Building Community
Printer-friendly versionAs you read in the section Research Says the principal is a key enabler of community that includes parents, teachers and administrators. Communities are complex and no two communities are exactly the same. The participants, the environment, and the times all converge to create a unique experience. In our schools this changes as families come and go with their children on entering and exiting the offered grade levels in each school.
So how can community be built and sustained, particularly where technology will be part of the community fabric? A corollary may be found in Virtual Learning Communities. The following table provides some suggestions based on the elements that define a community separate and apart from just a group of people.
| Suggested Activities to Build Online Community[a] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Historicity | Communities are stronger when they share history and culture. | Incorporate what members have done in the past, and make their stories part of the community culture. Explicitly mention the culture, value and context of the virtual community. Make public the history of the community. |
| Identity | Communities foster a sense of shared identity. | Use team-building exercises, develop community logos, and publicly acknowledge accomplishments by the group and individual members within the community. Articulate the focus or purpose of the community (e.g. parent council) and outline the requirements and rituals accompanying membership in the community. This might include visiting the Portal once a week, acknowledging a message, or volunteering for an activity. |
| Mutuality | Communities spring from and are maintained by interdependence and reciprocity. | Include group activities that solicit the input of all community members, and preferably need the input of all community members. Pose leading questions that encourage members of the community to invest in concerns held by other members, and to share ideas and possible solutions. |
| Plurality | Communities draw from vitality from “intermediate” associations. | Encourage connection to other groups related to the work of the community. These might include businesses, associations or groups in other locales exploring similar issues or ideas. |
| Autonomy | Communities respect and protect individual identity. | Foster individual expression and comment explicitly on its value. Set up protocol for respectful communication and reach consensus in the group. Create strategies for settling disputes or inappropriate behaviour. |
| Participation | Social participation supports autonomy and sustains the community. | Allow members of the community to shape agendas. Give guidance to new community members, and promote opportunities for established members to reach out and connect beyond the community. |
| Trajectory | Communities are not static. | Identify the direction of the community and its purpose. Ask members to describe what they have learned in the community. Conduct “visioning” exercises to determine new initiatives to be undertaken by the community. |
| Technology | Technology facilitates development of community but may also inhibit its growth. | Employ technology that allows meaningful communication, and which is easy for members to use. Promote communication approaches that are compatible with older, less costly equipment where communities intend to be inclusive. |
These actions do not belong only to the school principal, but rather can be shared among various members of the community. As the community evolves, members will move from being new entrants to insiders who can take on additional responsibility and welcome others.
[a]Adapted from Schwier, R. A. (2007). A typology of catalysts, emphases and elements of virtual learning communities. In R. Luppicini (Ed.), Trends in distance education: A focus on communitieis of learning. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
Used with permission of the author.
