Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
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What does ‘school community’ mean today in secondary, rural northern schools?
Bonnie L. Stelmach
Department of Educational Policy Studies
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
T5G 2G5
bonnies@ualberta.ca Summer Cowley
Department of Educational Policy Studies
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
T5G 2G5
scowley@ualberta.ca Twenty First National Congress on Rural Education in Canada
March 20 – 22, 2016
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
DRAFT:Donotcitewholeorpartwithoutpermissionfromleadauthor.
Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
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Abstract
The school community—parents in particular—is considered imperative to students’
success. A discourse of partnership has driven scholarship and practice in this area, but
discordant perspectives between families and educators persist. Further, much has
changed about society and parents. We urbanize but isolate; tap phones more, touch
people less. Parents drive past their neighbourhood schools across cities to high-ranking
schools. They are accused of overprotecting their children and undermining teachers. The
partnership dynamic is a precarious one in these conditions. Educators commonly ask me
“How do you get parents more involved?” This is not the best question. A focus on
school community may be more fruitful, but we know little about how it works in the
complex environments of schools. Educational scholarship does not help much here;
school community is taken for granted and is theoretically anaemic with regard to
complex social contexts. Community is a “zombie category”—it walks around on our
educational landscape but has no life. Is school community intact in rural school
contexts? How does school community get shaped in secondary contexts? And how do
parents experience school community in their children’s high schools? Using McMillan
and Chavis’ (1986) sense of community theory, we explored these questions through a
case study of a rural, northern Alberta high school. By integrating McMillan and Chavis’
(1986) sense of community theory with empirical data, we aimed for conceptual
specificity of the idea of school community. Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
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Introduction and Research Question
Research on engaging parents examines how or why parents participate in their
children’s schools. Important but overlooked questions for educational researchers and
practitioners are “What does it mean for parents to act in community with others in their
children’s schools?” and “What is school community today?” This paper reports on a
pilot in rural, northern Alberta that examined school community, focusing specifically
on how parents see (or do not see) themselves in community with their children’s
school. The question guiding our research was:
● What are the discourses that shape the meaning of school community for parents
in secondary rural, northern schools?
Contributions of the Research
The notion that the entire school community—especially parents—plays an
integral role in supporting student outcomes is emphasized in school improvement
literature (Dimmock, 2012; Kaser & Halbert, 2009; Murphy & Torre, 2014). This study
contributes to existing literature on parent-school relationships by:
1. extending the empirical base of parent involvement research to include secondary
schools. Much research on school community, and parents’ place in it, is
predominantly conducted in urban, elementary school settings, even though we
know that parents’ participation changes as children get older (Catsambis, 2001;
Epstein, 2001 Sanders, 2011; Sanders & Simon, 2002); and,
2. addressing a research gap in family-school relations in rural and northern schools.
The sole published literature review of parent involvement studies in rural schools
(Semke & Sheridan (2012) identified only 18 such studies.
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Northern research is equally limited. Most literature conducted in the north
reproduces an “Indian/white dichotomy” (Furniss, 1999, p. 14) because of a focus on
Aboriginal presence (e.g. Baker, 2003; Bone, 2003; Campbell, 2003; Foster &
Goddard, 2003; Goddard & Foster, 2002; McCormack, 2005), and discounts
multiculturalism or its effects.
3. Community has enjoyed a lot of attention in disciplines such as sociology
(Anderson, 1983; Bruhn, 2011; Delanty, 2010), community psychology (Jason,
Stevens, & Ram, 2015; McMillan & Chavis, 1986; Wise, 2015), human
geography (De Blij & Murphy, 2003; Lee et al., 2014), community studies
(Blackshaw, 2010; Bradshaw, 2008), and rural sociology (Corbett, 2007, 2009,
2014; Howley & Howley, 2010). Surprisingly little of this theory has made its
way into educational research, and schools are only superficially mentioned in
these writings.
Addressing the above methodological and theoretical oversights was the overarching aim
in our study.
Relationship to Existing Research
Ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1992) and social capital theories (Bourdieu
& Passeron, 1990) dominate a rich body of literature that examines how schools and
families can collaborate to support positive outcomes for students. Because school
community engagement has gathered prominence within an accountability framework, it
has been taken up as a pedagogical (Shumow, 2009), organizational (Fiore, 2010; Moore,
Gallagher, & Bagin, 2012) and leadership (Hubbard & Hands, 2011; Pawlas, 2005)
problem. Various partnership models and typologies (e.g. Epstein, 2001; González, Moll,
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& Amanti, 2005; Franklin & Streeter, 1995; Smith, 2009; Smrekar, Cohen-Vogel, & Lee,
2010) have emerged within this evidence-based paradigm. The questions raised,
however, are functionalist and materialist (Shircliffe, Dorn, & Cobb-Roberts, 2006),
reducing the concept of community to a technological process, a means to an end focused
on achievement outcomes. Currently, the definition of community is not problematized in education. The
current focus is on establishing meaningful or authentic involvement or engagement with
parents and community members. Sociologists and community studies theorists
interrogate the evolving and fluid nature of community (Blackshaw, 2010; Bruhn, 2011;
Delanty, 2010). They offer insights into its ambiguity. These may shape the theoretical
landscape for studying community in schools. Given that school communities are
delimited in unique ways (e.g. legal parameters), however, these insights must be
accounted for empirically in the educational context. Methodology and Method
This research was conducted through a sociomaterial (Fenwick, Edwards, &
Sawchuk, 2011) lens. This theoretical perspective fundamentally questions taken-forgranted categories and “the multiple ontologies that can be detected in the play of things”
(p. vii). Inherent in the sociomaterial approach is concern for semiotic understanding such
that “words, images, sounds, gestures, and objects” (Chandler, 2007, p. 3) are considered
together in the generation of meaning in our social world. These considerations aptly
described our aim, and the sociomaterial approach was therefore considered appropriate
for the research design.
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The Research Site
Our study was based on an instrumental case (Stake, 2005) of a secondary school
in rural, northern Alberta. Alberta was suitable for this research by virtue of its
demographics and educational context. Rural population growth exceeds the national
average here (Statistics Canada, 2014). Further, its educational restructuring initiative,
Inspiring Education (Alberta Education, 2010), acknowledges fast-paced change, and
emphasizes community as a “true partner” (p. 6) in education. Given that Alberta school
leaders have reported least success in their roles with facilitating parent involvement
(Alberta Education, 2013), we believed that the issue also had professional relevance. We chose a secondary school located in the provincial north as our instrumental
case (Stake, 2005) because this is a region that tends to be forgotten in research and
policy (Coates, 2014). The town was approximately five hours drive from the capital city
of Edmonton. Through an existing contact with the school division, we sent a general
invitation to the superintendent, who relayed the information to the principals. One high
school principal volunteered, and an information letter and consent form was sent to him.
We were invited to present the information to the school council, which was done via
Skype. The principal set time aside for the research study at the school council meeting
for the next month.
Broad Horizon School1 included over 400 students in grades 7-12. A new
principal was assigned to the school in the year we did the study, and we learned the
school had been experienced leadership turnover for the past five years or so. The new
principal had over 25 years of experience in school leadership in another province. The
1Pseudonyms are used throughout the paper as promised to the participants.
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school was underutilized for its size, and more than one staff member reported enrolment
for the year was down. Years ago the school had over 600 students, and the decline
aligns with that of the town, here called Blue Hills. Statistics Canada and the town’s
website confirmed a population decline of about 4% between the 2006 and 2011
censuses. Agriculture and the oil industry formed the economic base of Blue Hills, and a
drop in oil prices was directly attributed to people leaving Blue Hills. Commerce felt the
effects, too. For example, one grocery store had closed down. Blue Hills was almost
equidistant from a town twice its size and a city with an airport, and the relative ease of
the commute to either place meant that some residents chose not to support local stores
whose prices were reported to be 50% higher. This made some participants feel as if the
town were in decline, although statistically, it had not experienced drastic changes in
population.
Broad Horizon School had a Catholic high school counterpart. There were two
elementary schools in town as well. Broad Horizon School had a full curriculum with
many option courses such as robotics, industrial arts, and cosmetology. Fine Arts and
drama were two areas that suffered cuts over the years. The school was modern and well
maintained. Trophy cases displayed accomplishments in team sports, academics, poetry,
and memorials to students and staff. Graduation composites from the 1960s were
displayed. Scandinavian and German immigrants settled Blue Hills. This ancestry was
evident in the names given to things throughout the area. Although the principal
suggested there was about 20% First Nations population in the school, based on
graduation photos over the years and observations in the school it seemed
Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
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homogeneously European. Observations around town confirmed this with the exception
of people of Asian descent who worked in the fuel stations.
The Research Participants
Because we were interested in whether and/or how parents felt in community with
their children’s school we delimited the sample to parents, but included the principal to
get a sense of context and history. It turned out to be serendipitous that the principal was
also new to the school. We assumed that the principal’s newcomer status afforded him a
relatively uninfluenced perspective of the school community that someone who had been
in the community for a long time might not have.
The school council was composed of five parents who regularly attended. They
formed the focus group, as it was convenient for these parents to participate in the study
just prior to their school council meeting. We used purposeful sampling to invite parents
to participate in individual interviews. All the school council members were invited, and
four agreed. In addition, the school set up a telephone call-out. One parent volunteered
based on that; however, the parent did not return the consent form and did not respond to
invitations for a follow up interview. The data from that interview was subsequently
withdrawn and destroyed. All participants were mothers, except for the fact that for the
first interview one participant brought her husband. All were of European descent. All
but one of the participants had moved to Blue Hills from another province, and most had
lived in Blue Hills for around ten years. They were all engaged in or volunteered for
community organizations and activities through church, youth groups, 4-H, or
community boards. Only one parent did not work outside of the home or own a business;
her husband worked in the oil industry and he reported being away for work for weeks at
Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
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a time. All had more than one child, and one parent had children in an elementary school
as well. This paper reports on data collected from five parents and the principal. Data Collection
Data for this study were collected through walking interviews (Evans & Jones,
2011), semi-structured individual interviews (Fontana & Frey, 2005), and a focus group
(Janesick, 2016). These were augmented with observations of the school and town site,
and review of public documents such as the regional paper, pamphlets and newsletters
from the school. Two site visits were made in November 2015 and January 2016 for 3-5
days each time. The November site visit coincidentally took place during a week which
the school dedicated to parents. Because of class schedules, Bonnie conducted all site
visits and collected the data.
Interviews
Prior to their school council meeting, parents were interviewed using a walking
interview (Evans & Jones, 2011). Bonnie asked parents to take note of how the school
setting made them feel, the places where they felt most/least comfortable, and anything
else that for them contributed to or detracted from them feeling in community with the
school. The walking interview lasted about 45 minutes. Following the walking interview, pizza was delivered to the school and the same
participants participated in a debriefing of the walking interview and focus group. The
discussion lasted nearly two hours, focusing on what Bonnie observed during the walking
interview, and general questions about the school, the town, and their perspectives on
what community feels like. The focus group was not recorded, so Bonnie summarized
notes, which were used as prompts for the individual interviews. All interviews were
Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
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conducted in a designated room in the school, except for one follow-up interview, which
was conducted at the hotel.
Observations
No classrooms or student events were observed for this study as the goal was to
understand community from the parents’ point of view, and we assumed high school
parents spent limited time directly engaging in student events except for extracurricular
activities. In addition to general walks about the school before or after interviews,
Bonnie was at the school for parent-teacher interview night, which was held in the
gymnasium. Because the interviews were being held during “Parents Matter” week, a
student photographer was taking photos of teachers and students, and Bonnie, too, was
included in a photograph. Bonnie also made observations when driving throughout the
town; going into shops, post office or grocery store; fueling up at the gas station; working
out at the college fitness center; and eating dinner at the hotel restaurant and a café.
Bonnie recorded her observation notes in a researcher journal.
Documents Review
Documents provided us with contextual information about the school and town.
Around town, Bonnie took note of signs and advertisements for events to get a sense of
what brought people together and what audiences were central. The school's’ newsletters
were available online and these provided similar information about the school. Blue Hills
had its own newspaper and there was also a regional paper that reported news for Blue
Hills and the surrounding area. These provided additional insights into the community
and how Broad Horizon School was positioned in the community.
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Data Analysis
Our preliminary data analysis began with simultaneous coding (Saldaña, 2013).
In this stage of open coding, simultaneous coding allowed us to be completely open to the
data and to honour its richness. We individually coded the data and then compared our
initial code lists (Bonnie had over 100 codes) before employing structural and provisional
coding (Saldaña, 2013) to examine the data for “commonalities, differences and
relationships” (p. 84). We used NVivo 11 to support these processes. Because one of our
aims was to integrate theory of community, our next analysis step followed deductive
thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) using McMillan and Chavis’ (1986) sense of
community theory.
Sense of Community Theory
McMillan and Chavis’ (1986) sense of community theory is widely cited, though
in educational research it has not been applied. They defined sense of community as “a
feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another
and to the group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their
commitment to be together” (p. 9). Four elements are included in their definition, and
formed the framework for our analysis: membership, influence, integration and
fulfillment of needs, and shared emotional connection. Data Interpretations
In the following we present findings based on our preliminary analysis of the four
elements in McMillan and Chavis’ (1986) sense of community theory. Given this was a
pilot study, we do not offer recommendations for future practice, but rather, raise
compelling questions that emerge from our initial analysis.
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What We Learned About Membership
What is unique about schools compared to other places where community is
identified—especially high schools in rural contexts—is that parents may not have a
choice where they send their children. Community, in this sense, can be imposed upon
parents. Only one of these parents reported moving their son from the other high school
to Broad Horizon School because of conflicts with teachers. Key learnings about
membership are as follows:
● Through their children, parents have membership in the school community.
These parents happen to be involved in school council, and this gave them a
legitimate connection. Without the school council, however, some reported they
would still belong because they participated in their children’s extracurricular
lives at the school. It made us question: To what extent are there opportunities for
parents outside of formalized bodies such as school council and team sports for
parents to find a place to belong in their children’s school?
● Students in general seemed to create a sense of belonging for these parents,
especially those who worked in youth organizations in the community, and with
youth who they considered to not fit in. It was often reported that people looked
out for others’ children in Blue Hills; therefore, this perhaps accounts for why
some parents went beyond the call to help students who seemed to have no
support at home. One parent said she even told those youth that she loved them,
demonstrating how close the connection was. Parents’ involvement with these
kinds of students had an effect on the school because these parents would
advocate for these students, and make them a priority in school planning. Parents’
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membership appeared to be indirect in this sense because it was their work with
students in the community that motivated them to raise issues with the school.
How can schools create opportunities for parents who are engaged in youth-based
activities outside of the school as a means to create their sense of belonging with
the school?
● Feeling comfortable and being known came up often in the discussions with these
parents and the principal. The principal was new to Alberta and Blue Hills, so his
comments feeling like he was getting to know more of the parents and people in
town were instructive. Parents, too, talked about being known, and everyone
knowing everyone else. This, of course, had a dark side. One parent described the
negative side of being in a small town where your reputation becomes permanent
and those who make mistakes are often condemned to them indefinitely. In terms
of the school, however, these parents shared the feeling of comfort knowing they
could drop in to the school at any time if they needed anything. The principal also
reported that it was a place where parents could drop in and talk to teachers or
him at any time. There was an informality that characterized the school, and
Bonnie witnessed this multiple times while hanging around the general office.
The implication for schools, then, is that teaching staff who take the time to get to
know their students and parents well may contribute to parents’ feeling at ease to
drop in to the school at any time. What opportunities are there for schools to
create that drop-in culture, and a sense of informality that may de-institutionalize
the school?
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What We Learned About Influence
What was unique about this group of parents was that they all seemed to make a
concerted effort to be part of the school and community. All except one had moved to
Blue Hills, and had to create a sense of community themselves. For this reason, these
parents were perhaps not representative of all parents as they had an ambition to
contribute to community that not all people have. We were interested specifically in the
extent to which parents felt they had influence in the school:
● Again, these parents’ influence was more closely connected to students
themselves, rather than the policies or what happened in the teachers’ domain.
Respect for this division of labour is not unusual, and Bonnie noted that on the
walking interview parents felt very comfortable investigating the spaces in the
school, but when they came to an open classroom, they stayed at the door and
peered in. This perhaps suggests the boundaries of their influence and speaks to
a place in the school where they may feel they do not belong. These parents selfreported having influence, and it seemed to emerge from their knowledge of
students’ needs, including those with whom they worked in the community.
When asked about this, these parents suggested teachers and the principal were
willing to listen to them. One parent shared being able to bring drama back to
Broad Horizon School after being cut many years back. In what areas does it
make sense to give parents more influence over school matters? To what extent
do schools allow for parents to initiate change? How can parents be more than
rubber stampers, without threatening teachers’ professionalism?
Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
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● The examples of influence and involvement these parents shared could be
characterized as traditional parent involvement. One parent had extensive
involvement in fundraising, and it was clear that she connected her daughter’s
sports teams’ success with that financial support. Traditional parent involvement
tends to be criticized in the educational research, and the argument is that this is
token involvement that places parents in service to teachers. The assumption is
that parents should be directly involved in educational decisions that impact
student learning. Does the focus on student learning foreclose on opportunities
for parents to feel influential? Given that high schools and high school
curriculum tend to intimidate parents, what limitations are placed on creating a
sense of community with parents if schools take away the traditional forms of
involvement that they likely experienced in their children’s elementary schools?
What We Learned about Integration and Fulfillment of Needs
These parents did not have a need to be involved in the school per se, but rather,
their need was to support students. Teachers were infrequently mentioned in the
discussions with parents. Parents’ connection to the school seemed strongest through the
students. When asked about how being involved in school council and other ways fills
their need, these parents’ comments suggested:
● Participating in ways that support students and the school was considered a
responsibility. Contributing to a positive community in the town was also
considered a responsibility. They talked about wanting to make it “good.” None
of these parents talked about student learning. The question, then, is, do
educators ask parents about their involvement needs? When creating
Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
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opportunities for parents to feel part of the school community, do educators
consider what motivates parents? Do they concentrate on those parents who are
visible in the school, doing activities that are school-initiated and generated?
How can educators honour parents’ sense of purpose, and extend the notion of
working with parents beyond student learning? What transferrable skills,
competencies, and knowledge become available to parents because they
participate in the school community? How can those parents who already feel in
community with their children’s schools share their experiences to help schools
plan for school community development?
What We Learned About Shared Emotional Connection
Shared emotional connection implies parents identify with the school and have an
emotional investment. We learned about this in the following ways:
● A connection with the school was intricately linked to a connection with the town.
As mentioned above, these parents felt it was up to them to create a sense of
community in Blue Hills, and especially for the ones who had moved there from
another province, it was their ambition to do so. These parents had a strong sense
of community in Blue Hills, and this seemed to carry over to the school. Much of
this seemed connected to the students. When asked about school community,
these parents often talked about how students were viewed by others in the town.
They criticized people who had negative perceptions of teenagers, for example.
Some of these parents were quite protective of the youth in this regard, and
emphasized that many students were positive ambassadors for the school when
they participated in community events. Further, concern about decline in the
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17
community, the desire to have students stay or come back to Blue Hills after high
school, and looking out for all people from young children to seniors all suggested
these parents were emotionally connected. Emotional connection was also
described as a sense of pride when sports teams travelled to other towns to
compete, for example. To what extent might parents’ community connections be
used as a way to connect parents to the school? Much of the educational research
and policy promotes parents’ involvement in schools from a rational choice
perspective—parents have a responsibility for their children’s education;
therefore, they should participate in the school. What this assumption overlooks
is that individuals do not make all decisions based on rational choice, and that
emotion plays a key role in how people decide. How can emotion, rather than
simply reason, be the focus for schools working towards creating community for
parents in their schools? ● Emotional connection was experienced through their children: if their children
had positive experiences in the school, the parents were likely to feel a positive
connection. When asked about school community, these parents often talked
about how students were viewed by others in the town. They criticized people
who had negative perceptions of teenagers, for example. Some of these parents
were quite protective of the youth in this regard, and emphasized that many
students were positive ambassadors for the school when they participated in
community events. We suspect that feeling comfortable, safe, and known also
contributes to this emotional connection. One parent said that if it ever was the
case that a teacher did not know a parent when it came to parent-teacher interview
Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
18
time, this would be unforgivable. The literature focuses on parent-teacher
relationships, but to what extent can students be relationship brokers to create a
sense of community for parents?
Comments About Rural and Northern School Communities
This study confirmed that small rural schools have an advantage when it comes to
sense of community because of their size. We cannot suggest, however, that everyone fit
in, belonged, or shared a sense of community. For example, at the time of data
collection, all Alberta schools were mandated to create an inclusion policy for
transgender students. Two of the parents spoke about this, and it was obvious that they
understood the rationale, but they were “on the fence.” In this sense, a small school and
community was a benefit for people who conformed to a norm, but it could be a threat to
one’s membership if she did not.
There was no consensus on Blue Hills being a northern town, and from these
parents’ and the principals’ responses, this was because Blue Hills was an hour’s drive to
a city, and the town itself was considered to have sufficient facilities and amenities.
There was no sense of isolation that drew people together. On the other hand, one parent
did express pride in the school when sports teams travelled “south”, or when their
students made significant achievements, as if to suggest that not much is expected from
northern communities. Sense of community was created because Blue Hills and Broad Horizon School
had sufficient amenities and facilities to provide for families. Most parents believed it
was important to shop locally and support the town, for example. There was the sense in
which this was not only the right thing to do, but it was more personable and satisfying
Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
19
compared to going to the city where one parent said that the only time you would say
hello to someone is if you happened to see someone from Blue Hills. What is the role of
material goods in creating a sense of community? Much of the focus is on relationships,
but there is a physical aspect of community—outside of geography—that warrants
consideration. Conclusion
The prevailing discourse regarding parents since the 1990s has been one of
partnership between parents and teachers (Christenson & Reschly, 2010; Lareau &
Shumar, 1996). Based on our preliminary analysis, parents’ sense of community with
their children’s schools exceeds notions of partnerships with their children’s teachers. In
fact, these parents shared more stories and experiences working with students in the
community than they talked about opportunities to work with teachers. Thus, this
research confirms the value of challenging the partnership notion. From a theoretical perspective, most partnership practices are schoolcentric
(Lawson, 2003), and they inadvertently accentuate inequities and division among families
(de Carvalho, 2001; Mapp & Hong, 2010; Rollock, Gillborn, Vincent, & Ball, 2015). A
partnership orientation ultimately reflects an individualist approach to parent involvement
and assumes parents are in service to teachers (Lareau & Shumar, 1996). Being in
community is a different thing. But we rarely ask what it means in schools, or how it
differs from a partnership dynamic. We felt this question demanded our attention,
particularly for secondary grades when elementary level activities no longer work for
parents, educators or students (Epstein, 2001; Stelmach, 2006, 2013). This research
Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
offers a new theoretical framework for educators who want parents to be more than
involved in schools, but to feel in community.
20
Running head: WHAT DOES SCHOOL COMMUNITY MEAN TODAY?
21
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