Know Your Community
and
Community Power
Structures
• Dr. Sandi Estep
• EDAD 731 School Community Relations
• Governors State University
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Know your community
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Know the formal leaders in the community
Know the informal leaders in the community
Know what is important to the community
Know the friends and enemies of the school
Know your intended audience
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First Step
• Collect information about the make-up of the
community
– Power structure and how decisions are made
– Identify the media, reporters and how to get to know
them
– Get to know your school ‘neighbors – go
door to door to say hello
– Ask neighbors to conduct a Tea
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First Step … continued
– Expectations of the “responsible parties”
– History of the district – do not repeat errors and you avoid
pitfalls
– Identify friendly and hostile groups
– Learn where there are opportunities to build relationships
– Gap analysis of the level of understanding of the schools,
programs and policies.
– Identify how public opinion develops in this community.
– Changes that are going on in the community
– Identify the leaders and who influences those leaders
– List of all organizations and social agencies.
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Studying the community by collecting
and analyzing data in three categories
Sociological Characteristics
The Power Structure
Opinions and Attitudes towards education in
your community.
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Sociological Inventory
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Customs and traditions
Population Characteristics
Communication Channels
Community Groups
Leadership
Economic Conditions
Political Structure
Social Tensions
Previous Community Efforts
Sources of information
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Power Structure
• Why should you go through all the
trouble of identifying the power
structure of the community?
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Building public support for schools
Involving all responsible parties in the process
Improving student achievement
Developing two-way communication
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Whether a school system is excellent or
mediocre depends on how all people
(regardless of their power position) work
together –how they communicate, relate,
are involved, participate and share. A
public/community relations program is
aimed at focusing on the relationships of
all those people with an overall goal of
improving student achievement.
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POWER STRUCTURES Defined
• Bagin and Gallager (2001) define power structures as “an
interrelationship among individuals with a vested interests
who have the ability or authority to control other people, to
obtain their conformity, or to command their services.”
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Types of Power Structures
or Models of Power
Structures:
• Types of Power Structures or Models
of Power Structures:
• 1. Power Elite
• 2. Pluralist
• 3. Amorphous or Inert
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Elite Power Model
Small elite group or
individuals that represents
industrial, financial, and
commercial interests in a
community.
Power Elite
Highest concentration of
power
The Community
The elitist’s decisions
flow downward
through a community.
Lowest concentration of
power
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Power Elite
• The elitist model views power and control as being
held by a very small, very influential group(s) or
individual(s).
• They control or have power over the financial,
industrial, and commercial interest of a community
• People with considerable influence and power.
• They usually have control over political, social, and
economic decisions.
• Their power often comes from their position in the
community or from personal or corporate wealth.
• They dominate a community through the power of
their position
• The clergy, a politician, a leader of a racial group, or
others who hold power position
are often long established members of the community,
perhaps spanning many generations
• They have a vested interest in the community
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Pluralist Model
• The pluralist model of power structures is one
that is followed by political scientist. Political
scientists believe that there is no central
power elite. They believe that power in a
community is diffused. This model claims
that there are multiple centers of power.
• various members of a community occupy
positions of power that are related to specific
issues
• These groups are often silent until an issue
that effects them arises
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Amorphous or Inert Model
• the absence of an identifiable power structure
in some communities
• Power is either absent, or even worse, it is
latent
• are not actively involved in school or political
issues. They will support and maintain the
status quo
• is very little movement toward educational
reform activities or the introduction of
experimental programs
• look to the superintendent to make decisions
for them.
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Three stages of power – the
maturity of the community
• Young, New, Growing community – may
be more pluralistic since the elite have not
established themselves.
• Second Stage: Specialized power which
relates to specific issues.
• Third Stage: older, stable community –
power groups are fused into a single unit
or person
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administrator to know who
has power and influence in
a community
• A proactive administrator will build
relationships with those who hold power
in the community and involve them earlyon in the decision making process.
• Ignoring the power structures can result in
the undermining of school improvement
• The goal is to create dynamic partnerships
with representatives from the community
power structure.
• Administrators need to be aware that there
can be rapid and unexpected shifts in
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Understanding Power
Structures
• 4 research studies of the elitist and
pluralist models:
– Kanawha County, West Virginia (Pluralist
Power Study).
– Middletown (Muncie), Indiana – Power Elite
Study
– Yankee City and Regional City. (Power
Elite Studies)
– New Haven (Pluralist Power Study)
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What was learn from these
studies ?
• Identify all power structure groups in your
community.
• Conduct a needs and values assessment to know
what is important to members of your community.
• Involve representatives from all responsible
groups in the decision making process.
• Learn how to involve your community by
attending professional development workshops or
seminars.
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More Lessons learned…
• Be a proactive leader.
• Be flexible and avoid treading on tightly held dogma. Flexibility
does not equate to weakness. It can be a sign of secure and
responsible leadership.
• Decentralize the decision making process.
• Delegate responsibility to subordinates in order to make
decisions that reflect the desires of those closest to the issue.
• Be prepared to respond quickly to specific problems or issues.
• Learn to be an active listener! Ask questions and then just listen.
• Become a member of service organizations in the community.
This is an excellent way to build relationships with many power
brokers.
• Use informal situations to gather information.
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More lessons learned
• Keep an ear to the ground and find out what the word-on-the-street
is. Do not hesitate to ask that question directly. Many citizens will
be flattered that their opinion is valued.
• Learn who is a reliable source of information and be able to
differentiate that from gossip. Some sources may be self-serving
and tend to exaggerate the sentiment to the entire community when
it may only be of importance to them.
• Share the synthesized information with other administrators to
check on the of the assessment of who holds power in the
community.
• Use common sense along with the information about the power
structure of the community.
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More Lessons Learner
• Never lose sight of the reason for doing all
of this: Increased opportunities for success
for all students.
• Know that a proactive approach to forming
school-community alliances can thwart
negative pressures brought to bear on
schools by some power wielders.
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VALUES and INEQUITIES influence
SCHOOL-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• The purpose of American schools is to provide a literate
citizenry that can up hold the values of our democracy. This
is core to the survival of democratic institutions.
• many arguments and legal complaints regarding the equity
of the educational opportunities provided in one community
compared to another
• Schools have resorted to community fund raisers to try to
bring an equitable solution to sorely needed resources
• Other monies come through state and federal grant
programs
• Digital divide. Students in very poor school districts do not
have the same technology advantages as students in
wealthier districts
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Distributive Justice
• Distributive justice questions who is entitled
to what amount of a public institution’s
resources.
• Rescher has promulgated a principle of
utility that asserts that goods and services
should be distributed according to the
greatest good for the greatest number.
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Fair Exchange
• Peter Blau (1967) has described this phenomenon
of people expecting certain benefits from their
institutions as fair exchange
• individuals do not want to feel ignored by
institutions they support
• Only in the area of special education do we set
policies on what is good for the individual
student’s educational program rather than the
majority
• Handing out apples…
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Summary of Power Structures
• Schools need to intelligently deal with
power structure(s) so they better take the
time to know who they are.
• Power structures are controlled by people
who want to shape the community.
• How do they influence?
– Through rewards –advancements, higher social or
economic status, monetary gains, influence on the
school board to hire/fire administrators or increase
salaries.
– Through punishments
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The Schools and Power
Pressure
• know the history of dealing with these power
structures on past issues
• protection the school district has when
influence gets out of control
– Laws
– Policies
– And a well planned C-R program that is thriving in
the schools and the district. That is, a well-informed
citizenry can be a force that power brokers are
reluctant to deal with. These people will take the
issue public and power elites do not like to be in the
limelight.
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