitative case-study methodology was employed to develop context dependent knowledge through interviews and participant observation (Merriam, 2009). Findings suggest that partnership with a university supported positive transformation with an emphasis on high quality teaching and culturally relevant curriculum development.

Author

• Shante Stuart McQueen, University of Pittsburgh