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Community Education

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Fettes, M. (1999) Indigenous Education and the Ecology of Community. In. S. May (Ed.), Indigenous Community-Based Education (pp. 20-41). Clevendon, UK: Multilingual Matters.

This paper begins from the premise that indigenous community-based education can usefully learn from attempts to define and implement "community education", even in settings so far removed from the indigenous context. The first section shows how "community education" has been developed on the basis of four fundamentally different concepts of community, all of which have some relevance to the challenges of indigenous education but are ultimately inadequate as a guide to practice. The second section shows how these flaws can be traced back to an overly simplistic model of community rooted in European history. A way of extending this model is proposed which is compatible with a more complex and dynamic "ecology of community". This idea is developed in greater detail in the third section, employing a model of "cultural negotiation" developed by Canadian ethnographer Arlene Stairs, and incorporating many insights offered by Chickasaw educator Eber Hampton, as a means by which indigenous community-based education might proceed.

Hermanson, M., & Hoagland, T. (2002). Utilizing Paraeducators as Liaisons to the Local Community. PDF (188 KB) Charleston, WV: Clearinghouse on Rural and Small Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED463108).

A study examined the role of paraeducators as liaisons to the local community. Phase 1 of the study involved interviews with four paraeducators and three teachers, each of whom was part of a rural teacher/paraeducator team that used the paraeducator's background in the community to enhance school activities. Phase 2 involved five group sessions with 135 paraeducators, teachers, administrators, and others from rural Montana schools and with 70 paraeducators, teachers, and administrators from Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) funded schools in four states. Findings indicate that paraeducators interacted with parents, suggested school activities based on their knowledge of the community, assisted with arranging school activities in the community, had other roles in the community that enhanced the school-community relationship, brought local culture to school activities, and modeled community attributes. Their acquaintance with local families contributed to school activities. Obstacles to utilizing paraeducators as community links included concerns regarding confidentiality, insufficient paraeducator training, uncertain job descriptions and parameters of paraeducator duties, insufficient paraeducator knowledge of students or school procedures due to inability to attend meetings, and working for schools interfering with a paraeducator's image in the community. These findings were used to develop a series of videos to be used in training teacher/paraeducator teams.

Saskatchewan Education (2001). Aboriginal Elders and Community Workers in Schools - A Guide for School Divisions and Their Partners. PDF (1.41 MB) Regina, Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Education. Retrieved August 18, 2006 from http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/branches/children_services/
community_ed/docs/eldoutgde.pdf.

This guide has been produced to assist boards of education to develop policy and guidelines if they choose to initiate programs involving Elders, Aboriginal community workers, or other resource people. It will also assist school division administrators and their community partners to design and implement local initiatives in schools.

Disclaimer and Terms of Use

Disclaimer: The papers on this web page are provided for your convenience. We believe these papers provide information that is relevant and useful to efforts to improve teaching and learning for Native American students. The opinions expressed in these papers, however, do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of the Office of Indian Education or the U.S. Department of Education. Also, the inclusion of papers here does not represent, nor should it be construed or interpreted as, an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any private organization or business.

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