QUEST FOR COMMUNITY 12
BAA QUEST FOR COMMUNITY 12
School District Name: Okanagan Skaha
School District Number: 67
Developed by: Sandra Richardson
Date Developed: August/Sepetember 2011
School Name: Princess Margaret Secondary
Principal’s Name: Terry Grady
Board/Authority Approval Date: December 12, 2011
Board/Authority Signature: “D. MacIntyre”, Director of Instruction
Course Name: Quest for Community 12
Grade level of Course: Grade12
Number of Course Credits: 4
Number of Hours of Instruction: 120
Prerequisites: none
Credits: 4
Course Synopsis:
This course will provide the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for the
establishment of vibrant, caring, and sustainable communities. The student will
engage in independent study, small and large group work and will travel locally
and internationally in the quest to find what makes a community strong,
sustainable, and resilient. By the end of this course, students will have
developed the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to:
• build and maintain vibrant, affirming, sustainable communities, and
• become self-directed, life-long learners.
QUEST FOR COMMUNITY 12
Rationale:
As a result of the eras of colonization and the industrial revolution, Western
Civilization has steadily moved away from the human social unit generally
referred to as “community.” Global inequities caused by the colonization and
economic imperialism have simultaneously destroyed potential for the
establishment for a global community on a political scale, and created the
possibility of a communal sense of humanity which may emerge in the future on
a societal scale. Quest for Community is dedicated to exploring this possibility by
generating a value in our youth for the creation of a truly global human
community.
In addition to this global loss of community on a political scale, society has also
lost awareness of the innate meaning of community. The uninhibited spirit of
rugged individualism, the mechanization of labour, and the resulting rural to
urban movement, has created unsustainable cities with massive populations of
agonizingly disconnected human beings. As a society we speak frequently of our
“communities,” but have forgot the multifaceted meaning of the word. Quest for
Community is dedicated to investigating the deeper meaning of “community,” and
determining practical methods for establishing and maintaining healthy, resilient,
and sustainable communities.
Dr. M. Scott Peck, renowned psychiatrist and author, has defined community as,
“a group of two or more people who, regardless of the diversity of their
backgrounds, have been able to accept and transcend their differences, enabling
them to communicate openly and effectively, and to work together towards
common goals, while having a sense of unusual safety with one another.”
According to this definition, Western Civilization has clearly ceased to experience
community on familial, local, national, and international levels. We do not
“communicate openly and effectively,” we do not “work together towards common
goals,” and we certainly do not have “a sense of unusual safety with one
another.” Quest for Community will generate in students a deep understanding of
the needs of a healthy community, and help them to develop community building
skills they can take with them into their futures, and into the future of this world.
Organizational Structure:
Unit/Topic
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
Title
Sense of Community
Community Practice
Community Economic
Development
Urban and Rural Sociology
Community Engagement
Time
15%
20%
20%
10%
35%
QUEST FOR COMMUNITY 12
Unit 1: Sense of Community
Students will explore the various aspects of the experience of community, such
as the clarification of communal values, the importance of artistic expression in
establishing communal identity, the importance of inclusiveness, the interplay
between communal and individual values, the development of tolerance and
sensitivity while ensuring the well-being of the community, the interplay between
autonomy and accountability, and the need to encourage and support diversity
as part of the sense of community, and will develop practical strategies to
address challenges in this area in a holistic and participatory way.
Learning Outcomes: It is expected that the students will…
 Define community and apply that definition on a local, regional, national,
and international scale.
 Explain the importance of inclusiveness within the concept of community.
 Describe potential tensions between communal values and individual
rights.
 Evaluate the role that protecting individual rights plays within the context
of establishing and enforcing a communally accepted set of values (e.g.,
the importance of the concept of inclusiveness in creating a communal
identity, the potential of developing a value for diversity within a
community as a means of protecting individual rights).
 Clarify and explain their own values and roles in contributing to a sense of
community.
 Identify and address an area of need to improve the sense of community
locally (e.g., within their school, local, or regional communities).
 Explore the role that artistic expression plays in establishing and
maintaining a sense of communal identity.
QUEST FOR COMMUNITY 12
Unit 2: Community Practice
Students will explore the social dynamics of communities, such as community
organization, social planning, mediation and conflict resolution mechanisms,
approaches to mentorship and education, providing services for the vulnerable
elements of society (young, elderly, and people with special needs), methods of
addressing health and wellness, the design of community spaces, and communal
governance. They will develop practical strategies to address challenges in this
area in a holistic and participatory way.
Learning Outcomes: It is expected that the students will…
 Explain the role that spatial planning plays in establishing a thriving,
sustainable community.
 Evaluate a variety of methods of organizing the governing body of a
community.
 Evaluate a variety of methods of conflict resolution within a community
(e.g., mediation, arbitration, sentencing circles, restorative justice).
 Evaluate a variety of methods of providing services for the vulnerable
elements of a community (e.g., the young, the elderly, the people with
special needs).
 Evaluate a variety of approaches to maintaining the health and wellbeing
of the members of a community.
 Clarify and explain their own values and roles in creating positive social
communal practices.
 Identify and address an area of need to improve the social practices of a
community.
QUEST FOR COMMUNITY 12
Unit 3: Community Economic Development
Students will explore the economic aspects of community, such as production of
food, environmental degradation, sustainability, infrastructure, the production and
exchange of goods and services, unemployment and poverty, and community
maintenance, and will develop practical strategies to address challenges in this
area in a holistic and participatory way.
Learning Outcomes: It is expected that the students will…
 Identify and describe the current threats facing the global community (e.g.,
environmental degradation, resource depletion, unsustainable agricultural
practices, and abusive labour practices).
 Evaluate a variety of approaches to economic management and labour
practices within the framework of environmental impact, social justice, and
sustainability.
 Explain the importance of permaculture practices in creating vibrant,
healthy, and sustainable communities.
 Develop necessary skills to contribute to local, small-scale, sustainable
food production.
 Clarify and explain their own values and roles in creating economically
strong and sustainable communities.
 Identify and address an area of need to improve the economic practices
of a community.
QUEST FOR COMMUNITY 12
Unit 4: Urban and Rural Sociology
Students will explore the challenges facing urban and rural communities through
statistical analysis, observation, social theory, interviews, and other methods of
study. They will investigate a wide range of topics, including migration,
demographic trends, poverty, race relations, and economic trends within local,
regional, national, and international communities, and will develop practical
strategies to address challenges in this area in a holistic and participatory way.
Learning Outcomes: It is expected that the students will…
 Understand how societal/structure factors influence individual behaviour.
 Understand how social interaction and the development of the “self”
influence society and social structures.
 Define, give examples, describe and analyze the inter-relatedness of the
following concepts:
o cultures,
o socialization,
o stratification,
o social structure,
o institutions,
o social change,
o globalization, and
o differentiation by: race/ethnicity; sex/gender; social class; age;
region.


Describe the effects of socio-cultural change on individuals and social
structures.
Describe strategies for functioning in a pluralistic society and diverse world
cultures.
Unit 5: Community Engagement
Students will explore the process by which organizations and individuals build
ongoing, permanent relationships for the purpose of applying a collective vision
for the benefit of a community, and will develop practical strategies to address
challenges in this area in a holistic and participatory way.
Learning Outcomes: It is expected that the students will…
 Describe and critique organizations whose mandate is to benefit
communities.
 Determine a need in the community and develop a course of action that
will address this need.
 Perform at least fifteen hours of community service.
 Compare and contrast governmental and non-governmental organizations
as they pertain to the betterment of community.
QUEST FOR COMMUNITY 12
Instructional Component:
• Direct Instruction
• Indirect Instruction
• Peer and Partner Instruction
• Interactive Instruction
• Experiential Learning
• Modeling
• Brainstorming
• Discussion
• Group Work
• Independent Study
• Guest Lecturers
• Field Trips
• Work, study and mentorship opportunities
Assessment Component:
Assessment will revolve around the practical application of the knowledge, skills,
and attitudes developed through the course. Students will be required to
participate in community-building activities within local, regional, national, and
international contexts. Students will also engage in consistent self-reflection,
which they will be accountable for demonstrating through the creation of a course
portfolio.
Formative assessment will involve ongoing descriptive feedback and guided selfreflection on both the knowledge being built and the practical application of that
knowledge within the community.
Summative assessment will occur within the context of the student-built portfolio.
The portfolio will include an initial learning plan established cooperatively
between the student and course facilitators, and evidence of the learning journey
that occurred throughout the duration of the program.
Learning Resources:
• Book, audio and video resources
• Greenhouse and garden space
• Community members and mentors
• Journals and magazines
• Governmental agency and non-Governmental agencies publications
• Leadership Resources