1st Edition
School Leadership for Authentic Family and Community Partnerships Research Perspectives for Transforming Practice
School leaders are increasingly called upon to pursue meaningful partnerships with families and community groups, yet many leaders are unprepared to meet the challenges of partnerships, to cross cultural boundaries, or to be accountable to the community. Alliances are needed among educators, families, and community groups that value relationship building, dialogue, and power-sharing as part of socially just, democratic schools. This book brings together research perspectives that intersect the fields of leadership and partnerships to inform and inspire more authentic collaboration.
Contributors from the fields of educational leadership, family engagement, school-community partnerships, and education for social justice come together to examine the role of educational leaders in promoting partnerships as a dimension of leadership for social justice. The volume offers a mix of empirical, conceptual, and reflective chapters with research representing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches in urban, suburban, and rural schools. The chapter, "Conversations with Community-Oriented Leaders," includes candid advice from district and school-level administrators on this under-documented aspect of leadership. Situating leadership for partnerships within the leadership literature, this book proposes a model for addressing tensions embedded in home-school relations and leading schools toward more authentic relationships with stakeholders. This collection of original scholarly articles will be a unique resource for new and aspiring administrators and for researchers in both the fields of leadership and school-family-community partnerships.
List of Tables
Foreword by George Theoharis
Acknowledgements
PART I. LEADERSHIP FOR PARTNERSHIPS: DELINEATING THE FIELD
Chapter 1. Introduction: Why Leadership for Partnerships? Susan Auerbach
Chapter 2. Edging In: Locating a Focus on School-Family-Community Partnerships within the Scholarship of Educational Leadership Carolyn Riehl
Chapter 3. Conceptualizing Leadership for Authentic Partnerships: A Continuum to Inspire Practice Susan Auerbach
PART II. LEADING PARTNERSHIPS ACROSS DIFFERENCE: NAVIGATING RACE, CLASS, CULTURE, AND POWER
Chapter 4. Enlisting Collective Help: Urban Principals’ Encouragement of Parent Participation in School Decision-Making John Rogers, Rhoda Freelon, Veronica Terriquez
Chapter 5. Advocacy-based Partnerships, Special Education, and African American Families: Resisting the Politics of Containment April Ruffin-Adams and Camille M. Wilson
Chapter 6. Authentic Engagement with Bicultural Parents and Communities: The Role of School Leaders Edward M. Olivos
PART III. LEADING PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH POLICY AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 7. Policy Aspirations and Dilemmas of Implementation: Leadership for Partnerships in Ontario, Canada Joseph Flessa and Hélène Grégoire
Chapter 8. Creating Organizational Cultures of Family and Community Engagement: The Impact of District Policies and Practices on School Leaders Molly F. Gordon
Chapter 9. Parents as Action Learners and Leaders: Lessons for Administrators in Working with Families and Intermediary Organizations Janet H. Chrispeels
Chapter 10. Supporting Teacher Leadership for Partnerships: A Case Study of the School-Community Partnership Process Catherine M. Hands
PART IV. NEW CONTEXTS AND CHALLENGES IN LEADERSHIP FOR PARTNERSHIPS
Chapter 11. Target, Strategic Partner, Critical Friend? Relationships between School Leaders and Community Organizing Groups Sara McAlister, Heinrich Mintrop, Seenae Chong, and Michelle Renée
Chapter 12. Dynamics of Parent Involvement in Urban Charter Schools: Parents’ Perceptions, Principals’ Expectations, and Student Achievement Marc L. Stein, Ellen Goldring, and Claire Smrekar
Chapter 13. Conversations with Community-Oriented Educational Leaders Susan Auerbach
Chapter 14. Conclusion Susan Auerbach
Notes on the Contributors
Index
Biography
Susan Auerbach is Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at California State University, Northridge.
"I found the book to be thought provoking, exact, and objective. The book goes beyond descriptive studies and offers models for addressing issues of race, culture, power, and class."
—Education Review"Books such as this one can be the catalyst for dialogue followed by action. Parents and concerned community members can use this book as a tool to effect change in their schools. Its language is user friendly and not hampered by educational jargon."
— School Community Journal
