Paris International Conference on Education, Economy

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Paris International Conference on Education,
Economy Society
Schools as learning communities Nurturing
student cognitive, psychosocial, and career
development Christopher Sink Professor,
Educational Research and School
Counseling Seattle Pacific University Washington,
USA csink_at_spu.edu
Novotel Paris Tour Eiffel, 17-19 July 2008
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Abstract

• This presentation explores the question of
  whether there is sufficient empirical evidence
  for schools to incorporate the communitarian
  perspective into the schooling process (Arthur,
  2000 Sergiovanni, 2006 Sink et al., 2008
  Warnick, 2007), especially as it relates to
  fostering healthy cognitive, psychosocial, and
  career development of students. Specifically, the
  presentation aims to (1) provide a theoretical
  and philosophical grounding for the schools as
  communities educational model, including
  Macmurrays relational philosophy, systems
  thinking (e.g., Bowens model), Bronfenbrenners
  social ecological theory, and Vygotskian
  psychology (2) provide a research synthesis of
  the learning communities literature (3)
  recommend sound educational practices that will
  foster student development and (4) provide a
  forum for a brief exchange of ideas about the
  communitarian movement in education. The
  literature synthesis methodology involves both a
  conventional approach of aggregating qualitative
  and quantitative studies as well as a
  meta-analysis of the relevant statistical
  outcomes present in these studies (Gall, Gall,
  Borg, 2006). In the main, synthesis findings
  reveal that there is scare empirical
  (quantitative) evidence to undergird the
  communitarian approach in its attempt to foster
  student growth across a variety of development
  domains however, there is ample qualitative,
  theoretical, and philosophical support for this
  international educational practice.

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Presentation overview

• Preliminary comments
• Contextualisation
• The community as school movement in education
• Definitional issues
• Theoretical and philosophical underpinnings
• Implications for practice
• Student level
• System level
• Conversation

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Thesis statement

• Educational, economic, and political policymakers
  need to reconceptualise the state-funded
  industrial model of schooling to
• Learning communities focusing on holistic needs
  of students, their families, and the local and
  global neighborhoods

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Why the shift?

• Industrial capitalism and its institutions
  promote the good of the privileged few
• require a steady supply of well educated
  (especially in technical areas) compliant workers
  who are adaptable to the changing global economy.
• Societies want students to eventually fit in
  with this social-economic agenda
• Schools in highly industrialized countries are
  designed and funded by the state to replenish the
  workforce.

the individualistic, relativistic and
greed-inducing instrumentalism of contemporary
society Rikowski (2008) U. of Northhampton, UK
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Why the shift? Instead

• Promote the common good
• For contemporary individuals and societies to
  flourish, they require
• well educated people, who also
• deeply care about the needs of others (locally
  and beyond), to act on those needsto act
  sacrificially and ethically (E. F. Schumacher)
• State-funded schools become
• holistic, micro-communities, part of the
  interconnected global community
• Schools focus on helping students become
• people of integrity who are multicultural
  citizens, engaged, inclusive, critical thinkers
  and doers

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How do we accomplish this?

• Seeing schools as communities
• Seeing students as complex individuals within
  multicultural local and global communities
• Each has different developmental needs
• Personal-social
• Educational
• Vocational-career
• Physiological
• Moral
• Spiritual

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Mike Fielding (1996) sussex University, UK

• Community is both the condition and means of
  educational and human fulfillment. (p. 150)

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Schools as communities Summary

• Primary strands in research literature focus
  largely either on
• Academic and cognitive aims, or
• Psychosocial goals
• Suggested approachCaring communities of learning
  (Sink, 2004, 2005, 2008, in press)
• Note Akin to communitarianism in schools
  promoted by Amitai Etzioni (1995) in, e.g., The
  Spirit of Community Rights, Responsibilities and
  the Communitarian Agenda and in other works also
  see works by Arthur James
• Key foci are listed in the Appendix

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Synopsis of Caring Communities of Learners

• These notions appear to be present in learning
  and caring communities
• Secure, friendly, and supportive relationships
  among participants
• Concurrent energy is directed to social, ethical,
  and intellectual learning
• Education that aims at a profound grasp of course
  content

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Synopsis of Caring Communities of Learners
(continued)

• Meaningful, demanding, and learner-centered
  curriculum
• Backing the use of students intrinsic
  motivation
• Values common to the membership are emphasized
• buy in to the underlying philosophy and
  pedagogy of the school and,
• Close partnerships among the home, school, and
  community milieus.

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Theoretical and philosophical grounding

• Schools as communities educational model
• Theoretical
• Urie Bronfrenbrenner social ecological theory
• Lev Vygotsky socio-cultural psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Positive psychology
• Philosophical
• John Dewey social education
• John Macmurray relational philosophy

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The communitarian movement in schools

• Integrates developmental psychology into a
  school as a community

Triarchic Scheme for Communities of Learning with
Sample Developmental Domains
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Contextualization Theoretical /Philosophical
Underpinnings (examples)

• Systems theory and social ecological model (e.g.,
  Bronfrenbrener)
• Developmentalism (e.g., Piagetian, Brunner, and
  Vygotskian social-cultural psychologies)
• Deweyan social education
• John Macmurrays relational philosophy

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Macmurrays relational philosophy Summary
concepts

• holistic thinking versus Cartesian dualism
• cognitive-intellectual development and
  emotionality
• personal freedom and self-realization
• interpersonal relationships
• community

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Macmurrays philosophical-spiritual commitments

• Truth resides in the forms of the Personal,
  Interpersonal (IP), Communal, Societal

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Philosophical underpinnings John Macmurrays
relational philosophy

• pursues love and reconciliation (not fear) in
  human relations.
• looks at human possibility as dependent on the
  extent of quality of social cooperation
  (relationally focused).
• is centered in the emotional life of persons in
  relations, in warmth and intimate friendship
  (Macmurray, 1979, Ye are my friends)

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Development within Macmurrays community

• Human development is known and distinguished only
  within the presence and context of other
  personalities, so too must our spiritual
  identities exist and unfold within a well knit
  community
• Succinctly put, for mature and healthy emotional,
  social and spiritual development, community is
  required.

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Sample commonalities between Macmurrays
philosophy and contemporary vision of school as
community movement

• Emotional education that is experientially-
  rather than cognitively-focused
• The skilled agent
• education for prosocial skills (e.g., affection,
  empathy, collaboration, cooperation, coping,
  friendship, morality, support of others)
• Hierarchy of skill development

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Application to Policymakers Role of the educator
in encouraging development of children and youth

• Help facilitate a school-wide community that
  stresses
• Mutual caring, equity, and interdependence
• Respect for others views, rights, etc.
• Emotional health

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Application to Policymakers Role of the
educator in encouraging development of children
and youthother aims

• Help facilitate a school-wide community that
  stresses
• Individual improvement as they relate school
  outcomes and de-emphasize on peer comparisons
• Personal and interpersonal reflection on
  meaning-making
• Service to others
• Social justice and appreciation of uniqueness of
  others
• In short, the development of good people who
  are critical thinkers, caring, emotionally
  competent, and committed to a wider community

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Application to Policymakers Role of the educator
in encouraging development of children and youth

• Pedagogical methods should focus on learning
  that, e.g., promotes
• healthy emotionality,
• interpersonal development and understanding
• caring people
• empathy
• quality friendships

• academic outcomes that assist student to become
  an effective member of the community
• self-direction,
• higher order thinking (e.g., goal-setting,
  planning, self and other assessment)

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Schools as communities promoting academic
outcomesStudent level
Source Sink (2008)
These key dimensions are situated within the
context of the Developmental Systems
Theory (Lerner et al., 2005)
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Sample district-level policy changes (supported
by research)

• Re-envision what it means to be educated
• Create system-wide agreements supporting
  communitarian approach to schooling
• Reprioritise budgeting and funding
• Reformulate highly qualified" teacher and
  teacher leaders standards and criteria
• Use technology to link students, families,
  communities (local and global)
• Incorporate community resources into school
  setting (one stop support services)

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Sample district-level policy changes

• Rework district policies and processes for
  introducing new classes and curricula
• Ensure adequate time for cross-disciplinary and
  cross-grade level discussion, planning,
  implementation, and evaluation of goals
• Provide meaningful collaboration for students,
  families, and community members
• E.g., Spectrum of involvement  occasional
  volunteer or speaker to having a community member
  co-teach a class

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conversation
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Key references

• Arthur, J. (2003) Schools and Community The
  Communitarian Agenda in Education. London Falmer
  Press.
• Baker, J. A., Terry, T., Bridger, R., Winsor,
  A. (1997). Schools as caring communities A
  relational approach to school reform. School
  Psychology Review, 26, 586602.
• Bronfenbrenner, U. (Ed.). (2005). Making humans
  human Bioecological perspectives on human
  development. Thousand Oaks, CA Sage.
• Dewey, J. (1900). The school and society.
  Chicago Chicago University Press.
• Etzioni, A. (1995) The Spirit of Community
  Rights, Responsibilities and the Communitarian
  Agenda, London Fontana Press.
• Etzioni, A. (1996). The New Golden Rule
  Community and Morality in a Democratic Society.
  New York Basic Books.
• Etzioni, A. (2000). Creating good communities and
  good societies. Contemporary Sociology, 29(1),
  188-195.
• James, A. (2000). Schools and Community The
  communitarian agenda in education. London
  Routledge.
• Lerner, R. M., Almerigi, J. B., Theokoas, C.,
  Lerner, J. V. (2005). Positive youth development
  A view of the issues. Journal of Early
  Adolescence,25, 1016.

• Macmurray, J. (1998). Persons in relation.
  Humanity Books.
• Macmurray, J. (2004). John Macmurray Selected
  philosophical writings (E. MacIntosh, Ed.).
  Charlottesville, VA Imprint Academic Philosophy
  Documentation Center.
• Noddings, N. (1988). An ethic of caring and its
  implications for instructional arrangements.
  American Journal of Education,96, 215230.
• Schumacher, E. F. (1975). Small is beautiful a
  study of economics as if people mattered. New
  York Abacus.
• Schumacher, E. F. (1978). Guide for the
  perplexed. New York Harper Perennial.
• Sink, C. A. (2000). Modeling collaboration
  through caring communities of learners.
  Professional School Counseling, 3, IIIII.
• Sink, C. A. (2006, April). Education and
  schooling Expectations and limits. Invited
  presentation at the Social Theology, Education,
  Citizenship international conference. Sponsored
  by Bible Society of England and Wales, St Marys
  College at the University of St. Andrews, the
  International Center for Curriculum Studies of
  Seattle Pacific University and the Forum
  Foundation of Seattle. Seattle WA.
• Sink, C. A., Edwards, C. (in press). Supportive
  learning communities and the transformative role
  of professional school counselors. Professional
  School Counseling.
• Sink, C A. (2008). Elementary school teachers and
  counselors Classroom collaborators for higher
  student achievement. Elementary School Journal,
  108(5), 445-458.
• Warnick, B. R. (2007). Ethics and education forty
  years later. Educational Theory, 57(1), 53-73.

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Appendix Communitarian approach to education and
schooling Major ideas

• The ethos of the community has an educative
  function in school life
• Schools should adopt a democratic structure of
  operating
• Schools should provide an active understanding of
  the common good
• Schools should promote the rights and
  responsibilities inherent within citizenship
• A major purpose of the school curriculum is to
  teach social and political life-skills
• Community service is an important part of a
  childs education in school
• The family should be the primary moral educator
  of children
• Character education includes the systematic
  teaching of major virtues in schools
• Key values honesty respect for others
  politeness a sense of fair play forgiveness
  punctuality non-violent behaviour patience
  faithfulness and self-discipline
• Note Many existing community-based education
  practices reflect the features of the
  communitarian perspective
• Sources adapted from Glenn Rikowski (2008),
  Education, Culture Society, Education Studies,
  School of Education, University of Northampton
  and Arthur (2003), Etzioni (multiple
  publications),