UVM Theses and Dissertations
Format:
Print
Author:
Stanley, Sandra A.
Dept./Program:
College of Education and Social Services
Year:
2009
Degree:
Ed. D.
Abstract:
Many federal, state and local educational policies include language that mandates some aspect of community involvement. Promoted by researchers who couple community involvement with improved student welfare, (Land, 2002; Furman, 1998; Sheldon & Epstein, 2005; Starratt, 2003, Sergiovanni, 1994), the notion of "It takes a Village" puts the role of community into the heart of education reform. This component of education policy exists at the same time community involvement is in rapid decline (Putnam, 2000) and social structures no longer reflect the modernist perspective prevalent during the era in which public education originated.
This study captures the voices of school board members as they share their individual and collective beliefs about the meaning of community and local control and examines the manner in which those beliefs shaped policy development and governance decision making. Using narrative inquiry, a case study was conducted to answer the research question: "How do school board members see their beliefs about community reflected in the policies they develop?" Participants in the study were board members of a rural school in their first year of implementing Carver's (1996) Policy Governance ® model.
Models of postmodern communities (Furman, 1998, Dal Fiore, 2007) provided the context for examining the influences of social structures on board effectiveness in promoting community involvement. Exploring issues of local control and evaluating the alignment between beliefs, values, and policy development were the focus of a series of interviews. Additional sources of data included documents and observations.
The findings depict and dissect the ambiguous relationship between the community and the school board including the implications of using the Policy Governance model. Five themes emerged from the data. The first two themes frame board members' personal and professional beliefs about the construct of community: visioning and defining community from multiple perspectives; and valuing and experiencing the meaning of community. The second set of themes, understanding the tensions between board and community relationships and using principles from Policy Governance to forge new relationships with the community, provides a verbal portrait of the challenges that color the relationship between the board and the community. Current board practices and perspectives are considered within the final theme: redejning local control as a result of implementing Policy Governance. The findings also consider the board's efforts to include community in light of innovative processes and the characteristics of postmodern communities. The results reveal a need for an adapted conceptualization of community based in inclusion, acceptance of difference, and adaptability.
This study captures the voices of school board members as they share their individual and collective beliefs about the meaning of community and local control and examines the manner in which those beliefs shaped policy development and governance decision making. Using narrative inquiry, a case study was conducted to answer the research question: "How do school board members see their beliefs about community reflected in the policies they develop?" Participants in the study were board members of a rural school in their first year of implementing Carver's (1996) Policy Governance ® model.
Models of postmodern communities (Furman, 1998, Dal Fiore, 2007) provided the context for examining the influences of social structures on board effectiveness in promoting community involvement. Exploring issues of local control and evaluating the alignment between beliefs, values, and policy development were the focus of a series of interviews. Additional sources of data included documents and observations.
The findings depict and dissect the ambiguous relationship between the community and the school board including the implications of using the Policy Governance model. Five themes emerged from the data. The first two themes frame board members' personal and professional beliefs about the construct of community: visioning and defining community from multiple perspectives; and valuing and experiencing the meaning of community. The second set of themes, understanding the tensions between board and community relationships and using principles from Policy Governance to forge new relationships with the community, provides a verbal portrait of the challenges that color the relationship between the board and the community. Current board practices and perspectives are considered within the final theme: redejning local control as a result of implementing Policy Governance. The findings also consider the board's efforts to include community in light of innovative processes and the characteristics of postmodern communities. The results reveal a need for an adapted conceptualization of community based in inclusion, acceptance of difference, and adaptability.